for love of a book
photo by the authorI've loved books since before I could read them. I vaguely remember chewing on a cloth book my mother or aunt gave me, but it may only be a family story. I do know I read early, and with gusto. ANYTHING: cereal boxes, manuals, maps, kids books, the paper, comics, and whatever else had letters on it.
Later, I'd end up an English major -- where do most readers fetch up? So, this is a life-long reader's ode to her most recent love affair with a book.
Because last night, I read one of those books you know will stay with you. Maybe it won't be everyone's big book -- it's not Tolkien or Tolstoi. But it a little like the books I read as a child -- those books you inhaled, staying up into the late late night to finish.
I checked it out of the library yesterday afternoon, and was done with the 300+ pages by late evening. It was that necessary to read every word.
I'm not going to say what book it was -- that's not the point. It could be any of at least 50 books I've read through my life:Little Women, as a child. Later, The Last Unicorn. And of course Moby Dick, and a book of poetry by Ishmael Reed. Another by Mark Doty. M.F.K. Fisher's Art of Eating. May Sarton and Carolyn Heilbrun, Mary Oliver and Mary Rose O'Reilley. Jack Kornfeld. Howard Gardiner and Richard Rodriguez and so many others. Books that transformed me, changed as surely as if I had them tattooed onto my skin.
courtesy GoogleThis is just one of many many bookshelves through our house, crammed with mysteries, sci fi, theory, science, how-to, gardening, war lit, poetry, art, esoterica, religion and spiritual thought, cookbooks... Almost any kind of book you can imagine.
Because here's the point: books are FOOD. Food for heart and mind and growth and the broadening of all our horizons. It's why people fear them, why writers are still killed in some countries. Why various volumes have been banned over the centuries.
Sometimes, when I am teaching, I remind people that the first of Hitler's victims were not the Jews. They were the artists, the teachers, the intellectuals. Because within those minds were books. And books are as dangerous as any weapon, if not as immediately fatal.
Go find a book. Be ready to change.
New! Bible Trivia Quiz
How well do you know your bible trivia? Here's 10 questions to test your knowledge of favorite bible stories. Get started and have fun!
When You Can't Take It Anymore
Still, quiet, calm. That's how I like to be, but when I'm agitated by a situation that won't go away, that's how I am not. Tea by the Sea, original oil painting by Steve Henderson.I don't know about you, but I have been in particular life situations that go on so long, with so little change, that I simply want to give up.
Only, I can't.
I mean, what am I supposed to do: pack up all my things and go . . . where?
It's not as if I haven't tried, telling God,
"Listen: I have prayed and prayed and prayed about this, and YOU'RE Not Doing Anything. I'm done with you. Good-bye."
Yeah. Right.
Chronic Problems, No Solution in Sight
If you are facing a long-term, chronic problem that just never seems to go away, be encouraged, because there is an answer. And although it doesn't look like it, progress is being made despite your not being able to see it.
Because I've had plenty of opportunity to practice, I have found a few coping strategies to get through those times that I'm kicking around in the desert, waiting:
Yes, You Can
1) I know you're convinced that you can't take it anymore, but you seriously can. As tempting as it is to stay in bed, eat chips, and play games on your Kindle, get up. The very act of walking around does something. Putting on your socks is progress, setting the pot on for tea is more progress. By the time you eat breakfast and face the first morning's task, you tell yourself, "I can do Step A. Then I'll do Step B. And C. I'll make it to Z."
2 Peter 1: 3 assures us, "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness." Everything.
Think about it: the tasks you're setting for yourself are doable -- just maybe not the tasks you would like to do -- but it's not as if you're facing the Grand Canyon with a rope and a hook and instructions to throw the rope, hook it to the other side, and walk across.
Standing here, looking down, is enough. You want me to walk across this thing on a tightrope? Only with God, my friend, only with God. Diaphanous, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Great Big Canvas.Walking a Tightrope
2) Speaking of walking across the Grand Canyon, that's what life feels like sometimes: you're on a tightrope, halfway across (don't ask me how -- I don't know how you or I managed it this far either) and your only options are to turn around and head back (are you nuts?), fall (not an option), or keep going forward. Both you and I know that we don't know how to tightrope walk, so how is it that we're here?
