What's goin down, tell me what's goin down
You wanna know just what's goin down?
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's goin down
- TobyMac
You just thought I'd never post again.
You might be right.
Naw, I don't intend to call it quits on the blog just yet, but then again, this is my first post in nearly a month. It's a busy life, and I haven't had much time to be on the Internet, much less writing blog posts.
We have made three filming outings for the most anticipated film of 2007, er, I mean, 2008 (it could even be 2009). The result: We have, in the director's estimation, completed over half of the remaining filming. We still probably have four or five days of filming ahead of us at least; don't even try to make my math match up, just trust that it does.
Three-fourths of the film is edited and I'm dipping my proverbial toes in the water with the score. Once the filming is finished, it's still going to be several months at least before we finally unveil Hunted to the world. But I believe that we will unveil it, and I'm excited about that.
FtF is less than two weeks away, and I'm pumped about what the Lord has for us this year. Pray for our group; there's a spiritual war going on and I pray that God, not Satan, wins this battle. And please come out prayerfully and expectantly on Saturday, August 23, and share this exciting day with us.
I have a new job, and hopefully I'll get a chance to post more about that later. Working on transitioning from The Solid Rock to this new thing. I'm slightly scared and really excited, because I know that it's what God has for me.
So that's a little bit of what's goin down, for now. Shalom out.
Showing posts with label Hunted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hunted. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Hunted Strikes Back
Tomorrow
July 16
AD 2008
the most anticipated film of the year
2007 --
which has become
the most anticipated film of the year
2008 --
shall resume principal photography
after an eight-month hiatus
and there shall be much rejoicing
HUNTED IS COMING, BABY!!!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Update on Hunted
Sorry for the prolonged time between posts. I had opportunities to post, but just...didn't, for some reason. Mostly just forgetfulness. So yeah.
I wanted to address the questions about Hunted, because several of you have asked at various times, and even though my fiancee did a wonderful job of answering the most recent question, I figured maybe a word from me wouldn't hurt.
We haven't filmed anything for Hunted since...man, I'm not sure, mid to late November I guess. We stopped partially because it was getting way too cold to be out in the woods in short sleeves, but mostly because Lana and I were getting absolutely swamped with schoolwork and couldn't afford to take the time to film on Saturdays.
The film is not dead, and in fact, if you check out the hobbbottomfilms channel on YouTube (or just scroll down to the bottom of my blog page and look at the sweet player), you'll find a brief behind-the-scenes video clip from the filming of Scene 5 (a scene that I just happened to finish editing recently). My plan is to post more BTS clips in the future, just as a tease and a way to keep people interested. Of course, many are the plans in my heart, but the Lord directs the steps, so we'll see.
So here's where we are on Hunted: approximately twelve scenes stand between us and the completion of filming. I say approximately twelve because it's really hard to gauge; some scenes are partly filmed and partly not-filmed and that makes it hard to tell. But it's around twelve total. We have a couple more days out in the woods, a few more Gang scenes, and a few other loose ends.
That's the filming left. As far as editing, I haven't begun to scratch the surface there; I've edited seven scenes thus far, out of 65. 65 scenes, you ask? That many? Well, yeah, currently, but don't fret just yet; it's going to be a long movie, but not as long as that figure might make you think. Anyways, after editing comes the soundtrack (sound effects, dialogue rerecording, and musical score), and then we'll be ready to show Hunted to the world.
Is all this even achievable, as we stand right now? Good question. It shouldn't take that many days to film everything we have left (of course, my actors have heard that before, many times, and it doesn't always pan out that way), but the editing and sound work will be a huge job that I certainly can't finish till summer, if then. And by then it'll be me and my lovely wife finishing it. Amazing stacey.
So that, my friends, is where Hunted is. Finishing will be a huge challenge at this point, and I don't know that we can do it. But I know God wanted us to do this movie, and I believe He wants us to try to finish it. Whether we will is up to Him. If we do finish it, it won't be ideal, and our extended filming halt isn't going to help continuity any. But that's okay; we're to work at it with all our might, because we truly are working for the Lord, not for man.
And that comforts me, because any studio would have long ago lost patience with us and pulled the plug. (We would never have been working for a studio on this, and it would have made our situation far different, but those facts are beside the point.)
I'd like to thank you guys for your prayers and encouragement on our little film; it means so much to us. Please continue to pray. If the Lord wills, you really will get to see Hunted someday -- I pray, someday soon.
God bless!
I wanted to address the questions about Hunted, because several of you have asked at various times, and even though my fiancee did a wonderful job of answering the most recent question, I figured maybe a word from me wouldn't hurt.
We haven't filmed anything for Hunted since...man, I'm not sure, mid to late November I guess. We stopped partially because it was getting way too cold to be out in the woods in short sleeves, but mostly because Lana and I were getting absolutely swamped with schoolwork and couldn't afford to take the time to film on Saturdays.
The film is not dead, and in fact, if you check out the hobbbottomfilms channel on YouTube (or just scroll down to the bottom of my blog page and look at the sweet player), you'll find a brief behind-the-scenes video clip from the filming of Scene 5 (a scene that I just happened to finish editing recently). My plan is to post more BTS clips in the future, just as a tease and a way to keep people interested. Of course, many are the plans in my heart, but the Lord directs the steps, so we'll see.
So here's where we are on Hunted: approximately twelve scenes stand between us and the completion of filming. I say approximately twelve because it's really hard to gauge; some scenes are partly filmed and partly not-filmed and that makes it hard to tell. But it's around twelve total. We have a couple more days out in the woods, a few more Gang scenes, and a few other loose ends.
That's the filming left. As far as editing, I haven't begun to scratch the surface there; I've edited seven scenes thus far, out of 65. 65 scenes, you ask? That many? Well, yeah, currently, but don't fret just yet; it's going to be a long movie, but not as long as that figure might make you think. Anyways, after editing comes the soundtrack (sound effects, dialogue rerecording, and musical score), and then we'll be ready to show Hunted to the world.
Is all this even achievable, as we stand right now? Good question. It shouldn't take that many days to film everything we have left (of course, my actors have heard that before, many times, and it doesn't always pan out that way), but the editing and sound work will be a huge job that I certainly can't finish till summer, if then. And by then it'll be me and my lovely wife finishing it. Amazing stacey.
So that, my friends, is where Hunted is. Finishing will be a huge challenge at this point, and I don't know that we can do it. But I know God wanted us to do this movie, and I believe He wants us to try to finish it. Whether we will is up to Him. If we do finish it, it won't be ideal, and our extended filming halt isn't going to help continuity any. But that's okay; we're to work at it with all our might, because we truly are working for the Lord, not for man.
And that comforts me, because any studio would have long ago lost patience with us and pulled the plug. (We would never have been working for a studio on this, and it would have made our situation far different, but those facts are beside the point.)
I'd like to thank you guys for your prayers and encouragement on our little film; it means so much to us. Please continue to pray. If the Lord wills, you really will get to see Hunted someday -- I pray, someday soon.
God bless!
Friday, November 16, 2007
Exclusive look at filming on October 27
Hey all, in honor of Hunted and the idea of providing something different for the eye to gaze upon, here are some pics from way back on October 27. Taken by one of our lovely assistant directors, the indispensable Nan/Sarah/Hannah herself (we'll make sure she gets into the credits by that name somewhere).
It was pretty cold to start out, but warmed up as we went. The first scene we filmed featured Carl talking on the phone to Clyde (and having Dusty actually there to read his lines off-camera did not benefit Chris one iota as he gave his performance)
After doing another scene where an angry Carl talks with lovable henchman Pete (T. J., shown on the left in the next pic), we went to do a dramatic moment between Eric and Clyde.
And oh, hey, thought I'd try the Blogger video upload since I've never tried to put anything on here with it. Check out some raw footage Hannah took using our digital camera. Man, we're just raining spoilers tonight...
Well, hope you enjoyed a special, exclusive, behind-the-scenes, never-before-seen look at a small part of a day of filming on the most anticipated movie of 2007, uh, I mean, 2008. And yes Meggy, we're still working on it; it's very much alive and will survive, if the Lord wills.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Why Being a Movie Director Is Cool
Being a movie director is cool because...
...you get to work with professional actors who know exactly how to deliver what you want, the first time. (Hey, that made me laugh.)
...you never have to go very far when you want to reach out and strangle the writer who wrote this stupid script.
...it's a job title that never fails to impress.
...you get to spend a lot of time around your gorgeous lead actress.
...people stop saying, "Are you guys still making those stupid movies?" and start saying, "Hey, I can't wait to see your movie!"
...you get a bunch of underlings with titles ranging from "First Assistant Director" to "Script-Holder Guy."
...people's destinies rest in your hands ("Sorry, but no, we'll have to keep doing takes until we actually get it right.").
...you get more time than you could ever want to work on qualities such as patience, humility, and kindness.
...you never wake up bored on a Saturday going, "Man, I have nothing to do today!"
...you get to work to fulfill your vision and then see it on screen.
OK, so I caved and threw a heartwarming, nauseating one in there at the end. What are you gonna do, sue me?
As much fun as I may have with the idea of why being a movie director is cool, I know that God has put me in this position for reasons that I mainly can't even comprehend. I have learned so much while working on this movie -- about movies and about a ton of other things. Mostly I have learned the lesson that I will continue to learn over and over again until He calls me home: that I am a sinful man in need of a Savior. Praise the Father for sending One.
...you get to work with professional actors who know exactly how to deliver what you want, the first time. (Hey, that made me laugh.)
...you never have to go very far when you want to reach out and strangle the writer who wrote this stupid script.
...it's a job title that never fails to impress.
...you get to spend a lot of time around your gorgeous lead actress.
...people stop saying, "Are you guys still making those stupid movies?" and start saying, "Hey, I can't wait to see your movie!"
...you get a bunch of underlings with titles ranging from "First Assistant Director" to "Script-Holder Guy."
...people's destinies rest in your hands ("Sorry, but no, we'll have to keep doing takes until we actually get it right.").
...you get more time than you could ever want to work on qualities such as patience, humility, and kindness.
...you never wake up bored on a Saturday going, "Man, I have nothing to do today!"
...you get to work to fulfill your vision and then see it on screen.
OK, so I caved and threw a heartwarming, nauseating one in there at the end. What are you gonna do, sue me?
As much fun as I may have with the idea of why being a movie director is cool, I know that God has put me in this position for reasons that I mainly can't even comprehend. I have learned so much while working on this movie -- about movies and about a ton of other things. Mostly I have learned the lesson that I will continue to learn over and over again until He calls me home: that I am a sinful man in need of a Savior. Praise the Father for sending One.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
A stolen post (as in, I don't have time to write it)
Hey, hello, how are ya, welcome aboard, as Sean Hannity says.
I don't really have time to post right now, at all; should be in bed at this point, but it's been too long and I needed to get something on here, and I'm not feeling that tired, so you won't be seeing any One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eaters today, nothing more tragic than a run-on sentence.
I had something I was gonna say and I totally forgot it. Maybe I am tired after all. Ah well.
Oh, yeah, if you've got a filter that keeps you off YouTube (our desktop does, or did), and you want to see Hunted previews, check out www.godtube.com. It's the Christian version of YouTube, fairly cool though obviously not quite so polished as the real thing, and just do a search on it for, I don't know, Hunted or Hobbbottom or something like that. I've got the preview and the teaser up (the ones I previously featured on this blog) and so far both have grabbed a lot of views; I'm curious to know who's watching them.
