I Found God in Transformers...

No Sacrifice... No Victory...

That is one of the mottos of Optimus Prime and his Autobots.

For those of you who missed the 80's and all it's Transformer glory, the short story is this (courtesy of this website):

The Earth has become a battleground. Centuries ago, on a distant planet, the robotic alien races known as the Autobots and the Decepticons waged terrible war over a powerful cube called the All Spark. The cube was lost and both races vowed to find it. Now the cube has come to rest on Earth, hidden away by the US government for years, and the final stand of the Autobots, led by Optimus Prime against the Decepticons, led by Megatron will take place on our planet. But the Autobots have an ally: humans.

Fiery battles ensue and eventually, Optimus Prime is willing to sacrifice himself to save humankind... planning to stick the All Spark cube in his chest to destroy it and save Earth. Whether or not Optimus Prime is forced to this end will be yours to discover if you see the movie. What I love is that you can find so many Christian undertones weaved throughout the storyline...

God asks us in Romans 12:1-2 to sacrifice the commonplace behaviors and corruptions of earth to live in a way that is acceptable to Him...

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

The Bible is packed with characters who made sacrifices to claim God's victory...

Noah... who sacrificed his reputation to build a giant boat that would guard his family against the end-of-the-world flood.

Moses... who gave up his independence to follow God's instructions and return to Egypt to save the Israelites.

Mary and Joseph... Joseph knew that baby wasn't "his" yet sacrificed his pride to be an earthly father to God's son while Mary gave up her own expectations and dreams to serve as the mother to Jesus.

Jonah... who had to face his fears to follow God's instructions.

Saul/Paul... who sacrificed his power in the Roman Empire to serve the Lord.

And Jesus... who truly gave the ULTIMATE sacrifice... Himself. His sacrifice yielded VICTORY for all of mankind.

Without sacrifice, there can be no victory. The important things are worth fighting for... they are worth the sacrifice.

Incidently... the other main motto of the movie is this:

One shall stand - One shall fall.

Good vs. Evil

God vs. Satan

Everlasting Life vs. Death

Who knew that you could find so much Godliness in some transforming robots? :)

--> Note: The Transformers movie is PG-13, and in it's original form, this is NOT for young kids. However, you can visit GoodMoviesOnline.com and purchase the edited-to-PG version that removes sexual references, anything with human blood, and all foul language. While the special effects are fabulous, the items that earned it's PG-13 rating are obnoxious and unnecessary. Do consider watching an edited version if you have kids!

I Found God in GoodMoviesOnline.com

If you saw Transformers - The Motion Picture in theaters, you know that while the toys are played with by the 5-to-10 yr. old set, the movie was rated PG-13 for a completely UNnecessary scene concerning a teenage boy and masterbation. Thank God for GoodMoviesOnline.com - a FANTASTIC website that edits movies down to PG and PG-13. To stay copyright-compliant, when you buy a movie from this website, you pay for the original version and get the edited version for free. As long as you keep the two versions together, no "additional" movies are actually made (which doesn't violate copyright). I have used this service; I am SO THRILLED with the results!!! :)

I remember sitting with my 7-yr. son Jack in the movie theater one day when a preview for Transformers came across the screen. Both of us were mezmorized by the short clip, and we saw the shiny grill and heard the robotic sounds... both of us whispered at the same time: Optimus Prime... as the Autobot leader flashed before us.

Imagine my dismay when the movie was released and was rated PG-13. WHAT? The toys are marketed for little kids - why include material that prevented little kids from seeing it? Transforming robots saving the world from evil with loud explosions, fast cars, and military men? What more could a little boy want?!?!

I watched Transformers movie after it came out on DVD... without my kids. Good thing! - While it was, indeed, amazing - packed with all of the robots my kids would adore, it was also infused with a handful of suggestive dialogue plus the obnoxious masturbation scene.

*sigh*

But in November, I stumbled across the GoodMoviesOnline website. And Transformers was one of the movies they offered. They could edit out the questionable scene and maintain the PG-13 rating or they could "dumb-it-down" to PG and eliminate all sexual references as well. I bought the PG version; we saved it for Jack's birthday in February, and finally, tonight, the boys and I had time to watch it.

