Your Purpose: CVS

No movie or television show discussion this week everyone:)  My blog is MEDIA and ENTERTAINMENT and some recent news has probed my thoughts that resulted in this post. Enjoy!

We saw the new story this week regarding CVS and tobacco: 

http://money.cnn.com/2014/02/05/news/companies/cvs-walgreens-cigarettes/

"Ending the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products at CVS/pharmacy is the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health," Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Caremark, said in a statement. 
Here is the quote that changed the game for me, "Put simply, the sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose." 


pur·pose noun: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. in·con·sist·ent adjective not staying the same throughout.



According to their website, CVSs purpose statement is: HELPING PEOPLE ON THEIR PATH TO BETTER HEALTH. So someone eventually realized that having cigarettes in the front of the store and Nicorette in the back was a bit backwards. It's not just backwards, but buying cigarettes does not help people on their path to better health. It seems like this should have been realized a lot sooner. 
This story is particularly meaningful to me. I remember my very first job was at CVS. I had to get cigarettes for people. I had never touched a pack, let alone been exposed to the varied types (menthol, light, all the brands, etc.) I was always a bit uncomfortable about that part of my job and I never understood where or how it fit. 


So what is your purpose? "Kim," you may say, "I don't know what my purpose is." Well as a believer, we have four focuses for our life: 

• TO CENTER YOUR LIFE AROUND GOD: (Worship)

• TO CONNECT WITH OTHER BELIEVERS: (Fellowship)

• TO CULTIVATE SPIRITUAL MATURITY: (Discipleship)

• TO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION WITH YOUR LIFE: (Service)

Source: Daily Hope 2002. 

What is stopping your worship? Waking up too late to have quiet time? What is blocking your fellowship? Excuses about church service being too crowded too long, too short, too early too late? What is preventing your discipleship? "I'm not mature enough, I don't have the temperament to give a testimony." Why not serve? Don't tell yourself there are too many causes or you don't have anything to give. 


Is anyone or anything CONTRARY to your personal or Christian purpose in your life? Has anyone ever looked at you and compared some inconsistent practice, person, or component of your life and thought about the lyrics "Things that Make you GO HUMMMM" If so, have you thought about why it or she or he is in your life in the first place? Are you willing to get rid of it? 



Proverbs 19:21 New International Version (NIV)
     Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails


I thought I had a spectacular plan for my life when I graduated high school. I was going to college, I would meet my husband there, we would get married the week after graduation and start our lives. I would teach until I retired and we would have two children, design my own house, etc. I bet you are laughing because you had thoughts like that too! I thought I had the right friends that I picked. But as God began to reveal His plans for me, in very small chunks, I had to make adjustments to my world. I did so kicking and screaming at first. HE made some of those first moves by EJECTING people out of my life. I had to lose some very close people because the relationship revealed itself to be contrary to the direction I was now going. It hurts, this is not a comfortable process. I'm sure CVS will feel the pain of losing billions of dollars because of an inconsistency in pursuing their purpose. Not millions y'all BILLIONS. However, they are willing to take that loss to stay ALIGNED to their purpose. I am sure they realized that the direction they wanted to go in could not include tobacco sales any longer. My life is no where near what I planned, but it is so much better. I am truly blessed and I can now in faith say, "Wherever you lead me Lord, I'm there!"





Let's get aligned with our purpose, let's go in the right direction and not stray. Let's take a loss and get rid of anything contrary to the PLAN, whatever yours is, IN CHRIST.

"The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me..."

 Psalm 138:8a

AND I AM SO GLAD ABOUT IT! GLORY BE TO GOD!!!

LOVE PEACE AND HAIR GREASE! KIM

Sanctuary: Steel Magnolias

Whether you saw the 1989 version of Steel Magnolias movie starring Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis, Dolly Parton, Darryl Hannah, Sally Field, Julia Roberts or the 2012 contemporary remake starring Adepero Oduye, Queen Latifah, Alfre Woodard, Jill Scott,  Condola and mom Phylicia Rashad, this beloved classic film is the subject of this post! I hope you enjoy!




I just rewatched the 2012 version of this movie on Lifetime in December. Sorry, I have no time for  a full summary. I will skip to the end. At the end of the movie, M'Lynn (Queen Latifah) and the gang were gathered at Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small parish in modern-day Louisiana after attending her daughter Shelby's funeral. 





M'Lynn breaks down in hysterics in front of Ouiser, Clairee, Truvy, and Annelle stating that she was supposed to "go first", for which she was always ready. She also wonders if Jack Jr. will ever know just how wonderful his mother was, and she also wonders if he'll ever know what she went through just to bring him into the world, and that she wants to hit someone until they feel just as bad as she does, but soon, the other women (mostly Clairee) give support to M'Lynn through both humor and love. M'Lynn then apologized for her stray from southern lady likeness and Clairee (I think) says,  " DON'T EVER BE SORRY FOR ANYTHING IN HERE..."




