puppetminster.com blog

FCP 2007 Annual Conference

2007-07-09T13:44:00.000-04:00

Many of the puppeteers that are part of the online community are involved in Christian ministries. For those who fall under this category, the Fellowship of Christian Puppeteers is hosting their annual conference at Winthrop University in South Carolina on July 23-27. Anyone in the area may find this an educational opportunity to refine your puppetry skills, learn new skills or perhaps gain encouragement and inspiration for your ministry as you use this powerful medium. Information and registration is available here.

Happy Birthday, America

2007-07-04T10:49:00.000-04:00

I grew up with the idea that America meant something. America was a grand experiment in democracy laid out by our founding fathers whose vision allowed us, as a nation, to grow and prosper as a bastion of freedom for all of her citizens, or so I was taught…

In the earliest days, America started out as a home for people who wished to worship an almighty God differently than what was ordained by the Church of England. Facing dangers and disease, those brave few suffered and died for this idea of freedom to worship God, or so I was taught...

As the population grew and colonies were established, a handful of God-fearing men decided that England’s taxation was unfair and set out an edict with these immortal words: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. These men risked their lives for this notion of freedom and acknowledged “Nature’s God” as their inspiration for action, or so I was taught...

In declaring the right to freedom, many men lost their lives but eventually independence was won and the grand experiment, America, began and it began with the right to speak freely and the right to worship freely, or so I was taught....

Years later other wars against oppression, both external and internal, were fought to correct injustices that existed. Not all wars involved weapons, but also words and ideas. Each time freedom, not only for America, but for all peoples, was the goal. Brave men and women gave their lives for this freedom and are still doing so around the world, or so I was taught...

So what does America mean? I find the ideas behind the founding of America have been lost. They have been stolen and twisted by politicians, on both sides, who would rather posture themselves and argue against the other side instead of standing for something they believe. America has been torn apart by special interest groups who tell us whether or not what we say or believe is acceptable in their eyes.

America began because of religious persecution, but now I live in an America where freedom to worship is fine as long as you hide yourself so that no one else can hear you. I live in an America where I, as a Christian, cannot proclaim myself or exercise my rights as such without offending someone. I live in an America where freedom for Christians is quickly becoming a lie.

So who is to blame? We can only blame ourselves for letting our freedom slip away, but that’s what happens when the freedom is man-made and when we ourselves relinquish our rights by not standing up for them. Our forefathers believed they were God-given rights. Brave Americans have fought and died for our right to worship and we have thrown it all away.

Thank God that freedom, real freedom does not come from the hands of man, or so I proudly believe.

Game Day Central

2007-06-11T06:14:00.000-04:00

Better late than never... I've written skits to be used with Lifeway's Game Day Central VBS program. Our hero, Dexter, takes the VBS Althetes (kids) for a behind the scenes tour of Game Day Central, only on ESPN, the Euphrates Sports Programming Network. Each skit introduces the key concept for the corresponding day of VBS.

All 5 skits for only $2.50. Give your Althetes your best by teaching them to be their best in all things.

Good Friday

2007-04-06T08:35:00.000-04:00

This day, Friday, almost 2000 years ago, a man was executed. This man was no ordinary man, however, this was God made in human form. This day He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). I can’t imagine the suffering that Jesus went through in just a matter of hours. Any lesser man (than the Son of God) could not have bore the burden.

I woke up this morning with the desire to read Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado over this Easter weekend. I’ve not read very far into it yet but already I have found a gem worth sharing. Mr. Lucado points out something I had never considered in the story of the woman at the well-

She left her water pot with Jesus.

The water pot, her burden, which she carried to the well, was left there beside Jesus as she ran to tell others that she had met the Messiah. Now I realize at some point this woman probably needed her water pot and went back to get it and that’s where the metaphor breaks down. Praise God that when we lay our burdens at the feet of Jesus we never need to pick them up.

Are you carrying a water pot? I pray that you will lay your burden down and this is an excellent day to start. Happy Easter.

The woman at the well is found in John 4.

2007-03-23T08:51:00.000-04:00

I have found a very cool blog dedicated to self improvement. Brian Kim - Check it out.

2007-03-22T13:24:00.000-04:00

As Easter approaches, I wanted to share the lyrics of one of my favorite Petra songs (from Wake Up Call). The last verse has a lot of meaning. Hear a clip here.

Marks of the Cross
Hartman/Cates
Matthew 10:39, Luke 9:62

These days shallow and feeble resolve abound
And true devotion and passionate fervor are seldom found
But there are those who often feel they're all alone
Those of whose identities are known
By the mark of the crucified Son

(Chorus)
Praying, caring, loving, sharing
These are the marks of the cross
Giving, bearing, feeling, daring
To lay down your life on the line
Forgetting what you leave behind
And willing to suffer the loss
Of the marks of the cross

These days the search for detachment and solitude
Lead to retreating to fortresses no one would dare intrude
Then there are those whose restless burdens start to show
Those who unmistakably most know
There's no crown 'til we suffer the cross

All our identity rests in the knowledge
Of who we’re created to be
We are His workmanship, made in His image
For all of creation to see
The marks of His pain and His glory

Behind the Scenes

2007-03-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

Check out this performance.

Thanks to Tom at Puppeteers Unite for alerting me to this.

The Magic of Thinking Big

2007-02-21T20:54:00.000-05:00

The first book I read this year was The Magic of Thinking Big. The premise is one of commitment and belief leads to success, therefore think BIG accomplishments and consign yourself to succeed. Do not allow self-made obstacles to stand in your way. Truthfully, I had heard and read similar material by other motivational speakers, but this book brings it all together in one location. Each chapter has summary points that allows one to quickly refresh in ones memory the ideas and methods for achievement.

One of the more potent ideas was the idea of creating a “self-commercial”. I believe Dennis Waitely calls it “positive self-talk” and it’s purpose is to reprogram your thought patterns to ones of confidence until these patterns become who we are. To some, these are age-old ideas. To others, this is but another step in personal growth.

Here is my motivational speech to myself. I have it imprinted on a card inside my wallet and I read it several times daily and I believe it has made an impact on me. (I think anyone could apply this.)

In parting, I want to leave you with the thoughts of one person who knew how to dream big... Mr. Walt Disney.
I dream, I test my dreams against my beliefs, I dare to take risks, and I execute my vision to make those dreams come true.

It's kind of fun to do the impossible.

Principle Interest?

2007-02-15T09:21:00.000-05:00

Most of the time, this blog is more of a motivational/how-to-live dissertation than puppet ministry information. It comes from things I’ve heard or read that I think all people should know or live by. A lot of times it is the result of a screw-up by me. This is one of those times…

Have you ever had a moment where you were just incredibly, undeservedly rude to someone? Or am I the only one? I had a moment like this yesterday with a co-worker to which I immediately apologized. In retrospect, I could have explained myself and brought in the details of the challenging day that I had been experiencing. I could have shrugged it off as no big deal. I could have rationalized my behavior, but this would have been wrong.

My co-worker was gracious and accepted my apology, but memories of this incident flooded my conscience all evening. One recurring thought loomed in my brain as I replayed my actions: not only had I offended my associate, I violated one of my core principles.

The Bible tells us that love is not rude (1 Cor 13:4-5), but worst than that I was trying to find and excuse for something I have deemed inexcusable. I believe in personal responsibility and any attempt to justify misbehavior is wrong. It is what it is and it wrong. I admit it and it’s time to move forward.

My point is that a principle can only be a principle when you say, “This is what I believe and I will not waiver from it.” I was trying my best to waiver last night. I’m glad I didn’t.

So when I finished the last line...

2007-02-12T17:52:00.000-05:00

...I put the book by itself on the shelf with my heart in it. -Jimmy Buffett

Earlier in the year I said I plan to read 12 non-fiction books this year. So far I have managed to read six and I will be adding some “reviews” of the better ones in the next few weeks. You will notice that many of the books I am reading (or in some cases re-reading) are business/finance related. There are two reasons for this:

A) You become what you study. As you well know, if you have read any of my blog, I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey’s teaching. This has inspired me to read books that deal with finance and business in order to understand how money works. (I will go so far as to say in acquiring this knowledge has taught me more about my character than any other topic.) With this in mind I have determined in order for me to be successful, I will study success.

I’ve come to the conclusion, successful business people are usually dynamic and despite stereotypes, most successful people are not money-grubbing cut-throats or “rich jerks”. They are, however, highly-motivated, self-confident “go-getters” that have been kicking butt and taking names for a long time. Their success has not come at the expense of others but as a result of doing something better and being persistent. Most are not just successful in business matters either. They are winning in every aspect of their lives.

No so surprisingly, I’m discovering many of the actions and attitudes that successful people attribute for their success (planning, perseverance, faith, positive thinking, helping others, etc.) are rooted in Biblical teachings whether the person is a Christian or non-Christian.

B) I want puppetminister.com to be successful as a business and as a ministry.

I have not determined what the future course puppetminister.com is exactly. My focus has been trying to provide higher quality puppets at affordable prices to ministries. I have been given the opportunity to use puppetry as my main source of service and may someday have the opportunity to use puppetry as my main source of income.

Is it possible? ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD. Of course it would have to be in his plan for me. Is it probable? Well that is dependent on several things: Am I willing to take such a risk? I’m I capable of pouring everything I have into such an endeavor? Am I willing to kick butt and take names for a long time? Even so, it’s a long-shot based on the market, but if one offers better products, better service or better value the odds go up significantly.

You see, possibility lies with God, probability lies mostly with me but this does not necessarily lead to success. For now, I will study, trying to make puppetminister.com a better value to the customer.

As I was preparing this, Andrew at PuppetVision.com posted a link to series of blog entries from Phil Vischer of VeggieTales fame. Read this line from Phil’s blog: Your ability to accomplish your artistic or ministry objectives depends largely on your understanding of the business behind your venture. This reinforces my decision to study business success. Looking at this statement, I know this is an opportunity for growth.

God Bless.

I Saw Dave!

2007-02-05T19:59:00.000-05:00

I’m a few days late in posting this, but I had the opportunity to see Dave Ramsey live at a Total Money Makeover LIVE! event in Louisville last Thursday. I am a graduate of FPU, a 13-week course that Dave teaches via video where he teaches you how to make your money behave by learning how to spend, save and give, but nothing is like hearing him live.

Dave has changed my way of thinking and my way of handling money. You can listen to his nationally syndicated radio show live from 2pm-5pm est (on-line or your local station) or listen to the archives on his site.

Dave is a great example of someone who has found his purpose and enjoys what he does.He lived like no one else and now he lives like no one else.

Yeah, I know this might be an over blown Dave Ramsey commercial, but I really believe he is helping people get to a place where they can become financially free and can impact others.

