Now Fly! Fly!: Bruce Almighty

 Ok, so we are SO CLOSE to being caught up here. Thankfully, we have a very funny film today, Bruce Almighty!

Bruce is a average guy. He has a beautiful girlfriend, a dog, and a good job. However, Bruce suffers from what most human suffer from, feeling lesser than. Bruce wants to be anchor, he wants to be taken seriously, he wants a better car, home, and life in general. When things start going wrong, and he make some poor choices, he starts to blame God. That is until God gets his attention. God meets him and gives Bruce all of His powers and tell Bruce that if he think he would be better at being God prove it. So, Bruce starts doing things to get what he wants, but soon realizes that he is failing worse than he thought. 

It's been so long since I have seen this movie all the way through. I am so happy I got to sit down and watch it again. It's a funny movie, with a few questionable theologies thrown in. 

I love how they gave Bruce the powers to be God and showed what we all would do. Use the powers to get what we want, and say "yes" to all of the other prayers that are prayed. Which is wild because seeing everyone win the lottery and getting all the stuff they wanted just created more chaos. It just made it more insane to show how God hears all of our prayers, and knows which to answer with a no, yes, and wait. 

Which comes to the obedience part of out movie, at least for me. I could say that we need to trust God and do what he says, and do things with a good attitude. However, this one is listening to God. We have to remember to "no" is an answer. So many of us ask God for things for ourselves, and we get so made when God says "no". When we don't like the answer, we try to do everything we can to get God to change Him mind. Like we start living "holier" or serving more or going on mission trips. We try to show got that He can give us what we want and we can use it in a way that honors Him, or say we will ask for nothing ever again. Thankfully, God know our own stupidity and gives us the answer that we need, and not the on we want. 

Which is why I think "wait" is the hardest answer to get. Wait doesn't mean yes, but it also doesn't mean no. Sometime wait is for us to get to the answer that God know best rather than telling us outright what the correct answer is. God can sometimes tell us to wait so our hearts get right and prepare us for whichever the answer is. 

I have been in a waiting season on some things for a very VERY long time. I have lost count to the number of times I have asked God "Just tell me the answer is no so I can move on!". God doesn't work like that. Sometimes what feel like slow torture is actually slow construction. 

I need to remember to listening to all of the answers because He knows what best for me.  

No Place Like Movies at Home: Pillow Talk

 We have the second of three Doris Day and Rock Hudson movies that I own.

Doris Day and Rock Hudson share a party line. However, Rock Hudson is always on the phone wooing women, so day can't get a line out to anyone. In an, always, hilarious circumstance, Hudson ends up dating Day in order to get he to loosen up. However, he lies about who he is and where he lives in order to continue to date her. 

This is the movie that I always think it Sent Me No Flowers. Pillow Talk is my favorite of the thee movies. Plus, the film also has Jack Lemon in it so it's already a better film. I wish Rock Hudson and Doris Day made more than three movies together. 

Now Fly! Fly!: A Hidden Life

There is a lot to say about standing up. and standing firm. That is also something that we have to do when our faith is slandered or comes into question. 

We have a lot to learn from Franz in A Hidden Life.

Franz is a farmer in the hill of Austria. He lives a peaceful life growing, planting and planning for the future of his crops. He lives in a small village and he falls in love with a woman who bring more peace, love, and faith to his life. Everything is wonderful until World War II breaks out. Franz is drafted in the Third Reich. However, he understands that pledging to them, and Hitler, is morally wrong and refuses to do so. He is arrested, and tormented in jail for not conforming. He decides to stand up for what he believes morally and pays the ultimate sacrifice in doing so. 

This movie was very long and kind of slow. I think there could have been a lot taken out. However, I will says that is lends to how much Franz stands to loose when he decision comes to swearing the oath. Even when members of the faith were telling him to take the oath, but not really commit to it. Just say that words to survive and tell God that he really doesn't man it. He couldn't live with the lie. 

He stood in faith. 

Which is were good obedience leads and where it continues. 

Now Fly! Fly!: Mercy Rule

 Is is funny that I only did on blog post on Obedience and then got so busy that I didn't do anymore? Well, we are going to get caught up on a few of them today, and I hope to get the them all caught up by this month. 

