Colossians chapter 4. We're going to conclude our series here in the book of Colossians by looking at verses 12 through 18, so allow me to begin reading to you at verse 12. I'll read to verse 18 and we'll begin our study. Colossians chapter 4 verse 12. Epiphras, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you and those who are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician and Demas, greet you, greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and Nymphus and the church that is in his house. Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea and say to Archipas, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it, the salutation by my own hand, Paul. Remember my chains, grace be with you. Amen. So as we begin, we just have gone through the passage preceding this and in that passage Paul referred to three Jewish converts who had ministered alongside of him. We saw them, Aristarchus, a man named Mark, and he also mentioned one referred to as Jesus, also called justice. And so I'm going to start with that. Jesus also called justice because he's identified by two names. You see, during this time it was common to be known by more than one name. When you begin to look at the list of the names of the apostles, for example, some of them have more than one name. You have Simon, who's also known as Peter as well as Cephas. You have Lebeus, whose surname was Thaddeus, also known as Judas, the son of James. You have John and James called Blanergis, which means sons of thunder. You have Simon, the Canaanite, but he's also referred to as Simon, the zealot. You have Thomas, who is referred to as Didymus. The word Didymus means twin, so he was a twin, but he was known as Thomas, also called Didymus. You have John, whose surname is Mark. We saw that in Acts 12, verse 12, and you know Saul, who is better known as Paul. In this passage, we have someone by the name of Jesus, who is also called Justice. As we begin, once again, this is the only place that Justice has ever spoken of, and that is found here in the book of Colossians. We note that his name was Jesus. Well, the name Jesus is the name that is translated Savior, and so he could never live up to the name Savior. That's a name he could never live up to, but on the other hand, the name Justice speaks of righteousness, and that's a name that is describing this man, and that's because with God's help, he was known for a righteous life. You see, to live righteously speaks of a life that is conformed to the Word of God. To live righteously speaks of living in relationship with God, and because of this, it means that you are just, and that means that you are living right. And he can be called this name Justice because he'd been saved, and he'd been empowered by God to live righteously. In Titus, chapter 2, verses 11 and 12, it reads, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness in worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age.  You can live a life that's righteous, you can live a life that is known for its godliness, by its holiness, by its purity, the fact that you're set apart by God. And that happens because you've gotten right with God. You can live soberly, and you can live righteously, and you can live justly in this present age. Why? Because the power of the Holy Spirit is now within you, because when you gave your heart to Christ, you became the temple of God. And when you said, God, empower me, I want to be used by you, God answers prayers like that. And so, no, we're never going to be perfect this side of heaven, but we can be just. We can live righteously. And that's what we have here. Even as we're looking at a man by the name of Jesus, Jesus also referred to as Justice. And so with that, we move into verse 12 in chapter 4 of Colossians, and he speaks of Epaphrys. He says, Epaphrys, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. So we'll look at Epaphrys or Epaphrys. Now, according to Colossians chapter 1, verse 7, Paul referred to him as, in this way, he said, he's our dear fellow-servant who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. So Epaphrys went to Rome and had told Paul about the error that was creeping into the churches. And he also let Paul know that the Colossians were remaining strong in the Lord. In Colossians chapter 1, verse 8, Paul said that he had declared to us your love in the Spirit. So Epaphrys is away from the church, so Paul is sending his greetings to them on his behalf. You see, as their pastor, he would not want them to be overly concerned for his welfare. And because of this, Paul makes mention of his greetings to the church. Notice with me that Paul refers to him as a bond-servant. Now, in his writings, Paul only referred to himself in Timothy as bond-servants. But here he speaks of Epaphrys as a bond-servant. So that highlights his character as well as the way he lives. And Paul is advising them of his great love for them and also of his constant prayer for them. He said he's laboring fervently. Do you notice that? Epaphrys, who is one of you, a bond-servant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers. Laboring fervently he speaks of wrestling, wrestling in agony in prayer. So it gives to us an insight into his desire, his affection for them. And it gives to us an insight into this man's desire for them to walk according to the ways of the Lord. And he's praying. He's praying that they would stand perfect and complete. Well, when it says that he would, that you will stand, that word stand speaks of having your feet planted, you're immovable. He's praying that you'll be immovable, that you'll be perfect. The word perfect speaks of being mature. He wants you to grow in your spiritual maturity. When he speaks of being complete, that simply means lacking nothing. So his prayer for you, and I'd say that this would be a prayer for us, to be honest with you, is that we would stand perfect and complete, that we would be immovable in our faith, that we would have a mature faith, and that we would walk in in such a way that we obviously are not lacking a single thing. You see, this is the desire of every minister that the church grows in maturity and faith. A genuine pastor desires the members of the church to live for Jesus Christ, to have him as first and foremost in their life. That's a genuine desire. It's not for the church pews to be filled. Thank God when people show up. Thank God. But beyond that, it's not just to have people in the church building. It's that the church understands who the church is and is equipped for works of service and takes what they learn and lives it out in the world, as the salt and the light. And that's a pastor's desire, not just to have full buildings because we can have full buildings and empty people.  And that's the heart of a pastor. That's what we want. We want people in the church to understand that the church is just a meeting place, that it's a feeding place. It's a place where people get equipped for works of service and go out and live for Christ. Paul, when he was writing to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 15, said this to them. He said, though you might have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I have begotten you through the gospel. You may have a lot of people, 10,000 instructors.   They're instructors to you. They will share with you. But Paul is saying, listen Corinthians, though you may have 10,000 people whispering to you, you need to remember who your daddy is. I'm your daddy. Who's your daddy? Paul. That's what he's saying. You need to understand I've begotten you in the gospel. And a father has a father's love for the body of Christ. I don't know if you noticed that perhaps you did.  It just happened. You were here.  And I know I'm biased. That's okay. But I'm right. But anyway, so he kisses me. Did you notice that? Some of you did. He's not ashamed of showing affection, but he shows it to his father. And I begot him and I love him with all of my heart. And you can see the real affection that a father has for a son. And Paul had that real affection for the body of Christ. Paul loved the church. He said, you may have 10,000 people whispering in your ears all about Jesus Christ, but you need to remember I begot you in the gospel. I have a father's love for you. And a father's love is a powerful protective love. That's a father's love. I will lay my life down for my child. A father's love. Mothers do too. A father's love. Very fierce. And Paul had that. Paul had that. And he loved them deeply. And he wanted these people to walk properly. That's what happens. That's your desire. In Galatians, when he was writing the church in Galatians chapter 4 verse 19, he said this to them. He said, my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you. Now you mamas understand laboring in birth. And Paul was saying, I travail. It's my great agony to see you mature in Jesus Christ. You see, pastors teach the word so that the church grows in maturity and gains in spiritual discernment. There are so many false teachers, so many false messages. So Paul writes to Ephesians in chapter 4 verse 13. And to them, he said that we should no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine. So this is what Epiphras was praying for them, that they would mature in their faith. Notice verse 13, how he says, for I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you and those who are in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. And