Paws & Tales

Guest (Female): You broke my urn, you little criminal!

Guest (Male): Me? I'm not...

Guest (Female): Eunice McGruff. It was priceless and you will pay. Eunice McGruff.

Insight for Living: 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 adventure to be had there too. Come on, CJ, jump. Too far. It wasn’t too far for me. Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.

Howdy, and welcome to Wildwood. It’s been tough in class today. Now, Miss Harbor teaches something new every day, and the class, for the most part, learns something new every day.

Today, however, Miss Harbor is trying to teach the class to think differently. This is a much more difficult prospect.

Guest (Female): I don't get it.

Guest (Female): Marsha, it’s not a problem that you can solve in the normal way. In fact, there’s not one single answer.

Guest (Male): There’s more than one answer?

Guest (Female): There are several, CJ. Perhaps many.

Guest (Male): My head hurts.

Guest (Female): You must all quit trying to come up with the right answer and think about the question in a different way. Let’s go over it again. Remember, the three steps for problem solving are number one, state the problem. Number two, consider the options, and then number three, evaluate the possible result. Ned, please state the problem for the class.

Guest (Male): Well, the assignment says we must get food to a small village in the mountains.

Guest (Female): Now, that was the assignment, but that is not stating the problem. You must ask questions before you can truly understand the problem. Stacy, ask some questions that will help us.

Guest (Female): Well, what kind of food do they need?

Guest (Female): Excellent.

Guest (Female): Who is the food for?

Guest (Female): Wonderful, Marsha.

Guest (Male): How far away is the village?

Guest (Female): Very good, CJ. What if we did not think through these things, spent a lot of money to buy wagon loads of corn, we then get it to the village only to discover that they have lots of corn? Corn is everywhere.

What they really needed was milk for the children. All of that time and money and effort would have been a waste.

Guest (Female): How embarrassing would that be?

Guest (Female): Okay, I have an idea. I was going to give this to you in a few weeks, but I think it may be needed now. A new assignment. Write this down now.

Number one, this is due Friday at the beginning of class. Number two, I want each of you to bring in everything you will need to successfully complete a treasure hunt.

Guest (Male): Treasure hunt?

Guest (Female): Yes, Goose.

Guest (Male): Now you’re talking.

Guest (Female): Number three, you must be able to carry it all on your backs. And number four, you are not to discuss your plans with anyone else but me. The one who is the best prepared will get 100 points. The rest of the class will get a zero.

Guest (Female): That doesn’t seem fair.

Guest (Male): Foolish, we’ve never had an assignment like that before.

Guest (Female): Winner takes all. I like it.

Guest (Male): Well, Tiffany, aren’t we smug? What makes you think you’ll win?

Guest (Female): I’m a Rockler. Trust me, I know about treasure.

Guest (Male): What’s smug? What does smug mean?

Guest (Male): It means she thinks she’s right and she’s being snotty about it.

Guest (Female): You’ll see, just wait.

Guest (Male): She did it again, didn’t she?

Guest (Male): Indeed she did. Smug alert!

Guest (Female): All right class, that’s enough.

Guest (Male): Miss Harbor?

Guest (Female): Yes, CJ?

Guest (Male): I would just like to apologize now for getting the 100 points.

Guest (Female): No chance of that, Mr. Big Talker.

Guest (Female): Did you all write down the directions exactly as I gave them to you?

Guest (Male): Yes, Miss Harbor.

Guest (Female): Good. Now, please begin your list of items or your list of questions, but do not talk to anyone but me about your plans.

Guest (Female): This is going to be fun.

Guest (Male): I don't want a zero.

Insight for Living: Well, the whole class was strangely preoccupied with this new project. It’s all they wanted to talk about, but they couldn’t talk about it. So, later on the way home, that’s what they talked about.

Guest (Male): I don't like it. Everybody but one will lose.

Guest (Male): Guess that’s life.

Guest (Female): Well, let's see how tough you are when I win and you lose and I make you cry like a little girl.

Guest (Male): No chance of that. I want to pick blueberries.

Guest (Male): Well, I don't. I always get sick when we pick blueberries. Marsha, will that make you feel better?

Guest (Female): Maybe.

Guest (Male): Well then, let's pick blueberries.

Guest (Male): Of course, let's pick blueberries. Who listens to Ned anyway?

