No Coincidences

Tag: movie

  • The Grinch and Jesus Christ

    The Grinch and Jesus Christ

    One of my all-time favorite movies is The Grinch starring Jim Carrey from the year 2000.  Most members of my family can quote almost every word.  My dad is on the record saying he has seen it at least 300 times. 

    It’s a phenomenal movie.

    Recently Beth was out shopping and she mentioned how crazy it was out there.  This led my mind, naturally, down the path of thinking how cunning Satan is.

    If you haven’t seen The Grinch film, or need a refresher on the classic Dr. Seuss tale, here’s a quick summary –

    What Happened To Cindy Lou Who From 'The Grinch?' Taylor Momsen Is A Rock Star
    Cindy Lou Who

    Whoville loves Christmas.  The Whos go all out – decorations, presents, celebrations.  Our loveable character Cindy Lou Who wonders, “what is Christmas all about?”  In the great words of Cindy Lou Who, “doesn’t this seem…superfluous?”  I couldn’t have said it better myself Cindy Lou. 

    Our antagonist in the classic tale is the Grinch who HATES Christmas.  “Ardvarkian, Abacadnezer Who, I, HATE YOU!” (I had to look that one up, can’t ever remember good ‘ol Ardvarkian’s name).  If you haven’t seen the film, I just lost you, let me get back on track.  We learn, ultimately, that it isn’t Christmas that the Grinch hates.  It’s really the hypocritical, showy nature of it.  He hates what Christmas has become.

    Which leads me to my spiritual thought – shouldn’t we all, or at least any believers in Christ, hate what Christmas has become?

    I write this as a hypocrite.

    I’m not a big fan of gifts.  That said, I’m not out there in the Christmas season doing what actually matters either.  Volunteering at a food bank, helping a neighbor, serving, donating, volunteering, loving, doing the things Christ did while He was here.  That’s what Christmas is about.  How quickly we all get wrapped up in gifts, and parties, and gatherings, and decorations, and traditions, at the expense of what it’s all really about.

    Love.

    Family.

    Service.

    Charity.

    Giving.

    That’s what it’s about.

    So, please, next time you’re bustling about buying gifts and stressing about Christmas; let’s all, please, take a moment.  Let’s stop.  Let’s remember what it’s all really about.

    It’s about Christ, and all He represents.

    Light the World

    https://fb.watch/9XuyWb32Dr/

  • The Shack

    The Shack

    The Shack was a New York Times best seller and eventually became a motion picture.  I watched the movie before reading the book.  I liked the movie a lot so was looking forward to reading the book. 

    The Shack is a story about a man who has to come face to face with his faith and what he believes about God.  It’s written claiming to be the true experience of one man, written by his friend.

    The book is great.  It is a religious themed book with an engaging story that anyone could enjoy.  The story is one anyone can get behind.  We have all felt pain and the circumstances of the main character’s journey are easy to attach oneself to.

    I marked and highlighted throughout the book.  It’s a book with countless lines that make you stop and think.  It’s an intellectual and spiritual journey.

    I had the unique experience of watching the movie 2 or 3 years before reading the book.  I loved the movie.  The movie really made me think and expanded my view on pain, justice, mercy, and how God fits into that equation.  Surprisingly, I think the book touched on that in a different way.  That theme was there, but I remember it being more palpable in the movie experience.

    The big question I’d like to address – did this really happen?  Some of what I know to be true doctrinally was misrepresented in this story, but I still can’t say for certain that this was a story of fiction. The world is a mysterious place and I don’t want to get into a situation where I limit what God is capable of.  If He presented Himself to this man in this unique way… maybe.  Maybe it happened.  Maybe countless things happened.

    What I will say is this:  whether it happened or it didn’t happen, even if it’s a completely fictional tale, I learned something.  It expanded my mind, made me think, and I believe it even strengthened my testimony of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.  For that reason, I can say I don’t care whether the main character truly had this experience.  Even if he was just impacted by whatever experience he had in a way that led him to portray such a unique and beautiful story, that’s good enough for me.

    There is something unique at the end of the book.  The very last page has “The Missy Project.”  It states that the book became #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List on a $200 budget because of passionate readers.  It says: “if you were as taken with the message of this book as we are, you may already have some unique ideas as to how you can best let others know about it…. If you have a Web site or blog, consider sharing a bit about the book and how it touched your life.  Don’t give away the plot, but recommend that they read it as well and link to http://www.theshackbook.com.

    I checked, the website still exists these 13 years after publication.  In fact, it’s a beautiful website promoting both the movie and the book.

    This book did touch me.  It expanded my thinking.  I loved it.  I loved the movie as well. 