so not only did Epiphras care about his own church, he cared about the body of Christ in general. These churches that he refers to are close by, and he may have had something to do with their conversions and could very well have actually been pastoring those churches. In Colossians 2 verse 1, he had said, I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. So he could have pastored those churches, may have simply loved the body of Christ, but he has a great zeal for them, and he desires fervently to promote their welfare. Now notice verse 13, he mentions Hierapolis. This is the city north of the city of Colossia. It had believers there, but now there are no recorded Christians in that area. And so he speaks of him having this zeal. In verse 14, we'll spend a few moments in verse 14, we see Luke, the beloved physician, and Deimos. Now notice Luke, the beloved physician, and Deimos greet you. I want to spend some time with you looking at this. Luke, we know Luke. Luke wrote a Gospel. He wrote the book of Acts. When you read your Bible, you see that Luke was a Gentile, but he was also a traveling companion of the Apostle Paul and was very dear friend of his. We know that when you read your Bible that Luke finished well. Ultimately, he received a commendation from the Apostle Paul. You see, in Paul's last letter, he makes mention of his dear friend Luke. In 2 Timothy 4.16, he says it like this. He says, at my first defense, no one stood with me, all forsook me, but his last words concerning Luke are found in 2 Timothy 4.11 when he said, only Luke is with me. So he held fast. This is one who held fast to the end. He finished the race. He obtained the prize. He's the one who was abiding in the word like Jesus in John 8.31. He said, if you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And that's what he was. He's somebody who held fast through all things thick and thin, pain and tribulation. Luke remained with Paul. He was a dear friend and follower of Jesus Christ, a companion, and a man God used in a mighty way. But he held fast. In 2 Timothy 4.7 and 8, Paul said, I have fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day and not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. So Luke was somebody who loved his appearing. Luke had his eyes on heaven and Luke ends up hearing Jesus' welcoming commendation. Matthew 25, 21, well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord. That's something Luke will hear. Enter into the joy of your Lord. Why, you've been faithful in many things. That was Luke. But in contrast, we have a man named Demas. In the book of Philemon verse 24, Philemon 24 refers to Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke as Paul's fellow laborers. From the book of Colossians and the book of Philemon, we see that Paul considered Demas a faithful believer. And what you have here is something like a photograph, if you will. You have Ticacus, these are the men that he's been naming, Ticacus, Anesimus, Aristarchus, you have Mark, you have Justice, Epiphrus, Luke, and Demas. You can almost see them posing with their arms around one another, smiling. I have a photo I'd like to show you if you guys can put it on the screen. There's a little photo, that's one of my favorite photos. Let me tell you a little bit about this so I can enhance this illustration. That plane behind us there is a DC-3. This plane, this trip was taking place in the country of Colombia. And we were about to fly to over a jungle landing in an abandoned airstrip. And we were going to get in trucks and we were traveling to a location to minister to the church in Colombia. And so when we went to board the plane to leave, the guy who owned the plane actually owned like several of them. So before we left, it was with Raul and there's 11 of us there, Raul Reese. The guy says to us, before you leave, will you do me a favor? And so we're all there. Yes. He says, will you pray for my company? And we said, of course. He says, because they've been shooting my planes out of the sky. So we prayed. He had already lost two or three. They'd been firing. The gorillas had been firing at his planes and taking them out of the sky. So we got on this DC-3 and we flew from this small city we're in. We flew into a jungle area into an abandoned airfield. And we landed. And when we landed, the members of the church had sent a truck over to pick us up. And Raul told me, he said, you need to sit down real low because when they see you, they'll know you're not from Colombia. He says, and they will kidnap you. So I was low-riding with my hat pulled over my head. And so were a couple of the other guys because we all, obviously, are not from Colombia. And so we traveled into the city, the village, really, that we were ministering in. And we ministered there. The next day, we returned to the abandoned airfield. And we're waiting. Now, the plane was supposed to arrive at a certain time, but it was late. And so we sat there on the field for over two hours. And you can't be doing that. You can't be there exposed like that for so long. But there we were. We're there for two hours, just kind of waiting. And finally, one of the guys who was with us, his name is Hector Martinez, Hector received a radio transmission. And he said, okay, okay.  And he turns to us. He says, the plane is about to arrive. He said, it's going to hit and turn around and come. When it comes back, he's not going to turn the engines off. He's going to drop the ladder. You guys, you need to run and get on the plane. Now, we're thinking we're in a hurry, because, you know, there's just hourly wage for the, I don't know. So there we go with our bags and we throw them on the plane. And we all clamber up the ladder and get in. And off we go. And we didn't know what had happened. This is what had happened. It's a pilot, as he was coming in, had intercepted a broadcast. And what we didn't know. And you'd have to picture this in your mind's eye for a moment. We're on an abandoned field, but there's a tree, tree line. It's forest. They have cut this out of the forest.  And there were Colombian guerrillas in there with weapons. And they were talking to one another. And they thought we were DEA or CIA. And so they were making plans on how they were going to take us. And all we are are some goofy pastors just waiting there ready to get on a plane. That's all we are. And so when we climbed on that plane and flew away, you know, we actually, God was protecting us from being kidnapped in a pretty, pretty war torn country at that time. Why am I telling you that? Because of this picture here. That picture there, there are 11 of us there, friends, dear friends. And you can, you can remove that now. So I'll make the point in, in this book here in the closing, you have a group of friends who are posing for a photo and you can almost see them with their arms around one another, smiling. You look at the photo and you see Ticacus, you see Onesimus, you see Aristarchus, Mark Justus, Epipharus, Luke and Demus. And you can almost see Demus, this man, Demus, who is in, we'll say he's in the center.  And you can see only the outside, but you don't see the inside. You don't see their hearts. All you see is their smiles. And that's what you have in this book here. You have his name mentioned, Luke, the beloved physician, and Demus greet you. As far as Paul knew, Demus was one of them. But you see only the outside. You don't see his heart at one time. Paul believed that he was a fellow worker at one time. This man cared for Paul. When Paul was imprisoned, he paid a price to come and visit him. As with Aristarchus and Epipharus, he took great personal risks by coming to see Paul. It would seem that he had at one time a great love for Paul. A love that might have driven him to come and see him, to be identified with him, to travel with him. But something happened because in the end, Demus abandoned Paul. Once again, we learn much from the last word someone speaks of someone else. And in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 10, this is what Paul said of Demus. He said, Demus has forsaken me, having loved this present world and has departed for Thessalonica. A man that I took photo with. A man that I traveled with.  