IDEAS

     I love thinking of new ideas. As a children's pastor and now developing "The Puppet Guy", I am having a lot of fun trying to think of new ideas and new ways of reaching children and families through magic and puppetry. I am also looking to not only go into churches, but libraries as well with these creative methods. Through the years, I have had many great ideas, but I have also had some total bombs. Let me share!

 

     One of my greatest ideas I ever had, and I'm not saying it in a prideful way is developing Kids in Missions. This was a program God placed on my heart in 1995 after gong to Mexico with our Youth Group in 1994. I was looking to develop this program for preteen aged kids and teach them about missions by "doing missions." My idea was to teach them a class all on missions topics, then teach them how to minister by way of puppetry and drama. The only problem was I could not find a curriculum to teach these kids. It was then I decided to use my college textbook "Introduction to Global Missions" as a guide. In the fall of 1995 I sent letters out to many of our preteen aged kids expecting maybe 7 or so to sign up. On our first day of classes which was January 14, 1996, as I walked down the hallway to open up the classroom to begin the class, I had 18 kids ready to start learning about missions. The original name was Kids Mission Bridge which I had to change 2 years later. All I can say is this idea I had and started developing exploded. For 17 years I had hundreds of kids take this class, they all attended outreaches with me and various local churches in NY and NJ. While I acted as the emcee leading the outreach by doing my ventriloquism and gospel illusions, the kids would perform various dramas and do puppet songs. We did 4 summer missions trips. 2 to Friend, Nebraska one to Toccoa, Georgia and also to the country of Belize. I was also able to sell my curriculum on my website and share about it at conventions. It was a great idea that God put on my heart and I give him the glory for it. Truthfully, I miss doing it with the kids. We have more memories I believe as we traveled in the church shuttle!

 

    Now for a bad idea. This one I thought would work. My heart was to turn Smithtown, NY upside down with the gospel. I just returned from a Children's Pastors Conference and attended a workshop called K.I.D.S. an acronym for Kids in Denver Saturday. The couple who taught the workshop shared with the class how they had thousands of kids come to their church on a Saturday morning and they would do an entire program for the kids that included puppets, gospel illusions, crafts, games and snacks. I was hooked. I came back from that conference determined to make this idea work. I immediately signed the entire Fellowship Center out for 4 dates (September & November 1995, January & March 1996). I called it "Super Saturday." Other pastors and leaders were upset I had that area signed up but I was convinced this idea would work. There were some challenges! I didn't have my workers on board with me and secondly it seemed as though the kids & parents were also not on board. I was still convinced this idea would explode to the point that we would need to rent out the Smithtown Movie Theater on Main Street. The first event went well but I honestly did not need the entire Fellowship Center, I was convinced this idea would work so I started giving out door prize tickets for the second event we did that November. Again, it did go well but my biggest problem was I had no help. November was a challenging month because of Thanksgiving. A lot of my workers bailed out on me and I ended up being a one man show. I even had one worker say to me "Is this really worth the effort, Pastor Dave? Families are busy in Saturdays!" That was my wake up call and I decided to shelve my "Super Saturday" idea and put it to rest.

 

     Fast forward to 2019, I am having a lot of fun trying to think of new, creative ideas in my new "Puppet Guy" ventures. I will admit I do get ideas at the craziest times and places...driving in my car, at the gym, waking up at 3 a.m. and even at Chick Fil-A. My rule of thumb has always been there are no dumb ideas. You need to try it out and "test drive" it to see if it works. I am looking forward in seeing what God has in store for me as I "test drive" these new ideas!

 

      

 

 

 

LAUGHTER DOES GOOD LIKE A MEDICINE

     It's been a few weeks since my last blog. I had a busy week last we plus man oh man it was so hot outside! I don't have a lot to share this week but do want to focus on one thing I have thought a lot about...laughter. The bible tells us in Proverbs 17:22 - 'Laughter does good like a medicine." If you know me, you know that I love comedy. Not only do I love to watch comedy I love making people laugh. It doesn't matter if there is a puppet on my hand, I'm at work or I'm hanging with friends. I believe laughter is a great thing. It does good like a medicine.

 

    I love good, clean comedy. I probably should have been raised in the 1950's because I love the comedy from that era. My favorite show of all time is "The Honeymooners." People would argue with me and say they don't like how Ralph speaks to Alice and I do agree with that. But in all honesty I love the "one liners" she throws back at him. I laugh every time I watch each episode and I have watched it many times. As a young adult, I would come home late from either a date or hanging with friends and watch "The Odd Couple" at 11 and "The Honeymooners" at 11:30 on channel 11. I love watching reruns of "Get Smart" and to this day I truthfully will watch the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts, especially when Rich Little did his impressions of famous people.

