Movie-ology

My wife and I love to watch movies! Since I was a kid, watching movies has been a reward. My first straight A report card allowed me to watch my first rated R movie with my dad, Missing in Action 2! It was always something that my family could do together though we are all different.

While I was in college movies were not only a weekend past-time but part of my course of study. Several of my classes had us watch films and write reviews of what the movie was trying to get across to their contemporary audience and what we could get out of it today. The question came to me, if I did this for a university prof why not for my Bible study.

Since college this has been a passing thing with no real structure. Last year when we started Christian Challenge in Pueblo we decided to make it a main event. This is a time that we watch a contemporary movie, discuss it's cultural and social message, and discuss what religious message it may contain or association derived. With a little practice, almost any movie could be used to bring about a spiritual conversation.

Most of your non-Christian friends will not come to church on Sunday but they will watch a movie. If you want to find a way to share the story of Jesus Christ with a friend, use a story that they know from Hollywood; this is what Paul did in Acts 17.

Deep in the heart of Texas

While driving to Texas to refinish a dining room table and go to a cousin's wedding we had a major breakdown. Our '95 Mitsubishi Montero appeared to have thrown the timing belt. Once the motor was opened up it turned out that the water pump has froze up causing the timing belt to actually melt on all the pulleys within the casing. This was on July 27th, our 5th anniversary.

It is now August 15 and we are still here. The little shop in Eddy finally threw in the towel (after working on the Montero two weeks) and towed it to Waco where the Mitsubishi dealer has gotten things underway. Once we are back in Pueblo I will re-write this blog to share the whole story.

It is enough to say that we've had enough of Texas humidity, trains, and climbing stairs. My dad lives in an old meat packing plant on the third floor (the first two are his showroom and workshop for antiques) and is less than 100 yards to some active train tracks. What we have missed in the way of coffee has been fulfilled with great BBQ! I'm missing my smoker about now.