Several
weeks ago I finished the book “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan. A couple of people
had recommended it to me, so I wanted to see what the hype was about. I’m not a
very big book reader, or for that matter, one of those people that let books
change their lives, but I think it’s safe to say that this one changed mine. Francis
Chan writes about just how extreme God’s love is for us. I’ve grown up in a
Christian household and always have attended church, but I never ever realized
the extent of just how radical God’s love is for until I read this book. Just like
Chan’s introduction video that I posted, he helped me realize through this book
just how truly great our Savior is. This book made me start thinking different
about the way I view things. I have always loved sunrises and sunsets, and I’d
watch them every day if I could, but now I view them as so much more than just
a pretty scene. That’s just a simple example though, I view life completely
differently now. This book made me realize just how precious life is, and how
grateful I should be for my ever-changing, twisted journey as well. This book
is very straight forward, and if you read it, it will probably get
uncomfortable at times because it will make you realize things about your life
you don’t want to fess up to, but it does this so you will realize your weaker
points and fix them. Now, some people may look at this book and view it as one
man’s opinion, but Chan provides plenty of textual scripture passages to back
up his work. It’s a great book, and I would definitely recommend it to
everyone!! I will probably read it several times, because it’s a great book to
go back to for advice and guidance.
The other weekend I went to see The
Vow with some friends. I didn’t know much about the movie going into it, but I
thought it was going to be a chick-flick romance. Chick-flicks are okay, but
when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all & I have to be in the right mood
for one. I was in for a pleasant surprise though, because The Vow wasn’t so
much a chick-flick. Sure, it’s based around a couple’s love, but the movie
concentrates more on their actual relationship.
The Vow is
about a young married couple who are head-over-heels for each other. One night
on the way home from a movie, they get rear-ended by a big truck. Paige goes
through the window and encounters severe head trauma. Leo, her husband, has
some scratches and cuts, but nothing life threatening. Paige stays in a coma
for a little while after the wreck, but thankfully, she eventually wakes up.
However, when she wakes up she doesn’t remember anything during the time period
of her & Leo’s relationship. She remembers her ex-fiancé prior to Leo
though. Leo spends the whole movie trying to get her to remember their
relationship and who she was before the wreck. Through series of events, he
decides to give her space and let her start over because she obviously isn’t
remembering how it was. They start dating different people, and starting their
own lives over without each other, but then Leo gets the idea to ask her on a
first date, just like they had never met each other before in their lives.
Things progress and they end up back together again.
Some people
didn’t like the ending because she never remembers and they’ll never share the
memories they had before, but that’s why I like it. I really liked the ending
because even though they can’t share those memories again, Leo still has them
and he is willing to get back with her despite everything he has been through
with her. After the wreck it was less than enjoyable for him, but that doesn’t
detract him from her. Another thing I liked about the movie is the fact that
this movie is based on a true story. There really is a couple that went through
all this, but now they’re married with three kids, even though she has never
remembered. It goes to show that if you persevere and things are meant to be,
don’t give up because the strong succeed.
And all the dreams you sat and watched go up in flames
Dwell on the wreckage as it smolders in the rain
But not me, I'm alive
And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathin' in and out's a blessing, can't you see?
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
And I'm alive and well
I'm alive and well
Stars are dancin' on the water here tonight
It's good for the soul when there's not a soul in sight
This boat has caught its wind and brought me back to life
Now I'm alive and well
And today you know that's good enough for me
Breathing in and out's a blessing, can't you see?
Today's the first day of the rest of my life
Now I'm alive and well
Yeah, I'm alive and well
I
think Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews do a great job reminding us what we
should focus on in life with the song, “I’m Alive”. When things go wrong in our
lives and we get down about stuff, it’s hard to remember the good things that
happen all around us. We have all been through different struggles and have our
own hardships we have to deal with, but that’s what builds character, separates
us, and makes us unique in ourselves. No matter what we’ve been through, or
what we’re going through, we have so much to be thankful for. We all have an
education, friends and family that love us, a roof over our heads, good health,
and food on our table. With just that list alone we are much wealthier than
majority of the world population. Sometimes it’s hard to concentrate on the
good things though because it’s easier to forget them and focus on the bad. If
we get a bad grade, have relationship issues, lose a loved one, or things don’t
work out the way we planned them in our heads we start adding up all the bad
and forgetting the wondrous amounts of blessings God has given us. In the
chorus it says, “today is the first day of the rest of my life and I’m alive
and well,” like he is consciously making a decision to look forward in his
life, eliminate the negativity, and focus on the positive things. Dave Matthews
sings the next verse and describes a pretty, peaceful night on a boat. Sometimes
it takes getting away from the hustle and bustle of life, going to our ideal
calm, peaceful place, and taking a step back to reevaluate and remind ourselves
that our lives are much better than we sometimes think. It’s the simple things
in life that make us appreciate the big things. We all have beautiful, vastly
different lives. At some point or another, we fall down and look at the bad
aspects in it, but they are part of life. God didn’t promise we’d sail through
life like a breeze, but He promised that the end will be worth it if we so
choose. It grinds my gears when people use the terms “I hate my life” or “FML”.