Guest (Female): I’ll catch up later. I’m taking a basket of cookies over to Eunice McGruff. Anyone want to come?

Guest (Male): Eunice McGruff? She’s back?

Guest (Female): Yep, back to stay. Moved into the mansion with Miss Collins.

Guest (Male): You're taking a welcome basket to Eunice McGruff?

Guest (Female): Yes, why not?

Guest (Male): She's mean, and she hates kids, and she hates me, and she’s mean!

Guest (Male): Does that have anything to do with your breaking her vase?

Guest (Male): Smug alert! Smug alert!

Guest (Female): Everybody new to town gets a basket of cookies. That's my rule. Anyone want to come?

Guest (Male): No thanks.

Guest (Male): Not me.

Guest (Male): She sounds kind of scary. I don’t want to go.

Guest (Male): Sorry, I got a treasure hunt to get ready for. We can't talk about it. I shouldn't have said that.

Guest (Male): You can talk about the project. You just can't talk. I give up.

Guest (Female): Yes, what can I do for you?

Guest (Female): Hi, my name is Stacy Clemer, and I would just like to welcome you to Wildwood. This is for you.

Guest (Female): Really? Thank you, Stacy Clemer. Is this from the church group?

Guest (Female): No, ma'am.

Guest (Female): The ladies' auxiliary?

Guest (Female): No, ma'am. Just me. I try to welcome everyone new to Wildwood. It's just something I do.

Guest (Female): Well, that's very impressive, Stacy Clemer. I think you are a girl I would like to get to know more.

Insight for Living: Well, the two of them sat there on the front porch of the Collins mansion and chatted for the better part of an hour. The more they talked, the more Eunice became impressed with Stacy.

Then old Stace got serious and started telling Eunice McGruff things she hadn't told anyone before.

Guest (Female): And sometime next month, it will be born.

Guest (Female): Ah, so then you will be a big sister.

Guest (Female): Yep, I guess.

Guest (Female): Not very pleased about it, are you? You can be honest with me, Stacy Clemer.

Guest (Female): My folks are turning my room into a nursery. All they talk about is the new baby, and I'm getting treated like last week's newspaper.

Guest (Female): I understand completely. I have a younger sister, and it was the same for me.

Guest (Female): What did you do?

Guest (Female): I was sweet and nice and miserable till one day when I was in my teens, I made a decision that you should make now.

Guest (Female): What's that? What decision?

Guest (Female): You should decide to take life on your terms, decide what you want and go after it. You should be the captain of your destiny. Don't let anyone stand in your way.

Guest (Female): I didn't think you could do that.

Guest (Female): Most people don't. Most aren't strong enough. But I was, and I think you are too. No one wants you to be happy more than you do. It's your job.

If you want money, go after it. If you want fame, don't stop until you have it.

Guest (Female): Wow, I do want to be happy.

Guest (Female): And those who love you want that for you too. But it is up to you. You make your own map and you steer your own ship to find your own treasure. Take charge of your life.

Guest (Female): Yeah. Prepare for a treasure hunt. I can do that. I am doing that.

Guest (Female): Are you ready for your future, Stacy Clemer?

Guest (Female): I am.

Guest (Female): Then say it after me. I am the captain of my destiny.

Guest (Female): I am the captain of my destiny.

Insight for Living: We’ll be right back with more Paws & Tales after this. It’s getting harder these days to find something that will entertain your kids and be wholesome and enriching at the same time.

So fill your clubhouse with stories from Paws & Tales. Animated DVDs, stories, and music on CD or downloadable MP3s. Every resource is designed to delight your child and help you disciple them with truth from God’s Word. Visit pawsandtales.com and start a journey in Wildwood today.

Well, Stacy left Mrs. Eunice McGruff with her head in the clouds. It all sounded so good. Make your own map, go on your own treasure hunt, get what you want.

Problem is, and deep down Stacy knew it, that’s not the way it works. If you make up your own map, you end up very unhappy because you end up very lost.

Guest (Male): I'm sick. I told you I'd get sick and now I am. I hope you're happy.

Guest (Male): And what do you think would cause that?

Guest (Female): Hey Stacy.

Guest (Female): Hey guys. I've made my own map. I'm the captain of my own destiny.

Guest (Male): Really? What's that? What's destiny?

Guest (Female): I'm going after my treasure and none of you can stop me.

Guest (Male): I wouldn't dream of stopping you.

