My daughter's dance studio has been practicing their "holiday" routine for a local parade and for an upcoming trip and performance at Disneyland! We are all very excited to see her and all the girls perform (the girls and the routine are ADORABLE!!!, but I'm not bias or anything. :) ). So, recently at the studio their was a mandatory Disney dress rehearsal meeting. They shared the standard that Disney has for the girls as dancers in their attendance, presence, presentation and performance and they are strict. I won't lie, I started to stress myself that if my baby girl or any of the girls didn't know the routine well enough, it was possible she would not be able to perform!! AAh! Can you imagine the devastation? The 7-going-on-13-year-old-drama...?? So, needless to say..we've gone to every practice offered this week so she can make sure she has the routine engrained in her sweet little brain and encouraging her all the way and trying hard to put up a "no big thang" face so she wouldn't feel anxious as well.
It got me thinking about Disney and how they DO do everything better. Have you noticed there are no flies or mosquitos (which are utter hell to me)? There is no gum stuck to the walls, the bathrooms are clean (or as clean as you can get with hundreds of thousands of people utilizing them), the staff are clean and polite and their shows are top notch...I would say that this is only my opinion, but the proof is undeniable. Rain or Shine, Disney is visited by how many people a year?? The latest figures for 2007 showed 14,870,000 visitors for Disneyland in that year!!!
I'd been to other amusement parks and the standard** is not the same. At one other park in particular (I will not mention the name), the very mood of the place and the people was less than "happy" and I overheard on more than one occasion "f" bombs and foul language being used loudly with no regard to the children around. The signage sucks, the place felt dirty and sort of like a "B" movie in comparison to an Oscar Winning Blockbuster. I can testify that at Disneyland in the tomorrowland terrace I overheard two young brothers fighting and then witnessed them pushing each other (I have no idea where the parents were) but a Disney Cast member walked over and gently separated them and said..."Hey boys, there is NO fighting at Disneyland". I told Lance, "We are moving in, permanently."
Isn't it funny? The standard is set at Disney...and people will apparently meet that standard, because they want to be there.
I heard someone say onetime, "If you aim for the sky you may hit the top of the barn, but if you aim for the top of the barn, you're guaranteed to hit the top of the manure pile."
The Bible say's "Be holy for I am holy" Leviticus 11:45.
Did God know we'd fail?? That is without question, but he didn't say.."Well, I know you're going to screw up so don't even bother trying". We, as christians need to strive for holiness and we can only do that through Christ. We as a parents need to strive for raising obedient children, don't we? We shouldn't set them up for failure because you know they will anyway. Give them an expectation and help them want to earn the privileges and rewards that obedience brings. I have seen this to be true since my oldest two have been in school. Their teachers, who I am so grateful for, know what 2nd and 3rd graders can do and what they will do and yet they encourage them to do what they can...not the minimum. I am thankful for their experience, their knowledge and their gentle guidance in helping teach my babes. I fear though that this will not maintain as an expectation as they get older. The "world" seems to keep lowering it's standards and the people respond.
Dear Lord, I'm not perfect and I know that I fail, but please help me to live out and love my kids in a way that will encourage them to love and obey you and strive to be "holy" as you are holy. Let the world NOT be the standard, but let your WORD be.
**(I found a link to a welcome letter to disney employees.. read if you're interested :
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