Up...Up...Up....And Away!

Andrea and I finally saw the movie Up last night and it was fantastic!  For someone like me who really enjoys movies, we've really fallen behind on seeing any movies.  We might go to the theater about once a quarter.  When Abbie gets a little older, we'll be able to catch some good kid flicks.

Up was an all-around enjoyable movie.  While you probably already know that, it's a movie worth considering the messages/images that are in it.

1. Marriage- I loved that the movie showed marriage in a positive light.  Extremely positive.  Carl and Ellie were childhood friends who married and enjoyed a lifetime of love and adventure.  Even after Ellie died, Carl continued to express his love for Ellie.  Even though it's a cartoon, we need positive images of marriage and love.  It's important in our churches and our personal lives that we find our own "Carl and Ellie's" to be inspirations, mentors, and illustrations of how fulfilling marriage can be.
2. Life's Adventures:  Ellie and Carl had a dream to go to Paradise Falls because of their affinity for adventurer Charles Muntz.  Ellie had made an adventure book around this idea.  The final pages of the book called "What we did" was blank- wating to be filled.  Isn't that really how our live's are?  Our lives are blank pages waiting to be filled.  They are not pre-determined- yet God has a plan for us that  goes beyond what we could hope or imagine.  Do we continue to have a sense of adventure about our faith, our God, and our life? What kind of story do we want written in our book?
3. The Mundane:  The boy in the movie, Russell, when recounting memories of his father says "Come to think of it, it's the boring stuff that I remember the most."  How many times do we look for adventure, greener pastures, etc. when what is most meaningful is the day to day living of life together?  For me, some of my best times with my daughter are just laying on our living room floor and laughing together.  Sure, we could go to the park, or a play place, or the beach, but it's the everyday intentional living together that she will remember the most.  Can we find contentment in the mundane?  The routine?  Can we experience God while we do the dishes?  Mow the lawn?  Or are we waiting the the next big "experience"?

These are just a few thoughts from the movie. There are other themes that could be explored (Charles Muntz's obsession with this elusive bird (Kevin), What young and old can learn from each other). I'll definately be looking forward to watching this movie again!