And the Dare goes to…

Darcie at Such the Spot!

Congratulations Darcie – your book will be in the mail as soon as I find your address!

Darcie winning this actually gives me a great lead-in to tell you something else about her. Namely, she rocks. And as evidence of her awesomeness, she is now a finalist in the Mabel’s Labels scholarship contest, just a few votes away from a trip to BlogHer. Could you please take just a moment to pop over here and vote for Darcie? You don’t have to take my word for it – read all the essays and I know you’ll agree. This girl needs to be BlogHer bound.

Fireproof/Love Dare Giveaway!

My husband and I were lucky enough to have a date this past Saturday night. We’ve had about, oh, maybe 3 of those since Annie was born 6 years ago, so this was a real treat. The church had a dinner and movie night with free childcare, so we took them up on the offer and were able to see Fireproof. If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it. I was touched by the movie, and inspired by the story behind it. A nerd at heart, I always love to dig into the background, and this is an amazing story. Grab a cup of tea and read on!

For those who may not be familiar, Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia is the driving force. In fact, they were once upon a time the only force. It all started in 2002, with an associate pastor at the church, Alex Kendrick, and $20,000 in donations. Relying on the time, talents, and generosity of their congregation, they set out to make a movie. In 2003 Flywheel, their first effort, was released. Facing the Giants followed in 2006.

Movies with a positive, Christian outlook on life are rare. Usually when Christianity is mentioned it is in reference to a crazy person, to make fun of believers, or to push the secular agenda that God doesn’t exist. So refreshing to see an honest, accurate portrayal of Christianity and the journey we are on.

These movies were made in a most amazing way. The actors are all unpaid volunteers. Ditto for the stage crew, the caterers, the laborers…everyone donated their time. Flywheel was shot with a single digital video camera, on a homemade dolly and crane. No sets were constructed – church members volunteered their own homes and businesses.

Along with his brother Stephen, the Kendricks comprise the creative core of more
than 500 church members who participate in making the movies. Alex and
Stephen, both associate pastors at Sherwood Baptist, hatched the idea to make
movies nearly six years ago after reading a George Barna poll that said movies
influenced Americans more than the church. “That really grieved us,” Stephen
Kendrick remembers. “We said to our church, ‘We can either curse the darkness or turn on a light.’ I am a firm believer that we should not be overcome by evil but we should overcome evil with good.”

“When we proposed to the church that we go in this direction, it is crazy how many things came together,” Alex Kendrick adds. “People would walk in unannounced and say, ‘We heard you were doing a movie. What do you need?’ They would ask us if we needed money. We said yes. They gave without reservation. Other people offered to sew, cook, or let us use their house or business out of the blue. When that kind of stuff starts happening you can’t give anybody any credit but God.”

The next time around, they had word-of-mouth on their side. Many more volunteers lined up to help, and the money from the first film allowed them to rent more professional movie equipment for Facing The Giants. 6 weeks of filming, again using one camera, and again dependant on the donations and generosity of church and community members. Facing the Giants was a success, and attracted even more attention to their mission.

Enter Fireproof. By far the most critically acclaimed of their films, this movie also had the widest theater release of the 3. This is thanks in no small part to Kirk Cameron, a devout Christian who was so inspired by Facing the Giants that he very generously volunteered to star in Fireproof – for free. (Ever heard of another Hollywood actor doing that?) Another decidedly UN-Hollywood aspect of the movie, as quoted from the website:

In a romantic scene in FIREPROOF, lead actor Kirk Cameron is actually kissing
his wife Chelsea rather than Erin Bethea, who plays Catherine. Chelsea was flown
in from Los Angeles just for that shot.

The scene was filmed in silhouette and works incredibly well, with Chelsea wearing the same outfit and a wig to mirror Erin. Sherwood Pictures has upheld this standard in all their movies: actors and actresses should guard their own marriages while on screen the same way they would do in real life. That’s why you don’t see Coach Taylor (Facing the Giants) or Jay Austin (Flywheel) kissing the women playing the on-screen wives.

Kirk also has long held to a principle that he would kiss no woman other than Chelsea. He was able to honor his marriage while making a movie that inspires others to do
the same.

Fireproof is the story of a marriage in peril, and one man’s journey to save it. Before filing for divorce, his father asks him to commit to a 40-day ‘Love Dare’. For 40 days, he follows the simple instructions in the book, one day at a time, and finds a way to save his marriage.

“This is such an important movie,” says Cameron, who in addition to acting,
has his own ministry called Way of the Master. “Today, we live in a society where
the meaning of love has almost been entirely lost. We reduce love to a quick and easy feeling, something we fall into effortlessly. When that feeling is gone we bail out and find something else to give us that feeling again. God has designed marriage to be a lifelong process of learning how to selflessly give yourself to someone else. That is where character is built. That is where faith is forged.”

“The whole idea of Fireproof is that it’s not that a marriage will never go through trials or fire but when fire comes or trials come it can withstand it,” Alex Kendrick explains. “This is what we mean by being fireproof. It also has a spiritual connotation. The only way you and I can be spiritually fireproof is through Jesus Christ. The only way our marriages can be fireproof is when they are dedicated and lived out using biblical principles.”

