In case you haven’t heard, www.ToyBoxTales.com has been completely redesigned and improved!
You can now watch ALL the 101 ToyBox Tales instantly via embedded flash, no more need to download first. And for those who want the downloads for showing at church, they are now all available on one page. Free for Kidology.org members or directly on www.ToyBoxTales.com for a very nominal once-in-a-lifetime fee.
So jump over and check out the ALL NEWwww.ToyBoxTales.com and enjoy some Bible stories like you’ve never seen them before!
Here are some of the most popular videos on the site:
This is the one that started it all. Karl did this at camp in 2001 and the following summer the kids were still talking about it and asking him to do more “action figure Bible stories” – discovering that it was a powerful method for teaching, and since he already owned hundreds of action figures, ToyBox Tales was born!
This is the #1 downloaded/viewed video on the site. It is also the only one where Karl had to pull the video feed at the end because a hampster was stuck in the oven!
This is the #1 requested video Karl is asked to show at conferences when he offers to show a ToyBox Tale before a workshop. And no, the hamster is not trained or remote controlled, he is just a natural.
This is the only tale on the site that was recorded live in front of an audience of all adults at the Kidology University. Seems adults are just big kids after all.
This is Karl’s favorite. It doesn’t mean its the best one – just that if you are a Star Wars fan, you’ll probably enjoy it the most. (There are at least 20 Star Wars themed Tales, depending on how you count them.)
There are several series on the site that are best viewed or shown to kids in order:
This was the first series Karl did and there are high school kids that still quote lines from it! “Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, Who Stole My Bubble Gum!” This series is a powerful parable explaining the background to the Gospel. Not just what Jesus did, but why He had to die for our salvation.
A classic and the #1 selling ToyBox Tales DVD. Roy, the Boy of Joy and TheLover Man are two that people mention as their all time favorite ToyBox Tale when they meet Karl.
This powerful series covers the book at Acts like no other ever has. Starts with Easter and ends with a missionary message to go into all the world. The Enemy of My Enemy is Karl’s favorite.
These can be shown independantly, but were done three weeks in a row. Each has a unique and important message to kids: Choosing Jesus as your hero, Choosing your words carefully, and your destination (salvation).
While Kermit introduces the vast majority of the ToyBox Tales, this is the only series that was not filmed live in front of children’s church. They are fully edited videos that therefore feature sound fx and other effects not possible in a live presentation. Probably the most difficult was filming live at local McDonald’s with a crowd of people watching the entire time!
For the first time ever, I will finally be going to the 2009 WSSA World Sport Stacking Championships, April 18-19 at the Denver Coliseum!
PLUS, I will be LIVE REPORTING from the event via my blog, twitter, facebook and LIVE broadcasts! So you can experience this ultimate Sport Stacking event from anywhere!
Here is some official info:
You should consider going, teams are forming now! Early registration ends Friday, April 3rd
Don’t miss this opportunity for your students to join more than 1,000 stackers of all ages from around the world in beautiful Denver, Colorado for the world’s premier sport stacking event.
Stackers may compete in eight events:
Three Individual Events (3-3-3, 3-6-3, Cycle)
Two Doubles Events (Age Division & Child/Parent)
One Timed 3-6-3 Relay
Two Head-To-Head Relay Events
Plenty of stacking records on the line in every age division with trophies, medals and 2009 collector participation lapel pin for all stackers.
New this year! StackFest Saturday featuring free interactive stacking stations for the whole family! Now’s The Time To Get The Word Out To Your Students. It’s As Easy As 1-2-3!
Spread the word!Download this flyer, copy and distribute it to all your students.
Form teams! Help parents and students form teams of four. Download Registration Packet, copy and distribute to each team parent Coach.
Send in registrations! Gather up completed forms and fees from each Coach and send to us.
Go to www.WorldSportStackingAssociation.org for all the details.
