I was in the mood for some feel good 70s music today as I was spring cleaning and I discovered something. Two of my favorite power ballads from the 90s are actually 70s originals. I knew they were remakes, but didn't know the belonged to that wild and wacky decade. Thus, I feel the need to tally:
MELISSA'S BEST OVER-EMOTING, HAND-GESTURE MAKING POWER BALLADS
You're The Inspiration (When You Love Somebody) by Chicago: This is nothing more than a feel- good-about-life kind of song. No unrequited love, no heartbreak. Just--You. You're it. It can be applied to any kind of love and its the kind of song that means more the older you get. I like to do the drum riffs and echo back ("when you love some-bo-DAY!")
Without You by Mariah Carey
"No, I. Can't forget this evenin'...." You know a song brings the drama when it begins with a sigh. I have a feeling any little girl who got a karoke machine for Christmas 1992 (not to get too specific or anything) may have this one in her repertoire of "Love Gone Wrong."
All By Myself by Celine Dion
Like many other teenaged girls of the mid-90s, I discovered this song from Clueless as Cher walks down the stairs to her pool and realizes, duh, she loves Josh. I love the theatrics of the song, especially when it gets whispery as sung by Celine. You just gotta give yourself a chest bump and bring the magic in honor Ms. Dion.
Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me by Gladys Knight
This song, now, makes me think of my kids. It may or may not be the line I'll inscribe in the forward of my (almost) imaginary memoir. It's soulful and honest: "If anyone/should ever write/my life story/for whatever reason there might be/you'll be there/ in each line of pain and glory/'cause your the best thing that ever happened to me."
I Dreamed a Dream-- Glee Cast Featuring Lea Michele and Idina Menzel
This song struck a chord with me before I'd seen the musical and knew the larger context of the story. In this version, the actresses are telling the narrative of the story from the perspective of a mother who has given up her daughter and the daughter who wants to be a part of her life, but it's too late. Idina Menzel sings the part of heartbreak, and Lea Michele sings the hopeful lines. It's soaring ballad that makes you feel as though you too have been abandoned in revolutionary France. Definitely one to belt out in the shower.
One Day More & Bring Him Home-- From Les Miserables Live 2010 Cast Album
Basically, I wish I could sing every part in this musical. One Day More has to be (if I had to choose) my stand-alone favorite song. Everything is in the song: separating lovers, duty to a cause, choosing one's destiny; it's all there. "One More Dawn, One More Day, One Day More." It's almost a life philosophy. I love it and like to imagine it's playing somewhere in heaven.
Bring Him Home is about a father's love and the raw emotion and truth in it will bring the hardest cynic to tears. The song starts out gently, as a prayer and builds to a plea to exchange one life for another. If this is not downloaded to your device of choice, I implore you. Give it a listen and rectify the situation. Humanity demands it of you.
What have I forgotten? I know I've left off Whitney, and she's one of the best for power ballads. Let me hear from you!
(Sorry if this gif is giving you a seizure. Celine's brilliance is overpowering.)
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Spring (Re)Discoveries
I've managed to find the will to blog even though DA is finished for the year. Here are a few things that are making me happy lately:
1. Scrap booking: I don't do many of the traditional womanly arts well, but I can slap a few pictures on pretty paper and write down everything I remember about the captured moments. I have my feet in both the digital and tactile world of memory preservation, and I think both are important. I just discovered chatbooks, a subscription based company that takes your Instagram pictures into a 4 x 4 bound book for only $6 a book. Each time you reach 60 pictures, you receive a book. Shipping is included and there's practically no work involved. You pick the cover picture, delete any pictures you'd don't want printed, and that's it. I'm uploading any impromptu pictures I take from my phone to Instragram now so I can keep a running record of our day to today. Making anything with your hands is therapeutic for the mind and body and there is a sense of completion in the product. I started scrapbooking after college as a hobby (when I wasn't at church, teaching or the library) because I was a social butterfly and well, a bit of a premature Memaw. So be it. I opened up that scrapbook and giggled at the subject matter: a page on my sister, my Mom, and weekend trips I made down the GA-SC coast. Clearly, I was sweater-set wearing, bible-study-going, non-dating wild child at the time. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. At all.) Anyhoo. That's my early twenties and it makes me thankful that I kept to the straight and narrow, even though it makes for sedate reminiscences. I made a scrapbook for each child and every so often add a page. Since I don't do it on a regular basis, I'm just trying to get each year of their life documented with some major life event represented. I've got most our Christmases and birthdays present and accounted for so that one day when I'm gone, maybe they'll be glad their old Mama took the time to preserve their childhood. I can hope.
