(Well of the Living One who sees me)...
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi... (Genesis 16:13-14a, NIV)
I believe the Bible is that well; this is a journey of exploration of that well and of living before the Living One who sees me.
So our little skim through the Bible looking for a 'verse of the week' brings us to the Major Prophets...and the book of Isaiah.
It takes a minute to skim through Isaiah, lol.#secondlongestbookinthebible
But it is full of truth that we all should know. If you read one chapter a day, it will take you just a little over two months to read through the book of Isaiah...and if you don't already have a reading plan, or if you're looking for the next one...Isaiah is worth considering.
We basically have two interwoven themes...the judgment coming upon those who reject God and his commandments, and the promise of deliverance to those who are faithful.
It wasn't a very successful 'skim' through, lol...I kept stopping and reading. So it took longer than I had anticipated, lol. I actually jotted down about 8 different passages that caught my eye and tugged at my spirit; some were warnings, some were promises...a smattering from both themes.
I thought about listing them all, but finally decided on 43:1 - 3:
But now, this is what the LORD says -- he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
The thing that struck me as I read this...God never said there would be no river to cross or fire to go through, but he did say that, as threatening as those things appear, they would do no critical harm.
Also...verse 1 opens the first episode of The Chosen. You have seen at least some...right? ;-)
I wrote about watching Season 1 of The Chosen during Holy Week last year, and how impressed I was by the whole production. So, naturally, when we learned that Season Two was coming, starting on Easter Sunday, we re-watched Season 1 during Holy Week again, watching the last episode just before the Season 2 premiered.
Episode Two (and Three, as it turned out, but I had a conflicting zoom meeting and so we haven't seen Three yet) debuted this week.
No spoilers, but I believe that episode will speak loudly to Creative Types.
As I watched a new character struggle with his failure to see the one thing he felt called to do come to pass, I felt like I was watching a depiction of my own similar struggles. I have, in fact, taken a manuscript and left it torn in pieces on an altar...although, being as how my manuscript also existed as a computer file that I didn't delete, that was more symbolic than an actual sacrifice. But I understood what was happening on screen on a gut level; like the character portrayed, I've wondered why God gave me a burden to write something that Just. Goes. Nowhere.
But as the scene unfolded I realized that I wasn't the only one with such an experience; all creative people have that moment at some point. Dallas Jenkins even said later that it was HIS story, when he was at a very low point wondering if he would ever tell stories on the screen as he dreamed.
As I thought it over later I recollected a moment I had whilst walking recently. Normally My Sweet Babboo and I walk together, but for some reason that day he was tied up so I walked alone. And I kinda had a discussion with God about all that creative stuff that goes nowhere...the blog posts, the songs, the play...all of it. And I remember saying something to the effect of 'God, what if I never get to do the stuff? All of this stuff that you gave me...and I never get it OUT THERE. It never really does anything for the kingdom." It seemed like that would be a true tragedy...to have been given creativity that failed to reach folks. In my performance-orientation, I felt rather sad about it. But what I heard in reply rather shocked me."When will you realize that it isn't what you produce that matters to Me? What matters to Me is that is that you and I grow closer and closer." At that moment, something shifted in my spirit. So what if no one hears the songs or sees the play or the book never gets published...if I learn to drop all pretense at busy productivity and just seek Him. For a bit, I caught the true meaning of it and it kinda took my breath away. I pondered it the rest of the walk and have been pondering it ever since.
I may slip back into the productivity mindset again, but hopefully not for long. Because what I do for him isn't nearly as important as what I do with Him...or what He does with me.
If you haven't watched The Chosen yet...it's free on the App. Or the website.
As so many have pointed out, this Resurrection Sunday has many similarities to the first...everyone holed up at home. But we did have the ability to watch our church services online, so we did. Then, we finished something we have been watching all week, one episode a night.
Earlier this year, I began to see social media posts about something new...a series of videos about Jesus. The pictures and initial clips I saw didn't grab me; won't go into the reasons why but it was mostly just that I didn't have time to explore it. Then someone mentioned that it was done by the same folks who did a short Christmas video about a shepherd threeish years ago. I'd seen that video and thought it was very well done, and began to be curious about the series. I watched some of the short 'about the series' videos, but when I saw this one, I suddenly realized that this was something that had a focus on God that made it different than I originally thought. Episodes 1-4 are available free on the Chosen app, but it was crowd-funded, and sales of DVD's were funding the next series (episodes 9-16). I didn't want to watch the productions without contributing, so I ordered the DVD series, with the intention to watch it during Holy Week.
