Some good stuff this past weekend through today (with one slightly frustrating thing).
Two weeks back I became aware that Rascall Flatts were coming to town for a concert. I'm not much on country music but I have grown to enjoy these guys; catchy songs and amazing harmonies. My wife however, is a huge fan, so it was a no brainer to try to get tickets. They were pricey so I went cheap as the difference between tickets was four rows by the time I bought them. Figured it put us in the building, we would probably have fun. We decided to tailgate, just the two of us, rather than go out to dinner. Got some Publix subs, snacks, stuff to drink, packed it in a cooler, borrowed Sheridan's dad's Durango, and drove on out to the arena. Weather was cool and breezy with a beautiful sunset over the baseball grounds. It was really nice. Reminded me of our early days of dating, and I have to say that my wife looked beautiful and I considered myself a lucky man to be with her that evening.
The concert was really amazing, even for someone who isn't a big country fan. The nice thing about live shows is that you have to ramp it up and that cuts through a little of the twangy nature of country, but what really sold it to me was that the guys just had fun and it showed. It was enjoyable to watch guys who just love what they do. Our seats were at the back of the third deck at this little bar like area with pub stools. Actually ended up being great as we were almost straight on looking at the stage and the stools were movable so we pulled them close together and sang along. Plenty of leg room as compared to the cruddy third deck seats in front of us. Worked out well. Great night, beautiful lady, I am blessed.
As for the frustrating part of the weekend, I saw that Saturday night more than 75,000 folks showed to watch large trucks destroy old cars in the Monster Truck Rally at Alltel Stadium (which I know isn't called that anymore, sue me). It's not the MTR that I object to, mostly that we can sell out that ridiculous show but 2 or 3 Jags games a year get blacked out and the ACC is probably going to move their championship game, both because of poor attendance. I love Jacksonville, but sometimes we just miss it. I know that the MTR is fun, but the NFL and ACC championship game are 1) FOOTBALL which is BETTER and 2) much more economically significant to our town.
On with the good stuff. Not sure if you saw the Academy Awards last night but "Falling Slowly" won for best original song in a feature film. Yup, awesome. Tivo'd the whole thing so I could see the live performance which was so cool because all four other entries (three from Enchantment and one from August Rush) were such big productions. "Falling Slowly" was just two people, two mics, an acoustic guitar, and a piano (and a beautiful song). It was so fun to see the genuine reactions of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová. They were so touched and poor Marketa got cut off by the music so John Stewart let her come back after the commercial break so she could say thanks. She was so sweet and genuine, and it was refreshing to see something unique, independent, and so heart felt win such a significant award. Way to go Glen and Marketa!
And finally, what started out bad, ended up good. Ethan, my 2 year old son, has been sick for the past few days with a bad cough. Today he had a fever as well so we called the doctor and my wife took him in for a check up. The doctor was pretty convinced that Ethan had pneumonia and told us to take him to the hospital right away to have him X-rayed. So we took off for Baptist Hospital around 5:30pm. We checked in and I have to say that 1) we were worried and 2) we realized how blessed we are with the general health of our children. That place was a mess and there were so many sick children, it just broke my heart. Sheridan and I spent some time praying for Ethan in the car (I kept my eyes open while driving) as we were very concerned about the possibility of pneumonia and infection.
During triage, Ethan had a 103 degree fever so they administered Motrin. What was weird is that up through the initial doctor visit, Ethan was really quiet, reserved, and tired. He just sat in Sheridan's lap. But upon entering the hospital he just came alive. He was eating, playing, and in quite a mood in spite of the 103 temp. Our pediatrician actually stopped by the hospital and helped get us inside relatively quickly (I think it took less than two hours). They brought Ethan back, took some X-rays, and checked him over. Well, no temperature, no pneumonia, no strep throat, only a viral infection. I am a firm believer that medicine is a modern miracle of God, but in this case I am convinced that God healed Ethan while we waited. The doctor was convinced that it was pneumonia and the hospital doc was pretty sure it would be strep if not pneumonia. Watching Ethan wake up and come to life and then to be given an all clear was amazing. I hated that we had to go to the hospital (but when your pediatrician says to go, you go) but it was pretty amazing. He's still coughing a bit as I write this, but we were home by 9:30pm and he went right to sleep.