A man that I was in prison. He came and ministered to me. A fellow worker, a brother. I love this guy with all my heart. I'm sorry, but I put myself in that. I've had that. I've had that as a pastor. Guys that I traveled with. Guys that I ministered with. Guys that I was on my face weeping with. Guys that I poured my life into. I pictures with. And he forsook me, having loved this present age. And took off. I've seen it. I've endured. I've experienced it. And I can feel the pain of Paul when he says that. Demus, my friend, my fellow laborer, my companion, my fellow servant. Demus has forsaken me. Having loved this present world. Yeah, he's part of the group photo. Yeah, he's got his arms around other guys. Big smile in his face. Doing ministry. And that's what you're seeing here. He hasn't yet betrayed Paul. So he says Demus greets you. And everybody knew Demus just recently being involved in the pastor's conference and the international pastor's conference. We had probably 16, 1700 guys and ladies with us for the conference. Demus was the guy who would walk into the conference. A room like this. When he would walk in that back room before service would start, people would see him and they'd turn and they'd say to their friend, Hey, there's Demus. Let's go say hi to him, man. He's been with Paul. There's Demus. I hope he has something to share with us. I bet the Lord has put something on Demus' heart. And he can tell us things that he's gone through. And Demus, I'm sure, was the guy who said, Oh yeah, we were here and we did this and we saw this and now we traveled here. He saw a lot. He went to a lot of places. Went into Rome where Paul was. And you walk into Rome. The grandeur of Rome. The amazing city and so much going on. So many things. And that grabbed hold of his heart. And he said, I want this. This is what I want. I want what the world has to offer me. I want that. Whatever it may have been at that time. We have a tendency of lowering it to think that it was probably nothing. No, that's simply because we haven't really traveled enough to see what the beauty of some of the ancient ruins, when you see what they would have looked like in their time with actual marble pillars 20, 30 feet high and marble throughout the streets. An incredible beauty. It was beyond, especially for people who might have come from a country background and have never seen anything like this. And you got a guy like Demus. And he goes into Rome and he sees it. And he's seen Salonica in Greece. And it's just an amazing place in Athens. And he's seen these places. And the more he saw them, the more he wanted them. And what happened in him is he finally said, I'd rather have this than anything else. I don't need pie in the sky, buy and buy when I can enjoy myself in this time, in this age with these things. That was Demus. That was Demus. You see, Jesus made a clear following crisis in an easy road. It requires a sincere, complete commitment to him. It seems that initially Demus was willing to physically make the sacrifices to serve. But when he no longer derived satisfaction from ministry, he went right back to the world. Paul said he loved this present world more than he desired Jesus in heaven. The longing for this world that he was drawn by took him captive. He remained a slave to his longing for the things of this age. And the draw was so strong that when it came down to it, he abandoned Jesus. His longing for the things of this present world overpowered him. Demus loved this age more than he ever desired the coming one. He was like Lot's wife when God judged Sodom and Gomorrah. And she was instructed, along with the others, flee this place and don't look back. Well, she was warned not to look back, but she did. She turned and she looked back and the scripture says that she looked back. And Hebrew language is strong in that point. It says with a longing, her body had left, but her soul remained. And she looked back with longing, I'm leaving this. And she became a pillar of salt. In contrast, you have Moses.  Pharaoh's daughter had raised him. He could have ascended to the throne of Egypt. The writer of the book of Hebrews gives us insight into this. In Hebrews 11, verses 24 through 27, the writer says, by faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, he endured as seeing him who is invisible. Moses chose to suffer affliction with the children of Israel. He died at the age of 120. He could have ruled many years, but would have spent eternity separated from God. Demas chose to enjoy a few years, but chose to spend eternity without God. In Hebrews 13.5 it reads, keep your lives free from the love of money. Be content with what you have, because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. There's nothing greater than having a relationship with God. Paul knew that. He said, I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. I have been in little, and I've had times of being in plenty. I've had both. I've gone in the spectrum of nothing, in the spectrum to an overabundance. He says, but I've discovered this. I've discovered the secret of contentness, because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can be abased, and I can abound. I can have it all, but what matters most to me is Jesus Christ. That's who I want, and that's what satisfies my soul. I have considered all things, but refuse for the excellence of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, my Lord, for whom I have given up everything. That's your possible. And Demis would not do that. And so that stands as a warning to us. In verse 15, greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphus, and the church that is in his house. So Nymphus was a Christian man who lived in the city of Laodicea. He was wealthy, because his house was large enough for the church to meet in it. From the beginning, the church met in various locations, but often met in homes. Remember on the day of Pentecost, there were about 3,000 people who came to faith through the preaching of the Apostle Peter. In Acts 246, it reads, Continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart. And so it became fairly common for the church to meet in in homes. It wasn't always possible to have a location available for them to meet in, and so they would meet in homes, because the homes were available. So you see it in Scripture. You see greetings to house churches. First Corinthians 1619, Paul says, Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord with the church that is in their house. When we look at Philemon, verse 2, it refers to the church that met in his home. Now our church began in a home. We met in Pomona, then in Ontario, in homes. In the case of Nymphus, the church of Laodicea met at his home. The fact that the church met there reveals that he was a person of character as well as well. Nymphus was wealthy and hospitable, which is a gift necessary for the church to grow. If he and his wife were not hospitable, people would not come to church. I remember we had, when our church was young, we had home Bible studies, and I remember how valuable and important it was for the people who hosted the study to have a hospitable heart, because not all people do. I remember one study in particular, Marie and I went to just to see how it was going, and if you get a glass and I put it on the table that was next to me, and the wife, the hostess, came and lifted the glass and took a rag and wiped off, and then put it back down. And how was the pastor? I mean, this is a study from my church, and the hostess made me feel unwelcome in the Bible study. So I asked, is that typical? Is this how it is? Oh, yeah, she has this thing about that, and makes people feel like they have to leave. Hospitality is a good thing, and so I kicked her out of the church. No, you know the Bible says in 1 Peter 4 9, be hospitable to one another without grumbling, and that's what you had over there. You had a church meeting in the house that all people were welcome. Now in verse 16, when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. Now a letter was being circulated from Laodicea. They were to read that letter, and there are those who believe that the letter spoken of as the letter coming from Laodicea would have been Paul's letter to the Ephesians. Now we really do not know that much about the church of Laodicea, but let me share a few things about you. It would seem that the church was planted by Epiphras. It is mentioned four times in the book of Colossians. We know that Colossians was written around the year 60 to 62, and that the church there was already in existence. But this is something else we know about Laodicea. Laodicea is one of the seven churches mentioned in the book of Revelation chapters two and three. The book of Revelation was written between 90 and 96 AD, so the church there in Laodicea would have been in existence for over 30 years. The church ended up having a very high estimate of its own importance. In Revelation 3.17 Jesus said, you say I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing. So these are all indicators of a large powerful, influential congregation. But the fact is it is not what you say of yourself, but what God says of you that matters. They thought themselves influential and powerful, but Jesus did not think that of them. In Revelation, Jesus tells him, you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot.  When he says you are lukewarm, neither cold or hot, either you want something to be hot, or you want it to be cold. But when it's just tasteless and lukewarm, it causes you to not want it. But when he says I will spew you, he's speaking of the fact that his gag reflex is being activated by them, and he's saying I literally want to vomit you out of my mouth. That's how much displeasure I have in you. He says in Revelation 3.17 to them you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. And then in Revelation 3.19 and 20 he goes on to say, as many as I love I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. Very often evangelists will use that, and I in the past have done so. Revelation 3.20, behold I stand at the door and knock. There's a very famous picture of somebody had drawn of Jesus standing at a door knocking, and that there's the door handle, it's not from the outside, it's on the inside, and people have used that as a picture of opening the door of your heart to receive Christ. Well the context here is one of judgment. Jesus is actually warning the laodicean church. Behold I stand at the door and knock, meaning I'm coming and I'm approaching to bring judgment to you. He's not saying open up so I can come in and we can hang around. He's saying I'm coming in to judge you because you are lukewarm, because you are causing me to want to puke, and I want to come and have some time with you and deal with you. That's what the picture is, but that's the laodiceans. They received a warning from Jesus himself later on. And then finally, verse 17, say to Archibus, take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. There are questions concerning Archibus and the ministry that he received. It may be that he was a pastor in the church of Colossae working alongside of Epiphras. As mentioned, Epiphras may have pastored Colossae as well as Laodicean Herapolis. But Paul specifically commanded Archibus. He said take heed to the ministry which you've received in the Lord that you may fulfill it. Archibus, as a minister of the gospel, is commanded to take heed to the ministry. He must not take lightly or neglect the responsibilities he's been entrusted with.  