We took our boys to see Star Wars Friday evening, ages 10 and 12 who are avid Star Wars fans - as are their parents. My 10 year old, David, did not like it because of all the killing. I see his point, but having watched this thing develop over the last 28 years I had to search for some kind of meaning!
If your kids haven't seen it yet, I would think twice about sending them or at least view it first and be ready to de-brief with them after the movie. The evil Darth Vader of our beloved Star Wars from the 80's was somewhat sterile. He had evil motives, wanted ultimate power and destroyed everyone and everything in his path. BUT, he was faceless and stormtroopers were faceless and although you knew many lost their lives, you really were not drawn into the feelings of actual people dying. In the newer movies we are gradually introduced to this evil in a more personal way. Along the same lines, those destroyed in its path are characters with names and faces. Spoiler Warning: There is a great Jedi massacre that takes place. Although we are spared a blood bath on camera you know all the details in your mind. The most troublesome was the killing of the Jedi children (younglings). You could hear little gasps in the theater... "No, not the children!" They, as well as most of the Jedi council, meet their fate not in combat but in cold blooded assassination.
WHY??????????? Well, to be fair it is a story we all bought into 28 years ago and this was the final missing piece. How and why does little Anakin Skywalker turn to the dark side? Anakin's focus was on controlling his own destiny and following his own desires instead of following the code of the Jedi.
How and why does any seemingly "good" person turn away down a path that leads to destruction. (Infidelity, drug-addiction, pornography, etc...) It happens when we forget the moral authority of Jesus Christ and choose what we feel is right for ourselves. Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end is the way of death." When our own desires and wants overshadow God's plan and desire for us we make a mess of things. He made us! Doesn't he know best how we can live life to the fullest? But in our society, we want sex and we want it now - without commitment, without marriage, without responsibility. The result? Divorce, heartache, STD's, unplanned pregnancy, broken homes. There are many that pay the price for our selfish desire to have OUR needs met. Anakin wanted to prevent something bad from happening to someone he loved. The problem being that what he wanted was not within his power to control. His selfish desire to have things his way clouded his judgement, as sin clouds our judgement. Have you ever known someone in an adulterous relationship or trapped in some addiction? They become so caught up in what is right for THEM that they see nothing else. It doesn't matter who else gets hurt. "The kids are young they will adjust." WHAT??? Satan is the great deceiver and the father of lies as is the dark side of the force and the Sith. I liked this movie because of the very strong message of the destructive power of listening to the lies of Satan and following our own path.
God's way leads to life. To NOT choose him is to CHOOSE destruction. That is
eternal life and
eternal destruction. What path will you choose?
"From Death to Life" - Honorable Mention
"The Grand Opening" - 2nd Place
"Spider, Man!" - 2nd place
"Reflection" - 3rd place
"Mailman's Nightmare" - 3rd place
I found this white crab spider on my hydrangea last year. 
After a split second, he knew who we were and seemed very excited to meet us and we shared hugs and introduced ourselves. (It turns out, he never did get our email message.) And then he said he would play our song for us! He acted like he was going to do it right then, but I told him we could wait while he greeted and signed autographs for the rest of the line :o)
It was also a special treat to find so many of the teachers and staff from our days at NCJC. The reason this is unique is that our college doesn’t even exist anymore. When it closed down in the 90's, the school was joined with Ohio Valley College (just recently turned University). As Alumni we stay connected through OVU. I found out this weekend that they added the color red to their school colors to acknowledge NCJC. Some of the staff joined OVC and some moved on to other places. We were so happy to find many familiar faces that not only remembered us but embraced us. I wonder if they realize just how much they meant to us and what an impact they made in each of our lives. I would understand if teachers got tired of making the effort to get to know students for a short two years before saying goodbye. But they did not. They really cared and we love them for it. David and Allie Keller, Larry and Sarah Bills, Bill and Nancy Bowen: You mean more to us than you may ever know. There are many others who made a great impact that we did not have the pleasure of seeing this weekend - but don’t worry, we remembered you. And to our classmates that were not with us, we missed you and prayed for you.
