Dear Customers,
A few shipments arrived this week. If you log into your account at www.toywonders.com, before clicking on any of the links below, approved wholesale accounts will see wholesale pricing.
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DIECAST Collectible
Model Cars And More
| Item# |
Description |
Stock
Status |
| 1582346380 |
Book - Crap Cars by Richard Porter 1582346380 |
New |
| 312254179 |
Book - Route 66 Traveler's Guide And Roadside Companion by Tom Snyder 312254179 |
New |
| 2711 |
Sun Star - Back to the Future DeLorean (1981, 1:18, Stainless Steel) 2711 |
Restock |
| 2712 |
Sun Star - Back to the Future III DeLorean (1981, 1:18, Stainless Steel) 2712 |
Restock |
| 5095W |
Sun Star Platinum - Kaiser Henry J. Thrillcade Hard Top (1951, 1:18, White) 5095 |
Restock |
| 5231R |
Sun Star Platinum - Oldsmobile "98" Closed Convertible (1959, 1:18, Cardinal Red) 5231 |
Restock |
| 96326BK |
Jada Toys Collector's Club- Chevy Corvette Stingray Concept Hard Top (2009, 1:18, Black) 96326 |
New |
| 96326SV |
Jada Toys Collector's Club - Chevy Corvette Stingray Concept Hard Top (2009, 1:18, Candy Silver) 96326 |
New |
| 92033 |
Jada Toys Bigtime Muscle - Dodge Challenger SRT8 Hard Top (2008, 1:24, Asstd.) 92033 |
Restock |
| 92120 |
Jada Toys Bigtime Muscle - Chevy Camaro SS Hard Top (2010, 1:24, Asstd. w/ Stripes) 92120 |
Restock |
| 96282 |
Jada Toys Heat - Chevy Corvette Stingray Concept Highway Patrol (2009, 1:24, Black & White) 96282 |
New |
| 92454F |
Jada Toys Heat - Mercury Fire Dept. #51 (1951, 1:24, Red w/ Flames) 92454F |
New |
| 92455F |
Jada Toys Heat - Mercury Fire Dept. #51 (1951, 1:24, Red w/ Flames) 92455F |
New |
| 96284F |
Jada Toys Heat - Ford COE Flatbed Fire & Rescue (1947, 1:24, Red & Black) 96284F |
New |
| 96284P |
Jada Toys Heat - Ford COE Flatbed Police (1947, 1:24, White & Black) 96284P |
New |
| 96285F |
Jada Toys Heat - Ford COE Flatbed Fire & Rescue (1947, 1:24, Red & Black) 96285F |
New |
| 96285P |
Jada Toys Heat - Ford COE Flatbed Police (1947, 1:24, White & Black) 96285P |
New |
| 14014W2 |
Jada Toys Badge City Heat - Wave 2 (1:64, Asstd.) 14014W2 |
New |
| 12006W17A |
Jada Toys Bigtime Muscle - Wave 17 (1:64, Asstd.) 12006W17A |
Restock |
| 51105SZBK |
RC2 Johnny Lightning - Studebaker Commander Hard Top (1951, 1:24, Black) 51105SZ |
Restock |
| 51105TZBG |
RC2 Johnny Lightning - Ford Thunderbolt Hard Top (1964, 1:24, Burgundy) 51105TZ |
Restock |
| 51105TZBU |
RC2 Johnny Lightning - Willys Coupe Hard Top (1941, 1:24, Blue) 51105TZ |
Restock |
| CC51105SZBK |
RC2 Johnny Lightning Chase Car - Studebaker Commander Hard Top (1951, 1:24, Black) CC51105SZBK |
New |
| CC51105TZBG |
RC2 Johnny Lightning Chase Car - Ford Thunderbolt Hard Top (1964, 1:24, Burgundy) CC51105TZBG |
Restock |
| CC51105TZBU |
RC2 Johnny Lightning Chase Car - Willys Coupe Hard Top (1941, 1:24, Blue) CC51105TZBU |
New |
| 12829BK |
Greenlight Smokey & The Bandit II - Pontiac Trans Am T-Top (1980, 1:18, Black) 12829 |
New |
| 42620/12 |
Greenlight Hot Pursuit Series 5 (1:64, Asstd.) 42620/12 |
New |
| 42630 |
Greenlight Hot Pursuit Series 6 (1:64, Asstd.) 42630 |
New |
| 56041 |
Greenlight Dioramas Animal House - Chevy Corvette Hard Top w/ Figurine (1959, 1:64, Red) 56041 |
New |
| 56042 |
Greenlight Dioramas Apollo 13 - Shelby GT-350 & Chevy Corvette 427 (1965/ 1970, 1:64, White/ Red) 56042 |
New |
| 56043 |
Greenlight Dioramas AVs - Ford Mustang AV8R & Mustang AV-X10 Dearborn Doll (2009/ 2010, 1:64, Silver) 56043 |
New |
| G12-55A |
JLG Series 1 - Telehandler (1:32, Orange & Yellow) G12-55A |
Restock |
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Thank you
Lu Su
Toy Wonders, Inc.