Proverbs 3: 5-6 tells us, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." He knows how to walk a tightrope; that's all that matters.
God's It, All of It
3) God's all you've got, you know, and He really is enough. If you get tired of telling him about your problems, give it a rest. He won't forget, and we certainly know that you won't, but when God's timing isn't in alliance with yours and you keep running into a brick wall, why keep whacking your head?
Give yourself a precious 15 minutes today to totally escape from your thoughts about your situation. Focus, determinedly, on something else. Take a walk and absorb the sunshine and the breeze. Do a jigsaw puzzle and concentrate on finding just the right piece. Lean on the gate and watch the chickens.
Revelation 8:4 tells us that, "The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand." Your prayers are precious, and they're heard. Take a break.
Change Happens Fast
4) Don't think that what you see, is what you have to get.
While it's tempting to believe that your situation will go on, and on, and on until the day that you drag yourself into your death bed, think of God's words to Moses in Exodus 6: 6:
"I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians . . . I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment." God didn't stop working in people's lives 3,500 years ago, and He doesn't limit his concern to specific people, with the exclusion of you.
God Is Good Indeed
5) Think about the goodness of God. This is a variation of Step 3, which encourages you to take a break from thinking about your situation all the time. Since you're dependent upon God for your answers, think about who He is:
He's perfect. (Psalm 18: 30)
He's completely good. (1 John 1:5)
He's powerful and in control. (Matthew 19: 26)
And most importantly, He is your Father, and He loves you very much. (1 John 3: 1)
Be encouraged, my friend. You are not -- and are never -- alone.
Thank You
Thank you for joining me at Commonsense Christianity, where I write about living the Christian life, as opposed to talking about it. Of course, this means that I'm stumbling and fumbling my way through the process, just like you, and I share what I learn as I learn it.
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Kevin Sorbo's not an atheist but he plays one in the movie "God's Not Dead"
Here’s today’s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.
Continuing our countdown to Friday's theatrical premiere of God's Not Dead (3/21). Yesterday, Shane Harper (Disney's Good Luck Charlie) talked about his role as the earnest young college student forced to defend his faith through classroom debates that pit him against his atheist philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo). He said his own faith helped him relate to his character he portrays in the film. Kevin Sorbo, on the other hand, is a believer playing an adamant disbeliever.
I've interviewed Kevin twice before -- once when he was promoting his 2012 UP TV film Christmas Angel and once for the 2012 release of the faith-themed Abel's Field. He remains one the busiest actors I know. Since his days starring as TV'sHercules in the nineties and as Captain Dylan Hunt in 110 episodes of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda from 2000 to 2005, he has starred and/or appeared in several films -- some of which may have run against Hollywood's politically-correct grain. As a result, he has proven popular with audiences but, perhaps, a bit controversial within the entertainment industry bubble.
In 2005, he played the title role in the ABC sports bar sitcom pilot Bobby Cannon (penned by Barry Kemp of Coach andNewhart fame). The pilot reportedly went through the roof in audience testing yet the network passed on it. I actually saw it and can attest that it was laugh-out-loud funny with appealing and believable characters. One can only speculate why the network didn't pick the show up.
But that's all water under the bridge now as the actor is probably more in demand than ever with no less than 18 films in various phases of development, plus a possible project with Mark Burnett and a mystery series pilot for Hallmark tentatively called Can't Get Arrested.
JWK: What attracted you to the role of the atheistic Professor Raddison in God's Not Dead?
KEVIN SORBO: I get a lot of scripts that come in and I read them and I give them 20 pages. If they don't hold my interest in those 20 pages, I just say no. This one I just loved right from the start. I loved all the characters. I loved the plot line. I loved the different stories going on and (how) they meet at the very end. I kind of look at this like a family-friendly, faith-based movie version of the movie Crash that came out a few years ago and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The character's interesting for me. You know, I'm not an atheist so playing an atheist was kinda fun. We're actors and it's interesting to play different roles and parts. I've got plenty of experience studying that sort of world because I have a lot of atheist friends and I actually had some atheist college professors...The movie had a great message in it...I love doing faith-based movies but I don't want (them) to be preaching to the choir. You already have the choir. They're the people who believe in God, who believe in Jesus. Movies like this are for those fence sitters, those independent voters, so to speak.
