Faith and the Magic Kingdom

New Orleans Square: Just Over the Horizon

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Today we look not at an attraction, not at a land, but a hidden detail…you could even call it a “hidden treasure”.

When you’re walking through New Orleans Square, have you ever noticed the masts of the ships in the harbor? No? That’s OK, most people haven’t. But if you’re walking from Frontierland toward Pirates of the Caribbean, just after you pass the River Belle Terrace, start looking up behind the buildings. You’ll see masts of ships back behind them, like you see in the picture at the top of this post. They seem so obvious…if you know where and when to look.

Why are they there? Story, of course. When you’re in this area, think about exactly where you are. You’re in “New Orleans”, with the “Mississippi River” behind you. What would be on the other side of the city (simplifying the geography just a bit)? The Gulf of Mexico. Here you see ships docked in the city’s port, ready to set sail into the Gulf of Mexico, and eventually the Atlantic Ocean.

They didn’t have to put these sails there. I’ve heard any number of utilitarian reasons they are. Whatever the practical reasons may be (if any), they didn’t have to theme them like this. But they did. Even if most people never see them, they subliminally set the scene. They remind you where you are so that it feels even more real. And yet as they sit behind the buildings, just over the horizon (so to speak), they remain hidden from many, just as many of the special, intricate details do.

Sometimes God’s provision is just the same way. He may start to answer our prayers long before we ever see the answer—maybe even before we ask. But we have to continue to follow and obey until we're in just the right place for Him to reveal it— and for us to receive it. Think about when God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Isaac. (Genesis 22)

Here is the main part of the story:

Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.’
Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father?’
   ‘Yes, my son?’ Abraham replied.
   ‘The fire and wood are here,’ Isaac said, ‘but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?’
Abraham answered, ‘God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’
   ‘Here I am,’ he replied.
‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,’ he said. ‘Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.’
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.’

While Abraham was obeying, God was providing the answer to his prayer that somehow he wouldn’t lose his only son. But Abraham couldn’t see the answer until the moment it was needed (which I’m sure was well past the time he would have liked to have seen it). God provided, but “over the horizon”, in a way and a place that Abraham couldn’t see. All he could do was trust God.

Abraham didn’t know what was going to happen, and what he had to do seemed absurd, but he did it anyway, because he trusted that God could somehow keep his promise. as the writer of Hebrews says, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspringwill be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.” (Hebrews 11:17-19, NIV)

Sometimes God calls us to step out in faith, not knowing how what we’re doing makes any sense at all—or any difference. We may be uncomfortable, or even afraid. But God is faithful. Or we may be caught in the middle of circumstances we don’t understand. They’re painful and it seems hopeless to even wish for a way out. But God is faithful. He is preparing the answer to your prayer even as you pray it, but you will not see it unless you continue in faith and obedience. Only when He is ready will you look up and see the answer to your prayer, caught in the bushes or just over the horizon.

Question: When have you seen God’s provision appear from “just over the horizon” even though you couldn’t see it before it came (in your life or someone you know)? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Haunted Mansion: Two Views of What Comes Next

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Have you ever noticed something of a split personality in the Haunted Mansion? The first part is pretty eerie. A hanging man, a murderous bride, dead people trying to escape coffins. Even the dancers in the ballroom are dancing to a fairly macabre-sounding song. But then we get to the graveyard and suddenly it’s a party for the 999 happy haunts! The music is upbeat and fun (and catchy!), dead people are enjoying picnics. Only the caretaker and his dog seem to be afraid. Why the difference, and why do we care?

Let’s take those one at a time, and we’ll let Doombuggies.com help us with the first one.

"Walt Disney, always a definitive leader with a heady vision, passed away on December 15, 1966. This became a crucial matter to the design team working on the Haunted Mansion for many reasons. For one, many of them were intimately involved with Walt, and had a heavy emotional response to his passing. But a more direct threat to the project was that Walt had never made up his mind about the premise of the Haunted Mansion. He had given the WED designers lots of room to follow their passions while creating ideas and concepts for the attraction, but wasn't with the team in the end to decide definitively in which direction to take the project.”
…
“From the beginning, Ken Anderson had been creating various eerie storylines while Yale Gracey and Rolly Crump worked on creating a feasible method of showing guests impossible visions. Claude Coates, an accomplished art director with WED, had been working on the Mansion project and felt that the attraction could be a powerful, haunting, effects-laden spectacle - although Marc Davis, one of Disney's famed ‘Nine Old Men,’ felt that the ride would better succeed as a character-driven, silly romp. In fact, the attraction as it exists today remains split into distinct sections: a mysterious introduction, an eerie ride with an ominous tone, and a conclusion with an overwhelming cacophony of gags and silly characters.”
(from DoomBuggies.com)

Two very different takes on a “haunted mansion” put together to make one unique and entertaining (and a little creepy) ride. Two very different views of death and the afterlife.

Which do you hold to? Do you fear death and what might come after? Or do you look forward to a celebration? There’s actually several different ways you may look at it:

A party in Hell
A party in Heaven
Eternal Boredom in Heaven
Eternal Torture in Hell
Nothing
Do it all again (reincarnation)

What does the Bible say?

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him." (Heb. 9:27-28, NIV) That pretty clearly rules out reincarnation.

The Bible talks frequently about Heaven and Hell, and to make them figurative requires a lot of stretching and twisting the Scriptures. There is something, not “nothing” after death.

But what? Again, the Bible is clear about what Heaven and Hell are like. There will be no parties in Hell. Jesus called it “an eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41) and said those who end up there “thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12, NIV). Jude 13 says Hell will be “the blackest darkness forever.” Paul told the Thessalonians people will be “punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord” (II Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Is there figurative language in there? Sure. Jesus (and the Apostles) knew that some things are just beyond human comprehension. “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?” Jesus said. But the truth is still there.

These verses do not mean God will send people to Hell, or that He wants people to go there. Remember, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9) But He will not force it on anyone. If you choose to live without Him for the 70, 80, or however many years you have on this earth, He will not force you to live with Him for eternity. So your choice in this life will be honored in the next one. But please understand what this means.

God is the giver of all good gifts. He is love. He is light. To choose to live without Him means in eternity you will live without all of these things. A complete absence of love of any kind. A complete absence of light (in any and all senses). A complete lack of anything that is good. This will not be a party. but it is a choice.

What about Heaven? All clouds and harps, right? Wrong.

Is Heaven Clouds and Harps?

So what is the reality of heaven?
Most fundamentally, the central reality of Heaven is the presence of God. I read a blog article by Travis Agnew recently that I think describes it extremely well. He said:

“If that isn’t enough for you, then you really don’t grasp what this means. It’s the return to Eden. It’s the way things were meant to be before mankind sinned and messed up everything good God created. In the Garden of Eden, God walked side by side with Adam and Eve in perfect harmony. God dwelled with His people face to face. They could hear the sounds of His footsteps as majesty approached (Gen. 3:8). When sin entered, God banished them from the garden, and ever since, humanity has only experienced a fraction of the life that God offered us.
Heaven is Eden’s return. It is a chance to live in a place with no more hurt or suffering. You not only hear the sound of God walking towards you, but you are able to dwell with Him. No sin can separate you any longer.”

There will be no more suffering or pain. No more evil. And we won’t just be sitting around. We’ll worship and serve fully and completely. We’ll rest, not idly, but truly experiencing all that has been accomplished. Not laziness, but not working to get by, struggling. Perfect work and perfect rest in perfect balance.

What else, you may ask (as if all this isn’t enough)? Again from Travis Agnew:

…We will obtain heavenly knowledge. All the questions and misunderstandings about God and His work will be clarified when we encounter God Himself (1 Cor. 13:9-12; 1 John 3:2). … Heaven will be filled with unspeakable glory. As Millard J. Erikson writes, “It is likely that while John’s vision employs as metaphors those items which we think of as being most valuable and beautiful, the actual splendor of heaven far exceeds anything that we have yet experienced. There will be no need of sun or moon to illumine the new Jerusalem, for ‘The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp’ (Rev. 21:23; 22:5)” [Taken from Christian Theology, p. 1236].

Heaven is filled with God’s presence, His love, His peace forever. Hell is the complete absence of those. Which of those do you think the early part of the Haunted Mansion resembles? Does “Get me out of here!” ring any bells?

Heaven is the real party (though not in a graveyard)—far beyond anything we can imagine.

Question: When you think of Heaven, what do you picture? do you know without a doubt that you will be there? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Dumbo: Embracing Our Uniqueness

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

Dumbo the Flying Elephant isn’t quite an Opening Day attraction, but it was close, opening just about a month later (August 16, 1955). The attraction is, of course, based on the 1941 animated feature, Dumbo. The movie is based on a children’s story that was prepared to demonstrate the prototype of a toy storytelling display device called a Roll-a-Book. It had only 8 drawings and just a few lines of text, so Disney was really free to develop the story as they desired.

When the attraction was being developed for Disneyland, it was going to carry on a storytelling technique that was also being used in the Fantasyland dark rides—one which most guests never seemed to grasp. None of the title characters appeared in their attractions (Peter Pan, Snow White, etc.), with the idea being that the guests themselves took on the role of the title character. This was never clearly explained, though, and guests frequently went to Guest Relations to ask why (for example) Snow White wasn’t in her attraction. As part of the New Fantasyland in 1983, the characters were added to their respective attractions.

Dumbo had them all beat, though. The working title of the attraction originally was "10 Pink Elephants On Parade", themed to the Pink Elephants sequence from the movie. Walt Disney objected, not wanting his guests to ride in vehicles themed to a drunken hallucination and ordered them to be painted gray. And so, when the ride debuted, guests rode in 10 representations of Dumbo himself. (In 1990, the attraction was updated and expanded to include 16 ride vehicles rather than the original 10).

