Let There Be More, Part 1

Host (Male): Hey, Goof here. You probably know by now that here in the clubhouse, we have a quest each and every month. A quest is a very fun thing to do. A thing to bake with your folks, a thing to make with a friend. Sometimes, it's a thing to record so you can possibly make it onto a real Paws & Tales episode. I have it by good authority that the kids that have the most fun go to the clubhouse every month to find out what the newest quest is, and you can do that too. Just log on to pawsandtales.org and head on into the clubhouse for the latest quest and a ginormous ton of other fun stuff too. That's pawsandtales.org. I will see you in Wildwood.
Announcer (Male): Welcome to the world of Paws & Tales. Wild Mountain can be a pretty dangerous place. You stay on the trails and stick with me. There's adventures to be had there too.
Guest (Female): Come on, C.J., jump.
C.J.: It's too far.
Guest (Female): It wasn't too far for me.
C.J.: Whoa!
Announcer (Male): Insight for Living is proud to present Paws & Tales.
The Host: Howdy and welcome to Wildwood. Nothing quite causes the heart of a fellow to race with anticipation as when he's on a steam engine heading off on an adventure. And I assure you that the hearts of C.J., Ned, and C.J.'s father, Theo, are all racing today. They've traveled deep into Wild Mountain, deeper than either of the boys have gone before. For the last couple of hours, Ned and C.J. have been driving the conductor half crazy with questions of train wrecks, bandit attacks, avalanches, and freak tornadoes.
Conductor: I've told you both a hundred times, there has never been a train wreck since before I was a boy. No bandits, no avalanches that trapped any trains. Nothing. There is nothing to worry about. Quit asking questions like that. You're making the passengers nervous. We're all perfectly safe on this train.
Ned: Aw. Is there a chance we could get knocked off the track by a flash flood? That would be fun.
Conductor: Fellas, I have a headache. I'll be back later.
Ned: Well, he's not as friendly as Dad said.
C.J.: I've met friendlier. Well, let's go sit down. So, he built a factory in Glenwood?
Theo: No, he inherited it from his uncle.
C.J.: Hey, Dad, almost there?
Theo: Almost.
Ned: Why didn't your dad inherit some of it too? I'd be very upset if it were me.
Theo: Alex is my cousin, but his uncle is not my uncle.
Ned: I don't know why your cousin isn't sharing with you. He doesn't seem like a very good cousin.
Theo: He's my very dear and generous cousin.
Ned: So, what does this factory make?
Theo: Candy.
Ned: He's inherited a candy factory? You dog! Why didn't you tell me this before?
C.J.: What difference would it make?
Ned: Well, I would've dressed better and brought a bigger suitcase.
The Host: Well, the train pulled into Glenwood, they got their luggage, and in no time at all, they met up with Cousin Alex. Soon they were all piled up on his wagon and were headed through town toward the factory.
Theo: So, you've been here three months?
Alex: Six. It's been over six months.
Theo: Wow. Has it been tough? The transition from overseeing an office full of salespeople to running a factory?
Alex: Yep, it really has.
Ned: Mr. Brown?
Alex: Just call me Alex, son.
Ned: Alex, everyone in Glenwood looks so, I don't know.
Alex: Sad and poor?
Ned: Well, yeah.
Alex: This town has always been that way. Most everyone here just barely scrapes out a living.
C.J.: Whoa, is that it?
Alex: That's it. My factory and my home.
Ned: It's huge and largely enormous. It's humongous. It's giganticimo.
C.J.: All right, fellas.
Marsha: Stacy, what if she doesn't like me?
Stacy: That's impossible. Alma likes everyone. It's kind of her superpower. Besides, Marsha, you have a basket of cookies. That will make you her best and dearest friend.
Alma: I hear little girls' voices. Stacy, is that you, mijita?
Stacy: It's me. Hello, Alma.
Alma: Oh, thank you for coming to visit me. And who is this?
Stacy: This is my friend Marsha.
Marsha: Hello, Alma. It's good to meet you. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm kind of clumsy.
Alma: Never mind that. You can see that I was never very petite either. I spent most of my young years knocking things over.