JWK: What's it like playing such an arrogant SOB. I know you've played even killers in the past -- but you're known for playing good guys and heroes. Which do you actually prefer to play?
KS: I think every actor likes to play a villain every now and then because it's just kinda fun. In the end, you hope the villain gets his just desserts. But I still prefer the Hercules, the Captain Dylan Hunt, the hero guy. I kinda still like that guy because I still have faith that good's gonna triumph over evil even though evil's making a lot of ground over these last few years in the world. But I'm still hoping that ultimately most people want to see good things happen to the world and not bad things.
JWK: Your character in God's Not Dead sort of reminded me of one of those murderers played by some big guest star on Columbo. He had that sort of arrogance.
KS: He does have a bit of an attitude about himself, no question.
JWK: As a believer, is it hard to play a nonbeliever -- and to play it so strongly?
KS: It was in the words. It was a well-written script. It was on the page. So, for me, it was just committing to that and going along with the flow. I mean I know I'm acting...As an actor, it's fun to do and try different things. (You don't want) to play the same person all the time. As much as I love (the characters I played) on my two TV series, I was ready to move on and do other things, as well.
JWK: What do you hope people take from this particular film?
KS: I hope it makes them think. You know, it's very strange. We live in a world right now...where it's open season on people who believe in God (and) who (are) Christian and...believe in Christ. I've actually seen polls (saying that) 80 to 90 percent of people in America believe in God or believe in something that started all this -- that there's a Supreme Being...I find it strange that there's a huge backlash. You know, (we're told) to embrace Muslims but you can't embrace Christians. It's very strange what's going on in our country right now. I haven't figured what it is and why it is this is going on. People scream for tolerance yet they have none. They scream for freedom of speech yet they want to curtail other people that want to havetheir freedom of speech exercised. I'm in a weird place right now (as to) what's going on in our country. I can't quite figure out why it's going in the direction that it's going in.
JWK: Have you experienced any backlash in Hollywood for your views?
KS: Oh, sure. I mean I'm an independent in Hollywood. I've voted Democratic in my live, I've voted Republican in my life. I'm one of the few people I think in Hollywood who actually comes out and says "Hey, you know what, I vote for who I think is the best person, period." I'm not a party guy. There are people on both sides of the political fence that I don't agree with. To me, I look to see who I honestly think is going to be the best person. So, that, in itself, is enough to get me blacklisted in Hollywood...They scream for tolerance, They scream for freedom of speech but it you disagree at all with what they're saying then they can blacklist you. They have the power to do that.
I mean Hollywood doesn't owe me anything. I get it. I understand that but, on the same side, it's like "Okay, why can't I have an opinion? Why does that cost me jobs?" I mean there's so much anger...in Hollywood. It's weird. Their arguments aren't logical. They aren't based on fact. If you hit people up with facts, they just say you're wrong and they don't give reasons why you're wrong. Their whole idea is that they say they care so much more. What do you mean you care so much more? Here's the reality. Here are the statistics that will back me up with the things I'm saying. They don't want to hear that. They don't want to see it. They don't care. They just have an anger.
JWK: Yet you remain a very busy and in-demand actor. I checked your IMDB page and you're booked solid with projects.
KS: I'm busy, I knock on wood. I think my manager likes that I take so many of these smaller movies. He thinks if I take these small movies it will hurt my career. So, I shouldn't work? And then Hollywood will want to use me? If I don't do anything for three years all of a sudden they'll come knocking at my door? I don't look at it that way. To me, it's like if I like a project (I'll do it). Are they all winners? No. But, you know what, I'm proud of about 90 percent of those movies I've shot in those nine years since Andromeda finished. The other ten percent? Yeah, there are five in there that were just stupid. You know, they didn't turn out the way I thought they were gonna turn out, it's embarrassing, blah, blah, blah. But most of them, yeah, I think they're good movies. When people do like you did and go on IMDB and then check What If... or Soul Surferthey go "Yeah, that was a good movie!"
