Slugs and Bugs

We’re Getting a Puppy Today

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:37:05 +0000

Today, at 1:53 pm, I’ll pick up our 9 week old Schnoodle puppy from the airport. No matter how cute she looks, I won’t pick her up and pet her right away. I won’t prance or clap or even say her name (Nilla). With a calm and assertive demeanor, I will put a leash around Nilla’s neck and take her for a brief walk around the nearest available grassy curb. You see, I am her pack leader. And today we begin Raising the Perfect Dog.

When my daughter Livi was 6, she started pleading for a puppy. At first, Amy and I just said no. But this little girl really wanted a puppy and she never stopped asking. She was never rude or whiny, though persistence from a 7-year-old can feel a lot like whining. By the time she was 9, Amy and I began to cave when we walked into Livi’s room and saw a beautiful hand-drawn poster above her bed that said, “I Love Sherman.” Sherman is the next-door-neighbor’s sweet but strangely dysfunctional Yorkie.

Without telling Livi, we looked into the non-shedding breeds and began contemplating dog-ownership. Amy started to get excited about having a furry buddy when I’m out of town, and we got cable… mostly so Amy could watch Alabama football games, but also so we could DVR The Dog Whisperer with Caesar Millan. If you’re already a fan, then you understand. If you haven’t seen Caesar in action, it’s hard to explain. The guy has almost single-handedly revolutionized the way pro-active dog owners behave in this country, and it’s because his show is only sometimes about making dogs behave. It is also about healing and empowering people, celebrating and partnering with God’s creation, and learning how to lead with wisdom. (Be the pack leader!)

For Christmas 2011, we told the kids we’re getting a puppy. We wrapped up Ceasar Millan’s book How to Raise the Perfect Dog, and inserted pictures of the puppy we were getting (that one didn’t work out in the end, but this Schnoodle is gonna be great). You’ll see in the video, Livi is unwrapping the book, and she doesn’t really get what is happening until… she does. It’s the first time I can remember any of my kids crying tears of joy.

I’ll keep you posted on how little Nilla progresses. Stay tuned!

A Parenting Mulligan

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 04:57:51 +0000

My older son Jonah (8) never wants to sit by his 4 year old brother at the table. It’s understandable. They share a room, (I don’t want to share a room with a 4 year old!) and the youngster is a skillful pesterer. He will copy, or sometimes he will touch your food while asking “you gonna eat dat?”. He will also scoot close to Jonah because he adores his brother and wants to be as near him as humanly possible.

Typically, I’ll sit as a buffer between them. But I want Jonah to be loving and empathetic, and I want Ben to feel loved by his big bro, and so when entering a restaurant recently, Ben begged to sit by his big brother, and I said OK. The pouting and whining that commenced from the 8 year old was sternly rebuked by yours truly. And then sure enough, Ben was nuts during the meal. He was over-tired and loud, swinging limbs and silverware haphazardly, touching Jonah’s food, and poor big brother just started to cry in his seat. Little dude was so totally defeated and sad. I got the memo. I switched seats with Jonah and sat between them.

Sometimes you just get it wrong and have to take a mulligan.

A Slugs & Bugs Christmas in Nebraska

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:28:31 +0000

This past week has seen Slugs & Bugs Christmas productions in Elkhorn, Nebraska and Hendersonville, Tennessee. Both were tremendous experiences which brought out the best of the script and music, and I can’t wait to do it again in Knoxville next Wednesday night. I’ve got a blog post in the cue about my philosophy behind the Slugs & Bugs Christmas program, but I’ve made a game-time decision to put that off for a day or so.

Laura Preston was my host in Nebraska, at Bethany Lutheran Church, and she just wrote about the “Slugs & Bugs Christmas” experience on her blog. Through it, she is actively encouraging other churches to consider partnering with Slugs & Bugs in the future, and it is not only flattering to me but very well written and filled with practical wisdom. Obviously, I must put off my own meanderings and direct you to Laura’s blog right away. So without delay…

http://laurapreston.wordpress.com

Slugs & Bugs Hotel Tips

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:06:36 +0000

I’ve been staying in hotel rooms for well over a decade, and over the years I’ve developed a few tricks and techniques that may come in handy for you over the holidays. Become a more savvy traveler with a little Slugs & Bugs knowhow.