We watched Episode 1 on Palm Sunday, and one episode a night, then watched the final episode after this morning's church broadcast.
Then we went to the Chosen You tube channel and binge-watched the behind-the-scenes videos.
I cannot begin to tell you how impressed we all were with the whole production. Not just the finished product, but the whole heart behind the product.
See, even if they may not get a few specific minor cultural details exactly right, the overall take on it is solidly scriptural. But, where I got excited is that they took pains to show all the folks as real human beings; folks with back stories. These characters come across as genuine, real, believable.
Now, I don't have a problem with speculation on what characters said and did that was outside of biblical canon, so long as it is consistent with what IS biblical canon. If you've been around BLR very long, you know that I have a tendency to do such things myself (see In Which My Imagination Runs Away with Me), because, well, I think we are so used to the stories that are told in rather abbreviated, compressed, just-get-the-main-details-out narratives that we forget that the people in those stories were real, three-dimensional, breathing, hurting, human beings just trying to stay alive and do the best they could. And I LOVED some of the little details, such as Andrew and John eavesdropping on the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus...and John had a tablet out, making notes.
So...if you haven't taken time to check it out....check it out.
The mug was a Christmas gift from one of my kids...The Princess, I believe...years ago.
'Tigger' was my nickname back in high school. Won't go into how that came about, but it was appropriate. Tigger is a Sanguine, bouncing enthusiastically through life and occasionally bumping into others without intention or malice. Tigger didn't care a fig for anyone's opinion...in fact, it didn't even seem to occur to him that others would assign different motives to his actions than he meant. He is genuinely astonished when the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood (namely Rabbit, the Choleric, of course) insist that he has to give up his bouncing. He walks away, shoulders slumped, tail dragging, all joy gone...but not bouncing, as that is No Longer Allowed. It Offended the others.
Of course, all is well in the end; Roo can't stand to see Tigger so despondent and intercedes for him with the others, so that finally even Rabbit relents and agrees that Tigger can bounce. Rabbit even figures out what his big feet are for and begins to bounce a bit himself.
I have, in my past, an extended season of inadvertently bouncing into others. Dumbfounded, at times, that what I said/did would be interpreted as it was. I was judged and found wanting. People were hurt. It was my fault.
Slowly...or not so slowly...I began to be cautious of what I said. Worry about how my words or actions might be interpreted. It was self-imposed, but the bounce, over time, went away. I quit offering so much of myself, because, well, nobody wanted it and it didn't go over well and...why bother? Save myself and others the pain and just walk from place to place. Quietly.
And, you know, after a while that began to feel normal. Oh, every now and then something in me would rise up and want to go leaping off somewhere, but I'd give myself a stern talking-to about how I can't do that, people wouldn't understand, I'd get into or cause trouble...and, believe me, if I didn't get myself talked to in time, there are plenty of folks around me who don't miss a chance to point out that I have overstepped my boundaries; some of whom I care for very much, so their critique goes deep. Anyway, I'd have a good cry someplace when no one was looking and shake it off and settle back down.
But if you asked me, really asked, I might tell you that I didn't feel quite myself. I felt...confined. Restrained...and strained. I observed folks who had no trouble bouncing in their giftings; I tried to figure out what the fundamental flaw in my character or personality was that meant I was not one of those people.
I finally decided I just wasn't good enough. Or perceptive enough. Or compassionate enough. Or something. Or maybe I was too loud. Too pushy. Too impulsive. Or something.
The flaw was in me. Whatever it was, it was in me.
The world agreed.
And even though I knew it was a lie, I didn't want to be an offense to those around me. I might hurt them. Or mess something up. Better to just keep the status quo.
But, you know, God uses all kinds of things to bring truth into a life; even a truth that could be twisted around to mean something altogether different.
A couple of weeks ago, My Sweet Babboo and I finally saw 'The Greatest Showman'.