This morning as I was getting ready for work, my little boy asked me about every thirty seconds, “What are you doing, daddy?” After answering him about twenty times in twenty different ways, I finally started just tossing a towel over his head and saying, “Covering you with a towel!” He would laugh, pull off the towel and say, “No, Daddy, you are putting your socks on!” No task was too small or too insignificant to matter to him. Choosing a shirt, finding my shoes, looking for my keys – every detail of my day matters to him. Especially when he knows that soon I’ll be leaving for work. I once read, “To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” And that’s my little boy.
Now at the office, still smiling and remembering the morning, I realize I too am a little boy – my heavenly Father’s son – and I too should be asking throughout the day, “What are you doing, Daddy?” No detail of my day is too small or insignificant to God, my Abba Father, and my life ought to be revolving around the things MY Father is doing. He is about to go to work today too! And I don’t want to miss a detail of what He is doing, how He is doing it, or when He is going to do it. And if I keep asking, and listening, and learning, perhaps my heavenly Father will smile at me too.
(This was e-mailed to me, but I wanted to post it to share and save)
Man builds working replica of Noah’s Ark (exact scale given in Bible) in Schagen , Netherlands
The massive central door in the side of Noah’s Ark was opened to the first crowd of curious townsfolk to behold the wonder. Of course, it’s only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch creationist, Johan Huibers, as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.
The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That’s two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.
Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.
A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.
Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son, Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top – deck not quite ready in time for the opening – will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs, chickens, goats and one camel.
Visitors on the first day were stunned. ‘It’s past comprehension’, said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.
“I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.”
There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands , where church-going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.
Now that I am old and Gray…give me the time to tell This new generation (and their children too) About all your mighty miracles. Psalm 71:18
God’s ways are not our ways. We tend to equate leadership with lordship; He equates leadership with servanthood. We want strength so we can help God with His work; He makes us weak so He can demonstrate His power. We advertise our credentials so others can be more sure of us; He lets us fail so they can see that apart from God we’re not much at all.
We are inclined to focus on personalities, to be impressed by the intellect, education, and strength of a leader’s will. Followers begin to believe that a particular leader can do no wrong. Such adulation, however, is nothing more than humanism—making a human being the measure of all things. What’s worse, it’s idolatry—centering our devotion on someone other than God.
So God lets leaders fall off their pedestal. Failure, indecision, and underachievement bring them to a humbling realization of their own inadequacy—and can cause followers to lose their illusions and overdependence on those leaders. This is a good reminder that all of us—leaders and followers alike—walk through life on “feet of clay.” Ultimately, the only good thing about any one of us is the goodness of God. That’s why we need to recognize that “our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5). — David H. Roper
I got an e-mail referred to me from a parenting expert asking me to help answer a dad’s question on how to handle his son’s desire to play knights, including the “killing” of bad guys. Below is how I answered him, what are you thoughts, input? What advice would you give? He asked:
I have a 4 year old boy that loves to play with his knights and wants me to play along, but I get lost in how to play? Who is the enemy? I’m just at a loss. His knights are cool, but they have knives and swords and I’ve tried to fight the dragons, but now he wants to fight the bad guys. I’ve tried to say, we need to try to talk to the bad guys and help them become good, but he says he did that and there is no hope so they’ve got to go! He loves setting up his army guys, green against tan and well the same kinda thing. I just need some help on helping him be the protector and the fighter and the knight, but don’t want him to be cold to the other side. Then we get into “he’s dead!” Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I need some biblical guidance. Your ideas would be most helpful!
Here is my response, I’d love your comments below:
Thanks for writing, I appreciate both your desire to connect with and play with your son, but also you concern to not encourage play that isn’t healthy or best in developing Godly values in your son. I have had the unique experience of being a big brother to a little boy born when I was 13 so I was a teenager/college throughout his growing up, and now as the father of a son of my own.