For Smoothing Wrinkled Clothing…

Before you take a shower, hang your wrinkled clothes up in the bathroom. (plan on taking a long, relaxing shower). Be sure the ceiling vent is not on, to ensure maximum steam. You will be surprised how effective this is. If the closet hangers are normal, you can hang the clothes on the back of the door, or a towel rack (I try to find the highest hanging point, since the steam rises). If the hangers are the pin-headed, anti-theft ones, they often fit through the slits in a metal vent in the wall, where they will hang pretty snug. However if there is no vent, I have set a shoe on a towel rack and tied a shoelace around the pinhead. Important to remember – this is best to do at night since your clothes could theoretically need to dry off, though I’ve never had trouble showering in the morning. If your clothes do become slightly damp, hang them in the room and they’ll dry quickly. If these solutions don’t suit you, wake up 10 minutes earlier and break out the fold-out ironing board that sounds like a dying ring-wraith.

For Avoiding the Germ-Filled Remote…

Hotel room TV remote controls are toxic germ bombs waiting to contaminate your entire life. At least, that’s what the magazine articles and travel blogs have led me to believe. So, before I turn on the hotel TV, I find the hotel room icebox – the cylindrical one that you’d use to fetch ice from the ice machine. Inside the icebox there’s always a small, clean plastic baggie. I use it as a glove. I retrieve the baggy, put my hand inside it, and then reach for the remote and tune into SPORTSCENTER.

For a Good Night Sleep…

Hotel rooms can be loud places, and sleep is precious. Once, I was in Orlando the same weekend as a high school basketball tournament, and my hotel was bursting with high school kids. I slept soundly despite the racket, because I always wear soft earplugs. You may have to try a few brands to find the one that you like, but it is well worth it. When I fly, earplugs help me sleep on the plane. I put them in before I board, and leave them in all day – even through layovers – until Amy picks me up in Nashville. I’m typing this post in Chicago’s Midway airport, and I’ve got my earplugs in right now.

Breakfast Tips…

I usually stay at a hotel with some kind of free breakfast, and the choices can get monotonous. To mix it up, and keep it healthy but hearty, I’ll cut and toast an English muffin, and while I’m waiting, I mince a hard boiled egg (sometimes 2). When the muffin is toasted, I butter it and spoon the chopped egg onto the muffin for an open faced (or closed) sandwich. If there’s scrambled eggs, I’ll use those instead. If there’s bacon, I add it with glee.

If I’m feeling indulgent, I’ll replace the muffin with one of those fresh waffles from the waffle iron. Topped with minced egg, syrup and butter, it’s like a do-it-yourself McGriddle.

Also, I’ll usually bring an apple back to the room, wash it, dry it with a hand towel, and stick it in my bag

Last breakfast tip. If I’m thirsty, I’ll use a coffee cup for juice. The juice cups are usually small, and if you’re in a hurry, you can take it to-go by adding the top to the coffee cup. It’s like a sippy cup for the adult traveler!

For An Extra Measure of Privacy

If I am leaving the room, but I plan to return soon, I hang the “privacy” sign on the exterior door handle. That keeps housekeeping from entering. So, if you are staying away all day, remember they won’t bring new towels and re-dress the bed if you leave the sign on the door.

For Your Local Homeless Shelter or Rescue Mission…

They can always use the tiny soap, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. Collect them if you really will make the trip downtown when you return.

I hope these Slugs & Bugs Travel Tips have been helpful for you to consider. If you’ve got any travel wisdom to share, please comment and share your experience!