I will say, that I have watched most of the movies for this project, and the actual obedience itself? Well, we will talk about it. 

Mercy Rule is about a family who is about to loose their business on a deal that seems too good to be true. While business might be going bust, their son is learning to be a part of the team instead of better than it.

Look I know there isn't a whole lot that is said about this movie. Kirk Cameron plays the father in this movie, and Tim Hawkins playing his cooky brother! Which that is a surprise that was well received because I love him! 

Anyways, the main take away of obedience for this movie is team work. Both the father and son in the movie have to learn to let people in to help with the situation that they get into and not do everything on their own. Letting people, people that are going to help you to be on track, you will have a high chance of succeeding.  

Which is something I really need to work on cause there are many times that I want to do things only on my own because it's "my mess" or "my problem" and I don't want to burden anyone else with it. 

The List: #32- Go to a Smithsonian

 Ok, so I didn't really have an idea that there were so many Smithsonian Museums when I first wrote this many years ago. Had I known there were so many I would have fixed it to make it match which one that I wanted to go to the most. I did get to go to three while I was in DC. 

The Air and Space Museum was the first stop. This is the one that Chuck wanted to go to the most. I thought it was cool to see the Spirit of St. Louis hanging above us. There was a lot of information that went over my had, but seeing the history of flight was amazing. Oh, and getting to touch part of the moon was something I never thought I could do. 

The Natural History Museum was out next stop on the tour. This is the one that Sarah wanted to go to. She love dinosaurs, and animals so this would be the one she wanted to see the most. This one was also fun because I got to see the hope diamond.

My dad was a volunteer docent (funny that it runs in the family) for a few months when he served in the army back in the day. He was here when they first installed the Hope Diamond on display. He has talked about it a several times over the year. The picture does not do it justice! 

However, the real reason I wanted to go to a Smithsonian was at our next location. 

The American History Museum is the real reason that I wanted to go to DC in the first place. They have all sort of interesting fact abouts about the Civil War, travel, and our presidents, but they also have some of the most notable moments in American Entertainment. There are tons of movie props, or items from some of America most influential people. A few examples are Captain America's Shield, Indiana Jones' whip, or Frank Sinatra's bow tie!

The one singular items that I wanted to see more than anything else? THE Ruby Red Slippers from The Wizard of Oz that Judy Garland wore duing the movie!

I wanted to cry! I didn't because I didn't to embarrass myself, and I was so tired from all of the walking, that I don't think I would have had the energy. It was a dream come true to see these face to face, and learning about how many historic props from movies have gone missing over the years, this was a true blessing that they survived! 

I am so glad, that I was able to see something that means to much to me as a fan of The Wizard of Oz!

 

The List: #149- See Hunter Hayes Live

 So, why Hunter Hayes? 

In reality, I have no idea. It was something I added on a whim to my list one day years ago when I was at CMA Feast. If I am being fair, I original entry was to meet him. However, I haven't really wanted to do that for a long time. I love his music and I loved watching him on The Masked Singer a few years back. I just no longer felt like meeting him. 

I will say, this was one of those ones I didn't think was going to happen anytime soon. I haven't heard of him ever coming to Knoxville, not that I was paying super close attention. I was looking at the performances that were happening at the Bijou Theatre at the start of the year and I was surprised to find his name on the list. So, I got me a ticket! I am so happy that I got to go because it was a really good show. 

He sang a few of the song I knew well from years past, and he sang a few new songs from his newest album that were really good. He puts on a good show. I also loved that it was at the Bijou since it's a much small theatre than the Tennessee, and it was a closer experience that I ever thought I would have gotten. 

The List: #205- Virginia (7/50)

When I made my plans to go to DC this year, I did forget that some of the stuff that we planned to do on out visit wasn't actually in DC, but in Virginia.

Arlington National Cemetery is located in Virginia. 

Arlington was not one of those places that I have always wanted to go to, until I was an adult. When I started volunteering during the Wreaths Across America in 2019 I became more interested in our Knoxville National Cemetery, and it's history. The thing about National Cemeteries is that once you start learning about them you will get to know about Arlington pretty quickly. 

Once I learned about the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and that it's been guarded by someone from our armed forces 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, since 1937, I had to go. 

