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!