Blog Entry 949

Well, after a lot of thought and consideration, this entry, #949, will be the last one for Surviving in Safety Harbor.

Traffic and participation on the blog has been decreasing over the past six months. Most people now communicate, email, share pictures and stories on sites like Facebook. Maintaining this site while keeping up with Facebook and the other Sonlight Pictures websites has become too burdensome for me.

So, I want to thank all of you who have been visitors to this site, especially my Mother who has been the most consistent participant since the beginning. To all of you, your support, love and participation the past three years has been truly wonderful. It's been great to reconnect with old friends as I've documented the changes in my family and the growth of my faith.

This blog started out as a way to become a disciplined writer. It has succeeded. And through the process I have been able to share stories like my trip to California, my humorous struggles with Crohns and the amazing, last week of my father's life.

It has been a privilege to share these experiences with you and I hope you have received as much enjoyment reading them as I did writing them.

I hope you have a blessed Christmas and a fulfilling, faith-filled life.

May God bless you all.

What Do You Think?

Would anyone care if I stopped doing this blog at the end of the year? With Facebook and Sonlight Pictures and the Sonlight Pictures blog, most of the info here seems redundant.

What do you think?

Busy

Not a lot of posts lately. Sorry. Just really busy with DC's school, Gabe's baseball, church and holiday stuff.

DC was in a wonderful one-act at school last Friday. It was very funny and she was exceptionally good. We were so proud of her. Amazing to see my little girl all grown up. :)

Gabe's baseball has been going well. He joined a local travel team where they play on larger fields and all of the baseball rules are in play (leading off, stealing, etc.). It's been a wonderful learning experience for him and he continues to improve.

Dea decorated this past weekend and the house looks great, both inside and out. She's such a workhorse and really attentive to detail. When you walk in the house you can't help but be fully immersed in the Christmas spirit. She's awesome.

Tim and his girls came over to watch the Gators trounce the Tide for a shot at the National Championship. Yes "It's Great... To Be... A Florida Gator!"

Finally, my Mom stayed with us a few days. I just love having her over. We always have so much fun... so many laughs. Her laugh is contagious. Plus, she's my mom! I love just spending time with her. That probably makes me a mama's boy, but I'm okay with that.

Now that I'm finally over two consecutive colds, I'm hoping with some more quality sleep and a little more focus, I can get a lot more accomplished, especially on the Sonlight Pictures front. I'll let you know if we do anything of note.

BTW - Bucs vs. Panthers tonight. Hope its a good game.

Have a great week, everyone.

Post Thanksgiving Blows

I'm a night person. It's the way God made me.

When given more than two days in a row off from work, my body immediately leaps back into my late-night mode. Thanksgiving weekend was no different. I reveled in post-midnight movie watching and pre-brunch sleeping patterns.

I am feeling the pain today, however. This morning I was forced to pry myself out of bed at 5:15 a.m. in order to get my daughter to school on time. Having gone to bed at midnight didn't help. Having acquired my wife's new cold didn't help. Having awakened numerous times during the night didn't help.

How bad is it? I just bought a Mountain Dew. Before 8 a.m.

That's a bad sign. That's always a bad sign.

What I Am Thankful For...

Things will get busy over the next few days, so I thought I'd take a moment now to offer up what I am thankful for this year.

I am thankful for...

• My faith - It has grown and evolved to depths I never knew could exist within me. I still have such a long way to go, but the journey has been wonderful.
• The Sacraments - The more I understand my faith the more I appreciate the divine made available to us via the Sacraments. They are God's never-ending gifts that inspire us to greater lives.
• My family - My wife and children are the center of my earthly universe and they, along with my extended family, show me God's love every single day. What a blessing to have so much love from so many people.
• My mother - She is so strong, so independent, so funny and so spiritual. She is an inspiration to me.
• My faith community - We are so blessed at our church to have close friendships with a very large number of faithful, learning, humble Catholics who do their best to understand and live their faith everyday. We are all on our own faith journeys and together, we give each other strength and guidance during trying times.
• My job - I have always worked hard not to take my employment for granted. Every morning I thank God for allowing me to have an income and health insurance. Even when there were times where it was hard or difficult or unfulfilling... it is and always will be a gift and I do my best to treat it as such.
• Making movies - I am so thankful the Lord has allowed me to use the gifts he has given me to praise his name in such little ways like Club God and Purgatory, USA. I feel like I am finally fulfilling my responsibilities as part of the greater Body of Christ.
  
• My home town - I love living in Safety Harbor. It's like a small town in the middle of a big city. The people are nice, everything is in walking distance and the families we've met through Little League are top notch.
• And most of all... God's mercy - I am such a broken man... I am the definition of imperfection in light of God's true perfection. I have so many flaws, so many repeatable moments of weakness and lack of holiness. I don't nor will I ever deserve God's mercy, yet He continues to provide it. This humbles me to no end.

