Paws & Tales

Insight for Living: Hey, Stace, is this your first time recording a promo?

Stacy: It is. I'm a little nervous.

Insight for Living: Don't be. You're going to do great. Go ahead and do the first one there.

Stacy: Hey everyone, Stacy here from Paws & Tales. What if you could help kids around the world hear about the great love of God for his children? We do it in a fun way full of music, laughter, and storytelling that makes kids want to listen. This is exactly what we do here at Paws & Tales.

Insight for Living: I just always add the Paws & Tales World Headquarters. It's, I don't know, kind of funny and memorable.

Stacy: Okay. This is exactly what we do here at Paws & Tales World Headquarters.

Insight for Living: It just makes me giggle.

Stacy: To help out with a donation of any size, just jump over to pawsandtales.org and click on the donate button. We have lots more to do, and we could really use help to get the word out. Thanks for stepping up and being a part of the club.

Insight for Living: Nicely done, Stace. You're a natural. Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. If you stay on the trails and stick with me, there's adventures to be had there, too.

Stacy: Come on, CJ, jump!

CJ: It's too far!

Stacy: It wasn't too far for me!

Insight for Living: Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales. This afternoon finds our friends at the Collins mansion. And though they're trying their best to be calm and use quiet indoor voices, well, let's just say it ain't quite working out that way. Truth is, the whole gang's about to bust wide open with excitement because tomorrow is their big camping trip with Papa Chuck.

Mrs. Collins was nice enough to let them borrow some of Mr. Collins's old camping equipment. The trouble is, no one remembered to ask where he kept it. So the kids are on the hunt, each one just a-zigging and a-zagging all over the house.

Gooz: Where would he keep camping stuff?

Stacy: In the garage. Camping stuff belongs in the garage.

CJ: Let's look in this room first.

Stacy: No, let's start in the garage.

Gooz: Let's start in the cellar. Everybody knows camping stuff goes in the cellar.

Stacy: Let's see what's up these stairs.

Papa Chuck: Perhaps I didn't mention this before, but let's all try very, very hard to never do that again.

Insight for Living: For those of you who haven't visited the Collins mansion before, well, it's a pretty overwhelming place. It was built by James T. Collins, the wealthiest man to ever live in Wildwood. Before he passed away some 10 years ago, he traveled the world, bringing back unusual items and historical artifacts from every corner of the globe.

And for every place he'd go to, he had another room built onto the mansion to hold all of his findings. Now, it'd take someone just short of a lifetime to discover everything he collected. So with all those rooms, it's the ideal place for the club to play. You just never know what you're going to find. The trouble is, when you know what you need to find, well, it can be a bit of a challenge actually finding it.

Gooz: Wow, look in here! What do you suppose this was used for? A weapon?

CJ: Probably not a weapon. It's a mop, Gooz.

Gooz: So it is, so it is.

CJ: Now get out of the closet and let's find the camping stuff. All right, everyone, listen up. We've got a lot to do and not much time to do it, so we have to work together like a well-oiled machine. Agreed?

Stacy: Agreed!

CJ: All right, let's look in this room first.

Stacy: Stacy, let's start in the garage.

Gooz: Let's see what's up these stairs.

Stacy: Let's start in the cellar. Camping stuff goes in the cellar.

Papa Chuck: Perhaps I didn't mention this before, but let's all try very, very hard to never do that again.

Wally: Is everyone all right?

Stacy: Oh, hi. Are you Wally?

Wally: Yes, Wally Wicket. How did you know?

Stacy: Mrs. Collins told us you were coming today.

Wally: Well, how good of her.

CJ: Nice to meet you, Wally. How are you?

Gooz: Welcome, Wally Wicket. What brings you west?

Stacy: She told us, but I didn't understand. What does your dad do?

Wally: Oh, yes. He's a paleontologist.

CJ: Well, if she'd explained it like that, we would have all gotten it.

Gooz: He's kidding. What does one of those guys do exactly?

Wally: Largely dig up old bones and learn from them.

Gooz: Well, Wally Wicket, we're really wondering what would make a traveler of the wide world want to wind up in Wildwood?

CJ: Are you finished?

Gooz: Well, I'm wondering.

CJ: So, what brings you here?

Wally: My father's here doing research for a book he's writing.

