1) Favorite Most Insane Buzzer Beater: High School Championship Victory
2) Favorite Piano Playing Dog: Tucker (This is HILARIOUS)
3) Favorite (Genius) Rap Video: Golf Boys 2.Oh
4) Favorite Blog Post: Are We on the Brink of a New Reformation?
5) Favorite Youth Group Who is Living Fully: TrueNorth
It’s time to get vulnerable.
I don’t cry in movies. In fact, the last time I cried while watching a movie occurred while watching Beauty and the Beast in theatres in 1991 (I was 5). It’s not that I am completely heartless, (I’ve cried in real life since then) I just don’t cry in movies. Probably because of a tear duct malfunction. Or I’m just insecure and won’t admit to crying. Whatever.
There are several movies, however, that have brought me to the verge of bursting into tears. My eyes even got watery! Each of these scenes are extremely well done. Everything (acting, music, script, etc) works together in such an incredible way.
This is an important aspect of art. When done well, it tugs at our emotions and calls us to action, to change the broken things of the world. For this reason, we believe it is essential that Christians have an influential role in art, because God can move in the hearts of an entire generation through your creative work.
5) Mufasa’s Death
Simba’s sense of loss is what really does me in. Even though it is a cartoon about lions, it reminds us that no kid should live without his father. The Lion King is perhaps the best animated film ever, and this scene is one of the reasons why:
Sacrifice seems to be a recurring thing that always gets to me. When I initially watched Star Trek in 2009, the first five minutes were a complete blow to the stomach. There is such a complex mixture of raw emotion, action, sorrow, and hope. I watched a father die to protect his wife and newborn son, and couldn’t wait to see how his sacrifice would redeem countless lives throughout the film. It’s intense:
This is the most recent addition to my list. The Impossible showcases a family separated by the massive 2004 tsunami in Thailand. After 2 days of searching amongst thousands of people, they finally find each other. It was awesome. Since it is still in theaters, you’ll have to settle for the movie trailer (which might also make you cry)
Obviously Lord of the Rings would make this list. I’ve watched this scene dozens of times, and every time I think “this is it, I’m going to cry.” And yet somehow, I make it through. The humility of the Hobbits, who literally just saved the entire world, is inspiring. They didn’t set out to be heroes, they didn’t even want to be heroes. They just did what was right, and I hope I can live the same way.
How Pixar was able to construct such a powerful love story in so short a time is beyond me. Confession: This scene is one of the reasons we moved to New Zealand. I’d classify this as art that inspired us. But my favorite part? When Carl finds the updated version of “The Adventure Book.” Great inspiration for marriages everywhere:
What’s missing from this list? What scenes (almost) make you cry?
I’m not going to pretend to be the American Idol expert. I’ve never watched it consistently. However, there’s no denying the talent it has produced, with music stars like Kelly Clarkston, Carrie Underwood, Jordan Sparks, and most recently Philip Phillips (yes, the song you’ve heard on 18 commercials, 9 sitcoms, and the summer Olympics).
I don’t know much about this Idol season, but one thing I do know. You must watch eighteen year-old Angie Miller’s recent performance of her own song “You Set Me Free.” Blown away, the judges responded by giving a standing ovation. Mariah Carey and Keith Urban seemed to be on the verge of tears. When you watch for yourself, you see exactly why.
The power of her voice matched with the raw lyrics are overwhelming. This freedom she sings about comes from deep, personal experience. The profundity of the song impacts the listener in a way that is hard to explain (evidenced by the judges responses afterward).
This is the power of art at its finest. When people use their God-given gifts to create art that is good, beautiful, and true, it draws us away from our normal existence. I believe it has the power to draw us toward God, the Creator of all that is good, beautiful, and true.
I don’t want to read more into the life of Angie Miller than is available, but simple glances at her own social media sites provide a window into what motivates her music. Her Twitter profile reads, “Through music I aim to show that loving God and being a good influence to others is my goal!!” On Instagram, she states, “Love God, Others, Music, and Dream Big.” It is obvious that God is the one that has set her free, in a way no mere human being ever could.
Judging by this video alone, I know we will see a lot more of her in the future. We pray for more and more artists to rise and shine for God, creating art that will inspire full life in goodness, beauty, and truth. #LiveFully
Most of the time, when I hear people saying “that will never happen to me” it refers to a tragic event. “I’ll never get in a car accident, I don’t need a seat belt” or “A tornado will never hit our home” or “I won’t be the one to get cancer.”