I don't know why God doesn't heal everyone instantaneously, for some reason He sees fit not too. But I am convinced that He did do it in this case and I am humbled that He would do so.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
follow up to previous post
Just realized that I never gave the name of that magnificent song I had in my last post.
"Falling Slowly". It's beautiful. Go put it on your IPod now.
"Falling Slowly". It's beautiful. Go put it on your IPod now.
Once
So another movie has come across my path that has just really moved me. And yet again this movie is rated R which is just how things are sometimes, in this case it's totally for language which while it's not exactly a good thing, really isn't that noticeable in this particular case. The movie is called Once and it stars Glen Hansard (of the Frames) and Markéta Irglová. Basically Glen's character is a street musician who had his heart broken by a woman sometime before. Marketa plays a young woman who becomes very interested in Glen's music and the two start to become friends, eventually uncovering a mutual interest in writing and performing music. What I found profoundly beautiful and romantic is that they (and this next part is kind of a spoiler) are really spurring each other beyond their respective heartaches (she has split up from her husband and moved to Dublin from the Czech Republic) to try to find love again, but not with each other, rather with those who have broken their hearts.
Early on Glen's character (I call him that because neither one of them is given a name in the film which is interesting in itself) mistakes her initial interest for romance and makes a pass at her but she rejects him. He quickly realizes that she is actually interested in being his friend and he feels the same. They never connect physically, they don't even so much as kiss, and yet you feel such a great sense of affection and love between them.
I loved this film because it showed something about love that is lost in film today, namely that love is best when it is pure and unimpeded by selfish ambition. And that's what these two have, a pure love, even though it doesn't end with them together but rather seeking to renew their lost relationships.
One moment stands out above all others for me though and it's early in the film when the two enter a music store and Glen shares a song he wrote while Marketa joins him on the piano. This is truly one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I bought the soundtrack about an hour after watching the film and it is great. Here's the YouTube video from the movie.
Early on Glen's character (I call him that because neither one of them is given a name in the film which is interesting in itself) mistakes her initial interest for romance and makes a pass at her but she rejects him. He quickly realizes that she is actually interested in being his friend and he feels the same. They never connect physically, they don't even so much as kiss, and yet you feel such a great sense of affection and love between them.
I loved this film because it showed something about love that is lost in film today, namely that love is best when it is pure and unimpeded by selfish ambition. And that's what these two have, a pure love, even though it doesn't end with them together but rather seeking to renew their lost relationships.
One moment stands out above all others for me though and it's early in the film when the two enter a music store and Glen shares a song he wrote while Marketa joins him on the piano. This is truly one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I bought the soundtrack about an hour after watching the film and it is great. Here's the YouTube video from the movie.
Juno follow up
I wrote this recently for our youth newsletter and thought that since it pertained to another entry here, I would post it in this blog as well.
A couple of people have expressed some concern about what I wrote in my blog a little while back concerning the movie Juno. The concern came from the pretty positive review that I gave it without really discussing or commenting on the main area of the plot, namely teen pregnancy. And I think from that concern is an additional concern that I may perhaps be taking a lighter than necessary perspective on teen pregnancy, not taking it seriously enough. So first off, my apologies to anyone who took that from what I wrote. I mostly was commenting on what I believed to be an entertaining, funny, and touching story.
Now, that being said, I think most of you involved with the youth ministry here know that we believe sex is meant for marriage and should never be treated casually, not because God is some cosmic fun policeman, but because God created sex to be a wonderful, enjoyable, and fun thing and when we sell it short, when we abuse it, we wreck it. We create tragedy, heart brokenness, unwanted pregnancies, diseases, and hurt. But in marriage, sex finds its true place, its fullest expression, its greatest meaning. In marriage, sex becomes everything it was created to be and reveals that other expressions of it outside of marriage or in an abusive manner are shallow and even destructive.
