I just want to say thanks for your comments about Johanna Michaelsen to everyone that commented. If anyone has more info on her and her crazy stories please tell! You all have been very helpful
browsing the news and came across the account of the little toddler accidentally run over by her dad on Friday, perhaps we can all remember the Todd Heap family in our prayers this weekend?
i believe the little lamb is safe in the arms of Jesus now, but that doesn’t help this grieving family to fill the loss, i know … anyone who has raised children knows how quickly, fearlessly and unexpectedly they can put their little selves in harm’s way … but for the grace of God
(some here have noted the pall that seemed to hang over yesterday – noticed it, too – so many folk carrying crosses and secular burdens, too … i pray tomorrow is a joyous counterpoint)
“You cast your sins from yourself on onto Christ when you firmly believe that his wounds and sufferings are your sins, to be borne and paid for by him, as we read in Isaiah, “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” St. Peter says, “in his body has he borne our sins on the wood of the cross”. St. Paul says, “God has made him a sinner for us, so that through him we would be made just”.
I just caught a matinée for the movie The Case For Christ. I’d never read the book. All around, this was a great drama. I was expecting something dry and maybe a bit cheesy, yet it wasn’t those things at all. The acting was great by all (except, interestingly, by Faye Dunaway, who was in only one scene, but then it wasn’t much to work with), the direction more than passable, and it felt like it was made by serious movie-makers, not a straight-to-video or made-for-tv production at all.
Going into it, I thought that Strobel’s investigation would have been what held the story together, yet it wasn’t; rather, it was the human relationships, specifically his marriage and family. After his wife came to the faith, what seemed to be a good marriage became conflictual. When he first accused his wife of “cheating” on him with Jesus, I laughed. It was a ridiculous accusation, but the feelings behind it were real. His feelings of abandonment and even betrayal turned out to be something that was unraveling his family. After a slight upturn in the marriage and a date night, Lee implied that if she were still on this path in two years, he wouldn’t be there. That was brutal. They had a little girl and a new baby son. (at the beginning of the movie, their daughter was choking to death on a gum-ball, and a Christian nurse patron of the restaurant saved her life, which is what prompted the wife to begin questioning and searching)
Much later, we also learn a bit about his relationship with his parents, and the problems therein. It put into perspective that while he was overall a good husband and dad who loved his family, there was baggage that contributed to his having a stone heart and being an atheist. The resolution there wasn’t something that’s not been played out so many times in who knows how many families, sadly.
Against the relationships, the other story thread was in his journalistic work, and that was good drama. His distraction, and maybe even his world-view, resulted in Lee seeing what wasn’t there and also missing what was in front of his face. People suffered for it. I wonder how much of this journalistic sub-plot was true, as it’s a good little story in and of itself. It was meant to be, of course, a parallel of his investigation into Christianity.
Switching between Lee and his family, his career, and his investigation into Christianity kept the movie going rather than bogging it down. By the end, we saw how all of these things tied together. I thought his wife praying for God to replace Lee’s heart of stone with a heart of flesh by reading out of Ezekiel was very touching. I don’t know on how much of the story they took artistic embellishments, but if even half of that was true, she had the heart of a saint to put up with a husband who was being a jerk to borderline abusive in one scene (alcohol and heightened emotions never mix well). She was a sweetheart, and had the faith to endure his struggle. Faith does endure all things.
It’s all yours today…
I just want to say thanks for your comments about Johanna Michaelsen to everyone that commented. If anyone has more info on her and her crazy stories please tell! You all have been very helpful
Pastors prepping for Easter…
https://www.facebook.com/johnbcrist/videos/1048596308608781/
Too funny Scooter.
browsing the news and came across the account of the little toddler accidentally run over by her dad on Friday, perhaps we can all remember the Todd Heap family in our prayers this weekend?
i believe the little lamb is safe in the arms of Jesus now, but that doesn’t help this grieving family to fill the loss, i know … anyone who has raised children knows how quickly, fearlessly and unexpectedly they can put their little selves in harm’s way … but for the grace of God
(some here have noted the pall that seemed to hang over yesterday – noticed it, too – so many folk carrying crosses and secular burdens, too … i pray tomorrow is a joyous counterpoint)
“You cast your sins from yourself on onto Christ when you firmly believe that his wounds and sufferings are your sins, to be borne and paid for by him, as we read in Isaiah, “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” St. Peter says, “in his body has he borne our sins on the wood of the cross”. St. Paul says, “God has made him a sinner for us, so that through him we would be made just”.
Follow the link to finish reading:
https://thejaggedword.com/2017/04/15/a-jagged-contention-his-wounds-are-your-sins/
Em,
I saw that last night…the pain would be unreal.
Good link, Jean…
I just caught a matinée for the movie The Case For Christ. I’d never read the book. All around, this was a great drama. I was expecting something dry and maybe a bit cheesy, yet it wasn’t those things at all. The acting was great by all (except, interestingly, by Faye Dunaway, who was in only one scene, but then it wasn’t much to work with), the direction more than passable, and it felt like it was made by serious movie-makers, not a straight-to-video or made-for-tv production at all.
Going into it, I thought that Strobel’s investigation would have been what held the story together, yet it wasn’t; rather, it was the human relationships, specifically his marriage and family. After his wife came to the faith, what seemed to be a good marriage became conflictual. When he first accused his wife of “cheating” on him with Jesus, I laughed. It was a ridiculous accusation, but the feelings behind it were real. His feelings of abandonment and even betrayal turned out to be something that was unraveling his family. After a slight upturn in the marriage and a date night, Lee implied that if she were still on this path in two years, he wouldn’t be there. That was brutal. They had a little girl and a new baby son. (at the beginning of the movie, their daughter was choking to death on a gum-ball, and a Christian nurse patron of the restaurant saved her life, which is what prompted the wife to begin questioning and searching)
Much later, we also learn a bit about his relationship with his parents, and the problems therein. It put into perspective that while he was overall a good husband and dad who loved his family, there was baggage that contributed to his having a stone heart and being an atheist. The resolution there wasn’t something that’s not been played out so many times in who knows how many families, sadly.
Against the relationships, the other story thread was in his journalistic work, and that was good drama. His distraction, and maybe even his world-view, resulted in Lee seeing what wasn’t there and also missing what was in front of his face. People suffered for it. I wonder how much of this journalistic sub-plot was true, as it’s a good little story in and of itself. It was meant to be, of course, a parallel of his investigation into Christianity.
Switching between Lee and his family, his career, and his investigation into Christianity kept the movie going rather than bogging it down. By the end, we saw how all of these things tied together. I thought his wife praying for God to replace Lee’s heart of stone with a heart of flesh by reading out of Ezekiel was very touching. I don’t know on how much of the story they took artistic embellishments, but if even half of that was true, she had the heart of a saint to put up with a husband who was being a jerk to borderline abusive in one scene (alcohol and heightened emotions never mix well). She was a sweetheart, and had the faith to endure his struggle. Faith does endure all things.