Amazing!

Fantastic!

Stupendous!

My kids loved it - I loved it - and the questionable scene was edited out flawlessly - I couldn't even see where it had been! Plus, no bad language! No human blood! Of course, we're talking about Transformers: it IS full of explosions, battles, duels, etc.; you can't edit that out or you're left with nothing but the closing credits! :) But I knew what I was getting into... I just wanted it without the sex and language!

This is an amazing service - just think of all of the fun movies out there that we CAN'T show our kids b/c of the adult situations, language, or extreme violence contained within. Even when they are "13" - some of the messages are still not ones we want reinforced. GoodMoviesOnline.com has a huge assortment of new and classic movies to choose from.

I am so thankful to find a place that takes the "junk" out of movies to make them kid-friendly. I hope you'll check out their store too - because this is one place that I hope stays in business for a long, long time!! :)

PS... I actually found God IN Transformers too... for that, you'll have to wait for the next post! :)

"Edited" Movies - a pop culture alternative...

I love movies... Action movies, thriller movies, scary movies, romance movies, cartoon movies, science movies, whatever... I just LOVE movies!

I also love to share some of my favorites with my kids (ages 7 and 4). We've been fortunate that our oldest son is not afraid of movies - he's got a good sense of "real" vs "not real" so we've been able to see a lot of fantasy/sci-fi stuff that make other kids fearful. We saw The Dark Crystal together when he was around 4 years old - watching first the "making of it" to show how the characters were all puppets and then the movie. He loved it! And we have fun talking about how they made the characters move and work. Star Wars is a HUGE part of our kids' lives. We all seen all 6 episodes... even Episode III... because there used to be a local video store called "Family Flix" that rented "edited" versions of popular movies - with all of the bad language, adult situations, and bloody gore removed. When the video store went out of business, we were able to purchase Star Wars III in edited form... cropping out most of Anakin burning alive in the lava pit, cutting the beheading of Count Dooku to just him falling to the floor, and limiting the slaying of the Jedi children to just the hint of it. Those small omissions enabled both of our kids to see the last movie without scaring them or compromising the storyline.

This weekend, I rented Transformers just for me... yes, I'm an adult female - and it's probably not the typical movie that 36-year old Moms usually rent. But I remember the hey-day of Transformers in the 80's; my brother LOVED them, and the trailer for the movie looked amazing. I was so disappointed when it received a PG-13 rating because I just knew that my sons would love it...

Sure enough - the visual effects were fabulous, and the sound effects even better. The voice of Optimus Prime was just as I remembered it from the old cartoons - and the grinding sounds of the robots actually transforming was SO neat! But there were a few completely inappropriate scenes - scenes that could have been completely cut out without messing up the storyline. There was NO need for this movie to have scenes in it that required a PG-13 rating... especially not when boys as young as 6 or 7 could have just loved this movie.

I started surfing around the Internet for some Family Flix alternatives and found a great site: www.goodmoviesonline.com sells original movies WITH an edited version! You can choose among new releases, classics, actions, suspense, comedy, etc. - AND choose whether you want your version edited to a PG or PG-13 level! Best of all, they had Transformers! So I ordered the edited movie and will save it for my son's birthday in February. As soon as it comes, I'll watch it and be able to tell you about the quality of the editing - but for now, I'm just thrilled to find an edited alternative to some really fun action movies!!

Autobots... ROLL OUT!

I Found God in the Movies: Dead Poet's Society

In college, I had a movie writing assignment - to write about the theme as it pertains to teaching (my major) in a movie of our choosing. One of my all-time favorites is Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams, Robert Sean Leonard, Ethan Hawke, and Josh Charles; that was the film I chose for my essay.

How interesting that I would revisit this for The God Blog. It wasn't a "religious" movie, specifically - but the central theme revolved around discovering the beliefs and values you consider important... and then standing up for them. There was a quote from this movie that has always stuck with me... Not the "Carpe Diem" (Seize the day!) that Robin Williams' character, John Keating, was known to say... Not Captain, My Captain quoted by his students. This was just one more truism that Mr. Keating spoke - and it had a big impact on me.