And when I came home, I looked around and found this video:
In the context of the movie, the song is powerful, but somehow the workshop version spoke to me on a whole 'nuther level.
Won't let them break me down to dust; I know that there's a place for us For we are glorious!
I am brave, I am bruised I am who I'm meant to be....this is me.
I'm not afraid to be seen, I make no apologies...this is me.
I have watched that video over and over...Keala overcomes HER fear to sing it. And she is glorious.
Why have I let 'the world' , 'the others' even 'some whom I care about very much' convince me that I am flawed beyond use? That I must limit my creativity and expression to suit somebody else's expectations? That I have no real place? Or that my place is filling gaps and doing things that need doing but no one else wants to do?
Where did the creativity and expression that I have COME FROM, for goodness' sake?
I am back to John 5:44 - How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
How can I believe if I let the fear of criticism or misunderstanding of others keep me from doing that which God has put in me to do?
This has been a long time coming, and I have some long-standing self-editing habits that are going to have to be rooted out and overturned and I really don't even know how to do it anymore...but it's time to start bouncing again.
It's been brewing since something jumped out at me from my Facebook newsfeed a few days back:
True Christians will denounce the sin of racism!
Now, to be honest, I don't remember who posted it, other than I recollect being surprised at it because this wasn't posted by someone who normally discusses how a Christian life is properly lived out before God.
And, you know, what I have been hearing, for the past year or so, mostly from the non-active-Christian portion of my newsfeed either by posted links, memes or statuses, is that Christians have no business denouncing sin. < sarcasm> Because, you know, Christians are just hypocritical bigots who follow a bunch of man-made, white-priveledge, homophobic, archaic rules that benefit them and nobody else.< /sarcasm>
So I was somewhat surprised that now, all of a sudden, Christians are expected to denounce sin.
Or at least the politically correct sin to denounce. That one is okay. Denounce away.
Of course racism is a sin. Christianity, above all religions, is, at its core, racially and ethnically inclusive. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,...there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal. 3: 26, 28)
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:9 -10)
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit -- just as you were called to one hope when you were called -- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph. 4:3-6)
Hatred is a sin. Wait. I didn't say that right. Hating people is a sin...there are some things that are properly hated. There are things God hates.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal. 5:19-21)
So, are we not to denounce the other things that God hates? The other sins that we commit? Those things in that Galatians list that will keep people from inheriting the kingdom of God?
No? Just racism? Doesn't that sound just a little bit, oh, I don't know...inconsistent?
Has anyone noticed that meanings of the words have been twisted around and turned upside down and inside out and now nobody knows what they mean?
I thought 'Hate' meant that you actively wish something destroyed, undone, obliterated...but apparently it now means that you disagree with someone.
I thought 'Love' meant that you hope and work for another's long-term good, even if they don't always agree with you. But apparently now that means you will support and accept anything that the other person wants to do, so long as it makes them happy at that moment. And, of course, if you don't...or if you disagree with them...then it's 'hate'.
Whose idea was it to mess with the meanings of words???
Some folks seem to have forgotten that freedom of speech does not include an obligation for anyone to listen. Just because someone is spouting ugliness doesn't mean you have to get in there and throw it back at them. Sometimes the best way to get such attention-demanding obnoxiousness to go away is simply to yawn and turn your back and refuse to be the audience. Sharing an outrageous post with an indignant comment really only gives it more exposure. I mean, look at the last whatever you shared on FB...what is more prominent, the thing you shared or your comment about it? See what I mean?
One of my favorite reads is CS Lewis's Space Trilogy...and the final book, That Hideous Strength is nearly prophetic. Especially in the bit about how the press was manipulated. The same organization was behind the news in both the liberal and the conservative press in order to jerk the chains of both.
News bites from either side of OUR political spectrum seem to be following that pattern now; one prints only what the other omits and neither presents an accurate picture of what actually happened.
Anything can be edited to say, well, anything. Both political camps are crackerjack editors.
How does one be a true light in such craziness? When even folks who claim to follow Christ can't stomach to hear what He said?
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent.(Rev. 3:1b - 3a)
We best denounce racism by working for the kingdom alongside our brothers and sisters of all races and skin tones, and there are those who have been doing that for years. One body, one Spirit, one Lord.
