Head on over to check it out!

Fireproof is a moral tale centered on Caleb & Catherine, two young professionals married only seven years. As their careers flourish, their marriage falters and divorce looms. As the gap between Caleb and his wife deepens, Caleb’s father challenges him to try a book called The Love Dare, a 40-day “self-help,” if you will, to improve his marriage. He takes the challenge, only half-heartedly at first, but it proves to be much more difficult that he anticipated. What he first imagined was a problem only with his relationship with Catherine, he became to realize that it was much deeper than that.

The film critic in me wants to rail the movie for its poor acting, predictable dialog, and for being emotionally manipulative. However, even from the film side, there were some very outstanding features–cinematography was, for the most part, very well executed. The music was also one of the strongest components to the film, featuring several contemporary Christian songs including Slow Fade by Casting Crowns. One very important thing to remember about this film is that it was almost completely funded, produced, written, directed, acted, supported, etc., by church members as an outreach. With that in mind, this is one of the best films in its category.

The Christian side of me wishes he could make sure that every married, engaged, dating, divorced, widowed, and single person (is that everyone?) would watch this film and meditate on its lesson(s). This movie addresses several issues–including adultery, pornography, pride, selfishness, divorce, and more–in a way that Hollywood would probably scoff at. As Hollywood seeks to push the boundaries of decency and morality, the concepts of marriage being for life and putting your marriage before your career are utter foolishness. But as we know, the ways of God appear foolish to the world (“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14). Growing up, I thought divorce was a natural part of life–I knew more adults who had experienced a divorce than those who had not. It was not until my pre-marital counseling (at age 25) that someone presented me with the idea, “divorce is not an option.” I wrote that idea on my heart, and every single time there is a situation where a disagreement could potentially escalate into an argument, God reminds me of this. Without God, there would not be marriage, so why would you attempt to try to have your marriage without God?

To learn more about the movie, watch the trailer below, and then visit www.fireproofmymarriage.com. The Love Dare is also available in paperback
(and probably e-book too, if that’s your thing). I pray that this movie (and/or the book) serves as a first step in your attempt to strengthen your marriage and deepen your relationship with God. –”We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19.

A Wonderful Sight

December 12 — The Full Cold Moon
Sky watchers will be dazzled by an exceptionally high, bright, and large Moon. In fact, this Moon is 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons this year. Why? The Moon is both in its full phase and at a point in its orbit that is nearest Earth, called its perigee. When these events occur together, the Moon is closer to Earth than usual. The effect? The Full Cold Moon will appear especially large near the horizon as the Sun sets.

The Moon is also high at this time of year; when it’s overhead (near midnight), it will light up the landscape. Take a magical stroll and see your world at night. You won’t need a flashlight!

Because of how the morning ride went I wanted to leave early enough to make sure I got home on time. I left my office building around 2:30 PM and waited by the street for about 20 minutes before the bus arrived. It took just a few minutes to reach the next stop, where I waited on the bench for another 15 minutes for the next bus. While this route was the northbound version of the route I had taken in the morning, it did not follow the same path. We snaked through office parks, apartments, and even backtracked. We finally reached the end of my street and I walked the 0.2 miles to my house. I walked in the front door at 3:42 PM.

So now I can say that I have indeed taken the city bus, but it was not easy. I did have relatively easy access to a bus stop, but I still had to walk a distance to get there. I wasn’t able to make the transfer schedule in the morning, but had I been an hour earlier I could have made the transfer with time to spare. The drivers I had were helpful and the buses were clean, but the time it took just didn’t make it worth it for me to ride every day.

Total cost: $2.50
Total time: 2 hours 13 minutes
(my normal car commute time: 30 minutes)

Breakdown of time and distance:
Total bus riding time: 45 minutes
Total waiting time: 55 minutes
Total walking time: 33 minutes
Total walking distance: 1.8 miles

I packed my backpack and left home at 8:15 AM and walked 0.6 miles to the nearest bus stop (driving takes 2 min, but me walking took 11 min). It was nice to walk past trees and singing birds and see the clouds float by. I waited at the stop for 15 minutes before the bus arrived.

The bus driver was a riot; when he opened the door he said “d’you just take my pitcher?” I laughed and said no, that I took the bus’ picture and he wasn’t in it. He was o.k. with that and let me on. I put my money in the machine, got my transfer pass, and took a seat. The bus was like any other city bus, but the cool part was that when I was in school I had gotten a tour of the factory that made these very buses. It was neat to see the end use of a product that I had watched during its assembly.

We rode 15 minutes before we came to my transfer stop. The driver told me where to catch the next bus so I got off and headed in that direction. I crossed the street and stood in front of the gas station Quik Trip (avoiding their sprinklers that were thoroughly watering the sidewalk). As I waited, a different bus driver parked his bus across the street and walked over to refill his drink at QT. I thought it would be a good idea to double check that I was in the right spot; turns out I was indeed in the right spot, but at the wrong time. It was 9:03 AM and the bus I needed ended its route at 8:45 AM (and wouldn’t be back for another hour). Rats!! So I walked the remaining 1 mile (17 min) to my building.

I triumphantly arrived to my desk at 9:20 AM, with sunburned cheeks and ready to go back home for a shower! Before I left this morning I was sad because the extra time it took for me to ride the bus (30 min extra one way) meant that I wouldn’t have time to workout at the YMCA tonight. So far on my way to work today I have “worked out” for 28 min, walked 1.6 miles, and sweat just as much as I do during a workout. And I have yet to get back home. In fact, I’m not even sure how I’m getting home, so I have no doubt I will surpass my workout expectations today.

I’ll post again about my ride home tonight, if I make it home…