When we think of what we can draw from Dumbo, we go back to the movie. One of the shortest of the animated features (it was the shortest until 2011’s Winnie the Pooh beat it by 1 minute and clocked in at 63 minutes), it’s still packed with reminders and lessons. We could talk about letting go of our “security blankets” and trusting in what God has already given us, or the value of having someone who believes in us, the reality that sometimes people can be cruel, sometimes finding yourself up a tree is the best place you can be—where else will you discover you can fly?, and more. We may come back to some or all of those later, if there's interest. For today, though, let’s look at one of the most obvious lessons…

God made you unique, and only when you embrace your God-given uniqueness will you really be able to live as He designed you to. Dumbo’s ears made him unique, but for quite a while, he tried to hide them or ignore them. But that didn’t work. They kept coming up, getting in his way, almost demanding attention. When he was finally able to use them and be the way he was designed, he flew! Before then, his ears made him unhappy and frustrated. They made him the subject of ridicule, but sometimes that’s what happens. That which makes us different also makes us subject to criticism by those who think we should be just like them.

But we answer to God, not those people. And He has something different to say:

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.” (Romans 12:3-6a, NIV)

Our uniqueness isn’t because of anything we’ve done, or earned, or deserve. It is “according to the grace given us.” But doesn’t that also mean that to reject our uniqueness and try to “fit in” is to reject a measure of His grace?

Question: What uniqueness has God given you, and are you using it? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Horse Drawn Streetcar: How Committed are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 02:00:00 +0000

The Horse-Drawn Streetcar on Main Street U.S.A. is another attraction with an interesting history. All of the Cast Members who operate this attraction are very knowledgeable—about the horses, and about the attraction’s past. According to one I had a chance to talk with recently, there’s an exceptionally good reason for that.

Back in late June or early July of 1955, as Disneyland was nearing completion, Walt Disney was told that there was not enough money to have the Horse-Drawn Streetcar. All the money (and more) had gone to other parts of the park. Walt insisted that he had to have that attraction, and he was again told there was not enough money available.

Walt asked, “How much would it cost?” He was given the figure, and immediately pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for that amount on the spot! He really wanted that attraction. This attraction also has the distinction of being one of only four attractions that Walt Disney (through his personal company Retlaw Enterprises) owned personally. The others were the Disneyland Railroad, the Monorail, and the Viewliner.

This same Cast Member told me that this is part of the reason—maybe a large part—that the Horse-Drawn Streetcar is the only “horse powered” vehicle still operating today. Originally there were two others, the Surrey and the Horse-Drawn Fire Wagon, but they have both since been retired. Only this one remains.

Walt Disney wanted this attraction in his park—and he wanted it badly enough that he was willing to pay the price himself to have it.

Are you willing to do that for anything, or anyone? Is there anything that means enough to you that you will sacrifice whatever it takes to have it without a moment’s hesitation? What about following Jesus? Do you have that kind of commitment to Him? It’s what He calls us to.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”
He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But the man replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.”
Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
~ Luke 9:57-62 (NIV)

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”
~ Matt. 13:44-46 (NIV)

You won’t necessarily be called to sell everything or move to a foreign country (though you might). But we are all called to “put our money where our mouth is” every day. There is always something that can take the place of following Jesus. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your family. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s comfort. Maybe it’s a lack of understanding who God is and how much He loves you.

But whatever it is, every day Jesus says, “Follow Me”, and every day—maybe many times a day—we make a decision. Do you want to follow Him badly enough, do you love Him enough, that you’ll do whatever it takes to follow Him, in whatever form that takes in your life?

Questions: What is your Horse-Drawn Streetcar? What do you want as badly as Walt Disney wanted that? If it’s not Jesus, what’s in His place…and why? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Adventureland: A Step Into the Unknown

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Each of the lands of Disneyland is unique and tells its own story. But of each of the lands off the Hub (Main Street U.S.A., Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland, and Tomorrowland), one is missing something that each of the others have. Adventureland does not have something that all the others do. The most obvious example of this “missing object” is Sleeping Beauty Castle.

What’s absent from Adventureland is a “weenie”.

Walt Disney described it this way: "What you need is a weenie, which says to people 'come this way.' People won't go down a long corridor unless there's something promising at the end. You have to have something the beckons them to 'walk this way.'"

A "weenie" is a visual icon in a Disney theme park that draws the guest in, and it’s something all of the other original lands have.

Main Street U.S.A. – Sleeping Beauty Castle
Tomorrowland – The Astro Orbiter (when it was up above the PeopleMover track, not so much where it is now)
Fantasyland – Depending on what direction you approach from, this could be the Matterhorn, the Carousel (seen through the castle), or even Dumbo
Frontierland – The smoke stack on the Mark Twain (especially before the trees grew up as much as they have.

Part of the purpose of the weenie is to give guests an idea of what they’re going to experience in that land. It gives them a visual cue as to what they can expect. Adventureland doesn’t have anything like this. The Tiki Room has some visual interest, but it sits at an entrance, and can’t be seen from the other side. Tarzan’s Treehouse is similar. There is nothing that gives you a clue about what you’re going to become a part of once you cross the bridge. There is nothing that beckons you forward, except the promise of adventure. And some of what you see can even seem menacing at first.

But there’s a good reason for that. Urban Planner Sam Gennawey (as well as a blogger, published author, and speaker at the Walt Disney Family Museum) explains it this way: “If you knew what was coming, it wouldn’t be an adventure.”

I’ve written before about the adventure of the Christian life, but it bears looking at again. You see, when we think about what we most want out of life, one of the first things that comes to most people’s minds is security, or safety. But that’s not what being a Christian is all about. Sure, we know that heaven is our ultimate future, but between now and then, life is pretty unpredictable. We’re never promised the long view. We often get only the next step.

Paul (Saul at the time) experienced this:

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” (Acts 9:6, NIV)

Abram didn’t get much more:

“The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.’
“I will make you into a great nation
   and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
   and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
   and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
   will be blessed through you.”
So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.” (Genesis 12:1-4, NIV)

God does guide us (when we’re open to receiving it), but one step at a time. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105, NIV) A lamp illuminates only a small distance in front of us. We get a flashlight, not a floodlight.

When you first step into Adventureland you know only what’s right in front of you, or right next to you. As you explore further, you get to see more and more of it, and wonderful adventures await you. But you would have never known them had you not gone into the place you didn’t know to find out what was there—with only the promise of a sign to guide you.

As you follow God and His will and desires, you get to see more and more of what He has for you—and the farther in you get, the more you can look back at the adventure you’ve had.

It’s not easy sometimes, but God never promised it would be. He did promise peace and security, but only in Himself. Sometimes following Him feels risky, but it’s never as risky as not following, and just “playing it safe”. And to really follow Him into this adventure means to do it completely, with everything you are. With all your heart, mind, soul, and strength (to paraphrase the context a bit).

It means loving, and risking hurt and separation (as when someone dies or moves far away). It means serving, and risking being taken advantage of. It means giving, sometimes out of great abundance and sometimes when it seems like there’s nothing to give. It means following, even when the way seems unclear, and we feel woefully unqualified to do what He is calling us to. And it means being true to who He made us to be, living our own adventure, not someone else’s.

There is sacrifice, but there is joy in the journey. The adventure is always worth it. Often we won’t have the “weenie” drawing us in and telling us what’s to come. We have only a sign, a bridge, and the willingness to explore in faith. As we do, we discover that adventure, a great adventure, really is out there, and we wonder why we spent so much time avoiding it.

Question: How have you experienced God leading you into adventure recently—and what are you doing to follow Him? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Main Street Cinema–Getting Past the Noise

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

One of the “hidden in plain sight” gems of Main Street U.S.A. is the Main Street Cinema. An Opening Day attraction, the Main Street Cinema shows (in black and white) six animated shorts from the early years of Mickey and the gang while a recorded musical accompaniment plays.

As of now, the six shorts that are playing are:

The Main Street Cinema is a great place to get out of the sun (or rain) and enjoy some classic cartoons. It also contains something that most people aren’t aware of, and it’s here we find our lesson.

Of the six cartoon shorts playing, only one is playing its own soundtrack. All the rest have the musical accompaniment playing throughout the room as their only soundtrack. The one that plays its own? Steamboat Willie.

What makes this interesting and significant to me is that you have to really be paying attention to even notice that. The music playing in the room is good, and it fits the Cinema, but it’s relatively loud. The soundtrack for Steamboat Willie, by comparison, is quiet. You have to be standing right in front of it, and you have to be paying attention to notice it. If you don’t listen for it, you probably will miss it. Only Steamboat Willie has its original soundtrack, but you must listen carefully & filter out the other (good) music & sound to hear it.

There’s a lot of “noise” in the world today, and not all of it is bad. There are some worthwhile movies and TV shows. There are countless good books. Thanks to Live365, Pandora, Spotify, and other services there is almost no limit to the music you can listen to. With iTunes, Podcatcher, and other services there are thousands of podcasts on almost every conceivable subject.

There is a lot to listen to, and a lot of it is encouraging, fun, entertaining, educational, and even valuable. But it’s easy to get caught up in the noise, and when we do, we miss the sound that’s constantly playing in the background and easy to miss.

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
~ Isa. 30:21, NIV

We make time for our favorite TV show (or shows, the average person age 15+ spends 2.7 hours per day watching TV—that’s 19 hours per week, or 983 hours per year, almost 41 days!), to listen to our podcasts, to go to movies, go to parties, etc. But how much time do we spend listening to God? Reading His Word? Praying? Spending time in natural surroundings and listening to Him speak through His creation?

This isn’t about guilting us into action (or inaction, as the case may be), it’s about helping us to become intentionally aware of our priorities and encouraging us to listen better. His voice is always there, but we miss it through the noise of life, or because what we’re listening for (i.e. the solution to a troubled relationship) isn’t what He’s saying (“Let Me work in your heart and change you.”).

Listen carefully. Filter out the noise—even if it’s “good” noise. His voice is there.

Question: What is one way you can filter out some of the noise in your life and listen for Him? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Cast Members: A Chosen People

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

When we think of what makes Disneyland—and all the Disney parks—special, a number of factors may come to mind. Maybe it’s the rides, the shows, the themeing, the food, the atmosphere, the fireworks, or the parades. maybe it’s a particular one of those that holds a special memory.

All of those are valuable, and they do all work together to make these places unique. But there’s something else, something without which the rest would be nothing. The Cast Members.

Walt Disney said, “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.” That’s really true. I’ve been to many places, and while each of them have good people, the level of quality, service, dedication, and show provided by Disney Cast Members is second to none anywhere that I’ve ever found.

Disney Cast Members are special group of people. And, as Christians, so are we.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” (Colossians 3:12, NIV)

Look at what it says about us: we are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. let’s look at each of those a little more closely.