Stacy: How exciting! What kind of research?

Wally: Years ago, my father went on an expedition with Mr. Collins, and now he's come to look for some of the fossils they dug up together.

CJ: In this place, that could take a while.

Wally: We're here for the weekend.

CJ: Hey, we're going camping tomorrow with Papa Chuck. If your dad says it's okay, you want to go with us?

Wally: Well, I wouldn't want to impose.

Stacy: Come on, it'll be great. We're going to hike and fish and eat chocolate.

Gooz: We would really like if Wally Wicket would walk with us and wind up in Wild Mountain, which is way west of where we are.

Wally: It does sound like great fun. I'll go ask my father.

Insight for Living: And so it was all arranged for Wally to join his new friends on their big camping adventure. So the next morning, bright and early...

Papa Chuck: Okay, now, has everyone double-checked to make sure that they have all their supplies?

All: You bet.

Papa Chuck: Then let's pray before we go. Dear Lord, thanks for this beautiful day. We thank you for giving us healthy bodies to hike with. We ask that you watch over us and grant us safety as we go out to explore the amazing wilderness that you've created. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

All: Amen.

Papa Chuck: All right then, troops, strap on your backpacks. We're on our way.

All: All right. Let's go.

CJ: Would you just smell those flowers?

Stacy: This is a perfect day. Just perfect. Hey, you slowpokes, bet you can't keep up with me!

CJ: Stacy, the whole point of hiking is to enjoy the scenery. How can you enjoy it if you're racing past it?

Stacy: You know, CJ, maybe you're right. Let me think about this for a second. Nope, you're wrong, and you're a big old slowpoke!

CJ: Stacy, you do need to stay with the group.

Stacy: But they're going so slow. It's like hiking with a bunch of slugs. Papa Chuck won't mind if I go ahead a little bit.

CJ: Go ahead if you want, but I'm going to wait here for the others to catch up.

Stacy: Fine. I'll send you a postcard when I get there. Let's see, how do I address that? Oh, that's right, to Mr. Slowpoke.

CJ: I can't even see her. Stacy! Stacy! Stacy!

Stacy: Oh, brother. Do I go left or right? Now I'm going to have to wait for the slowpokes. Help, Papa Chuck! Help!

Ethan: Hi, I'm Ethan. I live in California. Don't go away, there's more Paws & Tales coming right up.

Gooz: Hey everyone, Gooz here from Paws & Tales. I think it's time for you to become famous, and I have just the plan to get it all rolling. Pop over to pawsandtales.org and download one of the radio scripts we have there. Record yourself on your parent's phone reading it like you were a real actor. We have several scripts for you to choose from.

Then just have your parents go to pawsandtales.org and head on into the clubhouse and upload it there. We'll use some of them inside an actual episode. So record it serious or record it silly. We're going to love it either way. Get your radio script at pawsandtales.org and let's start your new career as a radio announcer to the world.

CJ: So, Wally, what do you think of Wild Mountain?

Wally: It's quite spectacular.

CJ: Something the matter?

Wally: Oh, nothing's wrong. It's just...

CJ: Just what?

Wally: Well, before we began, you all closed your eyes and prayed.

CJ: Yeah?

Wally: It seemed a little, oh, I don't know, odd.

CJ: Odd? Don't you pray?

Wally: No, we don't.

CJ: How do you talk to God?

Wally: We don't believe there is such a thing as God.

CJ: No God? Why would you think that?

Wally: My father says that we can only believe in things we can prove with scientific evidence. Have you ever seen this God you pray to?

CJ: Well, no. God's a spirit. No one can see him.

Wally: If you can't see him, how can you be at all certain he exists?

CJ: Because he just does. It's in the Bible. He just does. Everyone knows that.

Wally: If God were real, why wouldn't he just show himself to us? Believing in something you can't see doesn't make any sense.

CJ: We'll ask Papa Chuck. He'll know the answer.

Wally: How can anyone know for sure that God exists if we can't see him?

Insight for Living: Now about that same time, Stacy was headed for trouble of a different sort.

CJ: Stacy, we're getting ahead of the group. I'm going to slow down.

Stacy: That's probably a good idea. You go ahead and do that, slowpoke.

CJ: Papa Chuck said to stay with the group.

