Everyday Educator - A Rollicking Review of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.440 | - Welcome friends to this episode
00:00:04.800 | of the "Everyday Educator" podcast.
00:00:07.600 | I'm your host, Lisa Bailey,
00:00:09.440 | and I'm excited to spend some time with you today
00:00:12.720 | as we encourage one another, learn together,
00:00:16.320 | and ponder the delights and challenges
00:00:19.260 | that make homeschooling the adventure of a lifetime.
00:00:22.680 | Whether you're just considering
00:00:24.640 | this homeschooling possibility,
00:00:26.920 | or deep into the daily delight of family learning,
00:00:31.360 | I believe you'll enjoy thinking along with us.
00:00:35.360 | But don't forget,
00:00:37.040 | although this online community is awesome,
00:00:40.600 | you'll find even closer support in a local CC community.
00:00:45.600 | So, go to classicalconversations.com
00:00:50.960 | and find a community near you today.
00:00:55.320 | Well, listeners, the holiday season is upon us,
00:00:59.000 | and "Everyday Educator," as you know,
00:01:01.440 | takes its holidays very seriously.
00:01:04.280 | So today, in this first podcast of the Advent season,
00:01:09.280 | we are going to be talking about a great book
00:01:13.360 | and a great movie now, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."
00:01:19.360 | I know that probably you and your family
00:01:22.240 | are getting ready to celebrate,
00:01:24.200 | and you are probably doing all kinds of traditional things,
00:01:28.440 | like baking cookies and decorating the Christmas tree,
00:01:32.280 | and maybe you and your family
00:01:34.960 | are even involved in a Christmas pageant.
00:01:38.920 | So, I suspect you've already heard
00:01:42.520 | that there's a new movie out,
00:01:44.160 | "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" has become a movie,
00:01:48.880 | and lots of you may have already seen it,
00:01:51.920 | or maybe you're kinda waiting on some reviews,
00:01:55.440 | wondering if it's worth checking out or not.
00:01:59.280 | So, this podcast is all about
00:02:02.560 | "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,"
00:02:04.600 | and I've got some friends
00:02:06.000 | who are gonna give you some feedback.
00:02:09.080 | All right, welcome, my friends and fellow pageant lovers.
00:02:15.080 | They are, people are eager to hear
00:02:18.480 | what you guys have to say about the movie,
00:02:21.000 | because some of us, I have to admit,
00:02:23.520 | I'm one of 'em, have not seen it yet, okay?
00:02:28.520 | So, so, me and all my listeners
00:02:32.600 | are eager to hear what you have to say.
00:02:34.400 | Now, listeners, I have to tell you,
00:02:36.360 | I had to cap the guest attendance on this podcast,
00:02:40.280 | because when I went fishing among my buddies,
00:02:43.320 | there were so many people who wanted to weigh in
00:02:47.200 | and share their reviews.
00:02:49.720 | So, you're just gonna get my friend Babs,
00:02:53.080 | Babs Harrell, say hello.
00:02:55.760 | - Hello.
00:02:56.600 | - And my friend Jamie Hayes.
00:02:58.840 | - Hello.
00:03:00.880 | - And Deb Switzer.
00:03:02.920 | - Hello.
00:03:04.000 | - And Jennifer Hester.
00:03:05.880 | - Hi.
00:03:06.720 | - Okay, so all these gals are gonna help us delve into
00:03:11.720 | what's so great about this story,
00:03:14.000 | and why was this movie worth their time?
00:03:17.480 | I have to say this, in the spirit of Christmas,
00:03:21.480 | I'm giving you a spoiler alert.
00:03:24.760 | We are gonna share details.
00:03:27.000 | So, if you don't know this story,
00:03:29.560 | and you hate to have spoilers to your story,
00:03:33.920 | then pause the podcast, go read the book really quick,
00:03:38.880 | and then come back and finish listening to the podcast.
00:03:41.800 | I will tell you, most of you could probably read the book
00:03:46.720 | by Barbara Robinson, "The Best Christmas Paget Ever."
00:03:50.200 | You could probably read it in one sitting.
00:03:52.320 | It is delightful.
00:03:54.920 | It is not complicated reading.
00:03:58.040 | It is a great read aloud for your kids.
00:04:01.680 | So, that's another suggestion for you.
00:04:05.080 | All right, guys, let's just jump in.
00:04:07.800 | All right, Deb, I want you to give us
00:04:11.400 | a rundown on the storyline.
00:04:14.160 | You don't have to go into tons of specifics,
00:04:16.200 | but a rundown on the storyline.
00:04:18.080 | What is this about?
00:04:20.240 | - Such a great, funny story.
00:04:22.800 | I just laugh aloud every time I've read it.
00:04:25.440 | The best way to sum it up is the first sentence of the book,
00:04:28.320 | which is, "The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids
00:04:31.320 | "in the history of the world."
00:04:33.120 | (Deb laughs)
00:04:35.480 | It's basically about these six siblings, the Herdmans,
00:04:38.280 | who are the bullies of this charming little neighborhood,
00:04:43.040 | and we have the story of how they get involved in church.
00:04:47.720 | So, they bully, and they smoke cigars,
00:04:50.360 | and they do all these weird things.
00:04:52.680 | They cause all kinds of destruction,
00:04:54.520 | and they never go to church.
00:04:56.320 | And through a series of events,
00:04:59.160 | they end up wanting to be part
00:05:01.600 | of the Christmas pageant in the town,
00:05:03.800 | and they force their way in,
00:05:05.880 | and they come to the Christmas story
00:05:08.080 | with a whole different perspective,
00:05:10.040 | and you kind of wonder what's gonna happen.
00:05:12.000 | But all the community ends up learning more
00:05:15.120 | about the whole Christmas story
00:05:16.920 | as they get involved with these kids
00:05:19.320 | as they walk through the pageant together.
00:05:22.400 | And it's really delightful.
00:05:23.480 | The way that it ends is just so sweet.
00:05:26.640 | But you see lots of interactions between the kids,
00:05:29.680 | and all the different things
00:05:31.320 | that we kind of see in ourselves comes out
00:05:33.200 | as they go through that pageant together.
00:05:36.320 | - Yeah, so the premise of the story is very simple.
00:05:41.560 | I mean, it's Christmastime in a small town and at a church,
00:05:46.360 | and so there's obviously gonna be a Christmas pageant.
00:05:50.320 | Yeah, and so the whole story is about, like Deb said,
00:05:53.480 | how these quote-unquote worst kids in the world
00:05:57.080 | infiltrate the pageant and take it somewhere
00:06:02.080 | it has never been before.
00:06:04.400 | Now, Jamie, there's more than just the herdmans,
00:06:07.800 | the bad little guys, the bad kids.
00:06:10.600 | There's more than just the herdmans in the story.
00:06:14.280 | Tell us a little bit about other characters,
00:06:17.160 | and even more about the herdmans if you want to.
00:06:19.920 | - Yeah, so the herdmans are a group of siblings.
00:06:25.800 | I think there's five of them.
00:06:27.800 | And like Deb said, they are known as being bullies.
00:06:32.000 | They don't tend to have any parents or parental oversight.
00:06:39.360 | And then the main crux of it all, I think,
00:06:42.360 | is just that the fact that they don't know
00:06:44.800 | the story of Christ's birth,
00:06:46.520 | which is what the whole book is about.