Marsha: Really? You did?
Alma: I did. It will soon pass for you too. Now we will talk. We can talk of anything except how badly your bunions are bothering you. Living at the rest home, I hear about bunions 12 hours a day. Can you avoid this topic?
Stacy: I'm pretty sure we can.
Alma: Wonderful. So, what's on your mind?
Marsha: Well, it's me, really. Stacy said that you are really wise and I have a problem that I need help with.
Alma: I will help if I can. Have a cookie.
Marsha: Oh, thanks. There it goes. I'm kind of frustrated lately. I've been reading my Bible and the people in there, they didn't usually start out really great or brave or doing big things, but eventually, the people in there changed. They grew and did scary, wonderful things.
Alma: Mhm.
Marsha: And I don't want to be mean or rude, but most of the folks at my church are pretty much like they were 20 or 30 years ago.
Alma: And how do you know this?
Marsha: I asked them and they told me. They don't do anything scary. They've not grown and most of them don't even want to. They just want to keep doing the same things and sit in the same spot every Sunday.
Alma: Sadly, this is true for many Christians.
Marsha: There are folks out there who are cold and hungry and they really need a hug from God. And I want to do more. I want to be more. It just seems like there should be more. Is it wrong to want more from God?
Alma: Oh, Marsha, you have taken my breath away. I never thought in my life I would meet a child who has the courage to ask such questions out loud. Be certain, mijita, that this burden, this passion has been given to you by God himself.
Marsha: Wow, thanks. I mean, wow. So, what is the answer?
Alma: Do not try to get to an answer too quickly. There is more work yet to be done with questions.
Stacy: I told you she talked like that.
Alma: I find it better to struggle with difficult things while in the sunshine. Come push this old wheelchair out into the garden.
Stacy: Okay.
Alma: Perhaps it will take both of you. Don't leave the cookies.
Alex: Well, it's not much, but I call it home.
Theo: This is very impressive.
C.J.: It's bigger on the inside. I mean, some of the building goes on into the woods. You can't see all of the factory from the outside.
Ned: This is, I'm out of cookie words. This is just plain big. You could play baseball in here.
Alex: Yeah, you really could.
Theo: I had no idea. God has really blessed you.
Alex: Yeah, I suppose he has.
Theo: This is amazing, but most of it looks like it hasn't been used for years.
Alex: Most of it hasn't. I started exploring it at first, but there's work to be done. I just didn't have the time. Come on into my office. My uncle left me with the factory, only there was almost no money in the bank account and even now that's gone. This is where I spend most of my time.
Theo: Very nice. The president's office. This is nicer than Mr. Rockler's.
Alex: I think it all made my uncle feel important. He liked being president, but I don't think he liked people much, and I know he didn't like the machines. He only used one the whole 37 years that he lived here.
Theo: All of this and he only used one?
Ned: The candy machine?
Alex: Yep. Would you like to try some?
Ned: If you happen to have some lying around.
Alex: Over there in that barrel.
Ned: In the barrel? Ned, it's a barrel of candy. I've always hoped to one day find a barrel of candy. They look like spearmint drops. I love spearmint. I'm so happy. Oh. Oh. Oh. What kind of candies are these?
C.J.: They kind of taste like chalk.
Ned: Yeah, like chalk dirt. This tastes like dirt.
C.J.: It's getting kind of stiff. I'm having trouble swallowing.
Ned: Swallowing? I can hardly chew.
Alex: Well, fellas, what do you think?
Ned: I'm sorry, Alex. I think I'm just a little allergic or something.
Alex: It's okay. I don't eat them either, and no one in town does. I send them over to a company in Wrightford. Not sure how they found folks who like them. It's the only paying customer I have and the only one my uncle ever had. It keeps the electricity on. All I do night and day is work like a madman making bad candies. Despite that, I'm broke and it's only going to get worse.
Guest (Female): Hi, everyone. My name is Mariana Roberson and I'm seven years old. I listen to Paws & Tales when I go anywhere in the car. You should too. Bye-bye.
Guest (Male): So, are you Joel? I'm Tiffany's agent. Really? I didn't know she had one. When she gets here, she needs the script. Sure, right here. Ah, a spray of geraniums. Excuse me.