KS:...You know, it's weird. You meet people and they haven't seen me since Andromeda or even Hercules and they go "Are you retired?" and I go "No, I'm not retired. I shot eight movies last year!" Unless you're in a major studio movie or you're on a network or a huge HBO TV series, it's hard to get people to turn those channels and check other things. But that's just the way we are.
JWK: I remember the first time I spoke with you was about the UP movie Christmas Angel. I thought that was actually quite good.
KS: It was a great little film. I'm actually talking with that director right now. He's got a very funny movie about relationships.
JWK: I'm impressed by how you move from genre to genre. You do adventures, dramas, romantic comedies, mysteries. Tell me about some of your upcoming projects.
KS: I mix it up. Mythica is very much in the vein of Lord of the Rings. (In the Hallmark TV pilot Can't Get Arrested) I play a private eye. The Secret Handshake is a movie I'm shooting Nashville. It's a very funny film by Howie Klausner. Howie was the guy who wrote the wonderful movie Space Cowboys with Tommy Lee Jones, Clint Eastwood and James Garner.
JWK: Speaking of comedy, I caught Bobby Cannon, your ">2005 ABC sitcom pilot on YouTube. I can honestly tell you that I thought it was really good. I'm amazed it wasn't picked up. I'm actually a big fan of the writer, Barry Kemp.
KS: The president of ABC at the time didn't want to do it even though it tested very, very highly for them and it would have been an eight-year hit. Berry Kemp is a great writer. He has a great track record with Taxi, Newhart and Coach with Craig T. Nelson. You can never figure it out. People have no idea how many great TV pilots are shot and are never shown just because of the (individual whims) of the people in Hollywood. It's already nine years ago and it's still a thorn in my side. It's very disappointing because I was really looking forward to that.
JWK: That Hallmark Channel pilot sounds interesting. TV could use a good private eye show. The network seems like it would be a good fit for you. They're really connecting with a large swath of the audience the broadcast networks seem to have abandoned.
KS: They are. They're doing quite well. They've got a good track record going already. I think they've got three (weekly dramas) on the air so we hope they say "yes" to us.
JWK: What kind of role would you consider to be ideal for you?
KS: I love sitcoms! I love comedies! I think we put a lot of comedy elements in Hercules and Andromeda and a number of the movies I've shot over the last (nine) years.
JWK: Do you think the pendulum is swinging back from darker storytelling and more toward the inspirational?
KS: Here's the thing. There's a huge amount of people in this country that would love to see family-friendly movies. Hopefully, we're doing them well. I think there are a lot of good movies we've been shooting but they don't get the big buzz because they don't have the money to promote them but if people could just search a little bit more and look around they can find them -- and (use) word of mouth. Trust me, Hollywood will make more movies that are family friendly if they see a movie like God's Not Dead. It was shot for two-million dollars. Well, the buzz on it's been unbelievable. We're getting as many hits as these big Hollywood movies are getting on YouTube. So, if they get the word out, trust me, Hollywood will make more of those. It's called show business. They want to make the money. They can't be happy with the 107-million dollar loss they had on a movie like The Lone Ranger with big-name stars.
Note: For more on Kevin Sorbo, check out his website or his book True Strength which relates his personal struggle to recover from three strokes (caused by a shoulder aneurysm) that happened at the height of popularity of his Hercules TV series.
And, just for the fun of it, here's the Bobby Cannon pilot that ABC passed on 2005. See if you don't agree with me that that was a bad call.
Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Continuing our countdown to Friday's theatrical premiere of God's Not Dead (3/21). Yesterday, Shane Harper (Disney's Good Luck Charlie) talked about his role as the earnest young college student forced to defend his faith through classroom debates that pit him against his atheist philosophy professor (Kevin Sorbo). He said his own faith helped him relate to his character he portrays in the film. Kevin Sorbo, on the other hand, is a believer playing an adamant disbeliever.
I've interviewed Kevin twice before -- once when he was promoting his 2012 UP TV film Christmas Angel and once for the 2012 release of the faith-themed Abel's Field. He remains one the busiest actors I know. Since his days starring as TV'sHercules in the nineties and as Captain Dylan Hunt in 110 episodes of Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda from 2000 to 2005, he has starred and/or appeared in several films -- some of which may have run against Hollywood's politically-correct grain. As a result, he has proven popular with audiences but, perhaps, a bit controversial within the entertainment industry bubble.
