Lessons from Thor (i wasn't sure what else to call it)

I thought you dead./ Did you mourn?/ We all did. Our father.../ YOUR father! He did tell you my true parentage, did he not?/ We were raised together, we played together, we fought together. Do you remember none of that?/ I remember a shadow, living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss, I who was and should be king!/ So you take the world I love as recompense for your imagined slights? No, the Earth is under MY protection, Loki!/ [laughs] And you're doing a marvelous job with that! The humans slaughter each other in droves, while you ideally threat. I mean to rule them. And why should I not?/ You think yourself above them?/ Well, yes./ Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill./ I've seen worlds you've never known about! I have grown, Odin's Son, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the Tesseract, and when I wield it.../ Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be-king?/ I AM a king!/ NOT HERE! You give up the Tesseract! You give up this poisonous dream!... You come home.

I love the heart of Thor. He continually extends reconciliation to Loki. His heart is for his brother to repent. No matter what Loki does. Even in Thor: The Dark World, after he says, "KNOW that WHEN you betray me, I will kill you," he says, "I wish I could trust you." After everything that happened, after Loki killed him, he still forgives. While on Pinterest the other day, I saw something that I thought was quite profound. It said, "Watching Thor, I find it sad that Loki spends so much time wallowing in the fact that he's not Odin's favorite, but he completely misses the fact that he's Thor's favorite." It's most obvious when Loki dies*, Thor's grief is real and heart-rending.

Similarly, I think we, as Christians, spend much of our lives wanting to be popular or the cool friend or the favorite, and we miss the fact that Jesus is there loving us... Even after we killed Him. Sure, I may be stretching the example, but I hope you get the point. Jesus wants us to "give up our poisonous dreams" and come back to Him. To what matters. *side note: Yes, he didn't die and I was so upset that Loki didn't ACTUALLY die. He died so well. There was reconciliation. There was closure. Aaaaand they had to screw it up by letting him live

The Past Few Weeks...

I really need to get better at writing posts more often. I've been super busy of late, so my apologies for the three of you who want me to write more. I've started college and, between school and work, I don't have a lot of free time. The free time that I do have I am using to hang out with my friends. So, what has happened in the weeks of no posts? Frozen happened. Yeah, that was a great movie...

After several long years of hardship, my church shut its doors. I said this about it on Facebook... "It's weird to think that I've been on this amazing journey with the congregation of Peninsula Household of Faith for a decade. It was sunny for three years and then came this massive storm. It's been a long seven years of turmoil, pain, and rainy days, but it has definitely been worth it. I would like to publicly thank my Dad and Mom and Mr. and Mrs. Barrueto for leading the church through the trials of life. You were left with a battered and sinking ship, but you didn't bail. You nursed it along to its destination and, although it is time to retire the vessel, you didn't let the storm beat you. Thank you. To my friends who stayed true through it all, you don't know how much you mean to me. I will never leave you guys because you never left me. Lastly, thank you Jesus for being my strength and shield, my rock and my comforter. I know you've got fabulous plans and I know that there will be tougher storms, but you know what? I never heard You say that it would be easy. I definitely know that You said it will be worth it. I look forward to what You have next. Goodbye PHF, you will live forever in my memories." If you want to hear the full story (or what I know of it) just message me on Facebook and ask, but that's all I am going to say about it here. Where to next? Well, it appears we're going to start going to Mars Hill: Tacoma... (w00t!!!) They opened at the beginning of this year. It's pretty dope. I'm excited to see where God's going to take me this year. :) Also, I'm not even a big football fan, but the SEAHAWKS WON THE SUPERBOWL! And that's pretty exciting too. Ciao! Simeon.

The Angels Premiere

Well, I guess it's been a while since my last post. What's new? Here's a short story I wrote speculating the angels anticipation of announcing Jesus' birth. Please enjoy and let me know what you think... 

The secret has been kept for ages. Quite literally. Their mouths are ready to burst with the news. But they know their part and they know they must wait a little longer. The time is almost here. 

"Places!" There is a bustle of activity. Angels lining up, shoulder to shoulder. The air is ripe with excitement. Expectation. Ecstasy. 