Guest (Male): Treasure? Stop! We can't talk about that.

Guest (Male): Miss Harbor said...

Guest (Male): She’s making me nuts! Goose is making me nuts!

Guest (Female): No, not that treasure. My treasure. My happiness. It's my turn now. I want to be happy.

Guest (Male): Okay, what are you going to do to be happy?

Guest (Female): I don't know.

Guest (Male): I'm sick. I want to go home.

Guest (Female): No! What? No, we're not going home. I just got here and I want to pick blueberries. We will all pick blueberries now.

Guest (Male): I'm going to be sick.

Guest (Male): You're being ridiculous. I'm going home.

Guest (Female): No, I want to have fun picking berries. You can't go.

Guest (Male): I've already picked enough.

Guest (Female): You are standing in the way of my happiness. Pick more berries!

Guest (Male): Okay.

Guest (Male): Well, captain, you've made Ned angry and you've made Marsha cry. Happy now?

Guest (Female): This is not making me happy! I am going home.

Insight for Living: Since old Stacy decided that her life’s goal is to get what she wants and to make herself happy, she’s been more miserable than ever before. So she went back to talk it over with Eunice McGruff.

Guest (Female): So far, it's been a total disaster.

Guest (Female): Well, Stacy Clemer, no one said that happiness was easy. I will tell you what. Tomorrow afternoon, I am attending a tea party with a small group of the most influential women in Wildwood.

I am sure that they would be charmed to meet a lovely, polite up-and-comer like you. Would you like to join me?

Guest (Female): You mean it?

Guest (Female): Come meet me here tomorrow afternoon and you can accompany me to the tea.

Guest (Female): Wow, I'd love to.

Guest (Female): Do you have a nice dress?

Guest (Female): Well, yes, I do.

Guest (Female): Well, you will want to look the part. You should always look the part, Stacy Clemer. Looking successful and becoming successful go hand in hand.

The goal in life is to get what you want. Your friends are holding you back. I think you may be ready for a new class of friends that will help you get where you want to go.

Insight for Living: Well, everyone hoped that a good night’s sleep would get Stacy back to her old self. But they were sorely disappointed. She was selfish and demanding all day at school and then stormed off and headed home right after school to work on her treasure project.

So the club had rambled up to the fort, hoping to find something to do before they got there.

Guest (Male): Well, my stuff is so heavy that I can barely lift it all.

Guest (Male): We shouldn't be talking about this.

Guest (Male): Haha, but Miss Harbor didn't say that we needed to carry it all the way north to the—well, all the way.

Guest (Male): North. Good one. No, she didn't. We just have to be able to get all the stuff to class.

Guest (Male): We should talk about something else, guys.

Guest (Male): You’d need a camel to carry all that stuff in real life.

Guest (Female): Marsha, cover your ears. Camel? Yeah, right.

Guest (Male): Have you guys thought that we have no idea what the treasure...

Guest (Male): Quick, cover your ears!

Guest (Female): Sometimes I'm embarrassed to know you two. I'm going to go talk to Miss Harbor. I don't think any of us know what we're doing.

Insight for Living: The next morning, everyone in class came to school separately, trying to keep their secrets from the others. One by one, they came to the steps of the schoolhouse with huge and mysterious bags over their shoulders. Well, most of them anyway.

And there was Stacy. Old Stace came next, but to the surprise of them all, she came in her best Sunday dress.

Guest (Male): Well, look at you.

Guest (Male): What's with the dress? Got a job interview?

Guest (Female): I should have expected as much from you both. I'm going to make something of myself and that requires that I look the part. I'm an up-and-comer in this town.

Guest (Female): Well, I think you look very nice in a dress, Stacy.

Guest (Female): Thank you, Marsha.

Guest (Male): Wow, Stace. Look at you.

Guest (Male): She reminds me of someone.

Guest (Male): Queen of Sheba?

Guest (Female): Knock it off, CJ.

Guest (Male): No, no, really. She reminds me of—oh, who is it?

Guest (Male): Queen of England?

Guest (Female): CJ!

Guest (Male): No, no, not the Queen of England. Seriously, someone else.

Guest (Female): Queen Bee?

Guest (Female): Marsha, you've been holding back.

Guest (Female): That's enough! All of you! What do you know about anything? You think you're so smart.

Guest (Male): Stacy, they were just kidding.

Guest (Female): You know what you all are? You're bumpkins, all of you!