In 2005, he played the title role in the ABC sports bar sitcom pilot Bobby Cannon (penned by Barry Kemp of Coach andNewhart fame). The pilot reportedly went through the roof in audience testing yet the network passed on it. I actually saw it and can attest that it was laugh-out-loud funny with appealing and believable characters. One can only speculate why the network didn't pick the show up.
But that's all water under the bridge now as the actor is probably more in demand than ever with no less than 18 films in various phases of development, plus a possible project with Mark Burnett and a mystery series pilot for Hallmark tentatively called Can't Get Arrested.
JWK: What attracted you to the role of the atheistic Professor Raddison in God's Not Dead?
KEVIN SORBO: I get a lot of scripts that come in and I read them and I give them 20 pages. If they don't hold my interest in those 20 pages, I just say no. This one I just loved right from the start. I loved all the characters. I loved the plot line. I loved the different stories going on and (how) they meet at the very end. I kind of look at this like a family-friendly, faith-based movie version of the movie Crash that came out a few years ago and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
The character's interesting for me. You know, I'm not an atheist so playing an atheist was kinda fun. We're actors and it's interesting to play different roles and parts. I've got plenty of experience studying that sort of world because I have a lot of atheist friends and I actually had some atheist college professors...The movie had a great message in it...I love doing faith-based movies but I don't want (them) to be preaching to the choir. You already have the choir. They're the people who believe in God, who believe in Jesus. Movies like this are for those fence sitters, those independent voters, so to speak.
JWK: What's it like playing such an arrogant SOB. I know you've played even killers in the past -- but you're known for playing good guys and heroes. Which do you actually prefer to play?
KS: I think every actor likes to play a villain every now and then because it's just kinda fun. In the end, you hope the villain gets his just desserts. But I still prefer the Hercules, the Captain Dylan Hunt, the hero guy. I kinda still like that guy because I still have faith that good's gonna triumph over evil even though evil's making a lot of ground over these last few years in the world. But I'm still hoping that ultimately most people want to see good things happen to the world and not bad things.
JWK: Your character in God's Not Dead sort of reminded me of one of those murderers played by some big guest star on Columbo. He had that sort of arrogance.
KS: He does have a bit of an attitude about himself, no question.
JWK: As a believer, is it hard to play a nonbeliever -- and to play it so strongly?
KS: It was in the words. It was a well-written script. It was on the page. So, for me, it was just committing to that and going along with the flow. I mean I know I'm acting...As an actor, it's fun to do and try different things. (You don't want) to play the same person all the time. As much as I love (the characters I played) on my two TV series, I was ready to move on and do other things, as well.
JWK: What do you hope people take from this particular film?
KS: I hope it makes them think. You know, it's very strange. We live in a world right now...where it's open season on people who believe in God (and) who (are) Christian and...believe in Christ. I've actually seen polls (saying that) 80 to 90 percent of people in America believe in God or believe in something that started all this -- that there's a Supreme Being...I find it strange that there's a huge backlash. You know, (we're told) to embrace Muslims but you can't embrace Christians. It's very strange what's going on in our country right now. I haven't figured what it is and why it is this is going on. People scream for tolerance yet they have none. They scream for freedom of speech yet they want to curtail other people that want to havetheir freedom of speech exercised. I'm in a weird place right now (as to) what's going on in our country. I can't quite figure out why it's going in the direction that it's going in.
JWK: Have you experienced any backlash in Hollywood for your views?
KS: Oh, sure. I mean I'm an independent in Hollywood. I've voted Democratic in my live, I've voted Republican in my life. I'm one of the few people I think in Hollywood who actually comes out and says "Hey, you know what, I vote for who I think is the best person, period." I'm not a party guy. There are people on both sides of the political fence that I don't agree with. To me, I look to see who I honestly think is going to be the best person. So, that, in itself, is enough to get me blacklisted in Hollywood...They scream for tolerance, They scream for freedom of speech but it you disagree at all with what they're saying then they can blacklist you. They have the power to do that.
