I’m so excited about today’s post! It features an interview with Mike Nawrocki, co-creator of Veggie Tales and voice of Larry the Cucumber! How fun is that?!

Veggie Tales generously, graciously and lovingly sponsored me to the Relevant Conference (which was amazing, by the way and I can’t wait to tell you about it!) last weekend.  As part of our partnership, I am going to be posting about their new movie, The Little Drummer Boy (and giving one away soon!). But I really wanted to know the story behind the movie, their collaboration with World Vision and of course, how Veggie Tales feels about impressing kids with God’s Word!  So, what better way than to talk to the Head Veggie himself?!

Mike: The biggest challenge we’ve faced with New Testament stories involving the life of Christ actually does “stem” from the fact that we have an all-vegetable cast.  From the beginning of the series we decided that we would not portray Jesus as a vegetable.  We felt this, despite our irreverence in other matters, would be crossing the line.  The Little Drummer Boy gave us a wonderful opportunity for us to tell the story of the first Christmas with its message of love, hope and forgiveness in a way that really worked for VeggieTales.  We see through the eyes of Aaron, the fictional Little Drummer Boy, how healing and forgiveness can be found because of God’s gift to us.

You went on a trip with World Vision last summer…where to? What was it like? Did the kids know you as Larry?

It was an amazing experience!  The people of Tanzania were so welcoming and gracious.  I saw both tremendous need and abundance – in the physical and the spiritual.  God is working in amazing ways through World Vision and their staff.  It was an honor to get a glimpse of their work.  As far as Larry goes, I traveled largely incognito – most kids did not know of the singing cucumber before our visit, but we we’re able to break open the veggie goodie bag for them while we were there!

How does The Little Drummer Boy tie in with what you saw with World Vision? What are you doing together?

The Little Drummer Boy gives a very simple and meaningful gift at Christmas.  World Vision, through their gift catalog, provides an opportunity to give simple, yet very meaningful gifts to kids and families in great need.  Gifts like goats and chickens that can help feed entire families.

What would you like kids and families response to be after watching The Little Drummer Boy?

To recognize how much God loves us – and that we can forgive because of his gift of forgiveness to us.  ”Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  Ephesians 4:32

Anything special we need to watch for in The Little Drummer Boy? Something to make us feel like we have the inside scoop from you?

I have always wanted to animate the “8 Polish Dishes of Christmas” and I’m so excited that we were filly able to do that with this episode.  It’s been a favorite of mine since we put out the “A Very Veggie Christmas” audio project back in the 90′s.  My background is Polish and I grew up with all the foods that Oscar the Polish Caterer brings to the party.  It’s our silly song for the episode and I think it turned out great.  It will make you hungry!

The purpose of my blog is to help parents use every resource available to impress God’s Word on their kids’ hearts. What’s one way you were impressed with God’s Word as a child?

As a kid, God’s Word was impressed on my heart most when I saw it acted out.  I remember having “new parents” after my mom and dad came to know Christ.  I knew it was real because of the difference it made in their lives and how they treated my brothers and I.  So then when I heard Billy Graham quote Revelation 3:20, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” I wanted to open the door!

:: :: ::

How much did you love that?! How cool is it that Mike remembers when his parents came to Christ? He said they were “new parents” because of their relationship with Jesus. Our children will remember and desire to be like us when we act out our faith in the Lord! I hope these (almost) 31 days have encouraged you to act out your faith and to love Jesus together with your children.

Thank you again, Mike and Veggie Tales!

Additional Resources:
My trip with World Vision to the Dominican Republic

photo source: Veggie Tales Facebook Page

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

Do you remember what it was like to wait for Christmas as a kid? It seemed like several years between each December. Christmas wasn’t just a day, it was an event! I can still chronicle many years by remembering the Christmas holiday.

For kids, special days and holidays are the biggest events of their lives. They may not remember the books we read or the songs we played during the year. But they will remember eating turkey dinner at Grandma’s every year, they’ll remember each ornament on the tree, the spot you always placed the Easter Basket and the rest of your holiday traditions.

As a mom looking for ways to impress God’s Word on my kids’ heart, I have discovered that Christmas and Easter are my biggest and most flamboyant vehicle to teach my kids about God.

Not only are these holidays the crux of our Christian faith, they are HUGE in our culture. Stores are decorated, special songs are played, television specials are shown and life takes on a new little sparkly twist during these seasons.

It’s the perfect means for turning my bumbling and small ideas into big memories and foundational teaching for my kids. This past Easter (or Resurrection Sunday as we call it), we didn’t have Easter Baskets but placed rocks into baskets to represent our sins. After being covered in a red cloth to represent Jesus’ blood, we discovered our sins removed and the baskets full of gifts.

We’ve acted out Palm Sunday, we’ve done science experiments to show how Jesus took our sins upon Himself, we’ve made food and even recreated the garden and tomb to show and cement in my kids’ hearts what Jesus did for them in those 3 days. (See all our Resurrection Day ideas!)

Christmas is almost even easier because we usually celebrate it for a whole month! When was the last time you spent 24 days in a row talking to your children about one story in the Bible? Listening to songs EVEN AT THE GROCERY STORE about Him and His love for us? Did service projects in His name multiple times in a month? When else do you get to watch movies (on cable!), read books and color pictures all about one story in the Bible—for weeks on end?

You don’t even have to get creative at Christmas to be able to teach kids’ about Jesus birth! It’s everywhere!

I am so passionate about using Easter and Christmas as BIG BIG events in a child’s life not only for memory-making, and family time but because it’s an awesome, easy, amazing and huge celebration of our God and King.

To go along with this, I am SO excited (and crazy nervous) to announce that I’ve written an ebook for Christmas this year! The day after Thanksgiving (yes, Black Friday!), I’ll be releasing an Advent experience for you and your family. It’s designed for preschoolers through early elementary kids and will be an adventure similar to a Jesse Tree—a daily ornament and talking points to help you easily but also flamboyantly leverage the most exciting month of a kids’ year for our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ! {It’s here! Get Truth in the Tinsel now!}

I can’t wait to share it with you, I’ve got some fun ideas to go along with the ebook and it’s release. Plus, I’m excited to do it with my own children this year. We can do it together! So, if you’re not subscribed, go ahead and do so! I don’t want you to miss out on this fun adventure!

How do you use holidays to teach kids God’s Word?

photo source: mukumbura

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***