00:06:52.000 | And then, of course, you have to have the good people,
00:06:56.240 | quote-unquote, which would be the local church body
00:07:00.520 | who are very prideful of their pageant
00:07:06.720 | that they do every year.
00:07:09.240 | And they have very high standards.
00:07:12.240 | In fact, this is a very important year.
00:07:14.760 | It's the 75th anniversary of the pageant.
00:07:18.920 | Crews, news crews are coming to videotape it all.
00:07:23.920 | And so there's a lot riding on the pageant this year.
00:07:29.840 | And then there's this family in the church, the Bradleys,
00:07:36.440 | who's a mom, Grace, dad, Bob,
00:07:40.280 | and then their two children, Beth and Charlie.
00:07:45.280 | And they become the people who interact the most,
00:07:50.280 | it seems, with the herdmans.
00:07:52.880 | They also seem to be mediators almost
00:07:56.000 | between the church and the herdmans throughout.
00:07:59.360 | And the mom ends up having to take on running the pageant.
00:08:04.360 | And she does it differently
00:08:08.200 | than anybody else wants her to do it.
00:08:10.560 | And so that causes a lot of problems
00:08:13.240 | for those that have a lot of pride in this pageant.
00:08:16.760 | - And a lot of tradition, I bet, yeah.
00:08:19.360 | - Yes.
00:08:20.200 | - Don't mess with tradition.
00:08:22.000 | - Exactly, yeah.
00:08:23.480 | The same people, right, always do the same parts.
00:08:27.000 | And that didn't quite work out with bullies in the midst.
00:08:31.560 | And then the kids, I just think that they started out
00:08:36.080 | viewing the herdmans, of course, like everybody else,
00:08:38.760 | the bullies. - Sure.
00:08:40.000 | - And then I think as Beth and Charlie
00:08:43.240 | watched their parents interact with the herdmans,
00:08:46.640 | they grew a lot of just going from seeing them one way,
00:08:51.640 | but watching their parents ask questions
00:08:59.080 | or interact with the herdmans and realizing
00:09:02.880 | that there's always more than one side of the story.
00:09:06.040 | - Oh, wow.
00:09:06.960 | - And it's great to ask questions.
00:09:08.760 | I also love the fact that Beth and Charlie come across
00:09:12.240 | in the movie as very real live examples
00:09:16.680 | of children their age.
00:09:18.880 | - Okay.
00:09:19.720 | - And little things that that age child
00:09:22.080 | would be going through and the thought processes
00:09:25.720 | that that age child would have.
00:09:29.000 | I felt they portrayed that really well.
00:09:31.800 | - Oh, that's so good that it's realistic.
00:09:34.280 | You know, you always think that,
00:09:36.560 | are they gonna portray it in a way
00:09:38.720 | that I could recognize my kids
00:09:40.640 | or that my kids could recognize themselves?
00:09:43.040 | And I know one of the things that I loved about the book
00:09:47.160 | was that the author, Barbara Robinson,
00:09:51.280 | seemed to really get kids.
00:09:53.880 | 'Cause like in the dialogue of the kids
00:09:56.520 | and in their thoughts, like this is really how kids think
00:10:00.520 | and this is how they would really react.
00:10:02.360 | These are the things that kids are afraid of.
00:10:05.720 | These are the things that are boring to kids
00:10:08.760 | or the things that they dread
00:10:10.600 | or the things that they wonder about.
00:10:14.320 | So I'm glad that the movie makes the kids real.
00:10:20.440 | I think that tends to draw audiences into the story
00:10:25.680 | if they can relate to it.
00:10:27.440 | But now the Herdmans,
00:10:30.120 | they sound like a bunch of pieces of work.
00:10:32.800 | They sound like some wild kids
00:10:35.680 | who maybe have a lot of rough edges.
00:10:39.040 | I know at least in the book,
00:10:43.160 | it comes across as they are utterly unfamiliar
00:10:48.160 | with spiritual things, especially with churchiness.
00:10:53.320 | Like they don't know how you're supposed to conduct
00:10:57.280 | yourselves at Sunday school or in the sanctuary
00:11:01.880 | or when you're reading a Bible verse.
00:11:04.080 | And they tend to ask some kind of rude questions,
00:11:08.680 | what might be viewed as rude questions.
00:11:11.040 | Jennifer, did you know any kids like the Herdmans
00:11:14.640 | when you were growing up?
00:11:16.160 | - I mean, didn't we all?
00:11:19.120 | (all laughing)
00:11:21.640 | I mean, I think everybody has experienced
00:11:24.560 | or witnessed some form of bullying
00:11:28.080 | or the outside kids who didn't belong or whatever.
00:11:33.080 | So I think that we can all relate to knowing somebody
00:11:38.680 | or witnessing somebody similar.
00:11:40.720 | Yeah, there's always the bullies in school.
00:11:44.040 | And what I thought was really interesting
00:11:45.960 | and I had pointed out after watching the movie,
00:11:49.200 | 'cause some of my kids have read the book and some haven't,
00:11:52.680 | was, were they really that terrible?
00:11:56.440 | Like once, spoiler alert.
00:11:59.000 | Once the fire scene happened and they realized
00:12:04.120 | that it wasn't actually the Herdmans that started the fire,
00:12:09.120 | it made me question some of the other things
00:12:11.600 | that they had been accused of.
00:12:12.920 | Was it assumed that they had done these things
00:12:15.720 | and maybe the kids just played into
00:12:17.640 | what people believed about them?
00:12:19.440 | - Aha.
00:12:21.080 | - And so it just sparked a really great conversation
00:12:23.400 | with my own family on,
00:12:25.080 | do we fall into what other people believe
00:12:28.560 | because it's just easier than fighting it?
00:12:31.120 | Or do we have a perceived reality of other people,
00:12:34.360 | even the bully, right?
00:12:35.760 | Like there's a reason behind the behavior most of the time.
00:12:39.640 | And so it was just a really great moment to pause
00:12:42.200 | and talk about who do we know like this
00:12:44.960 | and what, you know, what do we really know about them?
00:12:47.840 | Is there something that we're missing?
00:12:49.200 | Is there a missing piece?
00:12:51.280 | - Is there a reason that they're acting that way
00:12:54.240 | or are they really acting that way?
00:12:57.080 | Or do we, are we making it worse
00:12:58.720 | by the way we think about it?
00:13:01.680 | - My mom was quick to tell me that they did in fact
00:13:03.960 | do some of the things that they were accused of.
00:13:05.960 | (laughs)
00:13:08.040 | - That is so funny.
00:13:11.880 | That's really good.
00:13:12.960 | And that's a really good talking point
00:13:15.280 | to have with your kids.
00:13:17.040 | Yeah, I love that.
00:13:19.720 | So let me ask you this Babs,
00:13:21.760 | were you in Christmas pageants when you were a kid?
00:13:26.000 | - Absolutely.
00:13:28.800 | Weren't we all made to be in Christmas pageants
00:13:31.400 | just like the kids in the play?
00:13:33.240 | - That's what I was getting ready to say.
00:13:34.880 | Were you made to be in it?
00:13:37.000 | I can remember when my kids were little,
00:13:39.680 | I remember being in pageants
00:13:41.480 | and I remember my kids being in pageants
00:13:44.200 | and if they wanted a different part,
00:13:46.320 | no, these are all the parts we have.
00:13:48.200 | And the little girls in the primary Sunday school class
00:13:52.200 | are always the angels and the big,
00:13:54.800 | it really did seem like there were roles
00:13:58.720 | that you just got pushed into.