I mean Hollywood doesn't owe me anything. I get it. I understand that but, on the same side, it's like "Okay, why can't I have an opinion? Why does that cost me jobs?" I mean there's so much anger...in Hollywood. It's weird. Their arguments aren't logical. They aren't based on fact. If you hit people up with facts, they just say you're wrong and they don't give reasons why you're wrong. Their whole idea is that they say they care so much more. What do you mean you care so much more? Here's the reality. Here are the statistics that will back me up with the things I'm saying. They don't want to hear that. They don't want to see it. They don't care. They just have an anger.
JWK: Yet you remain a very busy and in-demand actor. I checked your IMDB page and you're booked solid with projects.
KS: I'm busy, I knock on wood. I think my manager likes that I take so many of these smaller movies. He thinks if I take these small movies it will hurt my career. So, I shouldn't work? And then Hollywood will want to use me? If I don't do anything for three years all of a sudden they'll come knocking at my door? I don't look at it that way. To me, it's like if I like a project (I'll do it). Are they all winners? No. But, you know what, I'm proud of about 90 percent of those movies I've shot in those nine years since Andromeda finished. The other ten percent? Yeah, there are five in there that were just stupid. You know, they didn't turn out the way I thought they were gonna turn out, it's embarrassing, blah, blah, blah. But most of them, yeah, I think they're good movies. When people do like you did and go on IMDB and then check What If... or Soul Surferthey go "Yeah, that was a good movie!"
KS:...You know, it's weird. You meet people and they haven't seen me since Andromeda or even Hercules and they go "Are you retired?" and I go "No, I'm not retired. I shot eight movies last year!" Unless you're in a major studio movie or you're on a network or a huge HBO TV series, it's hard to get people to turn those channels and check other things. But that's just the way we are.
JWK: I remember the first time I spoke with you was about the UP movie Christmas Angel. I thought that was actually quite good.
KS: It was a great little film. I'm actually talking with that director right now. He's got a very funny movie about relationships.
JWK: I'm impressed by how you move from genre to genre. You do adventures, dramas, romantic comedies, mysteries. Tell me about some of your upcoming projects.
KS: I mix it up. Mythica is very much in the vein of Lord of the Rings. (In the Hallmark TV pilot Can't Get Arrested) I play a private eye. The Secret Handshake is a movie I'm shooting Nashville. It's a very funny film by Howie Klausner. Howie was the guy who wrote the wonderful movie Space Cowboys with Tommy Lee Jones, Clint Eastwood and James Garner.
JWK: Speaking of comedy, I caught Bobby Cannon, your ">2005 ABC sitcom pilot on YouTube. I can honestly tell you that I thought it was really good. I'm amazed it wasn't picked up. I'm actually a big fan of the writer, Barry Kemp.
KS: The president of ABC at the time didn't want to do it even though it tested very, very highly for them and it would have been an eight-year hit. Berry Kemp is a great writer. He has a great track record with Taxi, Newhart and Coach with Craig T. Nelson. You can never figure it out. People have no idea how many great TV pilots are shot and are never shown just because of the (individual whims) of the people in Hollywood. It's already nine years ago and it's still a thorn in my side. It's very disappointing because I was really looking forward to that.
JWK: That Hallmark Channel pilot sounds interesting. TV could use a good private eye show. The network seems like it would be a good fit for you. They're really connecting with a large swath of the audience the broadcast networks seem to have abandoned.
KS: They are. They're doing quite well. They've got a good track record going already. I think they've got three (weekly dramas) on the air so we hope they say "yes" to us.
JWK: What kind of role would you consider to be ideal for you?
KS: I love sitcoms! I love comedies! I think we put a lot of comedy elements in Hercules and Andromeda and a number of the movies I've shot over the last (nine) years.
JWK: Do you think the pendulum is swinging back from darker storytelling and more toward the inspirational?