2. Dave Barnes: I recently found this singer-songwriter through some (wait for it) blogs I follow--shocker! He has a new EP out called Hymns for Her and it sounds like a perfect soundtrack for springtime in the South. It's upbeat and has a toe-tappin' love song ("Good Day for Marryin' You) and a beautiful instrumental ("Mississippi"). You can find him on Spotify or Pandora or just plunk down $6.99 for the EP. Worth the listen.
3. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont: I've heard this author's name several times and I checked out her book on writing. She's a novelist and memoirist and this book is very approachable. I'm about a third of the way through the book and the best nugget I'm picked out is that with any discipline, in this case writing, you commit to practicing the discipline daily and the greatest reward will and has to be the discipline itself. Writers write to write. Painters paint to paint. Publication or recognition may come in time, but this is not the ultimate goal or satisfaction of the process. It is self-expression. It's doing the work consistently over time that reaps benefits. This is kinda a "no duh" sentiment but as my husband always is quick to remind me, most things in life aren't HARD to understand, but hard to carry out.
I'm so happy it's warm this week that I pulled out a short-sleeved shirt and skirt and it's heavenly not to be bundled in jeans and a hoodie. I'm feelin' all kinds of sassy that I dressed like a human that functions in the world even if it was to run to the grocery store. That's all I got. Hope you're enjoying the early signs of Spring!
1. Scrap booking: I don't do many of the traditional womanly arts well, but I can slap a few pictures on pretty paper and write down everything I remember about the captured moments. I have my feet in both the digital and tactile world of memory preservation, and I think both are important. I just discovered chatbooks, a subscription based company that takes your Instagram pictures into a 4 x 4 bound book for only $6 a book. Each time you reach 60 pictures, you receive a book. Shipping is included and there's practically no work involved. You pick the cover picture, delete any pictures you'd don't want printed, and that's it. I'm uploading any impromptu pictures I take from my phone to Instragram now so I can keep a running record of our day to today. Making anything with your hands is therapeutic for the mind and body and there is a sense of completion in the product. I started scrapbooking after college as a hobby (when I wasn't at church, teaching or the library) because I was a social butterfly and well, a bit of a premature Memaw. So be it. I opened up that scrapbook and giggled at the subject matter: a page on my sister, my Mom, and weekend trips I made down the GA-SC coast. Clearly, I was sweater-set wearing, bible-study-going, non-dating wild child at the time. (Not that there's anything wrong with that. At all.) Anyhoo. That's my early twenties and it makes me thankful that I kept to the straight and narrow, even though it makes for sedate reminiscences. I made a scrapbook for each child and every so often add a page. Since I don't do it on a regular basis, I'm just trying to get each year of their life documented with some major life event represented. I've got most our Christmases and birthdays present and accounted for so that one day when I'm gone, maybe they'll be glad their old Mama took the time to preserve their childhood. I can hope.
2. Dave Barnes: I recently found this singer-songwriter through some (wait for it) blogs I follow--shocker! He has a new EP out called Hymns for Her and it sounds like a perfect soundtrack for springtime in the South. It's upbeat and has a toe-tappin' love song ("Good Day for Marryin' You) and a beautiful instrumental ("Mississippi"). You can find him on Spotify or Pandora or just plunk down $6.99 for the EP. Worth the listen.
3. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont: I've heard this author's name several times and I checked out her book on writing. She's a novelist and memoirist and this book is very approachable. I'm about a third of the way through the book and the best nugget I'm picked out is that with any discipline, in this case writing, you commit to practicing the discipline daily and the greatest reward will and has to be the discipline itself. Writers write to write. Painters paint to paint. Publication or recognition may come in time, but this is not the ultimate goal or satisfaction of the process. It is self-expression. It's doing the work consistently over time that reaps benefits. This is kinda a "no duh" sentiment but as my husband always is quick to remind me, most things in life aren't HARD to understand, but hard to carry out.
I'm so happy it's warm this week that I pulled out a short-sleeved shirt and skirt and it's heavenly not to be bundled in jeans and a hoodie. I'm feelin' all kinds of sassy that I dressed like a human that functions in the world even if it was to run to the grocery store. That's all I got. Hope you're enjoying the early signs of Spring!
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Downton Abbey: Finale Live Stream-of-Consciousness Tweet/Blog/Passing Thoughts
Here we go!
* Thomas: Meow. To Mr. Bates, offering to cut off his right arm if it would help Anna: "We can't have you wobbly at both ends."
* I have to say I'm impressed at how Robert has mellowed. He's at peace with Edith's decision to bring her child home and allowing her to do it on her own terms.
* Love Cora's hat on the train.
* Uh-oh. Robert has unexpected pain. This doesn't bode well. Especially since his dog was sick too. Downton Abbey country song, perhaps?
* The silk wallpaper is fab at Atticus' family home.
* Ooh. This valet is giving Thomas a dressing down. He's actually sticking up for Tom.
* Violet's reuniting the Prince and Princess. Awkward.
* Gauntlet thrown on the restorative broths. Simmer down, Spratt.
* Atticus' mom, Lady Sinderby, is a class act befriending Tom.
* Anna's confession. Ugh. Childhood victimization. I'm surprised Anna doesn't wear an actual halo over her softly lit, tragic countenance. She's a fighter.
* Mrs. Hughes and Carson's date/investment property outing :)
* First Violetism of the Night: "The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior."
* Upstairs-Downstairs intrigue to take the butler down a peg! Don't mess the Crawleys. #teamchauffer
* Well, the Princess is a peach.
* Dowagers! Russian Princesses! Let's get ready to ruuuuuuumble!
* Mrs. Patamore is a doll and I love how she puts Carson in his place like a little boy when she has the remaining staff, even the kitchen maid, Daisy, sit at the same table.
* The scheme to embarrass the butler goes awry and embarrasses everyone.
* "So tomorrow we say goodbye..." Wouldn't it be awesome if Violet and the Prince broke out into "Summer Lovin'" in some alternative universe?
* "This was my last immoral proposition from a man. Was I wrong to savor it?" Mild laughter with misty eyes. Master class delivery.
* Robert has chest pain. NO MORE DEATH SCENES!
* Edith should wear her hair down more. It's pretty with curls.
* Edith wanting a FATHER's FORGIVENESS. That's a powerful thing. Downton is deep.
* Kitchen intrigue! Sneaking in a broth! So many plots to keep track of!
* Classic Mary romance set-up... Aggravated at the neighbor set to come over for the shoot, upsetting the party count. From the previews, he's our new Charles Blake. Hottie-Boom-Body Part Deux. (Oh, y'all. And he has piercing blue eyes. And Edith's talking to the estate's agent! It's rainin' men. Halleluyer.)
* Have I mentioned I love Mrs. Hughes? Caring for her sister and not able to retire? "I've enjoyed our little dream." Please, Carson. Snatch her up.
