DEEP WATERS

In last Saturday's blog post , I shared my opinion on the wildly successful novel and film The Help . I believe this story has become amazingly popular for many reasons. One reason is because it presents a fictional account of a largely true story. Kathryn Stockett weaved the stories of thousands of African American maids and their Caucasian employers in with interesting, and often hilarious, fictional anecdotes. She intertwined the great stories of love between these southern folks with the horror stories that many of us would rather bury away for all eternity. The result is a wonderful, emotionally moving tapestry. Stockett has shared much about her loving relationship with the maid that helped raise her, Demetrie. Here are a few of her own words: "Growing up in Mississippi, almost every family I knew had a black woman working in their house -- cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the white children. That was life in Mississippi. When I moved to New York, though, I real...

When one person says I should blog about a particular topic, I nod my head politely and say, "Hmmm. That would be a good topic." When another person says I should blog about the same topic, I nod more affirmatively and seriously consider blogging on the topic. When a third person mentions that same topic to me, I sit my rear end down, open my laptop, and start blogging. So here I am with my rear end planted to my padded dining room chair, beginning this blog that three people have told me I just have to write. So let us begin our discussion of The Help ... First of all, I have read the book and seen the movie. I loved them both. I laughed. I cried. Several emotions were evoked deep down within my soul. Some good. Some bad. I'll share some of them with you today, approaching this discussion as "Good News" and "Bad News." The Good News I could go on and on over the good news behind The Help . First of all, from an artistic perspective, the film...

In the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty , television reporter Bruce Nolan views life as a glass half-empty. Convinced he's the unluckiest guy in the world, he complains that God must be sleeping on the job. So he gets the chance of a lifetime: God personally hands over the reigns of the world to Bruce, allowing him to run the world. Bruce relishes in his new-found powers, using them to tilt the world in his favor. He becomes "Mr. Exclusive," his station's top reporter/anchor, and his life takes a huge turn for the best... until it all begins to unravel. While a simplistic and comical view of God and His sovereignty, Bruce Almighty actually presents us with some profound truths. I'll list a few: We humans sometimes wonder if God really has our best interest at heart We often ask the age-old question: if God is a good God, then why does He allow bad things to happen? Quite frankly, we sometimes think we could do a better job with our lives Just writing that las...

Do you ever have one of those days when your heart just longs for Christ's return? Do you ever wonder how long God will wait until He raptures His children out of this world? I know He has a plan. I certainly know His plan is much better than mine. And yet today I find myself longing to see Him face-to-face. I long for Him to take away the pains of this world and replace it with His awesome glory. I know He's waiting until more come to know Him. I know He wishes that no man should perish. And I'm aware that there are still many people groups around the world that have yet to hear His name. The number that will complete His Church has yet to be reached. I know that, and still today, I just wish... My heart is heavy over a story I heard yesterday. A young girl, just thirteen years old, was raped by her own uncle. The family is torn. The girl is forever scarred, her innocence taken away. I don't know this family, only the person that relayed this story to me, and yet...

Last year Disney presented Tangled , its version of the beloved German fairy tale Rapunzel . In this musical adaptation, Gothel, an evil woman longing for eternal youth, kidnaps Rapunzel from her royal family, then masquerades as her mother. Gothel hides Rapunzel in a tower, forbidding her to leave, ever fearful that she will discover her true heritage. If she loses Rapunzel, she loses the magical power of Rapunzel's hair that she uses to maintain her youth and beauty. Gothel's worst fear is Rapunzel discovering her true identity. Rapunzel is a child of the King, but she doesn't know it. Guess what? So are you. If you've begun a relationship with God through Christ, you are His son or daughter. You are a child of the King. And not only the King, but the King of Kings. Now, let's be honest. On a good day -- maybe a day we've had our time reading the Word or a Sunday that we've enjoyed great worship and a good sermon -- we can easily believe this tru...

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses, and all the king's men Couldn't put Humpty Dumpty together again We all remember the Humpty Dumpty riddle that our moms and grade school teachers taught us. Poor Humpty. Imagine being an egg, hanging out on a wall watching the hustle and bustle of the townspeople around you, then suddenly, you've fallen from the wall. You find yourself lying on the ground, shattered into hundreds of pieces. And what's worse -- no one can put you back together again. Unfortunately this story isn't just found in storybooks. It's the story of so many that claim to know Christ as personal savior -- shattered into hundreds of pieces, with no one able to put them back together again.  People today are falling off the walls of the world and breaking into a million pieces. In No Perfect People Allowed: Creating A Come As You Are Culture In The Church , Pastor John Burke examines today's po...

I just sat down to begin writing today's post, and you'll never guess what I spotted. Outside my home there appeared a humongous, gorgeous rainbow. I've never seen a rainbow so large, so close, so distinct in its colors and design. I wonder if it's a once in a lifetime gift from God. The interesting thing about this rainbow: it appeared in the middle of a thunderstorm. The thunder still roared, lightning still pierced through the sky, dark clouds still loomed in the atmosphere. And yet there it was in the middle of all that turmoil: a magnificent rainbow. (Trust me, our pictures don't do it justice.) I'm not a superstitious person, and I don't usually act according to every whim and circumstance, but I think God is speaking to me right now. I believe He's telling me that He's interrupting the regularly scheduled program. The things I planned to say here today must wait. The thoughts I intended to present are going on a shelf. He is completely...

Hey everybody. It feels like I haven't spoken with you in months. Actually it's only been days, but I guess six days feel like an eternity when you've just completed 31 straight days of blogging! If you're new to "Sojourner of Truth," I'll take a moment to bring you up to speed. For the month of July I linked arms with four other ladies to blog everyday for the entire month. My topic was "31 Days of Purpose," and I believe God really met us here. He certainly met me here. You can read any and all of those posts by clicking on the "2011 - July" link in my "blog archive" to the lower right of this post. So... Whatever do we do with ourselves now? Well, I've been praying, and God recently gave me an answer to that question. First of all, I will blog regularly, on every Tuesday and Saturday. So tune in twice a week, and I'll promise to meet you here. You can even subscribe to receive my blog posts through your email ac...