LOVE THAWS: Disney's Frozen

Love THAWS

Christmas Day 2013, my family went to the movies to finally see Frozen, the most recently highly acclaimed Disney movie. I knew I would enjoy the movie, but I could not have anticipated that it would be the subject of my next post!

"Fearless optimist Anna teams up with Kristoff in an epic journey, encountering Everest-like conditions, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf in a race to find Anna's sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom in eternal winter." 

"Summary, Pictures, & Photos from Frozen (2013) - IMDb." 27 Dec. 2013 <http://www.imdb.com/media/rm3873693440/tt2294629>)

Young Princess Elsa had a gift/curse with cold and ice. As a child, she could cover a room with ice, make it snow, and touch items and freeze them. After an incident, her father the king locked the family away in the castle and sentenced Elsa to solitude in order to protect Elsa and keep her powers secret.  This isolation caused her to have a strained relationship with her with her younger sister, Anna. 

Long story short, once Elsa grew to age to inherit the throne, her abilities were exposed to the coronation guests; as a result,  her icy powers trapped the kingdom in eternal winter. Incredibly enough, she finally felt comfortable in her own skin and created an awesome ice castle and discovered all that she could do with this gift/curse. However, In anger she accidentally strikes her sister Anna in the heart with her powers. It would take a sacrificial act of love from Anna to save her sister. 

Well, the Queen did not know how to return their land back to summer, but she wanted to. At the end, Anna sacrificed her life to save her sister from harm; consequently she turned into a frozen statue. Elsa recovers and sees her sister's fate, causing her to weep and clutch on to the Anna statue while blaming herself for bringing this upon her. However, when Anna saved Elsa, it was an act of true love, and this thaws her frozen heart and brings her back to life. Elsa is overwhelmingly joyous at the turn of events, shocked by the fact that Anna risked her life to save her. Anna responds by telling Elsa she loves her, and that's what thawed her heart.  (disney.com) 

Get to the point KIM. (there are so many things I could talk about regarding this movie, but I will get to THIS point:) Elsa realizes that the curse can be lifted, and that love is the key to doing so. Realizing that love enables her to control her powers, Elsa is able to use this and focuses herself, removing the icy curse from their land and bringing summer back to the kingdom.  My favorite line of this movie, and subject for this post, is when Elsa whispered,

 "Love will THAW. Love. Of Course! Love." 

AND THIS MEANS WHAT?

Let me start with the the definition of cold-hearted: lacking feeling or warmth, unkind, or indifferent.  "cold-hearted - The Free Dictionary." 2005. 27 Dec. 2013 <http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cold-hearted>

Is your heart COLD? Do you feel indifferent about the holidays?  Why? Do you treat others unkindly now or during the year? If so, reflect for a moment: what made your heart cold? Has life caused you to not care about the holidays? Do you count down until New Year's so it will all be over? Maybe you used to have fabulous holidays, but now there is pain associated with the entire season. Perhaps you don't celebrate anymore because it hurts too much, due to the loss of a loved one, or disappointment from expectations not met. 

But I want you to think about the love that God showed by sending His son thaw your heart; it was also an ACT OF TRUE LOVE.  Want a real resolution? Renew your walk with Christ for the New Year. He wants us to have a CLEAN HEART (Psalm 41:10), not a COLD HEART. Let the WARMTH of GOD'S LOVE THAW your heart!

A THAW in the movie FROZEN resulted in  Elsa reviving her bond with Anna and is praised by her people for freeing them from the curse.  Who might you reconnect with? Someone else needs that warmth from you so who can you love? How can you show that love? Go ahead, get out a piece of paper and make a list! Check it twice! 

LESSON LEARNED: 

This holiday season, let GOD'S LOVE THAW you. God loves you! Hallelujah! This is what celebrating Christmas is all about. It's not about a BABY being born: oh no no no there is more to this wonderful story. This story is about God's love sacrifice of Jesus, who came to die to pay the price of sin. "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Take that gift, praise and thank GOD for it and go live your live, in CHRIST. 

