Puppets: Changing Seasons

Changing Seasons

Mooster:  Dum-de-dum-de-dum…(pokes head out from behind curtain) Hi Kids! How are you?  (Kids reply) Awesome! Have you seen all the beautiful weather we are having? The temps are dropping and the leaves are slowly changing color. It’s fall!!  I love fall. Did you know another word for “Fall” is “Autumn”?

Monkey Moe: (from behind the curtains), Wait just a minute, Mooster! Do I hear you saying you actually LIKE fall?

Mooster: Oh hi, Moe! Yep, I sure do! It’s my favorite season! I was just saying –

Monkey Moe:  Stop, stop, stop!!! How can this be your favorite season? Do you know what happens in the fall?

Mooster: Um, the trees turn pretty colors, the temperatures get cooler –

Monkey Moe: Stop! Go back to the trees for a minute. What ELSE happens to the trees?

Mooster: The leaves fall off the trees?

Monkey Moe: Bingo! THAT’S the part I’m getting to! The leaves fall off the trees! Do you know how that makes my treehouse look? Bare. Very, very bare.

Mooster:  Well, only for a few weeks, then you can hang Christmas lights and start decorating for Christmas and -  

Monkey Moe: You still don’t get this, do you. Go back to the leaves part. What happens to all those leaves that disappear off the tree? They land on the ground.

Mooster: Well, duh, Moe. They aren’t going to float up into the atmosphere! Of course they fall on the ground. Where else do you expect them to go?

Monkey Moe: But I have to rake them up! My mom thinks it looks too messy to have leaves all over the front and back yards, so I have to rake and rake and rake. I tried to tell her that leaf mulch was organically better to leave on the grass for the winter, but she doesn’t believe me. So I have to rake them in huge piles and bur n them off.

Mooster: My favorite smell in all the world! I  LOVE the smell of burning leaves in the fall. We go out and burn leaves, too. Roast some marshmallows, drink some hot apple cider or hot cocoa, smell the burning leaves. It’s fall!

Monkey Moe: Well I don’t like the raking part.

Mooster: Moe, you are one lazy monkey. Raking the leaves can be fun.  

Monkey Moe: Fun? How so?

Mooster: Well if you rake them up in a huge pile, then you can jump in them.

Monkey Moe: Why would I want to do that? Then I just have to rake them all up again.  

Mooster: Moe, you’ve never jumped in a pile of leaves?

Monkey Moe: Nope.

Mooster: You are missing out on some serious fun. How about if I come over and help you rake leaves, and then we can jump in the leaves for a while, then I’ll help you burn them off.

Monkey Moe: Wellllll….I guess maybe we could give it a try.

Mooster:  And that’s not all! After we burn them off, we can toss some old branches on there and roast marshmallows and drink hot cocoa!

Monkey Moe: Can we roase bananas, too? I love a hot, mushy banana between two graham crackers! MMMMMM Delicious! I call it a Smushy.

Mooster: Um, sure, Moe.

Monkey Moe: So…you don’t have any Bible verses for me on the subject of autumn?

Mooster: Oh, I do! Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible, and chapter three is perfect for today. It says, To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.” In fact, Chapter 3 verse 1 is our Bible verse to memorize! “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”

Monkey Moe: Oh yeah…thanks for reminding me. Mom said I have to tear out all the summer plants that are dying and make the soil nice for springtime. Seems a lot of work to me.

Mooster: Well, there is a lot of work in maintaining a yard and garden. But Moe, didn’t you tell me you got to eat lots and lots of good fruits and veggies from your garden this year?

Moe: Yeah – wheelbarrows full of them. Mom had a great crop of everything! Well, except the chocolate plant. It didn’t do so well.

Mooster: Your mom planted chocoloate?

Monkey Moe: Not Mom, me. I plant a Hershey’s bar (without nuts – I don’t like nuts in my chocolate) and I watered it and NOTHING grew there. I was very disappointed.

Mooster: Um, Moe, you don’t plant chocolate bars and hope to grow plants. You have to plant seeds to get plants.

Monkey Moe: Ohhhh….so that’s what happened.

Mooster: Well anyway, your family saved a LOT of money by not having to buy groceries at the store, right?

Monkey Moe: Yeah.

Mooster: So it was a good thing to have a garden. So it was worth all the work of preparing the soil and weeding and everything.

Moe: Well, I guess if you put it that way, yes it was.

Mooster: Well, the seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter are kind of like our lives. When we are young, it’s springtime, and we are growing. When it is summer, we are weeding and reaping and enjoying the fruits of our labor. When it is fall, we are tearing up the old and getting ready for the new. And winter is like our time of rest. Older folks retire and take life at a slower pace. In the garden, the winter time is when the land rests. No tilling or planting or weeding. It just sleeps. And when it wakes up in the spring, it’s ready to be used again.

Moe: Oh, I guess I hadn’t thought of all that. That makes sense.

Mooster: Yep. And, that can apply to our spiritual lives as well. Springtime is like when we first know Jesus as our Savior. Right after we ask Him to forgive us of our sins and live in our hearts and rule our lives. Then it’s summertime – the Holy Spirit helps us grow and mature. Reading our Bible every day and praying and coming to church and Sunday School – all these things help us grow spiritually and the Holy Spirit helps us weed out the bad things in our lives that aren’t supposed to be there.

Moe: So what’s fall and winter?

Mooster: Fall is kind of like when we see older folks. They are retired and enjoying their hobbies and their grandchildren. They maybe can’t be as active as they once were, but they can be VERY important in helping their grandchildren understand God and they can spend time teaching them about the Bible.

Moe: I think I know what winter might be. Is winter when we die?

Mooster: Well, yes, Moe, it can be when we die, but unlike winter here on earth, where winter lasts forever and then spring finally comes, when we die, we are immediately with Christ, and it’s like springtime forever in heaven! There’s no more pain or sorrow or aching bones or sickness. So winter is a really, really short season spiritually.

Moe: Wow, I had never thought about all that, Moe. Thanks for taking the time to explain all that! Hey…do you want to come over to my treehouse and rake leaves? I think I’d like to try jumping in a pile today….

Mooster: Sure, Moe! I think I have some instant hot cocoa and marshmallows, too.

Moe: OH, and I have bananas and graham crackers!!

Mooster: Um…yeah. I guess I can try one of your “Smushies” too!

Moe: Hey kids – make sure you enjoy all the seasons that God gives you. Right now it’s fall – maybe you can rake leaves for your older neighbors or bring them some homemade cookies. Jump in some leaves! Enjoy all the crispy, crunchiness of falling leaves and thank the Lord for making seasons.

Mooster: Excellent advice, Moe!! Bye kids – see you next time!