With Heart and Soul

Jesus Follower. Writer. Actor. Living life with no regrets.

[sarahisawriter-deactivated20230]

Dear Entitled Male Comic Book Enthusiasts… Captain Marvel Isn’t For You

Dear Entitled Male Comic Book Enthusiasts, Captain Marvel isn’t for you.

Well, technically it is. It’s a movie, and movies are made for everyone. Except the Amish. (KEEP DOING YOU, AMISH.)

When I say “it isn’t for you,” what I’m really saying is that your preconceived criticisms of it are invalid. Every time you have a problem with a trailer, or with the marketing, or with the origins, or the theories, or the CGI, or the lack of a damn smile on Brie Larson’s face (seriously?) …your opinions are not the point.

10-year-old me is the point.

Exposition: The original Sam Raimi Spider-Man came out in Summer of 2001. I dragged my parents and toddler sister on opening weekend, and from that moment on, I’ve had a love affair with superheroes. Sure, I watched a lot of the cartoons growing up. X-Men, the unrivaled Batman series, even classic likes Justice League and Sailor Moon… who is TOTALLY AN ANIME SUPERHERO DONT @ ME….

When the DVD went available for pre-order at Blockbuster (I’m a human relic of ancient times), I saved my allowance and jumped on it. I watched it and watched it again. I watched all the deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage. I even watched the godforsaken “Hero” music video at least 900 times because it made me feel like a badass. The 2000s were simpler times.

Then Garett happened.

He was the cute boy in my homeschool co-op every girl had a crush on because he played baseball and had blue eyes and his forearms had hair. We were enamored and all vied for his attention. Including chubby, socially awkward, prepubescent me.

My best come on: “DID YOU SEE THE NEW SPIDER-MAN MOVIE YET?”

Keep in mind, the only experience I had with boys at this point was the one time I made out with my red Power Ranger doll when I was five. Come to think of it, that’s still my only experience with a boy and now you know too much.

He and his friends made fun of me endlessly for liking superheroes after that. Looking back on it, it wasn’t a big deal. Kids get bullied, so what? I certainly dealt with my fair share of size jokes all throughout adolescence. Thing is though, there’s a different nerve that’s struck when someone makes fun of you for something that you love. It makes you feel ashamed and silly, like you shouldn’t love it and you’re ignorant to have ever loved it in the first place. Especially when you’re a girl.

You know what’s strange about that? That feeling never ever goes away. Not even when you’re a grown up. We learn how to hide those insecurities a lot better, but they still sting, don’t they?

I still had a closeted love for superheroes after that, namely the aforementioned Spider-Man, who I was far more open about enjoying between Tobey and eventually Andrew’s cinematic outings, but part of me died the day Garrett told me I shouldn’t care. His opinion mattered to me, and even when he was a distant memory, the thing he planted that day still lived there.

I moved to Idaho for several months back in 2016. No offence to the beautiful state and the lovely souls who live there, but it was truly one of the worst decisions of my life. One of the worst “wrong place at the wrong time” scenarios ever known to man. Everything fell apart at once. My job, my housing, my friendships, even my car, which I didn’t realize till I was back in Nashville. POTHOLES: THE SILENT KILLER.

What got me through it, if you’ll allow me to be that corny for a moment, were superheroes.

I’d watched several movies in the MCU up till that point and didn’t think much of them, but before I moved, I decided I wanted to start watching them in order and give them another try. I gave them a second chance, but in a very cheesy, convoluted way, they ended up saving my life. Living in Idaho was the closest I’d ever been to going off the edge. Getting home and watching those movies every night, seeing stories of overcoming darkness and being strong enough to face your fears and to show up for the battles you’re facing gave me, a single AF 25-year-old white girl, the courage to keep going.

I’m 27 now, and these stories still make me feel the same way. Only now, I have the self-assurance to own it, the courage to say that though the medium of lights and sounds and super soldiers and wizards and geniuses and assassins and magical stones that can be used wipe out half of the population (too soon?), I’m encouraged to keep showing up for this life. I could go on and on about this, but I have friends who’ve voiced this remarkably better than I can.

And that’s why Captain Marvel isn’t for you. It’s for us.

