The Spooky Bible Guy & The Funny Bible Guy
Plus Getting My Kids Ready For Camp, Simulator-Style
Hello! Hope you’re well. Here’s the latest:
Now We Do This all The Time
Well my friends, it seems we have entered a new phase of parenting in the Gerhardt house: The Simulation Phase.
It happened while we were out on a family walk a couple of weeks ago: “Dad and Mom, can you guys give us some scenarios for camp?” Now, by “scenarios for camp,” our daughters were asking if we would make up theoretical (but plausible) situations in which they might find themselves in their upcoming trips to summer camp. (You know—peer pressure, public embarrassment, wardrobe emergencies, safety threats, friend drama, etc.) They’d tell us how they’d react, and then we’d walk them through the merits and/or liabilities of that particular course of action.
We’ve done this before with them to prep them for times they’d be away from us for an extended period. But somehow, they’ve found these camp simulations particularly enjoyable. And so most days, during our family walk Jennifer and I will eventually hear the words, “Hey, guys—would you mind running us through some scenarios?”
“Sure,” we’ll say. “Okay—there’s a boy at camp who is super kind and super fun. And it’s like he was made to be a perfect friend for you. You guys are having a great time just being friends. …But he’s super handsome. And one day at lunch a bunch of kids start chanting your names together saying you should kiss. [Our daughters’ eyes get big and there’s an inevitable “Oh nooooooo.”] What do you do?”
Or, “You’re in a Bible class (one of these camps has age-based Bible classes that meet once a day) and your teacher asks a question. You answer, and she tells you you’re wrong. But you know you’re right and she’s wrong. What do you do?”
Or, “You’re walking down the path to the mess hall when a man jumps out of the woods with a chainsaw. What do you do?” (That’s when Jennifer rolls her eyes at me and I try to pretend I gave them this one because it’s helpful and not because I was getting a little bored.)
Here’s why I’m loving The Simulation Phase:
It’s fun. We love having fun with our kids—and productive fun? We’re always down for that.
It’s great training. It lets them walk through a scenario without all of the surprise and emotion that accompany those first-time-in-this-spot moments. And so when and if they do encounter a moment like that, they’ll feel (a little) like they’ve been there before. Less surprise. Less panic.
It helps them see their life as a story. Every time we throw a simulation at them, it’s like we’ve invented a story that they get to step into, and they get to act in a way that’s consistent with their identity—in a way they want to be known for acting. In other words: they decide ahead of time the story they want to live, and so they’re better equipped to actually live that story.
Again and again over the last 13 years of parenting, Jennifer and I have found ourselves coming back to Story as an extraordinary tool as we do our best to help our kids become fully-developed adults.
That’s why we’re teaming up to bring you a workshop this summer called The Storied Family. We’re not parenting experts, but together we have 40 years of professional experience studying, teaching, and telling stories. Stories are our jam, and we want to help you see where and how Story and Parenting intersect.
We’re designing The Storied Family to help you bind your family to God and to one another by actively rooting your family’s everyday life in the most important stories—the ancient stories of scripture and the right-now stories God’s writing in your lives.
In addition to a few sessions Jennifer and I will teach together, we’ll be splitting up for some fun breakouts:
THE POWER OF MOMENTS - On making the most of celebrations, special days, feasts, & vacations
THIS IS THE WAY - How to collaboratively craft a set of family core behaviors
STORYTELLING 101 - On the logistics of storytelling (or how to tell a story your kids want to hear)
GEEKING OUT - Pokemon cards, football, Harry Potter, & the power of a family obsession
We’ll be in 7 cities (and online), with each workshop lasting 3 hours and including 3 main sessions and 2 hands-on breakout sessions. We’ll have take-home resources for you and (of course) a few fun suprises. It’ll be a lot of fun, and I think it’ll fill your tank as you forge ahead into your next season of parenting.