Just because things aren’t going smoothly at the moment doesn’t mean everything
about our lives are horrible. We can’t thank God enough for giving us the lives
we live with the grace that He offers to us. This song exemplifies my thoughts
about it. It is so damn easy to focus on the bad things, but we need to focus
on the good things. We can start by looking at the fact that we’re alive and
well..
He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us so Oh how He loves us, How He loves us so
He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
We are His portion and He is our prize Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss And my heart turns violently inside of my chest I don't have time to maintain these regrets When I think about the way
And oh, how He loves us Oh how He loves us, How He loves us so
Yeah, He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves us, Oh how He loves.
Here is a version of the song. It has two different testimony bits added into the song and I think it adds a lot to the song and message in the song.
This will forever be one of my
absolute most favorite songs. I like songs with really deep meanings, and this
one definitely fits the description. It’s one of those songs that give you goose
bumps every time you hear it. I just feel like God is speaking immeasurable
amounts of wise advice through the David Crowder Band in the lyrics to this
song. The opening lines, “He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a
tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy,” showcase the
depth of lyrics the rest of the song will pursue. It simply states that Jesus
loves us so much, His love is comparable to a hurricane and we are mere trees.
No matter how hard we can fight against His love, it will always be there and
it’s undeniable. Once it gets started working in our bodies, it’s like a
hurricane. When we accept Him into our hearts as our savior His grace comes
upon us and He gives us mercy for all our sins we have committed as sinners. We
can’t control what it does in our bodies, like the trees in the lyrics. They can’t
control what the hurricane will do to them. God gave His only son up for us, so
that we were given eternal life in Christ. The next lines,” When all of a
sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just
how beautiful You are, and how great Your affections are for me,” describes
exactly what He did for us in such beautiful words. His afflictions are His
pain, because Jesus suffered dying on the cross to save us from our sins. Although
it was such gory fate, the outcome of it made us become “eclipsed by glory”,
because the glory of the crucifixion was everlasting life and Heaven. How
couldn’t we not be in awe by the fact that Jesus died for every single one of
us? I can’t think of a more moving deed to make someone more beautiful or make
me love them anymore than the fact that He died for me. Not just me, but for
you, and your friends, and your families, and every single stranger you don’t
happen to meet in your lifetime. That is how much He loves us. When I think of
the next lines, “We are His portion and He is our prize, drawn to redemption by
the grace in His eyes; if grace is an ocean, we're all sinking,” I think of how
He looks at us as His treasure, because we are. We are the only species that is
capable of spreading His word and testimony over this planet. He created us
that way for a reason, therefore we are His portion. He is our ticket to Heaven;
therefore He is our prize, because without Him we are destined to Hell. His
grace is inevitable. These lyrics paint the picture of being stranded out in
the middle of an ocean. If you’re out there alone, you will drown eventually. Although
the lyrics aren’t meant in a morbid way, I think they are meant to show that
everyone will be overcome with His grace on Judgment Day. The remaining lines, “So
Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, and my heart turns violently inside
of my chest. I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think
about the way, and oh, how He loves us,” makes me think about humans and how we
are destined to sin. Believers feel guilty when they sin, because they know
Jesus paid the ultimate price by dying on the cross, but He loves us anyways. I
think this is a song that can be interpreted a million different ways , and all
the ways make sense, but these were just my thoughts on it.
I am not much of a movie-watcher. Not because I don't enjoy them, but because it is hard for me to sit still, not doing anything for a couple of hours at once. However, when my parents talked me into watching Seven Days in Utopia, I was far from disappointed.
Seven Days in Utopia is based on the book, Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia. Luke Chisolm, a young golfer, with a big ego and even larger temper gets stranded due to a wreck in Utopia, Texas after a humiliating and self-esteem blowing golf tournament. This was the first thing that caught my interest. Not only is this movie based in Texas, it is based in the middle of the hill country, which happens to be my favorite part of Texas. A rancher finds the golfer in his field, where he has ran off the road in his car. The rancher, Johnny Crawford, played by Robert Duvall, is the next thing that sold me on this movie since Duvall is one of my favorite actors. The movie has a lot of christian undertones, even though they don't promote it as a christian movie. To me, it makes it so much better though. It's a very insightful movie in the means that it's kind of like talking to a wise old man that has seen a lot in his day. As a young adult there is nothing I love more than listening to someone who knows what they're talking about and gaining little snip-its of useful info I can reflect back onto my life. Luke is stuck in the small town of Utopia for a week while his car is getting fixed. At first, he doesn't like being stuck in this podunk, far from civilization town, but Johnny soon convinces him otherwise. When Luke's dad walks out on him, Johnny takes Luke under his wing and teaches him very valuable life lessons, not just from past mistakes, but to prevent future ones from happening. The movies is made by Disney and rated "G", so there are no worries about anything vulgar or inappropriate. As for the ending, you'll have to find out for yourself... I don't want to give anything away, but this is a movie you won't regret seeing.
