Editor’s Note: Here at TheReb we’re all about encouraging young people to do hard things and take their faith seriously. But sometimes, its good to have a little fun. One of our editors recently shared how we shouldn’t be ashamed of being sheltered, and one thing many ‘sheltered’ homeschoolers have in common is their love for the show, VeggieTales, an animated series that uses talking Vegetables to creatively re-imagine Bible stories. In light of simply enjoying innocent and good things, Audrey shares some of her memories from the series.
For many of us who were homeschooled, or grew up in church, or volunteered in children’s ministry, VeggieTales has been an integral part of life. As you may know, this series is powerful, hysterical, and highly addictive. Once you’ve begun with it, VeggieTales has a way of influencing your life forever.
Allow me to illustrate this phenomenon with a case study of my own life…
Reminisces of My Times With Talking Vegetables
At three years old, I was in love with the VeggieTales movie Jonah. My parents gave me a plush Jonah toy that said, “I am a prophet of the Lord.” That powerful phrase permanently implanted itself into my toddler vocabulary. At an extended family gathering, I confidently strutted into the room and declared, “I am a prophet of the Lord!”–to the extreme amusement of everyone present.
Even these years later, my declaration is still remembered. Several months ago at my grandpa’s funeral, friends of my grandparents reminded me of this instance. Apparently, this mishap has been permanently ingrained into history.
Yet VeggieTales not only impacted my vocabulary, but also my lifestyle habits. In one of the oldest movies, Madame Blueberry’s tree-house is destroyed when she goes on an extreme shopping spree to “Stuffmart.” This episode inadvertently taught me the importance of minimalism. Larry showed me the significance of lips, Mr. Lunt trained me in the love of hamburgers, and Jimmy and Jerry taught me the importance of food! Where would I be without my VeggieTales education?
I cannot write an article about VeggieTales without mentioning the song, “God is Bigger than the Boogie Man”. I sang this tune all the time (especially and repeatedly on road trips). As silly as this song is, it served (and still serves) as a comforting reminder that God is watching me over me, so I don’t need to be afraid (even of the Boogie Man).
VeggieTales has also given me some food knowledge. A few months ago, my mom bought some of those strange green onions that are often served with Mexican food and salads. Honestly, the only way I knew what they were was from VeggieTales, primarily Daniel and the Lion’s Den. It is a hard to enjoy eating scallions considering that they are always the bad guys in the VeggieTales movies.
VeggieTales even impacts my college academics. One day in Christian Worldview class, the professor was explaining the Old Testament tabernacle. He said, “the tabernacle was set up like an onion with various layers”. As soon as he used a vegetable to illustrate a Bible story, my mind immediately started playing the story of the Israelites in the desert with the Israelites as vegetables. So much for paying attention to the lecture.
Taking Our Childhoods With Us
While VeggieTales distracts me to no end, it has also helped me tremendously in my transition to adulthood. VeggieTales has a strange way of keeping me humble. I have the tendency to take myself (and my academics) way too seriously, and that tendency only multiplied during my first semester of college. Enjoying VeggieTales as a college student helps me to stop taking myself too seriously. After all, it is impossible to keep your pride when listening intently to “Silly Songs with Larry.”Enjoying VeggieTales as a college student helps me to stop taking myself too seriously. After all, it is impossible to keep your pride when listening intently to “Silly Songs with Larry.” Click To Tweet
VeggieTales has also given me a connection to my two younger sisters, ages ten and twelve. Even though we are in different stages of life, VeggieTales has remained our common love, something to reminisce over. I even showed them the soundtrack to The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything movie, and since then we’ve listened to “Rock Monster” innumerable times. VeggieTales allows me to still be a child at heart.
Enjoy Innocence
It seems that entertainment continues to grow increasingly vile and intense. This trend has majorly impacted children’s entertainment. While VeggieTales may not have the deepest plot ever, it is innocent, which is what Christians are supposed to be. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus commands His disciples to “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
We do not need to be ashamed or embarrassed for only choosing entertainment that is innocent and pure, even when the world thinks we have missed out on the edgiest, most thrilling entertainment. Series like VeggieTales are refreshing because they illustrate the fact that entertainment does not have to constantly push all moral barriers to be excellent.
While VeggieTales may not contain the most detailed theology, it does have the power to communicate stories in a simple, understandable way. Sometimes we make Christianity so complicated, we forget the beauty of the stories in the Bible. I am not denying the importance of theology, but Bible stories contain powerful truths that anyone can apply to their life, even without understanding every theological concept.
To conclude this tribute, I am grateful to VeggieTales for teaching me the simplicity of Christianity, for giving me positive childhood memories, for influencing my adult life, and for reminding me to never eat too many chocolate bunnies in one sitting.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I must go figure out why I still don’t have a water buffalo.
Did you watch VeggieTales growing up? What was your favorite story, and which one is the best silly song? (The correct answer is His Cheeseburger, by the way.) Comment and let us know what lessons you’ve learned from VeggieTales even now as a teen!