Mastery?...Shoot! I'd Settle With A Little Progress

2007-01-30T00:46:00.000-05:00

I have a desire to live my life intentionally. I want my life to mean something. I am finding however that my life slips away and my intentions never realized. I am a wonderful planner, but I am a lousy executer. I believe my problem is a lack of discipline.

I recently was reading about David and Solomon in a book by Max Lucado (I will detail later). David always intended to build the temple, but it was Solomon who did so. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes (7:8a) that finishing is better than starting.

Let’s go back to David for a moment. He intended. He planned. He got distracted. He made a few mistakes. He wasn’t the model of self-control and God did not let him build the temple. God still loved him, but God didn’t allow him to finish his plans.

God plans things and wants us to plan but often what we plan is not the same as what He plans or we trip ourselves up with a lack of restraint and we get distracted.

I think this has been my real problem so far this year. I’ve slipped up, flipped out and cracked so many times that I have gotten distracted. It seems there is so much that I am trying to do…that I am intending, but I never seem to accomplish anything and the frustration just add fuel to the fire. I just hope that God hasn’t decided to keep me from finishing.

I need to refocus on aligning my plans with His plan for me and to be truthful, the Enemy has enticed me to question God’s plan for me. At times, I feel a little lost, but I am confident that God will realign me. My lack luster performance on all fronts has been because I have been trying to do everything alone and even at my best, I have no self-control. If you have been around puppetminister.com very long, you will see it’s a common theme in my life.

Pray for me and all the others who I know are struggling with this. It seems to me that if David struggled with it and I am struggling with it, there must be more.

One last thought, I think Solomon sums up what I want the real goal of my life to be; “Whoever pursues righteousness and unfailing love will find life, righteousness, and honor.” (Proverbs 21:21)

God Bless You. Thanks.

Mastery (part 2)

2007-01-15T08:09:00.000-05:00

This is a continuation of the previous post on mastery.

Dave Ramsey (and others) says, “If you want to be rich, do rich-people stuff.” From that, I say if you want to be a Godly person, identify and do the things Godly people do. Fitness—same thing, adopt the habits of fit people—and if you want to be a great puppeteer then study and do the things great puppeteers do.

Begin your study by reading books, searching on-line resources or talking to people who just know. In puppetry (this is a puppetry blog after all), there are many avenues of to pursue; different types of puppetry, script writing, design and building are just a few of the many areas under the puppetry umbrella.

For example, I’ve said countless times that puppet ministries should strive to do better with their puppetry. This begins with study. For example, manipulation is a fairly basic skill to learn, but if you go one step further and begin to study the techniques of professional puppeteers and ponder the specific details of what makes one puppeteers operation better than another’s, you can then adapt that discovery into your manipulation style. Continued study and analysis followed by internalization will greatly improve your success.

Be advised that study alone will not lead to mastery. The “thought” must accompany the study. There must also be a caution against imitation; Jim Henson warned of this when he said, “I think if you study, if you learn too much of what others have done, you may tend to take the same direction as everybody else.” The key is to study, contemplate then build your own conclusions and ideas based on what you learn. Sir Isaac Newton called this “standing on the shoulders of giants”. Allow the information to spark new ideas and thoughts that led to your own formulation and adaptation.

I don’t know who originally said “The difference between who you are today and the person you will be five years from now is dependent on the books you read and what you learn.” That may be the best way to end my ramblings. Granted, it may take more than five years to master some things and some people devote their entire lives to mastery of a particular field. Nevertheless, a wise person will begin today to become the master they wish to be.

As I write, however, I am reminded Paul’s letter to the Philippians. “I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.” Philippians 3:12-14msg Paul was not calling himself a master Christian and I’m not calling myself a master puppeteer, master theologian, master financier or master-anything. We learn by degree and I am somewhere between here and there sharing my thoughts.

This started with the idea, “You are what you study.” What are you destined to become? What do you want to master? What will you study?

Mastery

2007-01-10T21:23:00.000-05:00

This is the first part of a two part treatise. I was pondering this idea for a blog topic and before I knew it, this was the resulting manuscript. I apologize if it seems incoherent, but it makes perfect since to me.

It’s been stated in many ways by many people: “We become what we think about.” You can find this in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Zig Ziglar, William James, Solomon. The list is endless. Your thoughts control your life-good or bad is not so much what happens to you but how you respond beginning with your thoughts.

Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad Poor Dad) took this one step further to say “You become what you study.” This makes sense because true mastery of anything requires study requires thought. Consider that for a moment—true mastery requires study requires thought. In order for me to be successful in any area of my life I must study and think about it. God even gave this same direction to Joshua after Moses died. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (Joshua 1:8 nlt)

So the question becomes: “What do you want to master? Where in your life do you want to be successful?” Like me, you probably want to be successful in family matters, money matters, health and well-being matters, becoming Christ-like. We never undertake any endeavor with a goal of failure (oxymoron?), or at least we shouldn’t. The human desire is for success. God’s plan for us is success.

Other than my family, I currently have four areas of interest in my life: God, puppetry, personal finance and fitness. Noticed, I said currently because our passions can shift. I wasn’t interested in finance until I started studying Dave Ramsey. Puppetry wasn’t a real passion until I started using it to minister. Fitness was not always important. AND you can trust me when I say God has not always, continually been the focus of my life (an issue with which I still struggle), but I digress. My point remains that we must learn and reflect on what we want to achieve.

(to be continued)

Resolutions? No. Goals? Yes

2007-01-04T21:33:00.000-05:00

The beginning of a new year always brings talk of resolutions—those self-promises that are lightly chosen and lightly discarded—Loose Commitments, if you will. I am not one for resolutions. January 1 is just another day. I am one however for taking this opportunity to set 12 month goals.

So you may be asking, what is the difference. A goal is specifically defined, measurable, realistic, limited by time and most importantly WRITTEN DOWN. There is something psychological and emotional about putting a goal down in writing. When you take the time to go through the exercise to get it on paper, you commit deep down in your soul to succeed.

I think you should hand write any and all goals you have whether they are goals for 2007, 5 year goals or even 20 year goals. I believe you should read and re-read these goals to stay motivated. I believe you should routinely evaluate these goals to see if you need to alter your approach.

With this in mind, I have defined the following goals:
I will be debt free (everything but the house) by August 31, 2007.
I will read 12 non-fiction books by December 31, 2007.

I have short term fitness goals defined on my other blog.

Your goals can be physical, emotional, financial, spiritual, relationship or career oriented. Just write them down.

It's Coming

2006-12-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

Captain Zarton is on his way.

The Nativity Story

2006-12-21T06:18:00.000-05:00

I saw The Nativity Story Monday evening. It is depicted beautifully and captures the emotion that must have been felt by Mary and Joseph in the months leading up to the Holy birth.

Please, go see this movie, but hurry it won't be around past this weekend. You will be blessed by it.

Frosty's 12 Days of Christmas

2006-12-20T07:22:00.000-05:00

Swazzle has produced a series of videos in which Frosty interviews some of the denziens of the North Pole. It is wonderfully made. Check it out.

Sean Johnson is even showing how he built Frosty on his Puppet 101 blog.

A Bit of Clarification on Pride

2006-12-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

The point of the latter part of yesterday’s post is if we do not come to God in unreserved humility, then we do not come to God in the spirit He wants from us. Therefore, if we are not in the correct spirit, then we cannot really approach God at all. WE can not relate to God in anyway in and of ourselves. It's not up to us. Our interaction with Him must be on His terms.

We are told by our inheritance can come to the Father boldly which I interpret as I can worship or make request without fear, but again if we think we are worthy of this gift because of something we've done, we have missed the point entirely. We can approach God without fear but only because the blood of Jesus allows us.

Thankfully, He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us come to grips with His terms. We, as humans, can not by our very nature submit ourselves without help. The Holy Spirit moves us to give in to unnatural desires and humble ourselves to God almighty. It gives us the strength to choose to bow to Him.

Oh, Snap! Moment

2006-12-11T15:28:00.000-05:00

Have you ever had one of those “Oh! Snap!” moments when all of the sudden you realize that you are completely and totally wrong? To say the least, I have had several while I’ve been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. I think this one book all Christians should read at some point in their life. The latest "Oh! Snap!" has to do with “the Great Sin”-Pride.

Now, I will be (or would have been) the first to tell you I am not prideful. In fact, I know people who are prideful and I am nothing like them. Humble to a fault I am. I’m proud of the fact I’m humble.

C.S. Lewis writes:
It was through pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.

I’ve always maintained that selfishness was the root of all sin, but once I consider this, pride is the underlying root of this egotistical behavior. If we were not proud of ourselves and thought we deserved special consideration, then selfish actions would not follow.

If that weren’t enough to put me in my place, consider this:
The more pride one had, the more one disliked pride in others. In fact, if you want to find out how proud you are the easiest way is to ask yourself, “How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice of me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off?” The point is that each person’s pride is in competition with every one else’s pride.

I've never had anyone "shove their oar in" to my knowledge, but there's more:

That raises a terrible question. How is it that people who are quite obviously eaten up with pride can say they believe in God and appear themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshipping an imaginary God. They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of this phantom God, but are really all the time imagining how He approves of them and thinks them far better than ordinary people.

Oh, Snap!

I don’t think C.S. Lewis is saying that we can’t be proud of our kids or even of a job well done. We can be self-confident but I believe the real danger lies in thinking that by some feat or intellect that we were responsible for achieving anything worthwhile. Remember all of our works are like filthy rags in front of the Father. I am afraid that, in all honesty, I am prideful more often than not. Thankfully, this sin as all others will be forgiven by just asking and believing. One last thought:

It’s better to forget about yourself altogether.

Attaining Virtue

2006-12-04T21:13:00.000-05:00

I am currently reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia guy). I came across this passage and it is so powerful I just wanted to share.

After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. Very often what God first helps us toward is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again…I cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thin is to sit down content with anything less than perfection.

The Merrying of Timmy

2006-11-30T23:50:00.000-05:00

Two years ago, I wrote a fairly lengthy skit as a Christmas program. It involved 18 scenes, numerous characters, stick puppets and a bunch of determination to pull it off (not to mention God's blessing), but it came together.

I am offering this skit free in the month of December as my gift to you as a token of thanks.

Thanks,

Ben

The Merrying of Timmy

My Life of Idolatry

2006-11-28T13:42:00.000-05:00

I have endeavored to be goal oriented for the past three years. I believe that we are supposed to live this way. † I believe we are supposed to plan our lives and be responsible for such. ‡ I believe we should learn and grow to be more like Jesus everyday by understanding Him better.* I believe we are to uphold Jesus in every aspect of our lives.**

In conjunction with these beliefs, I am trying to make puppetminister.com successful by becoming a better builder, puppeteer, writer and artist by setting aside time to pursue these activities. I am struggling to be a better husband, parent and friend by investing emotionally into the lives of those around me. I am striving to become more Christ-like by reading and praying. I am working to improve my health and appearance by changing my eating habits and exercising. I am working to become debt free. I am determined to improve ME, but…

I’ve noticed the achieving the goal has surpassed the reason for setting it in the first place. I think the practice can be called idolatry because it is something that is coming between the Lord and I.