It must be carefully and faithfully performed. Hirelings do not care for sheep and neglect and use them for their own interests. In John 10, 11 through 13 Jesus said it like this. He said, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he's a hireling, doesn't care about the sheep. True shepherds sincerely care for the sheep. So Paul commands Archibus to take heed to the ministry which he received.  And that begins by safeguarding his own manner of life. Paul in 1st Timothy 416 said take heed to yourself and doctrine, continuing them for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you. He's to take heed to himself, but he's to take heed to the ministry he received. He's to understand that he received the ministry. It's not the result of his natural talents. That's why Paul in 1st Timothy 112 said I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who enabled me. He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Fulfill it. You see, many don't. Demas wouldn't. Keep yourself in the love of God. Maintain your love for others as you serve Him.  And be aware that there are things that you will put up with that people may not understand. For some people being a minister seems to be kind of an easy thing and in some ways I guess it is when the Holy Spirit is moving things flow beautifully but sometimes when the Holy Spirit is moving the enemy wants to move in opposition and that's what causes people to begin to question their calling or even remaining close to the Lord. There's the pressures that they go through. Just the other day here in this fellowship a couple of weeks ago now I was walking into the Wednesday night I saw Jared was speaking to somebody and Jared was sitting in the seat that I usually sit in on Wednesday nights up in the front and so I walked past and walked up into the platform and I I put my my notes and things down and and I just felt something a just a there was just a sense something's wrong and I walked down I went and spoke to some of the guys for a little while when sat down and as I ministered you know worshiped then I got up to minister the word and as I was teaching I could sense something's wrong something's wrong finished the bible city I'm walking out and Dave Busamante my administrator walks with me and he says we just had we had a problem before church so really and he said somebody guy who was sitting next to me really just threatened Jared and told Jared that he could jump up on the stage if he wanted to and he could beat him up and nobody would stop him I said really and he said he told Jared he needs to leave the ministry because he's having an affair with you that Jared is having an affair with you I said really I said Jared's not even my type no I said I said really and he goes yeah I said deal with it so they went to speak to him immediately afterwards there was a little bit of a problem he huffed off the left the church and then he started posting things and he posted about me he said pastor David was all this is having affairs with women and men and just made a bunch of bad statements about me and things and went on went so far as to say that he was going to take over the church and he was going to be teaching on Sunday so he was inviting everybody come to church because I'm the new pastor at Calvary Chapel of the Chino Valley I've been given the church because pastor David has disqualified himself now anything you print people believe that's what it is today right you know that if you're on social media somebody says something it must be true and so he wrote some other things and so we were aware and this may give you some security right now that whenever I teach there are people praying for me but there are also people around that are watching out for me and you might find it interesting I'll tell you that people say how can we change the stage because there are people who have sent things you know that they they want to harm me and so rather than getting beat up in front of you I just put these we did it this way and that's why you have to go up there that doesn't mean that somebody can't jump up in all of that but that's just one of the security things we were told by the police department in the city that that when there was a period that when I was driving my car through the city whenever chino PD saw me they would come behind me not to give me a ticket but actually were providing security escort because of things that have been said and they were concerned because they believe that I'm a hate speech pastor because I preached the gospel here see so I'm aware that you guys don't know that so I'm letting you know and so the guy came and the guy was here and he was ready to preach and so my security team is aware of it and one of them approaches him he's standing while everybody's seated because that's when I usually come out so I'm gonna assume he thought it was his cue to come up and give a study and one of my security guys said to him sir you'll need to be seated and he says I don't want to and he says well you're gonna need to he says you can't make me and he says well you're gonna need to what if what if I don't he says well you'll just have to go outside so the guy thinks that he's challenging him and so they walk out and then two of my security guys follow him out and off they go this is stuff that happens all the time and and you you don't know that and I'm just telling you that so you're aware it's not that it's not that that we are afraid I'm not I'm not afraid listen if somebody did something to me to be honest with you you know for me it's my ticket to heaven I get to see Jesus Christ I don't live in fear I'm not I don't do that that's not me you know I go to heaven you know that's not why I'm telling you I'm just telling you that that ministry isn't what you think it is and it's not always just that guy standing up there and saying things and making you laugh or whatever no there's a lot of things under the surface that people aren't aware of demons couldn't put up with it demons couldn't handle it demons said you know what I love this present age I would rather get involved in the things that are going on than to put up with this any longer to go and visit Paul in prison and to be marked as somebody like Paul no I'd rather go to Thessalonica and join myself I only have a few years to live I'm going to make the best of them Luke said no I'm willing to follow God all the way Paul said I'm willing to be in chains for God because there's a difference when you have your eyes set on the Lord you will do whatever God calls you to do at Archipus he's saying you make full proof of your ministry you hold fast to the end you hold on and be the man of God you're supposed to be you receive ministry in the Lord fulfill it and that's what God calls us all to do to hold fast maintain your love for God maintain your love for other people maintain your enjoyment of serving him because there's nothing better than that and then finally this salutation by my own hand Paul remember my chains grace be with you amen and so this is a way of identifying himself as the author there were people during that day who were writing and circulating letters as if from Paul and they were undermining the faith of some so Paul said you know this is the genuine article because I have written this my signature he would normally have somebody that was ascribed he would dictate the letter to they would write but here he said I'm signing this myself Paul this salutation by my own hand Paul you know this is the real deal and then he closes by saying remember my chains grace be with you what a touching way to close the letter I'm in prison I'm chained to a guard but I'm writing this letter to you I've paid a very costly price for remaining faithful to Jesus and his message don't forget me don't reduce the cost of discipleship remain true to the gospel it's a message that calls us to lay down our lives and pursue God Paul spent time in prison he suffered in ways others didn't experience but he maintained an eternal perspective he said to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 4 17 and 18 our light affliction which is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory while we do not look at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporary but the things which are not seen are eternal so in light of this remember my chains and make God's grace be with you all love Paul


