Outtakes

     Outtakes.  Bloopers.  The gag reel.  It's the first thing I look for when I click the special features button on the DVD menu.  Who doesn't love outtakes?  They're hilarious.  You get to watch the cast and crew get the giggles, scramble their lines and play tricks on each other. 
     Outtakes are moments that interrupt filming.  They weren't in the script so they don't end up in the film.  Someone drops something, says the wrong thing, loses their train of thought, trips on the carpet…
    Speaking of tripping on the carpet, have you done that lately?  Have you dropped your keys?  Gotten tongue-tied?  How did you react?  Did you get angry and say, "Really?!"
     I have days when it seems like everything is going wrong.  As the day wears on, I let myself lose all patience and the tiniest mishaps seem enormously discouraging or unfair.  This is no way to live. 
     God's Word tells us in Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without complaining and disputing,"
     So stop whining!  Your life isn't based on a script.  It will never be perfect. 
     The movies edit out their bloopers, making the characters seem gorgeous, articulate and highly coordinated but you can't make your bloopers dissappear.  They're just a natural part of life.  Don't let them get you down.  Dropping your keys isn't the end of the world!  It's a blooper...and it's going to make the final cut- whether you like it or not.

Song Recommendation:  "This Is The Stuff" by Francesca Battistelli

Finding Nemo: Just Keep Swimming

        I love the movie Finding Nemo.   It's a fun, engaging story full of endearing characters and it's computer animation makes it beautiful to look at.       
        Marlin (who is actually a clown fish) is a very protective father but his son Nemo craves adventure.  When Nemo takes a silly, disobedient risk, he gets lost and ends up in an aquarium.  So, naturally, Marlin sets off on a long and involved journey to find his son.
             Along the way, Marlin meets many of the sea's colorful characters, including a very helpful, very forgetful and very blue fish named Dory.  From the first second she hears that Marlin's son, Nemo, is missing, Dory is determined to help.

            Dory has a problem with her short term memory.  She forgets things almost instantly but she keeps moving forward on their mission to find Nemo.  Every time Marlin and Dory face a setback on their trip, Dory stays upbeat.  She forgets what just happened and keeps going.  She tells Marlin, "You know what you gotta' do when life gets you down?  Just keep swimming." 

     The Bible tells us that we Christians need to be a lot like Dory! 

     God used a man named Paul to write the letter to the Philippians.  First Paul reminds them- and us- that we can't be friends with God and get to Heaven someday by being good. We can't accomplish enough things, or be nice enough, charitable enough or good-looking enough to get to Heaven. Only faith in Jesus and the fact that He died to take our punishment for sin and rose from the dead to prove His power, can save us from Hell and give us Heaven.  But it is our job after we have become friends with God through Jesus, to try to be like Him. Not because being good enough could get us to Heaven- we could never be good enough for that- but because knowing Jesus and living the way He wants us to is amazing!
     Philippians 3:13-14 says "No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." 
     In other words: Just Keep Swimming!  When you accept Jesus as your Savior, you admit that you are not good enough and God washes all of your guilt away.  He chooses to forget it and so can you.  Now, you need to focus on just being like Him, telling others about Him and just all around enjoying the new life He's given you.  You need to be excited about someday joining Him in Heaven where you will finally be perfect.
     God wants us to let go of shame and pride.  We Christians often get bogged down by focusing on these things.  If you dwell on all the good things you do and how "awesome" you are, cut it out!  Jesus already took care of being truly awesome and you could not ever possibly compare to Him.  And if you dwell on your mistakes and how "terrible" you are, knock it off!  Jesus already took care of forgiving all of your sins and He's makes up for the new ones every day.  We need to "forget the past and look forward to what lies ahead"- Jesus!  We should just enjoy being with Him and look forward to living with Him in Heaven someday.
     We need to be like Dory the forgetful fish and JUST KEEP SWIMMING!!!