Tiffany Rockler: Greetings, support staff. I'm ready to go. Is tape rolling? Good. Is this the script? I may ad-lib a bit. I am Tiffany Rockler from Wildwood. I have come to encourage you all to get a copy of the very first Paws & Tales book ever, The Overcomers. How was that?
Guest (Male): So inspiring, Miss Tiffany. Just stick to the script, please.
Tiffany Rockler: The Overcomers is a wonderful continuation of the grand story of Paws & Tales. This is better. A continuation of the original story arc. How's that?
Guest (Male): Oh, I have chills. Goosebumps. I don't know, story arc is too technical. Please stick to the script.
Tiffany Rockler: To get a copy of your own, just log on to pawsandtales.org. You are going to love all the adventure, the fun, and the great teaching that Paws & Tales is famous for. Wait. Manny, where are my geraniums? There are supposed to be geraniums in here.
Guest (Male): On to something, on to something. Stopping tape.
Alma: If the Bible tells us that something is possible, but it doesn't work for us, there are perhaps three options.
Stacy: Okay, what are they?
Alma: One of them has to be that God was not telling us the truth.
Marsha: Well, that's not it. No, that's a bad option. We need another one.
Alma: Or we've misunderstood what he's told us in the Bible. That is always worth considering.
Marsha: That doesn't seem like the right thing.
Alma: In this case, it is not. Another option is that we are doing something wrong or not doing something we should be doing. And if we discover it and correct it, then we'll see that God does what he says he'll do.
Marsha: Well, I like that one. I vote for that one. So, if we just do the right things, God will give us the stuff?
Alma: Girls, the wrong answer to that question will likely send you on a lifelong journey of frustration and spiritual failure. Think it over deeply. You know, I always like to think deeply in the cool of the shade. You two ponder while you push me over to the general store.
Theo: How can you possibly head for disaster with all of this? You should have hundreds of workers here. You should be making whatever these machines make. What do they make?
Alex: I have no idea. They haven't been turned on for at least 37 years.
Ned: Can we go exploring?
Theo: I don't know. I guess if it's all right with you.
Alex: Sure. Just don't push any buttons or touch any of the machines.
Ned: This is magnificent. It's gigantic.
Alex: I would just walk away from it all and go home, except I sold my home, gave up my position, and have spent all of my savings. I'm trapped by this gift, this blessing from God.
Theo: This place is brimming with potential. I guarantee you God has more in mind for all of this than bad candies.
Alex: I thought so too, but apparently my uncle couldn't find it. I'm just doing what he did.
The Host: Alex and Theo talked and thought for the better part of an hour. Together they felt the weight of the frustration and disappointment that was made even more bitter because of the obvious potential that surrounded them.
Alex: It's like I'm dying in poverty and I'm surrounded by a hundred treasure chests that are all locked and I don't have the key.
Ned: Dad! Alex, come here!
Alex: Something's wrong. Come on, we're coming!
Theo: We're in here. What's the matter? Are you all right? Are you hurt?
Ned: No, no one's hurt. Look.
The Host: As the boys had been exploring the wonders of the factory, they stumbled into the manager's office. Unlike the beauty and elegance of the president's office where Alex and his uncle spent most of their time, the manager's office was cluttered with cheap furniture and scratched file cabinets, with worn carpet and a bad lamp on a metal desk. The thing that made it so amazing was the old photos hanging on the poorly painted wall.
C.J.: What are they?
Alex: I think they are, this is the stuff that the factory used to make.
Ned: Unbelievable. Canvas, farm tools, wagons. I have no idea what that is, but it looks really important.
Alex: All of this came out of my factory?
C.J.: And look over here. Manuals for all the machines. How to start them, how to fix them when they break, and everything.
Ned: Wow, and look at this keyring. There's a bunch more to discover here. Isn't this the most exciting thing ever?
Alex: This is bad. I wish you'd never found this place. This is so bad.
Theo: How is this bad? You have everything you need.
Ned: Well, I guess his glass is half empty.
