Today's ENTERTAINMENT

Piper and I were never really movie goers.  We went to a few when we were dating and did not attend many once we were married until… well, to be honest… until the Toy Story type Pixar Animation movies started coming out under the Disney banner in 1995.

Piper… and I would include myself in this conviction… was always very particular as to what she and we, and later on our family, entertained ourselves with… be it movies, TV shows, books or music.  When we were attending Chico State University, we discovered a theater in a well-used building (mark that as having no air-conditioning) on campus that showed old, mostly black and white movies for… if I remember correctly… a dollar or a dollar and a half a ticket.  And since we weren’t interested in the active on and off campus party scene… it quickly became one of our frequently visited Friday night venues.  Most of the movies were good, although I do recall a few duds.

When I started dating Piper she came as a complete package with strong Christian values and high standards… all intertwined with an adventurous spirit and a “Can-Do” attitude… proving that you can have excellent moral ideals and still have a blast in life!

She exemplified her Christian values and “Can-Do” attitude in every area of her life, including her daily walk of faith.  Early in the 1980’s we were introduced to Jerry Saville Ministries whose motto was (and continues to be today) “Adventures in Faith.”  I think that you could safely say that we adopted his motto as our own and lived the rest of our time together seeking the faith adventures that God had for us.

When Piper became disabled, I vowed to her and to God that I would do all that I could to make sure that she would talk of her final earthly years… to her friends and family in heaven… in reminiscence of the adventures she and I experienced in North Carolina.  One of which I thought of last night as I watched a commercial where a young couple were driving down the road in a convertible with the gal’s hair blowing in the wind.

The scene reminded me of a couple of adventures we had together in my two convertibles.  The first time being in 1973 when we drove home from my sister and her husband’s home at Beale Air Force near Marysville, California.  I had purchased my brother-in-law’s 1966 MGB before they moved to their next duty station in Okinawa.  We drove off with the top down and did fine until we got on the highway when Piper’s long hair began to blow all over!  But she was prepared and quickly put on a hat that she had brought along… just in case she needed it.

The other adventure was the first time I put down the top on our 2009 Mustang GT convertible while driving through the picturesque town of Apex, North Carolina.  Even though it was mid-way through October, the weather was warm and I pulled over on a side street, pushed the button and was amazed at how smoothly the top disappeared into the boot behind the back seats. (A LOT simpler than the manual top on the MG!)

Once down, I pulled away from the curb, drove up to the main downtown street and accelerated into traffic… when just like before… or maybe even more so… Piper’s shoulder length hair literally blew straight up and all over and around her head.  She was fairly un-responsive by this time and just kind of sat there while I broke into an intense fit of laughter… so much so that I had to quickly pull over!

Luckily, I always keep an extra baseball cap in my cars and quickly brushed her hair with a brush I had recently placed in the glovebox and put my large cap on her head.  The next day we went to the store and I bought her two matching wool berets… one to keep in the car and the other in the house for our daily walks in windy and/or cold weather.

And speaking of Adventures in Faith… did you know that the Bible also gives us suggestions concerning what we entertain ourselves with?  Jesus Himself talked about it when His told His disciples in Mark 11:22-23 to, “Have faith in God!  For I assure you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea!’ and ENTERTAINS no inner doubt, but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be so for him.” (The Berkeley Version)

This scripture clearly tells me that when we go to God with a need, that we go into the prayer request with the understood decision that we will allow NO thought of doubt to ENTERTAIN us, to tickle our fancy or suggest anything but success!  Today’s entertainment industry is very well developed.  It seems like they can make some of the most awful and/or fearful subjects, or indecencies look exciting by the bright lights and trickery used in their presentations.  All they need to do is to drop the right image or thought into your mind and they got you hooked!

Well, that is the same way that doubt and unbelief can enter in to our thoughts and block our faith-filled requests.  Jesus was telling us to skip that channel, to mute that commercial or… do like I do… and record what you want to watch ahead of time, so that you can buzz through all those annoying commercials!

That’s also when having scripture memorized comes in handy.  Piper was always good at having just the right scripture memorized in order to speak out against any thought of doubt that tried to entertain her.  Over the years, I’ve also gotten pretty decent at speaking out the truth of God’s Word against doubtful thoughts that try to sneak in and entertain my mind!

Jesus had nothing against us enjoying some good entertainment… He just made it clear what entertainment to watch and when to turn the channel!  When it comes to my life… I want my faith in God and His Word to be the truth that ENTERTAINS and leads me in my daily walk.

How about you?   What are you going to allow to ENTERTAIN you?

 

Have a great new week, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING (and ENTERTAINING) God’s best for your life!