 

     In today's day and age, the humor has changed. It's all focused on sex and is truthfully raunchy. The days of sitting and watching television with your young children are over. How sad is that. I think it is so important that we find humor in every day life. It is important that we laugh. We all have different tastes when it comes to humor. I remember being in England on a missions trip in 1986 and watching a sitcom on English television. The humor there was so sarcastic and I truthfully did not find it to be funny.

 

     During times when I might be frustrated or feeling down, I will always take time out to watch something funny so I can laugh. It is a medicine that will lift you up and encourage you. My encouragement to you is to make that time for yourself and laugh! It's better than feeling down in the dumps and depressed! Laughter does good like a medicine!!      

BUILDING...IT TAKES TIME!

     Ever since I was a kid, I have always been intrigued with how things are built. I always thought it was amazing to see a house being built from the ground up. To think of all the cement, wood, hardware and most of all hard work from the workers to make it happen is mind boggling. But if you know me real well, you know that I can't build for my life. If there was a gift I wish I had it would have to be building things. God did NOT give me that gift whatsoever.

     I remember being about 10 or 11 years old. My brother, myself and our friend Tommy down the street decided to build a fort in his woods. I don't remember where the wood came from but the nails definitely came from my Dad's workshop. We worked very hard on this fort and those poor trees had so so many nails pounded into them if they were human they would have bled. Our finished project  was something we were proud of but let's just say the roof leaked A LOT every time it rained. It was bad. Tommy's grandfather who was a builder decided to help us and in one weekend he tore down our fort and built a beautiful fort that had a stairwell, shingles and a finished roof. We spent many days playing in that fort as kids.

     As a Children's Pastor, I had many great ideas. I always appreciated my friend Bob aka. "Bob the Builder" who always came through for me. I would show him what I needed built, whether it was a Bible Time Machine, a spinning game show wheel or a quiz show podiums. He always knew how to build those items for me. I was amazed at how he went about his business and his craftsmanship. As he built these things, it was not something he did in one day. He took his time and made sacrifices to make sure it got done.

     Right around the corner from where I live, I always drove by this empty lot. I always wondered if anyone owned the property and why there was never a For Sale sign on the property. About 3 weeks ago, I noticed some bulldozers clearing away the area so a house could be built. The foundation was laid and pictured above is where the house is at as of July 10, 2019. The studs are up and its starting to look more like a house. I'm not sure when the house will be complete. I'm sure the homeowners would love it to be real quick. We know there will be circumstances that will come up such as inclement weather as well as those dreaded finances or lack thereof.  

     Wouldn't it be great if we could build things in one whole day? It would be a miracle if a house was built in just 24 hours. In reality, it takes time. I look at the Christian life the same way. Things take time. We can't rush God and expect things to change quickly. It's always in His timing. We always pray and ask God to do His work. It could be for a healing, a situation or just to know His will. It is always so cool to see how God is building us and how His will for our lives is unfolding. Like the fort my brother, Tommy and I tried to build when we were kids, we realized we could not do it alone. We needed help. We couldn't do it with our own strength. And just like Tommy's grandfather was there to rebuild it, God does the same for us....but it's in His time

THANKS FOR READING  

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

     This week I don't have a whole lot to share. We are officially half way through with 2019. Tomorrow is July 4th or Independence Day as it is officially called. It is a Holiday only celebrated in the United States. I was in England on July 4, 1986 and there were no fireworks, no American flags and all banks and government buildings were open there. In that year in England, it was just a hot Friday. There was no fanfare. Truthfully, it was strange. I was just starting month number two of a 3 month missions trip that year.

     To many people, it is a day where you can either watch fireworks, shoot off your own fireworks, enjoy a nice barbecue, enjoy a day off or watch a 4th of July parade. The reality is that it is the birthday of America when our Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence. America was born in 1776 and tomorrow we celebrate 243 years of our freedom. I appreciate so much the freedom I have in this country to worship God. I realize that man has tried everything possible to remove God from schools, government buildings and universities. They can try all they want to remove Him. I know deep down in my heart God will never go away. He will always be there for you and for me no matter how hard man tries to remove Him and push Him away.

     I also appreciate our flag! Red, white and blue with it's stars and stripes. I don't pay much attention to the news but I know man has also tried to deface our flag. It has been burned, stomped on and mocked by many. I even saw once someone had an American flag on their car that was all black and white. No colors just very bland. In spite of all that nonsense, I am proud to be an American and pray every day for our President and for our country!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY EVERYONE!!