Naboombu Football

A view into the Isle of Naboombu from Bedknobs and Broomsticks. 

Copyrighting Iggi and Omar

Back in 2009, I went throught the process of copyrighting A Fly, a Bee and a Whistle: The Adventures of Iggi and Omar. 

This is "a story told by 3 narrators"  that I wrote back in 2004 and shared originally at the Creative Worship night at my church.   I didn't have to copyright it, as I have no real plan to ever try to have it published, but I wanted to go through and understand the copyright process.   It took about a year from when I applied until I got the official paperwork, which I received recently in 2010.

The beginnings of this project came from divine inspiration of God.  Sounds pretty awesome, huh?   It was.  I was reading in Isaiah when I came across verses 18 and 19 in chapter 7.  In the New American Standard version, they read, "In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is in the remotest part of the rivers of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. They will all come and settle on the steep ravines, on the ledges of the cliffs, on all the thorn bushes and on all the watering places.”

I thought, "How cool!"  The Lord of all creation can just whistle and creation responds! I should write a story about this.   And I did. 

As I wanted it to be something interactive that could be used in worship, I added 3 narrators to tell the story, two often speaking in the voices of the main characters, Iggi the fly and Omar the bee.  The third narrator was the Voice of God.   I was pleased with the result and it became part of a very special night of creative worship.

In 2009, I decided to pursue copyrighting, again simply to understand how it works. Turns out, you can do everything through a website: http://www.copyright.gov/.   I simply needed to fill out the on-line forms, attach an electronic copy of my work, and pay the fee.  Viola!  Copyright.   Again, it took over a year from submitting the application to obtaining the copyright documents (the site says 4.5 to 15 months processing time), but I have it, and you can see it below.
  





Also, you can look it up on the http://www.copyright.gov/ site and see my info.  I think that's pretty neat!

So my story is now registered out there, and should it ever be published, can include the following tag:

A Fly, a Bee and a Whistle: The Adventures of Iggi and Omar

Copyright © 2009 by Robert Edward Wright

"Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission."

All in all, a fun time of creating something new to bring a little more glory to God.  And just perhaps, maybe a sequel is now in order!

Have a super President's Day

Action Comics #371 (Jan 1969)

Mentoring-Leading for a non-sports guys

Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not know much of anything about sports.  I usually find out who is playing in the Super Bowl that morning at church by listening to folks talk up their preferred team.   All my kids have played some kind of sport so I should know the terminology but I sometimes get excited and yell "way to score a goal" when my boys make a basket in basketball.  At least I don't call out, "make a touchdown!"  I save that faux-pas for when they are playing soccer.  Several years ago when my twins started baseball, I asked a good friend to secretly teach me how to throw a baseball so I could throw to my boys, as this was a manly skill I was lacking, and we met many mornings at a field where I am sure I astounded him with my ability (yeh right) but he was faithful to work with me and not laugh (out loud).   I am continually amazed when my brothers, friends or really anyone can name every player and coach and former coach of any random team out there.  Myself, I am simply pleased when someone asks me which football team I like and I can remember to say "the Redskins" as that's the team my mom and bros root for.

So you can imagine my lack of real excitement when my church started promoting a men's discipleship course based on the book The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy.  It was going to be great because it was written by Tony Dungy of course.  You know, Tony Dungy?  THE Tony Dungy!  Hopefully no one noticed my completely blank expression as I gave a weak grin when told this, repeatedly.   From the comments I finally figured out that this guy was some coach that I, being a male I guess, was already supposed to know of and revere.

So I hemmed and hawed because I dreaded the thought of sitting in a class with a bunch of guys where all these sports analogies and facts would be thrown around, which usually just makes me miserable because it makes me feel totally isolated.    But I finally decided to participate, in no way because of the book or this Tony Dungy guy, but because of 3 things.

1.  I want to totally support the man leading the class.   He is a good friend and a pure model of what a mentor/discipler should be, and I know I will learn from him.

2.  Biblically, I think mentoring is advocated and we need to be obedient in doing it.  Period.  But I think Christian men often abdicate this responsibility these days.  I want to make sure I continue to be reminded of this and challenged.   I have spent 20some years mentoring students, but have been lacking in mentoring other men (non youth) and feel convicted about this.

Some verses that have helped convict me (all from ESV):

Psalm 145:4  "One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts."