Chosen
Disney has a careful selection process when it comes to hiring Cast Members. It used to be even more stringent than it is now, but it still holds true that not just anyone can walk in off the street and work for Disney. And the really good ones remain there for years. One Disneyland Cast Member, Oscar, just celebrated 55 years of service at Disneyland. Disney Cast members are chosen.

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love Hepredestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves.” (Ephesians 1:4-6, NIV)

We, too, have been chosen. We have been adopted into His family. We are His chosen people.

Holy
The Greek word for holy means, when applied to people, “to be set apart for a specific purpose”. Cast Members certainly fit that description. They are set apart for a specific purpose: to be employed by the Walt Disney company to operate the park in their various capacities. Each has their own role to play. Walt Disney said, “Disneyland is the star, everything else is in the supporting role.” Being hired as a Disneyland Cast Member means being set apart for a purpose, as one with role to play.

“Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” (I Peter 1:13-16, NIV)

To call a person holy is to say that they belong to God, they are used in His service or dedicated to Him, or in some special way are His property. Nothing, except for God, is holy of itself or by nature. It becomes holy by being dedicated to God and His service. (See this devotional for more on holiness.)

Dearly Loved
The analogy breaks down a little here, but not because of an inherent flaw in it. It happens because of how rarely Cast Members get shown much appreciation.

I don’t know how recognition works inside the company itself, but I so often see Cast Members get criticized, yelled at, or even insulted by guests for doing their jobs. I do see some guests thank them, and that’s always encouraging. Most of the time, what I see is guests ignoring them, as though they were just part of the scenery.

My wife and I always thank Cast Members for doing their job, whether it’s directing us to a line, giving us our food, or helping us onto or off of a ride. (We do need to get better at thanking custodial Cast Members, though.) One step we have taken to really show our appreciation is with autograph books.

Of course, we have one for the characters, but we also have a separate one for Cast Members. We carry it with us to the Disney parks as often as we can, and if a Cast Member does something that makes a magical moment for us, or that just shows an extra reminder of what Walt wanted his people to be, we ask them to sign our autograph book.

You should see the responses. They are always touched, and a couple have been near tears. No one has ever asked them to do that before. I don’t understand why, though. They are such an important part of our trip that I can’t imagine Disneyland or Walt Disney World without them.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2, NIV)

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NIV)

We are dearly loved children of God.

Here’s the bottom line:

Cast Members are chosen, set apart, and appreciated & valued. What they do comes from that identity, and the more they grasp it, the better they tend to be as Cast Members. It’s not hard to tell which ones really “get it”.

We are God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved. Who we are comes from our identity, and right there our identity is summarized. The more fully we understand and internalize this, the more we live out the characteristics in this verse—and His love. It’s not performance, trying to earn His approval. It’s a natural expression of who we know we truly are and we do it out of love and gratitude.

Question: Have you taken time to intentionally show appreciation to a Disney Cast Member? What did you do, and why? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Innoventions: Making Dreams Come True

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:00:00 +0000

Yes, I wish we still had the Carousel of Progress or America Sings, too. OK, now that we have that out of the way…

This particular location has an interesting history. During Disneyland’s first summer, in 1955, a restaurant called the Space Bar opened at the eastern edge of Tomorrowland. The Space Bar took up a huge area there, serving basic counter-service food. They had so much room available there that in 1961 the Space Bar Dance Area opened in front of it.

The Space Bar’s days were numbered, though—in that location, anyway. In 1964, Walt Disney and his Imagineers had 4 attractions at the New York World’s Fair. One of those was a rotating theater attraction called Progressland. After the Fair ended, all of the Disney attractions were brought out to Disneyland (though not much of the Ford attraction made it), and in 1967 Progressland came to Disneyland and became the Carousel of Progress, showing four decades of American life, and with 32 Audio Animatronic figures.

The Carousel of Progress lasted until 1973, when it was displaced by America Sings (which opened in 1974). The Carousel of Progress moved to Walt Disney World, and a six-part carousel of music took its place, with 114 Audio Animatronics celebrating America’s musical heritage. That remained until 1988, and then offices occupied the theater until July of 1998, when Innoventions opened.

Much like the Carousel of Progress was moved to Walt Disney World in 1973, Innoventions was copied/duplicated from Walt Disney World, and provided a place to showcase new technology and innovation (with varying degrees of success).

As guests prepare to enter the rotating building, we are shown a pre-show video of our host, Tom Morrow. In one of those videos, he says something that the history of this location—and Disneyland Park as a whole—proves true. “Imagining a dream and making it come true are two completely different things.”

Walt Disney had a dream, that was the start (and it was the inspiration for the Sherman Brothers song “It’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow”, which was the theme song for the Carousel of Progress and is used again today with Innoventions). But having a dream wasn’t enough. It took work, dedication, time, and sacrifice to make it a reality.

The Bible doesn’t directly address having dreams and making them come true. But it does talk about having a purpose. Jesus said, “Did you not see and know that it is necessary [as a duty] for Me to be in My Father's house and [occupied] about My Father's business?” (Luke 2:49, AMP) Later He said these things:

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” (John 5:17, NIV)

“I have testimony weightier than that of John. For the very work that the Father has given me to finish, and which I am doing, testifies that the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36, NIV)

“I have brought you [God the Father] glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do.” (John 17:4, NIV)

Jesus had his purpose, He knew what it was, and He fulfilled it. We, too, have a purpose to fulfill.
“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).

God has created each of us with a unique combination of dreams & passions, gifts, skills, abilities, and interests. These combine into making us uniquely who we are and show us our purpose that we were designed to fulfill. And we have two choices:

1) Ignore or don’t seek out what that purpose is. Go through life just going with the flow, taking things as they come, and hoping for the best.
2) Take the time & effort necessary to discover your purpose. Then invest the work, dedication, time, and sacrifice necessary to develop it and live it out.

“I believe God made me for a purpose--for China. But He also made me fast! And when I run, I feel His pleasure. To give that up would be to hold Him in contempt. …to win is to honor Him...” ~ Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire)

We bring glory to God when we know who He made us to be, and we live it out—not trying to be anyone else, but being who He made us.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:6-8, NIV)

It’s easy to go through life without making the extra effort. We want to be “good Christians”. That’s a great dream. But have you moved it from a dream to becoming a reality? “Imagining a dream and making it come true are two completely different things.” It takes effort on our part, not to earn God’s favor or His love, but because He loves us. We do whatever we can to honor Him—including knowing who we are and living that out to the best of our ability—because He loves us.

Question: Do you know what your purpose is? If not, are you taking steps to find out? If so, are you living it out? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Tomorrowland: Looking Ahead to a New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Walt Disney said in 1966, “Now, when we opened Disneyland, outer space was Buck Rogers. I did put in a trip to the moon, and I got Wernher von Braun to help me plan the thing. And, of course, we were going up to the moon long before Sputnik. And since then has come Sputnik and then has come our great program in outer space. So I had to tear down my Tomorrowland that I built eleven years ago and rebuild it to keep pace.” That rebuild was completed in 1967, almost seven months after Walt’s death.

It began to gradually change in 1973, then got another complete makeover in 1998 (arguably much less successfully than the 1967 rebuild). Another gradual change has only recently been completed.

When it came to Tomorrowland, Walt had to keep looking ahead. He had to keep reimagining it. He also said, “We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” Tomorrowland was designed to be all about “keep moving forward”.

The new year gives us a chance to remember that, but so does every day, if we choose to think about it. After all, the whole year isn’t promised to us. In fact, not even tomorrow is promised to us.

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil."
James 4:13-16 (NIV)

That’s not a reason not to plan for the future. But it is a reminder that our days are a gift from God, so we take nothing for granted. Keep moving forward (intentionally). Plan ahead. That is not ungodly. Maybe the clearest reminder of that in Scripture is this:

“Go to the ant, you sluggard;
   consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
   no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
   and gathers its food at harvest.”
Prov. 6:6-8 (NIV)

We’ll look more at planning ahead and setting goals in an upcoming post. For now, remember Tomorrowland, a world on the move. The Imagineers have continued to update it as we move into the future. They keep moving forward. And so do we. But at the same time, we remember that each day is a gift.

As we close out 2011 and begin 2012 (if it is the Lord’s will), keep moving forward. Perhaps you will follow a new path, or you may move farther along this one. Live each day to its fullest, because it may be the last one you have. If it is, it will be a day well-lived, loving God and serving others. If you have another beyond today, then continue to grow and live intentionally for God. In this way, you honor Him, and grow into the person He made you—and is making you—to be.

Question: What is one way that you can move forward today? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Meeting Characters: Stepping into the Story

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:00:00 +0000

One of the biggest draws to Disneyland is to meet the characters. It may not mean much to some adults, but there are a lot of kids that can’t wait to go to Disneyland not for the rides, but to “meet Mickey Mouse!” One of the reasons the Give Kids the World Village was established in Central Florida was because of the high percentage of Wish Kids whose wish is exactly that.

You can meet characters all over the parks, but some of the best encounters come when you meet them in their unique environments—like when I met Horace Horsecollar and Clarabell Cow in Toontown )(above). You get to step into their world and meet them in their own story. Pixie Hollow is a great example of the popularity of doing that.

There’s something special about becoming part of someone’s story. At Christmas, we remember when God did that for us, and then took it even farther.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” The word translated “made his dwelling” literally means “to pitch a tent”. John used it to remind his readers of God dwelling among them in the Tabernacle while they wandered in the wilderness.

In the Incarnation, when God Himself in the person of Jesus physically stepped into history and became a man, He entered our story. The miracle of Christmas is that The Word became flesh. “For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.” (Rom. 8:2)

What makes Christmas even more significant, though, is that He became like us so that we could become like Him. He didn’t just enter our story, He elevated our stories by inviting us into His own. He stepped down into history to build a bridge that brings us back into a relationship with God!

Consider these as “unusual Christmas passages”:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
   taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to death—
      even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.
~ Phil 2:5-11 (NIV)

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says,
   “I will declare your name to my brothers;
   in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”
And again,
   “I will put my trust in him.”
   And again he says,
   “Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement forthe sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.
~ Hebrews 2:10-18 (NIV)

By the way, the same word used in John 1:14 is used again in Rev. 21:3 – “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’”

Jesus came to earth to give us a way back to God. Not through our own goodness. Not through our own efforts. But simply by accepting his free gift of salvation and stepping into His story, forever.