* Oh my word. Does Lord Sinderby have a second, secret family? Downton bringin' the hushed scandal. (Yes. The little boy is named Daniel after Lord Sinderby. Lovely Rose saves the day.) Stop it with the children not knowing who their parents are. For real. Live in the light.
* Edith in coral! Gorgeous! Get 'em girl!
* Bates makes a false confession. Molesly going to save the day. Reminds me of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. This is his moment.
* Mr. Talbert, you've piqued Mary's interest. And then he jumps in the car, James Dean style. Charles Who? (We'll always have your hair, Charles.)
* Little poppets decorating the Christmas tree. Wish we could watch DA when it airs in England.
* Baxter and Molesly: Crime Solvers! Like an English "Hart & Hart" episode.
* They having a moment for Sybil. Sweet to see Mary and Edith putting aside rancor for a millisecond.
* Ooh, Daisy giggling at the new footman. Cheeky.
* Violet and Isobel girl-talking about their loves-gone-wrong. (Robert's sloshed).
* That Tom. *He's* a jolly good fellow.
* It's the Sweeney (Crawley) Sisters! Clang-clang-clang went the trolley!
* GALLANT gesture alert. Carson bought Mrs. Hughes a house. NO WAY! HE IS DECLARING HIMSELF!!!!!!!! She's smiling! I can't handle it! "Of course I'll marry you!!!!!!!!"
Hurrah for taking chances!
* Robert's gonna cry. God bless us, everyone.
* No. Bates walks through the door at "O Come Let Us Adore Him." Christmas miracle: Check!
*Reunited and it feels so good! Anna + Bates = Happy Christmas
To continue with the faux British-isms, I'm knackered. Pure wish fulfillment. Jolly good fun and see you in 2016, DA friends!
* Thomas: Meow. To Mr. Bates, offering to cut off his right arm if it would help Anna: "We can't have you wobbly at both ends."
* I have to say I'm impressed at how Robert has mellowed. He's at peace with Edith's decision to bring her child home and allowing her to do it on her own terms.
* Love Cora's hat on the train.
* Uh-oh. Robert has unexpected pain. This doesn't bode well. Especially since his dog was sick too. Downton Abbey country song, perhaps?
* The silk wallpaper is fab at Atticus' family home.
* Ooh. This valet is giving Thomas a dressing down. He's actually sticking up for Tom.
* Violet's reuniting the Prince and Princess. Awkward.
* Gauntlet thrown on the restorative broths. Simmer down, Spratt.
* Atticus' mom, Lady Sinderby, is a class act befriending Tom.
* Anna's confession. Ugh. Childhood victimization. I'm surprised Anna doesn't wear an actual halo over her softly lit, tragic countenance. She's a fighter.
* Mrs. Hughes and Carson's date/investment property outing :)
* First Violetism of the Night: "The presence of strangers is our only guarantee of good behavior."
* Upstairs-Downstairs intrigue to take the butler down a peg! Don't mess the Crawleys. #teamchauffer
* Well, the Princess is a peach.
* Dowagers! Russian Princesses! Let's get ready to ruuuuuuumble!
* Mrs. Patamore is a doll and I love how she puts Carson in his place like a little boy when she has the remaining staff, even the kitchen maid, Daisy, sit at the same table.
* The scheme to embarrass the butler goes awry and embarrasses everyone.
* "So tomorrow we say goodbye..." Wouldn't it be awesome if Violet and the Prince broke out into "Summer Lovin'" in some alternative universe?
* "This was my last immoral proposition from a man. Was I wrong to savor it?" Mild laughter with misty eyes. Master class delivery.
* Robert has chest pain. NO MORE DEATH SCENES!
* Edith should wear her hair down more. It's pretty with curls.
* Edith wanting a FATHER's FORGIVENESS. That's a powerful thing. Downton is deep.
* Kitchen intrigue! Sneaking in a broth! So many plots to keep track of!
* Classic Mary romance set-up... Aggravated at the neighbor set to come over for the shoot, upsetting the party count. From the previews, he's our new Charles Blake. Hottie-Boom-Body Part Deux. (Oh, y'all. And he has piercing blue eyes. And Edith's talking to the estate's agent! It's rainin' men. Halleluyer.)
* Have I mentioned I love Mrs. Hughes? Caring for her sister and not able to retire? "I've enjoyed our little dream." Please, Carson. Snatch her up.
* Oh my word. Does Lord Sinderby have a second, secret family? Downton bringin' the hushed scandal. (Yes. The little boy is named Daniel after Lord Sinderby. Lovely Rose saves the day.) Stop it with the children not knowing who their parents are. For real. Live in the light.
* Edith in coral! Gorgeous! Get 'em girl!
* Bates makes a false confession. Molesly going to save the day. Reminds me of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. This is his moment.
* Mr. Talbert, you've piqued Mary's interest. And then he jumps in the car, James Dean style. Charles Who? (We'll always have your hair, Charles.)
* Little poppets decorating the Christmas tree. Wish we could watch DA when it airs in England.
* Baxter and Molesly: Crime Solvers! Like an English "Hart & Hart" episode.
* They having a moment for Sybil. Sweet to see Mary and Edith putting aside rancor for a millisecond.
* Ooh, Daisy giggling at the new footman. Cheeky.
* Violet and Isobel girl-talking about their loves-gone-wrong. (Robert's sloshed).
* That Tom. *He's* a jolly good fellow.
* It's the Sweeney (Crawley) Sisters! Clang-clang-clang went the trolley!
* GALLANT gesture alert. Carson bought Mrs. Hughes a house. NO WAY! HE IS DECLARING HIMSELF!!!!!!!! She's smiling! I can't handle it! "Of course I'll marry you!!!!!!!!"
Hurrah for taking chances!
 |
| credit: dailymail.co.uk |
* Robert's gonna cry. God bless us, everyone.
* No. Bates walks through the door at "O Come Let Us Adore Him." Christmas miracle: Check!
*Reunited and it feels so good! Anna + Bates = Happy Christmas
To continue with the faux British-isms, I'm knackered. Pure wish fulfillment. Jolly good fun and see you in 2016, DA friends!
Friday, February 27, 2015
Downton Abbey, Episodes Pure Confection and Enough with the Fated Bates, Already
 |
| Mary, Edith, and Tom: Take note. |
Hey college friends who like my Downton posts! Y'all are too sweet. I've been off my DA game. Two weeks ago Alex was travelling and I was in a mood. Case in point: I decided I deserved a Birchbox subscription as a belated Valentine after two weeks of barf. This past Sunday was the Oscars. I made it to 11:00 before I clicked it off, deciding sleep would be a wise choice. With all this winter rain and gloom, I'm in bed by 8:30 and dozing off with the lights blaring at 9:00 p.m. if I'm not careful. So, no Downton Sundays.
I did, of course, watch both episodes and have some thoughts. This won't be a play-by-play recap as the next one comes on Sunday, so the bloom is off the bud of the snarky rose. Let's jump in:
Mary, Mary, quite Contrary: I think Mary needs a bit of a time-out. As much as I'd like her to end up with a nice man (like Charles "The Fox" Blake), she has been a very unsympathetic character of late. She's always been a bit of a mean girl, but the writers are quick to bring us back in, usually with a tender moment between her and Carson. Last week was no exception. She sees Lane Fox and Tony together and happy, and while glad to be off the hook, she seems at a loss. Mary: The Heiress Who Cried Wolf. If she was a modern day character, it'd be best if she told any prospective suitors that she really needs to focus on her child/her career/herself/it's not you, it's me. I think Tom has the right idea with moving to America. All the young adults of Downton would be well served to leave their mama's house and forge a new path.