Stacy: But those guys are going so slow. It's like hiking with a bunch of slugs. Papa Chuck won't mind if I go ahead a little bit.

CJ: Go ahead if you want, but I'm going to wait here for the others to catch up.

Stacy: Fine. I'll send you a postcard when I get there. Let's see, how do I address that? Oh, that's right, to Mr. Slowpoke. Help, Papa Chuck! Help!

Papa Chuck: Stacy, I'm coming! Stacy, are you all right?

Stacy: It's a grizzly! A great big, angry grizzly just around the corner. He was huge.

Papa Chuck: You kids wait here and stay close. I'm going up ahead to have a look. Nobody move until I get back.

Wally: I don't understand why we can't simply talk this over with the other grizzly and find out what he's so upset about.

CJ: If we were back in Wildwood, that might work, but this is the wilderness, Wally. The rules are different out here. There he is! Papa Chuck, did you find him?

Papa Chuck: Come on ahead, troops. It's all clear.

Stacy: Did you find the grizzly?

Papa Chuck: No, he's gone.

Stacy: Do you think he wanted to hurt us?

Papa Chuck: I expect not. But I'm glad we didn't have to find out. I hope this serves as a reminder to all of you: stay close to me.

Stacy: Sorry.

Papa Chuck: Now let's keep moving. We want to reach our campsite while there's still plenty of daylight left.

Stacy: Please tell me we're not hiking all the way to the top.

CJ: Of Wild Mountain? That would take days. We're just going to Precipice Lake.

Stacy: It's a lake where the fish are big and hungry.

CJ: It's about the most beautiful place on Earth.

Gooz: Just hope it doesn't have a lot of flowers because my nose sure could use a rest.

Stacy: Bingo!

Gooz: Ugh, I think I just sneezed up a lung.

Stacy: Wow, guys, look!

CJ: Yeah, we're here!

Stacy: Oh, look at the lake!

CJ: Whoa, turn around. You can see all the way to Wildwood.

Gooz: Oh, look, a ship's leaving the bay.

Stacy: The ocean looks like it just keeps going forever and forever.

CJ: Papa Chuck, what's over there?

Papa Chuck: That is Shadow Valley.

CJ: It looks kind of scary. Can we go there?

Papa Chuck: No, CJ. The creatures of Shadow Valley have turned their backs on God. They're wild, and they only live by their animal instincts.

CJ: Have you ever been there, Papa Chuck?

Papa Chuck: Yes, I have.

Stacy: Is he okay? I've never seen him like this. Is he sad or scared?

CJ: Can we go swimming now?

Papa Chuck: Well, first we have some work to do. When you're in the wilderness, it's important that you make sure your basic needs are taken care of before nightfall. Who knows what the basic needs are?

CJ: A place to sleep.

Papa Chuck: Yep. Shelter is definitely one of the basic needs, so we'll start by setting up our tents.

Wally: We'll need to build a fire.

Papa Chuck: Good, Wally. Let's start gathering firewood. Any other basic needs?

Gooz: Chocolate!

Papa Chuck: I'm not sure chocolate actually counts as one of the basic needs.

Gooz: Well, that's entirely a matter of opinion.

Papa Chuck: But we do need food. Somebody will have to go catch some trout from the lake.

All: Yeah!

Papa Chuck: All right. First the tents, firewood, and then the fishing poles. Let's get to work.

Insight for Living: And before they knew it, the tents were up, the wood was gathered, and the fish were biting.

Stacy: Look! I caught another one.

Gooz: Me too! And mine's bigger than yours.

CJ: Gooz, that's a log.

Gooz: Well, technically, yes, but it's still bigger than yours.

Insight for Living: All afternoon the kids swam and explored and generally had about as much fun as they'd ever had. When the sun finally went down, Papa Chuck started the campfire and fried up the fish in a big iron skillet.

CJ: I am stuffed. I can't eat another thing.

Papa Chuck: Anyone want some s'mores?

Gooz: Is this a trick question? S'mores, yes!

Stacy: This is what I came for.

Wally: What exactly is a s'more?

Gooz: It's chocolate, the most important part, marshmallows, and graham crackers. S'mores are my favorite part of camping. That's because chocolate is a basic need and the most important of the four food groups.

CJ: Gooz, what on earth is the matter with your nose?

