Adventures in Booga Booga Land-Volume 1

In Adventures in Booga Booga Land, we follow Gerard the Giraffe and Marty the monkey as they go through life in Booga Booga Land, living out the parables of Jesus. The first two segments cover the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) and the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 5:24-27). These parts told the parables correctly, but I thought they failed in overall application when they didn't even mention Jesus. The only place it was even mentioned as being from Jesus was in the titles of the segments. If I was a child unable to read, I would have no idea these had anything to do with God or Jesus' teaching.

The final segment, based on the Light of the World/Lamp under a bowl passage in Matthew 5:14-16, just didn't seem to make much sense with regard to what the segment was supposed to be based on. On top of this, the voices for the various characters were nothing unique and the script was lame. Attempts at humor fell flat. Maybe the books are better. As much as I was hoping to like this DVD, I'm not even sure if I would be willing to give it another chance. Farewell, Booga Booga Land.

Retiring my Bible

I decided several weeks back, maybe even months, that on my birthday this year I would retire my Bible. I received this NIV Disciple's Study Bible from my parents on my birthday 1990, the year that Michelle and I returned to Christ after a time of wandering aimlessly. The truth contained in this book has carried me from the desert of Arizona back to Georgia and then to Tennessee. It has held me up through the death of my father and my brother. It has given me hope in the troubled waters of strained relationships and shined light into the dark places of my soul when I chose to hide in the shadows. In those twenty years, I have cried into it's pages over disappointments in life and unfulfilled dreams. It has consistently reminded me that I must die so Christ may live in me. Some lessons I learned and some I ignored, but it never gave up on me. The pages are filled with notes from my journey, so I will keep this treasured book in hopes that someone travelling behind me in later generations may pick it up and use it on the journey. So now I lay my friend aside and begin the next 20 years with my ESV Study Bible. I may consult my old friend occasionally to talk about "the good ole days" and see what it has been up to, but for now I say "Thank you" for a great 20 years.