We were truly blessed by this movie, and I hope you will be as well. Please take the time to see it. No matter how good your marriage may be, there is always room for improvement. And in that vein, I’d like to bless your marriage as well, with a little commitment from you of course.

I am offering a free copy of the Love Dare to one lucky reader. Just leave me a comment about why you liked this movie, or how the Love Dare would benefit you, and you are eligible! Don’t forget to leave an email address where I can contact you. Winner will be drawn at random, and entries must be received by Thursday, February 12 at midnight EST. Good luck!

Someone who CARES

Short and sweet today (because I’m sick, remember?)

Flying with kids can be a real hassle. Lugging all of the gear through the airport, dumping out the sippy cups so you can pass through security, explaining to the annoyed security guard that actually, your child wouldn’t be crying at all had you not just had to dump out their drink, collapsing 2 strollers, removing 10 shoes, 3 car seats, 6 carry-ons, 2 video game systems, 3 ipods, 2 cameras, 2 cell phones, 1 video camera and 1 laptop so that they can be scanned for approximately 7 seconds, then replacing all 10 shoes, video games, cameras, phones, computers, unfolding 2 strollers and loading up 3 car seats while the childless people behind you sigh in disgust at the delay, immediately seeking out the nearest water fountain to replace the liquid you just dumped, and proceeding to the terminal. Forget the flight itself – that’s the easy part compared to making it through the airport.

There’s not a whole lot that can be done to improve this process (thanks terrorists!), but one less item to haul certainly helps. Especially if it’s a bulky item like a car seat. And that is where CARES comes in. This great travel item works as an FAA-approved safety restraint system for your little one, so car seats on planes can be a thing of the past. Good news indeed for weary travelers like myself.

Would you like one to make your life easier as well? Just visit the website linked above, and then leave me a comment here telling me how CARES will improve the quality of your travel. A winner will be chosen at random, and one lucky reader will be able to enjoy having a CARES system of their very own. Contest ends Tuesday, 12/9 at midnight EST. Good luck!

OK, very annoying Blogger glitch. AGAIN. The link won’t work, but the website is www.kidsflysafe.com

Now THIS is the Christmas spirit

Richard Paul Evans is one of my favorite authors, and if you haven’t read any of his books you definitely should, ASAP. You won’t be sorry. But besides being a great writer, he is a great example of the American Dream.

About fifteen years ago he sat down and wrote a story for his young daughters. A simple, heartfelt gift to capture his love for them. He finished the piece in six weeks, and was so pleased with the result that he printed off 20 copies of it to give to family members and their closest friends. He touched their hearts, and they were inspired to pass the story along to others, who passed it along, who passed it along…you get the idea. Encouraged by his small success, in 1993 he was inspired to seek out an agent and a publisher for his little story. He failed. Not to be discouraged, he went the route of a vanity press and produced the books himself, distributing them to local bookstores where they flew off the shelves.

Once again encouraged by the book’s success, Evans published the book nationally. Again on his own dime. And the book flew to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. The publishing houses who had rejected him before were suddenly very interested in this budding author, and a bidding war ensued. Simon & Schuster eventually won out, giving Mr. Evans a $4.2 million dollar advance. For the book they didn’t want before. Evans had only published it in paperback before, but now that the publishers had it they released it in hardcover, and in 1995 that Christmas gift for two little girls became the first ever book to be #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for both hardcover and paperback editions.

That was the year that I found Richard Paul Evans, and the year that I opened for myself The Christmas Box. I was so moved by the story that I cried – hard – while I read. I devoured that book in one night, and read it three more times that holiday season. And now, 13 years later, I still read it a couple of times a year.

In 1999 I was delighted to be able to meet Mr. Evans at a book signing in Birmingham, Alabama. Of course he is now a renowned author with numerous titles under his belt – all worth reading. He is the most successful self-published author of all time. And I was thrilled to learn a few weeks ago that he is coming to Louisville next week, not only for a book signing but to speak. In my excitement to gather the details, I visited his website where I was blessed yet again by this great man, and I wanted to share that with you.
He is very kindly, very generously offering a bit of Christmas cheer to all of us, and I am so touched. I’ve never seen another offer like it, which is further proof of his character.

For FREE, Richard Paul Evans is offering you a case of his paperback bestseller, The Christmas Box, just to make your own holiday gift-giving a little bit easier. An entire case, 25 copies, that you can share with your family and friends, and all he asks is that you not resell the books for profit. I was so moved, and very happy to pay the nominal shipping charge to get these books. I intend to tuck them in with teacher gifts, our Angel Tree presents for the elderly, and perhaps for a few friends and family members who haven’t read it yet.

If you’d like to share this inspirational story with your nearest and dearest, just visit the free book page on his website to place your own order. The offer is valid through December 1st or while supplies last.

And the book goes to…

Tracy of Sellabitmum! Congratulations! I will be emailing you shortly for your mailing info.

And the winner is…

Melanie, from Musings of an ebay Mommy! Congratulations Mel! Your book is on its way, and I hope it blesses your household like it has mine!