Peace, love, and hairgrease! KIM

Castle Episode: Demons 10/24/11 STRONG FOUNDATION

I am not what you would call a die-hard "FAN" of ABC's Castle...until recently. I knew the premise of the show, but I did not follow the storyline until last spring when I saw the season finale:  instant FAN!  Anyway, there was an old rerun that caught my attention and is the subject for this blog posting. 

In the 10/24/11 Demons episode, Castle and Beckett investigate the murder of a ghost hunter named Jack Sinclair who was looking into a haunting at a New York mansion. As the two delve deeper into the case, Castle supports the idea that supernatural powers could be at work, while Beckett looks for a non-supernatural reason for the murder. While looking at the haunted mansion, Castle and Beckett discover a secret alcove where the killer killed Jack Sinclair, putting Castle's 'demon' theory to rest. http:/imdb.com

This is where I woke up and started to pay attention: things that make you go hmmm

Castle tells his girlfriend Kate Beckett, "...any relationship is going to have challenges, but if it doesn't work out, it's usually not because of the challenges, it's usually because the relationship wasn't strong enough to begin with..."  

Having renewed my marriage vows just a few weeks prior to watching this episode, I was quite intrigued and reflective about this comment. My husband and I are both children of divorced parents, so staying married is always a conversation and is always on the forefront of our minds. . .well on the forefront of my mind...LET'S KEEP IT REAL!

I had just watched our wedding video for our anniversary, specifically recalling the part of the reception when the couple starts dancing with the new bridge and groom. The DJ asks couples to come to the floor who have been married 1 year, then 2 years, then 5, 10, 15, and 20 etc.  I remember saying to my husband, "Wow honey, they are divorced, and so are they, and so are they, and so are they!" It was mind blowing to conclude that most of the couples who danced at our wedding are now divorced. I thought to myself, "Is my marriage going to last the test of time? I'm sure we've had the same challenges as these couples; so why did we make it a bit further then they did?"

HOWEVER, the couple who had been married 30+ years, well yes  are still married! My mind still would not rest and I contemplated yet again, "DO WE have whatever THEY have to get to that point?" Well, exactly what is it that THEY have that keeps them married? Is it the decision to stay together no matter what? Is it a decision to SETTLE due to exhaustion of battling? How about a resolution that separating at this point is useless, but I really don't want to be here? 

What is your marriage built on?  

Is your relationship built on trust? Respect? Honor? Or Lies? Untruths? Hurts?

Is your marriage strong enough to accept your partner's temperament? Flaws? Issues? Are you able to be your true selves in your marriage? Are you lying to your spouse because you are fearful of his/her reaction to the truth? Have you lied about being ok with something your spouse told you, but you really are not ok? Let's go for the jugular: Can your marriage handle your spouse revealing an Emotional Affair outside of the marriage? How about A Sexual Affair?  What is crazy, is you may not know these answers because you may not know how strong your marriage is. We all think these things will not happen or that our marriage is stronger than the circumstance. But more often than not, we find ourselves getting not just hit, but knocked down from situations that have occurred in our marriage that REALLY make couples  wonder if they can survive.

The Bible so clearly tells us in Matthew 7:24-27 that the wise man built his house upon a rock. Jesus says the difference is the foundation. I think that’s true in marriage. If we build on Jesus then we must build on LOVE. Mark 12- love is not always OOEY GOOEY I LOVE YOU POOKIE love. People, even spouses can come and go. If we do not our marriages on a strong foundation we will only have a string of events with that person and not a true relationship. We won't have the strong foundation there for us when we get knocked down or  when we need something BIGGER THAN OURSELVES because we might feel like we just cannot do this walk of marriage anymore.

 Mark 12:30-31 King James Version (KJV) 

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

If we love our partner/spouse the solid foundation of Jesus. Come on, you know this type of love goes well beyond our flesh. I don't always feel like letting things go. COME ON, I sometimes want to just slap my husband when he says something crazy! I have thoughts y'all, plotting revenge because I feel wronged, deciding to hold some goodness back...I get judgmental...COME ON Y'ALL. . . I knowI am not be the only one with these thoughts! Help me LAWD!

But thanks be to God that I get out of flesh and into the spirit and think about how God LOVES me in ALL of my mess. God will give me a good 'ole spiritual spanking and promptly reminds me I'm to serve my husband as unto the Lord... HALLELUJAH and  OUCH all at the same time!

