Han Solo Is Frozen In What And Why?

    I love reading, or at least I used to really love reading (when I had time).  I read a lot when I was in Jr. High and High School and I loved reading all kinds of genres but my favorites were scary stuff (vampire/werewolves) and mysteries.  What I loved about reading was the journey, the build up to the big reveal...you know a good whodunit that has you guessing until the very end.  I always figured that that was what everyone loved about reading, the guessing...the build up...the big reveal.  However, I have  a cousin that I went to school with, grew up with, and she loved to read too.  One day in Jr. High, while sitting beside her, I noticed she was about to start a new book; what she did next was mind boggling.  She turned to the LAST chapter of the book and then proceeded to READ the whole thing.  This was not a sneak peek or a page or two, it was the answers to all the questions that would be asked in the bulk of the book.  I asked her what she was doing; she said she didn't like waiting to see what happens.My mind couldn't comprehend what was happening;  I walked around for days, my mind in a fog...I was in shock.  Nothing made sense anymore, the world stopped spinning, unicorns and leprechauns were real, dogs loved cats, cats loved mice, Danny was the cute New Kid for crying out loud!!

Alright, maybe that's a tad dramatic...but I truly could not understand why anyone would want to do that.  It's like telling someone within the first 10 minutes of The Sixth Sense that (****SPOILER ALERT*****) Dr. Malcolm is a ghost, Rose let's Jack go and he sinks like a rock (Titanic), and Grace and the kids are the real ghost (The Others). 
     This principle of following the story from beginning to end also applies to my love of movies and to a lesser degree t.v. shows.  Most t.v. shows (series) you can miss an episode or two and still know what's what, but most movie sagas are different.  I refuse to watch any movie (in a series) out of sequence, I find it to be blasph...sacreli...irreve...CRAZY, alright! It's just crazy to me to watch something out of sequence, ESPECIALLY to bypass the first and watch the second or (heaven help) the third movie.  Case in point: The Lord of The Rings.  How can you truly appreciate or even understand the struggle of these characters, the sacrifices made, why the ring is so bad, what in the world a Smeagol/Gollum is, or most importantly what kick-starts the whole journey?  Star Wars, could almost be the exception to the rule in that, when the world was first introduced to the series (in 1977) it was with Episode IV: A New Hope.  Now, even though episodes 1 - 3 gave you the background on Darth Vader, Jedi's, and the Dark Side; you really don't need that information to get the main story line of the later 3 episodes.  However, how can you even begin to understand why Han Solo was frozen in carbonite in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi if you didn't watch Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

 
     Right now you're probably thinking, what's the big deal BigMamaWin, it's just a movie (book, t.v. show)?  Likewise, there will be someone or a few someones to say, "I'm with you, death to the out-of-sequencers!" My reply to the second group would be TAKE YOUR PROZAC and CALM DOWN!  It's not that serious!!! In all seriousness, I do have a point to this seemingly unimportant nerdfest.  How many of us have looked at someone (you don't know) and took their appearance, facial expression, surroundings, etc. and said __________________?  In that blank is the word/words of judgment you slapped on that person (whether out loud or in your mind) after just seconds of seeing them.  Let's say you work with someone and maybe consider them a casual acquaintance, yet you still have that ____________.  You know what I mean: he's a jerk, she's a whore, they're white trash, he's a messed up junkie, she's a crackhead, and so on and so on.  We've made our summation of another human being in one or two words, yet we resent being called such things or summarized in such a way.  How can you/I make an accurate judgment of someone when we've only seen the second or third "movie" that is that person's life.  Now it is true that if you witness (or have legitimate knowledge of) someone having sex with lots of people for money, by definition, that person would be known as a prostitute (whore or slut to the more tacky person).  I'm not talking about making informed decisions or accurate observations of a persons, I'm referencing the way we tend to summarize that a persons deeds (good or bad) are WHO they are.  Is that woman a prostitute, or is she in human trafficking slavery?  Has she been threatened with death if she leaves or tells anyone?

 Did that person on meth just wake up one day and say, "hey, I'd like to lose my job, my children, and be hooked on something that will age me by 20 years and more than likely kill me."?  I know there will be critics and cynics to what I'm saying and I want you to know, I understand you too, because we all have a beginning story. 
     My challenge to you and myself, is to consider a person's backstory.  How did he/she get this horrible title?  Is the reason she's a "bitch" because she has hurts so deep that NO ONE has attempted to LOVE past: the hurt/anger/pain/resentment to help her let go.  Is he an OVERLY macho, male chauvinist because his dad used to put him down all the time, call him a girl, laugh at him when he failed?  DARE...I DARE YOU to be willing to see the story from the beginning, to factor in a past that has led to the present you see in front of you.  It's just a thought.     

Christmas...Easter...Why are "Christians" celebrating these holidays?

