MOVIE & BOOK CORNER

Believe In Me

After accepting a job to coach high school basketball, Clay Driscoll is disappointed to discover he's been assigned to the girls' team. Clay starts playing defense, because everything seems to be fighting against him. He's saddled with a team he doesn't want, in a town that won't support girls' sports, and where local politics undermines any chance of a winning season. But the harder he works his female players, the more he sees that they're just as capable of greatness as the boys.

In, Believe In Me, Jeffery Donovan, Samantha Mathis and Bruce Dern co-star in this small-town sports drama based on the true story of an Oklahoma coach who led his team to the state championships in the 1960s. In the mid 1960s, in the middle of nowhere, girl's athletics could barely qualify as an afterthought to sports fans. The Middleton Lady Cyclones in particular, were an unmitigated laughing stock.

Though Clayton is at first flushed by the ineptitude of his young players, his frustration is soon tempered by the remarkable character displayed by the girls who want nothing more than to shine in the eyes of their coach. Upon recognizing the decency and resiliency displayed by his tough-minded team, Clayton gives the girls permission to become as passionate about the game as any boy would be. It’s an inspiring tale of perseverance, character, and redemption and a great look back on how girl’s sports were viewed.

If you are a fan of Della Reese and Ossie Davis, here is a movie for you. In, Chasing Secrets, a neglected young girl (Madeline Zima), under the thumb of an abusive grandfather, must escape the confines of her unhappy home, and finds comfort and support in an unlikely source: an elderly African-American couple (Della Reese and Ossie Davis). The three form a bond that defies racial boundaries and helps mend the girl's broken spirit.

The movie is set in the depression era in rural Tennessee before civil rights. It shows racism and the hardships faced by poor, uneducated white and black families. Lack of food and education are central as well as domestic violence. Prostitution is tastefully depicted, as improbable as that seems, and should not be a problem for families with younger children. All of that being said, bring Kleenex. This is an exceptionally heartwarming film and should not be missed.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4

Lo, children [are] an heritage of the Lord: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.
Psalms 127:3

THE GRACE WITHIN

(Read 1 Corinthians 15:1-11)

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.
1 corinthians 15:10

Anyone who has led a Bible study or Sunday school class or preached a sermon has wondered, “Did I teach them anything? Did I reach them?” At Easter, when we focus on the most central teachings of our faith, that Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead, we are filled with the joy of the season and want to share our faith with others. But too often, we feel inadequate and wonder how our words and sputtering can relay such extraordinary news.

How reassuring it is to know that it is not us, but the grace of God within us, that extends the message to others. Paul, who was perhaps the church’s first great missionary, recognized that it was not his work, but God working through him.

When we are discouraged and find it difficult to tell the good news to others, we can remember that God is working in us. God will be with us, giving us the words to speak and the actions to take that will witness to others. What a blessing for us that we can be the bearers of God’s grace to others.

God, guide me to speak of salvation to others, through your grace that is within me. Amen.

Pastors have trouble at times too.

The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel microphone, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mike cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:19-20