Courageous

Since watching Fireproof (in one of my earlier posts), my husband and I have been obsessively watching all other movies by the producers of Fireproof. This one, Courageous, was another one I really like. 

The message of this movie is about what a father should actually be. It had me crying in the first ten minutes and then laughing soon after. When watching this movie, I couldn't help but think of my dad and what a wonderful role model he was for me. Some of my favorite memories as a child are of daddy daughter dates where my dad would take me to breakfast, or he would even just take time to help me practice playing volleyball and softball--often times letting me practice serving the volleyball and he would just run around getting the ball and throwing it back to me to try to serve again. As this movie expresses, fathers truly do play a tremendous role in the lives of their children and ensuring they live honestly.  

Where the Red Fern Grows

Growing up, my favorite book was ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’ by Wilson Rawls. In this book, a young boy saves up his money to buy two Redbone Coonhounds. These hounds become his best friends and are excellent raccoon hunters. They are challenged many times to prove themselves in hunting raccoons, and in doing so bring the family enough money they can move into a better living situation. The hounds eventually die as one is attacked by a mountain lion and the other dies of grief. The boy realizes how much of an influence the hounds had on his life and the eventual success of his family, showing that loyalty and friendship make a profound difference in one’s life.

Most people are surprised that this is my favorite book from my childhood because it is not a book most would think of when thinking of children’s books, but for me, my love of this book did not come because of the storyline. Rather, it came because it was a book my father read to me and my siblings each night. His father had read it to him, and he then read it to us.  Although I began this post talking about 'Where the Red Fern Grows', I think the real glistening star I want to point out is the time we spend reading together and the influence it has on families, children, and relationships. The memories I have of lying in bed or sitting around my father and listening to him read are some of the fondest memories I have of my childhood. I think the time we spent reading together laid the foundation for the relationship we have now.In m y opinion, reading with your children makes a tremendous difference in their lives. I'm looking forward to the day that we have children and are able to read with them.

The Perfect Cast

My husband and I went fishing this weekend with some of our friends, and every time I go fishing, I think about "The Perfect Cast" from 'A Goofy Movie'. You know, the cast that Goofy tries to teach Max (who is frustrated with his dad) and then Max uses to save Goofy's life when he is falling off the waterfall. Yup. That's it. The perfect cast.

I think this movie qualifies as one of the bright stars in the world of media. When I think of this movie, I think of a message about family. It shows that despite all of the ups and downs in a family, we should be there for each other. We should trust in each other and that families working together can accomplish a lot. This movie was one of my favorites as a kid, but as I have grown up, I've thought less and less about how funny it is and thought more and more about the message it shares. Spending time with family has become one of my favorite things, and I hope that my kids will share in that joy.

Paradise

My husband and I got to go see Alex Boye in concert a couple of weeks ago and this was one of the songs that he sang. Hearing him talk about how this song was developed (it was a song he hated at first) and how it is now a favorite song that expresses belief in paradise made it even more meaningful.

I enjoy this music video and think that although there is a lot of junk on YouTube, there are also a lot of bright stars to be found.

Facing the Giants

A previous post was about one of my new favorite movies--Fireproof. This movie is by the same producers, and although I think that Fireproof is their best movie that I have seen, I think Facing the Giants is another bright star in the media. 

As my husband and I were watching this movie last week, I realized that I had actually seen a part of this movie before during a Zone Conference on my mission. There is a scene in the movie where the football coach has one of his players do the death crawl blindfolded as far as he can go. The player thought he could only go so far, but as he kept pushing without giving up, he made it farther than anyone thought possible. My mission president wanted to help us realize that we could keep pushing more than we thought we could and that we should be giving our all.

The main message of this movie--and the message that I love--is that although there are trials in life (giants), we can face them with confidence when we trust in God. There is not a single person in this world who "has it easy". We are all facing trials of one kind or another. But, just as the football player in the scene described above, if we keep pushing forward, we can come farther than we ever thought possible.

Just a Kiss

In a world where the norm portrayed by the media is that it's okay to do whatever with whoever, this song shows how much love deserves respect. It has become one of my favorite songs and reminds me of my courtship with my husband. My thoughts are that when you truly care about someone, you save the intimate parts of a relationship for after marriage, and you only share them with that one person. I love how this song talks about how there's no need to rush into anything and that through giving it time, you'll find the love you've been searching for--so it's okay to just kiss goodnight.

A Bird Without Wings

I was first introduced to this song (A Bird Without Wings by Celtic Thunder) by my husband when we were dating and I found it to be very moving. There are many people in my life who I feel have had a huge impact on my life. They have helped me to develop and grow--they have ensured that I didn't feel like a bird without wings. This song could apply to many different people in our lives--parents, spouses, dear friends, etc. As I watch this video, however, the way the placement of the young boy (Damien McGinty,who as a fabulous voice, by the way) in contrast with the older singer (George Donaldson) makes me think of the support we receive from those who are no longer with us in this life and our Father in Heaven--those who watch over us constantly to make sure we are all right and try to help us reach our full potential. Especially as we rely on the Lord for guidance, we can be led in all that we do.

Never Leave Your Partner Behind

I have to admit that I've been pretty disappointed in a lot of the movies I've seen lately. Friends suggest movies that I think are decent, but there's always that something that bothers me about it. My husband came across a movie a few weeks ago and insisted that we buy it. I was pretty skeptical and never like buying movies that I haven't seen, but I trusted him and now I've fallen in love with this movie because of the message it has of finding love in marriage through faith. 

