The legacy of divorce in Steven Spielberg movies

Mark Caro wrote an interesting column recently in the Chicago Tribune called "Indiana Jones and That Spielberg Ending". He writes:

Has any filmmaker pursued a single theme as obsessively over so many varied films as Steven Spielberg?

Almost every movie, no matter the genre, explores the same issue with a similar resolution: the repairing of the fractured family.

Spielberg's parents divorced in 1966, and that event had a huge impact on his life. He always wanted his parents to get back together.

I can relate to that -- my parents divorced when I was four years old, and I tried many times to get them back together. It's unfortunate that marriage, which is God's creation, so often ends in divorce. Divorce is way too common in our country -- could that be why Spielberg's movies are so popular? Are we a nation longing for strong families?

Please pray for the Henderson family

The leader of my Heart of a Warrior group, Tom Henderson, recently received some very difficult news. His 6-year-old son, Ian, has a tumor in his brain stem that is malignant and inoperable.

Please pray for Tom, his wife Deb, and their son Ian. I know that God can do wonders, and I'm praying that He will completely heal Ian.

The Hendersons have set up a CaringBridge site to share updates, and Tom is posting his thoughts on this journey on his blog.

Sharing "Wild at Heart" with my dad

I always have had a difficult time talking about God with my parents. On the advice of a friend, I decided to share John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart" with my dad. Now, my dad is a Norwegian who doesn't share his emotions. . .except for anger. We never have had deep talks.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting by lending him my copy of "Wild at Heart". Will he get angry? Will it provide us an excellent opportunity to talk about the Lord? We'll see. . .

Why do we get angry?

Anger is quite a powerful emotion. It can really cause a lot of harm and pain both in the person getting angry and in the person to whom the anger is directed.

In "Getting Anger Under Control", one of the authors, Rich Miller, asks the Lord why Miller got so mad at his son Brian:

The Lord reminded me that the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not spouse or child control. By angrily trying to control others so I could fulfill my own purpose or satisfy my own desire for comfort, I was not acting in love.

This helped to put anger into perspective for me. We cannot change how people act. We can, however, change how we react.

Choosing between cancer and a newborn

The Sikeston Standard Democrat in Missouri recently ran a story about Tonya Pobst, who found out that she was pregnant after being diagnosed with cancer. She was about to undergo a mastectomy, and had two choices: continue with the surgery, but her pregnancy would be terminated — or wait until her second trimester, but the cancer could spread during that time. She decided to wait.

Pobst prayed and prayed, and God spoke to her:

'He said he’d take care of me, and the baby will be healthy,' Pobst said. '... I thought that’s what the Lord wanted me to do. This is his plan. Who am I to mess it up? Who am I to play God?'

Pobst followed God's plan and continued with her pregnancy. She had a healthy baby girl, Khielynn Claire, and surgery that removed all of her cancer.

The difference between the Lord's and Satan's presence

Right now I'm reading "Sheep in Wolves' Clothing" by Valerie J. McIntyre. It's a book about transference. In one passage on p. 14, McIntyre explains what it felt like to be in the Lord's presence when dealing with her transference experience:

When I chose to suffer honestly before God, looking only to Jesus on the Cross to bear my sin and sorrow, I found Him lifting that measure of pain from me and taking it into Himself. Sometimes I had sensory experiences of God's presence -- I felt myself cradled in a warm, loving embrace and heard lullabies.

She then goes on to explain what it felt like when Satan was around:

Still, there were times when I could not sort through what was false and stand in what was true. In those moments, there seemed to be a dark presence with me, one that was intent on getting me to accept as fact all manner of untruth about myself, others, and God.

McIntyre relied upon God during the times that she felt oppressed and eventually made her way out of the situation by total obedience to Him.

I'm excited to see "Prince Caspian"!

I, along with the majority of the U.S., am very eager to see "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian". I thoroughly enjoyed "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

The Star Tribune describes the new movie as "bigger, brasher, more magical and funnier than the first." I'm excited that I can take my 6-year-old son to it, too.