My first advice, would be to not worry too much about your son’s desire to roleplay “killing” or fighting with soldiers – there is a degree to which he is merely playing out the warrior characteristics God built into men. Our role as leaders and protectors shows itself in young boys in their play as soldiers, knights, super heroes, etc. When I was a young boy my mom tried to prevent me from “playing guns” as she was concerned I might grow up and shoot someone! On one family vacation she caught me playing guns with a stick I found that was shaped like a gun. At that point she realized that it was useless to try and keep me from role playing with guns, and ironically, she saved that stick and I have it to this day. I love water guns to this day, but have never gotten into “real” guns and certainly haven’t shot anyone, despite lots of gun play as a boy. The reality is, I wasn’t role playing “guns” so much as I was defending what was important to me, being brave and a hero, and sticking up for what is right. Things I still strive to do, minus the guns. So to one degree, its good to be sensitive, but don’t stress over it too much, you may be fighting against the way God wired little boys to be.
However, having said that – there are ways to keep war, fighting, or killing play within healthy bounds. Here are a few ideas worth trying:
1) Make the enemies non-human, robots, aliens, monsters, etc. – i.e. things that don’t exist (Notice in star wars the enemies are often aliens or clones, one reason moms like star wars)
2) Minimize killing with stun guns, or letting those defeated, shot, get up and walk away. (Notice in G.I. Joe even when a jet plane crashes, they always show the bad guys running away, a way to minimize death.)
3) Play organized fighting GAMES instead of real life. Soldiers can be doing training, or Knights can be competing in a competition to become the King’s Royal Guards or something. So the losers don’t “die” they just lose.
4) Model forgiveness in your play. You don’t need to preach at him, but when he makes a toy “kill” one of yours, you can say, “Hey, that hurt, but I forgive you” You can even joke a little, “You need to go to Sunday School!” or “You obviously need Jesus, you know He died even for you!” Keep your correction soft and light hearted and he will hear you better than if you lecture him, as then he might just ignore you thinking you don’t understand or are taking it too seriously, because I can tell you, he isn’t taking it very seriously, he is just playing.
The biggest keys in raising a son, is what you teach him about REAL life – not how he plays with toys. I did a lot of toy warfare as a boy, but when I had a bully at school (a REAL bad guy) my dad coached me through showing love to enemies, even giving a gift, buying a comic that one bully liked to better relate to him, and I saw many of these bad relationships turn into friendships through my dads coaching. In the end, how I handled “real” bad guys was far more important than how I played with bad guys who were 2 inches tall.
Keep in mind, even if your son uses harsh words like killing or “your dead” they don’t understand death or its permanence to the degree we do as adults. They will yell “your dead” to a friend and being playing with them 2 minutes later. I wouldn’t be concerned with a boy wanting to kill toys, if it were a pet or living thing, then I would be more concerned.
If you son is old enough, you may want to watch Price Caspian, the most recent Narnia movie. It is a little violent, BUT there is a great scene where Prince Caspian wins the right to kill the enemy king, and while he wants to (this man killed his father!) he chooses not to kill him and says something like, “I am not like you” meaning that he is wants to be a GOOD king, by being merciful.
I hope this has been a little helpful and encouraging to you – bottom line, play, be the dad, be gentle and encouraging, point out what concerns you (thats your job) but let him grow at his own pace. He will outgrow this and be on to something else soon enough!
A fellow dad on the journey,
Karl
What do you think? How would you have answered differently? Or what would you add? Your constructive input is desired! I’ll forward to this dad your input as well!
HERE ARE SOME VIDEOS OF ME PLAYING KNIGHTS ON TOYBOXTALES.com
DON’T MISS THE FREE REPORT AT THE END OF THIS POST!
TODAY is one of those days I declare Electronic D-Day! It is the day I process all the e-mails I have deferred recently to be done “later” – unfortunately, later may never arrive if you don’t declare an Electronic D-Day!
Why is it D-Day? Because on this day EVERY e-mail that is pending action is either:
Deleted
Deferred
Delegated or
Dealt with
If you struggle with managing e-mail, I have two gifts for you.
#1 Enjoy this video of me destroying a laptop, as I’m sure you’ve wanted to do the same!
