Last night I watched the profound film, Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith.  When I heard about the movie last year, I honestly did not want to see it, fearing it would be too sad or gruesome for my melancholy self.  Finally watching it, I found it to be extremely meaningful and redemptive, even though sad.  It was not one of those movies that leaves you feeling depressed and hopeless about life, even though the content is intensely serious and fraught with tragedy.  If you have no idea what movie I’m talking about, check out the synopsis.

Without giving too much away, the film is about a young man plagued by guilt and sorrow because of the death of his wife and six other strangers in a car crash at his hands.  He decides to commit suicide so that he can save the lives of others he deems more worthy of living.  The movie appears to some to be condoning suicide.  I do not feel this is the case.  If anything, the movie is a tribute to living and the value of life.  The main character, played by Will Smith, is a wealthy success, and his life is turned upside down by tragedy.  He wrongly assumes he is not worthy of living and decides he will take his life and give his organs to others.  He then births an elaborate plan to research and find out the character of possible recipients before his planned time of death. 

The tricky part is that during the process of finding worthy recipients, he finds reason and desire to live himself.  In the end he still sacrifices his life for a greather love.  He begins his quest as someone who doesn’t deserve or want to live, and he ends as a real hero, dying for another to live.  In a way he points to the redemptive story.  Let me explain.

My brother, in real life and real time, needs a heart transplant.  Twelve years ago he suffered from a complex immune reaction , which caused his own body to attack his heart tissue, leaving it badly damaged.  He has had many life-threatening conditions since that time, and he has faced each one of them with courage and a positive outlook.  He truly is a hero to me because he never complains, even though his life has been significantly limited by his health condition.  This damaged heart of his has undergone open heart surgery to repair damaged valves, and now years later, it has almost gone as far as it can go.

This puts me in a unique position as I hope for a heart for my brother.  I want him to have a new heart.  I yearn for him to have a new leash on life.  I dread the process and fear the possibilities at times, yet I cannot deny that I hope he will have a successful heart transplant.  For this to happen means that someone, someone whom I will never meet, someone who is alive now with people who love them, someone with a life and a family and hopes and dreams, will have to die.  Someone will have to die for my brother to live.  What a sobering reality.  I do not want another someone to die, but I want my brother to live.

It was in this context that I watched Seven Pounds last night.  And it is with deep gratitude that I will thank God for a new heart if and when my brother receives it.  If I ever get the chance I will thank the family of the person who is an organ donor, so that my brother will live. 

By the way, I have become an organ donor through this experience of watching my brother’s heart issues.  I figure, if I die by some tragedy, why shouldn’t someone be able to live through the gift of my organs.  It is important to let your loved ones know if you want to be an organ donor.  If you would like to find out more about how to become a donor, read about it at OrganDonor.gov.  And if you want to watch a movie that will make you think about life and what it is all about, watch Seven Pounds.  I’ve written about my thoughts on suicide here, so please do not take this movie as an encouragement to take your own life.

I’ve always loved tadpoles, ever since I was a little girl and would see them in streams and ponds.  I especially loved to watch them in my Aunt Eunice’s goldfish pool.  This year I decided to try watching some of them metamorph into frogs.  This was after two failed attempts a couple of years ago.  We ordered a couple of tadpoles from a biological supply company.  We also caught a few others in a huge puddle in the woods this spring when we had so much rain.  I watched and cared for them best I could, while all but one died.  I figured it was almost time to count this as another failed attempt and watched daily, expecting to find the little guy dead.

After about three months, the strongest one still survived.  One happy morning I looked in on him and noticed tiny, almost see-through hindlegs.  They grew quickly over the next week, and almost overnight front legs emerged.  He still had a long tail, and I figured it would take awhile for it to shrink.  But it shrunk to a stubby little thing overnight and was gone completely in three days.  What a wonder of nature to watch a frog emerge from a polywog!  And our little treefrog (no larger than half an inch) is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!  Check out what it looks like here, best I can tell.  Funny thing is, it started thriving and transforming when I stopped feeding it the “tadpole” food from the company and began giving it goldfish food! 

I want to tell you about an amazing trilogy I just stumbled upon by Ted Dekker.  Wow.  That is about all I can say.  My neighbor came over and handed me the first book of his first trilogy earlier this week, and I finished it a few minutes ago.  The book is called Black, and it is a hard-to-describe work of fiction based on this world and another world where good and evil live separately, at least until a twist of events causes the entrenchment of evil into the beautiful world of Elyon. 