Anyways, wanted to let ya'll know about that. I guess I'll get out of here and get in my bed and get nice sleep. Thanks to all of you who are praying for me and Lana; we've had a tough week on several fronts, but God has been there for us every step of the way, and right now I think we're tired but happy (OK, I admit it, I am kinda tired).
Peace out, dawgs; I love you, Lana.
I don't really have time to post right now, at all; should be in bed at this point, but it's been too long and I needed to get something on here, and I'm not feeling that tired, so you won't be seeing any One-Eyed One-Horned Flying Purple People-Eaters today, nothing more tragic than a run-on sentence.
I had something I was gonna say and I totally forgot it. Maybe I am tired after all. Ah well.
Oh, yeah, if you've got a filter that keeps you off YouTube (our desktop does, or did), and you want to see Hunted previews, check out www.godtube.com. It's the Christian version of YouTube, fairly cool though obviously not quite so polished as the real thing, and just do a search on it for, I don't know, Hunted or Hobbbottom or something like that. I've got the preview and the teaser up (the ones I previously featured on this blog) and so far both have grabbed a lot of views; I'm curious to know who's watching them.
Anyways, wanted to let ya'll know about that. I guess I'll get out of here and get in my bed and get nice sleep. Thanks to all of you who are praying for me and Lana; we've had a tough week on several fronts, but God has been there for us every step of the way, and right now I think we're tired but happy (OK, I admit it, I am kinda tired).
Peace out, dawgs; I love you, Lana.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
We did film Saturday, and I am tired
Exclusive screenshots from Saturday, just 'cause I can:
Saturday was a good day of filming. Didn't get everything we'd wanted to get, but I think we got about as much as we could reasonably expect. The morning stuff was nice, because in the three separate major scenes we filmed, I could give my actors the script and tell them to start working on it, and then go off and figure out locations and shot setup with my lovely favorite assistant director. Once we made our plan and got back, the actors would be ready to go, and we could go out and film it. Very nice...
We finally finished the climactic scene of the film, on our third day of shooting it (not that we took all day on it for any of those three days, of course). I'm pretty happy with it. Hopefully you will be too, when you see it, whatever it may contain.
Right now I'm plumb tuckered out, as we say in Arkansas; looking forward to catching about nine hours worth of sleep before embarking on the new week. Fortunately I have nothing due tomorrow and I actually got some work done for Tuesday tonight. So we'll see how I do. My bride-to-be is convinced that I'm already getting too stretched, after one week of working the new job. I certainly hope not.
I guess, since it's past midnight and that was my projected bedtime, I'll get off here and get in bed. I really do want to post something a bit more thoughtful and creative on this thing at some point. Right now, with school and work and church and sleep, it's hard to find the time. But I guess that's okay. As long as I don't get too stretched, right, darling? God will provide for me, I have no doubts there.
Want to thank you guys again just for your prayers and your support, because I know I've got both. I never had particularly wanted to blog for very long before I got this one, but I've really enjoyed writing on it and I've enjoyed reading as much as reasonably possible of you guys' blogs. None as much as my Sunshine Princess, though; sorry. I just really like the way she writes. Maybe since I like her writing so much (and she apparently likes mine; or at least, so I've heard), we should get married. D'ya think?
OK, yeah, I know, I'm officially awful, and I officially don't care. At least I'm fairly coherent, as opposed to my previous post. Anyways, happy sledding, don't let the bedbugs bite, and may the stars of Elbereth shine upon you! And Lana, I love you, my dearest!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Video reactions, and, a new job!
Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the exclusive first-time-on-planet-Earth Hunted previews. I definitely enjoyed putting them together and letting you see them. It's really exciting to have something official, something anybody can see; it encourages me since the film is a long way from being finished. Anyways, thank you for all the nice comments; I really appreciate them.
As Meggy noted in the comment section, we've got a few more videos (unrelated to Hunted) over on YouTube. I hope to put many more on there. You can find our official channel at www.youtube.com/hobbbottomfilms. Right now, in addition to the two Hunted vids, we have posted the short "Silent Movie" starring Daniel and Trevor, as well as the "Woe-Be-Gone" commercial starring Trevor and the other Daniel from our youth group.
I think YouTube is way cool; it provides us with an awesome opportunity to let lots of people know about the film. Please, if you know anyone who you think would like the movie (based on what little you know about it, anyway), send them a link to the YouTube videos.
And now for the actual subject of this post. I have a job. A new job, at any rate. I'm still really not totally sure how it came about, but I know it's an opportunity that God has given me, so I'm really thankful for it.
Our friend and former homeschooler Brannan gave a comment on one of my posts from last week, telling me about a job opening in the company she works for. I applied for the job, did a writing test, and got accepted!
So what is this job, anyway? Well, it's for a group called On Point Advocacy. They are involved in political grassroots activism. Basically, my job as an "Advocacy Coordinator" (sounds spiffy, don't it?) is to be given a particular issue (like fuel economy standards or something boring like that, for example), call voters who have expressed interest in the issue, and ask them if they'd like me to write a letter to Congress on their behalf about the issue. Then I write the letter, assuming they want me to. It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
I'm not totally excited about the phone aspect of it (I'll take writing over talking any day), but the pay is very good and it has a lot more hours than my previous job. And I get to set them as I want, within certain boundaries. So that's really nice.
I start next week, and I don't know whether I'll like it or not, but I'm excited because it's an opportunity that God "dropped in [my] lap", as my future father-in-law put it. Hopefully, it brings me another step closer to the day when I'll be ready to provide for myself and Lana financially. And that, as you may imagine, is really exciting. Thank You, Lord, for giving this to me!
So I ask you to please pray for me as I start this job, and continue to pray for me and Lana as we continue on the path God has laid out for us. I could not make it without her, by the way. Even though we're not married yet, she is fulfilling her calling as a help-meet to me, and I thank God so much for her. I can't even describe how much it means to have her with me, helping me, loving me, praying for me, telling me she's proud of me; you guys'll have to discover it when you find your future spouse. I love you so much, Lana.
As Meggy noted in the comment section, we've got a few more videos (unrelated to Hunted) over on YouTube. I hope to put many more on there. You can find our official channel at www.youtube.com/hobbbottomfilms. Right now, in addition to the two Hunted vids, we have posted the short "Silent Movie" starring Daniel and Trevor, as well as the "Woe-Be-Gone" commercial starring Trevor and the other Daniel from our youth group.
I think YouTube is way cool; it provides us with an awesome opportunity to let lots of people know about the film. Please, if you know anyone who you think would like the movie (based on what little you know about it, anyway), send them a link to the YouTube videos.
And now for the actual subject of this post. I have a job. A new job, at any rate. I'm still really not totally sure how it came about, but I know it's an opportunity that God has given me, so I'm really thankful for it.
Our friend and former homeschooler Brannan gave a comment on one of my posts from last week, telling me about a job opening in the company she works for. I applied for the job, did a writing test, and got accepted!
So what is this job, anyway? Well, it's for a group called On Point Advocacy. They are involved in political grassroots activism. Basically, my job as an "Advocacy Coordinator" (sounds spiffy, don't it?) is to be given a particular issue (like fuel economy standards or something boring like that, for example), call voters who have expressed interest in the issue, and ask them if they'd like me to write a letter to Congress on their behalf about the issue. Then I write the letter, assuming they want me to. It's a bit more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it.
I'm not totally excited about the phone aspect of it (I'll take writing over talking any day), but the pay is very good and it has a lot more hours than my previous job. And I get to set them as I want, within certain boundaries. So that's really nice.
I start next week, and I don't know whether I'll like it or not, but I'm excited because it's an opportunity that God "dropped in [my] lap", as my future father-in-law put it. Hopefully, it brings me another step closer to the day when I'll be ready to provide for myself and Lana financially. And that, as you may imagine, is really exciting. Thank You, Lord, for giving this to me!
So I ask you to please pray for me as I start this job, and continue to pray for me and Lana as we continue on the path God has laid out for us. I could not make it without her, by the way. Even though we're not married yet, she is fulfilling her calling as a help-meet to me, and I thank God so much for her. I can't even describe how much it means to have her with me, helping me, loving me, praying for me, telling me she's proud of me; you guys'll have to discover it when you find your future spouse. I love you so much, Lana.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Catching Up, and, The Elusive Book
Another week rolling by. The schoolwork looks like it will get really crazy before the semester's over. Can it really be possible that we're actually coming up on midterm? Time flies when you're in love...
I'm beginning to get a little bit frustrated in the writing classes (Advanced Comp and Nonfiction Writing), simply because I don't have the time that I would prefer to spend on the various papers and assignments in those classes. There are a lot of projects going in both, and while I'm not visibly behind yet, I feel like I'm accumulating a wealth of academic debt that I'll have to pay at some point this semester.
But, just have to take things as they come and use spare time to catch up. It's not like life is going to slow down any time soon. And that's okay, because when I have a lot of free time and nothing that really needs doing, I become pretty unproductive, pretty quickly. Busyness isn't always fun, but it just feels right when you're caught up in the midst of it.
The excitement of "the current project" is likely here to stay in one form or another, as well. What I mean by that is that when Hunted finally comes to a close, I'm going to start feeling this massive void due to not having something major like that pressing down on me. So I'm sure I'll start some project or other after that, whether it be a (short) film or a play, or even a book.
It would be so wonderful to get a book written; Lana and I long ago (back in the "just friends" stage, that is) each set the goal of finishing a book before graduation. Of course, I know it's ludicrous to think about starting one right now, with school blazing and Hunted calling; and it may still be ludicrous even after Hunted is in the can (I mean that in the sense of "finished", not in the sense of "kaput"). But it's a dream nonetheless, and at some point you have to start working to make the dream become reality.
What kind of book? Well, a novel, naturally. Fictional storytelling has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I appreciate my Nonfiction Writing course and its emphasis on telling a good story that's true, but I'm frankly more interested in telling fictional stories that are "truthful". Whether that story takes the form of a book, a play, or a movie.
So yeah, we'll see. If I start writing a book, of course I'll let you know -- in time, once I have something substantial, at any rate. I know I'm not ready to write one yet, but as the love of my life pointed out, maybe I need to begin the work before I can truly be ready. Time will tell, and God will reveal.
So what are your dreams, my readers? I actually have a post about the subject of our dreams, waiting to be finished, that will precipitate further discussion. But what are the passions that God has planted in you? I know some of you out there are writers; what else have we got?
I'm beginning to get a little bit frustrated in the writing classes (Advanced Comp and Nonfiction Writing), simply because I don't have the time that I would prefer to spend on the various papers and assignments in those classes. There are a lot of projects going in both, and while I'm not visibly behind yet, I feel like I'm accumulating a wealth of academic debt that I'll have to pay at some point this semester.
But, just have to take things as they come and use spare time to catch up. It's not like life is going to slow down any time soon. And that's okay, because when I have a lot of free time and nothing that really needs doing, I become pretty unproductive, pretty quickly. Busyness isn't always fun, but it just feels right when you're caught up in the midst of it.
The excitement of "the current project" is likely here to stay in one form or another, as well. What I mean by that is that when Hunted finally comes to a close, I'm going to start feeling this massive void due to not having something major like that pressing down on me. So I'm sure I'll start some project or other after that, whether it be a (short) film or a play, or even a book.
It would be so wonderful to get a book written; Lana and I long ago (back in the "just friends" stage, that is) each set the goal of finishing a book before graduation. Of course, I know it's ludicrous to think about starting one right now, with school blazing and Hunted calling; and it may still be ludicrous even after Hunted is in the can (I mean that in the sense of "finished", not in the sense of "kaput"). But it's a dream nonetheless, and at some point you have to start working to make the dream become reality.
