There's a true message at Christmas, one that children of all ages can easily miss. Next time on HAVEN Today, Charles Morris is joined by Psalty the Singing Songbook for a program emphasizing the coming of the Savior. Be sure and listen to the second part of a program called Psalty's Christmas Calamity.

November 29, 2005

Psalty’s Christmas Calamity, Part 2

Hi everybody it’s not Charles Morris, but this is Haven Today. And this is also Psalty the Singing Songbook. I have no idea where Charles is but I’m going to take
Psaltina: Honey, I’ve been looking –
Psalty: my opportunity right now –
PSA: Honey, honey, mmmm –
PS: right here. Dear, you have to understand. We have got to play some Christmas music.
PSA: Alright.
PS: It’s Christmas and kids have got to hear the message of Jesus right now! Come on, let’s play “O Come All Ye Faithful”. Come on Gary, get it up there.

Song: O Come All Ye Faithful
Performed by: Kid’s Praise Kids

PS: Well hi everybody and welcome back. This is me, Psalty the Singing Songbook again and – Oh, hi Charles!
CM: Ahhhh
PS: Sorry, I kind of took over for you, but –
CM: I was down the hall and I guess time wouldn’t wait and here we are and thank you for starting us out on the program.
PS: Oh, well glad to do it.
CM: You know that that we just heard, that collection of Christmas Carols just says what you’re all about, you know, it’s leading people to the meaning of Christmas. And by the way that’s from your “Psalty’s Christmas Calamity” album. In fact a little later on in the program I’ll tell people how to go to haventoday.org or call us at 1-800-65-HAVEN, but this album is really meaningful isn’t it Debbie, because it’s just been part of your family. It kind of came out of your own family experience too, didn’t it? That was the birth of it.
DR: Really it did because we really love the holiday season. I particularly liked the year that we got to record “Psalty’s Christmas Calamity” because it was Christmas from July straight through. Singing Christmas carols the entire time.
CM: That’s like people that never take the tree down.
DR: Oh my gosh, you know one year in our house we didn’t. We left it up all year long, it was, we were just too lazy but – you know this year we have our –
CM: The kids liked it though.
DR: Oh, absolutely!
ER: And we had a sign by C.S. Lewis. I think it said, “We will honor Christmas in our hearts and try to keep it all year” so that was our excuse.
CM: I see. OK, good.
DR: Um, that was Dickens actually honey.
CM: Oh, we’ve had a lot of C.S. Lewis on this program the last few days, but that’s alright, you had a lot of good quotes.
DR: Every year we try to get our tree out and get our basic decorations up, our “under decorations” you know like our “under painting”, and we get everything ready so that on Thanksgiving night we turn the lights on on the tree and we have a carols sing -
CM: What a great ending to the day.
DR: With our family. Everybody, family and friends come over and we sing carols together and have the fire going and it really is wonderful. And the kids start thinking, “What am I going to get for Christmas? What am I going to get for Christmas?” And they start giving me their lists and, “I need this. I need that.” And I’ll say, “You know guys, the best thing we can do for Christmas is to give ourselves to Jesus.”
CM: Oh, great. Well, let me just do this because I know that you’ve told me about this so much in the past when we’ve been together. You hear from a lot of people, don’t you Ernie. People all over the world
ER: yeah
CM: who’ve been ministered to: kids, grandparents, everybody. And I see you did bring a few with you. Just what do you hear from people?

