Holywood

Atheist parenting secular parenting freethinking parenting

Why oh why are there so many Christian movies on at the mainstream movie theaters this spring? Where are the new and original screenplays, Hollywood? I'm not at all thrilled with the repeating super hero stories either.  BOOOOOORing!!! PLEASE, let's get something original out there!  But these Christian flicks bombarding moviedom, what is that all about? 

Maybe I've been out of the country too long and haven't been on the look out!  Come on folks!

I have loved some Christian films in my life. In 1956 the blockbuster Charlton Heston starred in The Ten Commandments. Oh yes, gorgeous Charlie. Yul Brenner as Pharaoh Ramses I still gives me the shivers, Moses as a sweating laborer is still amazingly... forceful,  and Ann Bancroft as Nefrateri was unbelievably beautiful. Oh Moses, Moses! 

But why in the world did God always harden the hearts of people? As I kid I would think, but that's not fair! That guy didn't get a chance to be GOOD.

What's not to love???

I used to really love the four hours of Ben Hur, again with the Charlie Heston. I know that I didn't really get that movie as a kid, but I still loved it. I watched it with Mom and I always asked the same question that she could not answer:  Why did God always harden the hearts of people?

I also loved Godspell. Man O MAN did I love that movie! I could sing BOTH parts of All For the Best, oh yes. This film is one that reminds me of great teen moments as well as wonderful singing events with my sister Linda.  *grin*

Cecil B. DeMille notwithstanding, the religious movies have seldom been this mainstream. (OK, OK, JCSuperstar was quite a huge flick and I loved Godspell. And The Passion of Christ was huge; so maybe I'm wrong.) The religious-themed movies are out there of course, just...what's with the swamp??? I'm just saying, I'm feeling a bit put out.

The other day my daughter and a friend went to see Noah. By way of explanation as to the choice of movies for a date she said, Hey I have to understand the opposing point of view, don't I?!  Upon her return home she didn't have much to say.  Her only comment was, If this story is so important to them why is Noah such a douche? 

I remember years ago when The Passion of the Christ came out and the public outcry was huge. This is NOT what Jesus said. Jesus would NOT do that, the critics would say.  LOL  The interesting thing about that entire debate was that I could totally relate to that totally imperfect Jesus from that movie. I appreciated it that he struggled with sinning. I related to his totally human need to sin with MM and to let this cup totally pass him by. It wasn't a good movie; it wasn't compelling. But my thought at the time was that no one else that I talked to at the time felt the way that I did. I totally knew then that I was going to always be the odd man out with my opinions. Totally.

The "knowledge" that I have about Noah comes from a Christian friend's Facebook feed one day when she and her friends were all talking about the things that the movie got wrong. I was so entertained! Otherwise I have no interest in the movie and have no plan on purchasing tickets for it. I might be willing to watch it when it gets to Netflicks just so that I know what it is all about. But there are so many great movies out there that I just might not get to it. 

Noah, Son of God, Fireproof, Heaven is for Real, and God is not Dead are the current Christian flicks on the market. Will you see them? Have you seen them? What is your opinion.

Still my All Time Fav Meme

All clip art from Facebook

Addendum:  OH, EASTER! That's why NOW.
lol

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Prompts for your High School Writers

 I've been writing some writing prompts for my upcoming English 1 class for our homeschool co op and I thought I'd share with you.

• You’re digging in your garden and find a fist-sized nugget of gold.
• Write about something ugly — war, fear, hate, cruelty — but find the beauty (silver lining) in it.
• The asteroid was hurtling straight for…
• A kid comes out of the bathroom with toilet paper dangling from his or her waistband.
• Write about your early memories of faith, religion, or spirituality; yours or someone else’s.
• There’s a guy sitting on a park bench reading a newspaper…
• Write a poem about a first romantic experience or encounter.
• He turned the key in the lock and opened the door. To his horror, he saw…
• Silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the bright light of the harvest moon. The blackbird…
• The detective saw his opportunity. He grabbed the waitress’s arm and said…
• There are three children sitting on a log near a stream. One of them looks up at the sky and says…
• There is a magic talisman that allows its keeper to read minds. It falls into the hands of a young politician…
• And you thought dragons didn’t exist…
• Write about nature. Include the following words: hard drive, stapler, phone, car, billboard.
• The doctor put his hand on her arm and said gently, “You or the baby will survive. Not both. I’m sorry.”
• The nation is controlled by…
• You walk into your house and it’s completely different — furniture, decor, all changed. And nobody’s home.
• Write about one (or both) of your parents. Start with “I was born…”
• The most beautiful smile I ever saw…
• I believe that animals exist to…
• A twinkling eye can mean many things. The one that is twinkling at me right now…
• Good versus evil. Does it truly exist? What are the gray areas? Do good people do bad things?
• Have you ever been just about to drift off to sleep only to be roused because you spontaneously remembered an embarrassing moment from the day?
• What color would you attribute to these words and why?  Anger, Honesty, Sweet, Confusion, Friendship, Lazy, Fun, Laughter, Cruelty, Ideas, Secrets, Monday, Math, Chaos, Whispers, Foolishness, Wisdom, solitary, busy, sadness, cleanliness, joy, flashy, and dreams.
• Write “Remember” 3x, then go with whatever comes next…
• Things to do on a rainy day…  Or when Mom goes away…
• A young man attempts a robbery and things go drastically wrong…
• Write a story from the perspective of an inanimate object.  A sock, a shoe, a song, a pencil, a bicycle, a statue, a toy…
• Write a story of an idiom literally happening.  (raining cats and dogs, time stopped, he was in a tailspin, don’t count your chickens, get one’s wires crossed, keep your fingers crossed, burning the midnight oil, pay the piper, etc. 
• Write about something blue.

500

Hey Readers, Guess what!
That last post was my 500th post! 
I wanted to let you know that I appreciate you. I write my little thoughts down and people actually read them...that is a true gift.
So Thank You.

Also, this feels like a great time to take a little break. We are all dealing with our return home, figuring our new lives out, busy with getting things in order. I often have no brain cells left at the end of the night to think, much less to write. So I'm going to pause here for a few weeks and I'll get back to you when I can.

Peace.