My intentions were honorable, but so very easily I have wandered from the path. I know that I am supposed to seek the Kingdom of God first and everything else I need will fall into place.1

So how did this happen? I’m not sure but it happened to Martha in Luke 10;

38The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. 40Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, "Lord, doesn't it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!"

41The Lord answered, "Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, 42but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her." cev

I pray that you haven’t become like me; distracted by “good”. We are warned that the cares of this world will keep us from being fruitful.2 Please keep your focus and pray for me as I try to regain mine. In closing, reflect on the words of Paul:
I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God. Ephesians 1:17 cev

God bless you and Merry Christmas.

† I don't run without a goal. 1 Corinthians 9:26a cev
‡ My child, don't lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. Proverbs 3:21-22 nlt (1996)
‡ For we are each responsible for our own conduct. Galatians 6:5 nlt
*Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. Colossians 3:10 nlt
**And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. Colossians 3:17 nlt
1. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33 kjv
2. As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. Luke 8:14 hcsb

Tis’ the Season

2006-11-25T09:05:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas, well, what Christmas is truly about. The over-commercialized, Tickle-Me-Elmo-grabbing, Play-Station-3-stampedeing, lets spend-every-dime-on-junk-I-don’t-need, I’m-going-to-Wal-Mart attitude really sullies the season for me. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve, I make both the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge appear cute and cuddly. I can do without the hype.

I do love giving, though. I think that is part of God’s nature that He places in us. I love to watch my family open gifts that I chose especially for them. For some (including my wife), receiving gifts make them feel loved. (The good thing is these types enjoy small tokens as much as large ones.) Of course Christmas provides me many opportunities to provide presents for underprivileged kids and some of our service men and women away from home. Even though my small gesture won’t really impact these individual situations, it will hopefully provide a moment of happiness and joy. Better yet it is a sure fire way to chase away my “Scroogieness”.

I know most of you will participate in some sort of charity giving be it Operation Christmas Child, Toys for Tots or just dropping change in the Savation Army Bucket. If not, I encourage you to do so, if not for someone else's benefit, for your own.

We are blessed by being blessings.

Things I'm Thankful For...

2006-11-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

Grace, mercy, salvation, forgiveness, my wife, my children, my family, my friends, my church, my ministry, my life (it could be worse), my nation, my health, my home...

The list goes on and on. Count your blessing. Name them one-by-one. (Hey, that's catchy. Someone should write a song.)

Happy Thanksgiving.

Thinking Like a Servant

2006-11-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, this will be the final comments (for now) on what I’ve learned about my
ministry from reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren: The following passage is from Chapter 34 titled Thinking Like A Servant.

Servants think about their work, not what others are doing. They don’t compare, criticize of complete with other servants or ministries They’re too busy doing the work God has given them.

Competition between God’s servants is illogical for many reasons: We’re all on the same team; our goal is to make God look good, not ourselves. We’ve all been given different assignments: and we’re all uniquely shaped. Paul said, “We will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.” Galatians 5:26 (mes)

I think this is self-explanatory. I hope God will continue to bless your ministry as He shows you what He made you to do.

Dealing With Criticism

2006-11-15T15:54:00.000-05:00

As in my previous post, I gained a lot of insight into my own ministry and how it fits into the grand scheme of things (or at least how it should fit) from reading A Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. One area that has been a “spark plug” of discussion certain areas of the online puppet community is criticism associated with Christian puppetry. The following is from the book:

It is also not our job to defend ourselves against criticism. If you serve like Jesus, you can expect to be criticized. The world, and much of the church, does not understand what God values.

Rick then cites the story of Mary washing Jesus’ feet in where Jesus’ very own disciples disapproved Mary’s actions.

But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? Matt 26:10 (nlt)

Constructive criticism should be just that; constructive. Any other criticism should be judged for what it is worth and not taken personally. (I guess at some point this becomes a SHAPE issue or a forgiveness issue.)

I guess what needs to be gleaned from this is that if you are truly serving the Lord with a servant’s heart, it shouldn’t matter what others around you think. I know I am guilty (to this day) of wanting recognition or at least respect in the puppet community. I guess that there is something inside of us that inherently seeks the acceptance of peers. I know there are a few individuals that I felt their opinion of me gave me some sort of value as a puppeteer/builder. In retrospect, however, I realized the only evaluation that matters comes from God. He is my final judge and His opinion should be the one most important to me.

If my life is fruitless, it doesn't matter who praises me, and if my life is fruitful, it doesn't matter who criticizes me. –John Bunyan

Using What God Gave You

2006-11-06T08:44:00.000-05:00

As I alluded to earlier, I have discovered more insight about my ministry and Christian puppetry in general while reading The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I would like to cite a passage found in chapter (day) 32 titled Use What God Gave You. Here he, Rick Warren, is elaborating on the SHAPE God gives each of us. (SHAPE is an acronym for spiritual gifts, heart, ability, personality and experience.)

God wants you to enjoy the using the shape He has given you. The Bible says, “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” (Gal 6:4 nlt) Satan will try to steal the joy of service from you in a couple of ways: by tempting you to compare your ministry with others and by tempting you to conform your ministry to the expectation of others. Both are deadly traps that will distract you from serving in the ways God intended.

This is not a free pass for sloppy or boring puppetry; however it is encouragement for you to develop your ministry as God leads. It is wrong for me to compare my ministry to others. I should be focused on what I am doing and do my best to glorify God. I see that I've been guilty of comparing, conforming and somewhat envying others ministries.

Believe it or not, I have actually seen other people comparing their ministry to the ministry of other's several times since reading this. Maybe I am just more aware or God chose to point this out at this present moment in time for a reason. As far as my own ministry goes, I don't have a clear focus right now for my team or for puppetminister.com. I pray that God will clarify things and lead me in the direction I should go.

I’ll have more realizations from reading this book that I will share soon. Thanks for reading.

The Eyes Have It

2006-11-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

I am currently carrying half-dome eyes at puppetminister.com. At 45mm in diameter, these are slightly larger than ping pong balls. Check them out.

Michele at puppet-planet.com host a tutorial by David Pannabecker on using these eyes.

I'm Excited! Whoo!

2006-10-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

Wow! I am excited!

I just came back from Lifeway’s Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina where I attended a Festival of Marriage with my lovely wife. I must say that in thirteen years of marriage, I don’t believe I have felt as close to my wife as I do now and I am excited to be able to grow with her as we work on making our marriage as God intended. The keynote speakers were Bill and Pam Farrel. (I will share more about them at a later date.) I would strongly recommend attending a Festival of Marriage given the opportunity.

I also finished the project I mentioned last week. Although I am still not at liberty to put forth information, I must say the process allowed me to try new things and I am a better builder today because of it. I hope to be able to share soon.

I am almost finished with A Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. The first time I attempted to read it as part of a “40 Days of Purpose” promotion at my church, Satan slammed me pretty hard and I did not finish the book. Praise God I’ve had the opportunity to try again. In reading the book, I realized a few things about my ministry and about my previous posts on Christian puppetry. I hope to be sharing these insights in future blog posting.

I want to thank you all for your continued support and prayers. I pray that God will bless you greatly.

Bump In The Night

2006-10-26T13:20:00.000-04:00

I am finishing a custom puppet on which I have been working feverishly. I will post photos and information on the project as permitted by the owner. I've had the opportunity to try new ideas and techiques that will allow me to offer better puppets in the future.

I came across these pictures while cleaning out myhard drive. This is my first puppet-Wally. I created him after reading The Foam Book : An Easy Guide to Building Polyfoam Puppets. Back then I called my puppets "Bump in the Night" puppets. (I would like to think I take better pictures now, too.)

The Foam Book is also available on DVD or 2 VHS cassettes.

Ventriloquism Anyone?

2006-10-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

I received an e-mail the other day asking for help with some information pertaining to ventriloquism as a ministry. I have an interest in vent and have started learning, however I have not practiced enough to perform. Since the question came up however, I thought I would share a few places on the web to get started. Keep in mind there are hundreds of great vent sites on the web. I list these to introduce you some basic ideas and hopefully inspire you to investigate further.

The text of my response is below:

I've been researching ventriloquism for a few months now and I have a few suggestions. First sign up for the ChristianVents group on yahoo. There are many wonderful ventriloquists that share not only the art of ventriloquism but also the desire to share the gospel of Christ. They are full of helpful tips and are willing to share in all aspects of ministry. The people on
ChristianVents also recommend, bar-none, the Maher Home Study Course. Maher also has an online newsletter/blog. Steve Axtell has a good site also. He is a frequent poster to ChristianVents.

I read the book "Ventriloquism Made Easy" by Paul Stadelman. It's easy to understand and I thought would be a first step in trying vent out before investing in the Maher Course. I have an Amazon link on my recommended reading list. (at the bottom of the page)

Another Yahoo group to look at is WorldVents

A Whole Can of Worms…

2006-10-11T11:07:00.000-04:00

Boy, I opened a whole can of worms with my last blog entry. Andrew at PuppetVision highlighted my thoughts and opened discussions at MuppetCentral and PuppetsandStuff. The response has been passionate. The consensus is the lack of skills can obscure the message and not all people have puppetry talent.

I am reminded that I am not Michelangelo, but I still enjoy drawing. I sound like a squirrel stuck in a vise when I sing, yet I sing. I’m no Jim Henson, but here I am doing what I love. God gave us our creative talent to use. Some received more in some areas than others but God takes joy in us when we use our talents for good. I believe using our creativity actually gives us better understanding of God as Creator.

I love what Benjamin Franklin said—Hide not your talents, they for use were made. What’s a sun-dial in the shade? (They talked that way back then…sort of like Yoda. )

There are good insights in these discussions and I suggest you read them. Remember please that many of these people are not Christians and their points are valid (these are the people we are trying to reach). Don’t be offended by someone’s opinion.

This being said, my initial challenge was for everyone in puppetry to “get better” than they are now, but isn’t that how we should live our lives? As a Christian, we should be more Christ-like each day. As a puppeteer we should improve our skills each day. As a person, we should contribute more to the lives of those around us each day.

I feel sort of hypocritical, though. I am not the best puppeteer in the world. I’m not even the best puppeteer in my group. I guess I should remove the log from my own eye before I try to remove the splinter from my brother’s eye.

The point I want to make is (to borrow from Bill and Ted): Be Excellent…to each other, to yourself and in your efforts both Christian and secular (a Christian can really separate the two). God bless you all.

The Problem With "Christian" Puppetry...

2006-10-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

I have a friend who has maintained the problem with “Christian” puppetry is that it isn’t good. He’s not talking about the message. He’s talking about the material and the mechanics. To be honest, when he first said this I was insulted, but I should have been thanking him. He is absolutely correct in his assertion.