I have a very deep appreciation for those who have served in our armed forces. My dad was in the army during the Vietnam War, my grandpa served during the Korean War, and I know that I have many other family members that have served as far back as the Revolutionary War. I love being able to Honor those who served, and died, to give us the freedoms and liberties that we have today. So, learning more about this beautiful final resting places for so many members of our Military, and their families, was a privilege for me. 

 What I did not expect at the tomb of the unknown soldier was how incredibly quiet it was there. There is one guard who does everything in sets of 21. There are 21 step taken to cross the entirety of the tomb. He turns towards to tomb and wait 21 seconds. He turns and faces the direction he just walked from, changed this firearm to the other shoulder, and once he is done waits 21 seconds. Then takes another 21 steps and does the whole process over and over again. 

He did this for 30 minutes straight.

We watched for 30 minutes straight. 

That was not the plan. We got there right as they changed the guard. We planned to go get some pictures, then go walk around at some other historical headstones and monuments nearby, and then come back when it was a little closer to time. We did not expect to watch this dutiful solider make the same path over and over again for 30 minutes. It was something that I could not stop watching. 

No one said a word, until they did the changing of the guard. 

Which was special in it's own right. I do not know how many times a Sentinel Guards get to have at that post, but from my very limited knowledge of the post, they have to go through months of strict training. So, seeing the guards being able to change the for the post, it amazing. I am sure if  know exactly what they had to go through and train for, I would be more impressed 10 times over. For all I know, they could only get one more shot at it if they wanted to.

Plus, I feel so much pride for those who guard the tomb because over the years, the guard were given opportunities to leave the post because of dangerous weather conditions, and or matter of national security. They were given permission to leave, and there has not been one time that anyone has left the tomb unguarded for any amount of time. 

Now, in the last post I talked about how God restored two things for me on this trip, one of them being the statue at the Bible Museum, the other one was here at Arlington. 

The Argonne Cross.

The original plan as part of my European trip in 2025 was to go to the Meuses- Argone Cemetery in France. It's where man of the American men who lost their life in that battle are buried. The government tired after World War I to get many of the soldiers that were buried on foreign soil back to the states. Again, do to my lack of knowledge on the subject, not many of the soldiers were able to have their remains returned. I know that the ones were did return were on the request of their next of kin. However, I don't know if the next of kin had to help financially get those remains back, but there are thousands of soldier who are still resting in peace in France. 

The Meuses- Argone Cemetery was one of the two places I was looking forward to most for that trip.  

The WWI Cemetery has to do with the book I am writing. There is a character in the book that dies during battle in WWI and I had to research a very specific time a battle was taking place and work off of that iformation. Which is how I discover the Meuses -Argone Offensive. What I really discovered was there isn't a lot of history the has been written about WWI compared to WWII. Even with the Meuses-Argone Offensive being the most deadly battle during WWI, I never heard of it until I started writing this book. So, I was so excited at the possibility of seeing it with my own eyes. So, it's very sad that I didn't get to go to a place that has weirdly become so meaningful to me. 

So it only hurt that much more not being able to go there. 

God is funny in how He works sometimes. 

We had planned to go to Arlington from the beginning. What was not part of the original plan was to take the hop on hope off bus around the Cemetery. The only reason that we did, is because I had left over points that were going to expire on my viator app, and I needed a fairly cheap excursion to use them on. The points all but covered all but a few dollars of the bus ride. Had we not taken the bus, we wouldn't have gotten around the whole park like we did, cause it was very hot, and there is a very good chance we would have turned around and no ever seen the white cross dedicated to those who fought and died during World War I. A cross named after the very battle that most men lost their lives in and the same battle that a character I wrote also now associated with. 

I would have never known that it was there. 

Even better, is that the memorial was a cross. God's way of redeeming the world was the same symbol used not only for my own life to be saved at 14, but restored a moment that I mourned not having. 

I love that God did those two things for me, even though He did not have to, and I did not ask him to. I still hold hope that I will one day get to those places and see them, experience them, a maybe shed a tear or two at how much sweeter the moment I will get will be than what I though I should have experienced. 

As for now, I am so thankful that I got to go on such a wonderful trip, and I look forward to see all of the wonderful states that our country has, and will remember the reason I get to explore my country in freedom is because of those who sacrificed their lives for us.