Gooz: I've got allergies.

CJ: But it's all big and red and bumpy.

Gooz: I know. It's making me crazy. It itches real bad.

Papa Chuck: Gooz, those leaves you were blowing your nose on, what kind were they?

Gooz: I don't know, just leaves, kind of green and shiny.

Papa Chuck: Did they have groups of three leaves at the end of each stem?

Gooz: Yeah, I think they did.

Papa Chuck: That's poison oak. Don't you remember the saying I taught you? "Leaves of three, let it be."

Gooz: Of course I remember the saying, now that my nose is all itchy.

Papa Chuck: Well, whatever you do, don't scratch it. It'll only make it worse.

Gooz: Okay. Don't scratch your nose, don't scratch your nose, do not scratch your nose. Whoops, I just scratched my nose.

CJ: Papa Chuck, can I ask him, Wally?

Wally: Please do.

CJ: Wally doesn't believe in God because he can't see him.

Wally: My father is a scientist, and he says that you have to be able to prove things are true. You can't just believe in them.

Papa Chuck: Well, lots of folks see it like that.

Wally: Well, I do.

Papa Chuck: But there's a lot of things that are true, but you can't hold them in your hand.

Wally: Like what, for instance?

Papa Chuck: Love. Do you love your father?

Wally: Certainly.

Papa Chuck: Well, show it to me. Can you hold love in your hand?

Wally: Well, no.

Papa Chuck: There's a lot of things like that. Some things just can't be touched or proven, but it doesn't make them any less true.

Insight for Living: They sat around the campfire eating s'mores, counting shooting stars, and telling stories till they couldn't keep their eyes open any longer. Then they all crawled into their tents and went to sleep, which would have been the perfect ending to a perfect day, except a few hours later, the wind began to blow.

And it just kept on blowing harder and harder until finally...

Stacy: What was that? Oh, the wind is starting to blow down the trees!

Papa Chuck: Everyone out of the tents!

Stacy: I'm scared! Papa Chuck, what do we do?

Papa Chuck: We're going to have to try and find cover! Where's CJ?

Stacy: He's back in the tent! He can't find one of his shoes!

Papa Chuck: All right, let's go back and get him! It's falling on the tent! CJ, get out of there! CJ!

Eleanor: Hi, I'm Eleanor from Alabama. Don't go away, there's more Paws & Tales coming right up.

Insight for Living: Hey everyone, Gooz here for Paws & Tales. I think it's time for you to become famous, and I have just the plan to get it all rolling. Pop over to pawsandtales.org and download one of the radio scripts we have there. Record yourself on your parent's phone reading it like you were a real actor. We have several scripts for you to choose from.

Then just have your parents go to pawsandtales.org and head on into the clubhouse and upload it there. We'll use some of them inside an actual episode. So record it serious or record it silly. We're going to love it either way. Get your radio script at pawsandtales.org and let's start your new career as a radio announcer to the world.

Stacy: CJ! CJ! This can't be happening. Somebody get me out of here! CJ!

Papa Chuck: CJ! CJ, are you all right?

CJ: I can't get out!

Papa Chuck: Hang on. You okay?

CJ: Yeah. We've got to get out of this storm.

Stacy: But where? There's nothing but trees for miles.

Papa Chuck: Get close. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we're in a bad spot here. We need your help.

Stacy: Papa Chuck, it's him! It's the grizzly!

Papa Chuck: Stacy, get behind me. Goliath, is that you?

Goliath: It is. We need shelter.

Papa Chuck: Over here.

Insight for Living: Papa Chuck and the kids followed the grizzly along a narrow path until they finally came to the mouth of a cave. The kids huddled in the back, trying to keep warm, while Papa Chuck and the grizzly stood talking near the entrance.

Papa Chuck: Thanks again. You've been very kind.

Goliath: Not all would have done as I did. There are still many here who would take great pride in bringing down the great Goliath.

Papa Chuck: I know. Is that CJ?

Goliath: Yes. Yes, he is.

Papa Chuck: He'll be the next one, won't he?

Goliath: I think so. I'm working with him now.

Papa Chuck: Good luck. Be wary and watch your back.

Goliath: I will. Thanks again. Goodbye, Goliath.

Papa Chuck: How you kids doing? Whoa, wake up, everyone! Sun's up. Let's start back.