Behind the Song: The Camel Song

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 05:25:25 +0000

I wanted a Christmas song around a Christmas-ish animal, and a camel has loose Christmas ties… (wise men from the East)? And camels are hilarious. They are huge, they spit, and they have a giant hump (sometimes two)! After some thought, I realized if you need a silly Christmas song about a silly Christmas animal, the camel is the obvious choice. The donkey is a distant second.

When the idea of calling it “the camel song” was born in my mind, the chorus arrived fully formed. Lyrics and melody happened in real time, all the way through the “what’s wrong with you” line at the end.

My hunch is, if someone had recorded me when that lyric hit my brain, you would get to see me laugh out loud for minutes at a time. The whole package struck me as so funny, I could hardly sing it. The melody is ridiculous, and the lyric is so cluelessly and earnestly pompous that I fell in love with it immediately. I wasn’t sure I would have the guts to record it, but it made me laugh till I cried. I do think I remember, when I had calmed down a little, praying out loud, “Thank you, thank you,” for having been given such a gift of silliness and laughter in that moment.

For the verses, I remember first laughing at the idea of “everybody’s favorite Christmas mammal,” because it continued the theme of pompous, righteous cluelessness that the chorus began. I can’t remember how the Mark Hamill / ton-ton verse showed up. I do remember trying to think of everything that could possibly be funny about a camel, and I was particularly looking for things that were blatantly missing the point of Christmas.

At the end of the day, if you could crack open the chest bone of The Camel Song, and slice open its beating heart, you would find it pumped full of blissful ignorance. The Camel Song is having a great time celebrating itself, and can’t understand why “you” won’t join in on the fun.

Last week, my 11 year old daughter asked me the classic pupil question about History. ”Why do we need to learn history? It’s just a bunch of stuff that’s already happened. It doesn’t matter for today.” I had fun with the answer, but I bring it up because that’s the framework for this song. The Camel Song is sure that Christmas is about “Ho ho ho,” and “The Christmas Camel.” You might say, for The Camel Song, Christmas is about me, and now. It’s funny because we see it miss the point of Christmas so wildly and with such self-possessed abandon.

But I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about all that stuff. And I don’t expect kids to get any of it. For them, it is a fun and silly song like Frosty the Snowman that they can sing with mom and dad. Except, they get to sing about Star Wars.

PLAY: The Camel Song

Behind the Song: Happy Birthday Jesus

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 03:26:05 +0000

I had heard Happy Birthday Jesus songs before. Making A Slugs & Bugs Christmas provided the challenge of writing a Happy Birthday Jesus song that would reflect the often confused and commingled motivations I bring to celebrating Christmas. I’m the dad that stops at CVS at 5:30pm on Christmas Eve for “just a few more little things.” I worry that the the presents we’ve already got wrapped under the tree won’t have them jumping up and down with excitement. When I take a step back, I’m concerned that they will end up like me… completely distracted by the nonsense built up by the Christmas Shopping Season, and missing the deep magic of the incarnation.

What happened on Christmas day was so extraordinary it outshines Creation itself. Instead of kickstarting life as we know it, Christmas set in motion the Life that is our only hope. For those who hope in Christ, (and for those who don’t) Christmas revealed the full measure of God’s commitment and plumbed the depths of his unfathomable love. God made his Son a baby, to grow and dwell among us, to teach us, and finally, by his obedience to death and ultimate resurrection, to gather the wayward, hopeless and despairing, and make a family filled with hope and joy.

I love my country, and I love exchanging gifts, but as long as I live in the USA, I know I’ll have to fight and claw through the shiny sleek emptiness of “what’d ya get?” and my kids will too. Happy Birthday Jesus is my way of flipping the lights on for myself, and anyone else who longs for a rich season of joyful reflection and thanksgiving, but instead gets duped every time.