ER: Well, you know we get a lot of emails and letters and things and when we put stuff out there we’re just ministering by faith and we have no idea if it’s actually really reaching people or not unless they respond to us. And here 25 years later we get letters kind of like this one and it just really bowls you over. She says, “My name is Joelle and I’m currently a sophomore in college at a Christian university in Southern California. I just got the desire to write to you and thank you for the difference you’ve made in my life. I grew up listening to Psalty tapes and watching Psalty videos and at the age of 4 I committed my life to Christ while in my own bed. It was a decision I made because of the things I was hearing. I was not forced into this by my parents or church. I made the decision from my own 4 year old heart. Even though my life has not been easy, it’s been definitely interesting. I’m currently learning what it means to be truly in love with Jesus Christ. It all comes back to the basics I heard over and over as a kid. Thanks so much for your ministry.”
CM: Praise God for that!
ER: Isn’t that sweet?
CM: It’s amazing how you reach the heart of a child and how it just doesn’t ever end. It just keeps growing.
ER: The wonderful thing is how cartoons, I mean we’ve been able to use a silly little cartoon that sort of disarms people and infuse it with the Gospel and music and that stuff just goes right into the soul, into the spirit and it stays there and it sticks.
CM: And the storyline that you use, really. I know this because I wasn’t introduced to you until I was an adult but I know –
ER: We’ll forgive you
CM: thank you. And it actually is something that ministers to all ages. And you wrote it that way, didn’t you?
DR: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, the songs are layered, so there are songs that sound like they’re just for kids and it’s just for the whole family, but as parents listen, as the grandparents listen, God is speaking right to their hearts. And it’s something that truly the principles that are presented are universal, that are there, biblical principles about how to have a relationship, a trusting relationship with Jesus Christ. And that’s really what we’re all about.
CM: In case you just joined us, Debbie and Ernie Retino, Psalty and Psaltina are on with us.
PSA: Hello
CM: You guys, as you just said Ernie a minute ago, you started 25 years ago and music has changed. Debbie, have you ever done any Christmas rap?
DR: Oh, well. Charles, you don’t read the album covers very well because Charles that is actually “wrap” with a “w” and
CM: Oh, not r-a-p!
DR: it’s called, “I’m going to wrap up myself for Christmas” and that’s what I tell my kids, “Why don’t you just wrap up yourself for Christmas and tie yourselves up with a big red bow and give yourselves to Jesus” and that was the basis for this song.