Guest (Female): That's what I've been saying for some time now. Finally, someone agrees with me. Nice dress, Stacy.

Guest (Female): It just came to me. Oh no, I've forgotten...

Guest (Male): You remind me of Tiffany!

Guest (Female): I've become Tiffany.

Insight for Living: Stacy was stunned. All the work she had done this last week, all of the mean things she had said and done to make herself happy, had turned her into the worst kind of person. In the awkward moment that followed, the kids all carried their bundles quietly into class.

Guest (Female): Well, good morning. What a quiet group you all are. Stacy, what a pretty...

Guest (Female): Yeah, yeah, pretty dress. I know.

Guest (Female): Yes, well, I am very anxious to see what you all have come up with for our first treasure hunt. Who wants to go first?

Guest (Male): I think it would be better if I went last. That way the others won't have to go after me and get all embarrassed.

Guest (Male): Oh, brother.

Guest (Female): I appreciate your thoughtfulness, CJ, but I think we should take that risk. Why don't you go ahead?

Guest (Male): Okay.

Guest (Female): So, Tiffany, where is your stuff for the treasure hunt?

Guest (Female): I don't have any.

Guest (Female): Suit yourself.

Guest (Male): My tools and provisions include some things that I invented just for this treasure hunt.

Guest (Female): Very impressive.

Guest (Male): This, for instance, is a pith helmet that has dark glasses built into the rim. If the desert sun gets too bright, flip down the glasses.

Guest (Male): What desert sun?

Guest (Female): That is very nice, CJ. Thank you. Sorry, you get a zero.

Guest (Male): What?

Guest (Female): Ned, you're next.

Guest (Male): I'm not done yet.

Guest (Male): Excuse me, Mr. Big Talker. I too have invented some things that I will need to get to the gold mine. This fur coat is not just any fur coat. It is...

Guest (Male): You’ll die of heatstroke in that. Why would you take a fur coat to the desert?

Guest (Male): Well, Mr. Rudinsky, that is because the treasure is not in the desert. Where did you get that idea? It’s the gold from a mine in the Yukon.

Guest (Female): It is? Well, who changed it from the South Seas Island?

Guest (Male): If you would have listened just a little more closely...

Guest (Female): Thank you, Ned. You get a zero as well.

Guest (Male): What?

Guest (Female): As do you, Marsha.

Guest (Female): But I worked really hard.

Guest (Female): Goose, what did you bring to find the treasure?

Guest (Male): Nothing, Miss Harbor.

Guest (Female): Oh, Goose. Do you know where the treasure is?

Guest (Male): Yes, ma'am, I do.

Guest (Female): Where?

Guest (Male): Well, in the closet.

Guest (Male): Oh, brother.

Guest (Female): That is correct. Do you know what the treasure is?

Guest (Male): Yes, it's a big A+.

Guest (Female): That is correct.

Guest (Female): I don't get it.

Guest (Male): That's not fair. You told us that it was gold from the Yukon.

Guest (Male): She did not. She said that it was—you didn't tell us where it was, did you?

Guest (Female): I did not.

Guest (Male): Here it is.

Guest (Female): The treasure was a big cardboard A+?

Guest (Male): Yep.

Guest (Male): Well, how did you know that?

Guest (Male): I asked Miss Harbor.

Guest (Male): Smart goofballs, all of us.

Guest (Female): You all ran off and worked hard, made plans, even made pretty maps, but you had no idea what the treasure was or where you should even be looking. Very poor problem-solving skills.

Goose realized that she didn't know these things and she went to the one person who did know. She asked me and I told her. I do not want any of you to go through life working hard and looking for something that is not there because you didn't ask the right question.

Insight for Living: The whole class was out of sorts the whole rest of the day, but none as much as Stacy. She just couldn't gather all of her thoughts about how she had been acting, and yet everything Eunice McGruff said seemed to make so much sense.

She marched straight to the Collins mansion for a little talk before they were going to head off to the tea party together.

Guest (Male): Well, hello, Stacy. How are you?

Guest (Female): Not fine. Is your sister-in-law—is Mrs. McGruff in? I'm a little early, but...

Guest (Male): She told me you would be here. She's gone ahead without you.

Guest (Female): She what? She told me to meet her here.

Guest (Male): Stacy, come on into the parlor. I need to fill you in a little about my dear sister-in-law.