In HERE, where? Truvy's Salon. THE SALON to me is a type of SANCTUARY for the women in this movie. What Clairee was saying was that the salon was a place where they could be themselves, cry, laugh, not put on any airs, not apologize for breaking down after one's daughter died. A Sanctuary is a place of safety. The ladies could just BE without adverse consequences from each other. The salon is designed for women only, it serves as a type of barrier from the men in their lives. They can take risks in their conversations with each other. 

 I used to go to the salon, before my natural hairdo :) Saturday morning meant getting your hair done! But it means more than that to so many women. You were going to see your group of people who you saw every week (two weeks, monthly, etc.) Saturday morning was meeting gathering.   There were many times I would stay well past the time I was done. I would sit back, relax, and enjoy the fellowship because it was just a time of security, friendship, and love. We would just have wonderful conversation. Joking, laughing, crying, and listening were all part of the agenda. 

This portion of the movie and my story remind me of Hebrews 10. The New International Version of the Bible titled the section containing verses 19-25: A Call to Persevere. The apostle is telling the believers to continue to hold on the the confession of Christ Jesus. He gives three ways of how to do this: 
1) by considering one another to provoke to love and to good work,  (I know I am out of order) 
3) to exhort one another, ourselves and each other to warn ourselves and one another of sin and backsliding and... 

2) by NOT forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Interestingly enough in verse 25, the saints are told to continue to gather together and then to do so even more.  The communion of the church is a way to mutually strengthen ourselves. 

Just like the women in Truvy's Hair Salon, we are a community in church protected in a special haven. So whether we feel like going to church or not, we really should go.  

Just like being at the salon, Sunday morning church service is a gathering time.  I love going to church! I cannot wait to see everyone because it is time for our weekly Celebration of God! We pray together, praise together, hear the Word together.

Our motivation for going to church should not be so the pastor can notice you or for you to walk down the aisle stylin' and profiling your new outfit! No, we the saints of God must understand that this special forum, the assembling of ourselves, is one way of helping us persevere. 

Have you ever noticed that those who fall away from the church start to do so by missing a Sunday? Then that becomes a few Sundays. Their low attendance is a dangerous practice because it usually means folks' faith is wobbly and unstable and leads to a decrease in the faith, not just leaving the church.

LESSON LEARNED

Remember how important it is to congregate and worship together to edify each other.  It doesn't matter if you meet on Saturday or Sunday or whenever, just get there! It helps us to stay connected to our faith, it reminds us of our duties and enables us to watch over each other in love. 

Love, Peace, and Hair Grease! KIM 

Love Jones: A Time for Everything

BET aired a throwback love story a couple of weeks ago on December 14; Love Jones starring Larenz Tate and Nia Long. This movie came out in 1997 and is a member of BETs Top 25 Black Love Movies. However,  for my post today, the race of these character do no matter to the takeaway I had from this particular viewing.

Quick Synopsis:

Darius and Nina meet in a blues club in Chicago and the movie deals with their inability to decide what to do about their attraction. Nina is fresh out of a relationship and is trying to get a job in photography. Darius is a writer and is trying to finish a book. In the mist of trying to reach these personal achievements, they dance in and out of a relationship that just doesn't work out. Bad timing. Long story short Nina gets her job in NY and Darius publishes his book in Chicago. Nina returns to Chicago and realizes that she wants to be with him. Here the dialogue from the end of the movie:

Darius: "I enjoyed your poem up there... look, there have been a lot of mistakes and we both made them and I apologize for my part in that, but all that nonsense I don't give a damn about that anymore. . . I want us to be together again for as long as we can." Nina: "As usual your timing couldn't be worse. You always want what you want when you want it, why is everything so urgent with you?" Darius: "Let me tell you something. This here, right now, at this very moment is all that matters to me. I love you, and that's urgent as hell." Nina: "How do we do this?" Darius: "I don't know."Nina: "I live in NY." Darius: "I don't care."

My Reality:

Movie critic Ebert loved the fact that this movie didn't have a perfect ending. Yes, they loved each other and NO we have no idea how it worked out. I can completely relate to trying love at the wrong time. My husband and I tried to date three different times before the last time leading to our engagement. I wanted him then it was the wrong time for him because he was in school. He wanted me but it was the wrong time for me because I was thinking I wanted someone else. We both wanted each other and it was horrible timing for both of us for so many many reasons. But there was finally a time when we realized that this was the right thing, at the right time.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever known you are supposed to be with someone, or have something, or be somewhere but it just will not happen? You cannot shake the fact that you know beyond the shadow of a doubt that is supposed to be, but it is not the right time.