He says...

You must strive to find your own voice,
because the longer you wait to begin...
the less likely you are to find it at all.

Your own voice. Do you have one?

Do you hold fast to your beliefs or do you cave under the pressure to fit in with those around you? Do you mimic the voices of others... never taking a stand for yourself? Are you silenced by the fear that people will make fun of you? Or are you just too lazy to take a stand on what you know is right?

Perhaps your voice is mumbled and muffled so that YOU won't be the one making waves or causing "discord?" Perhaps you don't have a voice at all. The platform of "no opinion" is certainly an easy and safe place on which to stand.

But the longer you wait to find what you believe in... the longer you stall on truly finding the lines you will not cross... the less likely you are to find your Voice at all. Your voice will become muted - dwarfed by the larger voices speaking out around you - and others will speak for you... instead of you speaking for yourself. When it comes to your faith... can you really afford to be silent?

Your own voice. Do you have one? And does your voice echo the voice of God?

God gave His people free will because He wants us to use it. He wants us to make choices and honor Him with our decisions. The tricky part for us is that often using our voice to glorify God brings condemnation from others. The Bible even tells us this:

"When people realize it is the living God you are presenting and not some idol that makes them feel good, they are going to turn on you, even people in your own family. There is a great irony here: proclaiming so much love, experiencing so much hate! But don't quit. Don't cave in. It is all well worth it in the end. It is not success you are after in such times but survival. Be survivors! Before you've run out of options, the Son of Man will have arrived. ~Matthew 10:21-23

If you haven't seen Dead Poet's Society, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's one that will stick with you - just as Mr. Keating's teachings did with his pupils. The boys in Mr. Keating's class found their Voice; they learned to think for themselves again... to stand up for their their beliefs - even in the face of disciplinary action, even in the face of great personal loss:

Can you imagine the changes in your life if the voice you find within yourself glorifies God? Mr. Keating climbs upon his classroom desk and says, "I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way." Standing up for God, the Bible, and Christianity - even if others roll their eyes at you and say "That's crazy..." or even if the herd brays "That's baaaaaaad," - needs to be one of the components in the Voice you speak. God stood up for you when he allowed His Son to sacrifice Himself for all of mankind. Isn't using your voice to stand up for God the very least you can do?

Mr. Keating shouts to his students:

In my class, you will learn to think for yourselves again!...
And as the powerful play of life goes on, YOU will contribute a verse...!

In a sea of millions of people in this world - all contributing a verse to the overall play of life, what will your verse say? How will your verse stand out from all the rest?

Speak. I'd like to hear your voice... especially if you leave a comment on this blog! :)

♥Mags

I Found God In Patience...

Don't get me wrong... I don't actually have any patience left! It's only been 5 days since school let out for the summer and my kids are driving each other (and me!) c-r-a-z-y! If you've ever seen the cartoon, Tom & Jerry, those two characters are the epitome of my kids... 90% of the time they are at each others' throats while the 10% of the time, they are working together in peace and harmony... albeit to gang up on someone else...!

The hard thing about summertime, is that there is too much "dead" time during the day. We do household chores, read books, visit the library, run errands, have "screen" time, go swimming, attend various camps and vacation Bible schools, etc., but there are still HOURS left in some days where there isn't an activity planned... and that's when the whining starts....

"Mom.... Can I.......?"

"Mom... He's wrecking my train track...!"

"Mom... Can I play DS (again)?"

"Mom... He's hitting me...!"

"MOM...! He hit me first...!"

"MOM...!"

"MOM!"

"MOM!"

"MOM!"

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! If someone ever invented a kid-mute button, he/she would be one rich inventor, for sure! Sometimes, I'd just like to envelope my kids in an entire "Mute Bubble" where they could make all the noise they want... but I wouldn't hear it! *wink!*

Of course, I feel guilty as all get-out for even thinking that... let alone typing it on a public blog for the whole world to read!! But it's true... there are days, when I'm really, really, REALLY weary of all the whining, fighting, complaining, and general noise...!

