Un- happy anniversary

Can you believe it has been 40 years?

Is it possible to count the true cost after so much time?

On January 22nd, 1973 the courts of the United States decided to legalize abortion.  The famous case of Roe vs Wade changed the lives of many.  Every woman and child (and family) that has been affected by that decision since has their own story of cost to tell the world.  I am certain that when the decision was made 40 years ago with 7-2 vote in favor that no one knew what it would cost us as a whole.

On my blog I advertised and raved about the movie October Baby. I hope that you had a chance to watch that.  It was a compelling story about a young woman who survived an abortion attempt and the long journey to healing and recovery she had to take.  At the end of the DVD movie is an amazing testimony of the actress (Shari Rigsby) who played the birth mother in the film.  She talks about her own experience

Does Utopia exist?

I watched a movie recently that touched me deeply.  It is called Seven Days in Utopia and you may have seen it on the shelves of your local video store.  If you have, RENT it!

Here is the trailer.  The movie website is at this link.



Seven Days in Utopia is the story of a man brought to his knees - in front of an audience.  He is a Pro golfer that loses more than his cool on the course one critical day.  But when his life is derailed and he changes course he finds himself in Utopia, Texas for seven days.

What can you do in seven days?  Paint your house?  Write a book?  Train your pet?  Take a cruise? Dr. Kevin Leman claims I can have a new teenager in seven days.  (I'm reading that to find out if it's true.)

God's word tells us that He can do anything in seven days.  He created the world.  He can change lives.  In this movie, a fellow golfer shows our main character a new way to look at life but it all revolves around the change that only God can make.

What do you need to happen in seven days?

• heal a relationship
• redeem a broken situation
• choose a future path
• repair a wrong

I'm not here to blindly offer you a solution to all your problems if you order now!  God doesn't work that way.  Sometimes we slog through a lot of grey and dreary days before we see the sun.  Sometimes wounds take years to heal.  Maybe you will not see the results of a consistent witness to an unbelieving friend even in this lifetime.  That doesn't mean there is no hope.  In fact the key to hope is that God CAN do it in seven days.  And he specializes in detours. :)

You are on the road to success if you realize that failure is only a detour.  In order to realize the worth of the anchor, we need to feel the stress of the storm. When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off.  You sit still and trust the engineer.  Our trust and hope are not in the promises, but in the One who made the promises."  ~~ Corrie ten Boom

If you've read the book Golf's Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia, or watched the movie, you were left with the question 'did he make the putt?'.  Be sure to follow up the links you were given to see what the next chapter of the story is.  Because God doesn't stop working once He gets your attention.  He promises to take you to the next step.

Phil 1:6  For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

My next post will be about how over time God can make changes that seem so miniscule and barely detectable until one day you find yourself standing in a totally different line that you thought you were before.  Come check it out May 11.

F.Y.I.  There really is a Utopia, Texas.  I visited their website and found some really cool things out.  Including this:

Message from the Producers & Marketing team:
Seven Days In Utopia movie opened modestly on Friday Sept.2nd and went up Saturday, then jumped significantly Sunday and then was up again Monday (Labor Day)!
Movies never do that, and as we were researching, we went back to 2007 and couldn't find one movie that went UP on Labor Day!
Add to that, the fact that more than 250,000 people visited the website in the first four days!  And the best part of all, more than 600 people decided to go all the way with Christ and commit their lives to Him!  And that's just the opening weekend!
By the 3rd week over 1000 people have given their lives to Christ on our web site.

Robert Duvall is Johnny Crawford and Lucas Black is playing Luke Chisolm (the young golfer)
Based on the book – ‘Golf's Sacred Journey, 7 Days at the Links of Utopia’ is really a book about life; it just so happens that the main character's life is all about golf. A professional golfer, who is actually never named in the book, has a breakdown on the golf course during a tournament in which he was favored to do well.  Despondent and despairing of his future in golf, he wanders into the town of Utopia, where he providentially meets Johnny, a former golf pro who has retired to a quite country life.  Johnny, a Yoda-like teacher, who is building a golf course in a field in the middle of nowhere; takes the young golfer under his wing and spends a week completely reshaping the way he thinks about the game of golf and life.
The Books web site - http://www.linksofutopia.com/cms

God is doing something through Hollywood.  Praise Him!  (BTW, October Baby topped the $5 Million mark at the box office by the beginning of May.)

Hungry for the right answer

There is a struggle in my home.  Currently it is me against my teens.  They want to see Hunger Games in the theatres.  I am undecided.