First, there is no excuse for sloppy manipulation. The concepts are simple and good execution takes practice. Am I the best in the world? No. Do I practice enough? No., but Jesus died for me, the least I can do is develop good puppetry skills if that is how I choose to serve Him.

Second, most “Christian” skits are dry. A lot of authors just sprinkle humor into the message but it is disconnected from the skit. I am guilty of this. I depended on hackneyed jokes, loud noises, sight gags and Simpson’s rip-offs to make my skits funny. There is a balancing act between too “preachy” and too “funny”. I have a tendency to go one extreme to the other, but I’m working on it…

Look! Knowing Jesus IS exciting. God gave us the capacity to enjoy humor and fun. We (I) need to tap into this ability when we approach puppetry. The wonderful part of puppet ministry is that it contains in its very nature the ability to be entertaining AND teach about Jesus’ love and mercy.

I have found two new puppetry blogs and although they are not ministry sites, they are informative in their nature.

Puppet Buzz

Puppeteers Unite

Nothing About Nothing

2006-09-29T14:01:00.000-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbG7Anhf5fY

Father Forgets

2006-09-29T07:26:00.000-04:00

I was directed to this while listening to a Dale Carnegie audio series on leadership mastery. Anyone who knows me knows I struggle with my role as "Dad". I am so thankful our Heavenly Father never forgets that we're just "kids".

Father Forgets
by W. Livingston Larned
________________________________________

Listen, son; I am saying this as you lie asleep, one little paw crumpled under your cheek and the blond curls stickily wet on your damp forehead. I have stolen into your room alone. Just a few minutes ago, as I sat reading my paper in the library, a stifling wave of remorse swept over me. Guiltily I came to your bedside.

There are things I was thinking, son: I had been cross to you. I scolded you as you were dressing for school because you gave your face merely a dab with a towel. I took you to task for not cleaning your shoes. I called out angrily when you threw some of your things on the floor.

At breakfast I found fault, too. You spilled things. You gulped down your food. You put your elbows on the table. You spread butter too thick on your bread. And as you started off to play and I made for my train, you turned and waved a hand and called, "Goodbye, Daddy!" and I frowned, and said in reply, "Hold your shoulders back!"

Then it began all over again in the late afternoon. As I came up the road, I spied you, down on your knees, playing marbles. There were holes in your stockings. I humiliated you before you boy friends by marching you ahead of me to the house. Stockings were expensive - and if you had to buy them you would be more careful! Imagine that, son, from a father!

Do you remember, later, when I was reading in the library, how you came in timidly, with a sort of hurt look in your eyes? When I glanced up over my paper, impatient at the interruption, you hesitated at the door. "What is it you want?" I snapped.

You said nothing, but ran across in one tempestuous plunge, and threw your arms around my neck and kissed me, and your small arms tightened with an affection that God had set blooming in your heart and which even neglect could not wither. And then you were gone, pattering up the stairs.

Well, son, it was shortly afterwards that my paper slipped from my hands and a terrible sickening fear came over me. What has habit been doing to me? The habit of finding fault, of reprimanding - this was my reward to your for being a boy. It was not that I did not love you; it was that I expected too much of youth. I was measuring you by the yardstick of my own years.

And there was so much that was good and fine and true in your character. The little heart of you was as big as the dawn itself over the wide hills. This was shown by your spontaneous impulse to rush in and kiss me good night. Nothing else matters tonight, son. I have come to your bedside in the darkness, and I have knelt there, ashamed!

It is a feeble atonement; I know you would not understand these things if I told them to you during your waking hours. But tomorrow I will be a real daddy! I will chum with you, and suffer when you suffer, and laugh when you laugh. I will bite my tongue when impatient words come. I will keep saying as if it were a ritual: "He is nothing buy a boy - a little boy!"

I am afraid I have visualized you as a man. Yet as I see you now, son, crumpled and weary in your cot, I see that you are still a baby. Yesterday you were in your mother's arms, your head on her shoulder. I have asked too much, too much.

Swazzle

2006-09-26T07:33:00.000-04:00

Swazzle is a secular puppet team hailing from California. Twin brothers, Sean and Patrick Johnson, along with Anita Coulter, Victoria Lee and Tim Sweeny make up the Swazzle team. Their creativity, talent and passion are an inspriation and they share many insights and instruction in their various blogs.

Check out their new video broadcast. I can't wait to see more.

Here I Am!

2006-09-14T12:18:00.000-04:00

It’s been a few weeks since posting an almost daily blog entry during August. I apologize for being so absent as of late. There have been several developments both at puppetminister.com and around the web I would like to make you aware.

Chobie & Sherb respond to LonelyGirl15
Youtube has a very popular poster know as LonelyGirl15 who has now been exposed as possible viral marketing for a movie. It’s all strange and weird so who better to set the record straight than Chobie and Sherb.

Puppetbuilding.com
Andrew Young of puppetvision fame has started a new blog/wiki on puppetbuilding. He has already posted some cool articles. His hope is for this to become the encyclopedia of puppet building. One of the coolest postings actually leads you to an animation blog and an online character building tutorial based on Preston Blair’s classic Animation books. I have this book. Its really informative. Check it out.

Projectpuppet.com
Our friends at projectpuppet.com have been building puppets for the highly anticipated (by me anyway) The Big Magic Book. Their blog contains wonderful behind the scenes photos of the puppet construction. They also have a new “simple series” pattern called The Roly.

Well, there you have it. I’ve been contracted on a project which is going to challenge me. I am also working on new skits and plan on doing a really neat blog project. More about that later. And it’s a continual battle updating the site. I’ll be working toward that also.

God Bless

Script Writing Update

2006-09-04T19:55:00.000-04:00

I promised to post my result from the skit writing exercise in July, however I let it slip during my August Proverbs Challenge. Anyway, here is the skit in .pdf and .doc. (Right-click and Save As)

Cowboy Armor.doc
Cowboy Armor.pdf

2006-08-31T07:55:00.000-04:00

A truly good wife is the most precious treasure a man can find! Proverbs 31:10(cev)

Any man who has found a "truly good wife" knows this to be true. Now, my wife doesn't make my clothes or sell clothes to shop owners, but she does take care of her family.

Well, that's it, the book of Proverbs. I truly hope that you've enjoyed it and that some of you non-Christians, who may have never read the Bible before, found the wisdom to be inspiring and true. Truth is truth.

I encourage you to keep reading Proverbs so that the wisdom will stay with you. They say (whoever "they" are) that it takes about 16 times reading or hearing something for it to truly stick. I also encourage you to read some of the books in my recommended reading list. Almost all of the ones on personal growth and business contain many of the same ideas that we've seen in Proverbs.

Thanks for your participation. Be wise.

2006-08-30T13:12:00.000-04:00

If you churn milk you get butter; if you pound on your nose, you get blood--and if you stay angry, you get in trouble. Proverbs 30:33 (cev)

I've never made butter, but this makes sense to me because the nose thing and angry thing are true (so true, especially together).

Notice, too, verses 7-9. This is known as Agur's prayer. It seems to me to be very wise in its simplicity and understanding.

2006-08-29T11:40:00.000-04:00

There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking. Proverbs 29:20 (cev)

OH NO! There is more hope for fools than there is for me! I've been guilty of engaging the mouth before the brain was activated. The result is usually similar to verse 1:

If you keep being stubborn after many warnings, you will suddenly discover

you have gone too far.

It's okay to admit you've been here too. I think it's part of the human experience, but remember, wise people learn from their mistakes. Hang it there, acquiring wisdom is like a cooking with a crock pot-- it takes awhile.

2006-08-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Don't be selfish and eager to get rich--you will end up worse off than you can imagine. Proverbs 28:22 (cev)

How many "Get Rich Quick" schemes have resulted in bankruptcy? How many "sure things" weren't? How many opportunities to "receive millons from Nigeria" have turned out to be scams? If it sounds too good to be true--IT IS.

2006-08-28T07:50:00.000-04:00

Don't brag about yourself-- let others praise you. Proverbs 27:2(cev)

Think about the number of professional athletes, politicians and co-workers that brag on themselves. Doesn't it get on your nerves? I believe people should claim good work but realize that humility endears you to those around you. Bragging is just a turn off.

Also, setting yourself up on a pedestal only prepare you for a fall the first off-day you have. Then you're full of excuses that come off as whining. Whining shows a lack of character. So, bragging on yourself must show a lack of character. Hmmm...from all of the examples runnng through my mind, the Bible DOES make sense.

2006-08-26T23:32:00.000-04:00

Watch out for anyone who tells lies and flatters—they are out to get you. Proverbs 26:28 (cev)

I think we can agree that most of the time when someone flatters us they are either selling something or have ulterior motives. Consider, too, people you know that will speak badly about a co-worker when that person is not around but are just “best friends” with that person when they are face-to-face. Solomon is warning us to be wary of people that are full of compliments and praise. They may not have your best interest in mind.

2006-08-25T09:09:00.000-04:00

Broken promises are worse than rain clouds that don't bring rain. Proverbs 25:14 (cev)

Don't visit friends too often, or they will get tired of it and start hating you. Proverbs 25:17 (cev)

It's like God's been reading your mail. Have a good weekend.

2006-08-24T13:04:00.000-04:00

Don't give up and be helpless in times of trouble. Proverbs 24:10(cev)

I may have mentioned before that I struggle with keeping a positive attitude from time to time. This week it has been one of those times. It seems nothing I've laid my hands to lately has worked out right. I'm questioning myself, my abilities and my purpose. For me that usually starts a domino effect of negative thought until rock bottom is achieved, but just when I feel most helpless, I find this verse reminding me to keep going. (Rockin' timing or what?)

Perseverance is paramount to living an effective life. I guess we find the inspiration and motivation when we most need it. I’m feeling better now. Life is not easy--hang in there.

Do not be awe struck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as you can. -Norman Vincent Peale

2006-08-23T13:33:00.000-04:00

Don't be a heavy drinker or stuff yourself with food. It will make you feel drowsy, and you will end up poor with only rags to wear. Proverbs 23:20-21(cev)

Solomon makes the point very clear that if you are lazy, then you should not expect too much out of life. Here we find that excesses in food and alcohol will cause you to become unable to achieve your goals (unless you desire to be a pot-bellied boozehound waiting for a coronary thrombosis).

Reality check for a moment: Laziness is a disease. It corrupts your initiative, your body and your ability to fulfill your purpose. No one who ever achieved anything, big or small, did it without getting off their proverbial butt and doing something. Proverbs 22:13 tells us that lazy people are full of excuses. (I remind my son of this often.)

So I ask: What is your excuse?

Hopefully you don’t have one, but I challenge you that if you do have an excuse that you realize it is nothing more than a hurdle on achieving your goals. Your resources (time, money, energy) are directed toward your priorities. True, we spread ourselves thin and we can’t do everything, but realize when things become a priority in your life, your excuses tend to fall away.

