Flashback Friday: Agapeland

When I was about 5 years old, my favorite cassette tape was called "Bullfrogs and Butterflies" by the Agapeland Kids Series. I still remember the magic, beauty and wonder that exuded from the tape player when I popped it in. Hours of listening enjoyment for me. Hours of senseless torture for my parents. To fill you in, Agapeland was a series of music tapes and records that taught essential Bible truths and principles for kids. It was sort of a precursor to Veggie Tales, Hillsong Kids, and stuff like that. And I loved them. I still remember the tune and lyrics to the chorus of "Bullfrogs and Butterflies."

"Bullfrogs and butterflies. We both been born again!" (repeat)

That's good stuff right there.

I remember on vacation one year my parents convinced me that we were actually going to visit Agapeland, "the wonderland of love." I imagined it as a magical place where God and the angels lived, with roller coasters and cotton candy. The next day when we arrived at Dollywood, I didn't know the difference. My brother, Smooth, and I had a blast, except for the slight pain in the bottom of my foot. I tried to complain as little as possible, sucked it up, and walked an entire day around "Agapeland" with a throbbing foot. When the day was over, my mom decided she'd better have a look. She removed my shoe to discover a small toy football helmet about the size of a golf ball. And that was the day I decided that I hated plastic toy football helmets, but I still loved Agapeland.