What kind of book? Well, a novel, naturally. Fictional storytelling has been my passion for as long as I can remember. I appreciate my Nonfiction Writing course and its emphasis on telling a good story that's true, but I'm frankly more interested in telling fictional stories that are "truthful". Whether that story takes the form of a book, a play, or a movie.
So yeah, we'll see. If I start writing a book, of course I'll let you know -- in time, once I have something substantial, at any rate. I know I'm not ready to write one yet, but as the love of my life pointed out, maybe I need to begin the work before I can truly be ready. Time will tell, and God will reveal.
So what are your dreams, my readers? I actually have a post about the subject of our dreams, waiting to be finished, that will precipitate further discussion. But what are the passions that God has planted in you? I know some of you out there are writers; what else have we got?
Monday, September 24, 2007
We really did film this weekend!
Hey, what do you know! We actually filmed on Saturday! Can ya believe it?
No trains were harmed in the making of this film. And no one was harmed by trains in the making of this film. Just thought I'd clarify that for ya, Emy.
So yeah, crazy filming day, long but good. At some point, when I get a bit of spare time and remember, I'll get some screenshots up on the blog. And, who knows, maybe some moving images. The plot thickens...
I guess you guys have figured out by now that I abandoned the whole idea of these cool indepth "Production Updates" (I gave two of them like, way back when this blog started). I wish I could give you guys a really close look at what we're doing in production, but I simply don't have time to do that. Hey, Lana doesn't have a job (and therefore must not be at all busy at any time, right?); ask her. *mischievous smile* I love you, darling!
So we continue to claw our way toward the end of this baby. How much do we have left? Very little and quite a lot. But we'll get there.
I'm really not sure how long the post-production process will take, though. Editing isn't that hard of a job, but it takes a lot of time just because of how many stinkin' scenes there are. Then we have to rerecord dialogue and stick that in there; I have no idea how hard that will be because I've never done anything remotely like it. There's also the all-important score, which I think will be fantastic, but which will require a lot of planning, recording, rerecording, mixing, matching with the film, etc. Once we have all those components, we'll be ready for the final sound edit; I want to make sure we don't sell that short. We'll probably end up recording a lot of small sound effects for various parts just to make sure we get as full a sound as possible.
After that, we'll be ready to plan a premiere and get stuff ready for the DVD release. That's gonna be such a blast. The payoff of seeing this thing finished is going to be amazing stacey.
If no one involved had jobs or school to occupy their time, we could probably finish filming this week, take a couple weeks to edit, then maybe three or four more to get the final sound edit. Sadly, that's not the case.
But we will finish this movie, if the Lord permits. All of our rabid fans will merely have to be patient for a while longer.
Anyways, Lana has already posted about Saturday, so you have that. I won't add much more except to say that when I get to spend that much time with her in a day, I have to call it a good day. I had so much fun filming with her, acting alongside her, being extremely sappy during the brief breaks (as she can testify), driving her around, and watching the Razorbacks with her (even though they lost).
And, as she and I also said over on her blog, yesterday was our one-month anniversary of being "a couple". Talk about unbelievable. Let me tell you singles again, one more time, even though I'm sure it won't be the last: Do things God's way. His plan is incredibly more fun and more romantic than anything this world can concoct.
I am so blessed to have this wonderful woman whom I love and who loves me. If you'd told me three months ago that we would be so madly in love and in the midst of intoxicating romance right now, I would not have dared to believe you. God doesn't just meet our wildest dreams; He surpasses them. I love you, Lana.
No trains were harmed in the making of this film. And no one was harmed by trains in the making of this film. Just thought I'd clarify that for ya, Emy.
So yeah, crazy filming day, long but good. At some point, when I get a bit of spare time and remember, I'll get some screenshots up on the blog. And, who knows, maybe some moving images. The plot thickens...
I guess you guys have figured out by now that I abandoned the whole idea of these cool indepth "Production Updates" (I gave two of them like, way back when this blog started). I wish I could give you guys a really close look at what we're doing in production, but I simply don't have time to do that. Hey, Lana doesn't have a job (and therefore must not be at all busy at any time, right?); ask her. *mischievous smile* I love you, darling!
So we continue to claw our way toward the end of this baby. How much do we have left? Very little and quite a lot. But we'll get there.
I'm really not sure how long the post-production process will take, though. Editing isn't that hard of a job, but it takes a lot of time just because of how many stinkin' scenes there are. Then we have to rerecord dialogue and stick that in there; I have no idea how hard that will be because I've never done anything remotely like it. There's also the all-important score, which I think will be fantastic, but which will require a lot of planning, recording, rerecording, mixing, matching with the film, etc. Once we have all those components, we'll be ready for the final sound edit; I want to make sure we don't sell that short. We'll probably end up recording a lot of small sound effects for various parts just to make sure we get as full a sound as possible.
After that, we'll be ready to plan a premiere and get stuff ready for the DVD release. That's gonna be such a blast. The payoff of seeing this thing finished is going to be amazing stacey.
If no one involved had jobs or school to occupy their time, we could probably finish filming this week, take a couple weeks to edit, then maybe three or four more to get the final sound edit. Sadly, that's not the case.
But we will finish this movie, if the Lord permits. All of our rabid fans will merely have to be patient for a while longer.
Anyways, Lana has already posted about Saturday, so you have that. I won't add much more except to say that when I get to spend that much time with her in a day, I have to call it a good day. I had so much fun filming with her, acting alongside her, being extremely sappy during the brief breaks (as she can testify), driving her around, and watching the Razorbacks with her (even though they lost).
And, as she and I also said over on her blog, yesterday was our one-month anniversary of being "a couple". Talk about unbelievable. Let me tell you singles again, one more time, even though I'm sure it won't be the last: Do things God's way. His plan is incredibly more fun and more romantic than anything this world can concoct.
I am so blessed to have this wonderful woman whom I love and who loves me. If you'd told me three months ago that we would be so madly in love and in the midst of intoxicating romance right now, I would not have dared to believe you. God doesn't just meet our wildest dreams; He surpasses them. I love you, Lana.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Kudos to my movie people!
Currently trying to get a Saturday filming schedule together. Yes, believe it or not, we really are still working on this movie. I'm proud of my people and the job they've done thus far, and I think we're all gonna be pleased with the outcome, if for no other reason than that there is an outcome.
Thoughts on those who have been an integral part:
Lana - Yeah, did you really think I was gonna mention somebody else first? Not an exaggeration to say that without her, there would be no movie; and most of her contributions came before our courtship began. She was one of my chief sounding boards for ideas in pre-production, did way more script-critiquing than anyone else, and tossed out a bunch of ideas herself. She knew that she'd be playing Leslie, one of the biggest roles in the film, but had no idea that her job description would also include makeup artist, co-director of photography, co-production designer, and assistant director. She has truly been a shieldmaiden on this project, doing all of her jobs spectacularly, helping to give things some semblance of organization, and constantly encouraging and being there for me. I love you, darling, and I cannot thank God enough for the job you have done on this film.
Daniel - My little brother (he's still my little brother for the time being since I have a couple inches on him, though that could change in the next few years) was the first to share the Hunted dream, way back in summer 2005. His slavemaster boss has prevented him from being on location as much as he's wanted to, but he's done a good job as 1st assistant director when available. He also spearheads the film's comic relief by playing wacky woodsman Shawn. Incidentally, guess who can only do filming for half the day on Saturday because he has to go mow lawns? ;-)
Hannah - If anyone has cause to complain about their part in the project, it's probably my sister. That's because she never thought she was even going to have a part in it, and I never counted on us needing her. But she's been a crucial part, doing a lot of our camera and boom operating. Sometimes she gets frustrated by having to run the camera with four crazy losers and Lana in front of it; but she has done a yeoman's job and deserves a gold medal for her patient, steady effort. Snaps for you, sis!
Trevor - It simply wouldn't be right to make a movie like this without the T-Rev Meister's involvement. He and Daniel and I have filmed a lot of really bad video together; hopefully Hunted doesn't quite fall under that classification. Trevor has always been a great actor with a natural instinct as a filmmaker. His main official contribution to Hunted is the part of Ryan, who's a bit more straight-laced than most of T-Rev's previous characters (like Fred in the play It Happened At Ernie's). But he's also helped in a number of small ways behind the camera. Finally, he has the irritating ability to memorize his lines with little effort, while the rest of us are still squinting at the pages and going over a scene for the umpteenth time.
Dusty - Our fearless youth group leader brings his skills to the big screen as Clyde, the villainous elder brother of Eric and leader of the Adams County Gang. Dusty's done an outstanding job thus far in his acting and has been able to help a bit behind the scenes, though not as much as he'd like. By the way, what was I thinking when I cast him and Chris in parts that have them interacting with each other on screen a lot?
Chris - See previous entry. Chris has struck exactly the chord I was looking for in his part as Carl, Clyde's sidekick. Both of these guys have had limited time in filming but have hit home runs in their acting roles thus far. They've also been very supportive and patient with me as I continually make filming plans and then change them. Thanks a ton, dogs.
Tara - You can count her the second member of the "Younger Sisters of Key Players Who Never Thought They'd Be So Crucial To This Movie" club. And yes, I know that phrase is technically unclear, but you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, Tara has found herself following Hannah around a lot as an operator of our boom (the microphone carrier, basically). Both of them have been troopers, although Tara seems to have found a niche for going to sleep in the midst of late filming nights; she's done it both times we had to stay out late. Sheesh, who sleeps at 2 in the morning, anyway?
Tony - Maybe we should change the name to the "Younger SIBLINGS of Key Players Who Never Thought They'd Etc." club. As the younger brother of our sunshine princess, Ton' never thought he'd get plunged into one of the key acting roles in the movie, that of the other wacky woodsman, Travis. But of course, a story's not a good story unless it involves some character or other getting plunged into something unexpected. So there we go. At any rate, Tony has come on at the eleventh hour and acquitted himself extremely well in front of the camera. I particularly like his petrified intensity during the scary story scene.
James - Being called on to play a henchman who serves under the likes of Clyde and Carl is no small thing. James has amply handled his role thus far and even brought a nice unexpected spin to some of his scenes. Of course, out of all our cast, he has the biggest problem finishing a scene (a scene, say I? Nay, rather a line) without bursting into voluminous laughter. But we still love him anyway.
Josh - An imposing demeanor and experience as a bad guy in the Easter program (playing a Roman soldier there; Dusty and James have also done this many times in the past) make Josh an ideal choice for the tough-guy role of Dirk, another henchman. He's only had one filming day so far, but Lord willing that will change on Saturday. Daniel is on record multiple times as saying that he's not looking forward to shooting at Josh with a paintball gun (oh wait, did I just give away a plot spoiler?).
So, is that the team? Well, most of the prominent ones, anyway. But of course, we could not do it without our location providers: Tim and Susie (my parents), Tyler and Tracy (Lana's; even though we haven't actually filmed anything at their house, our film crew has received their hospitality), Clinton and Lichea (Trevor's parents), Dusty and Amanda, Wayne and Georgia, Jordan, and of course my dear Gramma and Papa.
And the list is still not complete; hopefully the credits will be. As we (Lord willing) wind down to the end, at last, of the production process, I want to thank all those who have helped us on this film. And thanks as well to people like Meggy and Emy and many others who have encouraged us and prayed for us. You guys rock my face off.
Most of all, thanks to the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows, and from whom come all good things. We love You and pray that this movie glorifies Your Name, our God!
And that's all for this week, folks. Don't anticipate another post from this quarter till Monday. As always, please pray for our Saturday filming plans, that God's will is done. Namarie!
