Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Prince Caspian

I went to an advance screening of Prince Caspian last night. I told my kids that I had to go and check it out to make sure the film was suitable for them. Truth is, I wanted to go. I am a huge fan of The Chronicles of Narnia and as I was watching last night it occurred to me that watching these movies from a kids perspective is the way to go. I let myself get lost in the magical world of Narnia for those 140 minutes and it was a great ride. The thought and creativity behind the story is enchanting and the cinematography and CG work is just spectacular.

Sure, as an adult - there are some serious flaws in the movie. But as a kid, it was amazing! The story is loaded with symbolism and Biblical messaging. I don't want to ruin the plot for any of you who never read the books, so I won't go into any specifics. But there is a scene near the end that speaks to our reluctance as followers of Christ to put our faith in action even when we know we clearly heard God's voice. And in those times, we often listen to all of the other voices of "conventional wisdom" even though we just heard the voice of Almighty God. My prayer is that we would become a generation that is willing to follow God no matter what he asks. Please pray for me that God would develop in me an Abraham type of faith!

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Rachel Joy Scott

I just got back from Rachel's Rally where nearly 8,000 people from Rockwall gathered to honor the life of Rachel Scott and accept her challenge to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. Rockwall ISD was the first school district in the nation to accept Rachel's challenge and Robin and the girls have been working on it all year. Kids from all of the Rockwall schools have been documenting acts of kindness and compassion by creating chain links made out of construction paper with the names of the people who exhibited kindness.

At our high school football stadium tonight, the sixth graders from each elementary school carried the 123,000+ chains of kindness and compassion. You read that correctly - over 123,000 documented acts of kindness and compassion - wow! I am very proud of Robin, Macy & Mallory for the part they played in Rachel's Challenge and Rachel's Rally.

Rachel Scott has been a hero of mine since April 20, 1999 - which in my opinion was one of the worst days in our nations history. That's when two students murdered 12 of their class mates at Columbine High School. Columbine wasn't the deadliest school shooting in our history, but for some reason it seemed to hit our nation the hardest. Perhaps it was because of the media coverage that let us inside a portion of the tragedy? Or maybe it was because of the specificity in which the killers chose their targets. It could have been the culmination of several school shootings in a row and this was just the boiling point. I don't have all the answers, but I do know that it profoundly impacted a generation that was fed up with senseless violence.

Rachel Scott was the first one to die that day. The killers had already shot her once when they asked her to renounce the name of Jesus. Rachel wouldn't do so. She proclaimed Christ and was subsequently shot in the head.

As stories came out about the shooters, it became evident that they felt like outcasts and misfits. The irony was that Rachel Scott had been one of the few people to actually reach out to them, but they killed her anyway.

The amazing thing is that Rachel's life has impacted far more people than her death. Even though, April 20, 1999 will remain a dark day in our history - the life of Rachel Scott is still shinning bright. The love of Christ compelled Rachel to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.

I accept Rachel's Challenge!

Friday, May 02, 2008

Thief Stopped Again

It turns out the basketball goal was stolen by a 7 year old! Okay - let's call it borrowed, not stolen. One of the neighborhood kids thought it would be a good idea to have a basketball goal at his house, so he got his friends to help him drag our goal down the street. I was driving by his house yesterday and his Dad waved me down. Evidently his son told him we had thrown the basketball goal away and that he could have it. Hah!

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Thief Stopped!

No... not the thief that stole my basketball goal, the one that comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10).

My precious daughter Mallory asked Jesus in her heart tonight! It doesn't get any better than this! We were at soccer practice and we took a few minutes to share about Jesus. Two other girls asked Christ in their heart as well. I have coached these girls for three years now, so it was a pretty awesome night!