Song: Wrap Up Myself for Christmas
Performed by: Kid’s Praise Kids

CM: This is Haven Today and that song is from “Psalty’s Family Christmas Sing-along” written by Debbie Kerner-Retino –
DR: Oh, yeah.
CM: You had another life, didn’t you?
DR: Another life.
CM: Yes
DR: yeah for quite a few years I was Debbie Kerner and I was at the beginning of the “Jesus Movement” over at Calvary Chapel and wrote a lot of music like the song, “Amen, Praise to the Lord” and the song “Jesus” and things like that. And then when I was privileged to meet my husband.
CM: uh-oh.
ER: Yes and then we, I remember our first tour, it was “Debbie Kerner and friend”. Let me tell you what a thrill that was!
CM: Maybe your ego needed a little knock down at that point, you think?
ER: Oh, obviously it did, it did. Oh, God is so faithful.
DR: You know what? God actually gave me a choice to be single and go on and be famous and raised up all over the world, because I had an album that was like doing really well and I was touring and saw many fantastic revivals in Sweden and England and in the Philippines. And yet I was lonely. And the Lord really spoke to my heart and said, “Would you like to be married? I’m going to bless you either way, but I’m not going to tell you how I’m going to bless you if you’re married.” And I said, “Lord, I want to be married.” And God gave me this wonderful man, Ernie Retino
ER: Ohhh
DR: And the way God blessed us was by having this fantastic children’s ministry with Psalty. And it’s -
CM: You never could have ever dreamed of that.
DR: Oh, who could have dreamed of that?
CM: Yes
DR: And to be able to minister to millions of kids all over the world and be married and be with my best friend. Our 30th anniversary is in February.
CM: Congratulations!
ER: Thank you very much.
CM: Next year, wow! What an exciting thing. We talked about your career just a little bit, but what are you doing now? You’re not finished, what are you guys doing?
DR: We are still really active with the Psalty ministry. We get to work with a lot of really famous names like Billy Graham and we’ve been, you know, worked with Greg Lorie and Luis Palau, different people.
ER: Psalty’s been the host of the Billy Graham’s Kid’s Gigs for like 10 ½, 11, 12 years.
CM: So if he does a crusade somewhere then you guys will go in and do –
ER: Well if we’re invited. It’s always by invitation
CM: Sure, oh yes
ER: But we’ve done like most of those over the last few years.
CM: OK, Ok
DR: We do concerts too, “Psalty’s Funtastic Praise Parties” and we come out to churches and we do special presentations for the kids. We just enjoy that. We really have a good time with that and people can reach us at –
CM: Yeah, Debbie, how do they reach you? Where do they go?
DR: They can contact us at www.psalty.com. That’s p-s-a-l-t-y.com.
CM: Thank you for spelling that correctly. It’s not s-a-l. It’s p-s-a-l-t-y.com
DR: That’s right, yeah.
ER: It’s like Psalms, the Psalter,
DR: And it is fun. It’s a great event for the whole family to come out to and it’s evangelical. We give an opportunity for kids to make the choice to make Jesus their forever friend, their Lord and Savior and forever friend.
CM: Have you found through the years that you’re not just finding kids for Christ. We heard from the 4 year old, now in college that wrote to you.
ER: Yeah
CM: But really a lot of adults, parents too have met the Lord through their kids –
ER: Right, right
CM: Listening to Psalty music, right?
DR: Oh, that’s right. Yeah that’s right. We have so many characters that have come in to the albums too, you know that we have developed –
CM: You keep adding more, yes.
DR: I know and one of the things we’ve got on “Psalty’s Family Christmas” album is Charity Church Mouse and –
CM: Which is just – pardon me, Psalty for saying this – probably my favorite character of all.
CC: Oh, Charles! I can’t believe that you –
CM: Yeah, I’m blushing again today too.
CC: There he was, he’s turning -
PS: You really are turning red Charles,
CC: he’s turning bright red.
PS: but Charity’s one of my favorite friends too.
CC: But Charity has a special song on our Christmas album, “Psalty’s Family Christmas Sing-along” and I want to sing it for you. Would you let me?
CM: Do I know it? I would, but do I know it?
CC: It’s called, “Go Tell it On the Mountain”
PS: Like you’ve never heard before!
CM: so if anyone’s expecting a traditional sound at Haven Today, we’re not going to hear it on this Christmas song.
PS: No!
CC: Dial out the high end now. Protect your ears!
Song: Go Tell it On the Mountain
Performed by: Charity Church Mouse & Kid’s Praise Kids