Thoughts on those who have been an integral part:
Lana - Yeah, did you really think I was gonna mention somebody else first? Not an exaggeration to say that without her, there would be no movie; and most of her contributions came before our courtship began. She was one of my chief sounding boards for ideas in pre-production, did way more script-critiquing than anyone else, and tossed out a bunch of ideas herself. She knew that she'd be playing Leslie, one of the biggest roles in the film, but had no idea that her job description would also include makeup artist, co-director of photography, co-production designer, and assistant director. She has truly been a shieldmaiden on this project, doing all of her jobs spectacularly, helping to give things some semblance of organization, and constantly encouraging and being there for me. I love you, darling, and I cannot thank God enough for the job you have done on this film.
Daniel - My little brother (he's still my little brother for the time being since I have a couple inches on him, though that could change in the next few years) was the first to share the Hunted dream, way back in summer 2005. His slavemaster boss has prevented him from being on location as much as he's wanted to, but he's done a good job as 1st assistant director when available. He also spearheads the film's comic relief by playing wacky woodsman Shawn. Incidentally, guess who can only do filming for half the day on Saturday because he has to go mow lawns? ;-)
Hannah - If anyone has cause to complain about their part in the project, it's probably my sister. That's because she never thought she was even going to have a part in it, and I never counted on us needing her. But she's been a crucial part, doing a lot of our camera and boom operating. Sometimes she gets frustrated by having to run the camera with four crazy losers and Lana in front of it; but she has done a yeoman's job and deserves a gold medal for her patient, steady effort. Snaps for you, sis!
Trevor - It simply wouldn't be right to make a movie like this without the T-Rev Meister's involvement. He and Daniel and I have filmed a lot of really bad video together; hopefully Hunted doesn't quite fall under that classification. Trevor has always been a great actor with a natural instinct as a filmmaker. His main official contribution to Hunted is the part of Ryan, who's a bit more straight-laced than most of T-Rev's previous characters (like Fred in the play It Happened At Ernie's). But he's also helped in a number of small ways behind the camera. Finally, he has the irritating ability to memorize his lines with little effort, while the rest of us are still squinting at the pages and going over a scene for the umpteenth time.
Dusty - Our fearless youth group leader brings his skills to the big screen as Clyde, the villainous elder brother of Eric and leader of the Adams County Gang. Dusty's done an outstanding job thus far in his acting and has been able to help a bit behind the scenes, though not as much as he'd like. By the way, what was I thinking when I cast him and Chris in parts that have them interacting with each other on screen a lot?
Chris - See previous entry. Chris has struck exactly the chord I was looking for in his part as Carl, Clyde's sidekick. Both of these guys have had limited time in filming but have hit home runs in their acting roles thus far. They've also been very supportive and patient with me as I continually make filming plans and then change them. Thanks a ton, dogs.
Tara - You can count her the second member of the "Younger Sisters of Key Players Who Never Thought They'd Be So Crucial To This Movie" club. And yes, I know that phrase is technically unclear, but you know what I'm talking about. Anyways, Tara has found herself following Hannah around a lot as an operator of our boom (the microphone carrier, basically). Both of them have been troopers, although Tara seems to have found a niche for going to sleep in the midst of late filming nights; she's done it both times we had to stay out late. Sheesh, who sleeps at 2 in the morning, anyway?
Tony - Maybe we should change the name to the "Younger SIBLINGS of Key Players Who Never Thought They'd Etc." club. As the younger brother of our sunshine princess, Ton' never thought he'd get plunged into one of the key acting roles in the movie, that of the other wacky woodsman, Travis. But of course, a story's not a good story unless it involves some character or other getting plunged into something unexpected. So there we go. At any rate, Tony has come on at the eleventh hour and acquitted himself extremely well in front of the camera. I particularly like his petrified intensity during the scary story scene.
James - Being called on to play a henchman who serves under the likes of Clyde and Carl is no small thing. James has amply handled his role thus far and even brought a nice unexpected spin to some of his scenes. Of course, out of all our cast, he has the biggest problem finishing a scene (a scene, say I? Nay, rather a line) without bursting into voluminous laughter. But we still love him anyway.
Josh - An imposing demeanor and experience as a bad guy in the Easter program (playing a Roman soldier there; Dusty and James have also done this many times in the past) make Josh an ideal choice for the tough-guy role of Dirk, another henchman. He's only had one filming day so far, but Lord willing that will change on Saturday. Daniel is on record multiple times as saying that he's not looking forward to shooting at Josh with a paintball gun (oh wait, did I just give away a plot spoiler?).
So, is that the team? Well, most of the prominent ones, anyway. But of course, we could not do it without our location providers: Tim and Susie (my parents), Tyler and Tracy (Lana's; even though we haven't actually filmed anything at their house, our film crew has received their hospitality), Clinton and Lichea (Trevor's parents), Dusty and Amanda, Wayne and Georgia, Jordan, and of course my dear Gramma and Papa.
And the list is still not complete; hopefully the credits will be. As we (Lord willing) wind down to the end, at last, of the production process, I want to thank all those who have helped us on this film. And thanks as well to people like Meggy and Emy and many others who have encouraged us and prayed for us. You guys rock my face off.
Most of all, thanks to the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows, and from whom come all good things. We love You and pray that this movie glorifies Your Name, our God!
And that's all for this week, folks. Don't anticipate another post from this quarter till Monday. As always, please pray for our Saturday filming plans, that God's will is done. Namarie!
Thursday, September 6, 2007
What God's been showing me (a little bit of it, anyway)
Boy am I glad it's Thursday afternoon. Not that the week is over, but the more undesirable aspects of it are. Now the focus shifts to printing CtB tomorrow, prepping for the major woods shoot on Saturday, and, well, doing the major woods shoot on Saturday.
As you know if you read Lana's blog, we went yesterday and picked out a beautiful white gold bracelet. We went to JCPenny's first, followed by the mall jewelry stores, Sears, Dillard's, K-Mart, and Kohl's; then went back to Penny's and got practically the first one we had looked at. Oh well, neither of us minded how long it took, if you can imagine that. It was so much fun to take my girl around the mall and Fort Smith while shopping for jewelry for her. She had a ton of fun too.
Now she has something she can wear and show to people when she tells them about me; that's the main reason I got it for her. I have a watch from my future father-in-law that I can show people; now she has a bracelet from her future husband to show off. It's only fair, as I see it. Of course, I guess the fact that I just love buying things for her counts in there somewhere as well.
Thank you again to those who responded to the FtF query in the previous post. As for me, well, I don't know. On the one hand, it feels like FtF was very significant and formative for me; on the other, I feel quite nearly the same as I did going into it.
Of course, I know that (1) it's not about me and it ultimately doesn't matter how it affected me as long as the Lord's Name was lifted up; and (2) if I was there and doing what God called me to do, then it did affect me, maybe in ways that I can't even comprehend.
I don't feel radically different, as if the heavens have opened up and sprawling new avenues of truth have been revealed to me. But on the other hand, the opening heavens and sprawling avenues probably do fit the last several months for me; God has shown me so much and drawn me closer to Him. Hope you don't think that means I've unlocked perfection; on the contrary, I've been reminded of my imperfection and my utter dependence on my Savior. And I still continue to rebel against my God in ways that shame me.
Thanks to two particular works of John Piper (who is by the way a must-read theologian; seek him out and read his stuff), Desiring God and The Pleasures of God, I have been impressed (not in the sense of admiration, but in that of having something pounded into you) by the amazingly simple equation of life: Love for God = Happiness. Or, to put it more properly as Piper does, revising the old Westminister Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
What a delightful phrase, "enjoying Him forever". Do we often hear about our need to enjoy God? Sure, we hear quite often about believing in Him, knowing Him, surrendering to Him, even loving Him. But, to enjoy God? I think the Church falls short in expressing that fundamental need that rests in all of us. Our passionate love for God, our enjoyment of Him, is meant to be our fuel, our lifeblood, our thirst that is always satisfied and never quenched.
This is what David meant when he cried out, "Oh God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You, my soul thirsts for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Or as an anonymous Psalmist exclaims, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I come and see the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long men continually say to me, 'Where is your God?'"
Feel free to check my quotes as I don't have my Bible right here with me at the moment; those are from the opening verses of Psalms 63 and 42. But when was the last time you felt that passion for God? That longing, that thirst, that desperation? When was the last time your heart cried out as godless people around you mocked the Name of your God?
And how do we get this hunger? That's the more pressing question. If you're like me, you can at best claim to have this passion only at times during your life; and often you wonder where it has gone. I have no answers, other than the ones you hear all the time: Read your Bible, pray, go to church. Whether or not you believe it, those really do help, if you seek God in doing them.
Ask God to give you a heart that longs for Him, and then don't stop there. Get into His Word; seek His face; shut all else out and focus on Him. As you attend church, enter with a mindset of willing obedience. If you do those things, you are already on the right path.
But don't ever stop seeking Him; that is, after all, what you're already doing at this point. Note the biblical promise: "You will seek Me and find Me," God tells us, "if you seek Me with all your heart." There are a lot of promises in the Word, but that is one of the most heartening to me.
Anyways, I don't even know if any of you guys even have any struggles with this, but I do. Lana can tell you that I often write out stuff in e-mails to her that she already understands, just so that I get it more clearly. Not a bad habit, I guess, especially for a writer.
But yeah, that's something God's been revealing to me and bopping me on the head about a lot over the past few months, so I thought I'd share that. I'll try to get more into what He's revealing to me, in future posts. For now, sayonara and please pray for our filming on Saturday.
As you know if you read Lana's blog, we went yesterday and picked out a beautiful white gold bracelet. We went to JCPenny's first, followed by the mall jewelry stores, Sears, Dillard's, K-Mart, and Kohl's; then went back to Penny's and got practically the first one we had looked at. Oh well, neither of us minded how long it took, if you can imagine that. It was so much fun to take my girl around the mall and Fort Smith while shopping for jewelry for her. She had a ton of fun too.
Now she has something she can wear and show to people when she tells them about me; that's the main reason I got it for her. I have a watch from my future father-in-law that I can show people; now she has a bracelet from her future husband to show off. It's only fair, as I see it. Of course, I guess the fact that I just love buying things for her counts in there somewhere as well.
Thank you again to those who responded to the FtF query in the previous post. As for me, well, I don't know. On the one hand, it feels like FtF was very significant and formative for me; on the other, I feel quite nearly the same as I did going into it.
Of course, I know that (1) it's not about me and it ultimately doesn't matter how it affected me as long as the Lord's Name was lifted up; and (2) if I was there and doing what God called me to do, then it did affect me, maybe in ways that I can't even comprehend.
I don't feel radically different, as if the heavens have opened up and sprawling new avenues of truth have been revealed to me. But on the other hand, the opening heavens and sprawling avenues probably do fit the last several months for me; God has shown me so much and drawn me closer to Him. Hope you don't think that means I've unlocked perfection; on the contrary, I've been reminded of my imperfection and my utter dependence on my Savior. And I still continue to rebel against my God in ways that shame me.
Thanks to two particular works of John Piper (who is by the way a must-read theologian; seek him out and read his stuff), Desiring God and The Pleasures of God, I have been impressed (not in the sense of admiration, but in that of having something pounded into you) by the amazingly simple equation of life: Love for God = Happiness. Or, to put it more properly as Piper does, revising the old Westminister Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."