Question: How have you seen God “step into your story” and elevate it to show you how it fits into His story? Talk about it in the comments below or on our Facebook page.

Snow White’s Grotto: A Change in Perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 03:48:00 +0000

There is a lovely spot off to the right of Sleeping Beauty Castle’s drawbridge. For a long time, it was one of the quiet, tranquil parts of Disneyland. It’s still relatively quiet—though it’s become busier in recent years. It’s also got a history that most guests who walk by it—or even spend time there—have never heard.

Snow White’s Grotto and Wishing Well opened in the Spring of 1961. The white marble statues of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were sculpted by an unknown Italian artist and given to Walt Disney. They create a lovely scene, but there’s a problem. All eight figures are about 3 feet tall (Snow White is a little taller, but not much). Legendary Imagineer John Hench came up with a creative solution, one which had been and continues to be used throughout the Disney parks: forced perspective.

They set the statues some distance away, and sculpted the woodland creatures to go into the scene. By putting Snow White on the top with a small deer next to her, and then arranging the dwarfs figures lower, she looks much taller than they are, and the visual impression is that they are all the correct proportions—but now you know better.

We all face problems and challenges. A job we hate. A decision that seems impossible. A difficult relationship. A sin we can’t seem to overcome. And when that happens, we need to do the same thing John Hench did: force a change of perspective. We need to look at things a little differently—or maybe a lot differently. But how?

There are 3 primary ways we can change our perspective: seek God’s perspective, seek wise counsel, and seek a change of scenery.

1. SEEK GOD’S PERSPECTIVE – Most of our perspective issues arise because we are looking at things through our own eyes, not God’s. He has a much different view of the world than we do.

One of the best parts of being a Christian is that we can ask Him to show us that perspective. But in order to get that perspective we have to make time to read His word and seek His perspective in prayer.

Remember the Sermon on the Mount? 5 times Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said… But I tell you…”. A change in perspective.

Are you suffering and experiencing trials? “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, NIV) A change in perspective.

Would telling a “little white lie” be easier than telling the truth? “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32, NIV) A change in perspective.

2. SEEK WISE COUNSEL – Sometimes we’re too close to a situation, we don’t have enough information, or we’re overwhelmed. Whatever the reason, it’s important to get counsel from others. But not just anyone—some people, though well-intentioned, just give bad advice on certain topics or issues. That’s why you need to seek wise counsel.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” (Prov. 19:20, NIV)

“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Prov. 12:15, NIV)

“Listen to the words of the wise;
      apply your heart to my instruction.
For it is good to keep these sayings in your heart
      and always ready on your lips.
I am teaching you today—yes, you—
      so you will trust in the Lord.”
(Prov. 22:17-19, NLT)

Find someone who has overcome the issue you’re dealing with, or made a similar decision to what you need to make, and ask for their advice. Then heed it!

3. SEEK A CHANGE OF SCENERY – Sometimes we need to get a way for a while to clear our heads and be able to refocus, or see things from a different angle. It could be a walk around the block (or in a nearby park), a day trip, or a full vacation. Whatever it is, take time to get away.

Question: What do you need a different perspective on, and what' is one step you will take today to get it? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

The Matterhorn: Redemption

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:46:00 +0000

Photo Courtesy of the Disneyland History Institute

I have written before about the Matterhorn, and its unique placement at Disneyland. This time we’re going to look at not only where it is, but what was there before.

In 1954, when the moat for Sleeping Beauty Castle was being excavated, the dirt was piled up behind the castle. Removing the dirt from the site would have been too expensive, so Walt Disney had a fence built around it, and it was called “Holiday Hill”. At first, it was mostly just the dirt, but that would get blown around during windstorms, so Bill Evans’ grounds keeping team landscaped it with some shrubs & sod to hold the dirt in place. The picture above shows it in that condition, with some additional improvements.

When the Magic Skyway was being built, the hill became the location of a large steel support tower. It did the job, but it was something of an eyesore. So Walt talked about some possibilities with Admiral Joe Fowler (the man Fowler’s Harbor at Disneyland was named after), and eventually—through a series of events that may be the subject of a future post—the Matterhorn, the first tubular steel continuous track roller coaster in the world, was born.

What started as dirt in an unwanted place turned into a large mound of dirt, which became a landscaped mound of dirt—and briefly a lookout point, then part of a support system for another attraction, to finally a landmark attraction of its own—one of the very first E-ticket attractions! It started with little to no value, and over time, with work and getting a purpose, became something of incredible value.

What do we call it when something that has little to no intrinsic value is given worth? Think of a coupon. A little piece of paper that by itself is worth nothing, but can become worth money—sometimes a lot of money. What is that process called? Redemption.

We redeem a coupon. We redeem wasted time to make it useful. The mound of dirt that was Holiday Hill was redeemed (through a process) to become a landmark attraction. And through Christ our lives are redeemed.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
(1 Peter 1:18-19, NIV)

For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
(Col. 1:13-14, NIV)

All that we are, we are because God made us that way. He gives us meaning, purpose, salvation, and eternal life. In order to truly make a difference, to live a life that matters, to not just be rats in a maze, requires that we first are redeemed by God. That redemption is what takes our lives and gives them real value. You have value because you are God’s child, “…a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) That is your value, and it comes from God. And how much more valuable could you ever want to or hope to be?

Just as it was a process to go from the dirt in front of the castle to Holiday Hill to the Matterhorn, so our being redeemed is a process. In 1 Corinthians 1:18, Paul says, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

Did you see it? “…to us who are being saved…”. It’s a process. And no matter where you are in that process, God won’t quit. He won’t give up on you. In fact, “…He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)

You may think you’re just a mound of dirt, but if you are a child of God, you have value because you have been redeemed. He is shaping you into something special. Live out that new life of value, not to earn God’s favor, but because you have it!

Question: What is one way you’ve seen that God has redeemed something in your life?

Captain EO: We are Here to Change the World

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Captain EO is a very interesting attraction. It originally opened September 18,1986 in Tomorrowland at Disneyland (though it had opened six days earlier in the Imagination Pavilion at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World). Starring Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, and executive produced by George Lucas, at the time this was one of the most expensive films ever made (when calculated by cost per minute) at over $1 million per minute. It also helped pioneer the “4D attraction”.

This had been one of the projects being considered when Michael Eisner became CEO of the Walt Disney Company along with Star Tours, Splash Mountain, and others. All three were green-lit for development, but Captain EO was given a higher priority because it could be made faster and would draw crowds and help revitalize Disneyland while the other two attractions were being built.

Captain EO closed in April of 1997, but was brought back in a “tribute” form in February of 2010 for a “limited time” (which continues as of this writing).

In my opinion, this is still a fun show, “80’s cheese” at it’s best. The songs are catchy, the effects are entertaining, and Fuzzball is one of the cutest characters ever. Even with the campiness of the show (and a theater that does the tapping to the music for you—if often out of time with the music), it’s an often-overlooked but fun attraction.

Of course, given that it’s being written about here, there has to be more to it, though, right? Of course there is. Have you ever listened to the lyrics to one of its main songs, We are Here to Change the World? I mean really listened? If not, check it out here, and then look at some of the lyrics:

We're on a mission
In the everlasting light that shines
A revelation
Of the truth in chapters of our minds
So long, bad times
We're gonna shake it up and break it up
We're sharing light brighter than the sun
Hello, good times
We're here to stimulate, eliminate
And congregate, illuminate
(We are here to change the world)
Gonna change the world, Hee
(We are here to change the world)
Gonna change the world, Ooo!
So do surrender
'Cause the power's deep inside my soul
Sing it
(We are here to change the world)
Gonna change the world, Sing it
(We are here to change the world)
Hee, Gonna change the world, Ooo

Do those lyrics ring any bells? Aren’t we on a mission to change the world?

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5:18-20)

We are made in the image of God. We are His children. But many have turned away from Him, or don’t know who they are in Him. They are beautiful within, but are without a key to unlock it. We have been charged with the mission of bringing His light to this dark world. To bring the key that unlocks the beauty within people as they come into the light of His love and grace.

Question: How are you changing the world? What are you doing—or what can you do—to connect people to God and show them His love? Talk about it in the comments below, or on the Faith and the Magic Kingdom Facebook page.

The Mad Tea Party: Where is Your Focus?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:40:00 +0000

One of my favorite rides in Fantasyland is the Mad Tea Party, aka “the teacups” aka “how can you possibly ride that thing without getting nauseous?”. Fantasyland has at least two attractions and one shop dedicated to the animated feature Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The actual Alice in Wonderland attraction didn't opened until June of 1958, but the Mad Tea Party was an Opening Day attraction, though in a slightly different place than it is now (it used to be where the carousel currently sits, and the carousel was farther forward, towards the castle).

The reason most people seem to not like the attraction is that it makes them very dizzy, or they just don't like spinning. I kind of like being dizzy and I think spinning is fun (whatever that may say about me). I've also learned a secret to keep from getting dizzy if I choose to. The trick is to have someone sitting across from you and stare at their left shoulder the entire ride. Keep your eyes locked on there and you generally won't get dizzy (or it will be very little). You can probably look other places too, but the left shoulder has always worked for me. Of course, this requires having someone willing to ride with you. That's always the challenge for me.

How many times in life do we feel like things are spinning out of control and we're caught in the middle, spinning, getting dizzy and nauseous? What do we do in times like that? The same thing we do when writing the teacups: fix our eyes on one unchanging point that goes with us through the madness. But what point is that?

Hebrews chapter 4 says,

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not become weary and lose heart.

The only way to endure the chaos is to keep our eyes fixed on Him. He is in the midst of it all, “riding with us” and has promised not to abandon us.

Something else I've noticed about the Mad Tea Party is that when you're riding in it, it feels completely random, and the movement almost senseless. All you know when you're on it is that you're spinning wildly, almost out of control. But when viewed from outside—especially from above—there is an order and a pattern to the movements. Our lives are the same way. They may feel random, directionless, confusing, and even sickening. We may search, but find no pattern. And yet, it is there. In the midst of the frenzy, we must trust Him whose ways are higher than our ways, and whose thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He has a view we don’t…yet.