For example, I would like to spend more time building puppets, but family and church commitments keep a large portion of my time occupied. But, guess what, God and family are more important to me than building puppets. Building is more important to me than watching TV. And my neighbors would tell you EVERYTHING is more important to me than mowing my lawn. (Boy, we came a long way from don’t be a heavy drinker. I should quit now.)

If you would like to start eliminating excuses in your life, I would like to recommend reading QBQ: The question behind the question by John Miller.

2006-08-22T13:58:00.000-04:00

Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right. Proverbs 22:6 (cev)

I am holding on to this verse as a promise and a hope for the future of my children. Unfortunately this works both ways—whether or not my children choose my profession, they will follow in my footsteps. Every time I get angry, I am assured they will get angry at times. Every time I make wise decisions, I am sure that they will make wise decisions in their life. My kids are aware (even if sometimes I hate to admit it) of my actions and they will undoubtedly have similar actions. They will follow where I lead.

Bonus thought:

Notice the very next verse (22:7):

The poor are ruled by the rich, and those who borrow are slaves of moneylenders.

Think about this, I work to make money, but most of my money goes to the bank to pay for stuff I went in debt to acquire. Even though I am not a bank employee, I work for the bank. I add to their bottom line with the interest I pay. They set my payment. They set my interest rate. They have (to an extent) control me. (I wouldn't have to work as long or as hard if I didn't have payments.)

Verses 6 and 7 are both favorites of mine, however I didn't see the relation until Dave Ramsey pointed out their proximity to each other. Maybe we should teach children about this money stuff early so that went they get older they will not be slaves to the bank. Hmmm….

puppetminister.com Update:

I have two puppets now posted for sale. You've probably seen "Uncle Albert", but check out "Cleo". She's a dual purpose puppet that can be used as either a standard hand/rod puppet or as a soft vent figure.

2006-08-21T12:43:00.000-04:00

If you plan and work hard, you will have plenty; if you get in a hurry, you will end up poor. Proverbs 21:5 (cev)

Again, I am reminded of Dave Ramsey and his lessons on budgeting. Before, we routinely paid overdraft charges because we were bouncing checks. Often we didn't know where the next house payment was coming from. Sloppy and stupid, I admit.

Since learning from Dave, we take the time to set out a plan for our money (known as a budget). We have not paid any overdraft charges and the mortgage gets paid on time without worry. As long as we take the time to make a plan and execute it, then there is plenty. It's absolutely amazing.

I know I talk a lot about Dave Ramsey, but really you should check out "The Total Money Makeover" in my recommended reading section. You should be able to read it in an evening or two. It is life changing stuff.

I've been away from my computer this weekend and I am heavily involved in some non-puppet related projects, so here are the verses from Saturday and Sunday. I'm sorry I don't have comments, but if you think of your own experiences or people you know, these two verses are golden. I'll try to add comments as the week allows.

Getting rich quick may turn out to be a curse. Proverbs 20:21 (cev) The key word is "quick".

If you stop learning, you will forget what you already know. Proverbs 19:27 (cev) I am a walking example of this.

2006-08-18T07:28:00.000-04:00

Being cheerful helps when we are sick, but nothing helps when we give up. Proverbs 18:14(cev)

Ms. Ann was a pillar in our church when she was diagnosed with cancer. She became a stronger pillar as she fought the disease. As she underwent surgeries and treatments, she never lost her will or her smile. She always focused on serving others even while her body was being ravaged by her illness. She was instrumental in our WMU program and taught my children the importance of missions even as she taught me way back when. Ms. Ann passed away about two weeks ago leaving a hole in our church, but she was and is an inspiration to all of us who knew her.

She relied on her faith. She lived this verse. She never gave up.

2006-08-17T08:05:00.000-04:00

It makes a lot of sense to be a person of few words and to stay calm. Proverbs 17:27 (cev)

I started looking for a verse to discuss today and several came to mind. This one stuck out so much that I wrote it down and stuck it on my computer monitor. This is good.

I started to use verse 28 " Even fools seem smart when they are quiet." because it put me in mind of Mark Twain.

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool

than to open it and remove all doubt. ~ Mark Twain

I've been pretty serious this week and this makes me smile. Other great verses in this chapter are:

family/relationships-- 1, 6, 9, 17, 25

wisdom-- 10, 16, 24

self--22

money--18

August 16

2006-08-16T07:57:00.000-04:00

Good judgment proves that you are wise, and if you speak kindly, you can teach others. Proverbs 16:21 (cev)

As I mentioned yesterday, my quest for financial peace has sparked a personal growth revolution in me and one of my goals as a father is to impart the things I am learning now to my children. Its one of those "If I knew then..." ideas that makes me want to transfer a little of my "now" to their "then".

My son (8) is stubborn--so stubborn that I often become reactive to his strong-willed attempts to challenge my authority. So instead of bestowing wisdom (by speaking kindly), we usually have a war of words that frustrates us both. (Occasionally, we can have a deep conversation in which understanding is attained.)

I love my son (and daughter) dearly and I only want what is best for him. Also, I know I can't control him either--I can only guide and coach him through life. When I am reactive to his "childishness"(after all, he's just a kid), I lose precious teachable moments. I am placing self-imposed "trip hazards" between me and my fatherhood goals.

Which brings me back to my lack of good judgment and proof that I am not yet wise. (It's a vicious cycle once you're in it.) But it reminds me of a story:
One day a grandchild asked his grandfather how he had gotten so wise. The grandfather replied that he was wise because he had good judgment. After pondering this, the grandchild asked how you get good judgment to which the grandfather replied, "From experience." Quickly the child asked "How do you get experience?" The grandfathers answer: "By not being wise."

At least I'm on the right track.

By the way, my relationship with my son has taught me more about my relationship with God. He's crazy about me and he only wants what's best for me. I've got good news: He feels the same way about you.

August 15

2006-08-15T07:28:00.000-04:00

Without good advice everything goes wrong-- it takes careful planning for things to go right. Proverbs 15:22 (cev)

I try to be a planner but my plans often go awry (to adapt a line from Robert Burns). My wife and I are graduates of Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. I often speak about Dave and if you aren't familiar with him, he is a financial counselor and radio host whose claim to fame is encouraging people to rid themselves of debt in order to build wealth and his program has worked for tens of thousands people if not more. (He is firmly grounded in Proverbs by the way.) He teaches people to do what he calls the baby steps in his book "The Total Money Makeover". I have three of his books and I must say this man has found his purpose in life.

In adapting his program, I have undergone life changing paradigm shifts and have developed this search for what makes successful people (wealthy or not) successful. I have found that hard work, vision and positive attitude are keys to success, so I try to model myself with these characteristics. Some days are better than others.

Without straying too far off subject, one of the basic tools to achieving financial peace is a cash flow plan and like our verse suggests, good advice when making a plan helps foster success. Lately my plan has gone awry and I know why. In an effort to speed up our debt elimination plan, I laid out a tight budget without consulting my wife. Now the amount I specified to go toward debt elimination is not as large as hoped. I did not foresee some expenses because I didn't ask. Without good advice everything goes wrong.

"The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.” -Robert Burns (To a Mouse)

As a note: My wife and I have eliminated over $45K of debt in almost 3 years. We are so close to the finish line (except the house), and I am just aching to get there. Some people think we're crazy, but how much money would you have to spend, save or give if you didn't have credit card, car or house payments? I urge you to check out Dave.

August 14

2006-08-14T08:16:00.000-04:00

Here are some of my favorite verses ever. They are self-explanatory. Test them to find they are true.

Proverbs 14:--- (cev)

7 Stay away from fools, or you won't learn a thing.

10 No one else can really know how sad or happy you are.

13 Sorrow may hide behind laughter, and happiness may end in sorrow.

15 Don't be stupid and believe all you hear; be smart and know where you are headed.

17 Fools have quick tempers, and no one likes you if you can't be trusted.

18 Stupidity leads to foolishness; be smart and learn.

23 Hard work is worthwhile, but empty talk will make you poor.

August 13

2006-08-13T21:33:00.000-04:00

It's a good feeling to get what you want, but only a stupid fool hates to turn from evil. Proverbs 13:19 (cev)

I really like the New Living Translation of this verse: It is pleasant to see dreams come true, but fools will not turn from evil to attain them. It puts me in mind of a friend of mine.

My friend and his newlywed wife are both working in slightly-above-minimum-wage jobs and are expecting a new baby in January. Both of their cars are "aging", they have a substantial amount of credit card debt and they have just purchased a home. To say the least, their financial picture is bleak.

My friend often comes over bemoaning this reality and in the next breath start telling me about his next vacaton and how he hopes to renovate his new home. I have tried to point out the folly in his "plan" and encouraged him to listen and read Dave Ramsey (life changing stuff). I have even offered to walk with him on this journey and mentor him in the process to no avail.

I am not saying his choices are evil (unwise, yes; evil, not necessarily), however he is unwilling to do what it takes to secure his financial future or that of his child. I fear it will end badly for him. The funny thing is that he can tell you what he watched on TV last night or whether or not the latest movie is worth seeing (as he has seen it already).

I figured out that this world owes me nothing other than what I am willing to sacrifice to gain. To say the least, I am blessed beyond my efforts.

August 12

2006-08-12T08:59:00.000-04:00

Be sensible and don't tell everything you know-- only fools spread foolishness everywhere. Proverbs 12:23 (cev)

I think this is pretty self-explanatory. It's true in business. It's true in life. It goes along with "You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much-- " Proverbs 10:19a (cev) Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth closed.

I have a few copies spiral bound hard copies (real books) of my book "Wanna Bite of Elephant?" left over from the seminar yesterday. I also have the e-book available on CD-Rom. $12 for the hard copy. $10 for the CD ($2 s&h). If you would like one, e-mail me at ben@puppetminister.com .

August 11

2006-08-12T08:38:00.000-04:00

Sometimes you can become rich by being generous or poor by being greedy.

Proverbs 11:24(cev)

I've heard it's better to give than recieve and I've found it is true. There's no greater blessing than giving a gift, large or small, that impacts someones lives. We cannot fathom how much our daily contact with others affects their lives, good or bad. Joy that comes from giving is something cannot be measured with the gold standard.

I've said time and time again that I think the true root of sin is selfishness. (All of those who aren't Christians read this as "selfishness is the underlying cause of alot of problems". I told you I wouldn't get preachy.) So, what is the opposite of this? Selflessness. So, live selflessly, live generously and live well, because you never know what good things can come your way by one act of kindess.

God Bless You

August 10

2006-08-10T07:58:00.000-04:00

You will say the wrong thing if you talk too much-- so be sensible and watch what you say. Proverbs 10:19 (cev)

I am reminded of a famous quote by a famous personality:

Let’s beat it kids, I went too far – Homer Simpson

I know people who flap at the mouth constantly and it seems they spend half of their time trying to get out of situations that were caused by saying the wrong thing. Don’t be one of those. Chapter 10 is phenomenal in wisdom. I had a hard time selecting one verse to spot light. I absolutely love verses 4, 14, 15, and 26.