www.toywonders.com
201-229-1700
God and the Art of Toy and Diecast Marketing
Stop Stealing from God (part 2 of 3)
By Lu Su
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
Imagine that you are about to go attack the city of Jericho. You approach the city and encounter a stranger, who is not from your camp. He's standing in front of you with his sword drawn out of its scabbard. To any man, "Friend or Foe?" is a very reasonable question. But as we will soon see, this man standing in front of Josh is no ordinary man. Let me give you the historical back drop, so you can better understand the story. Not too long ago, someone had asked me if I really believed that Noah parted the Red Sea? I realize that when I write, it'd be safer to assume that the readership has a foggy knowledge of events recorded in the Bible.
It's roughly 1500 B.C. and the Israelites had just entered the "Promised Land". How did this group get the name "Israelites"? I'll get to that soon. From Numbers 1:46, we estimate that two million men, women, children have left the desert to venture into the new land. The first city they encounter is called Jericho. It is a walled city. Perhaps the title "The Walls of Jericho" might ring a bell?
Back then, walled cities were very difficult to capture. If you wanted to get past a city's walls, you had to go over the wall, under the wall, or go through its gates. The technology to enter the city by putting a hole in the wall quickly just wasn't around at this time. I guess one could use chisels and hammers, but the trouble is the inhabitants of the city didn't care for people to do that. So they would be throwing and shooting stuff at you. Maybe even pour some very hot liquid on you, which could really ruin your day. What the Israelites could have used, was a cruise missile, but it hadn't been invented yet. It would actually take another 12 centuries, before this new fangled technology called the torsion catapult was used to actually destroy walls. To the dismay of many urbanites, Alexander the Great made great use of this technology.
Couple questions should be entering some people's minds. If Jericho was a walled city, and the Israelites neither dug a tunnel or climbed over the walls, how did they get in? Read on, you'll see. If Jericho was a walled city, and most likely a direct confrontation would result in high casualties, why not just bypass the city? Strategically speaking (And you can double check with General David Petraeus on this), Jericho needed to be captured or destroyed, because as you venture further into uncharted territory, you want to avoid fighting a battle on two fronts (one in front and another in back). Plus having a group of unfriendlies in the rear cutting off your supply routes can be annoying.
It's way early in Jewish history. At this time the first temple has not been built yet. There are no Jews in Jerusalem yet. This where the first and second temple is to be built. The land the Israelites are about to conquer will later be conquered by the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman empires. It would be during the Roman occupation of this land, God incarnate (God in the flesh) would walk into His temple in Jerusalem.
God's people had been camping in the desert for 40 very long years. I'm defining God's people are the ones who love God and demonstrate that love by following His commandments. So by this definition, this transcends ethnicity, social status, religious & political affiliations, eye & hair color, and where or not you have a Costco membership card or not. Three good examples 1) There is strong evidence that Moses' wife had a different ethnicity and skin color. 2) Not every "Israelite" that departed Egypt belonged to God. And 3) This woman named Rehab, who you will meet soon, is from the city of Jericho. She is considered a foreigner to the Israelites. She and her family survived the destruction of Jericho and are adopted into God's family. Rahab even makes it into the genealogy of Jesus Christ (God incarnate) (Matthew 1:1).
Moses, probably considered the greatest leader and prophet in the Bible, is no longer commander and chief of this large group of people. Moses' understudy Joshua is now in charge. With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, Moses and the entire generation of people that he lead out of Egypt, had died in the desert; This occurred because of their sin -rebellion. They were unwilling to enter the land promised by God to Abraham and his descendents when asked.
If you recall, God performed a series of miracles (plagues) that culminated in allowing Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. It was Moses and not Noah (with a tiny bit of help from God) who parted the Red Sea. This allowed them to escape a vengeful Egyptian army. It was Moses that brought down from Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments written on two stone tablets. These tablets were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant. The arc of the covenant was basically a box that represented God's throne (same box that Indian Jones sought after in the first movie). So a reasonable question to ask here is why were the Israelites living in Egypt? God had already brought Abram (who became Abraham later) to the Promised Land. How did his descendents end up in Pharaoh country?