One of the dates is a live online experience, but for most of the the in-person locations, space is limited. Tickets are live now, and you can grab them (and find out more session topics) by clicking the button below.
I’d love to see you in person this summer!
The Bible Is Funny + Holy Ghost Stories
Guess what?! One of my favorite Instagram accounts, The Bible Is Funny (you may remember it from my “Cool Things” a while back), connected with Holy Ghost Stories on IG, listened, loved it, and had me on his podcast!
The man behind the Bible Comedy Magic is Anthony Russo, and he’s an absolute delight. Serious about Jesus, serious about the Bible, and serious about comedy. Talk about a winning combo.
The episode featuring me and HGS just dropped, so head over and have a listen! We talk about the magic of storytelling, the time I might have gone too far with a bed-time story for my kids, and the idiosyncrasies of British slang. We also walk through Ezekiel and the Valley of Dry Bones together, viewing the story through a verrrrry different lens than the one I use for HGS.
Anyway, to borrow my wife’s turn of phrase: it’s a meeting of The Spooky Bible Guy and The Funny Bible Guy—what’s not to love?
You can listen here or on Spotify—let me know if you do!
If You’re A Patron of Holy Ghost Stories…
Patrons! A few things:
The first Director’s Chat podcast episode is coming to all Raconteur level patrons this week! Very excited about talking through an episode of HGS with my wife (and script editor) Jennifer, unpacking details, Easter eggs, and some fun behind-the-scenes stuff for you. Make sure your Patreon notifications are turned on so you don’t miss that when it drops.
It’s time to vote on future episodes! Later this week, I’ll be sending out a poll through Patreon so that you can vote on which stories will be a part of Season 2. I might even leave a write-in spot and choose one of the ones you suggest. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
If you missed them, here are the direct links to the bonus content I’ve released for you so far:
Bonus Episode download instructions (available to Anecdotalists, Storytellers, and Raconteurs)
Episode 9 Full Script (available to Anecdotalists, Storytellers, and Raconteurs)
Episode 9 Insider Notes (available to Storytellers & Raconteurs)
Episode 9 Discussion Guide (available to Storytellers & Raconteurs)
Episode 10 Full Script (available to Anecdotalists, Storytellers, and Raconteurs)
Episode 10 Insider Notes (available to Storytellers & Raconteurs)
Episode 10 Discussion Guide (available to Storytellers & Raconteurs)
And finally, a quick expression of gratitude. I really can’t thank you enough for supporting Holy Ghost Stories this way. I’ve got some verrrrrrry exciting news to share with you about Season 2…………but not yet. Not yet.
Escapades in Abbotsbury
Went out last weekend to a tiny town a couple of miles north of us called Abbotsbury and then hiked out onto Chesil Beach—a naturally occurring strip of rocks stretching 18 miles along the coast and forming a lagoon between it and the mainland.
That chapel was built in the 14th century by the monks of the nearby abbey a place of pilgrimage and retreat overlooking the sea. It’s incredible condition, and the setting obviously couldn’t be beat.
4 Cool Things, Yea 5
Queens Gambit, But Make It Real - This is amazing. Prodigy and current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen identifies exact games from history just by seeing a few consecutive moves. They even throw a game from Harry Potter at him.
The Mitchells vs. the Machines - We watched this as a family the other night and were delighted by how fun and fresh it was.
Space Is…Space - I’ve been teaching our kids’ science class this year, and was very excited to move into a unit on outer space a couple of weeks ago. Seeing the relative scale of planets/stars/galaxies is always incredible, but this model of the actual distance between those objects is mind boggling.
Stars Like Spilled Glitter - This (zoomable!) image of innumberable stars, paired with the above demonstration of the amount of space between celestial objects, kind of breaks your brain. Creation is full of wonder.
That’s the latest! Make sure you grab a ticket to The Storied Family so we can hang out and talk parenting & stories this summer if you’re into that kind of thing.
Gratefully,
Justin
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