I am heading out of town for a few weeks this summer, so there will be a pause in my blogging for the time being. I’d like to leave you with a couple of thoughts to munch on in my absence, so grab some Ranch and read away:

Their irresistable characters are ripe with clever quips and bursting with tunes. You can’t help but grin when you see their charming smiles and hear their little songs replaying in your head. Somehow they make vegetables appealing to even the most veggie-allergic kid. Who are they? Veggie Tales, of course!

Veggie Tales have embedded themselves into the Christian community and have even become a popular babysitter for many an exhausted mom or weary teacher. They present a unique way of driving home those basic lessons that every child should embrace. Who can resist Larry the Cucumber or Bob the Tomato? No one, right?

Right…well, come with me into my classroom for a moment, as we begin our Bible lesson. Class, this morning we are going to talk about Jonah. [Miss T, remember that scene in Veggie Tales when they were hitting each other with fish? That was so funny!] Ok, let’s talk about Daniel, then. [Miss T, I love that part in Veggie Tales when everyone was bowing down to the giant chocolate bunny!]  What about Esther? [Is that the one in Veggie Tales, when the king banished his queen to the island of eternal tickling?] We’ll conclude our lesson with a reflection on Joshua and the Battle of Jericho. [Oh man! I loved the part when the big slushy fell on Jimmy the Gourd!] Students, open your Bibles and read the actual account of the event!

OK, that’s more than a little exaggerated, but I hope you see my point. With impressionable children and easily distractable middle schoolers, one can never be too careful when presenting them with the holiness of the Word of God. My seventh graders know that the people of the Bible were not vegetables, but because Veggie Tales are goofy and fun, they absorb those stories and think of them when the true accounts in the Bible are being discussed. When their attention runs away, the solemnity of the moment is lost and they are drawn into the levity of cartoons versus the intensity of eternal truths from Scripture.

Life is filled with opportunities for fun. Cartoons, fairy tales, and Veggie Tales have their place as childhood teachers and entertainers. They can teach all of us a thing or two about greed, selfishness, jealousy, lying, laziness, and every other enemy to good character. Yet when it comes to preserving reverence for the Holy Word of God, let’s set aside the veggies and train our children to approach the throne of the Almighty God with awe and humility.  One day every knee will bow before Him and every tongue will confess that He is God. We certainly will not be thinking of tomatoes and cucumbers at that time, so why should be thinking of them when we read the Bible now?