We may still get a little dizzy on the ride sometimes; Jesus never promised us an easy one. But He did promise to be with us. If we don't consciously, intentionally, and regularly fix our all eyes on Him, though, how will we ever know?

Disneyland: I Had to Come Here…

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:59:00 +0000

Here we are, just a few days after the 10th anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attack. I had the privilege of spending the afternoon of September 11, 2011 at Disneyland, including watching a very special Flag Retreat ceremony. Being there reminded me of a story that Tim O’Day (former Director of Publicity at the Disneyland Resort, among other things) shared about the day after the attack.

September 12, 2001 he was walking across Town Square towards City Hall. There was almost no one in the park that day (“You could throw a bowling ball any direction and not hit anyone”, he said), but he saw a woman sitting by herself on a bench sobbing. He walked up to her and asked if she was alright, if there was anything he could to help her. She continued to cry for a few more minutes as he sat next to her. When she could finally talk, she said, “I had to come here. I just couldn’t watch it anymore.” Doesn’t that resonate? For this woman, Disneyland was an escape, a safe place, and a place of reassurance. She was so distraught that she sought refuge at Disneyland.

I have to be honest. Disneyland has been that for me on more than one occasion, though it was not on that particular day. There are times when we all seek refuge. The world overwhelms us or batters us. We’ve seen all we can stand, and we have to get away. We reach a point where we have to escape and find a safe place. Fortunately, as believers, we have that.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. (Psalm 5:11)

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9)

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the hornof my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2)

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1 – In fact, read all of Psalm 46)

But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. (Psalm 59:16)

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. All the nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. (Psalm 118:8-14)

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him. (Nahum 1:7)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

God is our refuge from a harsh and cruel world. He is our strength when we have none left of our own. That doesn’t mean He takes us out of the world (though sometimes we do get that much-needed respite), but He does gives us all we need to stand, as long as we are standing in Him. And that means spending time with Him, knowing who He is, and being able to trust Him (and you can only fully trust one you know well). Sometimes that’s easier said than done, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

When you can’t watch anymore, when you’ve been battered and beaten and have to get away, stop looking around and look up! Take comfort, listen, and be restored. Then act.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!
Refrain: Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conqu’rors we are!
His Word shall not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men (Used to) Tell Tales

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:35:00 +0000

On July 24, 1966, New Orleans Square became the fist new “land” added to Disneyland since park opening, though Imagineers had been working on concepts for it since 1957. The first attraction to open in the new land was Pirates of the Caribbean.

Pirates of the Caribbean opened on March 18, 1967 and was the most advanced, elaborately-themed attraction that had ever been built. Over 60 Audio Animatronic human characters, around 50 Audio Animatronic animals, and rich detail made this 16-minute attraction an instant and perennial favorite.

It’s also the last attraction that Walt Disney personally supervised and oversaw. New Orleans Square opened about 5 months before he died, and Pirates opened about 3 months after. Major work was complete by the time he passed away on December 15, 1966, 10 days after his 65th birthday.

Pirates of the Caribbean has seen two major changes over the years. In 1997, the ride was closed for about 2 months for an update that included modifying a scene where pirates were chasing women so that they would be chasing food instead. The dialogue of the only pirate that speaks in this scene (sometimes unofficially known as the “Pooped Pirate”) was also changed to conform to the new scene. This update led to what showwriter Francis Xavier "X" Atencio referred to as "Boy Scouts of the Caribbean".

In 2006, Captain Jack Sparrow and others from the Pirates of the Caribbean films (which were inspired by the attraction) were added. The storyline was also changed significantly at that time, but it seems few are aware of the magnitude of the change. Originally the story surrounded random pirates looting and pillaging a town, but now the pirates were searching for Jack Sparrow. Most importantly (to me, anyway) the last scene was completely overhauled.

Let me back up for a moment.

As the ride begins, we are warned that “dead men tell no tales”, and then we plunge down two waterfalls into a grotto that shows the skeletons of pirates, some mid-battle, one piloting a shipwreck, and a couple having a drink (or trying to—it’s tough with no insides). We float through the Captain’s Quarters, where we see the captain—as a skeleton—admiring the treasure piled up around him. We again hear a disembodied warning that “These be the last friendly words you’ll hear. You may not survive to pass this way again".” And with that, we pass through fog and into a battle between the pirates and a fort. Suddenly everyone is alive and shooting, or drinking, or chasing, or burning, or whatever. After passing through all of the town scenes and a final shootout, we arrive at the hill that takes us back to the dock, and it is here that the most significant story change has occurred.

Originally, and up until the addition of the movie characters, the final scenes consisted of two pirates trying to drag a huge haul of treasure up the hill, escaping from the city with their riches. A short distance farther up the hill we see the pirates, now as skeletons and with one attacking the other, but still clutching the treasure chest as the ghostly voice again echoes, “Dead men tell no tales.” Now, in that same space Jack Sparrow lounges in a room full of treasure and gloats about his success.

Think about what the story was, because it is there that we have our lesson. We began at the end of the story, with pirates as skeletons, having not learned the dangers of their ways—that their path would end in death. This lasts all the way up to the dark grotto after the Captain’s Quarters, but when we pass through the fog we, in effect, step back in time to see the pirates as they were. We travel through and see them doing what they do, and it kind of looks like fun. They sure seem to be having a good time, anyway. But as we begin to climb the hill, we are both literally and figuratively back where we started, and we are reminded of the perils of being “rascals, scoundrels, and ne’er do well cads”.

Dead men have, indeed, told tales, and we are reminded of what Paul said in Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The wages of sin here were, indeed, death. We may think it’s different for us, but while it may not be as obvious for us, the end result is still the same.

Do you see how dramatically the storyline has changed?

The lesson in the attraction has spelled itself out for us (though subtly enough that most people ride and completely miss it). But did you know it goes even farther than that? You may have heard of the “7 Deadly Sins”. It is not a biblical concept, really, but it does have its roots as far back as the mid 4th Century. All seven of these “Deadly Sins” are illustrated in the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. Take a look:

Pride	Most everything the pirates do is rooted in pride in one form or another. A couple of examples from the townspeople, too: “the redhead” (who looks pretty full of herself) and Carlos, who refuses to give up the location of the treasure, but seems to be doing so (at least in part) to impress his wife.
Envy	The pirates trying to get the location of the treasure out of the mayor. They want what he has. (This can also fall under greed.)
Gluttony	The pirates chasing the food. Before the overhaul, and even now, there are many scenes of pirates loaded up with food and/or alcohol.
Lust	The auction scene, in which women are being offered as brides for sale. Also the chase scenes before food was added. (The Pooped Pirate was lust at it's most obvious.)
Anger/Rage	All of the fighting scenes, especially the battle between the ship and the fort.
Greed/Avarice	The Captain’s Quarters and the two pirates stealing the chest at the end are probably the best examples.
Sloth	At least two pirates on the right side of the boat just lounging around (one with a couple of pigs interested in him the other trying to entice a couple of cats).

You may have thought of other examples. With the addition of characters from the movies, some of these aren’t there any more, but without much trouble you can probably find new examples to replace the ones that have been removed.

While it may be more of a movie tie-in now, Pirates of the Caribbean used to have its own story. Several remnants of that story can still be seen today. It’s a fun ride, but it’s also a reminder. Our actions have consequences, and whether we want to admit it or not, sin does lead to death (no matter how much fun it may seem like it is at the time).

Question: What “seemed like fun at the time” to you, but you’ve since realized was destructive in your life?

Pinocchio's Daring Journey: What are Your Strings?

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 23:44:00 +0000

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey opened in Disneyland’s Fantasyland in 1983 as part of the “New Fantasyland” overhaul and expansion, led by Imagineer Tony Baxter and his team. It replaced the Fantasyland Theater (originally called the Mickey Mouse Club Theater). This classic-style dark ride retells the story of the little wooden boy who dreamed of one day being a “real boy”.

As the ride begins, we first see Pinocchio singing “Hi Diddle Dee Dee (An Actor’s Life for Me)”, but not in the original context from the film. The setting we see here is basically the scene in the movie where he sings “I’ve Got No Strings”.

That scene in the movie is very interesting to me. Of course, Geppetto made Pinocchio without physical strings, but the only way for the wish they share to be granted by the Blue Fairy is for the little wooden boy to prove himself be “brave, truthful and unselfish” and able to tell right from wrong by listening to his conscience.

He starts out with the best intentions, but gets sidetracked Honest John and Gideon, and joins a puppet show led by Stromboli. It is here that he sings “I’ve Got No Strings”. He revels in his supposed-freedom, celebrating that he has no strings, he isn’t subject to anyone’s control and can do whatever he wants. That lasts right up until he tries to leave and Stromboli won’t let him. Pinocchio thought he was free to do as he pleased, but it turned out he was trapped in a slavery far worse than having strings.

Of course, Pinocchio does get to become a real boy, but only because he submits to the Blue Fairy’s requirements that she put on him at the beginning. He was still subject to someone other than himself, but this time it was for benevolent reasons and turned out for his best. By accepting those “strings” he was able to become what he most desired, and what his father, his maker, wanted for him.

Don’t we do the same thing? The heart of our separation from God is our claim that “we’ve got no strings”; we want to live the way we choose, and we may even flaunt our supposed independence. But the reality is that we are all servants of something, either our own sinful natures or to God. We will serve one or the other. As it says in Romans 6:16-23:

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life inChrist Jesus our Lord.

We all have strings—something we serve, someone we seek to please, or even desires we just “can’t control'”. What we can choose is what those strings are.

Pinocchio sees strings as things that would “…hold me down / To make me fret, or make me frown / I had strings / But now I'm free / There are no strings on me…. / I've got no strings / So I have fun / I'm not tied up to anyone.” (Interestingly, as soon as he starts singing this song, the first thing that happens is that he trips and falls on his face.) That’s not necessarily the case, though. Many of the other marionettes in this scene can do things that Pinocchio just can’t, precisely because they are connected by the strings.

Who do you serve? Are you a slave to sin or to righteousness? What do you think the “strings” are that connect someone to God? Is Pinocchio’s view of strings as negative accurate?

The Disneyland Railroad: Keep Your Level Full!

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:59:00 +0000

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to take a tender ride on the Disneyland Railroad, and I wrote about a lesson learned on that ride. Last week, I was able to take another tender ride, and learned another valuable lesson.

There is a set of sensors that monitor the boiler water level, above the brakeman. On our ride, the fireman asked us, “On a steam train, which do you think is worse: the boiler having too much water or having too little water?” My friend and I thought about it, and both said, “Too little water.” That’s correct. If the boiler has too much water, it may not be able to heat sufficiently to generate steam. If it has too little, once it reaches a certain temperature the water will all flash evaporate at once and the boiler will explode.

This is how the Ohio Valley Systems railroad explains what happens in their steam locomotive operations manual:

“Too much water in the boiler and it won't heat up quickly enough to generate enough steam. It can also cause Priming (water collecting in the cylinders). Too little water in the boiler and the crown sheet (the top of the firebox/bottom of the boiler) will overheat and cause a boiler explosion. A boiler explosion levels everything within several hundred feet, starting with the engine crew.”

You don’t get much worse than this in steam train operations. That’s why the Disneyland Railroad crew constantly monitors the water level and makes sure they are always operating with plenty of water in the boiler.

In the previous post, I likened the boiler to our spirit. The same parallel applies again. Are you trying to work/minister/serve/live out of a full spirit or a dangerously empty one? Ephesians 3:16-19 says,

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

We want the strength and power, and to really understand the scope of God’s love for us, but we usually want to do it ourselves. We try. We struggle. We fail and wonder what we didn’t do. We try to do it on our own. But…

This is what the LORD says:
   “Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
   who draws strength from mere flesh    and whose heart turns away from the LORD.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
   they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert,
   in a salt land where no one lives.
“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
   whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
   its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
   and never fails to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:5-8

We get into trouble when we try to rely on our own strength. We try to serve out of our own strength. We try to love others out of our own efforts. That works for a while, but eventually our levels get too low and we burn out, or we snap at people, or we may even blow up. What little we have left gets all used up and our “internal boiler” explodes. Then we feel guilty, ashamed, and maybe eve like we’ve let God down. We tried and we failed.

But the truth is usually that we didn’t allow ourselves the time to refill. We stay busy and don’t take time to spend with God. We think we know what needs to be done and when and don’t “wait upon the Lord to renew our strength.” We think we can do our part and then let God do His part. But in John 15:5-6, Jesus said,

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in Me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t say, “Apart from Me you can do some things”, or even “Apart from Me you can do a little”. The imagery is clear. A branch separated from the vine will live for a little while and have some strength, but it fades quickly. The attachment to the vine must remain. That’s why Jesus made a regular practice of spending time alone with His Father.

Now this doesn’t mean that you have to have a 30 minute “quiet time” first thing in the morning, unless that is what works for you and your relationship with God. It's not going through the motions or making the means the goal. But it does mean that prayer, time in the Bible, time with other believers, and rest must be a part of your “spiritual rhythm”.

We need to keep a close watch on our levels and make sure that we aren’t running low. The Disneyland Railroad crew refills their train’s boiler when it gets down to about half full, so that it never risks getting too low. Our internal boiler needs the same kind of attention and refilling.

Every puff of steam from the engine serves as a reminder of the water level in the boiler that created that steam, and as a reminder to not let our boiler level get too low, or the boiler could explode—with considerable damage to ourselves and those around us.

How do you “refill” spiritually? Have you ever let your internal boiler get too low? How could you tell? Talk about it in the Comments below.

Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough: Rescued by Our Prince

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 03:14:00 +0000

Last time, we looked at an often-overlooked detail in Disneyland. Today, we look at an often-overlooked attraction: the Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough. Located in the southwest corner of the castle courtyard is a door that most people walk right by, even though there’s a sign above it indicating what lies within. Step through that door and you enter one of the world’s most photographed structures—Sleeping Beauty Castle—and step into the story of Aurora herself, told through illuminated manuscripts and dioramas.

The story behind this attraction is fascinating (for example, did you know that the castle opened 4 years before the movie's release, and the walkthrough opened 2 years before the movie’s release?), but for now we’re going to consider the story of Aurora, and hopefully see our story in that of the Sleeping Beauty. Even that we could go through in much more detail—it turns out the entire Sleeping Beauty story is a fantastic allegory for the gospel story—but for now we'll just look at a summary.

In the Disney version of the fairy tale, Princess Aurora is promised to Prince Phillip in a marriage arranged by their fathers (kings, of course). At her christening, she is brought gifts by the people in the kingdom, most notably by three fairies—Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. The gifts bestowed are wondrous until the evil fairy Maleficent arrives and pronounces a curse: On her 16th birthday, Princess Aurora would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die.

Fortunately, only two of the good fairies had given their gifts, and so the third one could minimize the damage caused by the curse. Instead of dying, Aurora would only sleep, until awakened by True Love’s Kiss.

After this, King Stefan ordered that all the spinning wheels in the kingdom be burned. Aurora was hidden by the fairies until her 16th birthday, being raised as a peasant girl they called Briar Rose. When her 16th birthday came, they returned her to the castle to reclaim her inheritance (why they didn’t wait until the next day I don’t know—it would have been a lot safer), and Aurora was tricked into pricking her finger anyway, and she feel into a sleep like death. When she did and the good fairies found out what had happened, they put a charm on the kingdom, causing everyone to sleep until the curse could be broken.

All seemed lost, but Prince Phillip came to her rescue! Captured by Maleficent, he escaped (wth some help), and battled her minions and demons, eventually facing the evil fairy herself, who had had transformed herself into a huge dragon. The foreign-born prince successfully slayed the dragon, though, and awakened the Sleeping Beauty to whom he had been betrothed with True Love’s Kiss.

With the curse lifted and the bride awakened, the kingdom rejoiced, and the prince and princess were wed.

A lovely story, but what does this have to do with us? I’m glad you asked. Consider the crucial elements of the story:

A princess is betrothed to a prince in an arranged marriage.

The princess is cursed by evil, and is helpless to do anything to save herself.

The prince arrives, battles the evil one (who ultimately takes the form of a dragon).

The dragon is defeated.

The princess is awakened by True Love’s Kiss from the prince. (True Love’s Kiss in fairy tales is the symbol of the removal of the curse and the influence of evil being eliminated.)

The prince and princess are wed.

Is it sounding any more familiar now? No?

I listened recently to the June 6, 2011 episode of the Groupthink Rescue podcast. In it, Dan Franklin talks about the story of David and Goliath in I Samuel 17. He said that we tend to misread the lesson of that story. We think it’s about David defeating Goliath with God’s help, but David doesn’t really enter the story until about 1/3 of the way through. It starts with Israel being afraid of this giant they are helpless to defeat, and David—the unexpected and unlikely savior—rescuing them and achieving the victory they could not. David wins the victory, but then all of Israel shares in that victory. it’s not a story of “I can do it with God’s help,” it’s a story of, “There is an enemy I can’t defeat, but Jesus Christ can defeat it and then I can share in His victory.”

Now does Sleeping Beauty sound more familiar?

The Church is the Bride of Christ. We have been promised to Him, and it was an arranged marriage. “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight…” (Eph. 1:4).
We live under a curse, though. Thanks to the sin of Adam and Eve, and our own sinful nature, we live under a curse, and we are helpless to do anything to save ourselves.
We were dead in our sins, but God sent His Son to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. (Col. 2:13-15, Eph 2:4-5)
Jesus is victorious over the enemy (Rev. 12:9 – "The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.") through the Resurrection.
The Prince of Peace frees His bride from the curse through the Resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Rev. 22:3 - "No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

The story of Sleeping Beauty is a graphic depiction of our helplessness before enemies that we cannot defeat—especially the greatest enemy: death—and of the One who gained the victory for us, to bring us to Himself as His bride.

Walt’s Apartment: “Never Will I Leave You”

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:09:00 +0000

It’s one of those little details that’s so easy to overlook, yet it’s in plain sight. Just above the Fire Station (next to Town Hall) is a window with a light in it. So what?

While Disneyland was being built, Walt Disney wanted a place for him and his family to stay, so he could keep an eye on things. He had an apartment constructed on the second floor of the Main Street U.S.A. Firehouse, private, and hidden from the rest of the park. When he worked in the apartment, he often worked at a small wooden desk near the window facing Main Street. If you’d like a peek at what the apartment looks like now (it has been maintained as much as possible to preserve its original state), check out the Disney Parks Blog.

Sharon Baird, one of the original Mouseketeers, was there opening day:

"On the opening day of Disneyland, we (Mouseketters) were in Walt Disney's private apartment above the Main Street Fire Station when the gates of the park opened for the first time. I was standing next to him at the window, watching the guests come pouring through the gates. When I looked up at him, he had his hands behind his back, a grin from ear to ear, I could see a lump in his throat and a tear streaming down his cheek. He had realized his dream. I was only twelve years old at the time, so it didn't mean as much to me then. But as the years go by, that image of him becomes more and more endearing."

That’s the window you see when you look above the fire station. The window where Walt Disney sat and worked. The window he looked out of to watch people come to his Magic Kingdom for the very first time.

Over the next decade, whenever Walt was in Disneyland the light in his apartment window was on. This became well know to the Cast Members who worked during this time, and they would look for this light to find out if Walt was there or not. Since his death, the light is left on in the window symbolize Walt Disney's spirit and presence at Disneyland. The only exceptions are at Christmas time (when a small tree is in the window), and when his daughter Diane Disney Miller is in the park, out of respect for her.

It’s a reminder of where this place came from, whose dream it was, who we have to thank for it. Every time I leave—and most of the time when I enter—I take a moment to glance at the window and say a silent “thank you” to Walt Disney.

That reminder of the presence of the creator has a parallel in Communion, but today it serves as a connection to a promise that was made in Scripture. It’s made more than once, but we’ll just look at one.
Hebrews 13:5-6

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
   ‘Never will I leave you;
   never will I forsake you.’
So we say with confidence,
   ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
   What can man do to me?’”

I don’t go into the Greek very often, but here it is very important. In English grammar, a double negative cancels itself out, but in Greek grammar multiple negatives reinforce the strength of the statement. In the phrases, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you,” the first is a double negative, and the second is a triple negative. This is not a casual statement. It says, in effect, “Never, ever will I leave you; never, ever, ever will I forsake you.”