and welcome to Inside Leather History, a fireside chat. I'm Doug O'Keefe, the host of your chats that I produce with Mistress Joanne Gaddy. Today I'm sitting down for a chat with Magnus Hakenorsen, who is in Iceland. Magnus is the former chairman and one of the founders of the Icelandic BDSM organization. He originated the current munches in Iceland and he's one of the organizers of the Icelandic BDSM scene. So Magnus, welcome to the fireside chats. Oh, thank you for having me. Well, I'm very happy that you can be part of this. Did you notice the image that I have, the backdrop? Yeah, I love it. I took this picture when I was in Reykjavík about two years ago. Okay, awesome. I don't remember the name of the street, I'm sorry. Frahtastirur. Ah, easy for you to say. So let us begin at the beginning. Tell us a little bit about growing up in Iceland. Well, my childhood was just as normal as it can be. For my generation, I went to work on a farm on the east side of the country. I live in Reykjavík. I started to work on a farm when I was 12. I spent the summers in the East Shorts on a small farm for two summers. Just basic stuff working in the summer and going through school in the wintertime. I found out early that I was not like the general public, we can say. How did you find out? Well, it's just interest in bondage, we can say, and things like that. That was the main thing. And I went into pet store when I was 12 and bought some dog colors and leashes, but I never owned a dog. But yeah, that was the thing. I have no idea what was going on with myself at the time. I found out in some school library, a book about sexuality, that there were people who liked to be tied up, and that just sparked my interest. Playing cops and robbers, all the normal childhood stuff. But that was the thing. I think it was not until I was probably about 14, 15, I found out a magazine about Asadam. It's a British forum. I think it was called Small Size. It consisted of letters from readers, advice columns, personal lads, and things like that. And this is probably about 1984. How did you find this? Just in a bookstore. Just normal bookstore, top shelf of course. And I remember vividly one time with the older woman who sold me one of the, I think the title of the magazine was Why Are You an Asadam Lover? And she specifically put it in transparent shopping bag, trying to embarrass me or something. I have no idea, but that was not the norm carrying, getting things in transparent plastic bags or shopping bags. But this magazine, yeah, the information saved me to know that there was somebody out there like me. At that time, I think Iceland must have been a very isolated country. There was no internet, very limited television. So a magazine like that had to be very unusual. Yeah, it was, this magazine was kind of, we could say educational safe sex magazine. It was one issue that was for a kind of a BDSM emphasis. So, but normally it was not. So this was kind of a breakthrough or some kind of, yeah, breakthrough moment for me finding it. Were you specifically looking for something like that? Probably, you know, you're young, you're exploring and there is something that you find more interesting and you just, yeah, there's some, some magnet that drives you through it. That's the only explanation, explanation that I have for that. And yes, there was no internet, the television was all evenings, but not on Thursdays. There's no television on Thursdays and no television in July because there were summer vacations. Oh, interesting. And we had one radio station. Yes. Wow. So when you were looking at this magazine, you mentioned you discovered other people had a similar interest to you. Did you learn anything else from it? No, basically just that BDSM, well, S&M, like it was called then, was a thing. And what I had been doing privately, non-sexually, was a thing for more people than me.  So, yeah. How did you begin to find this world? In 1987, I dated a girl who told me that she was not in some pillow talk. She told me she was not into kink at all. I did not bring it up, but she brought it up and said she was not into any kink. That moment I decided, well, I'm not going to spend my life not doing things that I craved. So I ended that relationship soon after that. Later on, some years after, I wondered, well, was she trying to fish or trying to bring the discussion into that area or something? Was she testing me? I have no idea, but the relationship ended there. Nothing happened really. Well, this is one thing that happened in 1987. I saw Rocky Horror picture show. And don't be it. No, don't dream it, be it. That phrase did everything. It's responsible for everything. It opened my eyes.  And basically nothing happens after that until the Internet, IRC, IRC chat channels that you could connect to. And that opened my world. You could talk to like-minded people all over the world. And I had been starting to try to find like-minded people without success. In 1988, when I was 18, I put in an art in one of the newspapers, Personal Art. Looking for people into S&M, leather, spankings and things like that. And it was censored, never printed. Oh. Then you had this, I'm alone in the world feeling of it. There was no way to connect to other people. I had no idea or connections into the gay world or LGBT world at the moment. It was so far away that I could not, I was just, I just didn't imagine that how I would fit in that. But I heard rumors, the Men's Motorcycle Club or MSC Iceland, that was operating from 1985. The National Queer Organization in Iceland was formed in 1978. So it's all kind of, still kind of new in that time. And most people, most queer people in the past, they went abroad. You couldn't, you didn't stay in Iceland. You went to Denmark, you went to Germany to be yourself. And it was very difficult to, just to find out, I had no idea about about these things. There was no connection. But I found out, yeah, there was a club, but it was far away. And I had no idea about it. Far away in Iceland or elsewhere? No, just far away in your mind. You know, it's so outlandish. There was no connection.  I didn't belong.  Yeah, in 1995, I started to educate people about BDSM. How did you do this? People from the chat channels. I said, hey, I have toys and I can show you. I'll talk about BDSM. And they said, yes. And that was the beginning of my BDSM education, teaching other people about BDSM. How did people respond to this? Well, quite well. That is those who attended because it was, it was kind of, you know, talking to my friends about this. At about that time, I started to reach out, trying to connect to the BDSM organizations in the Scandinavia, in Denmark and Norway. But it was far, it was, everything was harsh, you know, kind of forbidden so much taboo about it, everything. So it's very difficult to connect. It's not like today when you can find all the information. You didn't know what people to talk to and nobody, you know, you didn't know what people to trust and people else who didn't know how to trust or whatever. So it was very difficult. And in, yeah, 1996, 97, I met up enough people on only chat channels that were interested in creating an organization. And the website was put up in 31st of December, 1997. What website? I'm sorry? The Icelandic website for the Icelandic BDSM organization. Okay. Which hadn't performed yet. Okay. And we had the first official meeting in January in 1998. And the first questions we were trying to get answers to was, is BDSM illegal? What we had been seeing all around us was the Spanner case. That was, in what media you could read about, find, we saw the Spanner case. And that was, yeah, where are we compared to them? Yes. And that influenced us a lot. How so? Just trying to get legal advice and just be aware of you could be judged in a similar way. So we were scared about these things. You were uncertain. What legal advice were you given? Well, the legal advice we were given was that you can consent to being tied up. You can consent to with being or spanking up to a point where there are some injuries. There is a similar status in the law like in the UK and like in Nordic countries. It's very similar. And so, yeah. But the ground grounding was we were okay in that matter. And so we didn't have to worry about it. Yeah. Then we collaborated with the people in the BDSM organizations who were also in the gay leather club. So they provided us, we could write their premises. They had the club, they had the club. And we were allowed to be there for our first meetings. So we put up regular meetings there. But it's funny and but sad at the same time, there were people who didn't want to come to our meetings because they were hosted there in the gay leather club. In retrospect, we did a very large mistake in the beginning. Well, I think at the same time, when you look back it was a mistake, but I don't think the Icelandic society was ready for it. But that is we decided to keep the organization and keep stay in the closet. So do you feel keeping it in the closet was a mistake? I'm not. Yeah, that in a retrospect, it was a mistake. But at the same time, I don't think Icelandic society was ready for us coming out of the closet. After the meeting, the first meeting, we went on national television. Okay. There was a newscast program that wanted to interview us.   