Julie and Julia

I know.  I know.  I know.  It’s a chick flick.  A story about Julia Child and Julie Powell surely can’t be all that entertaining for a guy…can it?  Well… I loved the movie.  Leanne and I saw it in the theaters when it first came out, and we saw it at home on-demand several months ago.  Leanne loves the movie so much that I decided to pick up a copy for her for her birthday last week, so we watched it again this weekend.

The movie is truly inspiring as a blog writer, as an aspiring cook, and as a husband who is fully devoted and head over heals for his wife.  Leanne and I connected to the movie the first time because of all the french themes and scenes (we were engaged in France).  Due to our circumstances the past few months, I think we connected more this time to the overall story of Julie and Julia finding their way – figuring out how and where to leave their mark.  I think we also connected more this time to the story of devotion and partnership that was obvious in their marriages.

I want to support my wife in whatever she does.  I want her to know that I’m listening.  I want her to know that I am her biggest fan.  And I want her to know that no matter what I am so proud of her and to be called her husband.

So if you’re looking for a great date movie or if you need a little inspiration for your kitchen or your marriage, check out Julie and Julia.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

Extraordinary Measures

Last night, Leanne and I watched Extraordinary Measures.  The movie is about a dad who goes to every thinkable extreme to help his kids in their fight to live with Pompe disease.  The movie was very moving and inspiring.  I posted on facebook last night that I was so thankful for the scientists, investors, and clinical trial people who make medicines possible.  I standby that comment; however, this morning my thoughts on the movie took me a whole different direction.

As a dad and a husband, I kind of get the idea of the movie.  I would do anything for my wife and kids.  “I would walk 500 miles, and I would walk 500 more….” When I thought about this more though (even on the heals of my Helping Hands post), there is a limit to what extreme a human being could go for me.  There is still an answer.  There is still someone who would go to any (and I mean any) extreme for me and for you.  John 3:16 says, “God so loved this world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.” You see, God took extraordinary measures by sending His Son to live his life, die on a cross, and rise again, so that you and I could one day share eternity with Him.  Talk about extraordinary.

Up In The Air – Depressing, Unresolved, Unfulfilled, Why Did I See This Movie?

Last night, I took advantage of a great opportunity to have a date with my wife, my sister-in-law, and my brother-in-law.  Thanks to a broken heating system at the movie theater earlier in the day (when the girls went out to see The Princess and The Frog), we had free movie passes.  Of all the movies we could have seen, we chose Up In The Air starring George Clooney.  The movie had received four stars compared to two and a half stars for Did You Hear About The Morgans? which probably would have been my first choice – until I heard the “star ratings” for each movie.

In Up In The Air, George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a traveling businessman, who has the responsibility of laying off or firing employees at companies around the country.  He lives out of a carry-on suitcase, and he rarely makes it home to his undecorated one bedroom studio apartment in Omaha, Nebraska.  During his travels for work, he also speaks publicly about reducing everything in your life to what can be carried in a single backpack.  While at first this simplification sounds quite tempting, the reality is that Clooney’s character throws away not only every worldly possession but also most every relationship in order to live out his philosophy on life.  In fact is one goal in life is to earn Ten Million Frequent Flyer Miles with American Airlines.  Sad!

The movie is especially sad, because I’m guessing it actually hits closer to home for many Americans than we’d like to admit.  We live in closed communities where we hardly every see our neighbors.  Our business relationships are mostly impersonal.  And even our relationships at church and in our own families are artificial and superficial as we run from one activity to another – all so that we can say “we did it!”  Where is the intimacy?  Where is the transparency?  Where is the depth in our interactions and in our relationships?

So many of us seem to run away from deep relationships.  Perhaps it’s because we’re afraid of being exposed.  Maybe we don’t want people to know the real me.  I for one, do not want to live an unfulfilled, unresolved, depressing, “up in the air” life.  I want to go deeper.  I want to be fulfilled.  I want to be uplifted and encouraged.  I want resolution.