God makes a promise that you can’t get around. If you are His child, He will not leave you…ever! You may have been abandoned—because someone left, or even if they died. You may have been betrayed. You may be afraid of what the future holds or convinced that your past (or present) makes you unlovable. But if you’ve accepted Jesus Christ, you have been adopted into His family. You don’t have to achieve a certain status or worry about whether you have (or are) enough. He chose you. He loves you. And He will never leave you or forsake you.

Next time you enter Disneyland, and again when you leave, don’t hurry through Town Square. Take a moment to look above the Fire Station. Think for a moment about Walt Disney, and the light that reminds us that his spirit is always there, because he is so much a part of Disneyland. Then let that remind you of Someone Else who is always present, not just in memory, but in reality.

What reminds you of God’s presence in your life? What do you do when life gets hard and you don’t feel that presence?

Meeting Mickey Mouse: The Parable of the Wedding Banquet

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Sat, 07 May 2011 00:14:00 +0000

When my wife and I took my parents to Disneyland for their 40th anniversary, we had the pleasure of getting a series of Magical Moments, including riding in the front cab of the Monorail, a private ride in the Lilly Belle, and a private ride (including being taken to the front of the line) on Storybook Land Canal Boats. Of course, no Disneyland Magical Moment is complete without meeting “The Big Cheese” himself, Mickey Mouse.

Being taken to meet Mickey was a very interesting experience. We had been in Tomorrowland with Neil, the Cast Member in charge of taking care of us. But when we were to go meet Mickey, he called Mike to come take over and take care of the rest of the time for us that day. His reasoning? I’m not dressed properly to meet the Boss. Neil was wearing a costume from Tomorrowland, and Mickey is back in Toontown. We needed someone in a Fantasyland costume, which was acceptable attire for going in to meet Mickey Mouse.

Even at that moment the importance of this struck me. Would we have thought anything about it if Neil stayed with us and took us to Mickey’s house? No. But Neil knew better. There is proper attire required. Of course, that’s not true for guests—who are told to come as they are—but for those who are part of the Magic Kingdom, proper dress is necessary. Of course, they are not expected to provide this outfit on their own; that is what Costuming is for. It is given to them to wear.

In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding banquet. Matthew 22:1-14 says:

¹ Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: ² “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. ³ He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.
⁴ “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’
⁵ “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. ⁶ The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. ⁷ The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
⁸ “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. ⁹ Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ ¹⁰ So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.
¹¹ “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.¹² ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
¹³ “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
¹⁴ “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

First century Jewish wedding customs held that the father of the groom was in charge of the event and bore all the expense associated with the wedding and reception. In case of royalty or the very wealthy this often included providing a specially made garment to be worn over a guest’s regular clothing. This wedding garment was presented to the guest upon arrival and donned immediately. Wearing it wasn’t mandatory, but was considered a great insult to the father of the groom if refused and could get a guest ejected from the festivities. In case of large gatherings it also served as identification to discourage uninvited guests from crashing the party. (see GraceThruFaith.com and other sources)

Even without that context we can reasonably assume that—considering the fact that no one invited from the street corners would have been expected to have had a wedding garment with them—the king himself provided the garments for the guests.

There was a “dress code” for the wedding banquet, just as there was proper attire to be the escort to meet Mickey. And in both cases, the proper outfit was provided by the Host. Just as Jesus was illustrating in that parable, we have “proper attire” expected of us as part of God’s Kingdom, and it is not something we need to provide ourselves—it’s given to us.

Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

It’s not up to us, but we do have to accept the gift, we do have to accept the offer. And when we do, it will be apparent in our lives. Revelation 19:7-8 says, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)”

Our righteousness—which is a gift from God—expresses itself in action, in our words, in who we are. If it doesn’t, it’s worthless. “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” (James 2:17)

Are you attired appropriately? Have you accepted the wedding garment provided by the King? Have you been clothed in the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ? And is that righteousness through faith expressing itself in action?

Think about this the next time you’re at Disneyland and you see the Cast Members costumes. They are wearing what they were given as part of the Magic Kingdom. Are you? Am I?

Snow White’s Scary Adventures: Fearing God

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:23:00 +0000

Snow White's Adventures was an opening day attraction and for the most part the ride remains very similar to when it opened in 1955. According to Mouseplanet.com- "The big change is in perspective. The original conception of the attraction was that the rider was Snow White, and therefore she was never actually seen in the ride. As part of the New Fantasyland in 1983 this was changed so that Snow White is now seen in several locations during the ride. The name was also changed at that time from Snow White's Adventures to Snow White's Scary Adventures to emphasize that the ride would be scary to young riders."

I was watching Snow White recently, and one line jumped out at me. At one point, Snow White says, "But you don't know what I've been through. And all because I was afraid. I'm so ashamed of the fuss I made." All because I was afraid. How telling. Fear is such a prevalent part of our lives. We spend so much time and effort trying to avoid or overcome things we're afraid of, yet there is some fear that's good.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7).

In his BasicSeries, Francis Chan talks about the fear of God. In it, he says, "As people would say certain things are unpopular, the church would almost get embarrassed of those things, like embarrassed of certain doctrines, maybe even embarrassed at the way God described Himself....One of the biggest issues that you see in Scripture is this idea of the fear of God."

Often, Christian tend to downplay the word "fear". I have been know to do it. We say things like, "Well, 'fear' doesn't really mean to be afraid. It just means 'awe and reverence'. It's the same thing as being afraid of fire. It's just having a healthy respect for the fire." The problem with that analogy is that if God is like a fire, He's not like a fire in our fireplace, or even a nice, healthy campfire. He is a raging inferno through a forest of all dry brush and trees. This is not something that commands a "healthy respect".

The word “fear” in Proverb 1:7 and similar verses is from Hebrew words such as yir’ah (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10; Psalm 2:11; 19:9; 34:11), yare’ (Psalm 33:8; 86:11; Jeremiah 5:22; Ecclesiastes 12:13) and pachad (Job 23:15). These words mean “fear,” “terror,” or “dread.” The Hebrew language is clear. Besides, there are other Hebrew words with softer meanings if that is what was intended.

The reality is, we sometimes either lose sight of who God truly is, or we try to minimize Him to make Him seem more approachable. But consider: He is the Creator of the universe. Everything that exists does so because of Him. He is holy. He is omnipotent and omniscient. He is. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Isn't it entirely appropriate, understandable, and even expected to fear Someone like that? Doesn’t casual familiarity or even disregard become unthinkably presumptuous?

Again, Francis Chan: "In church, we started going ... let’s talk about the other areas of God. But if we skip the fear of God, we won’t understand the other areas....when people came in contact with this God, it didn’t look like just a respect or an awe...it sure appears that they are terrified....The reality is, whoever you are, the moment you see God, you are going to fear Him."

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5)

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. (Rev. 1:17a)

We start with a fear of God. But we don't have to stay there. Consider what comes next:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:5-7)

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Then He placed His right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. (Revelation 1:17-18)

God says, "I am the Creator of everything. I am this amazing God that you should fear. But once you get to that point, once you understand that, you don't have to fear Me." What does our worship look like when we understand God like that? Doesn’t it become entirely reasonable to trust Him?

One of the most often repeated command in Scripture is, "Don't be afraid." One last time, Francis Chan: "Then we would see, okay, now I know why I need to fear this God. And now I don’t want to just flippantly disobey His commands anymore. I want to take Him seriously, but not just that ... it would change our whole mindset, ‘cause we’d realize, now that I’ve seen Him, I realize there’s nothing else to fear.”

What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. (Proverbs 19:23)

Snow White had very good reasons to be afraid. She was being targeted for murder by the Wicked Queen. Until she happened upon the Seven Dwarfs, she was lost and alone in a dark, scary place. That was her reality. But we know that often these Fantasyland attractions remind us that what we see is not what is true. The fantasy disguises a greater reality, and that is the case with Snow White's Scary Adventures.

Sometime we, too feel lost and alone. We feel like we're being unfairly and unjustly targeted or attacked. But we know something that Snow White didn't: Unseen but ever-present is our God. We start with fearing God and out of that comes comfort. From that place of refuge we can stand, even when the world seems completely against us, not in our own strength, but shielded and loved by The One who is bigger than all our problems, our fears, our challenges. Without the proper perspective, we remain trapped in these "scary adventures". With the proper perspective, we stand and say, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" and these become more than just words.

Disneyland: A Modern Day Immersive Parable

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Faith and the Magic Kingdom started in July, 2010. Since then, there have been 25 posts relating to Disneyland and the lessons we can glean from The Happiest Place on Earth. Today’s post is #26, and so with this one, we are going to press pause on looking at specific examples, and look at why we’re doing this at all. What value does this have?

I just heard this past Sunday in church that “God is a God of visual aids.” When Jesus told people what God is like, or what Heaven is like, He said things like, “Look at the birds…. Look at the flowers…. Let me tell you a story.” Jesus spoke in parables, tying in what His audience saw and heard every day with spiritual truth that may be difficult for them to grasp.

Disneyland is all about story. Every land tells a story. Every attraction tells a story. Some of stories are obvious. Some are hidden, but still there. The areas open to guests is called “on stage”, while the areas only for Cast Members is called “back stage”. One thing Walt Disney was among the best at doing was making movies, and Disneyland is the ultimate, immersive, interactive “movie.” It is, as we saw in a previous post, Immersion Towards Interesting Illusion. It is one huge narrative, and like all narratives, it contains lessons, examples, reminders, and warnings.

God is a God of story, and using those stories to teach, encourage, and even rebuke.

“Now these things occurred as examplesto keep us from setting our
hearts on evil things as they did. … These things happened to them as
examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the
fulfillment of the ages has come.” (I Corinthians 10:6-11)

“Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
‘I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.’” (Matthew 13:34-35)

“With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand.” (Mark 4:33)

As we’ve seen—and will continue to see—we can use Disneyland as an allegory for aspects of the Christian life. Tens (if not hundreds) of millions of people are familiar with Disneyland to one degree or another. Childhood memories, special events, memories as parents, and more are all closely tied to Disneyland. That familiarity will provide a hook for you to hang the other ideas on, so that they connect to you better.

