Happy Memorial Day!

As we all check our grills in preparation to barbeque the latest hunk of bovine on them tomorrow, let's remember what this day is really about: thanking those among us who have served in our military and protected our rights with their valour and sometimes, with their lives.

I love the movie "The Patriot," despite the quantity of blood that spills during the telling of the story. I've let Brendan watch the non-bloody parts and have begun to explain little bits of our American history--as much as a 4 y/o can comprehend. Although the movie is a fictionalized account of real events, I find it amazingly instructional when it comes to explaining the passion and valour behind the men, women, and children who saw this country's birth and indeed walked through its labour pains.

Fast forward to today; we're entrenched in conflict in the Middle East and I have a friend who has enlisted in the Navy, due to ship out in September. She is well aware that she may be called on to defend our country in Iraq, but her words have stuck with me: "I consider it an honour to protect my family, friends, and nation in my service." I am so grateful for people like her who interrupt their lives (in the case of the Reserves) and who take up the mantle of protecting our freedoms.

I'm the daughter of a Marine and I have an intense appreciation for the military. Although I'm not cut out for that life, I think I have a fair understanding of what it means to be a military family and how they sacrifice in the course of their service. And I'm grateful for their sacrifices.

Last year when Brendan was 3 (and before he had a good grip on speaking), we were in a Chik-Fil-A restaurant with friends. He was captivated by 2 Army Reservists in the restaurant in uniform, and somehow, I knew what I had to do. Although my friends consider me to be outgoing, it's a real struggle for me to speak to people I don't know (if I know you, that's a different story). Regardless, I picked up my son and told him that we were going over to thank those 2 soldiers. And we did. I had no idea how much it would impact me emotionally to do that, though. I got my first few words out and my voice choked up and my eyes spilled over the tears that had welled there. I thanked them for their willingness to serve, to protect, and to defend--and to try to make our country safe again for our kids. It was indeed one of the most amazing things I've done--impacting me and how I look at life and take too many things for granted, including our safety and freedoms.

Thank God there are others who haven't taken those freedoms for granted and have been willing to defend them--even to the point of death. If you haven't shaken the hand of a serviceman or woman recently and thanked them, I encourage you to do so. You'll touch them with your gratitude, but more than that, you'll be touched in ways you don't expect.

So now that you've read my treatise on Memorial Day, go fire up those grills and barbeque those bovine chunks and patties. Enjoy your family and friends and thank God for the servicemen and women who have sacrificed to make this day a true holiday for all of us.

DaVinci & Us

The DaVinci Code, as everyone who hasn't inhabited a cave in eastern Afghanistan knows by now, has been made in to a movie starring Tom Hanks (who purportedly sports some very funky hair in it). Tomorrow we'll be barraged by the blockbuster ticket 'take' and the opening-weekend numbers, and invariably, it will be compared to the previous week's 'blockbuster' numbers of MI:3. Whatever. What I am interested in, however, is the number of stories we will see, hear, or read in the next few weeks about how "religious" things are hot right now. As if ticket sales for a wildly-popular-book-into-movie is an accurate gauge of the country's spiritual temperature.

Or is it?

Maybe people *are* interested in this for more than just a thrilling read. And maybe they're interested in the movie for more than just Tom Hanks' latest role. Time will tell. What is apparent, however, is that the Christians of this country have an unparalleled opportunity to talk about Jesus to a population that wasn't all that interested in Him before the advent of this book/movie. And with accurate information (i.e., what is not in the book), we have the opportunity to convey the Message of God's Love like never before. I sincerely hope we don't flub this one and we use the time that has been given to us.

One thing that appears to be a lesson learned is to not boycott a movie like this. I think the fiasco that came about with Scorcese's The Last Temptation of Christ in the late 80s taught us well. That movie was destined for non-entity in the world of box-office ticket sales and artistic review--until a Christian community went up in arms and boycotted the dumb thing. All of a sudden it became something to see--if only to figure out what the uproar was about. I'm sure Scorcese was laughing all the way to bank on that one....