What a delightful phrase, "enjoying Him forever". Do we often hear about our need to enjoy God? Sure, we hear quite often about believing in Him, knowing Him, surrendering to Him, even loving Him. But, to enjoy God? I think the Church falls short in expressing that fundamental need that rests in all of us. Our passionate love for God, our enjoyment of Him, is meant to be our fuel, our lifeblood, our thirst that is always satisfied and never quenched.
This is what David meant when he cried out, "Oh God, You are my God. Earnestly I seek You, my soul thirsts for You in a dry and weary land where there is no water." Or as an anonymous Psalmist exclaims, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I come and see the face of God? My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long men continually say to me, 'Where is your God?'"
Feel free to check my quotes as I don't have my Bible right here with me at the moment; those are from the opening verses of Psalms 63 and 42. But when was the last time you felt that passion for God? That longing, that thirst, that desperation? When was the last time your heart cried out as godless people around you mocked the Name of your God?
And how do we get this hunger? That's the more pressing question. If you're like me, you can at best claim to have this passion only at times during your life; and often you wonder where it has gone. I have no answers, other than the ones you hear all the time: Read your Bible, pray, go to church. Whether or not you believe it, those really do help, if you seek God in doing them.
Ask God to give you a heart that longs for Him, and then don't stop there. Get into His Word; seek His face; shut all else out and focus on Him. As you attend church, enter with a mindset of willing obedience. If you do those things, you are already on the right path.
But don't ever stop seeking Him; that is, after all, what you're already doing at this point. Note the biblical promise: "You will seek Me and find Me," God tells us, "if you seek Me with all your heart." There are a lot of promises in the Word, but that is one of the most heartening to me.
Anyways, I don't even know if any of you guys even have any struggles with this, but I do. Lana can tell you that I often write out stuff in e-mails to her that she already understands, just so that I get it more clearly. Not a bad habit, I guess, especially for a writer.
But yeah, that's something God's been revealing to me and bopping me on the head about a lot over the past few months, so I thought I'd share that. I'll try to get more into what He's revealing to me, in future posts. For now, sayonara and please pray for our filming on Saturday.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Unlabor Day is over
Life rolls onward. Back to school today after Labor Day weekend. I got to be with Lana, but otherwise it was fairly blah. My writing instructor, David Cooper, possesses an almost maddening personality. He is consistently pleasant with a soft, ready smile, but he never crosses the line into what I would call actually "being nice." He seems to think that our reason for being on earth is to be with family and to travel, so he encourages us to share about our experiences in those areas; but although he's encouraging, he never seems to be truly interested in us. I think he's a pretty good teacher, but his blandness gets to me every now and then.
Sitting here at work now; will shortly go and proofread CtB with my lovely co-editor. I think it's, well, another good issue; there's quite a bit about romance, but I don't think you can blame us for that. I am excited about finally being able to unleash the "Warrior of the Dawn" short story on the world.
Just as a heads-up to all of you: It may interest you (it will doubtless interest those from FBC Branch who read the blog) to know that I am scheduled to preach at my church Sunday night. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity. Please pray for me as I prepare this week, because I already seem to be running short of time; and pray for the message. Right now God seems to be pointing me toward a hard-hitting turn-and-repent sermon, centered around the book of Malachi and other passages (go check out Malachi if you're unfamiliar with it; it's definitely hard-hitting). But He could very well change it in the course of this week; it's happened before, so pray that I will seek His will and be obedient to whatever He calls me to preach.
Set to film again on Saturday for the first time in three weeks. It'll be our most intensive shooting day yet, Lord willing, all taking place up at my grandparents' and involving all of our major actors. Please pray for that as well, that everyone's schedules will work out, that we'll work quickly and efficiently, and that we'll do a good job and glorify God.
And, well, that's it for now; I have some other stuff to work on. But finally, I would like you readers to respond in the comment section about something I'm curious to know: What did God do in your life through Fan the Flame? What is He (hopefully) still doing? I'm really interested to see what kind of impact (if any) it made on your life, however small, so please let me know. Thank you readers, just, well, for being readers, and for commenting! God bless.
Sitting here at work now; will shortly go and proofread CtB with my lovely co-editor. I think it's, well, another good issue; there's quite a bit about romance, but I don't think you can blame us for that. I am excited about finally being able to unleash the "Warrior of the Dawn" short story on the world.
Just as a heads-up to all of you: It may interest you (it will doubtless interest those from FBC Branch who read the blog) to know that I am scheduled to preach at my church Sunday night. It's been a long time since I've had the opportunity. Please pray for me as I prepare this week, because I already seem to be running short of time; and pray for the message. Right now God seems to be pointing me toward a hard-hitting turn-and-repent sermon, centered around the book of Malachi and other passages (go check out Malachi if you're unfamiliar with it; it's definitely hard-hitting). But He could very well change it in the course of this week; it's happened before, so pray that I will seek His will and be obedient to whatever He calls me to preach.
Set to film again on Saturday for the first time in three weeks. It'll be our most intensive shooting day yet, Lord willing, all taking place up at my grandparents' and involving all of our major actors. Please pray for that as well, that everyone's schedules will work out, that we'll work quickly and efficiently, and that we'll do a good job and glorify God.
And, well, that's it for now; I have some other stuff to work on. But finally, I would like you readers to respond in the comment section about something I'm curious to know: What did God do in your life through Fan the Flame? What is He (hopefully) still doing? I'm really interested to see what kind of impact (if any) it made on your life, however small, so please let me know. Thank you readers, just, well, for being readers, and for commenting! God bless.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
What's Goin' Down
A bit of here and there.
First, my bride-to-be and I will be formatting the September-October issue of Call to Battle tomorrow (Friday). If you have any articles (or certainly blog posts would be cool), you can send them in (or point us in the direction of the blog post if it is that) before noon on Friday. We love receiving and printing contributions from you, so please don't hesitate to send stuff in! If you don't, it's entirely possible you'll simply read more romantic gush from me and Lana! (OK, so with a mostly-female readership, maybe that wasn't the most effective threat to make.)
I want to warn you now about my articles for this issue: Most will seem familiar to you because they are in fact modified blog posts. Hey, it's not my fault you read the blog and get the magazine. Think of it this way: The blog provides you with a partial sneak preview of the next CtB issue.
Oh, and let me just tease you by saying that in this issue, you'll finally get to discover why my screenname is "Warrior of the Dawn." I'm excited about you getting to read this particular work of mine, leftover from the last issue.
I believe the word is getting around my church that Lana and I are engaged. (EDIT: The correct term is courting, not engagement; though we are committed to marrying, we are not officially engaged.) Josh -- a friend, one of my actors in Hunted, a classmate at UAFS, and fellow member of FBC Branch -- asked us today if we'd set our wedding date. Well, no; we will when I get her the ring, and it'll probably be some time before that happens. But I'd much rather people think we're engaged than dating, if there's a choice. I'll try to provide some clarification to my church at some point.
For those of you who have asked about Hunted, well, rest assured we haven't pulled the plug on the project. We have taken a hiatus from filming due to Fan the Flame, and will be idle this weekend in order to give some of our production members a break. We plan on picking it up again next Saturday and hitting it hard, with only about three or four more days of filming to go (Lord willing)! Thank you again to all of you who have voiced encouragement, and we ask that you continue to pray for the movie.
The latest update from Lovers' Lane: Note-giving is all the rage. Note-giving, you ask? Yep. During class, as opposed to taking notes, we often find ourselves giving notes -- to one another. We had a delightful time doing it in Reasoning yesterday, and in both of our writing classes today. But I told Lana that, alas, we'll have to cut down on it or we'll lose our scholarships due to poor grades.
College football begins tonight as LSU takes on Mississippi State on ESPN. I can't wait (and am trying to get CtB articles together so I can watch some of it). Most of my readers may not care about this staple of Southern life, football, but I am eagerly anticipating the coming season and have high hopes for the beloved Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs open against Troy on Saturday. Woo Pig Sooiee!
I ask for your prayers for our youth group. I know God has some awesome things for us coming out of FtF, but the devil is attacking us right now. We had kind of a tough service last night. It ended up being good, but there was definitely a feeling of tension in the air. I expect it from Satan; he's trying to steal what God has given us and continues to give us. But as the ending of one of our FtF skits quoted, "One little word shall fell him." Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
First, my bride-to-be and I will be formatting the September-October issue of Call to Battle tomorrow (Friday). If you have any articles (or certainly blog posts would be cool), you can send them in (or point us in the direction of the blog post if it is that) before noon on Friday. We love receiving and printing contributions from you, so please don't hesitate to send stuff in! If you don't, it's entirely possible you'll simply read more romantic gush from me and Lana! (OK, so with a mostly-female readership, maybe that wasn't the most effective threat to make.)
I want to warn you now about my articles for this issue: Most will seem familiar to you because they are in fact modified blog posts. Hey, it's not my fault you read the blog and get the magazine. Think of it this way: The blog provides you with a partial sneak preview of the next CtB issue.
Oh, and let me just tease you by saying that in this issue, you'll finally get to discover why my screenname is "Warrior of the Dawn." I'm excited about you getting to read this particular work of mine, leftover from the last issue.
I believe the word is getting around my church that Lana and I are engaged. (EDIT: The correct term is courting, not engagement; though we are committed to marrying, we are not officially engaged.) Josh -- a friend, one of my actors in Hunted, a classmate at UAFS, and fellow member of FBC Branch -- asked us today if we'd set our wedding date. Well, no; we will when I get her the ring, and it'll probably be some time before that happens. But I'd much rather people think we're engaged than dating, if there's a choice. I'll try to provide some clarification to my church at some point.
For those of you who have asked about Hunted, well, rest assured we haven't pulled the plug on the project. We have taken a hiatus from filming due to Fan the Flame, and will be idle this weekend in order to give some of our production members a break. We plan on picking it up again next Saturday and hitting it hard, with only about three or four more days of filming to go (Lord willing)! Thank you again to all of you who have voiced encouragement, and we ask that you continue to pray for the movie.
The latest update from Lovers' Lane: Note-giving is all the rage. Note-giving, you ask? Yep. During class, as opposed to taking notes, we often find ourselves giving notes -- to one another. We had a delightful time doing it in Reasoning yesterday, and in both of our writing classes today. But I told Lana that, alas, we'll have to cut down on it or we'll lose our scholarships due to poor grades.
College football begins tonight as LSU takes on Mississippi State on ESPN. I can't wait (and am trying to get CtB articles together so I can watch some of it). Most of my readers may not care about this staple of Southern life, football, but I am eagerly anticipating the coming season and have high hopes for the beloved Arkansas Razorbacks. The Hogs open against Troy on Saturday. Woo Pig Sooiee!
I ask for your prayers for our youth group. I know God has some awesome things for us coming out of FtF, but the devil is attacking us right now. We had kind of a tough service last night. It ended up being good, but there was definitely a feeling of tension in the air. I expect it from Satan; he's trying to steal what God has given us and continues to give us. But as the ending of one of our FtF skits quoted, "One little word shall fell him." Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Monday, August 20, 2007
The work of God continues...
The weekend was absolutely insane. We're filming. We're not filming. We're filming. We're taking too long in filming. We're not filming this or that. We are filming this after all. It's raining (meaning we're not filming).
End result, we accomplished everything we hoped to get on Friday, and a small portion of what we hoped to get on Saturday. Along the way, God reminded me yet again who's in charge by bringing me to my knees.
You'd think that would have happened on Saturday, where we were unable to film most of what we had planned. But it was actually on Friday night. We were filming a scene with Eric and Leslie walking on the side of the road, and we couldn't figure out how to get it. It's always tough to do scenes where people are walking and talking for a sustained amount of time. That alone wouldn't bother me much, but Lana had been feeling very sick all day. Plus, she had a forty-minute drive home once we got done, which meant that it being a Friday night, we needed to get done and let her leave as soon as possible.