It’s for every little girl who grew up playing with Disney Princesses….and Power Rangers.

It’s for the ones like us who’ve been picked on by people telling us that what we love is dumb, or that we’ll never be loved if we like different things, or that “superheroes are for boys.”

And sure, we have an iconic moment like Wonder Woman a few years ago that showed the world that female fronted superhero films not only can work, but are sorely overdue, still there’s something different about this one, something that excites me because there is a sense of urgency and importance with its release.

The thing that tells little girls that we can be soft and strong at the same time. That we can be leaders, that our voices matter and our futures won’t be defined by the Garretts of this world that tell us what can and can’t matter to us.

This one is for us.

(Feel the same way? Help send the li’l heroines from Girls Inc. LA to see the film! https://www.gofundme.com/captainmarvel)

[vi-et-amino]

All of this. 

[unkaglen]

ATTENTION CHRISTIANS EVERYWHERE: If you see a natural disaster, or an act of terrorism, or personal human tragedy of any sort, instead of trying to explain the theological meaning of why it happens to us, try following this simple three step process: 1) say, “I’m sorry this happened to you”, 2) ask, “how can I help?”, 3) do whatever comes up in item #2. …Thank you. As you were.

Unka Glen (unkaglen.tumblr.com)

A reblog of a post from 4 years ago, it seemed like we might need to revisit this.

(via unkaglen)

[unkaglen]

Are you one of THOSE people?

Anonymous asked: Hi Unka! First off, you’re awesome. Secondly, for the past few years, I’ve been identifying myself with more than just the gender I was born with (female). Many days, I identified as a male, other days, I felt like neither. I was fine with being genderfluid, yet I know I won’t be accepted if I come out to my family. And I’m scared that God won’t accept me too. I want to be happy and open with who I am, but I’m so scared of losing His presence because of what I am. I know there are several verses in the Bible confirming His love and that He’ll never leave me, but I feel so lost and abandoned. Thanks, Unka! <3

Unka Glen answered: First off, no, YOU’RE awesome. Second, if you can dig it, I accept you like crazy, and if an unholy little monkey like myself can accept you, I think we can easily assume that God will never leave you or forsake you. All too often we assume that God’s holiness makes Him less likely to be accepting and understanding of our funny little ways, so let’s take a look at that.

A being of perfect righteousness would be perfectly patient. An all-knowing being would have a perfect understanding of any struggle we could have. A being with perfect love would be full of grace. As the Bible says, “love bears all things.” God has made it clear that when one sheep wanders off, a good shepherd goes after that lost sheep.

That’s the opposite of rejection.

All of that you know, but what’s making this difficult is that society has a way of insisting that God won’t accept whatever they won’t accept. And that’s just a load of horse poo, to use a theological term.

You’re trying to put a label on yourself, and then deal with the fact that whatever label you pick will cause someone somewhere to be disappointed in you. And then you might change your mind again, and then that old label wouldn’t fit, and then a whole new group of people wouldn’t like the new label.

So maybe let’s forget the labels.

You are who you are. And God loves you the way you are. There’s a seduction to labels. We think that defining what we are means that we now have a tribe of people we can belong to, but as Kierkegaard famously said, “once you label me, you negate me”.

I don’t want to be in a category, I want to be a person. God made me to be one of a kind. He did the same with you. Believe me, if I was as brave as you, I’d wear a kilt every single day, because dang that looks comfy. Does this desire to wear a nice skirt say something funny about me? Who knows, who cares?

People don’t like confusion and uncertainty, but God is neither confused nor uncertain about you. Let God speak to you, and comfort you, and give you His perspective on all of this. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I’m constantly shocked by how loving and accepting God is.

[unkaglen]

God has no shame. He will love you, even if you don’t love Him back. He has no pride. He will chase after you, even if you hate Him. God loves carelessly, and without concern for His own broken heart.

Glen Fitzjerrell (unkaglen.tumblr.com)

[unkaglen]

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

ATTENTION CHRISTIANS: Let’s stop being mean, mmkay? Oh, I know that you feel like you have to be mean about some things because it’s in the Bible, but “speaking the truth in love”, according to Ephesians 4:15, is still the actual Biblical way to go about spreading, ya know, the Bible. 