Relief

     The part I treasure most in any high intensity action scene is the big moment of relief.  My eyes sparkle with excitement while the heroes gasp and laugh and cry as they look at the cliff's edge, exploded building, smoking crater, unconscious murderer or other huge source of peril that they have just survived.  They're okay, it's over, they're safe now.  "Let's go home."
     What could feel better than the moment you realize you're alive?
     I've never run out of a burning building or been reeled in from a crashing wave but I can imagine the overwhelming sense of well being and relief that must come when the worst doesn't happen.  The rush when, after thinking all was lost, the thing you hoped for the most appears before your eyes - rescue!
     I got the idea for an article about relief one morning when I was a sad, cranky mess.  I irrationally hated and questioned everything!  I knew that I shouldn't feel this way but it felt like there was nothing I could do to make myself feel better.  I struggle with this problem sometimes.  Contentment.  How do you get it?
     I tried to think about the things I should be grateful for.  And then I thought about how I've been... rescued.   I've been rescued from the worst and most terrifying thing anyone can face: separation from God.  I've been freed from Hell I'm bound for Heaven.  I'm friends with God.  Right now, this very instant!
     "For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins." Colossians 1:13-14 (NLT)
     "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."  1 John 4:10 (NIV)
     And then I thought about that moment of pure happiness when someone is rescued.  The laughter, tears and hugs.  I've seen it many times portrayed by actors or in real-life incidents caught on film.  When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, I was rescued from far worse than anything this world could ever dish out.  So my joy should be far more enthusiastic!
     God has called me out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)!  So I'm going to keep that picture of salvation fresh in my mind.  I'm going to replace my cloudy moods with the laughter of pure relief!
     When I accepted Christ's rescue, I was reborn into God's family and I started my new life with Him.  What could feel better than the moment you realize you're alive?

"We also pray that you will be strengthened with all His glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to His people, who live in the light."     Colossians 1:11-12 (NLT)

Once Upon A Time: Remember Who You Are

          ABC’s Once Upon A Time is one of my favorite new shows, along with Fox’s Terra Nova.  Once Upon A Time is a gorgeous fairytale drama with sweeping cinematography, engaging storylines and acting so real it gives me goose bumps.  It’s highly original plot sets this show apart from previous fairytale endeavors and other sci-fi/fantasy hits. 

          In this reimagining, the Evil Queen from the classic story of Snow White has placed a curse on the entire realm of fairytale characters.  In an attempt at revenge on Snow White and her Charming husband, the enchantress has banished them, along with others from their world, to a life with “no happy endings” in our world.  They find themselves in uneventful Storybrooke, Maine.  They live ordinary lives and have no memory of who they used to be.  Snow White is a schoolteacher.  Rumplestiltskin is a pawn broker.  And the Evil Queen has positioned herself as mayor of Storybrooke. 

There’s only one person who can come to Storybrooke and break the curse.  Emma Swan.  The daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.  At the time of the curse, she was an infant.  Now she’s a gritty, disillusioned bounty hunter, unencumbered by things like personal attachments or optimism.  But when the son she gave up for adoption shows up at her door, her life changes. 
Henry knows all about the curse, thanks to a special book of fairytales.  He believes that Emma is Storybrooke’s savior, the only one who can make everyone remember who they are and put things back the way they were.

What a wonderful, rich story.  It reminds me of a wonderful, rich truth.  The truth of the Bible.  The truth about us.  Just like the fairytale characters in Storybrooke, all of humankind is under a curse.  We live in a world we weren’t meant for.  We have forgotten where we come from and who we are meant to be. 

This is what the Bible is about.  In the beginning, everything was perfect just how God created it.  The first people, Adam and Eve, were a perfect couple, living in a perfect garden, in a perfect world, friends with God.  There was no suffering or death.  Only happiness, harmony and love.  It sounds like a fairytale.  But this is the truth.

And then something happened.  Adam and Eve turned away from God; disobeyed Him.  This is when earth fell under the curse.  As the owner of everything, God cursed the world because of Adam and Eve.  They were no longer going to live forever and now life would be difficult.  Now that they knew how to disobey God, they would sometimes be angry, bitter and selfish.  They would argue and hurt each other. 

God’s punishment for sin is death and after death- separation from Him.  Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death…”

          Today, we are still under the curse.  We all sin. (Romans 3:23)  And we have forgotten what the world used to be, what we are supposed to be.  But God is not like the Evil Queen, He didn’t place us under this curse out of spite or for revenge.  It is more like a reset plan.  A way to get the world back to that perfection.   
          The Bible says in Romans 8:20-21 that “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.”
          He sent us a Savior.  His Son, Jesus Christ.  Born as a human, Christ lived the sinless life that no human ever could.  Then He let Himself be killed, at the same time taking the punishment for all of humanity’s sin on Himself.  Then He rose from the dead, victorious over sin.  He is the cure for the curse that we brought on ourselves.  "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16

All we have to do is accept this; truly believe we are under the curse of our own sin and ask God for the cure- the Savior.  Then we can live the life we were meant to live.  Life based on His unconditional love and His promise of Heaven.

