I would like to start out by saying that this movie was not for kids, and although many thought it was, it was not, then again parents should get the hint from Jonze's earlier films like Being John Malcovich, were not for kids either, and that the book was published in the 1960's. That does not mean anything really, but to be honest I do not see a lot of parents reading it to their kids these days.

But the movie is flawless. Unless you are old and you can't stand the sight of artistic vision and the embellishment of a classic story, than it is not for you. But this movie is a beautiful story that even expresses the sad fears that exist in one small child and entire generation.

All the monsters that Max meets are just representations of the monsters that live in him. He is scared of abandonment, people, love, divorce, etc. This movie is a happy yet tragic tale of a young child searching for answers. And yet the beauty of it is beyond my dreams.

What Defines Us?

Lets go back to what I titled this blog after. Normal. I have spent the last year thinking about this word. Normal…. I posted many articles in the school paper about the definition of normal. I came to the conclusion that everyone has a normal, but that there really is only one normal, and that is what God says it is. We can argue and think all we want on what is normal, what is okay, or in a sense justified, but the plain truth is, if it does not line up with him, it is abnormal, and plainly sin.

What is shocking to me, Jesus was the only normal person to grace this planet. It is without a doubt that he was. He lived the life that man was meant to live from the start. He lived in complete submission to the father. After all it was he who said, “Your will be done.” Jesus lived a life of holiness, and purity, and he did not defile himself. Yes he was tempted, but he did not give into it.

We see the same story in the book of genesis, man is tempted, and yet he submits to sin. Why does this happen? BECAUSE WE ARE NOT NORMAL. God’s intent was for us to stay in the lines that he had created, and yet we crossed them, forcing God to take something natural and sacrifice it for our abnormal behavior.

What is even more shocking is that we as humans have become so accustomed to normality that we have literally accepted sin as normal. This is scary. If we become so drowned in the fact that, “everyone does it,” than we are accepting sin as normal, and rebelling against God. We are saying yes to something that God does not see as natural. This is seen in same sex marriage. Or to be more exact homosexuality.(To clarify, I do not hate them, and I have many friends that are, but I do not agree with them, we need to pray for them.) The world no longer views having a sexual relationship with the same gender as sin, in fact it has become so common. People have forgotten that it is a plan of the devil. Satan wants to destroy the very fabric of our existence. The firs thing God established was marriage and the family. Satan knows that if he can get that everything after that will fall apart.

But we have become so passive, that many Christians are accepting same sex couples as God created relationships. The real point is, homosexuality is real, and it is a real temptation. Many men and women deal with it, but just like we view killing, or fornication, it is sin. It’s rebellion. And it is not the only abnormality that is being accepted.

We are in a dangerous state, if we think we can define what is normal. That job is only left up to God.

Dangers of Church Life

I wish that people could see how stupid I can be sometimes, then again… I will leave it at that.

As I wake up in the morning, there are three things that I realize, my room is a mess, I am tired, and God is still God. As I have gone into this year, I have been sucked into a pathway of eternal purpose that even the greatest dreamers and visionaries could think of. This has been a crazy, most annoying, yet stretching and fulfilling, and blessed year of my life.

To be frank, and that is not my name, I do not have it all figured out. There I said it!!!! That feels so much better. But there was a time, not really a time, but just recently where I did. Let me warn you now this is the most dangerous person to be in the world. Once you set yourself there, you become the most empty, selfish, and insecure jerk that ever “graced” the planet. It would be easy for me to say that I have not been there, but the truth is always better to tell, and it is always harder to spit out no matter what you are talking about.

As an elementary student, younger in fact, I accepted the fact that I need a savior in my life. I drew the line, that I am not good on my own, and that by grace I can be more, that God can use me, but most importantly, it is Him who it is all about. I grew up in the church, and I love it. I am proud that my parents obeyed and raised children the biblical way, and built a family that is rock solid on truth. But like all things there are dangers.

Growing up in the church was fun. I knew everybody, I was safe, I was promised watermelon at the 4^th of July BBQ, I was insured in the hug of a pastor or friend, and I was given access to areas and information that no one else knew about. There is much that comes out of growing up in the church, but there are many things that must be identified in these kids, much like me, so that the church does not become a place to go, but a place to be. There is a difference, If you are going somewhere, it means that you “go” out of necessity, for comfort of yourself, and that you may look good. But being, dwelling, is a state where you are there, weekly, daily perhaps, but it is not out of duty, but out of passion and love. To be at the church is to extend God’s kingdom outside the four walls of the church. To go to church is simply to follow a pattern that has been laid out for years by thousands of lukewarm Christians, much like myself for what seemed to long.