Which brings me to Edith. Oh, I was so disappointed that she decided to move back home and pretend she was only Maribel's caretaker and godmother. Live in the light, Edith. It was a bold move to assert herself and get her child back. She needs to go the whole way and just "live her truth" to pull an Oprah-ism. Get a little home, run your publishing company, get a good nanny and raise your child. Be happy. The end.
I was so glad to see Rose and Atticus marry and the family back the couple. So sad that her mother tried to ruin the couple's happiness in her misguided attempts to protect Rose.
Lastly, the Bates. Oh, the Bates. Whatever will happen to the Bates? Especially when the death penalty is concerned. (Name that movie.) It was a great dramatic twist to have Anna suspected of Greene's murder, but the tragic-lovers bit is wearing thin with me. It stretches plausibility that Bates would be suspected, only to have never carried out his original intent and then have Greene's victim suspected of the murder. I won't hazard a guess as to how this will unravel, but I know there's no way Anna's character's going anywhere.
I liked seeing Daisy, Ms. Baxter, and Mr. Molesly form a group friendship as well as Thomas stepping in and helping the new servant not get swindled by Ms. Dinker (what a name).
I believe this Sunday will be the season finale and you can bet your pearls I'll be watching--and blogging--promptly. Cheers!
Sunday, February 15, 2015
A Non-Ranty Insight About Why 50 Shades Isn't For Me
I know. Another moralistic voice shouting in the wind in faux outrage over the flavor of the week.
Except it's not.
I've read a blog post that exhorts wives not to watch the movie because it creates a false image and that our imaginations should be satisfied by our husbands. Don't disagree there.
And yeah, the movie has A WHOLE LOT of nudity and sex. But so do a lot of movies.
And let's be honest, even if I was curious enough to want to see the movie (I'm not), I wouldn't go because hello, middle Georgia. You just know that you'd see the Chairman of the Deacon board in the lobby.
I was thinking about it tonight. I try to be discerning in what I watch and read. I think my passion for Hallmark movies and chaste, prairie romances is well-documented. But I went to The Kingsmen: The Secret Service movie this weekend, a totally well-deserved R-rated movie with lots and lots of inane violence (skip it). And I have been known to watch a Bravo series now and again. So, why this movie? Why the self-imposed restriction?
Because the degrading of another person is wrong, regardless of their consent. I'll go a step further: It's not just wrong--it's evil.
Let me be clear. I'm not trying to denounce anyone who would entertain watching this movie or reading the book as being evil or degraded.
What I am saying is the portrayal of a woman submitting to violence in the name of romance and fantasy is straight up wrong and scary.
What bothers me is that young teenagers will sneak this movie on video at a friend's house or grab their parent's copy of the book and think of it as purely escapist fiction. No harm done. There's nothing cute about physical cruelty, and making the male lead a handsome, misunderstood billionaire doesn't change that. The glamorization of violence in a physical relationship is not okay.
Maybe I wouldn't have connected the dots of my own hypocrisy if I had not watched that incredibly violent movie yesterday, and then followed it up with a Dateline episode to balance out the perfectly delightful Hallmark original I sandwiched in between the two that Alex lovingly watched alongside me.
The Dateline episode dealt with a young college student who had been assaulted and killed by a man involved in sadomasochism and bondage (eek, never thought I write that on a Mom blog). He influenced his girlfriend,"the submissive," to bring home another person to be a plaything. The man was 10 years older than his girlfriend, and had a history of abuse with a former girlfriend. His "hobby" resulted in the brutal murder of a lovely young woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No. I'm not saying 50 Shades is going to turn America's youths into sexual deviants. But I am saying that this movie is subtly (or not-so-subtly, more like) sending the message that there are no limits in love. I'm saying the searing of a conscience is a real and frightening possibility.
Love without limits is. a. LIE. And friend, if you know me, you know where I think it comes from: the father of lies. Oh yes, I just played the satan card. I believe in the reality of evil and an enemy to the one true God.