So we came behind, we talked behind the screen. So we were just backed out. So, you know, there was no person. It's just shadow figures. Yeah. And the interview was, we just spoke about, yeah, what BDSM is, consent, and say same consensual, you know, these just, and we're talking about education or things like that. And instead of showing it on prime time, like the show was usually hosted, they kept the segment and put it at the latest point in the schedule on a Monday evening. So just to make sure that nobody would see it. How, some people must have seen it. How was the reaction? The reaction was, there was a lot of people who shocked. I mean, it was an illness. It was crazy. You know, it was perverse. So we just stayed under the radar and just stayed there, kept it, made the closet roomy and comfy for everybody. Everybody's invited. All genders, everything, nothing matters. We just create a safe space in the closet for all of us.  Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we were doing that and kept on doing that for years. So the Icelandic scene rose up and it became, there was a need for it. There was a need in this society for, so the months just got bigger. And we also created events and parties. And the scene, yeah, imploded in 2007, 2008. Let's take one step back, though, before we go down that section. Tell me how many people were coming to your original gatherings? 20 up to 30 people. That's a good number. Yeah, a very good number. Were they coming from all over Iceland? Mostly the capital area, yeah. Okay, yeah. But we have about 200,000 people there and the rest is spread across the country.  What did you do for them? Nothing. They just didn't come? Yeah. Oh, that's a shame. Yes, but it was, but we didn't have any other opportunities for locations. So it was like, there's nothing else we can do about it. This is the only venue that we can have at the moment. And so that was the, yeah, that was the only thing. Tell me about the venue. What did it have? It was just a dark, small basement with a dark room, small bar, couple of 50-gallon-dron oil drums for tables. Yeah, it was kind of fun, sleazy, dark, shabby. Yeah. Did it have, for example, slings? Did it have other? In the dark room, yeah. There was a sling there, yeah. Oh, okay. There were hooks in the, there were hooks, eyeballs in the ceiling and things like that. So they had some basic things that you could use? Yeah. Okay, okay.  It was not big. The scene was not big and they were not very strict on dress code. But the thing is, you have a small society and if you want to be overly strict on dress codes, then you have a rubber knight with the two rubber guys and you have a leather knight with the three leather guys and then one army guy or whatever, one puppy.  How did the people come together?  Yeah, but in the beginning, we always presented the organization as pansexual. That was always, so, but in the beginning, we had probably about, now, let's just say eight guys with two females. That was proportional, something like that. And there was no sex or very little play in the meetings. It was mainly just educational and kind of a munches with some educational aspects to it. So you have mentioned these munches. How many people would come to those? Well, in the beginning, the munches, they outgrew that premises. And so we were able to put the munches onto some of the local pubs or venues. And they were up to 25, 30 people, 35, something. That was, that was the norm for munches. Wow, that's great. Yeah. We had one website. There was a local community website or social media site that everybody used. And when the scene imploded, split in two, that website went down. So certainly in 2008, there was nothing. There was no way to communicate with other kinksters or communicate or advertise anything. Let's come back to this because you have mentioned that the scene imploded. What led up to this? Basically, you had two influential persons who were friends, who became enemies. And they kind of split the scene. You know, you're either against us or with us. And so the scene split in three. You're one group, one person A, one group with person B. And then you have a whole lot of people. I don't want to participate in this fight. Hmm. In such a small community, that's very surprising that there would have been such a strong breakup like that. Always when you have groups, you have some friction between who's in power, who's in not. And that might play some part in it. But what did everything was this personal fuel from these two, basically from these two persons? I have heard of this because over the last couple of years, I have been trying very hard to find people in Iceland to interview. And I must honestly tell you, it was very, very, very impossible. And I thought, what must have gone on to have created such animosity? So that's why I took another direction and was able to meet with you. Yeah. But what came out of that? Out of it was in 2009. I started the munchies before the implosion. The munchies were run by the BDSM organization. It's a top-down process. When I started, I decided, okay, we're not going to go that way again. So I basically built it up as a grassroots movement. Start from the bottom and you build it up. I started the munchies, just said, I'm going to be at this venue at this time. Everybody's welcome. So you start with five people, four, five persons. And that kept on growing without grew that room that we had been occupying. So you went to a bigger one and a bigger one. And it just grew from there. I wanted to be, nobody was organizing it. But later I found out, well, you have to have somebody in charge. I have to have somebody who is calling the shots. And I did it for the first 100 munchies, 100 something. And it was sometimes difficult. Venue holders were not always glad to have us. We were kicked out of some venues. And not kicked out, but you should not come here again or we're occupied and things like that. But there was nothing wrong. People are not showing up in fetish gear or anything. Only discussions could be about kinky subjects or something like that. How did you see people grow with their kink? When I started to host the parties, both in the leather club and at my home, there were maybe 10, 15, 20 people showing up. But it was usually in the beginning, it was just me playing with some people. That was a norm for the first parties. People showed up in some fetish gear, awesome. But it was me playing with this one, that one or something like that. But I still remember probably almost eight years, nine, the sound of spanking. That somebody else was doing, not me. And it was so, it was just growing up. Other people were starting to play or do something. Yeah, I love the sound of spanking in the morning.  And it was just people getting more comfortable being themselves and doing what they did. How is the currency? It's extremely diverse. And for the last year, they have been running the munchies all on Discord because of Covid.  But the scene is getting more and more public, it's more open. I have, for example, went with my friends on the club that I can see in your left corner on the screen. We have been there in fetish gear and all fetish regalia. And there's no problem being in public and playing and being outside in fetish gear. Do you participate in the Pride parades? Yes, when we had been running the munchies for some time, we decided it was time to revive the BDSM organization. To start collaborating with the queer organization in one way or another. And so we ended up with applying for to become an official associated member of the queer organization. There is a process for organizations and groups to connect under the queer umbrella, I could say that. And in 2016, we applied to become a member of it. And there was a general meeting where members of the queer organization were able to vote on it. It was accepted.  The old generation that had been working with participating in with the queer organization for some time, they stepped back and said, hey, wait, wait a minute, something is wrong. And there was a serious, there was a serious feud going on. It was really bad. It threw a lot of BDSM people back in the closet. And a lot of gays quit the queer organization, left it. And so there was a lot of feud. There was a lot of animosity and a lot of bad things going on for quite some time. And so there was another meeting and it was ruled that the general meeting that it was in March 2016, it was illegal. It was not, there were some legalities on the meeting that so it was scrapped. And there was a lot of noise. It was, we had, there was a lot of media. It was a kind of a media war going on. People ended up on front page of newspapers and on television news and things like that. And to make this long story short, it was the biggest general meeting. They had to put in some external envoy to get the parties within the queer organization to reconcile. There was some, there was, and basically, and we had the biggest, yeah, probably about 10 times bigger than the general meeting in March. The general meeting that was, special meeting that was held in September 2016. There were more than 10 times more people who showed up there. The biggest general meeting ever. And it was voted on again. And it was accepted again to have, to have that, to make the Icelandic BDSM organization associated past under the queer umbrella. And yeah, and then the years, a year after that went into, you know, just trying to, everybody getting along, making peace with everybody. And it was a very difficult time for all people. Has there been peace now? Yeah, well, some people, we never accepted. All the people, and to be fair, a lot of people of the old generation, they were against it in the beginning. But when they realized that the talk against BDSM people from within the queer organization, from the queer community, used the same phrases that were used against them 10 years earlier, or 20 years earlier.  