But sadly, those things do happen to people. And for this reason, it is always important to be prepared. You don’t want to end up saying, “I never thought this would happen to me.”
But what if we flipped that saying on its head? We doubt anything horrible will happen to us, but we also don’t believe anything particularly great will happen to us either. We look at professional athletes as kids or successful businessmen as adults and think, “that will never happen to me.”
That phrase, however, holds us all back: If you have a dream, but don’t believe you’ll ever achieve it, then why try? We talk ourselves out of living our dreams because we fear failure. We’re never prepared, and so when opportunities arrive we rarely go for it. Continue Reading…
1) Favorite Stairwell: The Piano Stairs
2) Favorite Image: Calculus
3) Favorite Driving Stunt: Car does amazing backflip
4) Favorite Baby Laugh: Baby laughing at dog eating popcorn
5) Favorite Nature Video: Iceberg Explosion in Antarctica
Deep in our hearts, God reveals desires, goals, and aspirations. Maybe it’s to start a company, to write a book, or lead a church. There are dreams woven into the fabric of who we are, the desires of our hearts.
But there is one big problem with God-given dreams. He asks for them back. Consider Abraham. God calls him away from his home and promises to make him into a great nation, with as many descendants as stars in the sky.
God provides the means for this dream, as he gives Abraham and Sarai a son named Isaac. In their old age, this couple watched God do a miracle. The dream was in motion.
Years passed, and then God does the unspeakable. He calls Abraham to sacrifice his own son. Yes, that means killing his boy, and killing the dream of fathering a nation as well. God had the audacity to ask Abraham for his dream back.
Can you imagine what ran through Abraham’s mind? “God, You are the one that gave me my son in the first place. You can’t take him now! I’ve invested my whole life in this. This is my dream. Are you crazy!”
Maybe God has gifted you to be a great musician, and you sense His calling to go on tour, sharing your music with the world. Perhaps God called you to use your entrepreneurial skills to launch a new business. Maybe you’re a pastor, and God has given you a vision for leading thousands of people into a community of faith, hope, and love.
No matter how certain you are that God inspired your dream, you have to hand it back to him. No matter how good and pure the desire is, there comes a time to surrender it. Just like Abraham had to put his own son back on the altar, so we must release our God-given dream back to the One who gave it.
Why? Without this kind of surrender, our dream will become the thing we hope and long for, while God slips to the background. Our dream can’t become our hope. Only God occupies that role.
For the entrepreneur, this means letting go and saying to God, “I’ll go scrub toilets if that’s what you want.” For the pastor, it might sound like “I’ll lead faithfully with however many you bring, even if it’s less than I envisioned.” For the aspiring artist, it’s relinquishing the need to make it big and famous.
Most of us know the rest of Abraham’s story. At the last moment, God stops him from making the sacrifice. His son was spared, and the dream to father a nation lived on too.
Are you in the middle of living out a God-given dream? Are you frustrated by the slow progress? Overwhelmed by the magnitude of it? Is your hope fading because you haven’t seen it fulfilled?
Remember the words of Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” It says delight in God, not delight in the dream God gave you.
Stay patient, persevere, and draw near to God –In His timing, dreams are made realities. #LiveFully
The Harlem Shake is one of the biggest viral explosions in history. Just over two weeks ago, most people had no idea what that Harlem Shake was. But now, it is all over the internet, the news, and appearing in your work conversations.
The Harlem Shake. Image Source – Wikimedia Commons
If you’ve never heard of the Harlem Shake, it is a viral video sensation. Each video contains 30 seconds of the song “Harlem Shake” by musical artist Baauer (who has seen his sales explode!).
Wikipedia explains the dance in this way:
“Usually, a video begins with one person (often helmeted or masked) dancing to the song alone for 15 seconds, surrounded by other people not paying attention or unaware of the dancing individual. When the bass drops, the video switches to the entire crowd doing a crazy convulsive dance for the next 15 seconds.”
To give you an idea of how popular this is right now, “On February 10, the upload rate of Harlem Shake videos reached 4,000 per day…as of February 15, about 40,000 Harlem Shake videos had been uploaded, totalling 175 million views.” (also from Wikipedia)
This fad won’t last forever of course. Some people are probably sick of it already. But, I think there are a few great life lessons we can learn from the craze that we should continue to apply long past the success of the Harlem Shake. As an added bonus, I’ve thrown in some of my favorites Harlem Shake videos.