    A lot of the books I read few will ever read simply because people aren’t interested in the subject matters that interest me.  This book should not be avoided.  Anyone can learn and grow from this book, it’s a page turner with an engaging plot and wonderful story.  Please read it.

    If you’ve already read The Shack tell me what you thought of it.

  • The Mourning Dove

    The Mourning Dove

    The Mourning Dove was one of my favorite books of 2020.  It’s the first book I made Beth read.  I read it in 2 days which isn’t much to brag about at only 84 pages.

    The inside cover reads:

    “A tender story of growing up, exploring life, exploring life, and discovering the boundaries and the defining moments of love.”

    The back cover reads:

    “The Mourning Dove is heart touching. It penetrates your soul and makes you glad to be alive.”

    -Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

    This story is so good, so uplifting, so all the good things.  I will put it at the top of books I would recommend to someone.  It’s especially easy to recommend because it’s such a quick and easy read.  I know people are increasingly busy and it’s hard to find time to sit down and read a long book.  This book is short and sweet.  You will finish it feeling like you’ve grown immensely after spending time with Pop, the main character’s grandpa.

    After finishing the book, I wanted to write a screenplay.  This book would make such a good movie.  The message in it is simple. The story of a young boy learning adult lessons is timeless.

    I had no idea Larry Barkdull wrote another book I loved titled Zion: Seeking the City of Enoch.  Mr. Barkdull has an easy-going writing style that I enjoy because it’s not so difficult to follow.  His stories flow and are combined with good messages.  I’ve walked away from both his books feeling like I’ve learned something about life and myself.

    I can’t say enough good things about this book.  It can be found online for like a dollar.  Buy it.  You won’t regret it.

    Sadly, while looking up information about this book I learned that Larry Barkdull passed away in 2016.  I’d like to share this from his obituary:

    Many will remember him as their gospel doctrine teacher, home teacher and friend, as he tended to the needs of those he loved. Larry also served weekly in the temple as an ordinance worker, a calling he cherished. Above all else, Larry’s greatest joy was his family. The only title he wished to follow his name was D.A.D. He left his family a legacy of great faith and leaves a hole that can never be filled. Words cannot express the least of what we feel. We love you. Our hearts are broken, but we know we will be together again.”

    I don’t know how you can read that without a tear coming to your eye.  Mr. Barkdull was clearly an inspired and important individual sent for an important purpose in God’s plan.  I’m grateful I got to see a glimpse into his soul through his writing. 

  • Greyhound

    Greyhound

    I don’t intend to start reviewing movies, but I thought this was worth it for a few reasons:

    1. Seems to be getting some hype as Apple TV’s shake up to the streaming game.
    2. I enjoy historical movies more and more as I get older and more boring.
    3. Tom
    4. Hanks
    5. Faith element
    6. Bad Germans

    Tom Hanks is the captain now, right where he belongs.

    I’m not going to do research into the truth of this movie or the historical accuracy, it was good, I liked it, leave it at that.  I may get the book and read it at some point.

    Midway through I said to Beth, I can already hear the navy nerds, “That is NOT how that happens!”

    Doesn’t matter.  It felt real to me.  It felt like I was on a Destroyer, it felt suspenseful, it was a good movie.  Also, it had Tom Hanks.  Does anybody truly dislike Tom Hanks?  If you do, please let me know.

    My favorite part of the whole movie, and I truly don’t mean this as an insult to the movie, the runtime.  A short, blissful, 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Beth and I have high hopes that the trend of 2 hour plus movies will go extinct and we can get back to a less ridiculous 70-90 minute timeline.

    Do you ever think back to why we (my generation) loved original Disney movies so much?  They were never much longer than an hour.  As it should be.

    Another refreshing part of this movie was the faith element.  I don’t remember the last time I saw a movie that depicted a strong man who relied on faith.  Tom Hanks’s character is clearly depicted as a man of faith.

    Maybe that’s why I loved the movie so much.  In some small way I felt myself taken back to a time where the world didn’t shun God so aggressively.  In fact, that was a time where faith was all people had as the world was at war and people had true fear about what future their children would grow up in.

    There was the added element of bad Germans.  Life is rarely as simplified as movies make it, but the man of faith vs cliché heartless German bad guys made it even easier to root for the good guys.

    If you like Tom Hanks check out this movie.

    If you liked Dunkirk, this was very different, but obviously has the similar sea-themed war movie dynamic.  I really liked it.  It kept me engaged throughout.  It was suspenseful, very enjoyable.

    Did I mention it was 90 minutes?  So, if you do hate it, go watch a one hour episode of anything else stupid that you can stream and then realize, ‘huh, at least I feel like I learned something about an important part of our history instead of about a meth-head who likes tigers.’  Let some good stuff get in your system every once in a while.  This movie was good stuff.