00:14:01.240 | What was your part?
00:14:02.200 | Do you remember what was your part some year
00:14:04.680 | or all the years?
00:14:06.600 | - So we never did the same one every year.
00:14:08.680 | We always had a new play.
00:14:11.440 | And we always had different people who were directing.
00:14:14.440 | We didn't always have the same person who directed.
00:14:16.520 | Well, I mean, there were a lot of adults,
00:14:18.680 | like as a group, that kind of did it together.
00:14:21.800 | But, so I've been an angel.
00:14:24.280 | I know it's hard to believe that,
00:14:25.520 | but I have been an angel.
00:14:27.880 | I have been an animal in the stable.
00:14:30.120 | - Oh yeah.
00:14:31.760 | - And I remember just from reading the book
00:14:34.720 | and then watching the movie,
00:14:35.720 | we did this play at our church.
00:14:37.880 | - Oh wow, cool.
00:14:39.240 | - I got to play, I think her name's Beth.
00:14:41.920 | She was the mom that was in charge of the play.
00:14:45.320 | And I think I was in middle school at that point,
00:14:47.920 | but I got to play her.
00:14:49.800 | And so that was a really great memory
00:14:53.040 | to go back and watch it
00:14:54.240 | and just to kind of relive
00:14:56.120 | what we were doing at our church.
00:14:58.240 | And I even asked some people from our church,
00:15:00.720 | do you guys have any pictures of us doing this?
00:15:03.480 | I just want to relive,
00:15:05.440 | you know, I want to see the pictures and relive,
00:15:07.080 | but so far nobody has found anything, so.
00:15:10.360 | - In a minute, I want you to talk maybe about
00:15:13.800 | what did you understand about,
00:15:16.560 | you're playing the part of that mom
00:15:18.480 | who had to take on running the pageant
00:15:22.840 | and answering all those questions about,
00:15:25.680 | well, why are you not doing it the way we always did?
00:15:27.480 | Well, what are you going to do about this?
00:15:29.000 | And, you know, did you get that?
00:15:31.360 | So hold on to that though,
00:15:33.080 | because I know that I want to talk about
00:15:37.720 | kids playing the same roles.
00:15:39.520 | And I know a lot of, my husband's a pastor.
00:15:43.120 | And so we have served lots of little churches
00:15:45.240 | where the Christmas pageant
00:15:47.520 | is just what this little Sunday school kids do.
00:15:51.080 | They reenact the Christmas story every year.
00:15:54.160 | And so there were always the kids who were the angels
00:15:57.840 | because they could sing pretty.
00:15:59.400 | And then there was always the kids who were the shepherds
00:16:02.640 | 'cause they didn't have any lines
00:16:04.000 | and they didn't want any lines.
00:16:05.720 | And so sometimes you end up with the same part every year.
00:16:10.720 | Deb, what happens if the same kids
00:16:17.400 | do the same roles every year?
00:16:21.160 | What do you think might happen for those kids
00:16:23.800 | or even just for the tradition of the church?
00:16:27.360 | - Yeah, I think it's fascinating.
00:16:30.920 | You know, I've directed Christmas pageants too in our church
00:16:34.200 | and, you know, there are gonna be the ones
00:16:37.520 | who never want to speak
00:16:38.720 | and the ones who want to just be in the background.
00:16:41.880 | And I think one of the jobs of even the director
00:16:45.680 | is to keep it fresh.
00:16:47.000 | And I think that that's one of the messages of this book
00:16:50.080 | is how do we get out of the rut of the Christmas story
00:16:53.480 | being so familiar to us
00:16:55.200 | that it's become just these lines to this whole town
00:17:00.680 | as they're sitting in there
00:17:01.680 | and the kids aren't connecting with the lines anymore
00:17:04.600 | because it just all sounds the same.
00:17:06.600 | They said, "I could read it backward and forward."
00:17:08.320 | And they don't have a fresh understanding of the nativity
00:17:13.080 | and what it means.
00:17:14.200 | And I think that that's the beauty
00:17:16.640 | of being able to reenact the Christmas story
00:17:18.960 | and the way that the book and the movie present it
00:17:21.480 | is that we have the joy
00:17:24.160 | of being able to come at it fresh every year,
00:17:26.480 | that it took the herdmans
00:17:28.640 | to be able to knock them out of their tradition, maybe,
00:17:31.920 | but then it was just this beautiful, fresh understanding
00:17:35.560 | of who Jesus is and what it meant that he came to Mary
00:17:40.160 | and what it meant that he came to the world.
00:17:41.960 | And if we can take something like this story
00:17:45.440 | and be able to make it fresh in all of our lives,
00:17:48.480 | the way that the herdmans did in a very funny way,
00:17:51.560 | but keeping it fresh is one of the beauties,
00:17:55.120 | I think, of the season
00:17:56.360 | is that Christ's story always has new meaning to us
00:17:59.800 | every single year. - Deb, can I add to that
00:18:00.640 | and say what I loved was
00:18:03.040 | the kids were asking such great questions
00:18:07.000 | because you don't know what you don't know, right?
00:18:09.400 | - Yes, yes.
00:18:10.240 | - And so that was an assumption
00:18:11.280 | that everybody knew the story.
00:18:13.680 | And so I loved, I just laughed out loud
00:18:16.640 | when they go back home and the dad says, "How did it go?"
00:18:21.400 | And they're like, "Oh, it was horrible."
00:18:23.280 | They have all these questions and they don't know anything
00:18:25.560 | and they're obsessed with Herod
00:18:27.160 | and what happened to King Herod and the dad pauses
00:18:30.040 | and he goes, "Well, what did happen to King Herod?"
00:18:33.280 | And I'm like, "I don't know."
00:18:37.200 | - Right, right.
00:18:39.200 | It's so funny.
00:18:40.400 | There are whole pieces of the story
00:18:42.880 | that we just kind of swallow and don't explore.
00:18:46.480 | And well, in your mind, you're thinking,
00:18:50.200 | "Yeah, but that's not the point of the story."
00:18:52.040 | But like who decided that that wasn't the point of the story
00:18:56.600 | and maybe it would be more of a point of the story
00:19:00.120 | if we explored it a little bit.
00:19:02.560 | Yeah, I think that's really cool.
00:19:05.440 | I wonder, I'm thinking about it,
00:19:09.760 | you guys were saying it helps the people
00:19:12.640 | who are watching the pageant
00:19:14.200 | and the people who are even helping with the pageant,
00:19:19.280 | it gives you a different sense of the message.
00:19:23.480 | It gives you a different message
00:19:25.560 | when the herdmans introduce a new perspective.
00:19:30.560 | But think about if you are the child
00:19:35.680 | who has the same role every year in the Christmas pageant,
00:19:40.680 | then you only know the story from that one perspective.
00:19:46.720 | Maybe you don't know the whole story at all.
00:19:51.720 | And it sounds like the herdmans,
00:19:57.080 | because they were unfamiliar with the story,
00:20:00.320 | so very unfamiliar with the story,
00:20:03.080 | that they were curious about all of the parts
00:20:06.440 | and how it all fit together in ways that I think
00:20:10.400 | when we pigeonhole kids
00:20:11.760 | and just give them a shepherd part every year
00:20:14.360 | and they never think about the Mary and Joseph part
00:20:17.920 | or they never think about the wise men
00:20:20.440 | and what they might have felt.