We tried one thing and another, and I began to get very frustrated. But Lana, the one who was being affected the most by all this, kept her calm and told me to slow down, calm down, and do it right. Thank God for her.
Once again, God was removing another layer of my pride. And even though I was thankful for that, I didn't like it. After all, the Word tells us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord. If He has to do it for us, we're not obeying Him like we should.
God molded me a little bit more on Friday night. It's crazy how much He's been doing in me over the summer, working to get rid of more and more of my pride. I'm learning so much about Him and about myself. A lot of it is stuff that I've known in my head for a long time, but I never realized the full impact of the meaning.
As Fan the Flame continues to get closer, God continues to prepare my heart. But I know absolutely that Satan is right there as well, doing his best to interfere in any way possible. He's not a gentleman; he plays dirty and will do whatever it takes to throw me off the path. I have definitely experienced more spiritual attack coming up on this year's FtF than for any of the previous ones, and that encourages me because I know God has something special planned.
School started today, and it's going to be interesting. Classes are so different from one another. The respective demeanors of my Intro to Theater professor and my Reasoning Across the Disciplines professor could not be more different. I had those classes today and have two writing classes and a history class tomorrow. In a way it's like, argh, school is here, blah. But it's also exciting simply because I know God has a great plan for my school year. I get to spend a lot of time alone with Him while I'm driving back and forth, and I get to take four out of my five classes with Lana, my best friend. Plus, who knows, maybe I'll actually learn something fun and/or beneficial, huh?
Go God, and readers, do three things for FtF. One, pray. Two, make sure you can come on Saturday. Three, invite as many people to come as you can. As you pray, continue to pray for rain; we got some this weekend, but not enough to lift Franklin County's burn ban. This means that unless we get more, the bonfire service is still going to be off. So please pray about that. Let the fire fall.
End result, we accomplished everything we hoped to get on Friday, and a small portion of what we hoped to get on Saturday. Along the way, God reminded me yet again who's in charge by bringing me to my knees.
You'd think that would have happened on Saturday, where we were unable to film most of what we had planned. But it was actually on Friday night. We were filming a scene with Eric and Leslie walking on the side of the road, and we couldn't figure out how to get it. It's always tough to do scenes where people are walking and talking for a sustained amount of time. That alone wouldn't bother me much, but Lana had been feeling very sick all day. Plus, she had a forty-minute drive home once we got done, which meant that it being a Friday night, we needed to get done and let her leave as soon as possible.
We tried one thing and another, and I began to get very frustrated. But Lana, the one who was being affected the most by all this, kept her calm and told me to slow down, calm down, and do it right. Thank God for her.
Once again, God was removing another layer of my pride. And even though I was thankful for that, I didn't like it. After all, the Word tells us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord. If He has to do it for us, we're not obeying Him like we should.
God molded me a little bit more on Friday night. It's crazy how much He's been doing in me over the summer, working to get rid of more and more of my pride. I'm learning so much about Him and about myself. A lot of it is stuff that I've known in my head for a long time, but I never realized the full impact of the meaning.
As Fan the Flame continues to get closer, God continues to prepare my heart. But I know absolutely that Satan is right there as well, doing his best to interfere in any way possible. He's not a gentleman; he plays dirty and will do whatever it takes to throw me off the path. I have definitely experienced more spiritual attack coming up on this year's FtF than for any of the previous ones, and that encourages me because I know God has something special planned.
School started today, and it's going to be interesting. Classes are so different from one another. The respective demeanors of my Intro to Theater professor and my Reasoning Across the Disciplines professor could not be more different. I had those classes today and have two writing classes and a history class tomorrow. In a way it's like, argh, school is here, blah. But it's also exciting simply because I know God has a great plan for my school year. I get to spend a lot of time alone with Him while I'm driving back and forth, and I get to take four out of my five classes with Lana, my best friend. Plus, who knows, maybe I'll actually learn something fun and/or beneficial, huh?
Go God, and readers, do three things for FtF. One, pray. Two, make sure you can come on Saturday. Three, invite as many people to come as you can. As you pray, continue to pray for rain; we got some this weekend, but not enough to lift Franklin County's burn ban. This means that unless we get more, the bonfire service is still going to be off. So please pray about that. Let the fire fall.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
These are the times that set men's souls ablaze
The life, it is becoming crazy. A lot of things are coming to a head here in the next couple of weeks. It's exciting, certainly a tad nervewracking, but I know God's in it and it's gonna be cool.
Yesterday was a really good day in a lot of ways, culminating in a good service last night. I didn't feel any of the concern and heaviness that had burdened me the previous week. We had what was, for me at least, a sweet time of worship, and we were even able to teach the youth a new song that we're doing at FtF: Chris Tomlin's "Awesome is the Lord Most High."
Dusty preached, and I thought it was a great message, very focused, very passionate. A hard message in a way, though. Dusty is not the type to shy away from stuff like sin and hell and the blood of Jesus (neither is Chris, of course). I'm quite sure he's offended people in the past with his strong invitations to accept Christ. But I think that's entirely biblical.
Things are totally coming together. Chris is, Lord willing, going to go pick up T-shirts today. We're meeting on Saturday afternoon to plan out decorations for the sanctuary. I have finished writing the skits and gotten scripts to most of my actors. Our advertising team is about to hit the towns in the next few days to put up flyers. The prayer team has several different prayer meeting scheduled. The band still needs some more practice, but is on track to be ready by next Saturday.
Filming continues to plug steadily along. We are, as of right now, set to film scenes at Leslie's house tomorrow, and then film Hunt stuff on Saturday. If we can get all of that right here in the last weekend before school starts, I will be a happy guy. It'll leave us with probably three good Saturdays of work, possibly four, before we're done.
That puts us getting done at the end of September, which I had previously dreaded, but now I'm like, let's just get it done. I'm not gonna cry about having to film something in October if that's what it takes.
After we finally get the filming finished, it'll be time to edit, then do ADR, score the thing (I'm expecting that to be tough but deliciously fun), do whatever needs to be done for our final sound mix, and have the world premiere.
So maybe it'll be done by Christmas. That's my current estimate. If not, then January at the very latest.
Making movies is pretty tough. All of us working on the project have learned that over and over thus far, and we'll definitely learn it a bunch more times before we finish. But we're learning some valuable lessons, not just about filmmaking, but about life. At least, I am.
It's been hard, and to be honest, I've brought a lot of the difficulty on myself. But I know God wants us to do this, and so even though it's frustrating at times, I believe it's all worth it. Regardless of whether we produce a good film or not.
So will it be a good film? I really don't know. It won't be anything approaching the quality of something you see in the movie theater. Some parts may fall on their faces, with cheesy dialogue (written by me) and hammy acting (done by me). But I think other parts will connect with the audience, hopefully. I think you'll find yourself laughing at Shawn and Travis at least a few times, focusing in on Clyde's inner struggle, identifying with Eric's heartfelt prayer.
And if you do, I'll sit back and praise God for using this film to affect its audience in some small way. If there's any glory to be found from this movie, He gets all of it.
Yesterday was a really good day in a lot of ways, culminating in a good service last night. I didn't feel any of the concern and heaviness that had burdened me the previous week. We had what was, for me at least, a sweet time of worship, and we were even able to teach the youth a new song that we're doing at FtF: Chris Tomlin's "Awesome is the Lord Most High."
Dusty preached, and I thought it was a great message, very focused, very passionate. A hard message in a way, though. Dusty is not the type to shy away from stuff like sin and hell and the blood of Jesus (neither is Chris, of course). I'm quite sure he's offended people in the past with his strong invitations to accept Christ. But I think that's entirely biblical.
Things are totally coming together. Chris is, Lord willing, going to go pick up T-shirts today. We're meeting on Saturday afternoon to plan out decorations for the sanctuary. I have finished writing the skits and gotten scripts to most of my actors. Our advertising team is about to hit the towns in the next few days to put up flyers. The prayer team has several different prayer meeting scheduled. The band still needs some more practice, but is on track to be ready by next Saturday.
Filming continues to plug steadily along. We are, as of right now, set to film scenes at Leslie's house tomorrow, and then film Hunt stuff on Saturday. If we can get all of that right here in the last weekend before school starts, I will be a happy guy. It'll leave us with probably three good Saturdays of work, possibly four, before we're done.
That puts us getting done at the end of September, which I had previously dreaded, but now I'm like, let's just get it done. I'm not gonna cry about having to film something in October if that's what it takes.
After we finally get the filming finished, it'll be time to edit, then do ADR, score the thing (I'm expecting that to be tough but deliciously fun), do whatever needs to be done for our final sound mix, and have the world premiere.
So maybe it'll be done by Christmas. That's my current estimate. If not, then January at the very latest.
Making movies is pretty tough. All of us working on the project have learned that over and over thus far, and we'll definitely learn it a bunch more times before we finish. But we're learning some valuable lessons, not just about filmmaking, but about life. At least, I am.
It's been hard, and to be honest, I've brought a lot of the difficulty on myself. But I know God wants us to do this, and so even though it's frustrating at times, I believe it's all worth it. Regardless of whether we produce a good film or not.
So will it be a good film? I really don't know. It won't be anything approaching the quality of something you see in the movie theater. Some parts may fall on their faces, with cheesy dialogue (written by me) and hammy acting (done by me). But I think other parts will connect with the audience, hopefully. I think you'll find yourself laughing at Shawn and Travis at least a few times, focusing in on Clyde's inner struggle, identifying with Eric's heartfelt prayer.
And if you do, I'll sit back and praise God for using this film to affect its audience in some small way. If there's any glory to be found from this movie, He gets all of it.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Back from the dead, and, living passionately
Crazy, crazy weekend. I think I'm about recovered from it now, though a good night's sleep tonight will help.
I'll try to give full-fledged production updates again at some point soon, but at the moment there's simply too much to tell. I'll try to give you some information.
Friday night. Filming after dark, trying to get two campsites finished (there are three in the film; the first one we did two weeks ago, as you'll remember from my production updates). Dark is, oh, about 9:00, say. We had to wait on Daniel, who had had to work every day of the week, and who was also going to pick up Tony. They pulled in at about 10:30.
Ouch. Already an hour and a half behind, right out of the gate. By the time Daniel had showered and we finished applying makeup and studying script and got out to the location to film, it was midnight.
Tip for budding filmmakers: If you can help it, don't ever start shooting at midnight. If you finish at midnight, that's okay, but it's not fun to begin and know that the clock already reads AM.
Five and a half hours later, after multiple delays (which were pretty much beyond our control), we finally picked up our stuff and pulled out. Yup, you've got that right, 5:30 am.
Incidentally, the most beautiful part of the day begins at about 5:30. Lying in a sleeping bag on the ground, facing the lightening sky, trying to decide whether to get my two hours of sleep or just stay awake through the whole thing, I was awestruck. It's such a gorgeous sight as the light continues to creep into the sky, the stars slowly disappearing. I felt like I was in some movie. Or like I had just finished filming part of one.
In the morning, we had three more scenes to do. Feeling pretty miserable (at least, I was; I don't know about everyone else, but I can pretty much guess), we got them done and pulled out for home.
All in all, I was happy with the weekend. I felt like we were able to buckle down and work hard and together. We weren't perfect, but you're not going to be when it's late at night (or is it that early in the morning?). I was proud of my fellow troopers, all sibling pairs: Daniel and Hannah (who are of course my own siblings), Lana and Tony, Trevor and Tara. They faced a night even more difficult than the last night shoot we did, never complained, worked hard, and got stuff accomplished. I will definitely do my best to think of an appropriate way to honor them when we get to the end of this whole thing. "Good times gravy."
