My Top 10 Meaningful Movies

It's getting close to the holiday season, and my thoughts turn to...movies.  Sorry, I love movies.  It's my escape.  Our family developed a fun tradition of decorating the whole house, inside and out, on the day after Thanksgiving and then watching a Christmas movie.

When our boys were little it was all about the short animated movies, like A Charlie Brown Christmas, Rudolph, Frosty, The Grinch, and Santa Claus is comin' to town - love that Winter Warlock! Then it was Jim Carrey in How The Grinch Stole Christmas for years and years and years. Followed by Elf.  Now we just rotate depending on what we watched the year before.

All this got me thinking about what are the most meaningful movies I've seen.  I know I left out a bunch...that's what you're supposed to do by commenting!  So, here's

My Top 10 Meaningful Movies: (in no particular order)

1.  It's a Wonderful Life Starring James Stewart, Donna Reed.
You just can't deny the message that we all make a difference, we just have to look for it.

2.  The Princess Bride Starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright.
Who doesn't love the humor, sword fights and romance?!  There are too many great lines to quote.

3.  Fireproof Starring Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea.
I think all of Alex Kendrick's movies are amazing.  This is a must-watch for couples, married or not.

4.  Facing the Giants Starring Alex Kendrick, Shannen Fields.
"Your personal best."  Are we giving that every day?  Ouch. So inspirational!

5.  Courageous Starring Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel.
No, I am not Alex's publicist!  I can't help it, he makes powerful, meaningful movies.  All males should watch this, but only if they want to become real men.

6.  The Ultimate Gift Starring Drew Fuller, James Garner.
WAY better than the book, which is a rare thing for me to say. I think all kids should watch this one...might help eliminate that "entitlement" attitude that seems to be so prevalent these days.

7.  Life is Beautiful Starring Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi.
I'm embarrassed to admit, but I just saw this movie a few months ago.  Yes, I'm a little slow.  It won so many awards for a reason.  If you haven't seen this yet, hurry and rent it.

8.  A Christmas Carol - just about any version.
One of my pastor's preached on this theme a few years ago, and yes I agree, Jesus is the one that changes our hearts, not us.  And I still love the idea of that transformation, no matter who does it.  My favorite versions are played by Henry Winkler, yes, you read that correctly. He did an amazing performance about 30 years ago.  And Patrick Stuart.

9.  The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel.
Controversial? Yes. Courageous? Yes.  Life-changing?  I hope so.

10.  The Matrix Trilogy Starring Keanu Reeves. Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Laurence Fishburne.
This closes out my list not because of the cool sci-fi effects, love story, or intense action.   But the eerie, underlying message that there are forces and things going on in our world that we are not aware of, but could be if given the right information. 

What movies have been especially meaningful to you?  I'd love to know. Please share.

Facebook is NOT your Mama

November 6th marked the 9th anniversary (strange word to use in this circumstance) of my mother's death.  I loved her very much, but I'll admit that we didn't always get along.  I was more of a daddy's girl, until they divorced when I was around 14.  That's because she was more of the "Enforcer."  Whereas, in my dad's eyes I could do no wrong, most of the time.

Even though we didn't agree on many things for most of my life, I still feel this hole where she used to be.  When something cool happens in my life, I want to share it with someone. Who's going to be the most proud of me?  My mom.  Who do I want to impress the most?  My mom.

It takes me back to summertime, jumping in the pool millions of times, and saying, "Mommy, watch me!  Watch me again, mommy!"  Well, for many of us, millions I believe, Mommy isn't watching anymore.  So where are we going to get that vital affirmation, approval, and appreciation?!

Enter Facebook.

I realized as I wrote in my journal that day, the role Facebook tries to fill is that of my mother.

Think about it.  What kinds of things do people post?  Look at me, I'm doing this!  Or hey, I'm going here!  Or wow, my kids did that!  I'll admit, I do the same, hopefully not to the point of sickening others.  But aren't we all looking for someone to tell us, "Good job, honey, I'm proud of you."?!

One advantage of Facebook over Mom, unlike a real face-to-face contact, we can post and not risk rejection, or worse, indifference.  Yet, do the "LIKES" and comments we get really affirm us as much as our moms did? (Hoping you had a decent mom like me and the answer is no.)

Whether you had a great mom or not, or dad, or grandparent, or someone else who filled that role, there will always be a hole that no human can completely fill.

Enter God.

Yeah, Him.

He accepts, approves, and appreciates us...not because of what we've done, but because of His Son.
His promises are always kept.  His will is always done.  His love endures forever.

I won't get all preachy, but I hope you know, really know, why you believe what you believe.  Eternity is a long time to be wrong.

Back to Mom.  Facebook is not your mama.  I'm  not saying stop posting your accomplishments.  I am saying, look for true, deep, and lasting approval from the One who will always give it.

My mom at 18 yrs old in 1951

And if you're mom's still alive, please call or see her and tell her how meaningful she's been to you.