Tomorrow I will not be posting as I will be teaching a seminar based on "Wanna Bite of Elephant?" which I am proud to say will soon be available as a hard copy (real book) and as an e-book on cd-rom.

August 9

2006-08-09T07:44:00.000-04:00

Correct a worthless bragger, and all you will get are insults and injuries. Proverbs 9:7 (cev)

Have you ever had to correct a "Know-It-All"? How dare you question their knowledge, accuracy or judgement? Surely, they can tell you all about Proverbs 9:7.

I personally don't enjoy being corrected per se, but I would rather be corrected that be wrong. I urge you to listen to constructive criticism and grow from it, but also take it with a grain of salt.

Solomon also tells us in Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 Don't listen to everything that everyone says, or you might hear your servant cursing you. Haven't you cursed many others? (cev) Opinions and whispers are everywhere and just like everything else, you must prayerfully analyze and weigh each criticism to see if it is good or bad. Consider what people say, but don't be like the worthless bragger in today's verse.

Oh yeah, don't talk about others behind their backs, either. Someone may be eavesdropping on you. Remember: Guard your thoughts, they control your life.

August 8

2006-08-08T08:53:00.000-04:00

Every honest leader rules with help from me (wisdom). Proverbs 8:16 (cev)

How strong must the truth “Wisdom is valuable” be for Solomon to start almost every chapter with a reminder and dedicate entire passages to it’s worth?

Without discussing political ideology, us versus them or the world situation (world war) in general, I can say this verse in its simplicity is something we can all hope for our government leaders. This isn’t confined to the political realm, either. Anyone in a leadership position, from CEO to Scout Master (or puppet director) can only benefit from seeking wisdom. I encourage you, if you are in charge of anyone (parents?), to seek wisdom. The simple act will prompt those around you to do the same. In the long run everyone wins.

Check out my recommended reading list.

August 7

2006-08-07T08:07:00.000-04:00

And so, she tricked him with all of her sweet talk and her flattery. Proverbs 7:21 (cev)

Again, another warning about the dangers of adultery and being seduced by an immoral woman. I would assume in Solomon's world, he never considered the fact that men, too, are often the aggressor. Either way, this is the second warning in 7 days. Maybe that should emphasize the importance of NOT messing around with married people who are not YOUR spouse.

Love, money and life...happening in Proverbs. Who would have thought? (I told you there was good stuff in here. )

August 6

2006-08-07T07:57:00.000-04:00

I read on Sunday, I just didn't post. Sorry.

My child, suppose you agree to pay the debt of someone, who cannot repay a loan. Then you are trapped by your own words, and you are now in the power of someone else. Proverbs 6:1-3a (cev)

It is stupid to co-sign a loan for somebody. Obviously the lending institution didn't think the person seeking the loan could pay or they would have went ahead and loaned the money. Debt is readily available for people looking for it regardless of credit history so if a person can't get financing, they obviously can't afford it. Save up and pay cash.

My suggestion for personal finance: Dave Ramsey.

August 5

2006-08-05T10:56:00.000-04:00

The words of an immoral woman may be as sweet as honey and as smooth as olive oil. But all that you really get from being with her is bitter poison and pain. Proverbs 5:3-4(cev)

Chapter 5 deals mainly with the topic of adultery. Solomon makes a good point that applies to both men and women; beware of seduction. It is an easy trap to fall into and the repercussions are far reaching. It doesn’t matter if you are the seducer or the seduced. A moment of pleasure destroys families, careers, reputations and sometimes, life itself. I won’t comment on our society and its moral consciousness, but careful consideration of chapter 5 shows that it is all true. Adultery will disrupt your world.

August 4

2006-08-04T07:52:00.000-04:00

Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life. Proverbs 4:23(cev)

I love this translation of this verse. The KJV tells us to keep our heart with diligence, but instead of being a verse about cardiovascular health (which is also very important), Solomon is telling us to watch what we think about.

It is a great truth: You are what you think you are and you become what you think about. If you think about things that are good, motivating and positive, you will find an abundance of those things in your life. If you think the opposite…well, we’ll just say “Eeyore”.

Its all about mindset. Norman Vincent Peale tells us “Change your thoughts and you change your world.” I know this to be TRUE.

Have a great weekend.

I will soon be posting a recommended reading list at puppetminister.com. It will contain a list of books that have impacted my life that you can find in your local library or online at Amazon.com.

August 3

2006-08-03T07:52:00.000-04:00

Don't tell your neighbor to come back tomorrow, if you can help today. Proverbs 3:28(cev)

Zig Ziglar said "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." John Miller teaches us in QBQ: The Question Behind the Question (an excellent book by the way) to not procrastinate and to stop asking "when" questions. “When” questions mean that you are waiting for somebody else to take responsibility to improve the situation instead of taking responsibility yourself.

I can't help think that these two very successful men embrace this priciple found in Proverbs and have used it to their benefit. I am a firm believer in reading as one of the easiest way to improve our lives. I reviewed QBQ in May of this year. It is well worth reading.

August 2

2006-08-02T14:23:00.000-04:00

Search for wisdom as you would search for silver or hidden treasure. Proverbs 2:4(cev)

In ancient Egypt, silver was often valued over gold. Wisdom is valuable worth seeking. In the New Living Translation (nlt), verse four says to search for wisdom like you would search for lost money. I interpret this as seek wisdom with urgency and fervor recognizing its value. Granted, the King James Version (kjv) doesn’t convey this sense of haste, but it does relate the value.

Wisdom is something you have to work to achieve. You’re not just going to trip over it on day and suddenly you are wise. It takes life long effort, but we are told the rewards associated with this venture; knowledge of what is right, just and fair, good judgment, understanding and the ability to recognize deception. Not a bad prize for reading wise text, taking time to analyze situations before acting and weaving universal truths into the fabric of your thinking.

The August Proverbs Challenge

2006-08-01T09:51:00.000-04:00

I'm still working on my skit as there is a constant din of activity around here. I will let you know as soon as I get it finished.

There are 31 days in the month of August. Coincidentally, there are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs found in the Bible. My challenge to you is to take a few moments to read one chapter a day during the month of August. The chapters are short (2-3 minutes), but powerful in wisdom. It is a good investment of your time.

Some of you who read this may immediately say “I am not a Christian and I have no interest in reading the Bible.” Fair enough-- but, though my beliefs may differ from your beliefs, my challenge to you is one of self-improvement. While the book of Proverbs adamantly proclaims that true wisdom comes from God, it also contains undeniable, universal truths regarding relationships, business and money. Non-Christians can still appreciate the wisdom in this book of the Bible, so I challenge you to lay aside your aversion. (At least read my blog this month. I promise to not get “preachy”.)

BibleGateway.com makes available on-line 50 versions of the Bible in 35 different languages. Just type Proverbs (day) into the passage look up and select a version. I am partial to the New Living Translation and the Contemporary English version to help me understand what the traditional King James Version says. This month, my blog posts will use the Contemporary English version (cev).

I hope you will seize this opportunity for self-improvement whatever your belief system. Thanks for reading. I leave you with Proverbs 1:2 (cev):

Proverbs will teach you wisdom and self-control and how to understand sayings with deep meaning

Skit Writing Exercise...The Test Drive

2006-07-28T07:40:00.000-04:00

Find a small audience of 3 or 4 (I use my puppet team) and read it to them or have them read it out loud. You will quickly find out if there are any weaknesses in you skit. You have to pick people that love you enough to tell you the truth even if it is hurtful. Take whatever advice they offer, weigh it, consider it and modify your skit if you find their suggestions worthwhile. I find my team usually contributes a bit of humor that gets added after this first reading. I often involve a few members of my target audience as part of my test group. This ensures that the skit stays age appropriate in scope.

There you have it, a fool-proof method for writing your own skits. I should have mine completed soon and I will post it at puppetminister.com soon. I hope you won’t mind sharing your skits when you have them completed and I will post them also.

Like I said, this is the same type of information available in Wanna Bite of Elephant? Thanks for participating and keep spreading the word about puppetminister.com.

Skit Writing Exercise...Let's Finish Up

2006-07-27T14:30:00.000-04:00

By now the dialog is flowing freely and you are close to finishing your skit. The next step is to edit what you have written. I’m not talking grammar and spelling, I mean edit for content and story flow.

First, evaluate every sentence to see that it is crucial for moving the story along. Also, see if there are any “wordy” statements and if they may be rewritten in such a way to clarify and simplify the idea. Remember: Do no use large words when a diminutive one will suffice.

Second, check the humor content. Most skits are designed to be funny so make sure that they are just that. A few one-liners and ha-ha jokes are great to have, but don’t allow the message to be lost in the humor…it defeats the purpose. Make sure the humor is more than just a bunch of gags. Witty banter and funny situations give a great skit its legs.

Third, remove anything that doesn’t add to the story or (worse) detracts from the skit. If you feel something is unnecessary, take it out—a literary appendectomy of sorts. If the change allows the skit to retain its meaning and understandability, it is more than likely a good change.

Give your new skit a title and determine what props you may need. Now you are ready to try it out. I'll tell you how to do that tomorrow.

Thanks for participating and keep spreading the word about puppetminister.com.

This is the same type of information available in Wanna Bite of Elephant?

Skit Writing Exercise...Learn How Part 4

2006-07-21T15:51:00.000-04:00

Get on your mark, get set, start writing.

By this point using the previous four steps, you’ve defined your topic, your characters, your style and have an outline for your skit. It’s time to write!

Of course, before I turn you loose, here are some things to keep in mind:

Start your dialogue just like your characters would have a normal conversation. If your characters have a particular foible, don’t forget to use it.
Keep in mind that the skits need to be funny to keep the audience attention. For inspiration, think of the funny people around you and the conversations you have with them.
Remember to keep lines short and to the point. There is nothing worse in puppet manipulation than a full page soliloquy of multi-syllabic words. As a rule of thumb, I try to limit my dialogue for one character to no more than 5 typewritten lines at a time. (I have happy puppeteers, too.)
Stay focused. Set the stage and get to wrong quickly and then follow your path of resolution.

One last tip, write fast. The faster you write the more you get on paper and the less likely writer’s block will occur. You will clean everything up when you edit your text. Just make sure that you stick to your plan.

Good writing, and we'll finish up next week.

Skit Writing Exercise...Learn How Part 3

2006-07-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

Continuing on, we have our topic, our characters and a style or theme for our skit. This brings us to step 4: The 5 W’s – “who, what, where, why and WRONG”. (I bet you were expecting “when”.)

Puppet skits are usually short so you have to launch the characters and the setting early. You established “who” and “what” in steps one and two so these can easily be conveyed to audience in a sentence or two. You don’t necessarily need a “when”, therefore the “why” and “wrong” become your biggest concern, but even this is not difficult to define.

