The Oscars...with a little Perspective

When I was little I used to make movies with my sisters and my neighbors. We made a good number of them. I was the director and had my sisters and friends as my "little minions" to be my movie stars. ha. I was bossy...back then. Well, to say the least, we made so many "films" that we eventually had to have an awards show, call it our "Academy Awards", to give out credit to the great movies and great little actors/actresses in the neighborhood.

So, I picked who got all the awards (I guess I was "The Academy") and we filmed our little awards ceremony one day which was a lot of fun. All the little "thank-you" speeches from kids ages 5-14...haha. Guess who won Best Director? yeah...

POINT IS...I'd always wanted to be a director or "in the movie business"...for quite awhile. More recently, I've decided my life may be headed on a different path, but not shutting any doors here..we'll just see. But when I was younger and had my BIG dreams, I used to do what most kids do, and practice my acceptance speech. Ok, so I practiced it many many times throughout my life.

I find that being in front of thousands, no, millions of people to hear what YOU have to say, is kind of exciting. Just because after you get credit for something big you've accomplished, it's quite possibly the best moment to give credit to who really deserves it most.

Who? Well, if you know me by now...you probably know exactly what I mean by "who". But then again, most of my life EVERY actor/actress/singer/etc gave credit to this "who". I'm starting to notice though that there's a shift or a change going on...nobody wants to even talk or mention the 3-letter 'who' anymore. I wonder why?

So last night Meryl Streep, kind of surprisingly, won Best Actress award at the Oscars. I love Meryl, no doubt, but I admit I kind of wanted Viola Davis to win for The Help. EITHER WAY, Meryl gets up on stage, after Viola hugs her,...and starts off her "thank you" speech thanking a 3-letter person.

No, not God. ha. Don. Her husband. And you know what? I think that's completely great. So good for a hollywood marriage being happy and long-lasting. And to continue on...she thanks her makeup artist, Roy Helland. That's important too. The "behind the scenes" people deserve much respect and appreciation for their ART just as much as the actor/actress I think. Then, THIS is the part of her speech that moved me. You can watch the link below to see the end of her speech...if not, just scroll down past the link.

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/watch-meryl-streeps-oscar-acceptance-speech-for-best-actress/


Meryl Streep lastly, starts getting more emotional, and says, "I really wanna thank all my colleagues, all my friends...I look out here and you know, I see my life before my eyes. My old friends, my new friends, and really, this is such a great honor but...the thing that counts the most with me...is the friendships and the love...and the sheer joy we have shared making movies together. My friends, thank you, all of you. Departed...(puts her arm over her heart) and here. For this inexplicably wonderful career. Thank you so much."

And you know...that's just it. That's the point. She looks out in tears, says she sees "her life before her eyes" while she looks at her friends. They show some in the audience looking back at her...with tears in their eyes. Because THAT is what's real. FRIENDS. As she says "sheer JOY"...its moving. Its all about the people. Its all about...the love. She is moved...we are moved. Before you know it, she will be one of the actresses "departed"...but the impact she makes on her friends...and vice versa...will not fade. The love...never fades. It's what God is all about. Whether she says it or not...God is in WHAT she said. Selfless. Friendship. Love.

If we all can one day look at our lives...by looking at our friends we've made in our lifetime...and see "sheer joy"...then we can say we did NOT miss out on life. We will have found life...because God...is in people. He's all around us...whether we "credit Him"...or His world around us does on its own.

Simple Thoughts about an Awesome God

Today has been... one of those days. When something inside of you just feels like you really need to let it out.
So you think about it...and try to figure out what it is that's messing around with your head. You don't know. You can't figure it out. Maybe if you just vent about something to someone it'll come out on its own. Does that make sense? Sometimes when you get to talking with one of your closest friends, you end up saying more off the top of your head and end up being honest with what's actually going on. Sometimes you find out that you needed to be honest with yourself. You just didn't know it...ha.

Well today...I woke up and went to work SUPER early. 7:00am shift. (i mean, i guess people with REAL jobs can relate...) But to me...thats not my usual day. So maybe I was tired but I dunno, today I just felt like I had something pressing on my mind too much. Frustration. Irritation. Maybe a little anger? ha. That emotion I don't like. But truthfully, I think I felt it today. I didn't even know why? Maybe I subconsciously let something build up. I'm always telling people to "Feel how you feel! Don't hold back." You can't help how you feel sometimes and its ok to just be honest with yourself. Better yet, its MORE than ok. It's healthy.

Well, so, I came home from work and just felt like I needed to let something go. And frankly, I needed to figure out who was gonna be my "venterator." (---its off Gilmore Girls)
So I was at the apartment, by myself...and was just feeling like I needed to "talk it out"..."take a load off"...you know what I mean. And now for the serious moment...I needed to let myself BE myself. Completely. Not half-hearted or 75% of me. All of me.

There's only a few options of who I can go to. But truth is...sometimes I want people to just listen and not offer solutions. So I don't call anybody....instead I just decided to flip my Bible open and start reading. (i love to read it. and i only say that because its THAT good :)
but usually when I do that, expecting something PERFECT to pop out when i open it up, its completely off my "needed" subject haha.

But not today.

Today I barely opened it...since I only made it to book 2 out of 66. Exodus. ??? I was kind of aiming for the red letters...but I just started to read. The perfect verse popped out.

I'm not gonna tell you.

Read the whole book and guess which one it was.

ha. Just kidding. It was Exodus 33:11 "Inside the Tent of Meeting, the Lord would speak to Moses face to face...as one speaks to a friend."

Granted...I told God I wish I could speak to him face to face. But...the point is...I can talk to Him like he's my friend. And I'm not embarrassed to say that. I'm confidently saying it...

He is my friend. He's been my friend longer than anyone has. He's been there with me to cry out to my WHOLE life. And I have. And thanks to Him I have peace in my life. Because He's that great to me.

So the point I'm trying to make...is that I literally stopped reading further. Made myself a latte. And just talked to God. (If that's weird to anyone...sorry...but we're that close)

And without details...let's just say...I feel much better now. He's the friend I needed to go to. He's the friend who actually CAN do something about my life. He's the friend who always does.

I love God. (simple thing to say, powerful to feel)

I really do. He is my best friend. And I'm so grateful that God gets me.