Listen to Colossians 3:2-4: “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.  For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.  And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.”

Did you hear that?  When you’ve accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, your real life is with Him.  Don’t let this world get you down.  It’s easy to worry and hurry and let discontent run rampant.  I have this problem big time!  But like the verse says, don’t focus on the things of this world, focus on your real life.  Don’t live in the curse!  Live the life you were meant to live, look forward to your real home in heaven.  Remember who you are! 

   Song Recommendation:  Remind Me Who I Am – Jason Gray (written from the perspective of someone who has accepted Jesus as their Savior)

"Come With Me If You Want To Live"

       This one is an oldie but a goodie.  The extremely famous, 80's hit Sci-Fi movie The Terminator.  Very dark in tone and full of heart-pounding action, The Terminator is interesting from start to finish.
       Sarah Connor is an ordinary waitress.  Until she becomes the target of a serial killer.  Someone is murdering every Sarah Connor in the phone book, one by one.  Sarah doesn't know that she is the real target.  She doesn't know how important she is.
       In a future ruled by machines, Sarah's son, John, is humanity's only hope.  The killer is a cyborg sent from the future to murder Sarah before her son is ever conceived.  He is strong, resilient, nearly unstoppable.  The Terminator.
       But someone else is looking for Sarah too.  Kyle Reese was sent by Sarah's son to save her life.  To save her from the Terminator. 
       When the Terminator catches up to Sarah, he creates mayhem and terror.  Reese intervenes to save Sarah.  She doesn't know Reese but he risks his own life to save her.  With the Terminator seconds away from killing her, Reese holds out a hand and says "Come with me if you want to live."
       Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Every person has failed God.  Every person does wrong.  Romans 6:23 reads "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  God says the punishment for sin is death. 
       We all die but the Bible tells us that people who have sinned are doomed to Hell after death.  The Bible says it’s a place where there’ll be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” and fire forever.  So everyone is doomed to this because everyone sins.  Everyone deserves Hell.
       Hell is like the Terminator.  It’s getting closer and closer.  On our trail, chasing us.  We all know that we’ll die sometime and every second that passes we get closer to it.  Every second that passes Hell is getting closer to us.  Like the Terminator getting closer to Sarah.
       But there is hope!  “The free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus”- that’s Heaven.  Jesus allowed Himself to be killed on the cross and allowed God to put all the sins of the world on Him so that we could have forgiveness.  We just have to ask for it. 
       When He was on earth, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father but by Me.” (John 14:6)  No one can be friends with God and go to Heaven without Jesus. So in other words: “Come with Me if you want to live!”
       Sarah could have run away from her rescuer and been killed by the Terminator.  And we can run away from Jesus and go to Hell.  Every person needs to make a decision to either ignore Jesus, try to do there own thing and fail; or to come to Jesus and live.  Jesus is holding out His hand.  He's offering to save you.

Hell is getting ever closer, come to Jesus and live.