00:20:21.840 | I think it helps us,
00:20:24.320 | a movie or a book like this helps us to see
00:20:30.960 | all the pieces of the story
00:20:33.360 | and how they might fit together.
00:20:35.760 | - Yeah, it was neat to see Imogene's portrayal in the movie
00:20:40.440 | and just the way that she said,
00:20:43.400 | "Mary must've been tough," right?
00:20:45.360 | And we have these beautiful images of Mary
00:20:50.360 | and the movie brings it out really well, so does the book.
00:20:53.080 | But just because she's such a tough character
00:20:56.320 | with tough siblings and other things,
00:20:59.360 | and she's able to just really show,
00:21:02.960 | "Hey, this girl that had to bring forth
00:21:05.920 | "the savior of the world,
00:21:07.480 | "she had some toughness in her too."
00:21:10.000 | And it's just this, it's bringing forth a freshness
00:21:13.360 | that when somebody else plays the role, like you said,
00:21:16.760 | they can see it in a whole different way
00:21:18.680 | than maybe the person who did the previous year
00:21:21.160 | or even just, and then when we see it,
00:21:23.920 | we bring that new life to the story as well,
00:21:26.280 | which is great.
00:21:27.120 | - Even down to the gifts that they brought,
00:21:30.200 | them questioning like,
00:21:31.400 | "Why would they bring these gifts to a baby?"
00:21:34.360 | And then in the end for the kids to bring something that,
00:21:38.760 | they brought the ham that was so important to them,
00:21:41.840 | something that they only got once a year
00:21:44.280 | and they were, what is the word?
00:21:48.080 | Like the imagery of them giving up something
00:21:53.000 | that was so important to them for this moment.
00:21:57.160 | - Yeah, it was a real sacrifice.
00:21:59.480 | - Right.
00:22:00.400 | - It was a real sacrifice.
00:22:02.200 | And that they were moved to sacrifice
00:22:08.680 | gives a whole new understanding,
00:22:12.840 | a whole new version of the story.
00:22:16.480 | So let me ask you this, Jamie, what is the tone?
00:22:19.800 | Okay, you've read the book and seen the movie, correct?
00:22:24.640 | - Yes.
00:22:25.480 | - So what was the tone of the book?
00:22:28.080 | When you read the book or if you remember
00:22:30.600 | when you read it for the first time,
00:22:32.360 | what was the tone of the book like?
00:22:38.080 | - I just remember it being very funny
00:22:40.680 | that my imagination just went really wild
00:22:44.720 | with how things were described.
00:22:47.800 | And yet at the same time, within seconds,
00:22:51.120 | I could be crying just because of the poignant questions
00:22:55.600 | that these children would ask.
00:22:58.760 | Because like y'all said, they had no idea.
00:23:02.120 | And it's a very, very easy read, like you said,
00:23:07.800 | just to be able to pick it up and finish it in one setting.
00:23:11.840 | We would take it, we'd drive a little ways to get to church.
00:23:16.480 | And so as our children were growing up every December,
00:23:20.400 | this book was the book that came with us on one Sunday
00:23:23.320 | and would read it aloud.
00:23:25.120 | And we tended to get through it in one Sunday.
00:23:29.880 | And very much just a sweet memory of reading that together.
00:23:37.320 | - Yeah.
00:23:38.200 | - It makes for a really good read aloud
00:23:42.520 | because it's real approachable for little kids
00:23:47.280 | because the characters, the children in there
00:23:51.320 | talk and think like your children.
00:23:54.640 | They talk and think like real children
00:23:57.160 | and they ask the real questions.
00:24:00.120 | And we've all had, you've all said it,
00:24:04.880 | we all knew kids like the Herdmans.
00:24:07.120 | We all went to school.
00:24:08.800 | We all hid from kids like the Herdmans, or avoided them.
00:24:13.800 | And then we all also had Goody Two-Shoes friends,
00:24:16.800 | or maybe we were the Goody Two-Shoes friend,
00:24:21.000 | who was always looking to complain about the Herdmans
00:24:26.640 | or about whoever was doing the part wrong.
00:24:33.640 | And so it's very, very approachable.
00:24:39.160 | And it's funny.
00:24:40.320 | And it's funny.
00:24:41.320 | And what about the movie, Jamie?
00:24:42.800 | Do you feel like the tone of the book and the movie
00:24:45.840 | are compatible?
00:24:47.000 | Are they the same?
00:24:48.160 | Will we be surprised?
00:24:50.760 | - They are very compatible.
00:24:53.120 | My husband and I were talking about it
00:24:54.960 | because the one thing that we both walked away from
00:24:57.560 | was, wow, we thought the movie would be funnier.
00:25:02.200 | - OK.
00:25:03.560 | - And so that was the one little letdown.
00:25:06.720 | But the more we thought about it, we're like,
00:25:08.560 | you know what?
00:25:09.080 | When you're reading a book and you're not seeing pictures,
00:25:12.360 | your brain and imagination runs wild.
00:25:15.640 | But in a movie, they give you almost limitations
00:25:20.360 | of what your brain can do because they're showing you.
00:25:24.840 | And so I think that's why it didn't come across as funny.
00:25:30.400 | There are great laughing points in it.
00:25:33.120 | But I specifically took my dad to the movie
00:25:35.680 | because he's the type of guy who will roll in the floor,
00:25:39.000 | basically, because he's laughing so hard.
00:25:41.760 | And so I told all my children, I said,
00:25:43.800 | we're going with grandpa.
00:25:45.400 | We're going to watch this so that I can watch him.
00:25:48.680 | And it did eventually get him chuckling really well.
00:25:53.040 | In fact, I'll share my favorites later on.
00:25:56.720 | But there were just so many parts in the book
00:26:01.560 | where I remember myself rolling in the floor.
00:26:06.240 | And it didn't happen as often in the movie.
00:26:09.440 | But I think it's because of that limitation of your imagination
00:26:13.080 | being limited to what you're seeing
00:26:14.560 | versus what you can create in your mind
00:26:16.400 | without an image in front of you.
00:26:18.520 | - Yeah, it's so funny.
00:26:20.200 | There are some really laugh out loud.
00:26:22.840 | Even if you're reading it, if you're reading the book,
00:26:25.360 | if you're reading it to yourself,
00:26:27.320 | there are some laugh out loud moments in the book.
00:26:31.640 | And I'm going to let everybody share their favorite moment.
00:26:33.800 | And then you can talk about your favorite moment in the book.
00:26:36.760 | And if the movie treated it well,
00:26:39.040 | or if you have a different favorite moment in the book.
00:26:42.160 | Babs, I'll start with you.
00:26:43.360 | So what is your favorite part of the story?
00:26:50.240 | And if you have one favorite part in the book
00:26:52.960 | and a different favorite part in the movie, that's fine.
00:26:56.320 | But if you have a favorite part in the book,
00:26:58.160 | I want you to talk about how the movie handled
00:27:01.440 | that part of the story and if you were satisfied.
00:27:04.920 | So Babs, you go first.
00:27:06.400 | What's your favorite part of this story?
00:27:09.160 | - OK, this is going to be really weird, probably.
00:27:12.000 | But my favorite part, and it's only because, like I said,
00:27:15.960 | we did the play when I was a kid,
00:27:18.040 | is this one part where Imogene is talking to--
00:27:23.560 | I think her name is--
00:27:25.880 | it's the daughter.