“Why” is the reason you write the skit. It’s the final point you want to drive home and this may be different from your topic. In our exercise, the armor of God is a pretty broad topic and we can focus on defining the armor, explaining the armor or bringing the armor into another, completely different, context by tying it to other related Bible teachings. (This is what gives power and flexibility to this approach to writing. We can take very different routes for our skits just based on our “why”.)

Okay, this leaves “wrong” and I would be willing to bet this has perplexed you up until this point. “Wrong” is the direction your skit takes, the plot line if you will. Any good story (or skit) has some conflict, tragedy or upheaval that the protagonist (the hero) must overcome in order to set things right. Classic examples are Scrooge coming to accept the joys of Christmas, Sherlock Holmes solving some baffling crime or Fred Flintstone having to be at the fancy-dress social event and bowling in the league championship at the same time. You must establish “wrong” quickly in the story in order to get to the resolution in the 3-5 minutes the average skit allows. Longer skits (puppet plays) can take longer to get to the “wrong”, but the “wrong” must exist in order to keep the story interesting. The path of resolution is how we get to the “why”.

Define your “why” and “wrong” and write your 5 W's down. As you identify your “wrong” and your path of resolution, jot it down. This is your sequence of events and the basic outline for your skit.

Next time, we will start writing. I will have some final instructions, but we are ready to write. Woohoo!

Skit Writing Exercise...Learn How Part 2

2006-07-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

As you recall, step one was to choose a topic and our topic for this exercise will be the Armor of God as found in Ephesians 6:10-20. Often when I am writing a skit, I will look to other translations of the Bible for more insight.

Step two is determining the number of characters which I set this at two before this exercise began. Once you begin the actual skit writing, you may find that the number of characters is not sufficient to tell the story. That’s okay; the goal is to start with a plan for your writing, but your plan should be flexible enough to adapt to your needs. Add or remove characters as the situation warrants.

This brings us to step three: Choosing a Style. This is where the fun begins and where we as a group will take a single idea and turn it in to a multitude of skits. The style of the skit is the arrangement and setting for the characters and determines the way dialogue will be presented.

One consideration to make is your target audience. Is your skit for 4 year olds, elementary age children, youth or adults? Knowing this will keep your skit age appropriate (understanding) and ensure that your skit will be well received.

When choosing a style, we only have to look as far as our living rooms. Mainstream television, movies and books showcase many different styles:

Sitcoms (odd couples, fish out of water, one sane character amongst eccentric characters)
News/Sports Broadcast
Genre (western, kung fu, medical drama, detective stories, super heroes)
Commercials

One of the most easily written styles is to take one character who always misunderstands things coupled with a character who corrects them. The humor comes from just how off base the character becomes before the correction begins. Another easily written style is to take a familiar character and place them in unfamiliar circumstances. As I said, television, movies and books are full of style ideas.

Your assignment is to pick a style for your skit. You don’t have to tell me what it is, just choose one. Next time, we make some final considerations before we start writing.

For reference visit biblegateway.com .

Skit Writing Exercise...Learn How To Do It Here!

2006-07-12T13:52:00.000-04:00

Writing skits comes naturally to some people. To the rest of us, writing an original skit is a daunting task. I designed a plan of attack for writing skits as outlined in Wanna Bite of Elephant, and over the next few days, I want to give you a glimpse of the technique.

I want to lead an exercise in writing skits. In the end, everyone who has participated will have written an original skit and will be able to duplicate the process for other skits.

Here’s the plan. I will take e-mail suggestions at skit@puppetminister.com on a topic (which is step one) between now and July 14 (2006). (Please put "Exercise" in the subject line.) I will choose a topic from the suggested topics. From there we will write a two person skit using my step-by-step system. Okay, now here’s the catch: I want to post your skit at puppetminister.com for the entire world to use. (It’s not mandatory, but I think it will demonstrate uniqueness of writing styles.)

As you may have figured out, choosing a topic is the first step. (The second step is determining the number of characters, which I have already set at two.) I would like topics that are either associated to a Bible story or verse, or have a Biblical truth associated with them (again I like to tie skits to a verse). This technique works for secular teachings as well, but this is puppetminister.com (with the emphasis being on minister in this case).

There you have it. You have until Friday to e-mail me ideas. If you are looking for inspiration, Christian books or magazines are good. Prayerful study of the Bible works well, too. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Vent Haven ConVENTion

2006-07-11T10:03:00.000-04:00

For those will be in the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky area this week, the 2006 Vent Haven ConVENTion is going on July 12-15 in Fort Mitchell, KY. I have not personally attended this event, but everyone I know that has attended says that it is a must-see for anyone interested in puppetry or ventriloquism. There are some big name performers and puppet makers lined up to do presentations and approximately 26 vendors will be there peddling their wares.

This year they will celebrate the life of Paul Winchell one of the most revered ventriloquist of all times. (I best remember him as the voice of Tigger, although he was also an amateur inventor and patented an artificial human heart, the first disposable razor, a see-through garter belt, a flameless cigarette lighter, and a fountain pen with a retractable tip.)

For more information you can call 1-740-438-6552 or contact the conVENTion director Mark Wade at markwade@venthaven.com.

Thought for the Day

2006-07-11T10:01:00.000-04:00

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." --Mark Twain

New Puppets

2006-07-06T07:47:00.000-04:00

I have two new puppets for sale at puppetminister.com. I haven't had time to post them on the site yet, but if you are interested in either, e-mail me at ben@puppetminister.com , and I have more coming soon. Thanks.

Imagine using these hand made, original puppets in your next performance. They have poseable hands, removable arm rods and they are just absolutely adorable. Both are light weight and include one rod arm. Only $50 each.

Perhaps you are just getting started and are looking for a boy and a girl combo. I am offering special pricing when you buy two. Did I mention additional rod arms are available? Don't pass up the opportunity to own to great puppets. E-mail me at ben@puppetminister.com .

These guys are looking to join a special ministry. Will it be yours?

Independence Day Sale

2006-06-30T13:27:00.000-04:00

Puppetminister.com is having an Independence Day sale with special offers. (Okay, so there's not a lot there, but be expecting new puppets this week with special offers.)

Now, just for fun, here is my first attempt a film making. The first puppetminister.com commercial.

Have a safe holiday.

Sock Search Finals

2006-06-28T15:38:00.000-04:00

As I reported earlier, ProjectPuppet.com was holding a Glorified Sock Puppet contest. Each contestant was to assemble a puppet using the Glorified Sock Puppet pattern. The contest resulted in 27 entries, but only the top 10 advanced to the finals. My entry (which wasn't good at all) failed to make the cut, however the finalist have definitely shown what you can do with a simple sock puppet and loads of creativity.

I know who I'm voting for. Cast your vote today.

Exciting News

2006-06-19T11:10:00.000-04:00

Following a performance the other night, I was talking to the youth pastor of a local church. We were discussing ministry opportunities and the need to grow the Kingdom of Christ. I told him that I was hoping to “teach” seminars on starting puppet ministries and that this is the primary focus of puppetminister.com. Little did I know that God was already in action.

I found out Friday afternoon, that our church is hosting a “Crusades for Christ Bible Conference” on August 9-11. One of the seminar topics is “Starting a Puppet Ministry” and the instructor is me. This was all planned and organized unbeknownst to me, but the organizers didn’t figure “I would mind”.

Now I am faced with the challenge of preparing, but this shows me that God is in control and that when we prepare our hearts to serve Him, that He provides the opportunities. To say the least, I am excited about this opportunity.

p.s. We started our Arctic Edge Adventure last night. Chobie and Sherb are a big hit.

Inspiration Is Where You Find It

2006-06-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

Want to spark some creativity or just enjoy someone's boxless thought? Check out what happens when Diet Coke and Mentos meet two guys with time on their hands.

PuppetVision Blog

2006-06-13T09:34:00.000-04:00

The on-line puppeting community is ever growing and one of the individuals who keeps his finger on the pulse of everthing coming and going is Andrew Young. Andrew is an excellent builder and performer, but one of the most important things he does is his work publishing the PuppetVision Blog. I am proud to say that his blog is often responsible for keeping me motivated and sparking my creativity.

One of Andrew's bests posts that apply to puppeteering is "Twelve questions for puppeteers". Asking these simple questions will improve your puppetry almost immediately.

One of my goals in performing, building...shoot, life in general is to do better today than I did yesterday. My puppetry has to be better today than it was yesterday and even better tomorrow. I challenge you to "get better daily".

Speaking of tomorrow, my team and I have a performance at a sister church in our town tomorrow evening. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as once again we are not only representing Jesus, but also our home church. God bless and thanks for reading.

10 Reasons to Start a Puppet Ministry

2006-06-06T09:58:00.001-04:00

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

You are looking for a ministry that doesn’t seem like a ministry

You like to have fun and like to laugh

You “do” funny voices
(or maybe you just have a funny voice)

Its your purpose in life

You know a guy named Herb, or Hugh or something

You are young at heart or just never grew up

You can't keep your hands out of socks

You think learning about Jesus can be entertaining

There's a kid somewhere on the planet you kinda', sorta' like

You have a desire to serve the Father

Why not start today?
visit puppetminister.com

Positive Thought of the Day

2006-06-02T14:11:00.000-04:00

I was listening to Hallerin Hilton Hill on WNOX on my way to work this morning. The topic of discussion was “job expectations and salaries, etc.” sparked by an e-mail from a listener complaining about how his engineering degree wasn’t paying off. Of course, with my review of QBQ (see index), my interest in positive thinking and my “day job” as an engineer, I was paying particular attention when a caller had this tid-bit of wisdom:

90% of your success is attitude.

I this really applies in life to everything and has been stated many times in many ways:

Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. -Lou Holtz

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ...we are in charge of our attitudes. -Charles Swindoll

Positive thinking will not let you do anything, but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will. -Zig Ziglar

Have a great weekend.

VBS Skits Available At puppetminister.com

2006-06-01T14:19:00.000-04:00

It's June and time for Vaction Bible School activities. If your church or group is doing Lifeway's Arctic Edge Adventure, I have written five original skits that feature our old friends, Chobie and Sherb as seen in a previous post. The skits are available for sale at puppetminister.com.

Treat your VBS kids to some EXTREME fun this summer.

QBQ, final thoughts

2006-05-31T15:35:00.000-04:00

This will be my last entry about "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller . I have received some really great comments and I suggest that you take a moment and read a few. Thanks to everyone.

The closing thought I would like to leave with you is this:

Leadership is more of an attitude than it is a position.

You may be the CEO of a company or the person that empties the trash after everyone goes home, either way, if you are doing instead of complaining, blaming and procrastinating, you are being a leader. When you are exercising self-responsibility and asking “What” and “How” followed by “I”, you automatically become a leader, because leaders (despite what most people think) lead by example. When you are proactively thinking and doing, you inspire those around you to at least question their motives and attitudes. Who knows? You, just by exercising personal responsibility, may inspire someone to greatness. It’s a powerful thing.