So must I LOVE, truly love, my husband in order for us to have the STRENGTH to handle the CHALLENGES, because they are a comin.' (You have to imagine Yosemite Sam saying that:) THIS IS NO EASY TASK for the natural man.

I don't always feel like loving and putting in all of this work, but I don't have to feel it. God has been too good to me and blessed me with someone who actually wants to be in my presence. I must love him as I want him to love me. I must love him as GOD loves me. I just don't see any other way to have the strength as Castle mentioned outside of a personal will to do so...I don't trust my will to always feel like doing that. Fortunately, I will always trust my heart, mind, and soul to serve and honor God and His Word. That is the SOURCE of the STRENGTH, the FOUNDATION, the LOVE. 

LESSON LEARNED:

When you survive the challenges, it will make you stronger. You will realize you did not go through this  valley experience by yourself ,then you  thank and praise God for being a deliverer. You and your spouse will have a stronger foundation with each other knowing that God can do it. THEN you will have faith and Godly confidence that HE can do it again. So, let us get about the business and hard work of building, rebuilding, or weatherproofing our relationships so we will have the strength to endure. 

love, peace, and hair grease, KIM

THE INCREDIBLES MOVIE: What's Your Force Field

WHOO WHEEE! I LOVE this movie! We used to have the DVD but a son of mine lost it! However, I just caught it on DISE channel and I watched it all by myself!

 This movie has everything the perfect animation movie has: action, family values, suspense, and do not forget AWESOME theme music! As I reflect on the impact of this movie, I realize there are so many many many (imagine Commandant Eric Lassard from Police Academy saying that:) lessons to pull from this movie. But this blog will focus on GIFTS.

If you have not seen The Incredibles movie, it is a 2004 animated movie about a couple who retired from being superheroes because the government made them go undercover. They try to assimilate into "regular" life in the suburbs. But a series of events leads them into a story of self discovery as they save the world from evil forces.

My blog today focuses mostly on the Parr's daughter, Violet. Violet is the eldest child of the family, the only daughter, who a pre-teen who is moody and hides behind her hair. She is scared to talk to a boy she likes. Her amazing superpowers include creating spherical force fields around herself or other objects and turning invisible.

Do you remember when Helen/Elastigirl found out that Mr. Incredible was out on some island? Well, she borrowed a plane and went to go find her husband. Helen/Elastigirl asked her daughter Violet to put a force field around the plane when they were being attacked. Up until this point, Violet had been prohibited from using her powers. She was not confident and had no practice...

Elastigirl: Put these on. Your identity is your most valuable possession. Protect it. And if anything goes wrong, use your powers.
Violet: But you said never to use...
Elastigirl: I know what I said! [sighing] Remember the bad guys on the shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well, these guys aren't like those guys. They won't exercise restraint because you are children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance.

Now I know this is a fiction story, but there is a lot of truth in this scene. The Incredibles family had superhuman gifts that they were not using and then when it was time for the children to use them, they were hesitant and were in a situation where their lives depended on these gifts.

This part of the movie brings I Peter 4 into my mind: 
Serving for God’s Glory
I Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Let's focus in specifically on 1 Peter 4:10a: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace...” Now, I'm not going too deep with this and not discussing spiritual gifts, this is not a sermon!

Whatever gift we have, whatever the degree or type, it belongs to Christ and should benefit the entire body; the gift should edify the body not be used for personal gratification. When Violet began to operate in her gift, she did not just protect herself with her invisibility, she put up her force fields to protect others every time!

Here are some examples: 
1. She protected Dash in the force field when they were trying to escape from the soldiers in the woods.
2. Violet helped battle those same soldiers with her parents.
3. She created a force field to protect Dash again against the machine in the city, and protected the entire family at the end when the plane exploded after Jack Jack was rescued by Elastigirl.

Violet  may have used her invisibility to get away, but she used her GIFT of FORCE FIELD to PROTECT her family (see a trend?)