00:27:28.840 | I think-- oh, and Beth, because Grace was the mom
00:27:31.400 | and Beth was the daughter.
00:27:33.080 | So she's talking to her because she's basically telling her,
00:27:35.600 | do not raise your hand to be married.
00:27:37.720 | And so this is what she said.
00:27:38.960 | I'll just quote it.
00:27:39.800 | I'll just read it.
00:27:41.240 | So it says, "Next spring, when the pussy willows come out,
00:27:45.000 | I'll stick a pussy willow so far down your ear
00:27:48.040 | where nobody can reach it.
00:27:49.680 | And it'll sprout there.
00:27:50.920 | And it'll grow.
00:27:51.760 | And it'll grow.
00:27:52.800 | And you'll spend the rest of your life
00:27:54.720 | with a pussy willow bush growing out of your ear."
00:27:57.360 | [LAUGHTER]
00:27:59.880 | I don't know why.
00:28:00.800 | That's my favorite.
00:28:01.600 | And I think it's just because I see the kids, the two girls
00:28:05.400 | that were playing it in our church, I see them.
00:28:08.160 | And I hear their voice.
00:28:09.160 | - Oh, my gosh.
00:28:10.000 | Yes.
00:28:10.920 | Yes.
00:28:11.920 | See, that's one of the things that's so real.
00:28:14.040 | I mean, that is the kind of thing
00:28:16.480 | that one little kid would say to another little kid
00:28:20.040 | if they knew how to best bother the other child.
00:28:24.600 | And so it's just so real.
00:28:26.200 | No grown-up would ever think of threatening you that way.
00:28:29.760 | But a kid would absolutely think of that.
00:28:32.600 | So does that part make it into the movie, Babs?
00:28:36.480 | - It does.
00:28:37.240 | I don't think it was as amazing as I envisioned it
00:28:40.840 | from our Christmas play.
00:28:42.440 | So that was kind of--
00:28:44.160 | but she did do a good job.
00:28:45.520 | I mean, she did say exactly the same thing.
00:28:47.560 | I think my favorite part of the movie, though--
00:28:49.520 | and obviously, I'm an adult, so it's a little bit different--
00:28:52.160 | - Right.
00:28:53.160 | - --was when it's kind of the spotlight is on Imogene as Mary.
00:28:59.840 | And so it's like--
00:29:01.200 | and she cries.
00:29:02.800 | There's tears in her eyes.
00:29:04.560 | So I think she realizes what Mary is and what Mary done.
00:29:10.520 | And I think it just kind of touches her.
00:29:13.240 | And then I think the audience sees that.
00:29:16.280 | And then they are moved by it.
00:29:18.560 | And so I think that became my favorite part of the movie
00:29:21.680 | itself, because you can read that.
00:29:24.120 | And I think you can try to envision that.
00:29:26.640 | But I think seeing everybody's faces
00:29:30.240 | and how they moved at just Imogene playing Mary,
00:29:35.480 | that was my favorite part of the movie.
00:29:37.160 | - Yeah.
00:29:37.880 | Watching that understanding dawn on that child
00:29:44.240 | does something to you.
00:29:45.880 | And it hopefully will make something
00:29:49.320 | dawn in each one of us as well.
00:29:52.720 | OK, Deb, what's your favorite part of the story?
00:29:56.960 | And is it the same favorite part in the book and in the movie?
00:30:01.320 | - Oh, it's definitely the ham.
00:30:04.280 | - So talk about the ham.
00:30:06.920 | - Oh, my goodness.
00:30:07.920 | Just the concept, as Jennifer was even saying,
00:30:10.560 | of these three boys coming down as the Wise Men.
00:30:15.400 | And they're just carrying this ham to lay at the manger.
00:30:20.000 | It's so, so funny.
00:30:23.120 | But it's also so beautiful at the same time,
00:30:26.120 | which is when I read it, I just went, oh, my goodness.
00:30:29.240 | That is just fabulous that they're owning the story.
00:30:33.440 | They're owning the part and bringing
00:30:35.680 | a sacrifice to the baby Jesus, bringing a real gift, which
00:30:40.320 | they didn't have the beauty of that in their poverty,
00:30:45.360 | to bring something that was so valuable to them.
00:30:48.760 | Food, right?
00:30:49.600 | That's like a half of the book was how
00:30:51.280 | they want food all the time, right?
00:30:52.800 | They want the desserts and the snacks at church
00:30:54.840 | and all these other things.
00:30:56.240 | And they're willing to sacrifice it
00:30:58.040 | because this story all of a sudden has meaning to them.
00:31:01.440 | And that, I think, was by far my favorite part in the book.
00:31:05.240 | And I think they did an amazing job with it in the movie.
00:31:10.240 | One of the twists that they put on the ham in the movie
00:31:13.520 | is that the dad, which isn't in the book, the dad in the movie
00:31:18.040 | actually goes home to home for the church
00:31:21.040 | and brings the Christmas baskets with the food
00:31:23.680 | and the different things.
00:31:24.720 | And they go to the herdman's with the ham.
00:31:27.840 | And you just have such more of a personal revelation
00:31:30.400 | as you see them fighting over the ham and Imogene saying,
00:31:33.320 | he didn't eat it yet.
00:31:35.080 | And they're all hammering over it.
00:31:37.480 | And you see that in the end that this gift that
00:31:41.320 | was given to them, they turn around
00:31:43.760 | and they give back to the baby Jesus.
00:31:45.760 | And they don't want it back.
00:31:47.360 | They say, no, we don't want it back.
00:31:49.960 | We gave it.
00:31:50.920 | And that is just so beautiful.
00:31:54.280 | And I just loved that twist that they put on it in the movie.
00:31:57.440 | And I thought it was a good--
00:31:59.040 | I thought it was a good upgrade.
00:32:00.720 | Yeah.
00:32:01.220 | Oh, thank you for sharing that.
00:32:04.520 | I think it's very poignant that what the children understand
00:32:12.160 | about giving a gift of honor and of sacrifice
00:32:19.960 | is amazing given how new their knowledge of the Christmas
00:32:25.040 | story is that they have jumped to that level of understanding
00:32:30.400 | is so, so very cool.
00:32:32.800 | All right, Jennifer, what's your favorite part of the story?
00:32:36.440 | And is it the same in the book and the movie for you?
00:32:40.160 | Well, everybody took mine.
00:32:42.600 | It's the problem with going after others.
00:32:45.600 | I was like, over here, I'd write something down.
00:32:47.640 | And then somebody else would go, I scratched it out.
00:32:49.760 | OK, I'm going to come up with something else.
00:32:51.600 | So I think one of the things that I loved in the book--
00:32:55.240 | and it was in the movie too, but it wasn't
00:32:57.000 | my favorite part of the movie.
00:32:58.240 | But one of the things that I loved in the book
00:33:00.240 | was the way that their daughter, her view of the herdsmen
00:33:07.200 | shifted, and she started defending them.
00:33:10.800 | Yes.
00:33:11.720 | When-- I don't remember the character's name--
00:33:14.640 | the quote, unquote, "good girl" that usually appears.
00:33:16.880 | Is it Alice?
00:33:18.080 | Is it Alice?
00:33:18.880 | Maybe-- anyway, anyway.
00:33:20.040 | It sounds like it would be an Alice, right?
00:33:23.120 | No offense to any Alice's out there.
00:33:25.720 | But the way that she would write things down in her notebook
00:33:30.120 | to show her mom.