The story mirrors the Biblical account of creation and the fall of the world into sin.  It also brilliantly captures the heart of God and his delight in his creation, especially mankind.  As I read about the encounters with Elyon my heart longed for the day I will be free to experience this type of intimacy with my Creator in paradise.  The way Dekker describes the evil presence in creation is at the same time breath-taking and chilling.  It is an eye-opening and important piece of work, and I encourage you to read it.

It took me awhile to get into it, because the beginning moves slowly and keeps moving between the two worlds by the dreams of the main character, Thomas Hunter.  But when the story picks up and captures your imagination, it is almost impossible to put down.

Check out the website, and see what you think.  I can’t wait to read the next novel, entitled Red.  Then comes White, followed by several other additions.  The above picture is from Thomas Nelson Publishing Company.  The books can also be found at Amazon.

I guess I’m just in the mood to suggest choice music, but I wanted to write about another remarkable singer/ songwriter named Austin Cunningham.  Austin is from Texas and now takes up residence near Nashville, Tennessee.  My husband and I have been able to hear him play twice in home concerts in our town, and he is an outstanding writer as well as performer.  He has had songs recorded by Hank Williams Jr., Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, and others.  He writes from his heart about real stuff, and he is just an amazing person.  I am not usually a huge fan of country music, but  I would drop any plans to see Austin any day of the week.  He is that good, and he is fun to listen to.   Oh, he has a new album out this year also, so if you want some good new music, try it out.  You can also download his music on iTunes.

Here’s a little taste of the best of Austin, a song Wynona Judd recorded:

Chris Thile from the well-loved bluegrass group Nickel Creek has taken a turn in his career, with a blue grass quartet, Punch Brothers.  I am a lover of Nickel Creek and I got to see them on their last tour before disbanding in November 2007.  My favorite songs include The Fox, Afton, and When You Come Back Down. 

Recently, the Punch Brothers (Chris’ new group) came to our little town on their introductory tour, getting the word out about themselves.  Until then, I knew Chris was amazingly talented, but I did not realize the extent of that talent.  He is a musical prodigy, which his mom realized when he could sing perfect pitch at age 2.  One of the best mandelin players there has ever been, and a composer of genius stature, Chris is taking a new direction in creativity.  The name of their group comes from a Mark Twain short story, entitled Punch Brothers, Punch.

One of the songs they played that night at the concert here in town is called, The Blind Leaving the Blind, a very clever play on words if you ask me.  The song has four movements, and the song itself lasted almost half of the concert.  I was lost through parts of it, because although I love music, I have very little technical knowledge of it.  To me the most profound part of the song is the last movement.  Listen to it below, and check out the Punch Brothers if you get the chance!

Here are the lyrics to the 4th movement of the song:

I’m coming back my friends
From the deep and bitter end
Where I was so concerned
That we would be the ones who burned
The more scared the safer
The more grateful for the grape juice
And the wafer

I sound done
And I feel done
But I’m not done
Unless he’d give up on a lost son

I need to hear him say
You and your friends can come in
Your thoughts and that girl can come in
Your parents and brothers are here
I let them in
Who told you I wouldn’t let you all in
You are my children

Heaven shine through the stars
The city lights and the nearest bar
Where I’ll be with my friends
Hiding from the bitter end
The armor and the weapons
Were a strange way to show them my affection

I sound done
And I feel done
But I’m not done
Unless you’d give up on a lost son

Okay, I just got VIP tickets for the U2 360 show in Atlanta this fall, and I am doing cartwheels in my living room.  I’m so excited I can’t stand it!!!!! Check it out.

Recently, one of my favorite people in the world sent me an email.  She described an amazing compliment she had received from a teenager she has loved and in whom she has invested her life.  Here is part of her email:

A few days ago, my friend was going through my infinite strands of cheap jewelry.  She blessed me with a wonderful compliment (coming from a teenager).  She said, “You are the coolest person I know”. 

Then she went on to blow me away with her words, saying:

Of course I was pumped all day.  I didn’t delve too deep into what all she meant.  It could have just been my junk jewelry collection.  But it got me thinking.  Who is the coolest person I know?  I have a number of really unique women friends.  I had to think for a while but the verdict was “unanimous”.  YOU are the coolest person I know!  Absolutely, without a doubt.  You show your humanness without restraint.  You have a deep spiritual magnetism that draws people to Jesus.  You delightfully show God’s joy, fun and sense of humor.  I love that the world doesn’t scare you to death.  You don’t run away from it.  Plus, you dress cute ;>) 

Okay, needless to say I was floored, flabergasted, and waaay flattered.  So, why am I telling you about it?  Just because I want anyone glancing at my blog to know how great I think I am?  Not entirely.  I share it partly because it was such an encouragment to me.  This friend knows that I am going through some difficult things that have continued for what seems like an eternity.  And she spoke words of life to my soul.  She loved me well in doing so.  Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.”  She used that power well.  We never know how much a small word of encouragement, praise, or love can mean to those around us.