     *Warning- the following post may cause some viewers to get their underoos in a bunch.  My hope is that it may cause a stirring in one's heart to truly study and understand why this is so very important.  You have been advised.*
     Let's see...it is my understanding that Christmas is supposed to be about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ; Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.  So, why is it when you ask any young child who attends church every Sunday what Christmas is about; their response is: "it's when Santa Claus brings presents to good kids (or something along those lines)." Likewise, if you ask them what "Easter" is about, their response is: "it's when the easter bunny hides eggs and brings candy for kids" (again something along those lines).  Churches have easter egg hunts and even have "Santa Claus" come to the church's reception room and have all the kids come sit on his lap and tell him what they want for Christmas.  Why?  Why do churches perpetuate lies surrounding two of the most important events in Christian history?  Do these two seemingly "harmless" lies have ANY foundation in the Bible? What harm comes from these two "holidays" being passed off as "Christian" holidays?
     All you have to do is study the Bible and the accounts of the birth of Christ (Christmas) and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Good Friday and Easter sunday)and you will discover some very important truths.  Santa Clause, reindeer, elves, and gifts for children were NEVER mentioned in the Bible and the same can be said for Lent, the easter bunny, hiding eggs, or finding candy in a basket.  Where does the name easter come from?  Well, that answer is very easy to find.  If you check the internet or go to a library to study the origins of both of these holidays you will find that BOTH were actually PAGAN holidays.  The word "easter", which is agreed upon by both religious and secular scholars, has it's roots in pagan religion.  In fact, the name easter is a revamping of the name of the goddess of fertility, and rabbits and eggs being symbols of fertility.  I'm not going to go into all of the history of either because, well...that's too much to type and I'm of the belief that one should make up their own mind.  Study both histories, the secular and the Biblical, discover for yourself that I'm not blowing a bunch of smoke.
     Now, if I'm not going to go all into detail about the history of these two holidays, why bring it up?  I'm writing this because I asked my 4 year old daughter, the other day, if she knew what holiday was coming up.  I know that they had been talking about easter at school; I figured maybe she didn't understand what I meant by the word "holiday"; so I asked her if she knew that easter was coming up?  She smiled and said "yes ma'am", and I said "can you tell mommy what is so special about easter?"; she said, "it's when the easter bunny brings candy and we hide eggs".  Her answer made me take a step back; in fact it upset me.  Why would/should that upset me?  I want you to understand that I am not upset with her by any means.  What upsets me is that she goes to Sunday school (almost every Sunday) and goes to a school that supports a Christian environment and yet when I mentioned "easter" Jesus wasn't even a thought in her mind.  "Winter, come on...she's just 4 years old, she doesn't need to think about such horrible events, you know, death and all that yucky stuff".  Noooooo...you're right I should just start lying to my child about one of the most IMPORTANT fundamental truths of the Christian faith and let her believe that the easter bunny, dying eggs, and baskets filled with candy is what it's all about.  If I lie to her about the Resurrection, then I should also lie to her about the Virgin birth of the Savior, because how can she even begin to wrap her 4 year old mind around all of that.  Yes...you're right flying rain deer, pulling a sleigh carrying an overweight (possibly diabetic) jolly, man who leaves presents for little boys and girls (after he breaks into their houses) is a much more believable and better idea to get in her head. 
     I realize that I probably sound like a hypocrite to everyone.  I grew up singing Christmas songs, decorating a tree, opening presents, hunting eggs, and getting exciting about the candy in my easter basket.  Likewise, this is Katie's 4th easter and this past December was her 4th Christmas; she got gifts and she got an easter basket.  I will point out that Santa was never mentioned (in our house) to Katie: she got gifts from Mommy, Grandma and Papaw, KayKay, A.A....you get the point.  Now to get the meat of my story!  I feel very strongly about how weak the Christian church is in America. I see the enemy destroying the Christian church in America from within, by minimizing the destructive reality of incorporating pagan worship into true Christian events.  The high rate of college aged kids (who grew up in traditional churches) that stop attending church, change faiths, or become agnostic or atheist shortly after graduating high school.  I truly believe the reason they so easily leave the beliefs of their parents is because their foundation is based on lies.  All it would take is a learned Agnostic/atheist person to ask them "do you believe Jesus was placed in the tomb on "good Friday" and rose on Sunday?"  When he/she replies yes, they will immediately be schooled at the math and the words of Jesus that stated he would be killed, buried, and come back after 3 days.  "Good Friday" could not be the day that Jesus was buried, because for Him to rise again (and already be gone from the tomb) by Sunday morning 3 days (full days) would not have passed, making your celebration of Friday as being the day of Jesus' death wrong OR making the Bible a lie. 
    What I am sharing is (obviously) MY belief, my thoughts, my words (no one else).  There are others, who feel the same way I do and might do a better job of explaining this.  I don't share this to make anyone feel bad or wrong about how you choose to celebrate these 2 events.  I share this to simply ask you to step outside of "tradition" and really TRULY examine your heart and the truth that is found in The Word of God. 

HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!

Um, yeah...so it's been a while huh?

     This post is just to acknowledge that it's been a while since I posted anything. Is it because I ran out of things to talk about, or is it because writing is just sooooo difficult?  It was neither; I get easily distracted and I....ooh piece of candy! Seriously though, there will be more to come I'm just gonna post this to make sure I can even still post things. LATER!!!