00:33:32.000 | And she would say--
00:33:34.800 | she would stick up for them.
00:33:36.000 | And her turn from being annoyed or even scared of them
00:33:41.040 | to defending them through the book,
00:33:42.720 | I thought was just a beautiful shift in her character.
00:33:47.040 | So I really liked that.
00:33:48.040 | I also really like the youngest herdman,
00:33:49.800 | because I'm also a youngest and kind of wild.
00:33:52.400 | So it's kind of related to her.
00:33:54.920 | Gladys?
00:33:55.720 | Was it Gladys?
00:33:56.520 | She was just so funny, I thought.
00:33:59.360 | But my favorite part of the movie--
00:34:03.280 | I had two, and they've both already been said.
00:34:05.880 | But one was when the dad was delivering the turkeys,
00:34:10.240 | and the children did not know that he
00:34:13.280 | had been delivering to the herdmans for all of these years.
00:34:16.000 | And it was this revelation of, wait, dad delivers hams here?
00:34:23.240 | Because that was the first time the parents had taken them
00:34:26.040 | on their route for them to be able to see that in person,
00:34:31.440 | to see that they needed it.
00:34:35.360 | So I loved that moment where you could see it on her face.
00:34:39.440 | The actress did such a great job portraying that character.
00:34:42.080 | And the shift right there of just the realization of how
00:34:48.880 | poor they really were.
00:34:52.120 | So I loved that.
00:34:53.200 | And then I also loved the spotlight of Imogene crying.
00:34:59.200 | I cried in the theater.
00:35:01.600 | It was just so beautiful.
00:35:03.200 | And the way that you could see the change
00:35:06.920 | in the entire congregation in that moment.
00:35:09.440 | Everyone had been holding their breath
00:35:10.920 | to see what would happen.
00:35:12.880 | It was that moment that the church was convicted
00:35:17.080 | and how they had behaved and what they thought
00:35:19.320 | and what they needed to do moving forward
00:35:21.280 | to care for the family.
00:35:22.560 | And so I loved that moment.
00:35:23.760 | - Oh, that is so good.
00:35:25.680 | You know, you could just picture a church full of people
00:35:28.640 | coming to see, this is going to be a different pageant.
00:35:32.400 | This is going to be a pageant unlike any we have ever
00:35:35.360 | experienced.
00:35:36.760 | And they were right, but for a completely different reason.
00:35:40.280 | - Yes.
00:35:40.640 | - That's so cool.
00:35:41.560 | All right, Jamie, tell us if there
00:35:43.400 | are any favorite parts left.
00:35:45.320 | What was your favorite part of the story?
00:35:48.560 | And is it the same in the book and the movie for you?
00:35:52.200 | - So it's been a little while since I've read the book.
00:35:54.520 | So I don't know.
00:35:55.920 | Maybe someone who's read it recently
00:35:59.120 | can tell me if it's the same.
00:36:00.480 | But there were two parts, the one being,
00:36:04.640 | we mentioned Herod earlier.
00:36:06.960 | And another thing that the Herdmans
00:36:09.840 | would say when they heard that the innkeeper could not
00:36:13.680 | find room for Mary and Joseph, they
00:36:18.720 | equated the innkeeper with Herod.
00:36:21.480 | Like, well, he deserves the same punishment.
00:36:24.520 | Why wouldn't he find a pregnant woman's space somewhere?
00:36:29.800 | Why can't he help them better than a trough for baby Jesus?
00:36:35.400 | And so just their emphatic feelings
00:36:41.360 | of injustice being done.
00:36:45.200 | I don't know that I've ever thought about the innkeeper
00:36:48.320 | in that way ever.
00:36:50.120 | - Yeah, yeah.
00:36:51.400 | - So that was one of them.
00:36:53.200 | And then the second one was Gladys, the youngest Herdman.
00:36:57.920 | Her portrayal of the angel coming to the shepherds,
00:37:02.280 | she just takes this stance of her legs split apart,
00:37:06.760 | her fist on her hips.
00:37:09.080 | And she goes, hey, the shepherd was born.
00:37:13.840 | And she just says it in that country accent
00:37:16.680 | and just tries to get everybody's attention
00:37:19.840 | and just doesn't say it with the hallelujah
00:37:22.920 | chorus in the background.
00:37:24.160 | - Right, right.
00:37:26.520 | - He's like, yeah, this is very important.
00:37:28.760 | Pay attention.
00:37:30.440 | Listen to me.
00:37:31.840 | - Yeah, it's so funny that these kids who never really
00:37:37.720 | knew the story treat it like it is
00:37:42.240 | a real story about real people who are doing
00:37:47.760 | real things for real reasons.
00:37:52.040 | And that is how the people are able to view
00:37:56.680 | the story at this different pageant
00:37:59.800 | than they ever expected it.
00:38:01.840 | I think sometimes we are so used to the Christmas story.
00:38:07.520 | And it's just a story.
00:38:10.800 | It's sort of like a fairy tale.
00:38:13.160 | It's just a story that we hear.
00:38:15.960 | And we're so familiar with it.
00:38:17.600 | It can go through our minds without really touching
00:38:20.960 | our heart sometimes until we're moved to see it
00:38:26.080 | like the Herdmans did.
00:38:28.800 | It is a real story about real people doing things
00:38:35.520 | that really happened.
00:38:38.280 | And so they would have real emotions and real problems.
00:38:45.320 | And so to me, that was a huge eye-opening experience.
00:38:50.520 | The Herdmans are hearing the story for the first time.
00:38:53.080 | And so they say things like, what kind of a cheap king
00:38:58.160 | brings oil for a brand new baby as a present?
00:39:02.040 | That's a dumb present.
00:39:03.720 | And so they're thinking, what would be best in this situation?
00:39:08.080 | Or how might people really act in this situation?
00:39:11.600 | Or how would they feel?
00:39:13.360 | Or what does it mean?
00:39:15.720 | And I think that would be a good thing for us
00:39:17.720 | all to remember, too.
00:39:20.960 | I want to know, some of you have probably
00:39:24.120 | read this multiple times.
00:39:27.360 | And maybe you first read it when you were a kid.
00:39:29.800 | Or you had it read aloud to you when you were a young person.
00:39:36.560 | Can you remember what was the takeaway for you
00:39:41.520 | the first time you read it?
00:39:44.920 | And if you read it before, we're now all moms.
00:39:49.720 | And so we probably read this a little differently.
00:39:52.720 | We see these kids from a different perspective.
00:39:56.200 | We see having to inherit this Christmas pageant director job
00:40:01.480 | way differently than we probably did as a child.
00:40:05.200 | What was the big message for you the first time you read it?
00:40:09.920 | And is it any different?
00:40:11.960 | Do you have a different take on it now?
00:40:16.440 | Deb, what about you?
00:40:17.800 | What's the takeaway message for you?
00:40:20.000 | And has it always been the same takeaway?
00:40:22.560 | It's interesting.
00:40:23.520 | I actually never heard of this book
00:40:25.440 | until I saw it in the CC curriculum.
00:40:29.520 | Isn't that funny?
00:40:30.400 | And so it was a delight to introduce this,
00:40:35.160 | not just to my children, but to myself.
00:40:37.960 | And so the first time that I read it, I cried.
00:40:42.280 | I saw it in the movie, and I cried.
00:40:45.080 | And my kids do not cry when they reread this.
00:40:49.200 | But I do think it's fascinating to just kind of step back,
00:40:53.560 | because they'll have memories of this in their childhood.
00:40:55.960 | And I'll be interested to see how it hits them differently
00:40:59.280 | as they become parents.
00:41:00.600 | But I think that as a parent reading it for the first time,
00:41:05.240 | the beauty of Imogene's reaction and her willingness
00:41:11.960 | to see Christ for the first time,
00:41:16.280 | I think that it just held so much beauty for me.
00:41:19.160 | But I don't have the contrast of my childhood to compare it to.
00:41:22.560 | Babs, what about you?
00:41:24.080 | What was the takeaway, the big message for you?
00:41:27.560 | Because you did encounter this book as a kid,
00:41:31.160 | as a young person.
00:41:32.520 | And then now, as an adult, is the takeaway different?
00:41:38.000 | Do you see it differently?
00:41:41.200 | I don't think I had a very good takeaway when I was a kid.
00:41:44.520 | Because we read it, you know, to do the play at church.
00:41:48.800 | And I think I was just excited that I wasn't a herdsman.
00:41:53.640 | I got to play an adult.
00:41:55.280 | And I think that was really my focus.
00:41:56.800 | But I don't really think I got the message.
00:42:00.360 | And so watching the movie, and then I
00:42:03.640 | went back and reread the book, I think
00:42:06.280 | that there's two big things that really stood out to me.
00:42:08.920 | And I do think it's because of the movie,
00:42:10.680 | because when it's portrayed on a big screen,
00:42:12.840 | it's just easier to see sometimes, is embarrassingly,
00:42:19.520 | like, I think I saw myself in some of those church
00:42:22.280 | people who were critical.
00:42:25.120 | And so because there were a couple of ladies in the movie,
00:42:27.760 | and they gathered around the lady that broke her foot.
00:42:30.480 | And so they were like, yeah, you shouldn't
00:42:32.600 | let them be in the play.
00:42:33.560 | And this is the reason.
00:42:34.480 | And all these reasons were so superficial.
00:42:37.720 | And I was just like, oh, did we do that?
00:42:41.160 | Like, we probably do.
00:42:43.160 | And then the other thing, too, was
00:42:46.680 | just realizing that not everybody
00:42:49.120 | knows the Christmas story.
00:42:50.760 | And that even now, I mean, 2024, there
00:42:55.920 | are still people who don't know the Christmas story like we do.
00:42:59.960 | And so I love those questions that the herdsmen's have,
00:43:03.360 | because I was thinking, I never thought of that.
00:43:05.360 | So I think just being sensitive to that fact,
00:43:08.600 | and then really convicting me to say, well,
00:43:11.080 | you need to be going out and telling people then.
00:43:13.080 | If you know there's people out there
00:43:14.840 | who don't know this Christmas story and what Jesus did for us,
00:43:19.240 | then we should be going out there and sharing that message.
00:43:23.240 | That's great.
00:43:24.680 | That's great.
00:43:26.760 | Jennifer, what about you?
00:43:27.920 | What do you think is the big takeaway?
00:43:30.000 | I love what you offered to us as some good ways
00:43:34.720 | to talk about the message of the movie with your kids.
00:43:40.040 | That's one way to make sure that your kids who
00:43:43.040 | hear it when they're little don't miss the point.
00:43:45.840 | Yeah, I'm like Deb.
00:43:47.040 | I never heard of this until my son was in Challenge One.
00:43:53.440 | And so I don't have any experience
00:43:55.600 | with it outside of that.
00:43:56.720 | But I think there's just so many takeaways.
00:44:00.120 | You can look at each character and have a takeaway
00:44:02.320 | from just that character.
00:44:03.880 | So it's really hard to pick one.
00:44:05.640 | But I think looking at the church,
00:44:10.280 | the church that was the members in the movie or in the book,
00:44:14.080 | I felt like the movie did a really excellent job.
00:44:18.240 | Sometimes they veer way off.
00:44:20.040 | I did not feel that way.
00:44:22.840 | And so if we look at it from a church body perspective,
00:44:26.640 | I think one of the messages is that, number one,
00:44:30.880 | how are we perceived from outside people?
00:44:33.360 | Why had these children never felt
00:44:35.480 | like they could come before?
00:44:37.760 | And it was this simple--
00:44:40.080 | it wasn't an invitation.
00:44:41.360 | They did not come because they were invited.
00:44:44.040 | They came because the little boy was like, well,
00:44:47.800 | you can take my snacks.
00:44:49.000 | That's fine.
00:44:49.560 | I get plenty of snacks.
00:44:52.920 | I don't need that.
00:44:53.880 | And even though what he said wasn't true,
00:44:56.440 | they didn't come because they were invited.
00:44:58.320 | So how much sooner could they have heard that and experienced
00:45:02.320 | that had they have been invited rather than turned away?
00:45:04.840 | And so as a church body, just that reflection on,
00:45:08.840 | are we as inviting as we think we are?
00:45:12.160 | Are we really doing the right thing?
00:45:13.800 | Are there people-- even within my own home,
00:45:17.040 | my kids have heard the story.
00:45:19.400 | Do they really grasp it?
00:45:21.160 | Do I really grasp it?
00:45:23.840 | I think Babs was saying some of those questions
00:45:25.680 | she hadn't thought of.
00:45:26.600 | And I felt the same way.
00:45:27.600 | I was like, man, sometimes I just
00:45:30.040 | take things at face value.
00:45:31.440 | And some of the questions that were asked through the story
00:45:34.720 | I had never thought about.
00:45:36.080 | And so I'm certain that my kids probably haven't either.
00:45:40.280 | So how much understanding--
00:45:42.800 | or how much of a deeper understanding
00:45:44.560 | can we start to dive into as a family
00:45:47.360 | and then be able to tell others and invite others in?
00:45:52.360 | Are we really doing a good job of that?
00:45:54.400 | That is so good.
00:45:55.640 | And listeners, that is what makes this book a great read
00:46:02.320 | aloud for your family and this movie a great movie
00:46:07.760 | to see with your family.
00:46:11.200 | It's really relatable.
00:46:12.320 | People of all ages are going to enjoy it.
00:46:14.680 | It's very entertaining.
00:46:16.800 | But there's a message for us.
00:46:19.800 | And it's a great prompt for re-examining the Christmas
00:46:25.040 | story, and it's a great prompt for re-examining our community
00:46:30.560 | and the responsibility we have to share the greatest story
00:46:34.640 | we've known with other people.
00:46:38.400 | I want to give every one of you all
00:46:39.960 | a chance to say one more great thing about the movie,
00:46:43.960 | or to tell a funny part, or something that you love,
00:46:47.480 | or the reason that you're going to take
00:46:49.880 | somebody else to the movie.
00:46:51.240 | So Jamie, I'll let you be first.
00:46:53.720 | And then Jennifer, I'll let you be next,
00:46:55.440 | because y'all had to go last time.
00:46:58.800 | So Jamie, what's your final encouragement
00:47:04.000 | to people who are going to encounter
00:47:05.680 | this story this year?
00:47:08.240 | Yeah, I think we've said it in multiple ways.
00:47:10.320 | But the thing that just keeps being brought back to me
00:47:14.520 | is how much being raised in a Christian home
00:47:17.680 | that I missed those details that the Herdmans were
00:47:22.880 | able to bring out.
