Surrogates

Sam and I were watching that new movie "Surrogates" a few nights ago. It stars Bruce Willis and the basic plot is that like 15 years in the future everyone owns a perfected robot version of themselves that they live through vicariously because they are too self conscious of their physical bodies to interact with anyone. Interesting concept. Not the greatest movie, but it made me think a little.

Anyways, that's not really what this is about. In that movie, one character played the tech geek-dude, and was one of the only people in the film who didn't use a robot surrogate. This is the dude:

Recognize him? I did. Right away for some reason. I "imdb.com-ed" my hunch and, sure enough, I was right! He played a minor character in one of my favorite movies that came out when I was 3 years old. You've seen it. He's changed a ton since then (no pun intended).

Who is he?

Buzz McCallister from the Home Alone movies! Remember?

Don't know why, but I thought this was hilarious.

Paper Towel

Sorry it's been like a month since I've posted. Finding time to write is a challenge, but it's worth making time tonight.

So, my wife and I were sitting one our futon catching up on the latest episode of LOST (only 1 episode left, forever!) online when there was a knock on our door. It was like 9:00pm and we weren't expecting anyone. I looked through the peephole and could see that our screen door was open but there was no one standing there. Thinking that was a tad shady, curiosity won out over protectiveness and I opened the door.

I'm glad I did, because God answered prayer.

Standing at the door was this little African-American girl named Ester. She's in 3rd grade and lives in an apartment across the street with her mom (who is pregnant with twins!) and her little brother and little sister. She said, "Is Sam here? I have a note to give her."

When Sam got to the door, Ester handed her a note written in black marker on a paper towel (we don't know who Angie or Jackie are, but that adds to the fun):

The funny thing is, we barely know Ester. Sam met her a year ago when we first moved into our apartment. Ester was sitting on the curb by our carport and Sam introduced herself for a few seconds. Every time Ester saw Sam after that, she remembered her name and waved at us. The only reason we can think of that she gave Sam this note is because she sees Christ in her. We have never had a conversation that lasted more than a minute or two, and those are few and far between.

Here is the coolest part. Just last night we had a meeting for our summer Vacation Bible School program at church. A big part of VBS is the opportunity for outreach to the community around Grand, which Ester happens to live in. We often see her and her siblings playing outside and they have been on our heart for nearly a year. Last night, I specifically prayed that God would give us an opportunity to share the light of Christ with Ester and her siblings through the VBS program!

God answers prayer.

Praise God for the way He has worked in and through my wife so that a child is drawn to the light of Christ shining through her. It is DEFINITELY not anything we have done. The glory and credit is God's alone. He is majestic and mysterious. How fun it is to get a small glimpse into the way He is working all around us!

Anyways, Sam gave Ester some cookies to take back to her family, and we're hoping this will open the door to invite them to church and VBS. Please pray that God will reveal Himself to that family. VBS is June 13th-17th, please pray for that also. We are asking God for 75+ kids this year--

And God answers prayer.