Guest (Female): Why am I supposed to be here?

Guest (Male): No, she... you see, she met Tiffany Rockler, and she's gone with her.

Guest (Female): I got dumped? I did everything she told me to do and then she dumped me for Tiffany?

Guest (Male): What did she tell you to do, may I ask?

Guest (Female): To do whatever it takes to be happy.

Guest (Male): Of course.

Guest (Female): She told me not to let anything keep me from what I want.

Guest (Male): She's told me the same things for years. She's wrong, Stacy. Couldn't be more wrong.

Guest (Female): But I want to be happy. I want to be the captain of my destiny.

Guest (Male): I dearly love Eunice, but she has given you the worst sort of advice. Do not try to be captain of your destiny. Do you know what your future holds?

Guest (Female): No.

Guest (Male): Then how will you know what to go after? You will be on a journey without a destination.

Guest (Female): Or a treasure hunt without a map.

Guest (Male): Precisely.

Guest (Female): I've already had some experience with that sort of thing.

Guest (Male): Really?

Guest (Female): Don't go off looking for a treasure when you don't know what it is or where to find it.

Guest (Male): Well, you are a lucky cub to know that so early in life.

Guest (Female): So then, what do I do? I want to be happy. How do I find what I'm supposed to be really looking for?

Guest (Male): What if you could go to someone who knows what you need and has plenty of it?

Guest (Female): Well, that would be great if they would know.

Guest (Male): God, Stacy. God knows what you want, what you need, and He has plenty of it to give to you.

You just have to understand that you can't get these things from any other source. Only God.

Guest (Female): Well, I guess that makes sense.

Guest (Male): Don't go searching for some treasure. Search for God. That's what we were made for, to search for God and to find Him.

And the plans He has for you are better than the ones you have anyway.

Guest (Female): Really?

Guest (Male): Let God be the captain of your destiny, Stacy.

Guest (Female): Yeah. Let God be my captain.

Insight for Living: So you're gonna take a trip,

But you don't know where you're going,

And you've got to pack your stuff,

Will it be hot, will it be snowing?

Well, it would be smart to ask the one who knew where you're going and what you're gonna do.

'Cause you sure don't need a snorkel if you're hiking in the Alps,

And if you're gonna hula in Hawaii, snowshoes are out.

No doubt, all on our own we're lost, we're way off course,

So before I hit the door, before I hop on my horse,

I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna seek God every day,

Because He knows which way to go.

So instead of being silly, going willy-nilly,

I'm gonna let my Father lead the way.

You know that life is like a journey, sentimental journey,

And the Bible is the map, easy to unfold.

God will always be your compass, your tour guide.

He knows exactly where you're at. You are here.

He'll show you left from right and right from wrong.

So before I grab my bag and carry on,

I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna seek God every day,

Because He knows which way to go.

So instead of being silly, going willy-nilly,

I'm gonna let my Father lead the way.

If I'm looking for joy in fortune and fame or in high-falutin' friends,

Then I'm on the wrong trail, just chasing my tail,

And we all know where that ends.

So if I hit the highway and do things my way, I'll wind up in Timbuktu.

'Cause at life's intersections, you really need directions.

So here's what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna seek God every day,

Because He knows which way to go.

So I'm gonna let my Father lead the way.

I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna pray, I'm gonna seek God every day,

Because He knows which way to go.

So instead of being silly, going willy-nilly,

Or trying to dilly-dally through every hill and valley,

Or thinking I should wander here and there and yonder,

I'm gonna let my Father lead the way.

To order a copy of today's program, Captain of My Destiny, just log on to pawsandtales.org.

Captain of My Destiny was written and directed by David Carl. The song, Gonna Let My Father Lead the Way, was written by Sandy Howell and Mark Edward Lewis. Music was by Tim Hosman, and our sound designer was Jerry Swafford. Paws & Tales is an Insight for Living production.

On the next Paws & Tales.

Guest (Male): This was supposed to be a shortcut!

Guest (Male): Hang on!

Guest (Female): That didn't sound good.

Guest (Male): Wasn't. Why are you out to change a flat tire?

Guest (Female): You should see this from here.

Guest (Male): Stay off the edge, CJ!

Guest (Male): CJ!

Guest (Male): This is not good. This is not good at all.

Insight for Living: Be sure to join us for another episode of Insight for Living's Paws & Tales.