The best part of every video is the second half. The first 15 seconds is great, but just because of the anticipation for the next 15 seconds.
What makes it so much better? Community. More people join in, making it crazier and more fun. Life is the same way. I’m an introvert. I need alone time, but I’d be lying to you if I said alone time is better than time with friends or family. It takes effort to get people together, but it is worth it!
During the second half, people go absolutely crazy. Now I’m not suggesting that you walk down the street like you do the Harlem Shake (although that would be hilarious to watch). I do think, however, that we often restrain ourselves because we’re afraid of what other people will think.
The great thing about following Jesus is that we have complete freedom. “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 ESV). You don’t have to worry what other people will think, because you already have God’s approval and love. So be free, and party better than a rockstar.
With over 40,000 Harlem Shake videos, all of which follow the same 30 second format, you would think they would get boring. And many of them probably are. But the video makers who creatively make their 30 seconds unique and different are the ones that really made an impact.
You may not be incredibly creative, but you are unique. You don’t have to be exactly like everyone else. Sure, you are a human and you need to eat and sleep and follow certain standard rules, but the little creative touches and unique things about you will set you apart. Celebrate those things.
I really look forward to the costumes in the second half. Why? Because they’re hilarious. And people aren’t taking themselves too seriously. In fact, they’re not taking themselves seriously at all.
Life tends to be more fun when you don’t worry about impressing people and looking important. We’re in a broken world, and you’re going to either make mistakes or experience them. Sometimes you should be angry, but more often than not I believe it is better to just laugh about them and move on. If wearing a costume helps you laugh more in life, than by all means go for it.
What is your favorite Harlem Shake video? And how long do you think it will last before people get sick of it?
1) Favorite Flash Mob: Beethoven
2) Favorite Lesson on Non-Verbal Communication: How “Power Poses” boost your confidence
3) Favorite Video To Inspire you to Change the World: Moonshot Thinking
4) Favorite Video from SNL last week: Glice to Meet You
http://www.hulu.com/watch/455136
5) Favorite Guide: Understanding Introverts
Every once and I while I write a post here where I think I learn more than anyone who reads it. Today is one of those. Whether that is good or bad, I guess you’ll have to decide.
It’s been a few months since the last Batman film arrived in theaters. He’s not trending right now necessarily, but since The Dark Knight Rises recently landed on dvd I re-watched the entire trilogy over the last 4 weeks. As I watched, I realized that the primary theme of Christopher Nolan’s batman series is inspiration.
Batman Begins explains how Bruce wants to become a symbol that people can rally behind to fight evil and corruption in Gotham.
The Dark Knight shows how they believe Harvey Dent can inspire people in a way that Batman never could, and when Harvey falls they know the good he began to inspire will completely fall to pieces. And so Batman takes the fall for him, allowing Dent to remain a symbol of hope and inspire justice.
The Dark Knight Rises begins with a scene I used to think completely random, in which Commissioner Gordon says, “I knew Harvey Dent. He was my friend. And it will be a long time until someone inspires us the way he did.” But this was far from random, it is central to the primary theme of the trilogy. And in the final film, Batman “rises” to inspire the people of Gotham, once and for all.
Throughout the series, Batman knew that he alone could not end crime in Gotham. One man simply cannot solve all the problems in the world. But he believed he could inspire a generation, and when you inspire millions, all of them can work together to truly change things.
If you want to inspire people, however, you don’t have to be a billionaire. You don’t need an awesome theme song. You don’t have to own “The Bat” or “The Tumbler.” There are several keys to inspiration in these films, and any of us can adopt them. Continue Reading…
1) Favorite Bear Attack: Bear surprises Samsung crew on washing machine shoot
2) Favorite Baby: She is Fast Asleep, Until her Favorite Song Comes On. Hilarious.
3) Favorite Image: Fall Sunset over the Mountains (click to see full size)
4) Favorite Super Bowl Commercial: I would do anything for love… (M&M’s)
5) Favorite Reason to Keep Your Thoughts Pure: Doritos Fetch Commercial
What was your favorite Super Bowl Commercial Last Week?