Again, the outside image of Iceland is that it is a very progressive society. Do you, how do you see it? When coming to sex, porn, porn is illegal here in Iceland. Really? Yeah. I'm surprised. So yeah, it's, and it's, there was a very heated discussion on social media earlier this spring regarding only facts. And so it is, and also there is, we have the Scandinavian model for prostitution. So you can, it's not illegal to be a prostitute, but it's illegal to buy. There is not a lot of support for people in sex work. Wow. That is, that is, but I sensed a little notch in that direction, in right direction, getting more support for people in sex work, but it's very heated topic. Where do you see the community in five years? I think we will see more people do about the distinction between BDSM orientation and just being interested in BDSM pain. I think we will see some distinction there, but I think we do not want to go into, you know, your real BDSM and you're not, that rabbit hole is, you don't want to go there. The BDSM community is by far consisting of people who are pan or bisexual. It is, it is, I think the proportional, it is way out of all proportions compared to elsewhere in here in Iceland. So, how do you mean that? Straight people are only about 50% of the BDSM community, instead of 80, 90% in general. Yeah, yeah. But the proportion of homosexuals and lesbians is probably the same as in the general, about 5%. Okay. We have a, well, we have a large proportion of non-binary and trans persons. Oh, I see. So, I think we are just seeing more diversity. And it's kind of, in the parties that I'm, we're hosting monthly about, monthly play parties that we are hosting, we have about between 50 and 70 guests. Because we have to be open to everything and because everybody is exposed to everything. So, you're not only seeing leather people or not only seeing rubber people. You see all the spectrum and that opens your eyes to diversity. What is the biggest misconception about you? I don't know. Assertive, but I mostly just cut it. I use, I identify as a princess. I'm a princess. Yeah. Okay. What do you mean by that? I, who doesn't love attention and praises and being a princess. Yeah. Well, Magnus Hakunarsson, I thank you very much for a wonderful interview for Inside Letter History, a fireside chat. you


Hey friends today, we are hanging out in the Magic Kingdom I wanted to come out and see if there's anything new going on in the park and plus my family is visiting from Pennsylvania and Ariel has never been to Disney so today's her first time going to a Disney Park And I figured I'd make a little video so that we can have it as like a little memory and share our day with you So we're gonna ride some rides eat some food and have a beautiful Magic Kingdom kind of day Anyhoo's Let's go do this It is such a beautiful day out today The temperatures are in the high 80s, but it's not very humid and it's very breezy And I'm just so happy. I'm happy to spend the day at Magic Kingdom with my family It's crazy to think that just a couple of days ago I was in Tokyo at Tokyo Disneyland and now we're back at the Magic Kingdom here in Florida And I'm with my family and I'm so excited to take Ariel around and take her on her first Disney ride Show her around and I want to make her feel special So we're gonna try to get Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique where they actually like transform them into a princess, you know do all the cool things, you know Since it's Ariel's first visit and before she sees the castle We're gonna stop at the barbershop and get pixie dusted. Well, Ariel's gonna get pixie dusted A lot of people don't know that you can go in there and you can get that pixie dust for free right at the Harmony Barbershop, that's not just for people that are getting like a Haircut and I think it's so cool now Ariel. Yeah, she's gonna make her way down mainstream I'm so excited for her to see the castle like she doesn't communicate Like she she doesn't communicate very well But she's come a long way and the only thing that I've communicated with her personally is talking about Disney and The castle and the rides because she loves riding rides because I took her to Kenobals and I am so excited Now you can see it Ariel that's a big castle All right Good news we got Bibbidi Boppidi Boutique actually for Ariel So we're gonna get her transformed into a princess later in the video and I'm excited I I honestly like I was like alright I really want to make this the best day ever and the best day ever would literally be a princess being a magic kingdom It's really cool. They do their hair their makeup or they give them a dress and I don't know how it works exactly But we're gonna figure it out The adventure cavalcade's coming Bruno's there Does it feel magical scooting into the castle it does doesn't it We so magical scooting in the castle We were trying to decide what would be the perfect first ride for Ariel here at Disney And I wanted something that everybody could ride together. So I think Everybody agreed. It's a small world, right? That's a good one It's a small world probably isn't my favorite ride But it is really cool because all of us get to ride together So it's really nice to have a nice family ride for her first ride And I wish you could do the one in Disneyland Holy moly and speaking of that because you guys here at Tokyo Disneyland. They're getting a Marvel It's a small world like they're gonna be Marvel characters in there instead of like children from around like you know I mean kind of how they have Disney characters in Disneyland, but let me know what do you guys think about that? But at least I think this is gonna be fun. This is a good start This is a good way to start the day on it's a small world maybe for Ariel We're going for the first ride You love this ride mom Ariel you want to go ride more rides? More rides. Yeah more. I Asked my mom and my sister what are the two rides that you have to ride and Bonnie said Tron Because she's never rode it before my mom said Winnie the Pooh because she loves Winnie the Pooh so we're gonna do those rides now that Ariel did her first ride and Yeah, I mean honestly I want to do a lot, but this is just day one They're gonna be here for a while, but it's more about capturing the moment today You know I mean I really want Ariel to feel like a princess and I want to give that feeling for my mom and sister too To give it to her. You know what I mean? It's 12 30 p.m That means we have to go to our lightning lane Yeah, we have Tron lightning lane My friend Kristen is coming to hang out with us and it's great because you know It's really hard getting around the parks, especially with my mom's wheelchair And then Ariel her stroller has a special tag on it that makes it a Wheelchair because you know Ariel sometimes does use a wheelchair, but It I don't know. It's like so that they know that they can use that Like stroller as a really I've never seen it, but it comes in handy How excited are you Bonnie to ride Tron? I'm excited, right? Now is there any other rides you haven't ridden yet? You've done Guardians. Yep. What about Ratatouille? Yeah, that's it Yeah, yeah, wow, and you get you're up to date on all the newest rides in Orlando. Would you look at that? Yep? So ride mom definitely would never be able to ride Do you remember when I took her on Slinky Dog Dash? I'm happy we got the lightning lane Yeah, oh let's go in team blue users Did you watch this video at all Bonnie?  Yep. Why is it doing this? I don't know It's the magnetic field in here There's no hats on the rides too, so it gives me time to let my head breathe a little bit Bonnie what did you think? It was great. You loved it? Yeah, how was the launch? It was good Yeah, did you think it was short? A lot of people say it's short Yeah, what would you rather that or rock and roller coaster? Oh that that or Guardians? Guardians. Oh, Guardians is the winner. Sorry Tron Tron was amazing and I'm glad Bonnie liked it and like I said, there's no way my mom would ever ride that right She didn't like Slinky Dog Dash and I couldn't record it because I didn't bring my GoPro So I'll probably add some POV footage and now we're gonna go meet up with Ariel and my mom and maybe ride something my mom could ride I know she her favorite characters Winnie the Pooh and Ariel's favorite Character is Maribel so we got to meet her. There's so many things the plus we want to get something to eat Bonnie got to ride the ride. She wanted to ride mom now. It's your turn. Winnie the Pooh's this way though ma ma to the left Nope.  