I don't know if that will appease the person who put up that post or not. But it really doesn't matter either way.
I don't work on Fridays; our church offices are closed (currently - that's about to change back to a 5-day week but since I'm part time I likely will still not work Fridays) so I normally turn off the alarm and give myself a sleep-in day; My Sweet Baboo handles getting the One Remaining Student to her bus stop.
But I forgot to turn off the alarm yesterday and it went off as usual. I keep it set to a local contemporary Christian station; normally the chatter with the morning show folks is what I hear.
But this time, a song happened to be playing -- Chris Tomlin's 'Indescribable' (this is the best video I could find on You-tube; sorry..)
But... I didn't wake up.
I dreamed I was in a warm, flowery field and this song was, like, the soundtrack coming from nowhere and everywhere and I just let go and danced.
I'm not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination, mind you, but in my dream I danced and danced...sorta like Snoopy.
When the song ended and the morning hosts began to chat, I woke up and realized what had happened and turned off the radio. But I woke up smiling.
And it's been a rough...week. Can't always help when I want to, you know. Some things just have to be walked out. So dancing with joy was a gift to me.
I've always rather liked that song...we sing it in church...but it is not at the tip top of my list. Still...I will always smile when it comes up again.
And maybe someday I'll find a field and dance. ;-)
With the trailer for the first part of the Hobbit readily available for viewing online, there's been some discussion around about the movies made from Tolkein's books, which has kind of evolved into a discussion of movies-made-from-literature in general. I'm not going to link to all of that, but I have stumbled across some of the discussions. I will admit that they tend to be way over my head anyway, mostly being conducted by actual published authors and liberal arts majors. However, it has brought the topic to mind.
I will, no doubt, see The Hobbit, because I am a great LOTR fan (Why, yes, I have probably read the whole series about 20 times over the last 35 years). Good vs. evil, iconic nobility vs. foul wretchedness...the sacrificing of one's own agenda for the Great Cause...classic themes of literature. Not to mention the incredible beauty of New Zealand, which seems to fit my mental picture of Middle Earth to an amazing degree.
But, as so many of the discussion participants have also mentioned, I'll be going guarded.
I saw the first movie, Fellowship of the Ring, rather guarded, but allowing for reasonable artistic license and the necessity of combining characters/places/events to get a reasonably-lengthed movie, I left happy. So much seemed right that the things that were off didn't seem to matter.
I left the second movie, the Two Towers, disappointed. Basic motivations of main characters were skewed; people said and did things that were completely inconsistent with the way Tolkein crafted the characters.
The Return of the King made me angry. The nobility that was so present in the text was totally missing from the movie. The motives of the Good Guys were not so different from that of the Bad Guys. It was wrong --- it was wrong --- it was wrong. Who else will have the chance to tell Tolkein's story in such a grand way?? To have that opportunity and then do it wrong seemed such a waste. We have the movies on DVD, but I can't bring myself to watch them, because I know how the series declines.
So whose to say how The Hobbit will turn out? True to the story, or just another fan fiction knock off in which the producers tell their interpretation of the story, instead of telling the story the author wrote?
I see the same sort of thing happening in Christianity today...people who feel they can improve upon what we have been given; modify the text, make it more palatable/exciting/ suitable to a modern audience. I'm not talking about new translations here...I'm talking about totally disregarding the themes of the text, altering motives of the main characters, disregarding what was written for the way we'd prefer the story to go.
But corrupting a story will just be disappointing to folks like me, who look for the real thing. Corrupting HIS story...that's dangerous ground...
The list could go on and on of ways we are instantly
connected to others via electronics and phone lines and wi-fi. It's a
good thing to be connected...right?
Certainly it's a
great way to share information and learn from others. I know my sewing
skills have increased dramatically over what they used to be largely
because of the online sewing community. And it's a wonderful way to
know what is going on...who needs prayer...where and when I can meet up
with friends...
But.
The truth is that we carry a teeny bit of responsibility for
everyone we are in contact with. The more we're in contact with them,
the more responsible we are to be a positive influence, to help bear
their burdens, to value them as fellow humans.
