I'm sure by now that most of the country and a lot of the world has seen Star Wars The Force Awakens. It was an amazing movie and definitely worth the wait after I first heard it was being made about two years ago. This post is not about the movie itself, but how this movie was about making memories with my boys.
When I was young, Star Wars was already out and making a lot of money for that time period. I vaguely remember seeing Return of the Jedi on the big screen. My mom took me because I was very much into Star Wars. I have shown my kids all of the movies (of course I showed them the original three first and then the prequels. What kind of a dad do you think I am?). I wanted to share Star Wars with them hoping they would enjoy it as much as I have throughout my entire life.
When the tickets to the new movie went on sale, I was tempted to get tickets opening night, but the time would not work for my kids to go because I wanted them to experience Star Wars on the big screen. So, I decided to wait a couple of days so that we could all go together. I am glad that I did.
They had so much fun watching the movie and as I am typing this, my two youngest are pretending to be characters from the movie. I love hearing them acting as though they belong in a galaxy far, far away. I love the fact that I could make memories with them that hopefully they won't forget.
Now, I know some people have not seen Star Wars nor do they like it. And, that's okay. What this post is about is not necessarily about Star Wars, but about making memories with my kids. We live in such a fast-paced world. We are always plugged in and I have a tendency to stare at my phone way too much. I feel like that my kids are going to forget what my face looks like and think that my face is the back of my phone. I challenge myself to spend less time with my phone and more time making memories.
Now, you may say, "How does watching a movie constitute making memories?" It's not about the movie; it's about sharing something together. It's about finding common ground and reliving it over and over. It's about talking about it after the movie is over and reminiscing about our favorite parts. Kids will love whatever their parents love because kids want their parents' approval and love. My kids don't have to like everything I do, but I always want them to know that no matter what, they have my love and approval. And, the only way they are going to do that is through time spent together making memories that will last.
I hope that this new year that is coming, we can all unplug a little more and spend more time with those we love and care about. Let's spend time making those memories together. We can share them through our social media tools, but let's make the memories first.
Thanks Star Wars for reminding me of this.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Prayer, What is it good for?
Recently I was visiting my parents in Arkansas. Every time I go to Arkansas, I always have to go see my brother from another mother, Ryan Johnson. We just hang out and talk. We also have to geek out on the latest trailers from movies and even watch a Seinfeld episode or two. We share a common love for Seinfeld. One of our favorite episodes is the Marine Biologist. If you have not seen that episode, you are missing out on one of the funniest television episodes in tv history. In that episode, Elaine is meeting a famous Russian writer with her publishing firm. She tells Jerry about it and they begin talking about Leo Tolstoy. Jerry tells Elaine that Tolstoy's original title for his book War and Peace was War, What is it Good For? Elaine thought he was joking, but he convinced her that he was telling the truth. Later, Elaine is upset with Jerry because she made a fool out of herself in front of this Russian writer because she insisted that what Jerry had told her was true.
Prayer has become like this Seinfeld episode, at least in the eyes of the world. After the incidents in San Bernadino yesterday, some public figures were criticized for tweeting prayers for the victims of the shootings. The headline from the New York Daily News said, "God Isn't Fixing This." It was critique of public officials who are perceived to do nothing but offer up prayers to a God that more and more people don't believe in. The growing consensus is becoming, "Prayer, what is it good for?"
This really made me stop and think this morning as I was reading through social media and reflecting on the changing culture around us. It made think about how I pray and how we are praying as Christians. I thought to myself, "Are we praying to safe?"
Take the refugee controversy for example. We pray for these refugees, but are we praying that God will use us as the Church to be a part of ministering to these refugees? We pray for horrors in our world, but are we praying that God would use us to be a voice of hope and peace?
I think one of the reasons that more and more people are viewing prayer as a negative and powerless thing is because we our prayers are powerless. We pray from a distance and ask God to keep us at a distance. We don't want to be part of the front lines because we like our safe lives. But, is that what we are called to be? Are we called to be safe?
I just finished a book about the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The book also talked about their time in World War I and how those times shaped their great works The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Those stories inspire us because they tell of tales of courage in the face of hopelessness and despair. They tell tales of a lion named Aslan who is not safe, but good and tales of a hobbit who carried a great burden to save the world. What is also so great about these tales is that they are tales of the Christian faith. But, the faith they tell of is not a safe faith. It is a faith that is willing to take action. It is a faith that prays that the great God of the Scriptures will use us to bring hope and peace to a fallen and dark world.
I believe in that God. I believe in praying to that God. I believe in praying that God would use me to be part of His expanding kingdom even if it means that safety is left behind. If we don't start praying to that God with the attitude of "God use me no matter what," then people are going to keep asking the question, "Prayer, what is it good for?" and the answer will be "Absolutely nothing."
Prayer has become like this Seinfeld episode, at least in the eyes of the world. After the incidents in San Bernadino yesterday, some public figures were criticized for tweeting prayers for the victims of the shootings. The headline from the New York Daily News said, "God Isn't Fixing This." It was critique of public officials who are perceived to do nothing but offer up prayers to a God that more and more people don't believe in. The growing consensus is becoming, "Prayer, what is it good for?"
This really made me stop and think this morning as I was reading through social media and reflecting on the changing culture around us. It made think about how I pray and how we are praying as Christians. I thought to myself, "Are we praying to safe?"
Take the refugee controversy for example. We pray for these refugees, but are we praying that God will use us as the Church to be a part of ministering to these refugees? We pray for horrors in our world, but are we praying that God would use us to be a voice of hope and peace?
I think one of the reasons that more and more people are viewing prayer as a negative and powerless thing is because we our prayers are powerless. We pray from a distance and ask God to keep us at a distance. We don't want to be part of the front lines because we like our safe lives. But, is that what we are called to be? Are we called to be safe?
I just finished a book about the friendship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. The book also talked about their time in World War I and how those times shaped their great works The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Those stories inspire us because they tell of tales of courage in the face of hopelessness and despair. They tell tales of a lion named Aslan who is not safe, but good and tales of a hobbit who carried a great burden to save the world. What is also so great about these tales is that they are tales of the Christian faith. But, the faith they tell of is not a safe faith. It is a faith that is willing to take action. It is a faith that prays that the great God of the Scriptures will use us to bring hope and peace to a fallen and dark world.
I believe in that God. I believe in praying to that God. I believe in praying that God would use me to be part of His expanding kingdom even if it means that safety is left behind. If we don't start praying to that God with the attitude of "God use me no matter what," then people are going to keep asking the question, "Prayer, what is it good for?" and the answer will be "Absolutely nothing."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)