So where do we find it?  How do we go after this?  I think it takes initiative.  I think it takes faith.  I think it takes trust.  I think it takes getting out of your/my comfort zone.  One way that I have found this over and over again is by seeking out relationships through small groups of people.  This winter I’ll be starting up two new groups.  The first with my wife is a parenting group based on a curriculum by Kevin Leman.  The second group is an experimental on-line group that will center discussion around Mark Batterson’s new book, Primal: A Quest For The Lost Soul of Christianity.  If you are interested in one (or both) of these two groups let me know?

If you have an idea or a comment about how you find depth and fulfillment in your life and in your relationships, I’d love to hear them.

Until then, I’ll be working on living a “down to earth” life.

Fireproof

For those of you who have been reading for a while, you may have seen my post about the movie Facing the Giants. See the link below for Fireproof, a movie from the same producers. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but the trailer is thought provoking.

Prince Caspian

This afternoon, I took Isaac and two of his buddies to see Prince Caspian as we celebrated his birthday. Let me say, I thought the movie was great! This should come as no surprise as I feel bonded to the entire Chronicles of Narnia story thanks to my dad who read all seven books to me as a child. Disney did a fabulous job retelling this chapter in the seven book Narnia series. Besides all the special effects, I was struck again by how C.S. Lewis used this story to share important life truths. For whatever reason, I was especially struck through the movie by God’s grace for us. Just like Peter wanted to be in control and seemed to lose hope that Aslan would ever reappear, I often feel like I try to be in control of the situations I’m in, and I seem to forget that God is there for me. It was neat to see how Aslan showed grace to Peter at the end of the story. I’m pretty certain that this is the same way for our relationship with God. You gotta check out this movie to see what I mean.

Until the next post…

ARK

Last night, I watched Evan Almighty about a freshman congressman/family man who prays to God about changing the world. His prayers are answered when God asks him to build an ark.

One of my favorite lines in the movie provides some insight into how each one of us can change the world: “How do you change the world? One Act of Random Kindness at a time.” God (played by Morgan Freeman)

This is a great movie if you need a good laugh or is you just want a little reminder that you can do your part to change the world. Here’s the trailer:

Until the next post, let’s start ARKing…

The Rookie

The Bucket List

Last night, Leanne and I had a date night. Yes, it seems like a novel concept, but we’ve found that as hard as it can be to schedule these nights, they are always so worth it. After a delicious dinner at Schwenksville’s own Ortino’s, we ventured to our local movie theater to enjoy The Bucket List. Wow, this was a great movie. The movie reminds me of a question that I like to ask people – “If you knew you only had one month left to live, what would you do?”. At any rate, I think the movie was well worth the investment. We all need to be reminded from time to time about the importance of living today as if it were our last day. So what’s on my bucket list? That’s a great question. Here are some of my initial thoughts:

1. I want to see the Grand Canyon. I’ve heard it’s majestic.
2. I want to do something that will far outlive me.
3. I want to make a stranger smile.
4. I want to learn to make wine.
5. I want to visit the country of Sweden.
6. I want to see my children get baptized.
7. I want to run another marathon.
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My list will keep growing, and it’s certainly a list in progress.

Here’s the trailer for the movie:

Until the next post, what’s on your bucket list…?

Favorite Christmas Movies

This afternoon, I spent 4-5 hours putting up icicle Christmas lights at our house. This was the first time putting up lights outside at any of the houses we’ve lived. I now know how much work is involved in putting them up, and I’m already hoping that it doesn’t involve so many acrobatics and so much time to time take them down. While I was putting them up, I was reminded of one of my favorite Christmas movies, Christmas Vacation. In this movie, Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) spends a good portion of time putting up lights on his house trying to outdo his neighbors. It’s certainly a must see. While I’m thinking of it, here’s a list of some of my other favorite Christmas movies: