Recreation

We are about half-way through our spring break vacation. It has been very fun so far. We have seen and experienced quite a bit over the last few days. We have seen dinosaur footprints, Bible manuscripts, fish, turtles and animals. It is actually more fun than it sounds. I think just being able to have an adventure with my family is what makes it fun. I am glad that the kids still like interacting with each other and us parents. I don't take that for granted, well, maybe I do sometimes but I don't mean to. Well, we are off to Sea World now!

Oh, the first photo is of my family looking down through the bottom of a glass bottom boat at Aquarena Springs.

Big Feet, Good Timing

We went to the Dinosaur Valley State Park today and saw some dinosaur footprints up close and personal. It was great fun. It was amazing to stand next to a place, several places actually, that a dinosaur walked. I'm glad we waited a several thousand years (or billion if one believe in the general theory of evolution)to visit here, otherwise we might have gotten stepped upon!


Below is a photo of a dinosaur footprint on a human footprint. This and other similar findings are controversial among believers of the general theory of evolution. I was glad to get to see this up close.

Scrolls, Fossils, Celebrities

We visited the Creation Evidence Museum on the day that Professor Gary Zimmeran conducted a seminar on writing and preservation of Hebrew manuscripts. He had numerous scrolls of the various old testament books. He had an original manuscript of the Torah. I don’t study the history of the Bible, so I know that me and my family did not appreciate the significance of being able to see real hand written scrolls retrieved from the Holy land, that form the content of the Old Testament. My wife and I were able to hold the Torah (with the mantle on it). Amazing.

Dr. Carl Baugh gave a presentation about dinosaur and human footprint fossils discovered in the same archaeological layer, and in some cases, together. This evidence supports the idea that man and dinosaurs lived on earth at the same time.

In addition to the significance of the scrolls, and the fossil findings, I am impressed by the devotion that these two men have to using their lives to serve God. They each are living their lives serving God in the manner that they understand He has called them. Most people probably have not heard of these men, but by my definition, they are true celebrities.

Christian Film Database

The Christian Film Database website now has Spirits Among Us listed. Praise the Lord for that! Seriously, praise the Lord. I did not promote my movie to the CFDB staff, they came across the movie at one of the retail outlets and wanted to add it to the database. It is exciting to see God's hand in this movie. I pray that I will continue to understand and follow His direction for each movie I produce.

Talents

My family and I went to the Laff Stop last night to watch our friend, Mary Sarah Gross, perform in a talent showcase event. It was great fun hearing all the various people sing on stage, like American Idol up close and personal, without the snippy comments from judges. We got to spend time with Mary's family and friends, which was great since our schedules rarely allow us to get together. Mary had a role in my movie "Spirits Among Us." She did a great job and was a joy to work with, I am hoping to have her in future productions.

What I thought about as I sat there was, "while many people are sitting around watching television, these people work hard to develop their natural gifts so they can entertain other people. They didn't just let their talents lie dormant in the ground, they put in hours and hours of hard work to develop and nuture them, and then had the guts to get up on stage and perform in front of an audience." I am impressed by people who are driven to develop and use the talents that God has given them. He has given each of us something. His desire is that we figure out what that is and do something worthwhile with it. I love being around people who are doing something good with the precious time and gifts God has given them.

The photos here are a few that I snapped during the event. The first one at the top of the post is of Mary.

Playing "Dress Up"

Finally, while driving to work a couple days back, God revealed to me what the "Armor of God" passages in Ephesians 6:10-18 mean to me. For years I have read commentaries, participated in Bible studies, and watched/heard others "praying on" the armor of God. I never, ever felt like I understood what it meant.

Does it mean that every day you wake up you "put on" the full armor of God by saying to God that you are putting on "shoes of peace, belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, etc?" Or do you "pray it on" someone else by loudly and emotionally proclaiming it in prayer as you use your hands to mimic the acts of putting on each piece? Is it something that you just thank God for providing, and remember He provides it all when you encounter a struggle? Is it a magic formula that you "pray on" as needed to give you victory over circumstances? I have heard and/or seen all these and more. None of them "worked" for me. Sometimes it was like playing "dress up." I still was not satisfied that I "got it."

Here is what it means for me:
Belt of Truth: Practice truth in all that I do and say
Breastplate of Righteousness: Do what is right in God's eyes, according to His word
Shoes of Peace: Seek peace, not conflict or conquest, in my relationships and encounters
Shield of Faith: Do not lean on my own understanding, but believe in God's plan, purpose and soveriegnity.
Helment of Salvation: Always remember that I have been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and as a result I have an eternal relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Sword of the Spirit: Use the power of God's word (truths and promises written in the Bible) to have victory in battles.

So, if I am slack in any of those areas, I have left open a vulnerability to the attacks of evil. If I am faithful in practicing truth, righteousness, peace, etc. then I have strong protection against the schemes and tactics that Satan uses to trip me up. Now I "got it" because God "revealed it."

What does the photograph have to do with any of this? Good question. I just felt like putting up a photo of the Camaro I used to own. I miss it.

An Ark to Build

We watched "Evan Almighty" last night. That movie has some good, and Biblically sound insights. As I watched the movie I realized that we probably each have our own "Ark" to build. Evan, like Noah, decided to embark on a very difficult task which took him away from his own plans, exposed him to ridicule from everyone, and had no guarantee to be necessary at all. He did this all simply because God told him to, so he did what he knew God wanted him to do. I think God has plans for all of us, and some of them will put our love of Him to the test.

At this point I should explain that the photograph is of me holding up what is probably my first of several "arks." Not everyone thought I was completely sane when I took precious time away from my successful engineering career, and most of my recreation time, to start a career making Christian movies. Making movies for God is considerably easier (and easier to explain) than building a huge boat in the middle of a desert, but it is definitely not "the easy way out" for me. It is simply what I know God wants me to do, so I do it. My movie is now in distribution, I have a handful of packaged copies to prove it, and it is available for sale or rent at various outlets. This is very exciting and encouraging to me. I believe you can detect some level of enthusiasm in the photo.

It was hard work for me, but God is making it fruitful.

Right now people can rent it at NetFlix or buy it from PopularChristian. I will post links for the other sites when they get there copies.