If you're looking for good information to share about the book or movie, check out this site The Truth About DaVinci . It's got great information and there's an amazing article by George Barna as well. Worth the time to look around and read, for sure.

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Today was the final production of KidStuf for the '05-'06 season. It went very well--and was a huge amount of fun. Of course, "fun" used to describe less than it does now....now it says that I'm tired and sore after doing something enjoyable. ;) We had a great script to work with (lots of fun), a great group of actors who were willing to strut their stuff on a phony catwalk (as models in a Bridal Fashion Show, nonetheless!), and one overly-ambitious young woman who thought that a bunch of white, non-dancers could actually pull off a coordinated dance routine. ;)

We ended the production with "We Go Together" from Grease instead of our typical "So Long." It worked well (that was the complicated dance) and was a huge amount of fun (see the definition inclusions above), but it also felt very much like the last day of senior high school. Our cast is changing this summer as one member joins the Navy and Mark and I anticipate a transfer from the area....so it really had a bit of a maudlin feel to it. But books end and new books begin--and whoever the leadership ends up recruiting for these roles will do a great job, of that I'm certain. And it's certainly been a great run for Mark and me--I've been able to stretch my directorial wings and scratch my acting-bug at the same time, and Mark has done amazing things with pocket protectors and pink socks. ;)

And with that, I'm headed to bed. I'm pooped from all the "fun" today! ;)

The Ugly Side of Faith

Most of you know of my faith-bent by this point; I'm evangelical and Christian by definition, but don't fit in to a typical mould or pigeonhole. My passion is for God and His amazing love, but also for those in our world who don't know His love--no matter what they look like or do. And while I share the beliefs of other evangelicals, I tend to err on the side of more compassion and grace than some--mostly because I understand what it means to be judged and condemned by those who consider themselves more 'holy' than I, but also because I understand the heart-cry of my fellow Gen-Xers and Gen Yers...for relationship and acceptance, regardless of the differences that might be between us.

And those differences can be great, but we are still united under the human condition and the fact that God passionately loves us and wants us to know and share His love. And I find it particularly hard to talk about His love in the midst of harsh judgment. That seat is for God alone, and I'm not Him (and aren't you glad!?).

That said, I've seen the ugly side of faith this week and it's left me a little more disconcerted than I've been before. In the name of God, people have been bashed and condemned. In the name of belief, individuals have been stomped on. And those individuals are some who simply have yet to come to faith in Him. All of which makes that sort of sharing particularly prickly--because it tends to put one on the defensive instead of the Love Offensive.

Don't misunderstand me here; right is right and wrong is wrong. Last month's KidStuf virtue was "Convicition," and we taught the kids a song about standing for what is right and calling right--right and wrong--wrong. But when we proclaim RIGHT at the expense of the very ones that Jesus died to save...well, something is WRONG about that. Similar in nature (but not execution necessarily) to the Crusades of the 11th century, I think. While the initial desire to uphold God's truth was admirable, the way they went about doing it was anything but. And we continue to live with the long-term repercussions of those bad decisions even today. But that's another post.

I have a heart-felt belief grounded in Scripture that Christians ought to be marked by love. Not the wishy-washy sort of love the world knows, but a supernatural love that sees beyond the "I'm right and I'm going to scream it at the top of my lungs and in your ears" and in to the long-range needs of an individual who doesn't yet understand the love that God has for them. This sort of love overlooks the opportunity to shout when you're right and does so with the intent and vision of casting kindness and a life preserver of Love out when the person needs it the most and wouldn't have otherwise permitted you to do so if you'd stomped on them earlier.

Okay, so it sounds poetic. And maybe it is. But the sentiment is still there and my heart aches for those who have been stomped on in my presence this week and who have the bruises to show for it. I wish I could apologize to them, even though I had nothing to do with it. But maybe I'll be permitted the opportunity to pick up the pieces with them and show them the gentle side of Jesus' love in the process.

I can only hope and pray.