Let me say up front that this post is not about whether or not kids should read Harry Potter. Each person must make this decision for themselves. I will say that I am amused when people who rant and rave against Harry Potter turn around and endorse "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" and "Lord of the Rings." I am also amused when people lift up C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien as Christian writers and ignore the fact that J.K. Rowling says, "I believe in God, not magic. Magic in the sense in which it happens in my books, no, I don't believe."
That being said, let me get to the main point of this post. Yesterday I was at Universal Studios Orlando with my family. It was full, but not as crowded as I thought it would be for a Spring Break day. Except for one area of the park.
As you may or may not know, they have a new area of the park that is themed like the world of Harry Potter. It was so crowded that you had to get a time specific ticket just to get into that part of the park. Here are a few pictures I took of the area and the crowds. We waited over 90 minutes to get on the ride.
As I was standing there for those 90 minutes, immersed in a sea of people, I begin to think about this.
ALL OF THIS WAS STARTED BY ONE PERSON WHO HAD AN IDEA.
Joanne Kathleen (JK) Rowling was born in Gwent in 1965. She went to Exeter University, worked as a secretary and as a teacher, but then fell on hard times. She and her husband divorced shortly after the birth of their daughter and she ended up unemployed and living in a tiny apartment in Edinburgh with her only child. Things go so bad financially that she ended up needing public assistance.
Then one day as she was traveling back to London by train, an IDEA for a book popped into her head. That idea...
And it all started with...an IDEA in one person's thoughts. As I was standing there in line, I thought about these things...That being said, let me get to the main point of this post. Yesterday I was at Universal Studios Orlando with my family. It was full, but not as crowded as I thought it would be for a Spring Break day. Except for one area of the park.
As you may or may not know, they have a new area of the park that is themed like the world of Harry Potter. It was so crowded that you had to get a time specific ticket just to get into that part of the park. Here are a few pictures I took of the area and the crowds. We waited over 90 minutes to get on the ride.
As I was standing there for those 90 minutes, immersed in a sea of people, I begin to think about this.
ALL OF THIS WAS STARTED BY ONE PERSON WHO HAD AN IDEA.
- Grew into a series of books.
- The books have sold over 794 million copies to date.
- The books have been made into movies which have grossed over 6 billion dollars at the box office.
- The books have been turned into part of a theme park attended by over 27.5 million people each year.
No matter where you are in life, an idea with great potential may lay inside you. Who would have thought a lady on public assistance would do the above?
Take action on your idea. As she road in the train, she immediately borrowed a pen and begin to write down her thoughts. An idea left stagnant inside your thoughts will never become a reality.
Once the idea has been birthed inside you, never give up on seeing it come to fruition. Rowling's manuscript was turned down several times over the course of a year before she got the nod from a publisher. She didn't quit even in the midst of adversity.
A great idea presented with great passion and great timing has great potential. What idea has God been stirring inside your heart? What is stopping you from moving it from your head to paper and from paper to implementation?
We need some people to give birth to some great ideas for Children's Mnistry. Ideas that will have people waiting in line to get inside church. Ideas that God can use to impact kids and parents for years to come. Ideas that will go viral beyond anyone's expectations.
Perhaps you are that person. You'll never know the potential of your idea until you put your idea out there. Go for it!
Posted by Dale Hudson