The other reason is the I want to hear from you.  Who is the “coolest person you know?”  What is it that makes them unique and wonderful?

The friend who wrote me (Janet!) is whimsical, uninhibited, artistic, funny, caring, sensitive, young-at-heart.  She dances at concerts.  She dresses in an eclectic, one-of-a-kind style.  She is unafraid to be herself and speaks her mind even when she knows others will not agree.  She has raised two boys and is an extremely fun grandmother.  She has written and published a book.  She loves life and lives it to the fullest.  I love her with all my heart, and I think I have to agree with her young teenage friend that she is the coolest person I know.

Hmmmm.  Of course, I do know many other very extremely cool people.  Maybe I’ll have to start a regular blog post about them. . .  But, oh yeah, tell me about your cool people.

Last weekend, my hubby and I kindly declined an offer to go with grandparents to the ”Greatest Show on Earth.”  We told his parents our life is a three-ring circus all the time, so we didn’t need to pay to see one.  Instead we sent the kids with them to the circus, and we had a nice Mexican dinner and went to see Slumdog Millionaire.

The smashing hit movie, with its 8 Oscars, is an amazing story.  If you haven’t seen it, go.  A moving, inspiring story of love and loyalty, betrayal and dashed hopes, redemption and life reborn.  It is life at its worst.  And best.  The link below shows the dance scene at the end of the movie, English subtitles included.  Jai Ho!

It’s Victory!

In only a week and a day, U2’s first new album since the grammy-winning How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2005 will be released.  I am counting down the hours and minutes. What is so incredibly amazing about this band, is that they are not content to simply play their old hits. No way, after 33 years together and 22 years on top of the world as the biggest band, they continue to strive to make great music, full of lyrical wonders and instrumental genius.   Here is a great article about the making of the new album over the last two years.  If there is a theme to the album, Bono says it is peripheral vision, which I’m guessing means knowing what is going on around you and responding to it.  Hmmm.  Oh, and I love what he says that makes this Irish group stand out - joy.  They are a surprising commodity in a rock-n-roll world of rebellion, anger, sex and drugs.  They like what they do, and they have fun.  Bono says, “Joy, for me, is the spilling over of a life well-lived.”  Well, I’m glad I’m getting to live mine during their lifetime, because they inspire me and give me a lot of enjoyment, as well as cause me to think about gigantic things such as justice and poverty and living a big life.

You can already watch the video of the first single to be released, Get On Your Boots.  I had the chance this weekend to listen to a pirated version of the new album.  But I just couldn’t do it.  I gotta wait for the real thing.  March 2 in the UK.  March 3 here in the USA.  I’m getting on my boots and heading to the nearest music store! 

Okay, my wonderful husband just made me oh-so-happy!  He was in a nearby town today for a financial seminar, and he brought home this month’s copy of Q, with 30 pages of oh-so-savory U2!!!  Yay for me.  I know what I’m doing tonight. 

By the way, I’ve been searching for the magazine ever since I heard back in December that it would be coming out.  At first I just hopped over to a local store and thought I’d pick one up.  Then I realized it wasn’t going to be here in our small town.  Next I searched the web, but couldn’t find anywhere to order a single issue of the magazine.  Finally, I found a store (”Barnes and Noble, I love ya!”) that carries it.  Well, then the fun really began.  I’ve been tormenting those poor booksellers nearly every day.  I knew they would only get a few copies, and I knew they would go fast.  And I knew there was no where else to get the thing.  (It is published in England.) 

Anyway, today was the blissful day when after my spiel they said, “Yes, we have it.”  I couldn’t believe my ears.  “You have the one with U2 on the cover?!”  I said in unbelief.  You gotta understand, I know the magazine guy on a first name basis now.  And at long last I have the blessed treasure in my hands. 

Just had to share. . . with other U2 enthusiasts (or maybe I should say other obsessed fans).  This is the year their first new album is coming out since 2004.  It’s also the year I’m turning 40 and definitely catching them on their tour.  And this is the night I devour a magazine, like delectable chocolate..

If you care to read or see more, check out the site of Q.