What I find odd is that God used me even through my apathy. I was baptized, received the Holy Spirit, and my prayer language, all through the same church. I am proud of that. And I am glad that from a young age that I felt like I had ownership in something of the kingdom. Yet this is where the rub lies. As I began to grow in Christ, I became more prideful. Now I am not saying that pride comes from being a Christian, but there can be a pride that is in the things of God, and even here humility must be demonstrated. As I grew I witnessed the changes in the church, I latched to things, and the church, as I said before was a place to go for my own personal comfort. At this point in my life I was not yet able to notice the seed planted right there that led to so much more than church, but true, undeniable sin.

See, when you latch to something there is much danger. God has built things in this universe to change, sometimes it is in a pattern, and other times it just happens whenever it feels like it. How do I know this? Look at creation… (Seasons, weather, land, water, animals.) We even as humans experience physical change, and lo and behold the church does as well. Ministries come and go, members and pastors, ideas, messages, kids, and so on. The list is endless. Yet here as a Christian a problem lies in us, and not the church, which I, and so many others have blamed. When the church decides to do something different, for instance hire new staff, or paint the colors of the wall from purple to yellow, or whatever, there is bound to be someone getting upset. Now is this the churches fault. No! It lies clearly with the person who is finding the House of God to be a place of comfort, when in reality the body of Christ is never about the comfort of ourselves, it is not about the type of music, or how many flowers are in the front. The house of God is a place of hurt, anguish, agony, and sacrifice. Just because we ended old testament principals, does not mean that they exist. They do, but in a different form.

Here is where the problem hurt me— It was about me in church, and because of that no matter what happened, if I did not like it, it was there fault, after all they should have been thinking of me and how I would feel when they did whatever. Now you must understand, I was a freshman in High School when the true seed was planted. It has taken me four years to get there and back again! Once I became latched and desired so badly many things not happening, I broke. I became bitter, and I did not like the church. I lost trust in my pastors, my parents, my friends, and I wanted nothing to do with them. If they were going to “forget me” I was surely going to forget them. I found myself then not plugged it, no longer serving, and hanging with the wrong group of people, doing the wrong stuff, and so on. (All the while, I am still telling people that I am a Christian and proclaiming him) Ouch!

Finally God stopped me in my tracks and put an end to my foolishness. I remember last spring break was a time in my life where I was picked out of my sin and placed on the threshing floor of rebuke. A few nights before the break I prayed to God, I laid in my bed crying, sobbing, “God I do not know who I am anymore, show me who I am.” I then fell asleep, woke up the next day and forgot about my prayer, and continued an ignorant life. As the first day of Spring Break rolled around I found myself in a foolish pickle. That Friday night, the Lord convicted me, and I disobeyed still. As I smoked my whatever numbered cigarette, and cussed, and spat like a madman, and sat around with my friends, laughing, God was watching. I will never forget my attitude. I was aiming for nothing. I had truly fallen to the level, where I no longer saw my worth in Christ or anything of God.

The next day my wonderful, Christ Like, and saints of parents, confronted me on my behavior. I was changed. And in instant light and exposing of my sins, God pulled me out and I became free, and it took me so long to realize where this all came from. How did I get to the point from growing up in a church, where my parents worked, and pastured, and counseled, and lead at, a church where I served and worked and gave to, How did I loose that passion, because I saw the church in the perspective that it was all for me. This one little seed, destroyed four years of growth in my life. And was it not for the grace of God, I would not be where I am today. In fact I have no clue where I would be.

But the grace of God was sufficient, the friends that I was hanging out with, came to church, they too had their lives changed, one of them who has completely changed and is no serving in the House of God today. God used my sin to change. But that is not the point of the story. This is not a message on grace, but a warning. Stay in the House of God with this mindset, it is all about him and His kingdom, and not your comfort. Do not grow apathetic like me and let it pass by. It will destroy you, and it may not be the same, but you will find yourself going to church after church after church, because you have not shifted the blame onto yourself.

I firmly believe that God got me where I am right now because of the following lessons that he taught me.

1. DO NOT BECOME ACCOSTUMED- you must treat church like it is the most special thing on the planet. Do not get used to anything. Allow yourself to see it His way.

2. DON’T FIND A COMFORT ZONE- you must never be comfortable with spiritual life in the church. Do not talk to the same people, serve, talk to others, love on others, pray, get involved.

3. TRUST THE ATHOURITY OF YOUR LEADERS- if your pastor says you are doing something, no questions ask, you are doing it. Unless it CLEARLY goes against the word of God, you must submit and obey.

That is all that I really need to share with you. Know this, God is still teaching me this, and this process will continue. We must always remind ourselves that God is in control and that we are not.

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