The Ride of your LIFE: Part 3

“Ogres are like onions...Onions have layers.”  Shrek

“You know, not everybody like onions.” Donkey

I love the Shrek movies!  But what could this particular scene possibly have to do with the amazing weekend I had at the LIFE Leadership Conference?

EVERYTHING!

Especially the talk Bill Lewis gave on Saturday about LAYERS!

Something happens to us, an event or words spoken, that creates a fear.  Then to protect ourselves we create a “layer” so that that hurtful area is not exposed to future pain.

We’re “cocky”, sarcastic, joke around ALL the time, have false humility, or act too serious and can’t laugh at ourselves.

Sadly, these layers are often blind spots that we can’t see, which means we can’t remove them by ourselves.  Only with the help of a mentor, who has no problem seeing our blind spots but is tactful enough to share the truth in love, can we hope to change them.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg Bill shared.  Hey, ya’ shoulda been there!  But you're in luck...he just happened to post a blog about it here.  I won't mind if you go there right now and read it.  But you will come back, won't you?!  I have one more thing to share with you.

Which brings me to my final point.  I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it.

We offer a business that educates people.  To say there’s something wrong with our educational system is a gross understatement. “I’m too young,”  or “I’m too old.”  You’re always the right age to start putting good information into your brain to start getting better results. 

In "The Magic of Thinking Big" by David Schwartz, he says that we are measured by the size of our thinking.  What are you doing on a daily basis to stretch and grow your thinking?  Remember my previous blog quote from Albert Einstein that said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” 

That’s why it’s SO important to learn from others who have results in the areas we’re seeking improvement.

We are what we read, watch, listen to, and who we associate with.

That’s what LIFE is all about.  Becoming your personal best.  Which leads to a meaningful life.


Don’t ask what life can give to you.  Ask what you can give to life!

The Ride of your LIFE: Part 2

There were SO many great stories shared this past weekend at the LIFE Leadership Conference.  Some were short, some were long. Some funny, some heart-breaking, some powerful and inspiring.  Laurie Woodward, wife to #6 Leadership Guru Orrin Woodward, shared the story of The Black Door or The Firing Squad.

Here it is from The Miracle Times

An Arab Chief tells the story of a spy who had been captured and sentenced to death by a general of the Persian army. The general had fallen upon a strange and weird custom. He permitted the condemned person to make a choice. He could either face the firing squad or pass through the Black Door.

As the moment of execution drew near, the general ordered the spy to be brought before him for a short, final interview, the primary purpose of which was to receive the answer of the doomed man to the query: "Which shall it be -- the firing squad or the Black Door?"

This was not an easy question, and the prisoner hesitated, but soon made it known that he much preferred the firing squad. Not long thereafter a volley of shots in the courtyard announced that the grim sentence had been fulfilled.

The general, staring at his boots, turned to his aide and said, "You see how it is with men, they will always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. And yet I gave him his choice."

"What lies beyond the Black Door?" asked the aide.

"Freedom," replied the general, "and I've known only a few men brave enough to take it."

Wow!  All I can say is WOW! (to borrow from the last blog)

When I heard Laurie telling this story, I thought, “Ha, I’d have chosen the black door.”  Maybe you thought the same thing.  But would we really?  We all lean towards the familiar.  Who likes being uncomfortable?!  Not me.  Heck, I’ve got my pink bath robe on right now and it’s not even cold in my house!

Well, after hearing this I’m going to think twice about choosing what’s familiar and what’s unknown.  How about you?  What have you chosen recently that was unknown but had a happy ending?  Share this story with someone and talk about what Freedom means to you.

Next time: The Ride of your LIFE: Part 3.

“We all have a fear of the unknown, what one does with that fear will make all the difference in the world.”  Lillian Russell

The Ride of your LIFE: Part 1

Wow!  All I can say is WOW!  (To borrow a phrase from “Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse” by Kevin Henkes.)

Mark and I just returned from an amazing life-changing weekend-long LIFE Leadership Conference.  My cup has been filled like going down a twisty-turny slippery slide at a water park and then careening into the pool below, being fully submerged and totally energized from the experience, wanting to do it again and again.  And wanting to bring as many friends along for the ride as possible!

Why would I want to share this experience with you, my friend?!

Well, here’s Part 1 of what I got from the weekend:

1.  If you’re not getting the results you want in life, stop taking your own advice.  Chris Brady says, “You don’t know what you don’t know.  And we forget much of what we used to know.  And some of what you know, just isn’t so!”  Albert Einstein said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” So if we want different results in any area of our life, we need to seek out someone else who has results in that area and apply their thinking.

2.  Are you giving your Personal Best?  Terri Brady shared a story from Former President Jimmy Carter’s autobiography “Why Not the Best?” Admiral Hyman Rickover asked Carter how he stood in his class at the Naval Academy, and, most importantly, if he did his best? Remembering who he was talking to, Carter said, “No, sir.”  After a long time Admiral Rickover replied, “Why not?”

Wow!  All I can say is WOW!