Although there are many ways this message is portrayed throughout the movie, I'd like to focus this post on the theme of commitment. Family is increasingly under attack in the world, including the importance of marriage and commitment to marriage. Divorce rates are continually increasing and even when a divorce doesn't occur, it seems that many are unhappy in their marriage. It seems that many think if husband and wife each give 50%, everything will work out, and if the other isn't doing their part any unhappiness in the marriage is that other's fault. When we got married, I was told that we both needed to be giving 100% in order to truly find happiness in marriage, and I've found that's true. If I'm not giving my all, I'm more prone to look for things my husband isn't doing--but really, if I look to myself I can always find places where I can do more to make our marriage continue to blossom and I find that as I work on the things I can do, I am much happier. As this movie shows, it is important to constantly serve one another, to learn to love daily, and to never leave your partner behind.

As a side note, I'm also impressed by this movie because of how it takes on difficult problems that are often avoided, such as pornography and infidelity, showing how these things tear marriages apart. I truly believe that marriage is one of the best aspects of life, but it needs constant nourishment in order to grow and I love the way this movie portrays that.

The American Dream

Books are one of my favorite forms of media. I used to read a lot of books growing up, but my life is so busy with classes and work right now that I have a hard time finding any time to read for pleasure, and every time I've picked a book to read lately, I've ended up stopping before I finished it because of language, inappropriate themes, etc. etc. etc. So, I thought I'd write about one of the bright stars in the world of print media.

One of my favorite books is ‘The Cedar Post’ by Jack Rose. In this book, a young man from Idaho who has big dreams but is unable to make them happen. He is often frustrated and gets into trouble until he meets a deaf-blind, legless old man who is able to become his mentor and friend and teach him about the American Dream.

I was introduced to this book by one of my friends my freshman year at BYU. It touched me in many ways, as I sometimes struggled with determining what my dreams were and how I could reach them. This book was so thought-provoking and helped me remember what life is about. It isn’t about money or fame, it is about honor by being and doing good rather than choosing bad. Reading this book caused me to re-think my pursuits in life and often comes back to mind to remind me that I can make a difference in the world by living high standards and serving others. It was one of the many influences that helped me make a decision on my major and comes to mind often when I am thinking about my goals for my future. 

More Holiness Give Me

For those of you reading this blog who aren't a part of my class on media, Dr. Coyne's sister came and sang this version "More Holiness Give Me" during class today. As I listened, I wrote in my notes that I needed to blog about this song. Here's why.

Music, for me, is one of my favorite forms of expression. I find myself humming songs as I do the dishes, when I'm upset, or when I am in a particularly good mood. I've played the piano since I was six years old and always found that playing the piano was my way of relaxing or dealing with emotions. I love music.

This song brings a glimmer of hope into my life. Honestly, today was a pretty rough day, and as I listened to this song in class, my eyes teared up. I felt hope. I felt peace. I felt that everything would be okay. It expressed the plea of my heart to become more holy, to change myself, to become what the Lord would have me become.

There are songs that do that--that help you realize that even though you may feel like a failure at times (and thus dark) there is hope (or a twinkling star) in the future--and this is one of them for me. 

I Have a Dream

The movie 'Tangled' came out while my husband and I were dating. It is one of the few movies we went to see in the theatre, and we fell in love with it. We watched it again this week (it took us two nights because we didn't have time to watch it all in one night) and I was reminded why I loved it.

'Tangled' is one of those movies that I would consider a bright point (and not just because of the search for the lanterns). One of my favorite scenes is at the bar when they are singing "I Have a Dream". I think everyone has a dream deep down inside that they are trying to achieve, but sometimes we get thwarted in our attempts to achieve our dreams. In my work I see a lot of people who have turned to drugs and alcohol in their lives and I often wonder if their choice to turn to drugs and alcohol is influenced by an inability to see how they can achieve their dreams.

In the movie, the characters dreams have been thwarted and they have turned to lives of trouble, but by the end of the movie each of the characters has achieved his/her dream and their lives have been changed for the better. As people are given opportunities and skills to achieve their dreams, so much good can happen. I hope to find opportunities to help others achieve their dreams throughout my life.

A Star is Born

What do you think of when you think of the media?

For me it is Hollywood. Bright lights. Glamour. Red carpets. The Works. Ah, yes. Hollywood.

It's in Hollywood where stars are born. I remember growing up and being enamored with the things that I saw on TV and in the movies. I had a major crush on Jonathan Taylor Thomas and I had my suspicions that there really could be witches like Sabrina in "Sabrina, the Teenaged Witch". Oh, Hollywood.

As a recently married woman in her mid-20's, I now look at the media and wonder where all of the innocence has gone. What happened to the Hollywood I grew up with? Granted, my parents really sheltered me from the negative things in the media while I was growing up, but was there really this much negative media when I was a kid? I get a little scared about how much things have changed in the last 10 years and the kind of world my children will be growing up in 10 years from now. It's been something I've thought a lot about since coming to college, and even more since getting married.

Some say that the media is dark, and in a media saturated world, the darkness is all around us. I don't think the media is all bad, though. I still find myself looking for stars in the media. But instead of looking for stars like Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Melissa Joan Hart, I'm looking for media as the stars--bright points in that ever thickening darkness. Movies with a message. Books that bring the spirit. Songs that make me smile. You get the picture.

That's what this blog is about.