Permit me to go carnal again. シ
No, actually, I'm one of those people who can hear God through movies--well, sometimes, ok?. Anyone else like that out there?
Tom and I watched two more Mormon movies since I mentioned the first two here. The R.M. is fun! When the R.M. (which I am assuming means Returning Missionary) returns home after his two-year mission in Wyoming, he finds nothing as he'd envisioned. Oh my, the scene showing him as a tele-marketer for the 'Filthy Filter" (like the TV Guardian), had me laughing to tears. And like The Home Teachers, this movie also ended with a fine moral lesson without being preachy.
The other movie was, Charly, starring Heather Beers who we loved in Baptists At Our Barbeque. The first part of the film, was a pure delight---great romantic comedy. But then when the film could easily have ended with a tidy "and they lived happily ever after" ending, it continued, totally shifting gears, becoming rather a maudlin drama. Still, we enjoyed it, even though by the end, we felt like emotional wrecks, having laughed, cried, laughed, cried through the entire film.
These new Mormon movies--what can I say? Those which we've watched have proven a relief. How lovely to sit down to a film knowing you won't be bombarded with well, uhm, things the Bible tends to frown upon. How wonderful to relax and laugh without holding the remote in our hands in case something happens which would better be viewed in fast-forward and in silence (know what I mean?).
I recommend all these films. One thing, though--I'd recommend that you watch Charly only after you've seen two or three of the others first--for a couple reasons which I'll keep you guessing about.
We've heard that The Singles Ward and The Best Two Years are terrific, too. Unfortunately, our local video rental places don't have them. We may just have to break down and buy them then pass them along as Christmas gifts. But again, I've not yet seen them, so I'm only mentioning them, not necessarily recommending them (my disclaimer).
Again, I'm not Mormon, but I have been in church a whole lot of decades and am delighted to see films which can laugh at the silly things church people do, yet without laughing at The Church . It's such a fine line and to me, these films walk that tight-rope line in perfect balance.
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In your home, do you ever sit and stare at a white wall as though it was a huge, blank artist's canvas?
It is, you know. Each blank wall is an empty canvas crying for a creative brush to stroke it into a colorful life.
That's what I did yesterday with this small-ish canvas just outside my Dream Room door. It had been plain vanilla--plain white--for 70 years. I could tell because there were no tiny dabs of color at the baseboard's edge like I've seen in my other rooms. Mrs. Murphy from the 1930's - 1980's must never have carried her paint brush upstairs in all those years. My Dream Room had lived a vanilla life and the other room across the hall was a dusty, dark, creepy-but-nice attic until we finished it years ago.
So I grabbed my green-dipped paintbrush from the freezer (I keep them all there, wrapped in plastic, so they're ready on a painting whim.) After I brushed green onto the wall, I set-up a card table in my Dream Room and painted a shelf, then a chair while I watched episodes of The Andy Griffith Show.
That's how you take a trip back in time. One way, anyway. You watch an old tv show while you paint something on a spring day with the daylight and day-scent meandering through your window screens.
And hours later, I felt tired and looked frazzled--but in a good way. There are different kinds of tired, you know. The kind where I spent the day minding everyone else's business and worked madly after Grace told me to quit for the day then whined about everything that was going wrong--
--or the type I felt yesterday which comes from concentrating and working a long time, but letting Grace lift and guide my brush while she gives me pleasant thoughts to munch upon.
The kind of tired which gives me sweet dreams upon my pillow.
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"The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest." ... Thomas Moore
Every once in awhile Pollyanna has to spill her guts. シ
I'll share with you only my Number One Pet Peeve.
Here it is-- I hate it when people who are called to change something in this world, instead, just complain about what needs to be changed.
They go around telling all who will listen how upset they are about the terrible problem of ______. How it is unfair and wrong and sad that ________ exists. They even cry tears over _______and appear to be quite passionate about__________.
And yet, all they every do is complain (and complain) about _______.
But what super bugs me, is when these same people start complaining that the rest of us are doing nothing about _______. That no one nowadays cares about _______ and how it irks him/her to no end that everyone else is so passive about _______.
So why does that bother me? It's because if a person really cares about _______, he/she will do something about it.
And when a person is fulfilling their calling in life, there is a peace about them, a grace, while they go about doing what God has called them to do, busy with good, changing things:
They do what needs to be done, whether anyone else is doing anything or not.
They're hope-filled, peaceful people because they believe God is using them to fulfill a very real need.
They know and believe something is being accomplished, even if they can't see it on the outside yet--their obedience rewards them with hope on the inside.
And because of this hope, they aren't criticizing others who are called to different areas. They realize we all have different callings and passions--otherwise only one area of need would be met upon this Earth.
They see God as their greatest helper, obey Him one day at a time, nearly never become overwhelmed. God never gives them more than they can take care of--He has too much wisdom for that.
They walk by faith, not by sight and their faith brings great rewards. And because of all this, a difference has been made in the lives of people involved in ________.
Well, anyway, that is my Number One Pet Peeve. And you can be sure God convicts me like crazy when I find myself taking part in it.
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