Soul Surfer

Last night I had the privilege of attending a pre-screening of the new movie Soul Surfer which releases in theatres on April 8. Soul Surfer presents the story of Bethany Hamilton, an up and coming surf champion in Hawaii, who had her life turned upside down when, at age 13, a shark attack results in the loss of one of her arms. Hamilton, played by AnnaSophia Robb (Because of Winn-Dixie, Bridge to Terabithia) wrestles with God's purposes as she seeks to rebuild her life and shattered dreams. Encouraged and supported by her parents(played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt), and refocused by her youth minister (played by Carrie Underwood), Bethany embarks on a journey of discovery, one that takes her to visit tsunami victims in Thailand, into her own heart and finally back onto the waves. Soul Surfer is a rare movie jewel in the fact that it presents an engaging true story, but is not laced with profanity and sexual content. This movie shows that with God all things truly are possible and that life, even in tragedy, is worth living to the fullest.
Support this movie by going to see it on opening weekend (April 8). Link to the trailer below.

Watch the Soul Surfer Trailer

The Ill-Tempered Klavier by Ben Shive

I love this record (CD for you younger folk). Referring to this as a record is appropriate because it hearkens back to the day when a new music release meant an entire collection of new music from your favorite band or artist. Every song mattered and it's merit wasn't dependent on the success of a single-song download. The Ill-Tempered Klavier by Ben Shive contains songs that matter. I received this CD as a Christmas gift and have listened to it in its entirety probably twenty times since then. I can't craft words that do it justice, but since you need to have something to give you reason to purchase this for your collection, here we go.

The Ill-Tempered Klavier will be satisfying to music fans that bore with the usual 3 minute radio hits. Here you will find tunes that are not unlike the Beatles with the string arrangements swirling in and out of beautiful melodies. Unexpected changes and variance of instruments keeps the listener engaged.

A Name, A Name, A Name sounds like it could have been on the White Album.

Out of Tune is a bouncy tune with an old upright piano sharing his heart. Rise Up is a song of that builds in intensity providing hope for those who believe in a final victory over all evil .

My favorite song on this record is Do You Remember?, a love song that shows the joy of remembering all that has gone into the building of a relationship. Fans of The Beach Boys will quickly notice that this one could have easily been on Pet Sounds, complete with great Brian Wilsonesque harmonies and catchy melody.

My next favorite is New Year which can best be described by considering what would happen if you blended The Alan Parsons Project with Christopher Cross (If you have to ask who these are, then see paragraph 1). Yes, you guessed it....an immediate radio hit because of its simplicity, yet heart level connectivity so all can relate. You will hum along with this one and want to hit repeat and hear it again when it is over.

4th of July is a different take on our independence celebration.

I could go on and on about this record. It is that good. My recommendation is that you download it for only $7 from The Rabbit Room at http://www.rabbitroom.com/ (click on the music tab at the top). Get the lyric sheet from http://www.benshive.com/, grab a cup of coffee, put your headphones and enjoy.

Help this talented musician in continuing to provide quality music. His second release, The Cymbal Crashing Clouds, is now in the making and I can't wait to hear it.

The Charlatan's Boy by Jonathan Rogers

Grady is an orphan that has no idea of who he is or where he came from. He is also the narrator of Jonathan Roger's new book, The Charlatan's Boy:
"I don't remember one thing about the day I was born. It hasn't been for lack of trying either...I only know one man who might be able to tell me where I come from, and that man is a liar and a fraud."
That liar is Floyd, a flim-flammer just looking for his next big "act" that will rake in the copper coins. His on-going act is in the feechie trade; this act focuses on Grady playing the role of a for-real in the flesh feechie. Everyone in the frontier of Corenwald has heard of the feechies, but no one has ever seen one.
Grady plays one and Floyd cashes in on it. When the civilizers tire of talk of feechies, Floyd and Grady revive interest by creating a feechie scare across the land. The plan works and so business booms again.
Jonathan Rogers has created a world that hints of the American Deep South, with its tales that weave truth and legend. Being a native Georgian like Rogers, I appreciate his yarn-spinning and had to laugh at times thinking of similar type stories I had heard growing up...not of feechies, but of other mysterious entities just waiting to gobble you up in the night (or if they are daring, in broad daylight). Humor and sadness are quilted into satisfying quest for belonging and self discovery. I applaud Rogers for this contribution to Southern literature which is great for children and adults alike.
I received this book for free from Waterbrook Mutnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Tired of Trying to Measure Up by Jeff VanVonderen

I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this book. I only know that my spirit resonated with the title because I was, without question, tired of trying to measure up. VanVonderen has broken his book into two parts: Part 1: Wounded by Shame and Part 2: Healed by Grace.

Part 1 works toward revealing what is at the core of the feeling of not measuring up to what the world or specific people expect. It explores a fascinating model of how one gets caught in a cycle of give up/try hard. This cycle is one of defeat and a continual drive to "perform" better. VanVonderen details how this cycle works as one caught in it filters everything through a lens he calls the "shame-based grid", a view that clouds all of life with failure and shame. A person living in this grid will remain tired because nothing will ever be enough and yet will continue to try to do better and work a little harder to measure up and be acceptable. It is a futile effort with destructive results, not only to the one "trying harder" but to all relationships and people in their path. Reading this first section, I had more than a few "a-ha" moments as I saw myself in the illustration and model he presented. I was relieved to move to part 2 for some help in the cycle.

