Last weekend was our annual Girls Club Overniter. I get to come for the game time, movie and bedtime story before heading home.
Nothing more cute than a bunch of kids running around in their PJ’s.
Speed Stacking in Slippers?
If you know Speed Stacks, we did a fun game I made up to fit the girls. Three tables – one for Queens, one for Princesses, and one for Maidens. (two girls at each) And then a looooong table with Stacks for Peasants who are in line to enter the castle. At each of the royal tables are two Speed Stack timing mats. On “GO” the royal girls compete. The peasants practise. The winner at each table moves up a table in rank, but winning Queen retains her throne, and the losing girl goes down a table. The losing Maiden goes to the end of the Peasant line and the first Peasant comes up to the Maiden table. It was fun as they all tried to become Queen and then defend their throne. One girl won ten rounds as Queen and was a good sport when I picked her up and took her to the end of the Peasant table and said after ten terms the populace threw her out of the castle. She was a good sport as the other girls got a chance at being royalty. In the end, they all got a chance to be at least Maidens and several had good reigns as Queens. It was a lot of fun.
Don’t ask how I got the screen up there!
For movie time I did something I’ve wanted to do since my youth pastor did it in high school – show a movie on the ceiling of the gym so the girls could watch it laying down in their sleeping bags. (Though my youth pastor had a body fall through and dangle by rope around the neck at the climax of his home made scary movie – I left that out for the girls!)
For the techies out there wondering how I projected straight up. Our church youth pastor rigged this for me – a board screwed to a wooden platform and then the projector strapped on.
Can you name the movie from this opening scene?
Once the movie started, I headed off to my office for two hours of work before bedtime story time where I first did a dramatic reading of the book “The Princess and the Kiss” a wonderful book on purity for reading to younger girls.
The Princess and the Kiss, a wonderful book for girls.
Next I did an object lesson story that I wrote years ago that I love to do whenever I have an audience of just girls. Basically, I have a set of twelve boxes that all fit inside each other and the smallest one contains a GIANT diamond that is larger than a fist. (the one I used when I proposed but it hurt my wife’s wrist to wear, so she downsized)
Now, THAT is a ROCK!
Basically, I tell some secrets about boys and how they ‘tick’ and what makes girls so special, and how the combination can lead to broken hearts. I start out with the giant box, representing the Gift of Love that every girl has to give, but then through the story the girl in the story keeps giving her love to different boys who get bored, move away, hurt her, or move on, and with each giving of her love, it comes back empty and her gift still left to give is smaller.
Finally, the last box contains the greatest gift – a diamond, representing giving herself in marriage – but in the story she meets a wonderful man who still has his giant box to give her, and I ask if you were the boy, would you want to trade your big box of love for a little one? I tell them what a beautiful treasure they are and challenge them to guard their hearts (Prov. 4:23) and save all their love for the man who has done the same for her.
The pile of boxes at the end with the giant diamond on top is a powerful visual object lesson at the end of the great potential each girl has for love and to guard it carefully. Then it is ‘girls only time’ and I head home wondering how God might use this talk. I once had a high school girl whisper to me, “Pastor Karl, I still have my giant box.”
That’s why I love being a children’s pastor – not only is it tons of fun, but it is incredibly important too and really makes a difference.
Can you name the movie from this opening scene?
I emailed Karl with my answer, and was right…but he won’t let me share yet…you have to make your own guesses first ;)
Let’s see how many can get it right……
I can’t even see the movie in the pic!
BTW, I love the object lesson. I’m going to have to use that some time. Where did you find that diamond?
I never showed a movie n a ceiling before. I may have to try it out sometime. I did show JAWS with teens in innertubes in a pool before. That was kind of fun.
I also like the stakcing boxes and the giant ring. Neat lesson.
We have done overnighters here…we have a movie theater room that we use. I usually put a movie on around 1 A.M. and everyone falls asleep while watching it.
Yes, I usually do the ‘move to fall asleep to’ when i plan an overnight, but these girls were all still good to go! only two slept through my devotional because they had konked out during the movie… though we showed the movie at 10pm so i could do devo at midnight before I got the ‘boot.’
my favorite overnight movie is the circa 1966 Batman Movie. It is hysterial, but boring enough that kids start droppin’ off by the end.
Karl, thanks for putting the screen on the ceiling. The girls will remember that for a looong time. It was a great night and I’m glad I could be part of it. And that movie is the best movie of all times in my opionion. Later, Melissa
So, I can’t tell… what was the movie? Some sort of sappy thing like “The Princess Bride”? :)
Love the story with the boxes… I will use it for sure! Shelly in Fl.
My guess is The Princess Bride. Love the idea of the whole night!
Hey there… love these great ideas! I’m going to order that book and use it on the next Missionettes sleepover. Only one question… Where’d you get those awexome boxes and that huge bit o’ gemstone? Thanks.