Now, I am challenging you (and myself) to embrace the QBQ and incorporate into your character and spread it to those around you. What a different world we would live in if everyone’s first thought is:

“What can I do to improve this situation?”

Thank you for reading my thoughts on QBQ: The Question Behind the Question. John G. Miller has written a wonderful book. I recommend that you and everyone you know read it.

QBQ, part 5

2006-05-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

In a previous post, I said that I would be reviewing "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller and this is the fourth of the series.

I am the world’s worst for procrastination. I put off everything to the last minute. In the book, John G. Miller expresses this as a “When” question. “When” questions mean that you are waiting for somebody else to take responsibility to improve the situation instead of taking responsibility yourself.

When will management hire someone to help?
When will my kids start to obey?
When will somebody do something?

If we spend all of our time waiting for the right conditions or for someone else to do something, nothing would ever get done.

As I have stated before, you cannot control anyone but yourself in any given situation, and you may not be in a position to change the existing circumstance, but you are able to choose how you approach the problem and improve what you can. What can I do at this moment? Can I make a plan? Can I get the ball rolling?

There are two reasons not to let “When” dominate your thinking: 1) any progress is progress and 2) small problems grow into large problems given enough time.

I was having a discussion with my wife on getting some things done around the house this weekend when the realization that there wasn’t enough time to complete the one of tasks at hand. I had two options: do nothing or get as much done as possible. We chose to do as much as possible. Any progress is progress.

Choosing to ignore problems they will most assuredly allow them to grow into larger problems. This is why fixing a leaky faucet quickly or early detection screenings for cancer are so important. It’s easier to put things off, but it’s responsible to take care of them now.

When will somebody do something?

The time is now and the somebody is you.

QBQ, part 4

2006-05-26T10:41:00.000-04:00

In a previous post, I said that I would be reviewing "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller and this is the third of the series.

I’ve noticed while reading and reviewing this book it is easy to exude personal responsibility dealing with pleasant situations, but the real power of QBQ kicks in when problems arise.

Who made this mess?
Who is responsible?
Who dropped the ball?

So, what’s wrong with asking “Who”? One must identify the responsible party.

When we ask “who”, instead of taking charge of the problem at hand, we are looking for someone to blame. In challenging situations, blame will not help fix the problem. Once again, “What can I do to help?” is the most pertinent question you can ask.

“But, isn’t it important to find out who isn’t carrying their weight or is responsible for the problem?” Yes, it is important to identify and improve weaknesses in any group, however keep two things in mind; 1) You can’t “fix” other people. Don’t even try. The best you can do is teach, encourage and coach others. (Ephesians 4:29b) 2) Personal responsibility is personal. Only you can control your reaction to situations. Only you can improve your weaknesses.

“It’s not my responsibility to help.” In any organization, it is everyone’s responsibility to assist the organization in meeting its objectives. This applies to churches, businesses, puppet teams, families and society in general. What would happen if everyone applied this truth to their lives?

I challenge you to stop asking “Who” and start asking “What”.

*thinking out loud*
Blame is a powerful thing. It allows us to shift responsibility for addressing circumstances to someone else. Therefore it isn’t my problem and I wash my hands of this train wreck. What would have happened if God took this approach toward me?

QBQ, part 3

2006-05-24T13:56:00.000-04:00

In the previous post, I said that I would be reviewing "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller and this is the second of the series.

Looking at the previous post, I tried to explain why to ask questions starting with "What" and "How" and contain the word "I". Asking questions with these words changes your thinking from reactive to proactive and pushes you to be in control. Self-responsibility is a choice that once repeated becomes habit that eventually becomes a positive character trait.

I want to explain why the other questions are so negative.

Questions that begin with "Why" have a natural tendency to express victimhood.

Why does this happen to me?

Why can't I win?

Why won't my boss give me a raise?

The initial question sounds like an inquiry for understanding, but look again. Each indicates that someone other than yourself is in control of the situation. Some circumstances are beyond your control, however your response is up to you and only you. Understanding the reason behind how situations develop is key to finding a solution, but approaching the problem should start with "What can I do to improve the situation?"

"Why?" by itself put you into "victim mode." Don't be a victim today. Begin to address your problems by asking the right questions-- "What" or "How" containing "I". You are in control. Take it and run with it.

Next time, "Who".

QBQ, part 2

2006-05-23T07:19:00.000-04:00

In the previous post, I said that I would be reviewing "QBQ: The Question Behind the Question" by John G. Miller and this is the first of the series.

I (and I know I am the only person for which this is pertinent) need to be honest with myself. I complain and blame others for my short-comings. I used to be worse, but in all honesty, I still do it. I am always asking questions starting with "Why", "When" and "Who".

Why is my life so difficult?

When will my kids start obeying me?

Who is to blame?

The questions I need to be asking start with the words "How" or "What" and should contain the word "I" followed by an action word.

What can I do to make today better than yesterday?

How can I be a better parent?

What can I do to correct the mistake?

These are hard questions to ask especially during unpleasant circumstances. I find myself struggling with this daily. Ephesians 4:23 speaks of this: Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. (nlt) Actually, I like the Contemporary English Version: Let the Spirit change your way of thinking...

I am guilty so I am asking myself, "What can I do today to prevent me from asking the wrong questions?" I can let the (Holy) Spirit change my way of thinking.

I challenge you to ask better questions when faced with challenges, today.

QBQ, part 1

2006-05-17T11:01:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite authors, Dave Ramsey, hosts a radio show primarily about personal finance, but it transcends a single topic and is more about winning at life. In the course of Dave’s life, he has been blessed enough to have figured it out and is all about sharing the knowledge.

Yesterday, Dave had John G. Miller, author of QBQ: The Question Behind the Question, as an in studio guest. After listening about Miller’s books, I promptly went to the local library and checked it out. After reading about half of it last night, I can already tell that it will be one I will add to my collection. The premise of the book is eliminating blame, complaining and procrastination- all of which I have chosen to inflict on myself.

I am going to, over the next few days, give a brief synopsis of the book and what I have gleaned from it. This is life changing information if only we choose to listen and apply. Stay tuned...this is great stuff.

VBS Promo-Arctic Edge

2006-05-16T07:46:00.000-04:00

Every year I write a set of skits based on the VBS program my church does in June and make them available for sale at puppetminister.com. My puppet team usually performs a promotional skit on a Sunday night during the normal worship service a few weeks before VBS begins. Five other skits are performed, one each night of VBS in the opening assembly. We have alot of fun with VBS and this year, we pray, will be no exception as we do Lifeway's Arctic Edge Adventure.

In order to reach a wider audience with our promo skit, we decided to make a short film that could be shown on the media screens in the morning worship service. This is my teams first attempt at film making and I am proud of them. So here it is:

Chobie & Sherb's Extreme VBS Promo

You can down load the original text of the skit (my guys don't always follow) here as .pdf or .doc. The rest of the skits will be available soon.

By the way, the dates are wrong at the end.

Don't Look Back

2006-05-08T09:33:00.000-04:00

I’ve read a similar story in a devotional Bible, but the lesson became real when it happened to me on Friday.

A friend and I decided to go mountain biking after work. The weather had started out dreary, but the sun was starting to peak out from behind the clouds and we were on bicycles in the middle of the woods. I was riding strong and felt good until…

We were riding on a smoother part of the trail than what we had been on just moments before when my friend said something. I turned to look over my left shoulder to see what he had said and to make sure he hadn’t crashed, when (I’m sure you see this coming) I found myself going over the handle bars as I had strayed off of the trail. Mountain bikers call this an “endo” and I was in full endo. I’ve endoed before and it is never a good feeling. By the time I had hit the ground, I was on my back.

Whew! No major damage…until…

the back of the bike hit me in the face resulting in an inch long gash in my forehead right between the eyes (so to speak) that needed three stitches. After a few moments, we decided to go on and ride a little longer. (At that point the damage was done and I wasn’t bleeding too badly.)

Moving on, I was reminded of how Philippians 3:13 has impacted my spiritual walk and the fact I now had a graphic example. My mistake was looking back. I took my eyes off of what was ahead to look at where I had come from and I strayed of the path. Paul was telling the Philippians that our past which is forgiven by Jesus is behind us and we must focus on what is before us. We must push toward our goal ignoring the desires to “look back” where we may return to the sinful desires of our past or remember the guilt of those actions. If Satan can get us looking back, he knows we have a greater chance of straying off the trail or at least keep us from moving forward.

I will have a scar from this as a reminder to not look back and focus on what is ahead no matter what it concerns-- be it mountain biking, ministry or whatever else. Best summed up: Looking back will cause you to crash.

I’m sure there’s a puppet skit in here somewhere…

God Bless

Glorified Sock Puppet Contest

2006-05-02T15:02:00.000-04:00

My friends over at ProjectPuppet.com are having a little contest to promote their new Glorified Sock Puppet Pattern. If you’ve ever wanted to make your own puppet, this is a good way to get started. The instructions are simple and easy to follow.

Inspiration and CAPG

2006-05-01T11:31:00.000-04:00

After finishing Wanna Bite of Elephant? A Beginner’s Guide to Starting A Puppet Ministry, I’ve found myself feeling a bit uninspired. In hopes of renewing my creative energy, I decided to celebrate National Puppetry Day with the fine folks of the Cincinnati Area Puppetry Guild. (Okay, so it was a week late, it was still a celebration of all things puppety.) To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect but a road trip to Cincy that involved puppets sounded like something worth doing, and it was.

It was nice to be on the audience side of the curtain and experience the talented builders and performers in and around the Cincinnati area. The performances were fanciful, exotic, funny and a bit weird (in a good sort of way). It was wonderful.

Several of puppet builders in the area had their creations on display and I came to realize that a puppet can be made from about anything when used with imagination. Even my children were using plastic juice bottles and plastic eyes to create their own puppet show.

Therein I found my inspiration by looking at things through the eyes of child where labels and limits don’t exist. You know, God works without limits and this can be seen in the wonderfully interesting world in which we live. Take the time to look around at how “neat” everything really is.

Welcome to my Blog

2006-04-27T11:43:00.000-04:00

I've been toying around with the idea of starting a blog and discontinuing my monthly articles. During the month, several article ideas appear and quickly fade on the landscape of my mind. This may be a better way to for me to both convey my thoughts to you, the loyal puppetminister.com visitors. So far, it seems simple, although I never did get my FTP settings to work. Also, once I get the RSS feed going, anyone can be automatically updated when I post something new.

I have some great hopes for this new medium and I hope that you will enjoy these ramblings as much as my previous ramblings. I will continue to offer tips, news and items to both encourage and educate. Thanks everyone.

-pm