PLAY: Happy Birthday Jesus

Here’s the lyrics to Happy Birthday Jesus

There’ve been Christmas decorations up in Target, like, forever

I can’t believe it’s finally here

I’ve been hoping for a skateboard and my sister wants a dog

The three wise men had the right idear

(singing)

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Bright and early Christmas morn

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

I’m so glad that you were born

-

Last year I got a yo-yo and a water gun and legos

I can still see reindeer wrapping paper thrown across the floor

Now I can’t find the yo-yo and the water gun is busted

But the legos are still cool… this year I just want some more!

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Bright and early Christmas morn

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

Happy birthday Jesus

I’m so glad that you were born

Noel, noel, born the King of Israel

Noel, noel, born the King of Israel

-

We were singing Christmas carols Christmas eve

And I got a lump in my throat reminding me what I believe

How you left heaven ‘cause it’s what you had to do

To make me new

You should have heard me singing

Happy Birthday Jesus…

To order A Slugs & Bugs Christmas - Click Here

A New Slugs & Bugs Christmas Song!

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:58:03 +0000

One year ago today we released A Slugs & Bugs Christmas. Much of the cost of the production was covered by amazing fans through the Rabbit Room, and I was very proud of how it all turned out. The always-brilliant Jeff Taylor and I produced it together, and fantastic musicianship abounds, but I still think the kids choir is what makes the record soar.

With the songs from the CD, I wrote a Christmas production that follows a family through the day on Christmas Eve. Three churches brought in the production last year, and they all blew me away. The Childrens’ Choirs sang their hearts out and brought the songs to life with hand motions, and the actors all memorized their lines and delivered them to packed sanctuaries of parents and grandparents.

After the season, however, I decided to add another song to the production. It needed a song that specifically addressed the Christmas story, but as an upbeat celebration, not a ballad. So, in trying to come up with a new way to sing about the story of Christmas, the idea came to me to add a child’s perspective to the mix. What if one of the shepherds had his son with him? What would he think about it all, and how would he remember it?

As I wrote the lyric, it felt like discovering a story. I recorded it with my friend Alan Stricklin this past summer, and decided to re-release A Slugs & Bugs Christmas with new tracks and new packaging. In addition to Shepherd Dad, I added a track of my daughter, Livi, reading from Luke 2. There’s B3 underneath it, and she did a very fine job delivering the text.

This year, three more churches are putting on the full-blown production (Knoxville, TN, Hendersonville, TN and Elkhorn, NE), and I can’t wait to sing these songs with all those kids in choirs big and small.

Here’s the song ”Shepherd Dad” from the new and improved A Slugs & Bugs Christmas.

To order A Slugs & Bugs Christmas - Click Here

Mexican Rhapsody (Lyrics)

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:32:09 +0000

We’re working on putting together a new Slugs & Bugs website right now, with a launch sometime in January. That website will have many cool new features, the coolest of which will be – it won’t take long to open.

I could fry an egg in the time it takes the current Slugs & Bugs website to open. Don’t go there. You will grow older.

But one of the other cool features of the new website will be a “songs” page that gives the lyrics and chords to each of the songs. Incidentally, if any of you have any cool ideas for a Slugs & Bugs website, I’d LOVE to hear them asap.

I tell you all this because today’s post is a response to multiple requests for lyrics to Mexican Rhapsody. All the lyrics are printed in the CD jacket of Slugs & Bugs Under Where? (affectionately known as “the green CD”), but they do not come with a digital download. So, for your listening while reading pleasure, here’s them lyrics.

(Cheese dip, cheese dip)

(Cheese dip, cheese dip)
Chips and salsa, chips and salsa

Gee, I wanna chicken enchilada
Gee, I wanna chicken enchilada
Guacamole, guacamole

Put it on my chicken chimichanga
Put it on my chicken chimichangaSteak fajita hold the sour cream
Jalepeño peppers on my nachos!
Rice and beans, a bit of shredded cheese
And some pico de gallo, please
what does “pico de gallo” mean?Beak of the rooster
Beak of the rooster
Sounds kinda pointy!
I don’t want to eat that!

