Back to Up

I mentioned the Disney/Pixar movie Up a few weeks ago, and I was pondering it the other day. And today, I guess.

A fact about me: I'm not romantically attached to anybody in any particular way. Thankfully. =) One day I might be ready. Moving on.

So here's the deal: sometimes I wonder if love is worth it. That quote from Tennyson, the one that goes, "'Tis better to have lost and lost/ than to have never loved at all," always struck a nerve with me, if that makes any sense. Sometimes I'm convinced that love isn't worth it. First, look at the percentages of marriages that don't last. Oh, and pause and consider the number of marriages that have lasted, but as a technicality, because the marriage itself hasn't held up internally. Then consider the people who aren't in marriages yet have crummy relationships.

And that's just marriage. Don't get me started on the games people play before they get to that point.

Sure, marriage seems scary and like a lot of work. This much we all recognize. But what scares me worse than that is the thought that one day, after you've worked through the agonizing parts, and come out stronger on the other side, blah blah blah, if the Lord doesn't come... well, that spouse (or you, whichever) is going to die. Raptured or dead, those are the only options. Doesn't that sound cynical? News flash, I am sort of cynical.

So we've determined that I'm cynical and that marriage seems big and scary. What does this have to do with Up?

For those who have seen the movie, they will immediately remember the first 11 minutes of the film, wherein a touching story is shown of the life of Carl and Ellie, a couple who went through a lot (death of a child=supposedly one of the worst things that can happen to a person, though I don't know from personal experience), and lived life to the fullest. Until Ellie died. Bummer.

But it was so sad! And even at the end of the movie, when I knew that Carl was happy and hanging out with his newest pal Russell, it was sad, because I knew that for every day Carl was enjoying his favorite activities with Russell, it must have hurt him, because those were Ellie's favorite places, too.

Odd to consider this in such depth, but I'm sort of an odd duck.

So there we have it. Loving and losing sounds frightening. Everyone says it's worth it, but this girl needs a little more convincing.

Bother it all

Sometimes things frustrate me. No idea why (other than the obvious I-have-a-sinful-flesh thing), but sometimes things just set me off. If I can't do something, and I'm sure I should know how and I'm convinced it's all my fault, I'm liable to go into a tail spin. Not sure why, because in most areas of life I'm able to just let things blow over, but certain things just drive me insane.

It's so easy to say that, well, I'm a sinner and it's not like anybody's perfect all the time, but truth be told, that's no excuse. I have Christ living in me, so there's no excuse to sin.

Interjection: I think that would be a hilarious bumper sticker; "There's no excuse to sin."

Back to the actual subject, I think it's vaguely sad that I have to keep coming back to this. Shouldn't I just be able to stop sinning, done and done? Thing is, I don't let the power of Christ work in me. I just do my own stubborn thing. AHH!!

Lent

So, I think Lent is crazy. If you wanted to give something up to one-up your flesh or whatever (still not sure I understand Lent, truth be told) then you should do it at any time. Like I decided caffeine was bad for me, and stopped taking it. Done and done. My sister gave up gluten for Lent last year, my best friend went off Chipotle, and last year I gave up nothing. This year, for some reason, I got sucked into the whole Lenten celebration (oops, Lent is supposed to be sad), and have given up... cheese.

Why cheese? Well, as I was explaining to someone the other day, I don't have a lot of vices to speak of. I don't spend a lot of money using a bank card of any sort (someone suggested that I use only cash during Lent). I don't drink or smoke, I don't drink coffee or any such habitual drink (no caffeine, remember?). I can't give up "worldly music" because they play it at work, and I don't think I could convince them to not turn on the radio for the next month and a half. If I didn't hold a job, it would make sense for me to not read fiction during Lent, but truth be told, I rarely get time to read these days, so it wouldn't feel like I was actually giving something up. Ditto movies, I don't even have time to watch them, nor the inclination, nor the ability. So that left me with... cheese.

But again, why cheese? Well, in my family, cheese is a big deal. Not that we gather round and give thanks to the brilliant men who first figured out how to make cheese delicious, but rather that we eat it a lot. Eggs, casseroles, spaghetti, macaroni, quesadillas, pretty much everything we make in a jiffy has cheese involved. Meals without cheese take more time, because they require actual planning involving flavour not derived from cheese.

So fare thee well, cheese, I shall devour thee once again come Easter.

Oh, the best part of Lent this year? My two best friends are giving up pop and going out to eat, respectively. I think we'll all be a little worse for the wear by the time it's all over. Huzzah to strength in numbers!

Snow

It's nice to consider snow from the Bible--I like that. But to consider snow all the time because it just won't stop snowing is another thing entirely. We've broken our February record for inches of snow, and it's only the 16th! I hesitate to think of what it might take to break the record in future years. The cold and snow won't go away!

Take that, global warming.

Valentine's Day

First of all, I am NOT one of those people who hate Valentine's Day. I think it's a cute holiday, and if people want to buy cards and chocolate, that's totally fine with me. I do think it's funny though, the whole emphasis we put on love just once a year.

I serve a God of love, and He's year-round. I love that.

That's all.

What's my responsibility?

A question. As a Christian, I am joyful, because Christ lives in my heart. I am truly happy, honestly I am. However, as a person who has to live in this present evil world, I sometimes get caught up in less-than-pleasant things that drag my spirits down. Small things (in light of eternity, anyhow) have a tendency to make me sort of slump down sometimes.

But as a person whose life is lived in light of eternity, and with the world looking on, am I supposed to show that less-than-happy side of me? Is it good, because they're seeing that Christians are humans, too? or is it bad, because I'm not allowing the peace of God to permeate my heart?

You raise me UP

So maybe this is lame, but I happened to see "Up" the Disney/Pixar movie, not that long ago, and I just want to go on record as saying that I mostly loved it.

I hadn't heard very good things about it, I'd heard that it was too scary, and that there wasn't enough talking. Huh. Well, by the time I was ten minutes into the movie, I was bawling my eyes out. There were times I thought it got too scary for children, but this is why children shouldn't see movies like this. Small children should still be watching "Tinker Bell's Big Day at the Zoo" or something like that. But, back to Up.

I thought the story was one of the best in terms of emotional plots from a kid's movie I'd seen in a while. Carl and Ellie's story was one of the best I'd seen in terms of married cartoons. Seriously.

I could wax on and on about the merits and demerits of this movie, but I'll spare you all. Suffice it to say that I found yet another movie I approved of. Good work, Pixar.