KS: Here's the thing. There's a huge amount of people in this country that would love to see family-friendly movies. Hopefully, we're doing them well. I think there are a lot of good movies we've been shooting but they don't get the big buzz because they don't have the money to promote them but if people could just search a little bit more and look around they can find them -- and (use) word of mouth. Trust me, Hollywood will make more movies that are family friendly if they see a movie like God's Not Dead. It was shot for two-million dollars. Well, the buzz on it's been unbelievable. We're getting as many hits as these big Hollywood movies are getting on YouTube. So, if they get the word out, trust me, Hollywood will make more of those. It's called show business. They want to make the money. They can't be happy with the 107-million dollar loss they had on a movie like The Lone Ranger with big-name stars.
Note: For more on Kevin Sorbo, check out his website or his book True Strength which relates his personal struggle to recover from three strokes (caused by a shoulder aneurysm) that happened at the height of popularity of his Hercules TV series.
And, just for the fun of it, here's the Bobby Cannon pilot that ABC passed on 2005. See if you don't agree with me that that was a bad call.
Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
10 Things That Happened at the Last Supper
Jesus sacrificed his life for the greater good and he did not allow hatred to consume him. Let's take a look at what happened during the last supper, so that we can better learn about that day in history.
New Trailer: Amazing Spider-Man 2
The new trailer for "Spider-Man 2" is all kinds of awesomesause!
You Can Have A Better Marriage
You Can Have a Better Marriage
By Susan Diamond, Prayables
Some people have a stupendous, fireworks on the Fourth of July marriage. Others have a miserable, cry me a river marriage that really stinks. The rest, fit not-so-neatly in-between. How to have a better marriage? It's not as hard as you'd think when you take 5 days to work on your marriage.
Day 1 to a Better Marriage: Surround Yourself With Happy Married People
Make an "Influencer List." Think about the people in your life who are happy in their marriage. You know how to spot the ones who are truly happy. They don't belittle their spouse with sarcasm; embarrass them by pointing out flaws in public. They're the ones who laugh at their spouse's jokes, and have a hard time restraining a kiss or a caress for no good reason. When your list is complete, call the one on top just to say hello. As best as possible, avoid anyone not on the Influencer List for the next five days. Surround yourself with the people in your life who have a better marriage.
Happy married people now surround you.
Day 2 to a Better Marriage: New Attitude
Now that you've made your outside influences marriage-friendly it's time to work on your inner influences. Negative thoughts, sensitivity, (the bad kind) and personal irritations have no place in your new attitude toward your spouse. Only think positive thoughts. Shrug off any "shoulda-couldas" before they take hold, and brush away irritation like you would a pesky fly. There is no place in your head for anything but good and happy thoughts about your spouse.
Happy married people now surround you, and you have a new positive attitude towards your spouse.
Day 3 to a Better Marriage: Nothing But Kindness
Treat your spouse with the same level of customer service you get from your favorite Barrista at Starbucks. Imagine your marriage is a business deal, and your spouse is a million-dollar client. Borrow a corporate mission statement and make it work to improve your marriage: Exceed expectations. Be polite, cheerful, and considerate. Throw in some perks. The "customer" is always right when you're spending five days to a better marriage.
Happy married people surround you, you have a positive attitude, and you're providing your spouse with nothing but kindness.
Day 4 to a Better Marriage: Talk it Up
Brag about your spouse to someone who cares. Find something nice to say about your spouse and tell it to a good friend, parent, or child. You'll have a better marriage when the right people are talking about the right things when it comes to your spouse. Chances are your words of admiration will get back to your spouse and create ripples of good feelings.
Happy married people surround you, you have a positive attitude, you're extra kind, and today you've bragged to someone who loves your spouse.
Day 5 to a Better Marriage: Be Practical
Look at your marriage from the outside in. Studies show that looking at problems and situations objectively through the eyes of a third person brings clarity. On the final day of your "Better Marriage Plan" you're ready to make an assessment.
- How would a neutral observer rate your relationship in the following areas: love, trust, intimacy, passion, and commitment?
- Write down a factual summary of your last disagreement. No emotions, no opinions - just the facts.
- Take an overall look at your marital happiness. Remember, this is an outsider looking in.
Result: A Better Marriage
Happy married people surround you, you have a positive attitude, you're extra kind, today you've bragged to someone who loves your spouse, you've made an honest assessment of your marriage, and you have a better marriage in just 5 days!