That being said, all of us probably know or have known someone who has become pregnant and did not know what to do. You probably see some of these people at your schools. And the question then becomes, do I need to make sure that the person knows that I think she sinned or that I am willing to help them through this difficult time? And this is where I think a movie like Juno brings something good.
The main character, Juno, does several difficult and/or brave things:
1. She decides against abortion though she is told it will be easy and simple. She does this primarily because a somewhat bizarre Christian reminds her that the baby has fingernails and Juno realizes that she can’t kill her baby because the baby is human. A miracle I believe.
2. Juno faces many “friends” at school who call her slut, whore, and other names.
3. Juno faces her parents who, though disappointed greatly, support her and help her to make a good decision (even though they don’t always know what to do).
4. Juno chooses to give her baby up for adoption even though it will be difficult for her to do so. She chooses to bless someone else and realizes she cannot effectively raise her child.
I believe the movie presents some good perspectives (and some bad) namely how do we treat someone like this? How should we treat someone like this? Are we going to be like the religious zealots who want to stone the woman caught in adultery, or like Jesus who reminds her of her sin but loves her nonetheless, protecting her and loving her in spite of her wrongdoings?
I do not think that a ten year old should run out and see this movie. It’s mature, the language is a little rough, and the subject matter is not childish. But at the same time I do think it’s possible that the good writing of the story and the good direction of the movie can help us to have a good discussion on the nature of grace, sin, forgiveness, and mercy.
A couple of people have expressed some concern about what I wrote in my blog a little while back concerning the movie Juno. The concern came from the pretty positive review that I gave it without really discussing or commenting on the main area of the plot, namely teen pregnancy. And I think from that concern is an additional concern that I may perhaps be taking a lighter than necessary perspective on teen pregnancy, not taking it seriously enough. So first off, my apologies to anyone who took that from what I wrote. I mostly was commenting on what I believed to be an entertaining, funny, and touching story.
Now, that being said, I think most of you involved with the youth ministry here know that we believe sex is meant for marriage and should never be treated casually, not because God is some cosmic fun policeman, but because God created sex to be a wonderful, enjoyable, and fun thing and when we sell it short, when we abuse it, we wreck it. We create tragedy, heart brokenness, unwanted pregnancies, diseases, and hurt. But in marriage, sex finds its true place, its fullest expression, its greatest meaning. In marriage, sex becomes everything it was created to be and reveals that other expressions of it outside of marriage or in an abusive manner are shallow and even destructive.
That being said, all of us probably know or have known someone who has become pregnant and did not know what to do. You probably see some of these people at your schools. And the question then becomes, do I need to make sure that the person knows that I think she sinned or that I am willing to help them through this difficult time? And this is where I think a movie like Juno brings something good.
The main character, Juno, does several difficult and/or brave things:
1. She decides against abortion though she is told it will be easy and simple. She does this primarily because a somewhat bizarre Christian reminds her that the baby has fingernails and Juno realizes that she can’t kill her baby because the baby is human. A miracle I believe.
2. Juno faces many “friends” at school who call her slut, whore, and other names.
3. Juno faces her parents who, though disappointed greatly, support her and help her to make a good decision (even though they don’t always know what to do).
4. Juno chooses to give her baby up for adoption even though it will be difficult for her to do so. She chooses to bless someone else and realizes she cannot effectively raise her child.
I believe the movie presents some good perspectives (and some bad) namely how do we treat someone like this? How should we treat someone like this? Are we going to be like the religious zealots who want to stone the woman caught in adultery, or like Jesus who reminds her of her sin but loves her nonetheless, protecting her and loving her in spite of her wrongdoings?
I do not think that a ten year old should run out and see this movie. It’s mature, the language is a little rough, and the subject matter is not childish. But at the same time I do think it’s possible that the good writing of the story and the good direction of the movie can help us to have a good discussion on the nature of grace, sin, forgiveness, and mercy.
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