here was/is Tom’s strategy. i’ve watched him work his magic on countless, unknowing phobics. when my eyes would begin to bug out (don’t read that part to joshua) and i would start my usual cringing, tom would say calmly… look though at how cool this is. i remember him holding the snake and being captivated with some cool thing about it. he would point out how amazing his eyes were (or something like that) and ask me if i wanted to feel how smooth and soft his skin was. you get the picture.

he never even moves any of his herpy friends toward someone who is showing discomfort but offers and waits. he is so taken with these creatures and describes how facinatingly created they are that you can’t help but want to discover too.

so… hmmm…. maybe read some books on the very cool parts of bugs… adding “can you believe how creative God is in making that fly’s eye like that?” look for pictures of wings on the internet, and work up from there. my kids like to put the dead bugs they find under a stereoscope and are blown away at the up close shot. that would be down the road i realize but you and bobby could begin the journey. it might be contagious.

But, we’ve never had problems with bugs… unless you count my niece EATING them as a young child.

Why does the song I HATE BUGS comes to mind… I remember doing that song with puppets on mission trips. I think Joshua has a new theme song!

and

The bug must die…go Josh!

Also, there are just a ton of kids movies about bugs that portray them positively (like the ant in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids or A Bug’s Life). I would definitely be tracking those down and playing them over and over.