One of my favorite authors, Laura Ingalls Wilder, lived in a
world that only had instant communication with folks who were in the
same location. To communicate with folks more than just a few miles
away took great effort, whether it was a journey in a horse-drawn
sleigh, buried under blankets with heated rocks or a letter that was
written on both sides and crossways to squeeze every last thought into
the least possible paper, both to conserve paper and to keep the expense
of the postage at a minimum. The letter might take a month to six
weeks to get to its recipient.
Her world of contacts, until she reached adulthood and began writing, was very small.
And
even after she became well known for her writing, contact from the
those outside of her little community in the Ozarks was still limited to
hand written letters and the U S Post Office. Even then, Laura's world was small.
Now the internet has given us a very large world...social
networking yields instant contacts with hundreds; with blog sites and
such it's potentially thousands.
I recently read an article that said that people who had higher
social network interaction with folks tended to describe themselves as
less happy than people who spent less time on the site. I don't know if
that's because unhappy people are spending more time on the site trying
to fill a void, or if spending time on the site actually contributes to
unhappiness.
I know I've had my moments of misery when I've gone online and
stumbled upon photos of my social-network friends having a lovely time
at a party to which I was not invited. Without the internet, I'd've
known about the party...maybe, anyway...and shrugged it off. But it's
hard to shrug off so many photos of so many folks having a perfectly
lovely time without me. That little voice of the Enemy seizes
that opportunity big time. And those pictures have a way of resurfacing
with new tags or comments and suddenly the event that I forgot is all
in front of me, reminding me that I ...didn't make the cut. Wasn't
worth inviting. Wasn't wanted.
Whatever. You know what the Enemy whispers to you in similar situations.
But of course its impossible for me to be invited everywhere. I
couldn't go if I were. And I've wasted precious moments being hurt over
such things...when I have family that I haven't connected with in ages.
What's up with that??
But I've found I can't just drop off line. I have friends on the
internet...old school friends, singing group friends, sewing friends
that I've never met in real life but who are my friends
anyway....connections that would be painful to break. And despite my
intention to stay off Facebook for the fast, I keep finding myself
there. Because it's the communication link of choice with people with
whom I need to communicate.
So I'm asking myself...how many connections can a healthy human
maintain? Really? Are our face-to-face connections seriously weakened by
time and energy diverted to virtual connections; are the virtual
connections necessarily bad? Or is it really just another version of
the old party line? With the gossipy neighbor who'd listen in on
conversations just because she could?
These are the kinds of thought processes that I'm working
through. Should my internet involvement change permanently? Am I
trying to spread myself too thin...be connected to too many...?
Am I trying to fill a void with the internet that could be filled
so much more satisfyingly Elsewhere? Do I use the internet...blogging,
facebook, forums, etc...as way to substitute many shallow, minimally
responsible connections for the important ones in my own
house/family/neighborhood/city?
Or is this just my equivalent of Laura's yellow tablets, written
from edge to edge with no margins, because I must tell the story whether
or not anyone reads it?
I don't have answers...at least, not now, not yet...but these are the questions I'm asking.
And I'd written all that and was about to click 'Publish' when I realized I was about to post it to the sewing blog. I'd written it all in the wrong place.
If you've hung around Beer Lahai Roi very long, you know that I tend to be something of a literalist. If someone is gonna make a movie from a book I love,they jolly well better tell the same story the author originally wrote.
And I'll say straight up that the screenwriters for Dawn Treader pretty much took the major elements of the story C.S. Lewis wrote and mixed them up and put them on film in an almost unrecognizeable manner.
But they told the same story.
Unlike the producers of Prince Caspian, who changed the character of multiple characters, altered the basic motivations for the actions of those characters, and minimized the trustworthiness and the character of Aslan, all of which left me disappointed and rather wary of how the rest of the movies would be made.
But my hopes are up for the rest of the series...the question is, can they get the movies all made so that the growing kids are the proper ages? The Actor and I were talking about it; for the kids to be the right ages, they should shoot the films in this order: Silver Chair (Eustace should only be a year or so older than he was in Dawn Treader) Last Battle (Eustace and Jill should only be a year or so older than they were in Silver chair) Magician's Nephew(Give the kids playing the Pevensies time to reach young adulthood) Horse and His Boy - Pevensies are all young adults
But, of course, they should be released in the original order of the books: Silver Chair Horse and His Boy Magician's Nephew Last Battle
Just did something with the family that I haven't done in I can't remember how long...we actually all sat down and watched a movie.