Refresh and Renew
When you're intentional about having positive influences in your life and a positive attitude, your marriage is healthier and happier. Be generous with your love and attention. And remember; be realistic about what it means to have a good marriage. Even the very best married couples get "marriage fatigue." Refresh your married life by regularly committing 5 days to a better marriage. Enjoy the results!
MORE FROM SUSAN DIAMOND:
How to ByPass the Noisy Confusion of Life
"Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. In the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul." ~Max EhrmannWhile discussing self-care with one of my private clients (C.W.), a lovely woman who is clearly ready to put herself first and create a fulfilling life, we together (coaching is partnership) came up with a simple daily ritual that helped her to better take care of herself.
Each and every morning, upon waking, she takes a moment to ask herself a simple question.
“How can I better take care of myself today?"
It is important to ask upon waking, or soon thereafter, before the noise of the day filters in and confuses the matter; thus, allowing an answer to rise from deep within.
We don't want to think or force an answer. Just allow the answer to move from your unconscious mind to your conscious mind.
Because asking this question was new to both of us and not yet a part of our habitual thinking (Yes, I was partaking in the ritual, as well!), we thought it best to write the question on our respective calendars, as a safeguard, ensuring that we would remember to ask it!!!
Interestingly, the answers surfaced easily and varied from day to day, and the answers were more specific than just "I need to carve out more time for myself."
The answers looked like:
"Today, between 2 and 3, I am going to take a walk to the park, sit on a bench and just be." Or - "This morning, before I head into the shower, I am going to declutter the dining room table for 15 minutes." Or - "Tonight, I am going to call my friend, Ellen, whom I haven't seen for too long and make a date with her." Or - "Today, I am NOT going to say YES to ____________________." Or - "Today, I am going to pay attention to my illuminated self and say NO to _______________."
I invite you to take part in this simple ritual. Ask yourself, "How can I better take care of myself today?" See what surfaces and for sure, weigh in ... write in ... share your experience.
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Spread the word–NOT the icing,
Janice Taylor, Life & Happiness Coach, Author, Artist, Positarian
wise * fun * utterly useful———————————————————————————-
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The Genesis of Love
What is immortal? Love, God’s Love -- that which is not connected to a form. It isn’t a person’s face, it isn’t a passage of music -- it is that which produces those things. We are intended to be changed by Love, so that a genesis can take place within us that is not the product of us trying to control a beginning or an end for the sake of some imagined plan, but so that we as human beings can be part of that which is immortal. We want to become what it is that we have the potential to be, and what we have the potential to be is a participant in that genesis, always becoming something different.
But we push away the very genesis that is required for us to discover what is immortal: Love -- that which isn’t afraid of what we are afraid of, that which has no agenda concerning what anyone else is or does. Why? Because that Love has its own life that isn’t conditional, that is never-endingly producing a new beginning.
Begin the beautiful work of releasing the nature that is consistently trying to control its environment as well as the people in it. Start with realizing that there’s no moment in which, whether you’re with one person or a crowd of people, there’s nothing that you’re going to see, there’s nothing that’s going to pass in front of you that isn’t there for the purpose of introducing you to what you have yet to discover is true about yourself. Eventually you will want the perpetual truth of yourself -- which is what the genesis is consistently showing -- not “you” the way you take yourself to be, but rather a completely different order of your self that is never not being made in the image of Love.
But we push away the very genesis that is required for us to discover what is immortal: Love -- that which isn’t afraid of what we are afraid of, that which has no agenda concerning what anyone else is or does. Why? Because that Love has its own life that isn’t conditional, that is never-endingly producing a new beginning.
Begin the beautiful work of releasing the nature that is consistently trying to control its environment as well as the people in it. Start with realizing that there’s no moment in which, whether you’re with one person or a crowd of people, there’s nothing that you’re going to see, there’s nothing that’s going to pass in front of you that isn’t there for the purpose of introducing you to what you have yet to discover is true about yourself. Eventually you will want the perpetual truth of yourself -- which is what the genesis is consistently showing -- not “you” the way you take yourself to be, but rather a completely different order of your self that is never not being made in the image of Love.
Simply Happy Quotes
Move over smiley face - you've got competition! Here's the happiest collection of happy quotes with big plans to bring happiness to everyone who reads and shares them.
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