Alex: I'm working as hard as I can. I can barely make enough bad candies to keep afloat and now I know what I could be doing, but I can't do any of it. I have no money to hire workers. I have no money for anything. In fact, I need to get back to making bad candies. Mr. Spiegel, the driver, will be here at noon and I don't have enough to fill the order yet.
Alma: Have another cookie, Stacy. You see, amigas, many of God's children have small souls, weak souls. They are not changed and they only want small things. Mostly they want comfort. They have all the treasures and power in heaven to work with, but they only want to do the small, silly things that they have always done. Then they like to sit around and complain about how sad and small their Christianity is.
Marsha: I don't want to be like that.
Stacy: I sure don't.
Alma: Good. If you did, I would have to hit you with my umbrella.
Marsha: So, what's the answer to the big question? Can we talk about that yet?
Alma: Tell me the question again.
Marsha: If we do the right things, will God give us the stuff? The power and the treasure, that kind of stuff?
Alma: Oh, yes. What do you think?
Stacy: I knew she was going to say that.
Alma: Can you do the right thing for the wrong reason?
Marsha: Sure, I do it all the time. I act nice to Tiffany, but only so she won't be mean to me.
Alma: You have wisdom inside of you for one so young. Do you think that God wants you to be nice to him so that he won't be mean to you?
Marsha: No, he just wants us to love him, not act like we love him.
Alma: See, mijita. And if you love someone, what do you want more than anything?
Marsha: To be with them.
Alma: Do you want to be with them as little as you can? Do you avoid knowing them more and settle for what you already know?
Marsha: You want more. More time with them, more talks with them. Oh, more picnics, more everything.
Alma: Is God irritated? Is he offended if you want more of him? Think deeply now.
Marsha: I think he'd be upset if we only wanted a little bit of him.
Alma: Oh, amiga. Let's have another cookie.
The Host: When Alex stormed out of the manager's office, Theo followed after him. Now, don't be too hard on old Alex or anyone else in his position. He's tired, confused, and overwhelmed. He thinks that what he needs to do is more, but in reality, he needs to do less and different things. The boys, on the other hand, are exploring in a huge, wonderful factory with a heavy ring of keys in their hands. They're full of energy, conviction, and a ginormous sense of adventure.
Ned: Okay, we know this is the key to the supply room and this is the key to the side door. This one looks like it'll open up a pirate treasure chest. Look at the size of it.
C.J.: You don't think that a pirate key's going to fit in, well, color me surprised.
Ned: You want to turn it?
C.J.: No, you turn it.
Ned: Well, I could, but I just don't want to. I'm not afraid, if that's what you were thinking.
C.J.: So turn it.
Ned: You turn it.
C.J.: Okay, I will. No, don't turn it! What are you thinking? Get your hands off.
Ned: You get your hands off. Look what you did!
C.J.: I did not, you did it!
Ned: I was standing right here!
C.J.: And you had your hand on the, look what you did!
Ned: I was trying to stop you, but you wouldn't listen to me and. Whoa! What did you do? I told you not to touch any buttons and. What on earth? Is everyone all right? Alex, did you know that this was here?
Alex: I had no idea.
Marsha: There's more factory behind this door than there is behind us!
Ned: There's more machines!
Marsha: And bigger machines!
Ned: What do you think they're for?
Marsha: I don't know, but get delicious like cavernous! Let's go exploring!
Theo: Alex, you only knew about maybe a third of the factory. Who knows what else is here?
Alex: I don't feel very good.
Guest (Female): Hi, I'm Areia Sunshine from North Carolina. You know what I like to listen to the most? Paws & Tales, of course. There's more Paws & Tales coming right up.
Tiffany Rockler: Hello, lovely listeners. Tiffany Rockler from Paws & Tales here to tell you all about the very new and very fashionable t-shirts now on sale in our store. We have a wonderful Tiffany Rockler shirt with lovely detail.
Ned: Tiffany, that's not true.
Tiffany Rockler: Ned, what are you talking about? Of course it's true. If I said it, then it is true.
Ned: You see, we do have new t-shirts.
Tiffany Rockler: Of course we do.
Ned: Really nice ones that you should go online at pawsandtales.org to see.