Although this is debated by Muslims and a topic for another time, Abram had only one wife Sarai; Through his only wife, they had one son named Isaac. Isaac had two sons (twins) Essu and Jacob. Jacob was full of vitality. Combine his fertileness and a lack of cable, Jacob had twelve sons. Like his grandfather whose name changed from Abram to Abraham, God changes Jacob's name from Jacob to Israel. One of Israel's son was named Joseph. Joseph, through one of the greatest rags to riches story, becomes prime minister in Egypt.
Seven years of abundance is followed by seven years of famine. The famine is so severe and so widespread, that it forces all eleven of Joseph's brothers, their families, and their father to move down to Egypt. Israel is the eldest patriarch and it's probably down in Egypt where this group of people pick up the name the "Israelites" (I wonder if I grew my family a bit larger, if one day our group might be known as the Lu-ites). While in in Egypt, Israelites population grows at fast rate. At the same time the Pharaohs become more cruel and despotic (e.g. by decree of Pharaoh that any newborn son of an Israelites is to be thrown into the Nile). So back to the story. The Israelites have been living in the desert for 40 years (East of the Jordan river). The children of the parents who left Egypt, are determined not to make the same mistake their parents made. They have just crossed the Jordan river to take possession of the land. The first city they encounter is Jericho.
Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
“Neither,” he replied, “but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.” Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, “What message does my Lord have for his servant?”
The commander of the LORD’s army replied, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. -Joshua 5: 13-15
Standing in front of Joshua is no ordinary man. I believe most Christians believe that the person standing in front of Joshua is the pre-incarnate Christ (God's son). Notice the command to "Take off your sandals". Where have we heard instructions like that before? It was with Moses and the burning bush episode (Exodus 3:1-4). What made those particular plots of land that Moses or Joshua stood on holy? Was it some special dirt ? Was some type of special holy water that the Pope sprinkled on it? No, neither of those. What made the real estate that Moses and Joshua stood on holy, at two different locations and two different times, was God. God was present.
To any man the question, "Are you for us or for our enemies?" is a reasonable question. But when you ask God this same question, it becomes a very silly question. Let me explain, because I think it is important that you understand this. When a person steals from God, a certain incorrect perception of God exists in man's mind BEFORE the opportunity to steal present itself. The opportunity to steal something is always available. So if you want to stop stealing from God, it's easier to address the former than the later. Let me try to illustrate this. Before God's people set a single foot into the new land, God had already promised his people the land.
“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. Worship the LORD your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span. -Exodus 23:21-26
Notice, God doesn't say that when you enter the land, you need to go build siege equipment, sharpen your swords, and go re-read Sun Tsu's The Art of War. God does NOT deliver a pep talk and say, "If you want it, go get it. Go apply yourself. it's all up to you (your effort)." In fact God says the opposite. God says HE will deliver the enemy. He will battle for us. We need only to "listen carefully" and "not rebel". In short, our first duty is to worship the LORD. So then what's the problem here? Do you think God is incapable? Do you doubt that God will deliver on his promises? Maybe you think God's timing isn't as good as yours?
I heard interesting illustration that highlights this very misperception that many of us have about God.
1. Let us say the thickness of a sheet of paper represents the distance from the earth to the sun (some ninety-three million miles).
2. To represent the distance to the next closest star, we would need a seventy-one-foot high stack of paper.
3. To cover the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy would require a 310 mile high stack.
4. To reach the edge of the known universe would demand a pile of paper sheets thirty-one million miles high.
God can traverse this distance in no time. With just his words, God spoke all the stars and galaxies into existence (the Milky way being just one galaxy of many). God holds this 31 million mile high stack of papers perfectly balanced on the tip of one finger. At the same time God prevents our Sun from throwing up a solar flare that totally vaporizes our atmosphere. God even knows the departure rate of the number of hairs leaving my head. God is all powerful and all knowing, but our perception of God is too puny. Because of our small view of God, we want the God of the universe to to serve as our personal assistant.
When your God is small, these ill conceived questions arise. "Are you for me or against me?" "Are you in their camp or my camp?" "Are you a Democrat or a Republican?" "Are you a liberal or a conservative?" God is way to big and way to powerful for you to pigeon hole God into some group (i.e. put borders around God).
So back to the question, “Are you for us or for our enemies?” I like God's answer because it is so brutally honest and true. "NEITHER". God is neither for nor against us. I think in our American culture that is fed by a "me first" attitude, we engage in an activity and wonder if God is on our side. "FAIL" is word my boys seem to use on each other these days. God has told us very clearly, He is neither for us nor against us. I know it's difficult to do in a "it's all about me" oriented culture. But the better question to ask yourself is whether you are on God's side.
Step one on how to Stop Stealing from God. Fix your small perception of who God is.
...........Next week the big battle scene and the small theft.