CJ: That's a lot of damage.

Wally: Who would have guessed the wind could do all this?

CJ: Wally, do you really believe the wind did all this?

Wally: What do you mean?

CJ: Did you actually see the wind?

Wally: Yes, it was blowing everything.

CJ: Wind is invisible. You can't see it. If you can't see the wind, how can you be so sure it exists?

Wally: The trees were flying around like twigs.

Papa Chuck: That's exactly right, Wally. And that's just how it is with God.

CJ: Yeah, even though we can't see God, we can see what he does.

Stacy: For instance, like this mountain and all the trees and, well, everything. God made it all, including us.

Papa Chuck: Some people say all this just got here by mistake and the whole Earth just kind of came together by accident. But you've seen what happens in accidents.

Gooz: Stuff gets smashed and crunched and broken and it all falls apart.

Papa Chuck: Nature is a complex masterpiece of carefully designed parts, all working together in balance and harmony. That isn't the kind of thing that happens by accident. That's creation, God's creation. And it shows us just a tiny glimpse of his power.

Wally: Okay. I've got to give that some thought.

Papa Chuck: I think you should, Wally. It could be the most important thinking you'll ever do. Let's head back to camp. I want to get home and tell your folks you're all right.

Insight for Living: And as the kids hiked back down the mountain toward Wildwood, they had a new sense of appreciation for the nature that surrounded them. When the gang finally arrived back in Wildwood, they found their parents anxiously awaiting them outside Papa Chuck's shop. Wally ran up to his father and gave him a big hug.

Wally's Father: Well, I can see you're all right. What a sparkle in your eye.

Wally: It was wonderful and scary and just great. Did you find what you were looking for?

Wally's Father: You know, I did find the fossils I wanted. However...

Wally: What, Father?

Wally's Father: Well, the more I studied them and the more I read Mr. Collins's notes and what the Bible has to say about the origins of the world, I think there may be some evidence that I haven't considered.

Wally: Yeah, me too.

Wally's Father: Thank you for your kindness, everyone. Our ship sails at noon. We must be off.

Wally: Thank you for everything, especially the s'mores.

All: See you, Wally!

Wally: Father, did you know that the wind is invisible?

Papa Chuck: Well, son, it's kind of like this. You can't see the wind a-blowing, though you're looking everywhere. But those trees and leaves start going, and that's how you know it's there. And God is like the wind that can't be seen by anyone, but we know God is by the things he's done.

Well, he set this world a-spinning, and he made the deep blue sea. And he's the one that formed the sun that shines on you and me. There's a universe of reasons, but they all come down to one: we know God is by the things he's done.

All: Look at the birds that sing! Somebody gave them wings. How about that porcupine? Oh, what a cool design. Oyster pearls and flying squirrels, God made them by his word. Without him, this would never, ever, ever have occurred.

Papa Chuck: Well, a watch must have a maker or it's just parts on a shelf. And a cake must have a baker; you wouldn't say it baked itself. All creations have creators; they don't simply just become. So we know God is by the things he's done.

Gooz: Hummingbirds, cactus, jellyfish. Boy, he sure made a lot of stuff. I mean, what are the odds of all that happening by chance? Wait, I know. The odds of all this happening by chance are one in a million, million, million, million, million, million, million, million, million, million.

All: Look at the elephant! That was no accident. He made the fish that swim. It wasn't even hard for him. The man has made a thing or two of some complexity, but none of them is half as fearfully, wonderfully made as me.

Papa Chuck: You're right, CJ. So yes, son, God's invisible. You can't see him with your eyes. But this great big world around us is a proof we can't deny. We're surrounded by his evidence; he's given us a ton. Oh, we know God is.

All: We know God is. We know God is by the things he's done.

Gooz: Gooz, isn't there an easier way to say it?

CJ: Well, you could say it would take a miracle.

Papa Chuck: My point exactly.

Insight for Living: To order a copy of today's program, "God with the Wind", call us at 1-866-968-PAWS. That's 1-866-968-7297. "God with the Wind" was written by Clark Carkham and directed by David Carl.

"We Know God Is" was written by Sandy Howell and Nick Brown. Music was by Tim Hosman, and our sound designer was Eric Basel. Paws & Tales is an Insight for Living production.