A pretty old video, actually, dating from many many moons ago when we actually were cable subscribers.
It was Disney's 1982 TRON. The Princess's Beau had never seen it.
I, on the other hand, well remember being dazzled in a theater by it.
But, you know, the Gospel is in that movie.
Leave Flynn's lack of plan aside for the moment and consider:
The Creator takes on the form of His Creation and leaves his place of power to interact with His Creation
Evil forces rampant in the Creation recognize him immediately and try to destroy him.
Ultimately, he sacrifices himself in order to defeat the evil and restore communication/communion between the creator and the creation.
Yeah, I know, it's a stretch.
But it's there.
I don't necessarily think the sequel coming out next month will continue that train of thought, but I've thought that was cool ever since I figured out the similarity about the same time the movie ran on the Disney Channel...
By and large, I don't comment on public figures in the news. I figure there are so many bloggers out there talking about this stuff that there's not really much point in me offering my two cents worth; someone else very likely has already said it better.
And that's an arena in which I really don't care to compete.
But. Y'all. These were icons from my coming of age years. In just a precious few weeks, I'll hit the big 5-0 myself.
Suddenly a whole generation is dealing with its mortality.
What are we who believe going to tell them? More to the point, what are our daily lives telling them about our hope and our assurance?
Cause, you know, they're going to be asking...whether they use words or not.
If you're reading the sewing blog, you know I've been working frantically on a personal costume project for one of our pastors at church. There is a method to my madness - I'm counting on him to wear it if we ever need a character dressed in that period in a church production, so it's not totally being done just out of the Goodness of My Heart. ;) Just kidding. These folks have worked hard and patiently training my kids in ministry and I'm glad to be able to repay a little of that investment.
But the truth is it has been good for me to have a seriously focused sewing project. We have a stack of sermon CD's (we are 'Message of the Month' subscribers to a ministry that has been feeding us for YEARS) and I've got a little CD player by the sewing machine, so while I'm pinning, sewing, (and, um, un-sewing and repinning) trimming, pressing, etc., I've got some spiritual teaching going in as well.
I've listened to some really good stuff this week; I could feel some mental and spiritual gears shifting as I listened. One message in particular was about worship; I think I'm going to go back and listen to that again today.
Since I'll be pretty much just sitting in the rocking chair with a needle and thread sewing the lining in the coat....
One of my impressions of Jubilee is that, since everyone is to return to their ancestral land, they reconnect with people...family.
I've been trying to analyze why, in the midst of my determination to be more disciplined in my life, I added a new potential distraction...I signed up for Facebook.
I've come to the conclusion that really was a Jubilee thing. For lots of reasons, I often feel isolated from folks. Not going into that here...it'd take way too long...but I found out that there really is a connection going on at Facebook. Many of my church friends are on it and, although I initially signed up thinking I could reconnect with folks from the ancient past (that would be high school), I've found it's going to be a great way to be connected to the folks from my present...my church family.
We're all so busy that we don't have time to talk in person...but it's cool to see the little comments about what folks are doing as they go through the day.
The trick is, of course, to not let it consume huge amounts of time. I dismissed ideas of joining an online group like Facebook for a long time for just that reason. But we need connection to people as much as we need food, water and air. I think that's a question of balance.
Which is, of course, personal discipline. Back to that one.
I have declared my blogs 'politics free zones' -- that is, I'm not going to talk about my candidate of choice, nor will I speak against the other folks, but there is something in this political season that *really* bothers me.
Forwarded inflammatory emails.
I just deleted one from a person who holds a position I respect that rather confrontationaly addresses statements by one of the candidates, citing untruths therein.
The problem is, when I checked it out on Snopes, most of those 'corrections' turned out to be misinterpretations of a statement, or something taken out of context or only partly true. Some were blatantly wrong, using wrong information.
Oh, and in that same inbox I had *another* email asking me to sign and forward a petition against RM-2493, a variation on the old 'Stop Madalyn Murray O'Hair' petition that has been going around in some form since before the internet was even up and running.