And I wonder if God ever feels the same way? I guess, because he's the LORD, and all, that he doesn't get weary of our non-stop voices in his ear... Our whining, complaining, berating... our thinking that "if WE were God, we'd do it THIS way..." Our tears, our boo-boo's, our admonishments, our wailing, our overall NEEDINESS!

Did you ever see the movie, Bruce Almighty? Jim Carrey gets a chance to "be" God, and the cacophony of voices in his head - the prayers, the begging, the praises, the requests, the noise from everyone in the world - is too much for him to handle let alone decipher and answer! Fortunately, it's not too much for God.

One of my favorite Christian songs is by Matt Redmon entitled "Never Let Go." The lyrics of the chorus are these:

Oh no, You never let go

Through the calm and through the storm

Oh no, You never let go

In every high and every low

Oh no, You never let go

Lord, You never let go of me

God will never let go of you - or send you away - or tell you that you are annoying Him. He can handle your joys, your sorrows, your highs, your lows, your complaints, your desperation, your fears, your tears. God hears you when you beg for help... or forgiveness... or mercy... or peace. Maybe it might be nice for Him to hear you quietly say (in a moment when it's true!) that "All is well, God. I'm good right now. Thanks!" Maybe He'd appreciate sharing a moment of your peace and quiet with you.... because He is the Father of us all.... And all of HIs kids talking at once sure makes a lot of noise!! :-)

Have a blessed day,
:) Mags

I Found God In "The City..."

Don't think less of me, but I went to see Sex In The City with some girlfriends last night. It must be a testament to God's power because in the midst of a movie filled with broken commandments (coveting, adultry, lying, lust, etc.), He was able to carve out a small niche with a message about forgiveness.

Without giving anything away, I'll tell you that in the movie, Miranda is angry at her husband, Steve, and has not spoken to him in about 6 months for a betrayal. For a separate reason, Carrie becomes angry at Miranda, and after 3 days, Miranda is begging Carrie to forgive her for what she has done to hurt her best friend...

Carrie asks "WHY? WHY should I forgive you after only 3 days when you haven't forgiven your own husband after 6 months?"

Miranda tries to counter with "It's not the same thing..."

...To which Carries replies "Forgiveness is forgiveness!"

Forgiveness. Is. Forgiveness.

That can be so hard for us, can't it? We put "weight" on sin all the time... a little white lie isn't as bad as a bold-faced lie... Lusting after another in your heart and mind isn't as bad as cheating with your body... Dishonoring your parent because he/she really deserves it is oooooo-kay....

But in the eyes of God, sin is sin... and forgiveness is forgiveness.

There is a story about forgiveness in Matthew, Chapter 18. Peter asks Jesus, "How many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?" Jesus replies, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven."

Our pastor once said that Jesus isn't telling us to only forgive 490 times and then on the 491th transgression, give up. He's really telling us that we must forgive our neighbor again and again... as much as it takes for the forgiveness to be authentic. Sometimes, that even means forgiving someone all over again, each day, until you feel it in your heart.

*Sigh*... that's so hard!!! :(

But before I start whining about how "that is too hard to do..." or "that person doesn't DESERVE my forgiveness...," perhaps I should think about how hard it was for Jesus to endure the suffering he did even before he was nailed to a wooden cross... the pain he endured, the humiliation he suffered... all so that you...

and you...

and you...

and me...

could have everlasting life in Heaven. Did I deserve that gift? Do I behave in a way every day that shows I DESERVE that sacrifice? I just told you that I spend nearly 3-hours watching a movie glorifying gratutitous sex, didn't I?! No excuses here - I wanted to see the movie. I'm a super-flawed individual who's trying each day to be a better person tomorrow that I was today (which means based on yesterday's activities, I have no where to go but up, right?!).

Lucky for us - God's forgiveness doesn't come wtih contingencies or restrictions... all we have to do is ask Him. And if we are behaving in a Godly manner, all another person should have to do to receive our forgiveness... is ask.

It's not easy... but worth it. Do you have someone in your life who needs your forgiveness?

Have a blessed day,
:) Mags