"Places" the stage manager shouts again. Curtain call is almost upon them. The Director steps to the front. The cast is instantly quiet, waiting on their Master's word. 

"The time is just now arriving," the joy can almost be felt in His voice, "You have all rehearsed excellently. You are ready. This is going to be perfect. Gabriel, introduce the audience to the main event." In a flash, Gabriel blasts past the curtain of time. Into the sky of earth. God smiles.

"My Son is born. The Savior of the World." 

Gabriel lights up the Middle Eastern night, the shepherds cower in shock, falling down in awe of this being before them. Gabriel quiets their hearts with his message "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you:you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." The angels bounce a little on their feet. About to perform their one time show. 

"Now!" God rips open the curtain that separates supernatural from natural and in a flash the angels are at earth's doorstep. The sonic boom echoes across the valley. Only for a second. The angels sing a heavenly chorus in seven part harmony, the likes of which humanity has never heard before... "Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace among those with whom He is well-pleased." There is no need for an explanation. The message is clear. God has come to earth to save the ones who will kill Him. This is the story of Christmas. This is the beginning of the greatest story of all. 

Songs

The Reflection of Christ... Through Thor?

Okay, if you know me, you know that I absolutely love Thor, the movie, that is. 

I am so impressed... No. I am astounded with the way Anthony Hopkins portrayed the emotion in this

scene. 

The brokeness that Odin feels for his son's arrogant rebellion and shameless disobedience. The admittinge that he made a mistake in thinking Thor was ready. In a way (now I want to be careful in how I say this! as to not be sacrilegious or blasphemous), Odin is a type, a shadow if you will, of our own Heavenly Father. The Bible says that the Lord disciplines him whom He loves, as father, the son in whom He delights. Freya tells Loki that Odin has a purpose for everything. He chose to chastise Thor... To bring about change. He broke his son. In order to rebuild him. Because he loved him. It's so beautiful. 

And then, in this scene, Thor himself reflects Christ. Sacrificing his love to save his enemies. The frost giants. 

I find it beautiful that such a well-done movie reflects such strong Christian morals. Loving your enemies. Honoring your parents. Forgiving your betrayers. 

I keep finding more reasons to like this. I'll find more later.

What Does Your Relationship Look Like?

Do you follow Jesus as a celebrity or do you spend time with Him as a friend? Yes, He is Master... But He is also Saviour and friend. 

Forgiven

****

Another birthday? Wow. I'm shocked and blessed that I've been allowed to live this long. Of course, God's grace covers a multitude of sins, but wow, I've screwed up terribly this year. Offending wrongly has always been one of my uglier qualities, but I've crossed several lines that should never have been crossed and am still trying to patch those rifts up. I know that I can do better and, by God's grace, and with Jesus' help, I will change. Two decades is too long of a time to have some of the, umm, defects? Bad habits? Whatever. I think you know what I'm getting at. Well, l've got a year 'til 21, so here's to change. Change by Jesus. 

Be Excited. Jesus Loves You.

So, today, I was talking with some friends about how when you are alone in liking a certain TV show or movie or whatever, it's difficult to share your joy alone. It is. It just is. Then, in church, Pastor Mark Toone spoke about Psalm 122, where the Psalmist is saying "I was GLAD when they said too me, let us go to the house of The Lord!" I was GLAD. You hear that. He went on to say that so many Christians, too many Christian are more excited about the Seahawks than they ever are about church. How it's saddening that so many seats are empty on Sunday. How people are at church because it's the "right thing to do" not because they WANT to. His point in all this was, "Why aren't we sharing our joy? When you're late to church consistently, and don't care, it really shows where your priorities are. You dine and dash. You don't give, you just come and take." I paraphrase, but still, how true is that? Get excited about Jesus. Get excited that He loves you. Come to church, GO to church, be amazed and fall in love, or back in love with Your Saviour...

My Family in History

Really cool tidbit of information, my family (both sides) are in history... Simon Cameron (Simeon by some accounts) was the Secretary of War under President Lincoln at the beginning of the Civil War http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Cameron. His son, James Donald Cameron, served as Secretary of War under U. S. Grant. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Donald_Cameron(okay, I don't know how closely related we are, per se). But, something cool about THAT is that my Grandpa Cameron's name is Donald and my Dad's name is James.... Woah.