Part 2: Healed by Grace begins with an introduction stating that "it is God's grace, not our striving, that makes us accepted and acceptable. It is His performance in Christ, not our trying to perform, that eradicates our shame...we can be loved, accepted, capable, and worthwhile for free-because, in love, God purchased our eternal state of 'acceptedness' with the blood of His own Son, Jesus Christ...That's the real Good News of the gospel." This section introduces the "rest cycle" to replace the "give up/try hard cycle" and focuses on the grace grid which is replacing the shame-based grid. The goal of the grace grid is to be alive, where the goal of the shame based grid is to perform better and be acceptable. In Christ, the work has already been accomplished on the Cross by Christ and because of that, I am accepted and acceptable to Him, the only one I need to be accepted by. VanVonderen provides a lot of scripture to point out the grace grid that he is presenting, which is basically our identity in Christ.

This book helped to bring some clarity to areas of my life that I found to be helpful. Seeing some of his points played out in my life wasn't easy to take and accept, but overall it was beneficial to understanding why I do certain things and think certain ways. I recommend this book to anyone that battles feelings of inadequacy and struggles with being "good enough" in anyone's eyes. If you have wondered where all of these feelings come from and want to move to freedom in Christ, this is a good read for you.

In the Spirit of Christmas by Chuck Cape

The season is almost upon us. The time for celebrating the birth of Jesus. One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the music. Late November and December have a melody of their own and the joy and peace is captured in them. You hear it in laughter and even in the background of the hustle and bustle of shoppers at the mall. I look forward to Christmas each year in hopes that a new selection of holiday songs will catch my ear and be added to my collection of favorites. This year it is In the Spirit of Christmas by Chuck Cape. You might not see this CD displayed at your local music store, but don't let it slip past you (it can be purchased at iTunes).
I am a big fan of instrumental keyboard music, especially solo piano, and George Winston's December has been my all-time favorite piano CD. In the Spirit of Christmas belongs right next to it and if I keep listening to it, it may even surpass George on my Christmas instrumental favorites list. Cape has painted musical decorations and a snowfall of notes that fill any room with the joy and wonder of Christmas.

"A Winter's Hymn", with it's beautiful melody has an undercurrent of sadness, much like the sadness that come in the cold, chilly months of winter when all of nature seems to come to a standstill, waiting in silence for the first ray of spring and the dawning of new life. The title fits perfectly the feelings that stirred in me when I first listened: I wanted to kneel in awe of God and His mysterious gift of winter. Capes unique renderings of traditional Christmas carols such as Away in a Manger, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, and Jingle Bells are refreshing and warm the heart like a hot mug of wassail or a cup of hot chocolate warm the body.
I have included a video below for "The Remembrance Carol." I love what Cape says about where the song came from. He says, "My mom was the one that showed me the spirit of Christmas, but life moves on and she passed away a few years ago. I wrote this song the first Christmas after she passed. So, this song is dedicated to my Mom and anyone who has ever missed someone at Christmas." His words breathe life into the song and I can relate to them. This year will mark the 10th year anniversary of the death of my father, who left us suddenly two weeks before Christmas that year and only one week before our annual family Christmas get together. Knowing the story behind the song, it is hard for me not to listen as tears fill my eyes as I remember in sadness, but also in thankfulness of the time I had with my father. So, like Chuck Cape says, this song is for those of us that know what it is like to miss someone as you take in the sights and sound of Christmas.





As you can tell, I recommend this CD to all lovers of Christmas music, especially those of you who, like me, love to hear piano music blanketing the landscape during Christmas. Thank you, Chuck Cape, for a brilliant addition to the ever-expanding playlist of Christmas music.

Adventures in Booga Booga Land-Volume 1

In Adventures in Booga Booga Land, we follow Gerard the Giraffe and Marty the monkey as they go through life in Booga Booga Land, living out the parables of Jesus. The first two segments cover the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) and the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 5:24-27). These parts told the parables correctly, but I thought they failed in overall application when they didn't even mention Jesus. The only place it was even mentioned as being from Jesus was in the titles of the segments. If I was a child unable to read, I would have no idea these had anything to do with God or Jesus' teaching.

The final segment, based on the Light of the World/Lamp under a bowl passage in Matthew 5:14-16, just didn't seem to make much sense with regard to what the segment was supposed to be based on. On top of this, the voices for the various characters were nothing unique and the script was lame. Attempts at humor fell flat. Maybe the books are better. As much as I was hoping to like this DVD, I'm not even sure if I would be willing to give it another chance. Farewell, Booga Booga Land.

Retiring my Bible

I decided several weeks back, maybe even months, that on my birthday this year I would retire my Bible. I received this NIV Disciple's Study Bible from my parents on my birthday 1990, the year that Michelle and I returned to Christ after a time of wandering aimlessly. The truth contained in this book has carried me from the desert of Arizona back to Georgia and then to Tennessee. It has held me up through the death of my father and my brother. It has given me hope in the troubled waters of strained relationships and shined light into the dark places of my soul when I chose to hide in the shadows. In those twenty years, I have cried into it's pages over disappointments in life and unfulfilled dreams. It has consistently reminded me that I must die so Christ may live in me. Some lessons I learned and some I ignored, but it never gave up on me. The pages are filled with notes from my journey, so I will keep this treasured book in hopes that someone travelling behind me in later generations may pick it up and use it on the journey. So now I lay my friend aside and begin the next 20 years with my ESV Study Bible. I may consult my old friend occasionally to talk about "the good ole days" and see what it has been up to, but for now I say "Thank you" for a great 20 years.