Look at got the logo placing outwards My mom's not drinking monster obviously, but she's just holding it And I don't know why it just looks so funny like seeing a monster came to my mom's hand. I'm just like what it just looks weird to me Kristen we're all gonna make it in here. Oh Look at Ariel. We're riding rides Ariel. Oh, I stepped on a smart water We're riding rides Ariel I stepped on a smart water Oh Look at us I don't know who's happier you or Ariel I Wasn't that fun Christopher Robin Now that we got Mom's poo business out of the way. I think we're gonna go get something to eat and Liberty Tree Tabern. Yep. Yeah, so what is seven doors mind train at though 60 minutes? I Don't think I don't think Ariel's ready for seven doors mind train I think barnstormer first and then we'll see if we can do that That's a good way to test it out so far. She loved Winnie the Pooh, you know Liberty Tree Tabern is some good food. It's like Thanksgiving dinner you get turkey you get pork you get pot roast mashed potatoes stuffing vegetables Salad rolls and then owie gooey toffee cake and it's all you care to enjoy and it's like $44 at an adult and it gets you you get your beverages included and it's served family style And it's really cool because it's really deep like really themed inside the restaurant and the different rooms are off different Presidents like they have a Jefferson and a Franklin room and it's cool.  I kind of want to do everything. They've never done before Here it is Liberty Tree Tabern I Know isn't this restaurant so amazing and each of the rooms are Based off of like, you know presidents like they have a George Washington room a Benjamin Franklin room Look if we actually use it and those are the bathrooms up there Bonnie got to go to those bathrooms They're like I feel like they're the oldest bathrooms in Disney property My mom's taking a fancy lift up there How you doing down there?  You got the dinner rolls over there Yeah, I'm excited and there's plenty of this like you can get as many as you want even got cranberry sauce ain't a gravy boat. Oh my lens off Mashed potatoes is a serious thing in my family. In fact my mom Has taught my sister exactly how to make the mashed potatoes so that I can have them and we can carry on the family recipe Wait, I want to learn how to make the mashed potatoes. I Mean I'm much rather just being served the mashed potatoes like whenever you guys come I could eat a whole plate for Thanksgiving dinner like I could and then the leftovers This is what this mark.  It's a wee gooey toffee pudding time Ariel's face ever since the dragon As the As Ariel keeps on showing the dragon face the dessert has arrived. We got the toffee Pud pudding toffee cake toffee cake and my mom got an apple cake an apple cake because she doesn't like chocolate So that's just me and your body Liberty tree tavern put me in a coma But it is time to actually go and do bibbidi-babbidi boutique with Ariel and I don't know how much I'm gonna show I just want her to be able to experience mostly like you know I mean and Yeah, I guess Take it from there afterwards We're definitely gonna take a lot of photos you know I mean and I was hoping I timed it right so we can get the Golden hour the golden hour at Magic Kingdom Here it is bibbidi-babbidi boutique you check in here and then you pay for the package And I'm not too sure but I I think maybe you go over here. I think you go into the cast I don't know we'll find out but the only thing is is I don't even know if I can go in because I think it's only two people for One guest so I want my mom and sister to be in there. I'll just hang out here and then go in and give the card Here is a look at the packages that the locks castle packages 229 the other one is 199 and then $450 I think we're gonna do the deluxe. We'll do the middle one Ariel which dress are you gonna get the pink one or the yellow one? You're getting the yellow one. Yeah. Wow Okay, all right. Well, we'll see you afterwards Soon My mom and Bonnie are in there with Ariel They only allow two people per guest And I am sitting outside and I have to watch the stroller and all the bags So yeah, I'm just gonna hang out here And then I can't wait to see Ariel once she comes out in her new outfit and probably ride some more rides and just hang out My mom's committed to staying till the fireworks. So I'm Kind of eager to see if she's gonna make it all the way that long, you know Anyone that knows me knows I can't sit still and I honestly don't know how long the Biberty Bobbie Boutique is actually gonna take so I have to watch this stuff So I'm actually just gonna start strolling around magic kingdom with the stroller and I don't think I've ever done this before I Don't know I just can't sit still I Just discovered that it is 90 minutes to two hours for the Biberty Bobbie boutique. So I Just unknowingly committed to Basically watching this stroller and the bags for 90 minutes to two hours the magic cake dog I mean, I don't know. I mean can't be that bad That was actually really funny because I didn't plan for me to actually show how difficult it is Actually being a stroller But I was gonna make like a little montage of me driving or like pushing the stroller around and put some music But I think I'm just leaving it at that that that clip was good But now I think they're gonna have to transfer Bonnie texted me from the costuming into the castle To get the hair done. So I want to go catch her as she's walking out.  Oh Look at her. What happened to the yellow dress?  I'll wait to see. Oh My lord that was precious Wait, she goes into the cast of shaggle show we're going in the castle Yo, look at this Yo, when she came out that was so amazing Honestly, I'm so happy and I hope she and I know she loves it all and I'm happy that my mom gets to see this And I'm happy that we get to give like a vacation cuz like I never got to go to Disney World when I was a kid Like, you know my mom, I'm sure she would I'm sure she would have taken me if she could But I'm glad that we're kind of doing it over but we got an area home We're giving her something the only mean that we couldn't get when we were kids, you know She's in there now I thought about maybe going to Cinderella's royal table and seeing if I can get a walk-up list But we already at Liberty Tree cavern. Wouldn't that be nice instead? Maybe we'll go see Aurora I don't know if they have a meager. I think actually before I think I seen her with Tiana So maybe we'll do that That was just like the little intermission though So excited just to see her go from costuming over into the castle And how cool is that to be on your very first day to go into the castle actually now? I think it's a little bit longer because now they're gonna cut her hair Make it all fancy and nice and then probably photos afterwards. So back to watching the stroller You want to go ride the horsies Yeah All right, we're going to the wishing well Come on Gotta make a wish now This is such a great spot to take photos. We got the castle in the background here. Oh Look at the flowers in the water Look at it it matches your dress Ariel said she wants to walk so I'll push the stroller Bonnie so you guys can walk together You don't know this but I got really comfortable with this stroller while you guys were in there. Oh, sorry Ariel's not interested in the sash or the wand but we're gonna take some photos and then we're gonna go ride the horses The horses Yeah My you're so excited. Look at you.  Yeah, what a beautiful evening, right? I'm literally just pushing around an empty stroller today. Look at them back there We're going to ride Dumbo We're going to ride the elephant Everybody was discussing what like ride Ariel would like I thought Dumbo would have been a great first ride But my mom won't ride Dumbo. It's always nice and easy But you know, I don't want to you know push her into something she doesn't like so small world I think you mentioned it Bonnie Daniel. So I think that's a good ride Classic we gotta stick to the classics As we were waiting to ride Dumbo Ariel keeps on saying rollercoaster the barnstormer and if she likes this I'm Bonnie thinking maybe we do it You think she'll like it.  Yeah, y'all this is so beautiful out right now Wow Having fun back there. Oh, this is great. The temperature is amazing. The sunset Let's bring her down Photo pass photographers deserve so much credit. I mean they were going the extra mile to get the shots of arrow And I thought that was amazing. The photos came out fantastic. I don't know if I could put them in I'll show you some on my phone Look at this photo right here.  I love it Wow, we're doing it The ride is closed Oh, no. Well, you know what that just means another day. Yep another day another day, Ariel We'll gotta come back All right, I think we're gonna try to go see Cinderella because we wanted to receive princess today So maybe Cinderella and then the fireworks if we can make it if not fireworks could be another day Ariel's taking over duty pushing the stroller Cinderella Cinderella Cinderella Princess Ariel after you go ahead Go ahead lead us the way Cheese Cinderella and Elena were awesome and Ariel was so quiet She was just so mesmerized but now we're gonna try to find a spot for fireworks. We gotta hurry up They already have this area closed off We gotta go Titanic leave in five minutes Ariel said she wanted a balloon No, I'm okay There you go We decided not to watch the fireworks So we're just snacking on some caramel popcorn. Ariel's about to lose her balloon and she's about to go away with those balloons Right had a friend never had a friend.  It's Olaf. Look at say. Goodbye And with that, I think we are done here today. Ariel had the best day ever. She's so excited to see Gracie But you know, I usually close it out in the parks But it takes a while now because I got a load of the stroller got a good little mom's wheelchair, but we're home to see Gracie There she is And there she goes So I hope you guys enjoyed the video. I enjoyed making it and we'll see you next time. Bye