Second, this is to serve as a reminder that the Christian faith isn’t something we compartmentalize. It’s not just a Sunday morning thing, or even a Sunday morning and Wednesday night thing. It’s all day, every day. Everywhere we go. Everything we do. If it can relate to Disneyland, it can relate anywhere, right?

Third, I know several of my readers work at Disneyland, have worked there, or will work there someday. I pray that this will help you feel as you work each day that you are working for the Lord. That as you go to work, you’ll be able to look around you and remember that God is with you there, and that your work there truly does honor Him.

Finally, I hope this will be able to serve as a springboard for conversations with your friends and family. The next time you go to Disneyland, or just drive by, or even see something about it, that it might trigger a reminder of what you’ve read here. And that reminder can maybe be used to start a non-threatening conversation with an unsaved friend, or as a word of encouragement or challenge to a Christian friend. This is a way to make some of the truths of Scripture accessible, and maybe more understandable. Think of it, if you will, as one big parable.

As always, an illustration breaks down if you push it too far. So, we’re be doing our best to not do that. If we venture off the “official” storyline, it’s OK. The illustration is in service to the Word of God and His desires, not the other way around.

Now, I’m not saying that Walt Disney or the company intended to put these messages and lessons in Disneyland. In fact, I know that promoting a Christian, or even explicitly religious message, was not Walt’s intention at all. His daughter, Diane Disney Miller, told one minister that there are no churches on Main Street at Disneyland because her father didn’t want to favor any particular denomination. On the other hand, he was a strongly religious man who truly believed that good would triumph over evil and that it was important to accept and help everyone even if they were very different from yourself.

Also, I’m not saying they’re not out to make money, and that most of what they do is for the purpose. After all, why do you think most of the locations on Main Street are shops, and that the largest one is on the right as you’re leaving? Why else would so many rides exit to merchandise locations?

Most movies, books, or even everyday life events don’t intend to have the messages we sometimes draw from them for illustrations, and every for-profit corporation wants (and needs) to make money. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t draw lessons and parallels from them, and use them as illustrations and metaphors, anyway.

That’s exactly what we’ve been doing here on Faith and the Magic Kingdom since July 2010, and what we will continue to do.

Indiana Jones Adventure: Integrity

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:06:00 +0000

When it comes to one of the things Disney does best, right at the top of my list is the themed attractions. From the themed queue (line) to the attraction itself to the exit. The very best attractions tell a unified story from beginning to end and a great example of this complete theming is the Indiana Jones Adventure.

Imagineers call the queue for an attraction “Act I” of the story. This is where the stage is set and the story begins to be told. The Disneyland Encyclopedia says of this attraction queue, “At over a quarter-mile long, this would be the longest, and most densely detailed, queue in Disneyland history.”

{Coincidentally, WEDway Radio this week, in show #62, spent their entire episode discussing queues at Disneyland and Walt Disney World, and it came on my iPod while I was typing this post. I highly recommend listening to it.}

From the moment you cross the entry (under the sign) of the Indiana Jones Adventure and enter the attraction’s environment you are immersed in the story of an ancient temple, recently found by Indiana Jones—who has now disappeared. The overgrown foliage, stuttering generator, strange markings throughout the temple, strange noises, and more all tell the story. There are even some hidden surprises—most of which get completely bypassed now thanks to Fastpass. When the ride first opened, they even handed out decoder cards so guests could decode the “maraglyphs” found throughout.

The ride itself takes you on a wild ride through the deepest interiors of the temple, encountering fire, snakes, insects, skeletons, and much more. And after the ride, the walk back out of the temple keeps you in the story, including more maraglyphs to decipher. Contributing to the realism of the exit to The Indiana Jones Adventure are two props from the movie: the mine car from Temple of the Forbidden Eye and the truck from Raiders of the Lost Ark.

All the pieces of this attraction, from the queue through the exit all the pieces work together to tell a single story. What you see on the outside is what you find on the inside. The story is consistent. In short, the attraction has integrity.

Dictionary.com defines integrity as:
“1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished”

Integrity is highlighted as a critical character trait of Godly people. The Apostle Paul tells Titus, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8) All the parts work together and give the same message.

Psalm 25:11 - “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for and expect You.”
Psalm 26:1 - “Vindicate me, O LORD, for I havewalked in my integrity, and I havetrusted in the LORD without wavering.”
Proverbs 1:3 – "Receive instruction in wise dealing and the discipline of wise thoughtfulness, righteousness, justice, and integrity.”
Proverbs 10:9 - “Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.”
Romans 5:4 - “And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.”
Ephesians 6:14 - “Stand therefore [hold your ground], having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of moral rectitude and right standing with God.”

I’m not saying we have to be perfect—none of us are nor will we be this side of heaven—but that does not let us off the hook when it comes to growing in integrity. Part of integrity is acknowledging that we fall short. Contrary to popular belief, hypocrisy is not making mistakes or falling short, it is pretending to have a trait or to be someone that you know to be not true.

It’s easy to look good on the outside, but how are you on the inside? When people look beneath the surface you present to the world, do they find consistency and honesty? Is what you say you value reflected in your daily conduct? What story are you telling with your life, and do you tell it all the way through?

The Sword in the Stone: It’s not What Others Say or Do

noreply@blogger.com (Randy) — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 02:48:00 +0000

Have you noticed what effect your relationships have on how you view yourself and what you are willing and able to do? I know I have.

Good relationships contribute to feelings of confidence, security, and love, and help me be more willing to take risks, because I know I have people who will do everything they can to support me and catch me if I fall. I am more willing to sacrifice for others because I know I have people who will sacrifice for me. I can love others (and myself) because I am loved.

On the other hand, bad relationships can lead to fear, self-doubt, and even self-loathing. In some cases, we get so caught in these relationships that we either blind ourselves to the difficulty—even abuse—we receive, maybe because we think we don’t deserve any better, or can’t do any better, or just don’t have a frame of reference that it can be different. My capacity to love is squelched, or even smothered, because what love I have tried to show has not been returned, and has even been ridiculed (actively or passively) by those whose opinions matter most to us. Like a flower deprived of light and water, we wither. And when (or if) we get out of those toxic relationships, rediscovering all those things that had been denied to us can be a difficult (if also exciting) journey.

But what does that have to do with Disneyland?

Over the last several months, we looked at many different kinds of lessons and reminders. About faith, adventure, Bible Study, creativity, music, service, unity, and more. But there is one truth we’ve so far not touched on, but it’s one of the most important. Without it, the rest loses much—maybe all—of it’s meaning. And we get our reminder of this truth at the heart of the Magic Kingdom.

Walk with me down Main Street U.S.A., pass the Partner’s Statue in the Hub, and through the Sleeping Beauty Castle forecourt. We’re not stopping yet, though. Cross the drawbridge and walk through the castle into Fantasyland. Continue straight ahead and the first thing you’ll run into (unless there happens to be an outdoor vending cart in the way), is a stone & anvil right in front of King Arthur’s Carousel. A very special stone and anvil with a sword stuck in the top. Yes, our reminder is The Sword in the Stone, and what it serves to remind us of is the Love of God.

Consider the story of Arthur Pendragon, king of all Britain. As one version of the legend goes, after the King of England, Uther Pendragon, died, the "Sword in the Stone" appeared in London with an inscription proclaiming that "Who so Pulleth Out This Sword of this Stone and Anvil, is Rightwise King Born of England". Nobody can remove the sword, which is soon forgotten, leaving England in a Dark Age.

Years later, Arthur (a.k.a. Wart), a 12-year-old orphan training to be a squire, accompanies his older foster brother Kay on a hunting trip. Through a series of events, he meets Merlin, who becomes his tutor and mentor. Kay treats Arthur very badly, though. He is mean, rude, and even abusive to Arthur. In fact, the only one who seems to care about Arthur at all is Merlin—because Merlin can see something in Wart that the others can’t…or won’t. Eventually (spoiler alert), Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, fulfilling the prophecy and becoming King.

The Sword in the Stone that sits here in Fantasyland gave guests a chance to live that event for themselves, more or less. Merlin the Magician appeared several times a day to announce that the Realm was having a (temporary) leadership crisis, and needed a new (temporary) Ruler. But can someone be found who has the requisite courage and strength to be the new Ruler? Merlin selected several volunteers who attempt to pull the sword from the stone. (Typically a rather burly man will be the first selected, and will fail miserably, only to be shown up by a 5-year-old.)

Arthur was destined to become King, but no one saw his worth except Merlin, and Merlin refused to give up on him. God does the same for us, because He loves us.

Consider all of God’s attributes. Now consider that very few places in the Bible does it say that “God is” something, and one of those is that “God is love.” This is one trait that more identifies and defines who God is than anything else. God gives grace. He gives peace. He creates. He administers justice. But He is love.

“For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son,that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

“The LORD your God is with you,
   He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
   He will quiet you with his Love,
   He will rejoice over you with singing.”
(Zeph. 3:17)

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (I John 3:1a)

God loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die for you, so that you can have eternal life if only you will believe in Him. He takes great delight in you. Nothing can separate you from His love. You are called a Child of God. He knows the value you have, and you have it simply because you are His child. It’s not because of anything you’ve done to earn it. And there’s nothing you can do that will make Him love you less.

Still, He won’t force Himself on you either. If you choose to accept Him, all of this describes you and you will have eternal life with Him. If you choose not to accept or believe in Him, He loves you so much that He will not force you to spend eternity with Him, and one place has been reserved where He is not. It is your choice.

Wart was to be King of England whether anyone knew it or not. Before his true identity was revealed, some people treated him very badly. Even he didn’t see the potential he had, because he thought he was limited by his station in life and that what others said about him was true. And then he learned otherwise when he pulled a sword from a stone (which was sitting in a churchyard, incidentally).

You are a child of God and He loves you. Others may treat you badly, they may abuse you, put you down, and try to extinguish the love you have for others and for yourself.You may believe that you deserve it, but you don’t. After all, who knows your value more than the One who made you? And He says you are worth more than you can imagine.

Let The Sword in the Stone stand as a monument of God’s love for you. Just as the sword revealed Arthur’s true identity, let it remind you that you are a Prince or Princess-because you are a child of the King of Kings! Nothing anyone can say or do can ever take that away from you, and it remains true no matter what others say about you or how they treat you.