00:47:23.920 | I felt like I was somewhat watching a challenge class
00:47:28.520 | while I was in the movie theater,
00:47:31.520 | listening to all their questions.
00:47:32.960 | Like, oh, that's a definition question.
00:47:35.000 | Or they're naming, they're attending,
00:47:37.800 | now they're storytelling, and just going
00:47:40.400 | through all the 15 skills.
00:47:42.760 | But just back to, wow, there are details
00:47:48.560 | that I just took for granted that I understood that maybe I
00:47:53.600 | should have dug deeper and should
00:47:56.200 | to know more about my Savior.
00:47:59.840 | Oh, that's really good, Jamie.
00:48:01.760 | All right, Jennifer, one last thing.
00:48:05.440 | You sure we don't have two more hours?
00:48:07.440 | I know, we could.
00:48:09.440 | I think we all enjoyed it enough that we could
00:48:11.440 | talk a long time about it.
00:48:14.240 | I think my takeaway would be, or my suggestion, I guess,
00:48:18.280 | would be, I hope that people invite people outside
00:48:22.880 | of your circle to the movie.
00:48:25.600 | Because what a great way to start a conversation
00:48:27.840 | with somebody who thinks that they're just
00:48:29.520 | going to watch a cute movie.
00:48:32.080 | And so I really hope that the movie
00:48:35.240 | does a great job of bringing others into the church,
00:48:39.960 | as well.
00:48:41.440 | And we can do that by inviting people outside
00:48:44.960 | of just our little bubble and opening that conversation.
00:48:49.400 | So I hope that I do a better job myself
00:48:54.440 | of reaching outside of my comfort zone
00:48:57.040 | and my little protective bubble of people.
00:49:01.240 | And just do a better job of reaching out
00:49:03.240 | to people who are like the Herdmans
00:49:04.840 | and digging into a need that they
00:49:09.280 | may have that I'm overlooking.
00:49:10.920 | Yeah, yeah, that's beautiful.
00:49:12.680 | I mean, who knows, somebody's life may be changed,
00:49:15.080 | just like Emma Jean's was.
00:49:18.480 | All right, Babs.
00:49:21.440 | So something that I think is a takeaway for me--
00:49:24.200 | and I was thinking about this earlier.
00:49:25.760 | I don't know if it's the biggest takeaway,
00:49:27.360 | but it's just something that we haven't talked about--
00:49:29.600 | is that the Herdmans research their parts.
00:49:32.360 | They went to the library and they researched their parts.
00:49:35.280 | And it made me think, do I really
00:49:38.120 | spend time in the Bible, like digging in and researching?
00:49:43.800 | Because we talked about this yesterday at church.
00:49:45.840 | It was funny about how there's so many things
00:49:49.480 | we can learn about God just by reading any scripture, right?
00:49:52.400 | You just pick any scripture and you can learn that He's
00:49:54.840 | a creator, or that He's loving, or that He's omnipresent,
00:49:57.760 | right, and all the things.
00:49:59.480 | And so I was thinking, I need to spend more time
00:50:02.440 | like digging into the Word and researching
00:50:06.360 | the attributes of God, or maybe the disciples, or Jesus.
00:50:12.240 | And so I feel like we don't maybe always do that.
00:50:16.320 | Because we're talking about this,
00:50:17.800 | we don't get a reward for like digging in.
00:50:21.080 | We get a reward for like, oh, I read
00:50:22.800 | through the Bible in a year, right?
00:50:26.080 | There's no accolade, if that's what we're looking for,
00:50:29.000 | to say, oh, I really dug into this book of the Bible
00:50:31.800 | this year, or whatever.
00:50:33.440 | And so I think that's a goal that I
00:50:35.280 | want to have is these little kids research their part.
00:50:39.640 | And what they were really doing is like digging in and trying
00:50:43.520 | to find as much as they could out about these people.
00:50:46.400 | And if we could do that with the scripture
00:50:48.720 | that God has given us, I think it will make
00:50:51.040 | a big difference in our lives.
00:50:52.880 | That's a great encouragement.
00:50:55.560 | All right, Deb, last chance to tell us to say a takeaway.
00:51:03.360 | I think as I'm listening to everyone,
00:51:05.840 | it definitely makes me want to refocus on this Advent season
00:51:09.520 | coming up and really ponder the story more.
00:51:14.040 | But mixed with that, I think another standout moment for me
00:51:18.480 | was that when Charlie, the little brother,
00:51:21.160 | said they had to go up in front of their Sunday school class
00:51:24.040 | and say what they like most about church.
00:51:26.240 | And everybody's giving their cute little Jesus answers.
00:51:29.920 | And he said what everyone was thinking,
00:51:32.680 | but no one would ever dare say aloud, which is he said,
00:51:35.000 | I like Sunday school because the herdman's aren't here.
00:51:38.720 | And I think the whole point of the book
00:51:41.800 | is that the herdman's were supposed to be there.
00:51:45.280 | And that as we're entering the Advent season,
00:51:49.840 | it's saying the people who weren't
00:51:51.360 | supposed to be at the manger were the ones who
00:51:53.280 | were, the shepherds, right?
00:51:55.400 | The lowly, they're in that impoverished place.
00:51:59.200 | And the Son of God is being born in a manger.
00:52:01.280 | And I think the whole point of this Advent season
00:52:04.880 | is to remember that it's a change of heart of the ones
00:52:08.720 | that who aren't supposed to be there actually
00:52:11.520 | are the ones who are supposed to be there,
00:52:13.520 | and just remembering that this Advent season.
00:52:15.440 | That is beautiful.
00:52:16.840 | The story is for all of us, and we are all supposed to be here.
00:52:21.920 | So bring somebody.
00:52:24.040 | Bring somebody to hear the story.
00:52:26.440 | Bring somebody to meet the Lord this Advent season.
00:52:30.320 | Thank you guys so much for encouraging our listeners
00:52:35.080 | to embrace this story.
00:52:37.600 | And guys, we actually, I would love it
00:52:40.080 | if you would have this as a read aloud for your families.
00:52:42.720 | But this week, we are actually advocating
00:52:45.920 | that you go see the movie.
00:52:48.800 | So this movie is at theaters now.
00:52:51.840 | I saw it.
00:52:53.520 | I saw it on the marquee just yesterday.
00:52:55.360 | So the best Christmas pageant ever movie is out now.
00:53:01.760 | And we encourage you to take your families,
00:53:05.040 | to have some discussion with your families,
00:53:07.040 | to bring your community.
00:53:08.800 | It'd be a great community outreach or community
00:53:11.880 | fellowship.
00:53:13.200 | But like my friends have said, bring somebody
00:53:17.400 | outside of your circle so that maybe they
00:53:21.240 | can see in the treatment that the movie gives the Christmas
00:53:24.640 | pageant, the Christmas story.
00:53:27.040 | They can get some of their questions answered too.
00:53:31.240 | All right, guys.
00:53:31.920 | Thank you, Babs and Jamie and Deb and Jennifer.
00:53:35.200 | Thank you so much for being with me today.
00:53:37.440 | I really appreciate y'all.
00:53:39.480 | Thank you, Lisa.
00:53:40.320 | Thanks, everyone.
00:53:40.960 | Yeah, thank you for having us.
00:53:42.240 | It was so good.
00:53:43.200 | Thank you.
00:53:44.640 | Listeners, I'll see you next week.
00:53:47.240 | Bye.
00:53:47.760 | [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:53:51.120 | you
00:53:53.180 | you