Psalm 71:18 "So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come."


2 Timothy 2:2 "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."


Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another."


Ephesians 4:15-16 "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped,when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

3. I believe our church really needs more men mentoring and training other men and keeping each other accountable in the important things.  Although there is some good mentoring happening, overall I see a weakness there and I think we need to instead turn this into a strength.

So, I read the first few chapters and looked for the wisdom between the "sports talk".  I went to the first session this week and, even though there were some references that I didn't relate to, we mostly talked about key mentoring principles that transcend sports.  There were 37 (or so) men from our church there and that was very encouraging.  Afterward, I felt good about it.

My deep prayer is that all the men who were there, including myself, do not just attend this class and then go back to "status quo".  I hope we are all obedient to put these principles into action and have the courage to become part of another man's life. And that's the right word, courage, because taking the first step is often the hardest.  But, as someone said that night, mentoring is not rocket science.  It can be learned, but it is worthless if not put into action.

Giving back!

This year, Patrick and Nicholas and their class at Echo Lake Elementary decided to give back to the community. One of the things they have done so far was to spend some time one Sunday afternoon at Beth Shalom retirement home.  Several of the classes met there and did a program for the residents.  They sang some songs and then all the students interviewed someone. 
I went with Nicholas while he did his interview and it was so much fun.  The lady we spoke with was delightful.  She had a problem hearing so her daughter helped some.  Nicholas got to ask her about her career and what school was like when she was little.
What a great way for our kids to stop thinking about themselves and think about others!

Animal of the Week - Cute Bunny Rabbit

The cute bunny rabbit is found in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, a bunch of islands and in lots of storybooks. Cute bunny rabbits have long ears, are furry, and have large powerful hind legs.  They are herbivores and can sometimes be found munching on carrots.

They live almost everywhere, including forests, prairies, deserts, and even the tundra. 

They are cute.

For more information on the cute bunny rabbit, just check online anywhere.  Wikipedia is a nice place to start  or you can check out an encyclopedia or book on cute bunny rabbits at your local library.

Or my friend  Michael might be able to direct you to a good source.  He knows a lot about animals and probably can do a cute bunny rabbit call.  Maybe.

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A Faith That Amazes The Savior

"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him."

Hebrews 11:6 

A great reminder this week of the importance of exceptional faith in our lives.  In faith, there is love as its motivation, initiative in its asking, humility in its manner and confidence in its expectation.

Luke 7:1-10 is a great example of a faith that cause the Lord to marvel!

When He had completed all His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum. And a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. When he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.

When they came to Jesus, they earnestly implored Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue."

Now Jesus started on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to come under my roof; for this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. "For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it." 

Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith."  

When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

Warning: Hallmark Holiday Approaching!

In honor of the Hallmark Holiday coming up next week, which enables us to declare our love with witty cards, here are a few select cards to help you state your intent.

For your good friend or buddy, I suggest the Flash/Supergirl "Let's Be Friends!" or Green Lantern "Hi! Let's Be Pals!"  This will get you through the holiday with acknowledgment, but no commitment.

For something safe to show some slight interest but again, avoid any commitment, an Aquaman "You're quite a 'catch', Valentine" is a hit.

Or perhaps a Batgirl "I want to be on your side" would be like a wink of the eye.  Subtle but harmless.

To show some interest, you could fill in the blanks with this romantic Aquaman and his wife Mera Valentine card.  This will allow you to say as much, or as little, as you like.

For those with some serious commitment, say boyfriend/girlfriend or even spouse, I would advise a Superman card for the occasion, such as "What Superman does, I don't want to do - He travels alone - I want to travel with you!"   Sweet and to the point.

Another option would be Wonder Woman's "For you, Valentine, I'd move Heaven and Earth!"   Now this one shows true love and devotion.

To totally confuse a potential beau or mate, there is always the Batman "Swing along with me...You're Special!"  Just enough passionate words to really cause the heart to patter, in nervousness.

Another to throw someone off guard is the Green Arrow "I'm aiming for you Valentine. You're nice!  Zip"  Do you want to show love, or message an arrow toward the heart?

And finally, for the stalker, I would suggest Batman in "You can't hide from me, Valentine!"  It is sure to strike some emotion in your intendee, probably a rush of fear.

So Happy Valentine's Day people.  Share the love!

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