I have gotten that one so many times I have that truthorfiction.com page bookmarked.
This really bothers me. As believers, we should be dealing in truth, not rumors or suspicions. Please, folks, check your facts before you pass them on.
Passing on stuff like this hurts the credibility of all of us.
Spoiler Alert: I may give away more than you want to know if you haven't seen the movie yet...just a warning.
Now, it's not like I'm a big time movie critic; the LAST movie I saw in an actual theater may well have been The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, so you'd be quite justified to give my opinion very little weight. But I thought I'd throw my two cents out there....
And I'll admit readily that The Chronicles of Narnia, like The Lord of the Rings and A Wrinkle in Time are books that have wound their way into my View of Life; they are stories that I read and re-read...over and over. So my standards may be unreasonably high.
But my test for a movie-made-from-a-book is 'Does it tell the same story that is in the book?' And for that, I'd give Prince Caspian about a B-. Yeah, overall, it tells the same story. But it does it with some characters that are not quite those presented by C.S. Lewis, and that bothers me a bit.
Perhaps the filmakers did not want the honest nobility that Peter displays in the book; perhaps they thought it was not realistic. Perhaps they wanted a heart throb factor in making Caspian considerably older than Lewis described him. Perhaps they wanted to demonstrate a stronger Susan by putting her in the battles that Lewis deliberately left her out of.
But to hold Aslan back until the very critical moment, to place the characters in a position of relying on their own intelligence rather than having the assurance that he was there, fighting with them in a different manner, bothered me. To hear Peter say, "I think we've waited for Aslan long enough!" really bothered me. My heart dropped at that point and I didn't really get it back until I realized that what followed allowed for the return of Dr. Cornelius and laid the foundation for the desperation that drove Nikabrik to try to call up the White Witch.
But those were, I suppose, my own issues. Overall, with Aslan's aid, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy did accomplish the same goal -- restoring freedom to Old Narnia and placing Caspian on the throne. The groundwork was laid for the making of The Voyage of the Dawntreader. I loved the mice. I loved the Centaurs. It *looks* like Narnia should look. I laughed at the very dry humor that is evident throughout the film. And I did...mostly...enjoy the movie and plan to get the DVD version.
But a little more evidence of Aslan's guidance, and a little less belligerence on Peter's part...in England and in Narnia...would've left me a lot more satisfied.
Maybe it's because I've been kind of browsing other faith-connected blogs a bit, just to get a feel for how these things generally go (wow, there really are a LOT of faith-connected blogs!) and I've discovered a penchant amongst the bloggers for discussing TV shows (especially American Idol). Anyway, I decided to make a confession that actually stopped conversations in my junior-high girls class at church a few months ago. I mean, jaws dropped and eyes got big and disbelief registered on every face.
What was the bombshell?
We don't watch TV at our house.
Oh, we have one, and we do periodically sit down with pizza and popcorn and watch a DVD or video, there is a Game Cube that gets hooked up from time to time, and when the tornado sirens go off you can bet we tune in to the local weather coverage to see where the storm is and where it's headed, but I've never seen American Idol or Survivor or ER or 48 Hours or...
And if you ask me 'Have you seen that commercial where...' my answer is almost certainly going to be 'Nope.'
You get the picture.
No, I don't necessarily think TV is the Evil of The Age (although you could make a pretty good argument that it is), and no, I'm not trying to protect my family from the vileness of the world (although the 'off' button is a start on that one, too).
Nope. Nothing so high and noble as that.
We just don't have time.
I marvel at how many folks watch an hour or two of TV every night. Where do they find the time? Plus, I'm finding that I can't sit still that long anymore. I can manage to watch a movie if I'm really interested in it and if I have something to do to keep my hands busy... sewing on buttons or hemming pants or even ripping open the inseams of jeans so I can later mend the knees (maybe I should take up darning socks?). But in general...I've just got too much on the to-do list to sit down and watch TV. Maybe if I were a more disciplined, efficient housekeeper...but I'm not. There's always something that needs to be done.
But try to explain to 12 year olds why TV is not important. Talk about countering the culture!
Just curious -- do TVs in a restaurant, visible from virtually any seat, creep anyone else out? Or am I just overly sensitive because it's not on at home?