Maybe there are some of you out there who have gone to see the movie already.  I have been reading reviews everywhere form folks who have seen it.  I am still undecided.

My kids have read the novels and been anxiously anticipating the arrival of the film.  To be honest I hadn't given it much thought at that point.  We are a family that LOVES movies so it only seemed natural that we would see the film.  However ... we seldom go to the big theatres anymore - unless it is the cheap one.  So naturally in the back of my mind I assumed we would wait with this one as well.  However my teens had made plans to see it opening night.

Here presents two dilemmas for me.  

Number 1 - we had no idea  what the film actually contained in it. I rely consistently on Plugged In (dot) com to provide me with reviews.  They hadn't released it yet.  I struggled to justify seeing the movie the first night without that valuable information.  

Number 2 - I have boasted on this blog before of the need to stand up and support movies in the theatres as Christians because those are the numbers that count.  Hollywood needs those dollars that represent viewers to know which types of movies to make again.  I urged all of you to go out and see October Baby in the theatres for that very reason.

Going to watch a violent 'kids killing kids' movie didn't seem the best place to put my movie dollars.  Due to the indecision in our home we have managed to push the issue back six days so far, but not without casualties.  Now I have angry, frustrated teenagers.  I am still undecided.

When as a parent do we stop filtering images and information for our kids?  Do they reach a magic age?  Or maybe just the 'right' opportunity comes along, like a movie?  Or maybe is it when the heat in the home rises too high?

I am still undecided ....

F.Y.I.

The box office results are in!

Hunger Games takes the top spot (obviously) grossing over $155 million on its opening weekend.  Wall Street Journal states,

The box office gross of "The Hunger Games" is the third-highest opening weekend, behind “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2″ and “The Dark Knight.”

It’s also the highest opening of all time for a non-sequel movie. No movie has ever had as large an opening weekend outside of the summer season.

October Baby did very well considering it had to compete with Hunger Games, which opened in more than 10 times as many theatres. 

October Baby had the third highest per-screen average and closed at No. 8 in the nation for its opening weekend ... Opening in a relatively modest 390 theaters, Samuel Goldwyn Films/Provident Films OCTOBER BABY also rode strong grassroots support and word of mouth to a No. 1 ranking for limited-release movies.

To learn more, visit:  OctoberBabyMovie.net
                                    ProvidentFilms.org
                                    SamuelGoldwynFilms.com

Facebook:   Facebook.com/OctoberBabyMovie
Twitter:        @OctoberBabyFilm
                
And visit OctoberBabyMovie.net/pressroom 


Did any of you get out to see October baby?  I would love to hear your comments.

Every Life is Beautiful

Four days left until the movie hits the theatres.  ARE YOU READY?

October Baby is another round of evangelical Christian values hitting the big screen.  Can I hear an amen?

This movie is inspired from the life of Gianna Jessen who defied the odds and survived an abortion attempt.  Her story is amazing.  I read her book about sixteen years ago when she was just a teenager.  It was a powerful and moving portrayal of God's love for His people and His undying efforts to restore us all to the ones He created us to be.  As well as the gripping message spoken out to all women against aborting lives.

Here is the official synopsis of the movie:

"You saw me before I was born." Psalm 139:16 (NLT)

As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience.

After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah's difficult birth. This revelation is nothing compared to what she then learns from her parents: she was actually adopted … after a failed abortion attempt.

Bewildered, angered, and confused, Hannah turns for support to Jason, her oldest friend. Encouraged by his adventurous spirit, Hannah joins his group of friends on a Spring Break road trip, embarking on a journey to discover her hidden past … and find hope for her unknown future.

In the midst of her incredible journey, Hannah finds that life can be so much more than what you have planned.

Now, you know me ... I am attracted to the music behind it all. So, I have included the video from The Afters, singing Life Is Beautiful, the theme song from the film.  The movie trailer follows the video.



The Afters - Life Is Beautiful (Official Music Video From October Baby) from fairtradeservices on GodTube.

Another amazing aspect of this film is that the producers of October Baby have committed to donating 10% of the profits to Every Life is Beautiful.  It is an organization that supports local crisis pregnancy groups.  Check out their website here.  Visit it. Stay awhile and have your life touched and possibly changed by how others are spreading the news that ... every life is beautiful.




I would love to hear if you are planning on going to the movie. Let's support Hollywood's efforts at producing family friendly and God honouring works. Thanks.