Sunday was a difficult day. There were classes to teach, songs to lead, lessons to prepare, band practices to conduct, slideshows to run; and I wasn't running on a full tank. At several points during the day I responded with anger and frustration, then had to ask God to forgive me and help me.
And now? Well, it never rains but it pours, as they say in Bree. In the next two weeks, I've got a magazine, a movie, and a youth event to work on. School starts a week from today. Work. Church. Other things in my personal life.
But I'm kinda looking forward to it. Some fun stuff coming up. When I get engulfed in the sea's depths, I simply have to suck in the water and trust God to allow me to breath it. He always does.
One thing I've kinda rediscovered (by the grace of God) in the last couple of months is how exhilarating life truly is. When you give your everything to the Giver of life and put your trust in Him, He makes everything that much more fun. And I guess that last statement is an unconscious paraphrase of Matthew 6:33: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Not that I have done that perfectly, or anywhere close to perfectly. I have still messed up, still failed, still rebelled, in ways that shame me. If I were in my Heavenly Father's shoes, looking down at my life, I would probably be continually yelling, "Why can't you get it?" Thankfully, He continues to show grace and mercy to me beyond what I deserve.
And so yeah, life is fun. It can be kinda cool to put stuff in God's hands, not having any idea how He's going to work it out. Hunted, for example. Will we even have filming done by the end of September? I have no idea. But I know it belongs to God, and He's going to work it out the way He sees fit -- which is infinitely better than any plan I could conceive.
One of my goals is that throughout my life, from youth to old age if God allows me that long, I would live passionately. Passionate people change the world. Passionate people experience true happiness and fulfillment. Passionate people don't just say they know, they truly do know that nothing is too big for the God they serve. Passionate people inspire others to be passionate. Passionate people don't get hung up on the little things of life, but focus on stuff like faith and hope and love, and let that filter through into the little things. Passionate people are fun to be around. Passionate people get movies made about them.
Not that I want a movie made of my life. And not that I can say all of those things about myself, even though I am trying to live passionately. But there are so many people on this earth who don't live passionately, and it shows. They may not have a care in the world, but they also don't have anything genuine to care about. They may never try to do something big and fail, but that's because they will never try anything big in the first place. They may never have their hearts broken, but that's because they're unwilling to allow their hearts to love. They risk nothing and gain nothing; they put nothing in and get the same thing out.
Life is not about money. It's not about cars or clothes or sports or music or even church or family. No, I think when it all boils down, life is about passion. A passion for the Creator that fills everything else we do.
If you have that, you are a shining star in His universe, and you will find happiness because you're seeking it in the right place. If you don't have it, no matter how many other great and wonderful things may be in your life, they count for nothing.
Well, I could keep going, but I'll stop for now, though I daresay I feel a magazine article coming out of this. But it's 6:00 and time for me to leave work. Till tomorrow.
I'll try to give full-fledged production updates again at some point soon, but at the moment there's simply too much to tell. I'll try to give you some information.
Friday night. Filming after dark, trying to get two campsites finished (there are three in the film; the first one we did two weeks ago, as you'll remember from my production updates). Dark is, oh, about 9:00, say. We had to wait on Daniel, who had had to work every day of the week, and who was also going to pick up Tony. They pulled in at about 10:30.
Ouch. Already an hour and a half behind, right out of the gate. By the time Daniel had showered and we finished applying makeup and studying script and got out to the location to film, it was midnight.
Tip for budding filmmakers: If you can help it, don't ever start shooting at midnight. If you finish at midnight, that's okay, but it's not fun to begin and know that the clock already reads AM.
Five and a half hours later, after multiple delays (which were pretty much beyond our control), we finally picked up our stuff and pulled out. Yup, you've got that right, 5:30 am.
Incidentally, the most beautiful part of the day begins at about 5:30. Lying in a sleeping bag on the ground, facing the lightening sky, trying to decide whether to get my two hours of sleep or just stay awake through the whole thing, I was awestruck. It's such a gorgeous sight as the light continues to creep into the sky, the stars slowly disappearing. I felt like I was in some movie. Or like I had just finished filming part of one.
In the morning, we had three more scenes to do. Feeling pretty miserable (at least, I was; I don't know about everyone else, but I can pretty much guess), we got them done and pulled out for home.
All in all, I was happy with the weekend. I felt like we were able to buckle down and work hard and together. We weren't perfect, but you're not going to be when it's late at night (or is it that early in the morning?). I was proud of my fellow troopers, all sibling pairs: Daniel and Hannah (who are of course my own siblings), Lana and Tony, Trevor and Tara. They faced a night even more difficult than the last night shoot we did, never complained, worked hard, and got stuff accomplished. I will definitely do my best to think of an appropriate way to honor them when we get to the end of this whole thing. "Good times gravy."
Sunday was a difficult day. There were classes to teach, songs to lead, lessons to prepare, band practices to conduct, slideshows to run; and I wasn't running on a full tank. At several points during the day I responded with anger and frustration, then had to ask God to forgive me and help me.
And now? Well, it never rains but it pours, as they say in Bree. In the next two weeks, I've got a magazine, a movie, and a youth event to work on. School starts a week from today. Work. Church. Other things in my personal life.
But I'm kinda looking forward to it. Some fun stuff coming up. When I get engulfed in the sea's depths, I simply have to suck in the water and trust God to allow me to breath it. He always does.
One thing I've kinda rediscovered (by the grace of God) in the last couple of months is how exhilarating life truly is. When you give your everything to the Giver of life and put your trust in Him, He makes everything that much more fun. And I guess that last statement is an unconscious paraphrase of Matthew 6:33: "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
Not that I have done that perfectly, or anywhere close to perfectly. I have still messed up, still failed, still rebelled, in ways that shame me. If I were in my Heavenly Father's shoes, looking down at my life, I would probably be continually yelling, "Why can't you get it?" Thankfully, He continues to show grace and mercy to me beyond what I deserve.
And so yeah, life is fun. It can be kinda cool to put stuff in God's hands, not having any idea how He's going to work it out. Hunted, for example. Will we even have filming done by the end of September? I have no idea. But I know it belongs to God, and He's going to work it out the way He sees fit -- which is infinitely better than any plan I could conceive.
One of my goals is that throughout my life, from youth to old age if God allows me that long, I would live passionately. Passionate people change the world. Passionate people experience true happiness and fulfillment. Passionate people don't just say they know, they truly do know that nothing is too big for the God they serve. Passionate people inspire others to be passionate. Passionate people don't get hung up on the little things of life, but focus on stuff like faith and hope and love, and let that filter through into the little things. Passionate people are fun to be around. Passionate people get movies made about them.
Not that I want a movie made of my life. And not that I can say all of those things about myself, even though I am trying to live passionately. But there are so many people on this earth who don't live passionately, and it shows. They may not have a care in the world, but they also don't have anything genuine to care about. They may never try to do something big and fail, but that's because they will never try anything big in the first place. They may never have their hearts broken, but that's because they're unwilling to allow their hearts to love. They risk nothing and gain nothing; they put nothing in and get the same thing out.
Life is not about money. It's not about cars or clothes or sports or music or even church or family. No, I think when it all boils down, life is about passion. A passion for the Creator that fills everything else we do.
If you have that, you are a shining star in His universe, and you will find happiness because you're seeking it in the right place. If you don't have it, no matter how many other great and wonderful things may be in your life, they count for nothing.
Well, I could keep going, but I'll stop for now, though I daresay I feel a magazine article coming out of this. But it's 6:00 and time for me to leave work. Till tomorrow.
Friday, August 10, 2007
But that's not all...
Well, I have left my readers in the lurch, and I do apologize. Circumstances beyond my control (namely an unintelligent hunk of plastic and metal by the name of DELL) prevented me from posting. And honestly, I don't know how long it'll be before I can post again after today. Oh well, here I am for now.
If you've read sunshine princess (Lana)'s blog, then you've heard the rrrrrrest of the story, as Paul Harvey calls it. But I'll describe it anyway in case you haven't.
Let's see, where were we? Ah yes, Tuesday, everything falls through. I was trusting in God and doing good by His grace, but silly me, I never stopped to think about the possibility that He might go ahead and let us film on Friday and Saturday anyway.
Which is exactly what happened. Trevor (the "source" of all the "trouble", bless 'im) called me back later that afternoon. Of course, being Trevor, his call was not about the cancelled filming, but about some irrelevant topic. He mentioned as an aside, "Oh yeah. I was gonna tell you, we're not going on vacation till Monday."
A bright light shone down as the heavens opened up and began to rain pizza rolls. Oh blessed T-Rev! What a joy divine!
Actually, at this point I was beyond being surprised, and since I was already HAPPY (see previous post), I couldn't get a lot happier than I was. I do wish the sky would rain pizza rolls sometime, though.
At any rate, I called Lana back to tell her that we were back on for the weekend. And there was much rejoicing. And now it's Friday, and I'm gearing up to leave in about six hours for the filming we weren't supposed to be able to do.
I think God must laugh at us sometimes, in a good way. Not to say that He wadded up my plans and threw them in the trash and dug them out and gave them back to me just for the fun of it, but I bet it was a little bit funny to Him. Probably a little bit sad, too: "How hard is it for him to trust Me?"
Hopefully, a little less hard after Tuesday. In the meantime, I still feel good. Have I fallen on my face since then, messed up, wasted opportunities? Yeah, and that hasn't felt good. But I know He's with me, always ready to pick me up, dust me off, and set my feet in the right direction again.
I love you, Father.
If you've read sunshine princess (Lana)'s blog, then you've heard the rrrrrrest of the story, as Paul Harvey calls it. But I'll describe it anyway in case you haven't.
Let's see, where were we? Ah yes, Tuesday, everything falls through. I was trusting in God and doing good by His grace, but silly me, I never stopped to think about the possibility that He might go ahead and let us film on Friday and Saturday anyway.
Which is exactly what happened. Trevor (the "source" of all the "trouble", bless 'im) called me back later that afternoon. Of course, being Trevor, his call was not about the cancelled filming, but about some irrelevant topic. He mentioned as an aside, "Oh yeah. I was gonna tell you, we're not going on vacation till Monday."
A bright light shone down as the heavens opened up and began to rain pizza rolls. Oh blessed T-Rev! What a joy divine!
Actually, at this point I was beyond being surprised, and since I was already HAPPY (see previous post), I couldn't get a lot happier than I was. I do wish the sky would rain pizza rolls sometime, though.
At any rate, I called Lana back to tell her that we were back on for the weekend. And there was much rejoicing. And now it's Friday, and I'm gearing up to leave in about six hours for the filming we weren't supposed to be able to do.
I think God must laugh at us sometimes, in a good way. Not to say that He wadded up my plans and threw them in the trash and dug them out and gave them back to me just for the fun of it, but I bet it was a little bit funny to Him. Probably a little bit sad, too: "How hard is it for him to trust Me?"
Hopefully, a little less hard after Tuesday. In the meantime, I still feel good. Have I fallen on my face since then, messed up, wasted opportunities? Yeah, and that hasn't felt good. But I know He's with me, always ready to pick me up, dust me off, and set my feet in the right direction again.
I love you, Father.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
I Feel Good (NA-na-NA-na-NA-na-NA)
Last night, I found out that my plans for this weekend had been utterly crushed. Crumpled up into a little ball and tossed into the trash can. Not what I was wanting to hear.