These are some of the things for which I am most thankful.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe and blessed Thanksgiving weekend.

PUSA - The Danger of Tiffany's Eyes

As we head into the Thanksgiving week, we've posted a very funny short behind-the-scenes interview with yours truly on the danger of Tiffany's eyes.

Take a look and have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Birthing a Script

There's a fun article over at the Sonlight Pictures Blog about the process of giving birth to a screenplay.

Check it out, if you'd like.

Purgatory, USA - Episode 3 Now Online!

The third episode of Purgatory, USA is NOW ONLINE!

Watch it HERE!

And don’t forget to sign-up to be one of our prayer partners as a Sonlight Pictures Angel and get inside info, behind-the-scenes scoop and pre-release viewings of all of our future content.

Family Movie Night

About once a month we try to settle into the movie room for a night and enjoy a film that is intended for the whole family.

Last night we took in the feature remake of the Get Smart series. I remember watching Get Smart on re-runs as a kid. It was funny in a silly 60's sort of way, as a spoof on the James Bond/I Spy type stories. The original actors, starring Don Adams and Barbara Feldon, have been replaced by Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway.

The movie, also starring Dwayne Johnson and Alan Arkin, does a good job of updating a 60's series while still maintaining its overt silliness. The story, though completely unbelievable, is still entertaining with the goofy world of the film.

Carrell and Hathaway are really wonderful as Maxwell Smart and Agent 99, respectively. They have a believable chemistry that brings much needed heart to a purposeful piece of fluff.

The family and I laughed throughout and had a wonderful time.


It's rare that you can find a movie that is both entertaining for the children as well as adults. When you find one, like Get Smart, you appreciate not only the film, but the time you get with your family that watching the film has provided.

Watch PUSA Episode 3 RIGHT NOW!

Even though the third episode of Purgatory, USA will not be released until this Sunday (11/16/08), our Sonlight Pictures Angels are watching this episode right now!

So, sign-up to be one of our prayer partners and get inside info, behind-the-scenes scoop and pre-release viewings of all of our future content.

You won't regret it.

Purgatory, USA - Episode 5 Shooting Completed

This past weekend we spent a LOT of hours in a very short period of time to complete the shoot of the fifth episode for Purgatory, USA. This episode deals with the concept of envy as Babs and Nikki try to land the same intern position at a local Christian radio station.

God was good and we were able to complete shooting a little ahead of schedule. Below are some screen shots.

Tiffany as Babs.

Dorothea as Nikki.

Catherine as Ariel.

Tim as the Station Manager.

Therese as the Station Manager's daughter.

Tiffany and Brianna.

They both vie for the same position.

Things don't go as planned.

In the next week or so we'll be posting some special behind-the-scenes footage specifically for our Sonlight Picture Angels, so sign-up today.

Dear Anonymous

I realized something this weekend.

I've been blogging here for over three years now, putting my thoughts down, my feelings and my theories covering subjects from illness to faith to the various stupid things I do.

Recently, when I've stated some thoughts I had about Obama or the election or faith and politics, I've received some very interesting feedback in the comments section... good feedback, thought-provoking feedback, usually in opposition of my stance, but worthy of discussion, none-the-less.

However, almost all of these differing views are inputted by the vague and faceless person called Anonymous. Either the person(s) didn't want to sign up for a blogspot login or didn't want to put their real name at the bottom of the comment or they simply forgot to sign their name... whatever the reason, their viewpoint is "personless." And, in my mind, valueless.

So, from now on I'm going to ignore any comment(s) left by Anonymous based simply on the fact that my ideas have a name and a face and yours do not. As a matter of fact, I'm going to delete all future Anonymous comments left on my blog.

Hey, if you want to disagree with me, awesome! I love a good debate. That's the way my father raised me. But, if you're not willing to attach your real name to your comment, then I can only surmise that you don't really feel that strongly about it and it's not worth reading.

So, Anonymous, where ever you are, feel free to stop by and read all you want. But, if you want to participate, at least have the courage to put your real name to it.

Otherwise, don't let the virtual door hit you on your way back out to the internet.

Funny PUSA Interview

In this funny interview, the cast talks about the strangest thing they've had to do so far while shooting Purgatory, USA.

Please check it out.

PUSA - Episode 5 This Weekend

I had hoped, but never thought we'd get to shoot another PUSA, but we are. This weekend. So, pray for us. We have to shoot four days worth of footage in 2 1/2 days.

I'll have pics and more later.

The World We Believe In

A lot of Christians I know are worried about the election. They're worried about Obama's excessively left-wing agenda including the Freedom of Choice Act which he promised to implement that overrides all state abortion laws and allows every abortion conceivable, including partial-birth.

They're worried about his socialist policies, of which he comments on but never denies. They're worried about infringing on the first and second amendments, on redefinition of marriage... on a lot of things.

A lot of Christians are praying about this election, hoping the society they know stays anchored in traditional values and faith. They're worried that America is turning into the countries we once fought... Russia and China.