CM: Well you were listening to Debbie, I mean Charity Church Mouse
CC: Get it straight Charles
CM: And Charity, I must say I have never in my life heard a better version of “Go Tell it On the Mountain”.
CC: Oh, why thank you.
CM: And I was holding onto my seat, you know white knuckles here, you know in the studio and everything. Debbie you know it’s good, so I’m not going to have you say it’s good but Ernie, or Psalty, isn’t it interesting how you can take a different style to an approach and that song that we just heard, in an unusual rendition actually reaches out to people of all ages, doesn’t it?
ER: Well, it absolutely does. And you know what’s an interesting kind of phenomenon with this series that parents are actually buying the series now for their kids in college.
CM: Really? OK.
ER: I am not kidding you. I can’t tell you how-
CM: It’s a novelty
ER: how many letters we’ve gotten from, and I would think that’s silly, but let me just read this to you.
CM: Sure, OK
ER: “Dear Psalty and Psaltina, my children are all grown now but they grew up with you and your family waiting for each new “Psalty” release. Recently, for my daughter’s 22nd birthday we purchased the entire “Psalty” collection for her. She literally sobbed when she opened them. She was so happy. It was the best gift ever! (Exclamation point). We put in the first CD and our house was transformed back to the days when all three kids were little. Our oldest is almost 24 now. We sang with such joy at the top of our lungs as we were taken back to a wonderful time in our lives. Thank you for the joy you added to all our lives. Those were great days as are these as we watch our young adult children grow and serve the Lord.” Isn’t that great?
DR: Isn’t that cool?
CM: It is! It’s so amazing! You know after we had you on this summer we had grandparents calling or sending us emails, writing in. And then we had parents obviously who grew up with you and said, “Now I’ve been looking all over the place for you, but now you’ve got it on Haven Today. Thank you so much. My kids are young; they’re just at the right age.” But you know, my kids were listening to you in early teens as well. It was not something that was just for 4 or 5 year olds.
ER: Yeah, absolutely. Well, like we said before, we layered these albums so that we can reach a broader age group and also we use music styles that are timeless.
CM: And full orchestration.
ER: Yeah, right
CM: You weren’t able to or you just didn’t –
ER: We didn’t cheat
CM: Yeah, you didn’t cheat.
ER: We actually used real strings,
CM: Oh, that’s great.
ER: real horns, real piano.
CM: I ask this of guests on Haven Today quite a bit, but I want to ask both of you. Why do you do what you do?
DR: There is so much payoff when we hear that somebody’s life has been changed. When we get feedback that kids have grown up and have been transformed, that it has impacted their lives, that a child has made a decision and made their parents pull off to the side of the road to pray with them right then to receive Christ because they heard it on a Psalty tape that it was time for them to chose to make Jesus their forever friend. That keeps us going because you know, we’re thinking, alright we’re in our 50’s maybe we should do something else now and yet God has blessed this so much that it keeps us filled with energy for it.
ER: And I would echo that. I mean I see the same thing. You know when I would do the altar calls at the Billy Graham crusades, for the Kid’s Gigs
CM: Yeah
ER: You know we would be doing the same show over and over again for the last 12 years and –
CM: That can get a little old
ER: it can get a little old. But I can tell you that when I call those kids forward and I see them coming forward and they’re sobbing and real transformation’s happening, it just re-ups me for the next time every time. Every time.
DR: because some come with their families, their grandparents accepting Christ at the same time.
ER: But you know Charles we started this thing out by faith. We were ministering the Gospel, the 2 of us and we created an album series to hopefully reach out to children and their families. That was the goal at the time. And we just continued doing it by faith, not knowing where God was taking it, had no concept whatsoever that the series would sell over 6 million units and be translated into 14 languages and go all around the world, not even an inkling of an idea that that would happen. And then 25 years later to get letters like the ones I’m reading to you here. It just bowls you over and it keeps you going. God is faithful.
CM: It does. May God just give you many more years of ministering -
DR: Oh, thank you.
CM: to children and families too. Our guests, Debbie and Ernie Retino here on Haven Today and thank you for blessing me the last few minutes and I know a lot of thousands of people too, listening to Haven.

ER: Merry Christmas
DR: Amen.
CM: I guess what I enjoy about having Debbie and Ernie Retino on the program is that they believe in the true message of Christmas. They also preach it and teach it through their music, Kid’s Praise. Well, we heard some music from “Psalty’s Christmas Calamity” and we have a Christmas pack of 2 CD’s for you that is just perfect for this time of year. One is “The Christmas Calamity” which is a story and has a lot of great Christmas music in it. And the other one is “Psalty’s Family Christmas Sing-along”. You can find all about it by just going to our internet site which is haventoday.org. And when you’re there reading about the Christmas Pack, you’ll also see the Kid’s Praise 1 and 2 or the Vacation Pack 1-5 that we have available for you this time of year. Just go to haventoday.org. And also, when you get in touch with us would you please let us know the station that you’re listening to? That helps us so much. You can also call us right now and here’s our toll free number to get in touch. It’s 1-800-65-HAVEN, 1-800-65-HAVEN, for Psalty’s Christmas Pack and all of the “Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe”, Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis materials that we have because of this great movie that’s going to be starting in a little more than a week. I’m Charles Morris. Thank you for being with me and with Psalty and Psaltina. Come back again tomorrow when we will celebrate Christmas together here on Haven Today.