NOW FREE! YES, FREE! YOU HAVE NO EXCUSE NOT TO GET YOUR E-MAIL UNDER CONTROL TODAY! Why wait another day?
Perhaps it is time for you to declare an Electronic D-Day! The TEN POWERFUL E-MAIL TIPS FOUND IN THIS REPORT may just change your life. From the feed-back I’ve gotten from family and friends, that isn’t an exaggeration!
The ideas in this report are both simple and amazingly profound. You may never look at e-mail the same. Long Gone can be the day where your e-mail controlled you!
It is time for YOU to slay the E-Mail Monster!
Take it from someone who managed probably ten times the e-mail you do, you NEED THIS REPORT!
The Merry Hearts Clowns are hosting a workshop with two of the most talented, sought after kids entertainers in America right now. The workshop will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2009 from 2 – 5 PM.
It will be held at New Life Church, 3205 Cannonball Trail, Yorkville. You can register for the workshop by going to www.TimAndBarrysWorkshop.com. Your Creative Entertainer hosts will be Tim Sonefelt and Barry Mitchell or Barry Mitchell and Tim Sonefelt depending on which one you like more.
Join these guys for as much magic, creative thinking exercises, stage presence tips, and laughter as they can pack into several hours. Think of it as two workshops for the price of one. You receive inspiration to spark more of your own creativity and practical tips and tricks to improve your entertainment abilities.
Plus you get the benefits of two leaders who both have half a brain. Barry and Tim are known for funny family entertainment products, storytelling effects with morals, and inspiring creativity among entertainers. You’ll laugh, learn, and leave with more than you could possibly get from just one workshop leader.
What makes this workshop different from other touring entertainers:
Two speakers for the price of one
Audience tested routines for family audiences
Creative thinking exercises with audience involvement
Practical tips that may be applied immediately
FREE DVD Product for everyone who pre-registers (up to $45 value!)
You will not want to miss this great workshop. I have been in workshops that each of these guys have taught and they are tops!! Hope you can make it. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
I’m often asked why I call myself the “Kidologist.”
Does it mean I’m a children’s ministry expert?
Nope.
Does it mean I know everything about kids?
Nope.
Does it mean that think I’m the authority
on kids or children’s ministry?
Double Nope.
I started calling myself the Kidologist years ago because when people would comment on how good I was with kids I worried that as I got older I would lose that touch. I was quite aware that young 20-somethings are usually always get kid-connectors, but that many adults as they get into their 30′s, 40′s (or older) seem to lose their knack with connecting with kids, and I feared my saavy for relating and connecting with kids would diminish with time. As I began to analyize WHY I was effective with kids “Kidology” was born, the study of kids, and how to relate to as well as effectively teach kids. (Explained in more detail in CMPodcast #8)
I coined the term “Kidologist” as a reminder to me first of all, that if I wanted to be effective with children for the long haul, I would have to always be a learner. To always be growing, reading magazines & books, studying the culture of kids as well as the latest CM strategies, keeping up on church and ministry trends, attending conferences (not just speaking at them), and doing whatever it took to stay engaged with kids, their culture, and the world of children’s ministry. Failures as well as successes build experience, and then experience may bring expertise – but as the “Kidologist” I am first and foremost a forever learner in the arena of children’s ministry and my appetite to grow and develop must never be satisfied.
What is your nickname?
If don’t have one – what should it be? It’s a good exercise. It can force you to focus on what makes you unique, what your Calling is, what defines you or what you identify with. I know a Kidhelper who’s life has been devoted to helping kids come to Christ. I know a mother named Melissa who’s childhood nickname of “Meepa” (how she said her own name as a toddler) has grown into her adult nickname of MommyMeepa, as she pours her life into being a wonderful mother. I could name others, but I’ll stop there.
Please comment and give me your nickname, or be bold and give yourself a nickname. Whether it “sticks” or not doesn’t matter – what name would identify you?
I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a “transformer” in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader.
~ Stephen R. Covey