I too have been praying, a 54-Day Novena for the Lord's will to be done during this election. And I've been worried too. But, as I was praying one day, it occurred to me that none of those concerns really matter.

Sure, they matter as far as the country and potential aborted lives and potential religious persecution... which are real issues and real concerns.

But a government's stance on anything has nothing to do with personal salvation.

Christianity was born in the Roman Empire... an Empire where slavery was common, pagan worship the norm, murder was for entertainment, orgies were a diversion, and perversion was commonplace.

The salvation of mankind is not bound by imperfect, human kingdoms or policies. It is universal, it is catholic and it is free from mans laws.

No matter what the outcome of the election, our responsibility to our beliefs, our life of faith has not changed.

Whether the FOCA is passed or not, women every day will be faced with a moral decision on whether to kill their own child or not.

Whether we are capitalist or socialist, people every day will be faced with the moral decision on whether money is their god, or Jesus.

Whether the definition of marriage changes or not, couples every day will be faced with the moral decision to remain faithful to their spouse or not.

Governments may change. Leaders may change. Social mores may change.

The Ten Commandments do not.

Jesus' teachings do not.

The magesterium of the Church does not.

So, have faith and trust in God, no matter the outcome of this election. Because, in the end, it doesn't change the focus of our own faith journey.

It may change the path, but the destination remains the same.

A Shoulder

I love driving my daughter to school. It's a nice one-on-one time with her and we get to talk about things we wouldn't normally have the time to share with each other. One recent conversation revolved around being the role of "the shoulder to cry on."

So many of my daughter's friends rely on her for advice and help. I told her this is an honor. She must represent to them someone who does not waver, who speaks their mind and who will be honest with them.

Still, it leaves my daughter with an interesting conundrum. If your primary relationship with someone is as their unofficial therapist, their go-to shoulder to cry on, does that make you friends or just acquaintances?

I don't know if it's my acting training or just my personality, but I've always found other people's lives far more interesting than my own. I love asking questions and finding out about their lives. I shared with her that, because of this, especially in college, I too was the go-to shoulder to cry on. I can't tell you how many people came to me after a break up or major life event to share their feelings with me.

I didn't mind it for the most part. I LOVE helping people. It's one of the few times in life you feel like you're actually doing something worthwhile, something that matters. I felt extremely blessed that they would trust me when things were so bleak and it was nice to be able to offer some assistance, even if that meant just listening.

However, this conversation with my daughter did get me thinking... I realized that many of the relationships I have with people, from work to church and everywhere in between, is really based on me listening to their problems and that's about it.

Many of these people I consider friends. However, it occurred to me that if I didn't ask them about their problems, they probably wouldn't interact with me at all. So is that really friendship? Doesn't friendship require equal interest and equal interaction by both parties? Or maybe the majority of the relationship has revolved around the therapist/patient dynamic, but that doesn't mean true friendship isn't in there somewhere.

My daughter asked me what to do. I wasn't really sure.

I suggested she step back and see who steps forward. That doesn't mean she won't help when needed, but it may offer insight into how they view their relationship with her. If they only come to her when they need a problem to solve, then she'll know. If they come to her out of genuine interest in her, then she'll know.

After talking with her about it I realized I should probably do the same thing.

True and lasting friendship is a two-way street. It'd be nice to know which way the traffic is heading.

Another PUSA BTS Interview

The fifth behind-the-scenes interview of Purgatory, USA is now online. In this interview I talk about the inspiration behind the creation of Episode 2 and how we must always place Jesus first in our lives.

Check it out.

Family and Fire

After an overall tough few weeks, last night the family and I decided to partake of the awesome weather and unwind outside next to a nice, comforting fire.

We turned off the computers, the television, the video games and just hung out on our back patio, chatting, laughing and enjoying each others company. I cooked on the grill while Dea whipped up some stuff in the kitchen, then we all ate on our patio table, enjoying the cool breeze.

We ended up spending about three hours out there, stoking a small fire in our portable fire pit, talking about school and religion and friends and faith. DC played on the guitar and Gabe interjected his unique brand of humor.

It was exactly what I needed. A nice, comforting night surrounded by those who love you most.

Disengage

Sometimes, do you ever feel like you just want to disappear for a few weeks?

I feel like that.

Voting Your Faith, Not Your Party

I read an interesting email this week that said, when we die and stand before God, he won't care whether we were Republican or Democrat. What he will care about is whether we chose to support him, including with our vote.

I thought about that a lot. Our nation has become so polarized. We are more interested in identifying with a party instead of with a faith. When Christianity first started, its revolutionary strength was that it was not bound by class or money or slave or master. It made everyone equal in the eyes of God and in the eyes of each other.

We should take that stance as voters. We are not Republican or Democrat. We are Christians. And we should vote in accord with our faith, not according to party.

In that spirit, I came across a great video that spoke to that exactly. It's short and really powerful.

Check it out.