Violet is now operating in her gifts and now understands  more about who she is; she is now a proud family member of the Incredibles superhero family who came together for a purpose. This realization impacts her physical appearance and her social interactions: Violet's hairstyle now features her face, she speaks more confidently to her classmates, and she is not dressed nor holding her stature as if she is depressed. (Did you ever start doing something and you finally felt like your TRUE self just came on the scene?)

Lesson learned/Food For Thought:
FOR YOU: What's your Force Field?
What is the gift that you have that may not have been nurtured as a child? If you know what your gift is/gifts are, are you sharing them to bless the body of Christ? Do you protect your gift? How do you strengthen and grow your gift? Who have you designated in your life to speak into your life and help you have accountability regarding your gift? This is important as this person can help you stay humble, stay in the mindset of service and discipleship, not pride.

FOR YOU THE PARENT: We the parents have to help the children discover and cultivate their gifts. We cannot be so self-absorbed in our own lives that we do know learn our children and recognize their interests, likes, strengths, gifts, and talents.

In my own personal experience, I started down the path towards God because of an early interest and talent in singing. However, my ministry has grown far greater than music.  Fostering our children's gifts can help them stand in their true identity and discover their true purpose and be ready for the call.



love, peace and hair grease, KIM

All About Elder Kim's Eye-Opener On Entertainment

Hi everyone!

Why this blog? Well, I LOVE Reading, I LOVE watching TV and MOVIES! I make so many connections to my life, my faith, and my experiences. Recently I have have the thought to share my impressions with others, but I wasn't sure how. Do I write a devotional? Hold a small group? No, let's share in my most comfortable medium: online! I hope that you enjoy a glimpse into how my brain works and how my faith helps me associate all of this media around me with my world.
love, peace and hairgrease, KIM

Put it On! Lord of the Rings

Hi everyone, 
This is my first actual post for my new blog: Elder Kim's Eye-Opener on Entertainment!

A few weeks ago was watching the movie Lord of the Rings 2.  You remember, it was that crazy scene at the end when all of those weird creatures come as a massive army to get into the castle and the elves have come to help. (Now I'm not a LOTR fan so excuse my lack of proper naming and vocabulary:) Théoden gathers his men to fight against Saruman's army of Uruk-hai for the battle of Helm's Deep.

I was particularly intrigued at the scene prior to the battle. I watched intently when all of the available men were preparing for war and putting on all of their equipment and getting the weapons, of whatever sort. Not only were they involved in ensuring they had all of their own stuff together,  but they had to take time to assist other persons for the battle as well: elderly men and younger children who do not typically prepare for this type of encounter. They were seen aiding each other putting on head gear and tying each other's armor on. 

This scene instantly made me think about two scriptures: The Armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-18 and The Spiritual War 2 Corinthians 10:1-6. When I watched the men helping the young children get ready for battle by helping them put on their equipment, I remember observing children trying to look strong, bold and ready, but they were possibly quite confused and bewildered about everything going on around them. I'm sure they were completely unprepared for this battle.  I wondered to myself, "Had they been exposed to any smaller battles? Is this humongous upcoming war their first view of battle? And for the elderly men, how long had it been since they were in a battle? Were they healthy enough to fight? Really they had to fight, it didn't matter if the youth or the older men, or anyone was ready. The army is coming and everyone has to fight. 

In my own world I questioned myself about my parallel to this dramatic movie scene. Have I only been concerned about my preparation for spiritual warfare? How often do I teach my children about the spiritual war going on and about how to discerning the devil's devices? I want to be intentional about not just recognizing the spiritual warfare happening all around me and yes being prepared with the full armor of God, but also being available to help someone older or younger than me put it on as well! That means I have to train, teach, and share my wins and losses with them so they can be encouraged from my war stories. Additionally, are the seniors in my life resting on their past victories but possibly missing current and upcoming situations that the devil could use to come into their lives? 

Are we as saints teaching our children to be polite and educated, but not prepared for spiritual battle? Furthermore, are we constantly engaging our elders in conversation to learn about their past victories so we can be blessed from their conquests against the devil?

I challenge you to learn from this particular movie scene as I have. Be ready for the battle, no matter what size, and help other's around you too! 
Finally, I leave you with this scripture:

Ephesians 6:18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

love, peace and hairgrease, KIM