When I was a high school pastor, I used to see the Children's Ministry use Psalty videos in their classes and put on Psalty musicals. I am not talking about the current cartoon version of Psalty, I am talking about the older live version where a guy dresses up in a Psalty outfit and sings songs with kids. From seeing these videos I vowed I would never, ever use Psalty in anything I ever was part of. The reasons were several, but I hated Psalty really, in a Christian hate-a-cartoon-character kind of way. Since Psalty isn't real, I didn't feel bad about having hatred towards him.
For one, Psalty is a really freaky and scary looking creature. Psalty is supposed to be a Bible or a book of Psalms or songbook or something. So the guy playing Psalty puts on this bright blue colored book costume with yellow accents and white gloves. Ugly colors. Nightmare colors in this combination. The Wiggles wear primary colors and it is goofy, but they are still done in a cool way. Psalty colors are different. Psalty wears this blue and yellow combo that makes you feel tense and agitated even looking at it.
The songs Psalty sang were horrible. I would stop and watch some of the videos played in children's classrooms and the songs were so very, very bad. They sounded like bad 1980's television theme songs from a sitcom - but worse. The lyrics were so incredibly sappy and it seemed like many lyrics were thrown together just to make it rhyme. They would sing them again and again and again, it seemed each song would never end.
The kids on the videos also wore really weird clothes. I don't know who picked them out, but they were clothing that grandmothers would wear with polka dots and floral patterned clothing. I think even some boys wore floral patterned shirts.
But, the freakiest part to me, was the grown man who dressed up like Psalty in the blue book outfit. He would paint his face entirely blue - and this isn't cool looking like Blue Man Group. 
This is ugly, scary, face paint blue with big white circles for eyes. The main guy on the Psalty Videos also had a beard. So he would paint his beard blue. It was horrible looking. He could have at least shaved his beard, if he was playing Psalty on a video so he didn't look so horribly freaky and scary. The rock band KISS never had beards and they look better and far friendlier than the bearded Psalty with his face and beard blue. One of the gangster rap band Insane Clown Posse paints his face and has a beard, and I understand that with them - because their lyrics are violent . But for a church kids cartoon character, it made no sense. It is nightmare looking and makes the Psalty guy look crazy - especially when he is skipping around singing. Why didn't he shave his beard for the video taping? It was freaky, freaky and scary looking to me.
So, I have always detested Psalty.....But that changed this morning.
I came out into the living room today, and I could hear Katie and Claire singing words like "I Love you Lord" and "Jesus loves me". I thought, "how nice!" - but then I came around the corner and as I looked up on the TV screen, there was Psalty, the man in the blue costume and painted blue face and beard. As he was singing and smiling, there was Katie and Claire were smiling and singing with him. (Becky bought an old Psalty video in the flea market, so it has been sitting around. I was disturbed to see it when she brought it home, but didn't say anything). 
But there they were singing these words about God and Jesus, and Psalty, my enemy, was leading them. I didn't know what to do. I stopped and watched for a few monents, and then like the Grinch in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" heart swells when he sees his stinginess, I then had mine change for Psalty. All these years of hating him, turned into appreciating how he was teaching Katie and Claire these goofy songs, but the lyrics that they were singing back that was so nice to hear and see them sing.
Now I am not too sure, what Katie and Claire are thinking when they sing the lyrics to these songs, as I see them singing Barney the Dinosaur songs with the same passion and joy. They do only have 3 year old minds and comprehension. But never-the-less, it was a beautiful thing to see and hear them singing about Jesus.
I am not angry at Psalty anymore. I appreciate him. I still will never, ever have a Psalty musical at our church. But, I now have a soft spot in my heart for him. I still think it is rather disgusting the way he looks with that painted blue beard and outfit. But if Katie and Claire learn lyrics about God that encourage them, then I will now not resent him the way I have for years and I repent of my hatred of Psalty.