I asked myself that question.  I thought of my Heavenly Father asking me that question.  Sadly, I would have the same answer...“No, sir.”  I resolved to start giving my personal best.

Next time I’ll talk about a chilling story of The Black Door.

Information Overload

My head is still swimming with all the awesome information I got and the people I met yesterday at the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators) Fall Conference in Oakland.

Have you ever gone to a conference, seminar, or talk of some kind and get a packet chock full of resources, tips & tricks of the trade?  Or come home with pages and pages of your own notes?  Then, if you’re like me, you come home exhausted and excited and try to download everything onto the closest living creature - - for me it was my husband, Mark.

Thankfully, my beloved counterpart possesses Super Human Qualities, in this case HE ASKED ME ABOUT WHAT I LEARNED!!  Seriously.

I’m pretty sure I did a good job of not blasting him.  I think of the 80's comedian Gallagher spraying exploding watermelon on his audience...no, not me, this time. :)

Then there’s the daunting task of what to DO with all that info!  Oh, if only I had 2 weeks of undivided time to thoroughly research everything I was given, ok, maybe months.  But, alas, I don’t.

So, what “1 Thing” can I implement to get things started?  Internet research?  Manuscript rewrites?  Social media stuff?  Follow up with the new connections I made?  Join this or that?

Naaawww.  I chose to blog.

It may not be pretty, but it’s done and I can check “1 Thing” off my list! :D

What do you do after a seminar with what you’ve learned?  File it?  Chuck it? Share it? Got any suggestions for the rest of us?  Please share your meaningful ideas.

The great aim of education is not knowledge but action. - Herbert Spencer

Meaningful Books

I have read some amazing books, but few that have touched me as deeply as the one I just finished.

You see, I was not a big reader when I was little.  In fact, my parents told me my little Italian grandmother would take books out of my hands and complain, “What does she need to read for, she’s a girl!”  I know, not P.C., but hey, she was born in Sicily, so be careful, she still has connections!

Now, I’ve got 3 books near my bed, one, no, make that, two by my favorite reading spot, and sometimes another one in my car.  This does not mean I’m a flake and can’t finish anything.  My ambitious goal is to read a book a week...some weeks are better than others. (And not novels, but personal development / leadership books, the kind that verbally beats you up in order to build you up. But I digress.)

Some people give credit for their love of reading to their kindergarten teacher.  My credit goes to my sons’ kindergarten teacher, Cindi Holman.  Somehow, she was able to get Jim Trelease,  author of The Read Aloud Handbook, to come to our school and do a presentation.  That night changed my life.  The proverbial pebble in the ocean that starts a ripple.

I had already been given the privilege of reading aloud to their class every week.  But, somehow,  his old-fashioned, 8 ½” x 11" floppy, well-worn vinyl slides and overly copied parent handouts pierced through my know-it-all brain and went straight to my heart...it was like the Winter Warlock’s icy heart melting in Santa Claus is coming to town.

After that, I looked at books, all books, and reading aloud, completely different. What wonders and worlds you could visit under your sleeping bag or curled up in your favorite chair with your dog at your feet?! And to think, he retired just 7 short years later!

So, for every week during the nine years our oldest son, AJ, was in school, and the nine years our son, Wesley, was in school, I read aloud.  I like to think it made a difference to those children.  I know for a fact, it made a BIG difference in my life.

You want to talk about something meaningful?  What Cindi Holman did for me was meaningful.  What Jim Trelease did for me was meaningful. What the teachers at St. Mark’s Lutheran School did for me was meaningful. What the beautiful and eager faces of every child I was honored to read to did for me was meaningful. And all of them did it without knowing they did it.

I feel so blessed for the experience.

Oh, and the name of the book I just finished?  WONDER, by R.J. Palacio.

Hurry and read that. I’m not kidding. I don’t care what age you are - READ IT!  It will touch your heart.  Better yet, read it and pass it along to touch someone else’s heart, like my friend, Rose Cooper, did with me.  Thanks, Rose.  That was very meaningful of you! :D

What books have you read that are meaningful?!  Please share.

“‘Greatness,’ wrote [Henry Ward] Beecher, ‘lies not in being strong, but in the right using of strength...He is the greatest whose strength carries up the most hearts...’” excerpt from WONDER.

What's Meaningful to you?!

Welcome to My Meaningful Blog, where, I hope, you will find what I share meaningful.

They say, “Life’s a journey,” and “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.”

How many times have I heard - even said - that?  Why, at 50, am I just starting to “get” that now?!

Perhaps you will come alongside my journey and we can discover meaningful things together!  I look forward to hearing YOUR meaningful comments, that will lift up our community.

Being this is my first post, I’ll try to keep it short and sweet.

Here’s what my Thesaurus had to say about meaningful [adj] having a meaning or purpose: “a meaningful explanation”; “a meaningful discussion”; “a meaningful pause”.

What have you done recently that’s meaningful?!  Please share and inspire the rest of us.

And tell others about my blog, so I don’t feel like I’m talking to myself. :D