On my Grandma Nancy's side of the family, we have Christopher Gist.... Wait for it... a close friend of George Washington... WUT?! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Gist . Somewhere in there is a guy named States Rights Gist. I kid you not. His name was freaking STATES RIGHTS! Of course, he was a Confederate in the Civil War...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_Rights_Gist

Ummmm...

At times in my life... More now than ever I just step back and go "Ummmm... What the heck am I doing ?! Where'd God go?" I mean, obviously He is ever-present in my life, but what I guess I'm getting at is "Where did I put God? Did I set Him aside, on the back burner? Or, worse yet, off the stove? When did I become so focused on myself and what I want that I just disregarded His plan in/for my life. 

     Ok. Let's be real, it's not like I know what He wants for me, but there are times when I'm like, "Yeah, no. Simeon. Stop. This is definitely NOT what He wants. 

      God, what have I become? Change this hellish mess of a life to do something that matters, PLEASE! Help me live life to the fullest... For You. Not me. 

Tom and Jerry... How The Story Ends

Bend

There are those moments in life where my pride says “Be stubborn, ‘cuz we all know you’re right” but my conscience says, “Yeah, um. No. No, you’re wrong. And you know it. You need to submit. Suck it up. Do the right thing.” It’s like the angel/demon on the shoulder war. And you want so bad for the demon to be right, but you know deep down that the angel’s spot on. You know you’re gonna have to humble yourself before you’re humbled, but it’s so hard. And you know it’s gonna be worth it. That you’ll look back on this and think, “Why was I such a blockhead?” But in the heat of it all, in the thick of it, your pride, the flesh, it just holds on so tight. Yeah. This is what we call life. Maturing. Growing up. Sometimes life sucks. But we have to get over it. Stop feeling sorry for ourselves and change. The right thing is the right thing. No matter how we feel about it. Deal with it.

Dracula: A Book Review

        Having been around for a little over a century, Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” has been praised and commended or damned and shunned. Not much in between. I’m not going to state this as a fact, but a good portion of Christians seem to be almost “afraid” of it. As if the name “Dracula” is a black word. On the other hand, the story is so popular in the secular world, that every form of entertainment (stage, film, audio drama) has at least two versions of this story… My question is: “What gives it the repulsion?” And “What gives it the draw?” I’m not quite sure. Maybe it’s the vampire aspect. Maybe it’s the mild horror element. Perhaps it’s the dark supernatural villain. For me, I wasn’t really “repulsed” so to speak, and not drawn either, I’ve heard conflicting reviews. So I was curious. This is what I found: It was better than the negative reviews made it out be, but not as “fulfilling” as the people who liked it said it was. 

                 So. Let’s start with the cons. Superstition plays a big part in the story. A LOT of superstition. Towards the beginning, a frantic woman tries to give the main character a rosary, which he takes only out of respect “I did not know what to do, for, as an English Churchman, I have been taught to regard such things as in some measure idolatrous, and yet it seemed so ungracious to refuse an old lady meaning so well and in such a state of mind.“* Yet, when he comes into contact with Dracula, it is the rosary that saves him. Although, the significance of Jesus and His sacrifice is emphasized, it is downplayed. Evil has too much power, which is consistent with most horrors. 

                However, unlike most horrors, there is power: in prayer and in seeking God’s guidance and help. Although too much faith is placed in items, there is still the understanding that, without God’s aid, you can’t fight evil and win. Another pro, which is kind of spoiler, so stop reading if you must, Good wins! Also, I have read that “Dracula” was written with Protestant undertones for the express purpose of combatting Darwin’s “Origin Of Species” which may or may not be true. 
So, was it worth it? Yeah, I think so. 
Conclusion: Dracula is a story about a group of people who must combat a very real spiritual as well as physical evil using the weapons that the Church and, however minor, Scripture gives us to fight demonic force. Strong moral Christian worldview with a hint at universalism. I don’t “recommend it” per se, but if you read it, do so with caution.



*Dracula, Chapter 1 p.9