The Word:
This part of the movie brought to my remembrance of a very familiar passage of scripture. Thank God for Ecclesiastes 3:1. There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. The following verses go on to list all of the events we encounter in life. Everyone is going to experience love, harvest, death, and laughter. We in Christ have to know that our time and our seasons are in God's hands and there is an appropriate time for every activity.

And This Means What?

Don't give up, maybe it's just not the right time. Pray God's will be done, trust that His timing for this earth is perfect, and surrender your will. Just know that everything will work out for your good! This is saying that God arranges even the smallest details of our surroundings.

Love Peace and Hairgrease! KIM

Coyote and Road Runner: No Weapon

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I say, "That's ALL Folks!"as a farewell to 2013 and a welcome to my 2014 post on a classic Looney Tunes episode.

Monday, I saw one of my favorite episodes with the famous Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, titled Fast and Furry-ous, that originally aired on September 17, 1949. We all know the ongoing plot of these two characters: The coyote watches the roadrunner running through the desert with his binoculars, licking his lips with a napkin around his neck as he dreams about catching that road runner for dinner. He paces back and forth thinking of what he could do to to catch him and he devises some incredibly ingenious ideas to do so. But, no matter what crazy scheme that coyote would design up to try to catch the road runner, it wouldn't work.  Wile E Coyote would work so hard to carry out his well thought out plans, but they were never successful. 

What tickled me as a child yet peaked by curiosity as an adult was the fact that there were unimaginable things that the road runner could do to escape the coyote. However, if Wile tried to do the same thing, it would not work. For example, in this episode the coyote painted a tunnel on the wall of a rock, intending for the road runner to run and smash himself into the rock. Instead, the road runner ran down this illustrated tunnel road. When Coyote tried to chase after him, HE ran and smashed himself into the rock. He was even run over by the roadrunner on his return trip out of this tunnel and out of the rock. Go figure!

Fortunately, I have an artist for a son (Hi Malcolm!) and found out that the creator of these animated creatures wrote a book entitled The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist.  (Jones, Chuck. Chuck Amuck: The life and times of an animated cartoonist. Macmillan, 1999.) Interestingly enough, he exposed that there were unwritten "rules" that were in place for the storylines of all of the Coyote and Road Runner Cartoons. Some of the rules were:

1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "beep, beep."
2. No outside force can harm the Coyote. 

There are many others, however, there is one rule that I will focus on for my post today: The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner, unless he (the road runner) escapes from the grasp. Are you thinking what I am thinking????!!!!


Let's talk about ourselves shall we?! We ARE road runners, running on our own roads of life. Let's refer to those ROADS as PATHS. THE BIBLE speaks about the path of righteousness the path of life, the narrow path, the path of prudence, the broad path, the upright path, and the straight path. We may be busy running our path, and on top of that, there is a coyote called the devil out there watching us, waiting, plotting, thinking, designing: trying to steal kill and destroy us. But thanks be to God that, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper." Isaiah 54:17a.  Isaiah 54 has an important message from this prophet: Isaiah speaks to the Gentiles regarding God's covenant and promises of His protection and righteousness. Isaiah shares God's declarations and professes their safety, their deliverance, and their preservation.  Different Bible translations use the term prosper (to become very successful ) or succeed (to do what you are trying to do : to achieve the correct or desired result) or prevail (to defeat an opponent especially in a long or difficult contest.) Nonetheless, I love the International Standard Version, "No weapon that is forged against you will be effective." Effective is defined as:  producing a result that is wanted : having an intended effect. Basically, God will protect, deliver, and/or deliver us from the successful effect of a weapon. 



AND THIS MEANS WHAT?
That darned Wile E. Coyote tried to make a weapon effective in catching or killing the roadrunner. He would make traps that would end up not operating correctly. He would draw blueprint plans that did not represent what the final product was. In spite of all of that EFFORT, none of the plans had the desired effect he wanted. Wile E. Coyote had an unlimited supply of ACME products and boulders in the desert,  he set up every trap, spring, or tried to find every hiding place. His weapons did NOT WORK. The devil does the same thing. He watches us, he designs traps for us, he sets up weapons to destroy us, but none of it will NOT work. Satan has to follow the rules, just like the unwritten rules of the cartoon.  The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner, unless he escapes from the grasp. 

LESSON LEARNED:

Whatever weapon is raised against you will not work. GOD can remove the weapon right out of the devil's hand. GOD can have the weapon destroy itself. GOD can even allow the weapon to strike, but to no avail. Or GOD could even have the weapon bring about some greater good that eliminates the pain from the blow. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

That devil can try every crazy trick, but we are able to do all things through Christ who strengthens us! We, with God, can break the rules, run through rocks, and confound the enemy as to how we are still alive! 




So I leave you with a LOUD BEEP BEEP! (That means Hallelujah and Thank you Jesus that no weapon will prosper Think of that every time you hear the road runner.)

Love, Peace, and Hair Grease! KIM

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