Romans 10:9  "that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
 

Person of Interest: The "Irrelevant" List

          CBS's new crime drama, Person of Interest, is an action packed bundle of fun!  Complex cases, big reveals, exciting fights, plenty of gunplay and an intriguing premise keep my attention (unless I'm blogging at the same time!). 
          Mr. Finch (Michael Emerson) is a computer genius.  He is responsible for building "the machine", a government controlled supercomputer that takes in and analyzes surveillance footage, phone calls, emails and more in order to anticipate potential terrorist threats.  But the machine recognizes more than just large scale threats.  It predicts any violent crimes.
          Without the resources to address every alert that the machine gives out, Mr. Finch created the "Irrelevant List"; a program which separates the small crimes from the public safety threats.  When the machine gives alerts for potential murders and other individualized crimes, they get sent to The Irrelevant List and are deleted every day at midnight.
          The guilt of ignoring so many tragedies that may have been prevented weighs on Mr. Finch's conscience.  Even though he is no longer involved in the government project which utilizes his technology, he decides to take action.  Mr. Finch hacks into his own machine to access The Irrelevant List.  When the supercomputer deduces that a crime is likely, Mr. Finch receives only one hint.  A social security number.  The person may be a victim or a perpetrator but either way a dangerous situation will probably develop.  Together with former soldier, spy and general action hero, Mr. Reese (Jim Caviezel); Finch fights to save those he had once dubbed "irrelevant".
          This totally fun, fast-paced, action drama makes me think about the things that Christians sometimes view as "irrelevant".  2 Timothy 4:1-2 says "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."  God commands Christians to share the good news of Jesus with everyone we can! 
          John 14:6 reads "Jesus said to him,  'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  Jesus is the only way to Heaven.  Which means that people who don't know Jesus as their Savior are headed for Hell.  Christians can sometimes forget the urgency of our job.  Yes, our job.  "Preach the word!"  God may not want us all to be pastors but it is our job to serve the Lord and share Jesus.
          Christians are often, let's just say it: Cowards!  Myself, one of the biggest cowards, I have to admit.  We tend to think:  "I love Jesus.  God is great.  I'm going to Heaven.  I'm safe.  That's all that matters."  When we let ourselves get so complacent, we're putting everyone else on The Irrelevant List!  
          We can do this with other issues too.  "God's not going to send me to Hell for it, so I can enjoy a little gossip."  You can let your marriage slide, get lazy about talking to God, form a judgmental little Christian clique... 
          Jesus has taken care of the big, terrifying threat in our lives- we're not going to Hell!  Praise the Lord!  But when we stop there, we're denying ourselves the honor of being God's soldiers, spies and general action heroes!  We could be fighting for the desperate, lonely souls who need Jesus and representing the all-powerful name of our holy, infinite God. 
          God doesn't need our help with anything, He's God.  And good works will not get you to Heaven.  But don't you want in on the action?    

The Dog Whisperer: Calm Submission to Our Heavenly Pack Leader

       The National Geographic Channel's The Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan features misbehaving canines who get a visit from the highly successful dog trainer.  He shares his dog psychology philosophy which centers around the pack.        
       Dogs are pack animals and need direction.  When the owner is not the "pack leader", dogs develop problems like insecurity, fear, obsession, and aggression.  Cesar teaches pet owners to practice "calm assertive energy" and to nurture "calm submissive" energy in their dogs.
       The show is both exciting and soothing.  Exciting because it presents out of control situations and soothing because a confident authority figure, Cesar, comes in and corrects the situations with the best intentions for everyone involved.  Cesar is all about being calm so it makes sense that the show, even though it's full of crazy barking and wild behavior, is strangely calming.
       Cesar occasionally brings his favorite dog with him on cases, a pit bull named Daddy.  Daddy helps Cesar by modeling calm submissive behavior to other dogs.  No matter what happens when he and Cesar visit problem dogs, Daddy is unfazed, curious, with tail wagging.
       On one episode, Cesar is dealing with a territorial dog.  Cesar has to enter the backyard gate with the dog ready to attack.  Cesar brings Daddy to help him as he enters.  Cesar opens the gate and the dog goes crazy, lunging at Daddy.  But Daddy doesn't respond.  Cesar explains that even though the other dog was showing aggression towards Daddy, Daddy won't return the aggression or run away because he is with Cesar, his pack leader.
       Cesar and Daddy remind me of Christians and God.  Of course, God loves us more than a person could ever love a pet.  He loves us infinitely more than we can even understand.  But God wants us to be "calm submissive".  To trust Him no matter what is going on around us.  To obey Him even when we don't understand, it's difficult or it hurts.
       No matter what "dogs" are attacking us.  Whether they are hostile family members, coworkers or strangers.  Whether they are blatantly aggressive, snide or arrogant.  God wants us to be like Daddy and just- not react.  Not with insecurity, fear, obsession or aggression.  Because we're with Him.  We don't have to be afraid.  We don't have to defend ourselves.  We're with Him.  Every moment.  We need to trust Him to handle the situation His way.  And obey.

Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation;

Whom shall I fear? 

The Lord is the strength of my life;

 Of whom shall I be afraid?"

Psalm 55:22
"Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved."

1 Peter 3:17   "For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good then for doing evil."

2 Timothy 2:23-26
"But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."