These weren't the oh-here's-what-I'll-probably-do-if-I-have-time-and-don't-just-decide-to-sit-at-home-and-read-a-book type plans; these were the life-or-death-and-i-can-already-sense-suffocation-setting-in-if-they-fall-through type plans. Uh, yeah.
Our movie is far behind schedule. We were hoping to have the filming finished by the end of July. It's August 7th, and we're only approximately halfway done. We had planned to get some major stuff done on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday -- to the tune of 10-12 scenes.
And I found out last night that we wouldn't be able to do it. And I found out this morning that the next weekend was not an option for our Friday-Saturday stuff.
Sometimes I wonder if God has any purpose for this movie beyond making it an exercise in trust. I know He does, but so far He indeed has used it as a major test of my faith. I failed it initially. When my brother broke the news to me last night, I was hopping mad. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it very well may not be the last.
But today I have realized again that God is the one who crumpled up my plans and threw them in the trash can. It was His plan, His perfect will, for me to have my weekend plans fall through. It was always His plan, and He's not one bit worried or concerned or angry because He knows exactly what He's doing, and it's far better than what I try to do. Makes it kinda hard to complain, huh?
The weekend fall-through is, of course, not the end of the world. Or even the end of the movie. There are other options, other ways, other paths, and somehow we'll still get this thing done. If it's God's will.
After discussing the failed plans with my parents, I went into my room for my daily quiet time. My reading just "happened" to be Philippians 2; this made it very difficult to focus inward (try reading it sometime and then focusing on yourself; it's hard). Then I remembered a passage that my dad had referenced in a sermon several weeks ago, one that I had reread and found especially applicable to my own life. I read it again, and was struck once again by the clear fact that God wrote it for me. It's Psalm 37 if you want to go check it out, which I recommend.
Verses 23 and 24 were especially poignant:
A man's steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.
How cool is it to have "the King of the universe hold your hand", as a song by Pocket Full of Rocks says? Those verses lifted me up, gave me a firm swat on the bottom, and made me feel better; you usually do after a spanking.
Then I talked to Lana about the filming ordeal. She was such an encouragement, taking the news calmly (unlike me), helping me look through options, and voicing encouragement. The combined effort of my quiet time and my friend made it impossible for me to feel bad anymore.
Nope, by the grace of God, I'm hoppin' HAPPY! It was such a weird feeling as I got off the phone with her, because I knew it was a happiness that didn't come from myself. I had given the movie completely to God, letting Him know that He can do with it what He wants. If He doesn't want it finished, that's okay with me, because it's what He wants.
Not that I really believe He doesn't want us to finish it. It would be a hard pill to swallow if He gave it to me. But ultimately, if He were to tell me that, I'd be torn up, but it'd be all right, because He's in control.
I feel like singing. Ah, maybe not "I Feel Good" (the title of this post), but perhaps one of the new songs we'll be playing at Fan the Flame. Part of it goes:
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
No matter what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be all right
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His Word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
Yeah, baby! Do we serve an awesome God, or what? Hey, please come to FtF on August 25, because you're gonna hear one pumped-up dude leading the songs! God is awesome! I feel good and I'm praising Him!
These weren't the oh-here's-what-I'll-probably-do-if-I-have-time-and-don't-just-decide-to-sit-at-home-and-read-a-book type plans; these were the life-or-death-and-i-can-already-sense-suffocation-setting-in-if-they-fall-through type plans. Uh, yeah.
Our movie is far behind schedule. We were hoping to have the filming finished by the end of July. It's August 7th, and we're only approximately halfway done. We had planned to get some major stuff done on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday -- to the tune of 10-12 scenes.
And I found out last night that we wouldn't be able to do it. And I found out this morning that the next weekend was not an option for our Friday-Saturday stuff.
Sometimes I wonder if God has any purpose for this movie beyond making it an exercise in trust. I know He does, but so far He indeed has used it as a major test of my faith. I failed it initially. When my brother broke the news to me last night, I was hopping mad. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and it very well may not be the last.
But today I have realized again that God is the one who crumpled up my plans and threw them in the trash can. It was His plan, His perfect will, for me to have my weekend plans fall through. It was always His plan, and He's not one bit worried or concerned or angry because He knows exactly what He's doing, and it's far better than what I try to do. Makes it kinda hard to complain, huh?
The weekend fall-through is, of course, not the end of the world. Or even the end of the movie. There are other options, other ways, other paths, and somehow we'll still get this thing done. If it's God's will.
After discussing the failed plans with my parents, I went into my room for my daily quiet time. My reading just "happened" to be Philippians 2; this made it very difficult to focus inward (try reading it sometime and then focusing on yourself; it's hard). Then I remembered a passage that my dad had referenced in a sermon several weeks ago, one that I had reread and found especially applicable to my own life. I read it again, and was struck once again by the clear fact that God wrote it for me. It's Psalm 37 if you want to go check it out, which I recommend.
Verses 23 and 24 were especially poignant:
A man's steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.
How cool is it to have "the King of the universe hold your hand", as a song by Pocket Full of Rocks says? Those verses lifted me up, gave me a firm swat on the bottom, and made me feel better; you usually do after a spanking.
Then I talked to Lana about the filming ordeal. She was such an encouragement, taking the news calmly (unlike me), helping me look through options, and voicing encouragement. The combined effort of my quiet time and my friend made it impossible for me to feel bad anymore.
Nope, by the grace of God, I'm hoppin' HAPPY! It was such a weird feeling as I got off the phone with her, because I knew it was a happiness that didn't come from myself. I had given the movie completely to God, letting Him know that He can do with it what He wants. If He doesn't want it finished, that's okay with me, because it's what He wants.
Not that I really believe He doesn't want us to finish it. It would be a hard pill to swallow if He gave it to me. But ultimately, if He were to tell me that, I'd be torn up, but it'd be all right, because He's in control.
I feel like singing. Ah, maybe not "I Feel Good" (the title of this post), but perhaps one of the new songs we'll be playing at Fan the Flame. Part of it goes:
God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
No matter what the world throws at me now
It's gonna be all right
'Cause I know my God saved the day
And I know His Word never fails
And I know my God made a way for me
Salvation is here
Yeah, baby! Do we serve an awesome God, or what? Hey, please come to FtF on August 25, because you're gonna hear one pumped-up dude leading the songs! God is awesome! I feel good and I'm praising Him!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Singing, Filming, Looking Forward to College
Pretty good day today; lots of singing. Our song leader, one of the pillars of our church and a great man of God, has moved to Clarksville. I am filling in for now (and now could last for a long time, which is perfectly OK with me), leading the songs on Sunday mornings and evenings.
Also, we had band practice this afternoon between services. It was a good hour-long session. We're going to mix in some new songs for Fan the Flame to go with some of the ones we've played for (seemingly) forever. I'm excited about the opportunity to teach Chris Tomlin's "Let God Arise" to our FtF audience.
Filming yesterday went pretty well; filming for tomorrow fell through. I'll try to provide a capsule of yesterday's filming at some point tomorrow. The movie's production continues to progress well, but a lot more slowly than any of us want. It has become a real test of my faith to trust God that we will be able to get this all filmed in His time.
It's been good, though. I continue to be amazed at the sacrifices that so many people have made for the film; and we're still adding new people to that "list". It's not only the ones who are actually involved on the film; often their families are forced to sacrifice time with them so they can be part of this project. It's humbling to me, and it also motivates me to try to do as good a job as we can and also get it done as quickly as we can. The latter is difficult, but again, I have to trust God that He'll work it all out.
Two weeks till school starts, at least for those of us who are enrolled in the esteemed University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. I'm kinda looking forward to classes at this point, which is pretty weird for me. I figure I'll enjoy the feeling while I have it, and it'll probably be gone in, oh, about three weeks. It may last through the first week, which is always pretty easy. I say always as if I'm an old pro, though I've only been through two semesters. Still, that's a significant portion of my higher education.
This year, my classes are
Advanced Composition - a writing class that I expect to be no more than the next-gen model of Freshman Comp II
Nonfiction Writing - a writing class that could be fairly fun and interesting, or could be a clone of Advanced Comp
Reasoning Across the Disciplines - a philosophy class which I know nothing about beyond the title
Europe: 20th Century - a history class that I'm taking because I had the professor in another class last semester and he was awesome; plus, the topic will be cool
Introduction to Theater - a, well, theater class that I hope will be a blast
I think I definitely am getting settled in to the whole college experience, though. I've always heard that the first year is the hardest, and I think it's true. Not necessarily in terms of the actual work, but in terms of getting adjusted and all that jazz.
And speaking of jazz: The biggest thing I'll miss about this semester is not having Don Bailey as an instructor. He is one of the many outstanding music professors at UAFS; directs the university jazz band; and taught my Music Appreciation class last semester. My verdict on him: If you go to UAFS, do everything you can to take him. He's an awesome teacher, if more than a bit unconventional, and his class is a ton of fun (and easy to boot!). OK, enough of my Bailey plug -- and this post. I seem to be getting pretty good at those long ramblings; the short ditties have mostly not yet materialized.
Peace out and go God.
Also, we had band practice this afternoon between services. It was a good hour-long session. We're going to mix in some new songs for Fan the Flame to go with some of the ones we've played for (seemingly) forever. I'm excited about the opportunity to teach Chris Tomlin's "Let God Arise" to our FtF audience.
Filming yesterday went pretty well; filming for tomorrow fell through. I'll try to provide a capsule of yesterday's filming at some point tomorrow. The movie's production continues to progress well, but a lot more slowly than any of us want. It has become a real test of my faith to trust God that we will be able to get this all filmed in His time.
It's been good, though. I continue to be amazed at the sacrifices that so many people have made for the film; and we're still adding new people to that "list". It's not only the ones who are actually involved on the film; often their families are forced to sacrifice time with them so they can be part of this project. It's humbling to me, and it also motivates me to try to do as good a job as we can and also get it done as quickly as we can. The latter is difficult, but again, I have to trust God that He'll work it all out.
Two weeks till school starts, at least for those of us who are enrolled in the esteemed University of Arkansas-Fort Smith. I'm kinda looking forward to classes at this point, which is pretty weird for me. I figure I'll enjoy the feeling while I have it, and it'll probably be gone in, oh, about three weeks. It may last through the first week, which is always pretty easy. I say always as if I'm an old pro, though I've only been through two semesters. Still, that's a significant portion of my higher education.
This year, my classes are
Advanced Composition - a writing class that I expect to be no more than the next-gen model of Freshman Comp II
Nonfiction Writing - a writing class that could be fairly fun and interesting, or could be a clone of Advanced Comp
Reasoning Across the Disciplines - a philosophy class which I know nothing about beyond the title
Europe: 20th Century - a history class that I'm taking because I had the professor in another class last semester and he was awesome; plus, the topic will be cool
Introduction to Theater - a, well, theater class that I hope will be a blast
I think I definitely am getting settled in to the whole college experience, though. I've always heard that the first year is the hardest, and I think it's true. Not necessarily in terms of the actual work, but in terms of getting adjusted and all that jazz.
And speaking of jazz: The biggest thing I'll miss about this semester is not having Don Bailey as an instructor. He is one of the many outstanding music professors at UAFS; directs the university jazz band; and taught my Music Appreciation class last semester. My verdict on him: If you go to UAFS, do everything you can to take him. He's an awesome teacher, if more than a bit unconventional, and his class is a ton of fun (and easy to boot!). OK, enough of my Bailey plug -- and this post. I seem to be getting pretty good at those long ramblings; the short ditties have mostly not yet materialized.
Peace out and go God.
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