Rooster rooster rooster
Youre the cock-a-doodle-dooster
Of the walk-a-doodle-dooster don’t you know

Keep up that cock-a-doodle keeping
While the neighborhood is sleeping
And they’re gonna turn your beak into some pico de gallo!

Pico de gallo
Fly rooster fly oh

Oh me oh my
Can roosters even fly?
Yes! But not very far.

(Cheese dip, cheese dip)

(Cheese dip, cheese dip)
Taco salad, taco salad

In a crunchy bowl of corn tortilla
How I love a bowl that you can eat-a!

Steak fajita hold the sour cream
Jalepeño peppers on my nachos!
Huevos burrito, special number five
Huevos! Huevos! What are those?
Huevos! Huevos! What are those?Eggs! Scrambled eggs!
Grade A eggs!
Huevos are eggs!
Huevos are eggs!

…Huevos are eggs!

For more Mexican Rhapsody backstory… click where it says Mexican Rhapsody backstory.

To buy Slugs & Bugs Under Where? which contains ”Mexican Rhapsody,” visit the Slugs & Bugs Online Store

Parenting Is Not For Me.

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 05:37:47 +0000

Parenting is not for the weak. It is not for the mean. Parenting is not for the selfish and not for the spoiled. It is not for the lazy, not for the jealous, not for the short-tempered, and NOT for the impatient. Neither is parenting for the bully or the perfectionist or the know-it-all or the nanny. Did I miss anyone? This past weekend, I was actually sane and prayerful during a parenting crisis, but much more often I am one of the above. Lord help us.

I was following Amy (driving with her mom) back from Thanksgiving in Alabama, and my 8 year old son was sad because he had finished the book he was reading and we had a 4 hour drive ahead. I’ve got a few audio books on my iPhone he could listen to, so I offered that to him. He was stoked and immediately immersed himself.

Over the course of 2 hours, the phone rang once, and then later I needed it a second time to make a call. When I asked him for it a third time, to call Amy, he groaned. ”Dad,” he said, “when are you going to stop asking me for the phone? It’s getting really old.”

He handed me the phone and I wanted to croak, “What? It’s getting old? You, getting to borrow my phone is getting old?” That would have satisfied my frustration, but instead I said, “That’s cool. I’ll just keep it for a while.” And he started to get upset… crying a little at first, then big. Then really big. I just kept driving.

Both cars pulled into Cracker Barrel and everyone went in except me and my boy. He’s still crying, but I stood outside the open sliding door of the minivan and asked, “Do you know why I kept the phone?” He didn’t. Then I asked him to remember what he said right before I took it. He remembered, and said it again… but he didn’t see the problem.

Then I told him this story… Imagine two professional baseball players are playing catch, and your little brother comes up and wants to play. They are nice men, so they throw him the ball a few times, but then they go back to playing catch without him. This makes your little brother mad. He throws a tantrum and yells and wants the ball again, so the baseball players go somewhere else to play.

I told him gently, “Buddy, I let you use my phone, which is a privilege and a treat. You were disrespecting my kindness and generosity towards you, by complaining like you did. So I kept the phone. Do you understand now?”

He did understand. And he cried again, but they were sorrowful tears. He didn’t know he had been rude, and he was upset at himself. He didn’t know. Thank God, instead of lashing out at him, I loved him and respected him. This time, all the circumstances alligned to allow me to think things through and show grace. But there’s usually not that much time. We parent in real time, and it’s a mess. This weekend I lost my cool while we were all writing letters to our Compassion kids! Are you kidding me? Lord help us.

Dragon Bug, Do Your Dragon Bug Thing

slugsandbugsandlullabies — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 06:45:43 +0000

At a recent concert in Missouri, inspired pictures lined a wall by the stage. I nabbed some photos and I thought I’d share them with you. If you look closely, you’ll see a human bug, a helicopter bug, a car bug, and what looks like the tail of a bird bug. Then in the last pic there’s what looks to be a lobster bug and an octopus bug.

Very impressive.