Good, true, healthy love? It has limits and boundaries. It respects another's thoughts, feelings, body, and spirit. Those entities cannot be separated. True love does no harm. I appreciate these excellent pieces on real love by Ann Voskamp and Beth Moore that so eloquently expound on this concept.
I'm not going to yell and bluster about this movie. We Christians get a bad rap for doing that already. I wanted to work out these thoughts for myself, and I was surprised at where they led me. I'm terrible at debate and arguments of logic. I always go back to the heart, and the bottom line is that I believe every woman fears abuse. We cannot gloss it over as romance or call it a "grey" area, pun entirely intended. We are worth more than that, both men and women. Each of us has a God given dignity. And I won't watch a fictional character demean hers, as it demeans my own.
Except it's not.
I've read a blog post that exhorts wives not to watch the movie because it creates a false image and that our imaginations should be satisfied by our husbands. Don't disagree there.
And yeah, the movie has A WHOLE LOT of nudity and sex. But so do a lot of movies.
And let's be honest, even if I was curious enough to want to see the movie (I'm not), I wouldn't go because hello, middle Georgia. You just know that you'd see the Chairman of the Deacon board in the lobby.
I was thinking about it tonight. I try to be discerning in what I watch and read. I think my passion for Hallmark movies and chaste, prairie romances is well-documented. But I went to The Kingsmen: The Secret Service movie this weekend, a totally well-deserved R-rated movie with lots and lots of inane violence (skip it). And I have been known to watch a Bravo series now and again. So, why this movie? Why the self-imposed restriction?
Because the degrading of another person is wrong, regardless of their consent. I'll go a step further: It's not just wrong--it's evil.
Let me be clear. I'm not trying to denounce anyone who would entertain watching this movie or reading the book as being evil or degraded.
What I am saying is the portrayal of a woman submitting to violence in the name of romance and fantasy is straight up wrong and scary.
What bothers me is that young teenagers will sneak this movie on video at a friend's house or grab their parent's copy of the book and think of it as purely escapist fiction. No harm done. There's nothing cute about physical cruelty, and making the male lead a handsome, misunderstood billionaire doesn't change that. The glamorization of violence in a physical relationship is not okay.
Maybe I wouldn't have connected the dots of my own hypocrisy if I had not watched that incredibly violent movie yesterday, and then followed it up with a Dateline episode to balance out the perfectly delightful Hallmark original I sandwiched in between the two that Alex lovingly watched alongside me.
The Dateline episode dealt with a young college student who had been assaulted and killed by a man involved in sadomasochism and bondage (eek, never thought I write that on a Mom blog). He influenced his girlfriend,"the submissive," to bring home another person to be a plaything. The man was 10 years older than his girlfriend, and had a history of abuse with a former girlfriend. His "hobby" resulted in the brutal murder of a lovely young woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
No. I'm not saying 50 Shades is going to turn America's youths into sexual deviants. But I am saying that this movie is subtly (or not-so-subtly, more like) sending the message that there are no limits in love. I'm saying the searing of a conscience is a real and frightening possibility.
Love without limits is. a. LIE. And friend, if you know me, you know where I think it comes from: the father of lies. Oh yes, I just played the satan card. I believe in the reality of evil and an enemy to the one true God.
Good, true, healthy love? It has limits and boundaries. It respects another's thoughts, feelings, body, and spirit. Those entities cannot be separated. True love does no harm. I appreciate these excellent pieces on real love by Ann Voskamp and Beth Moore that so eloquently expound on this concept.
I'm not going to yell and bluster about this movie. We Christians get a bad rap for doing that already. I wanted to work out these thoughts for myself, and I was surprised at where they led me. I'm terrible at debate and arguments of logic. I always go back to the heart, and the bottom line is that I believe every woman fears abuse. We cannot gloss it over as romance or call it a "grey" area, pun entirely intended. We are worth more than that, both men and women. Each of us has a God given dignity. And I won't watch a fictional character demean hers, as it demeans my own.
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