Sure, but you still want to be against something anyway, right? Here goes: a church in a rich neighborhood passes the offering plate, and that’s their money, then a church in a poor neighborhood does the same. As a result, people are rewarded for ministering to the rich, and punished for ministering to the poor. That’s a wrongness as grievous to the heart of the Lord as it can be (as He made ABUNDANTLY CLEAR in scripture), and yet it’s systemically hard-wired into the nearly the whole of Christendom itself.

But bless your heart, here’s you, with your little truth detector, looking for something to be against, and something that huge goes right by you, and yet you’ll spot what you think of as some little theological flaw in something you didn’t bother to really pay attention to, and you’re off and running to give your opinion about it.

Oh, and that’s another thing, you know how we sometimes describe a person as “opinionated”? That’s not a compliment. Nobody really cares about your opinion. Or mine. Sure, some Godly wisdom and insight would be good, but think about it, when was the last time you actually prayed about something before flaming up a message board, or leaving a particularly troll-like comment on someone’s post?

Sure, if you see something wrong, and you feel led to speak up, do the Biblical thing and speak to them alone, Matthew 18:15 says that “if your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you”. I suppose if we’re using the language of the internet, that would be to send them a private message, as opposed to posting a comment.

We don’t need you to be the “sin police”, we know where sin is: basically everywhere. And yes, we all get wound up after reading certain things on the internet, and suddenly we’re hitting that “reply” button before we even think, let alone pray. So let’s all agree, give it time, let God’s opinion be heard, and if there’s an insight, let it be spoken in love and gentleness. 

Galatians 5:23 says that people led by the Spirit will bear fruit, and among other things, that fruit will be: love, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness. Galatians 6:1 says we should “gently restore” people who are lost in sin. The world is full of clattering, clanging, loud, mean, and ugly words. But to be Christian is to make the world a more beautiful place. 

Let there be more light than heat in your words. Speak the truth that sets people free. Love first, and speak second. Okay?

As you were.

[unkaglen]

Paul said that if your enemy is hungry, you should feed him, and if he’s thirsty, you should give him something to drink. He also said we should not be overcome by evil, but we should overcome evil with good. …And his life was at risk when he said it.

Unka Glen (unkaglen.tumblr.com)

[unkaglen]

If you look at your past and you feel regret, turn to the One who says, ‘BEHOLD I make all things new!’

Unka Glen (unkaglen.tumblr.com)

[thebridgechicago]

You’re afraid that there’s nothing cool inside of you, nothing unique about you that anyone would want, or like, or treasure; and there is. The truth is: you have stuff inside of you hand-tailored by God for you to bring to the table that no one else brings. You’re the only one whose got it, and we desperately need it.

Jed Brewer on the SayThat podcast (via thebridgechicago)

[yvonestrahovski]

[unkaglen]

Finding purpose in an unlikely place

sammylionheart asked: Is it possible to be called for a ‘secular’ life mission? I’m just wondering because I am quite certain that God called me to a cause, but it’s not of the ministry/Church/evangelical sort. Could I be right about that, or should I seek more?

Unka Glen answered: As it turns out, all missions are a part of secular life. That is, they all take place beyond the walls of the church. And all good causes honor God. And if there’s a Christian in that good cause, that Christian bears witness to God’s heart for good causes. And where there are Christians bearing witness to the goodness of God, there will be evangelism.

Ministry rarely has anything to do with organizations, or denominations, or sermons, or churches, or events. Almost all ministry is the product of two people having a simple conversation. One says, “here is what I’ve found” the other says, “this is what I’ve been looking for.”

It would be a sad calling indeed if you were imprisoned in a place where there are no lost souls, and you had to wait for them to somehow wander in of their own accord. It’s better by far to be in the world, and to roll up your sleeves and work at making your little corner of it a better place. And when someone asks the obvious question, “why do you carry on this way?” You can respond, “I was hoping you’d ask.”

If you’re rooted in God, you will bloom wherever He plants you.

[malediction]

Date day: getting cute gold kitty ears at the Korean supermarket just cuz

[vi-et-amino]

My beautiful sister <3

[unkaglen]

[thebridgechicago]

God has something that only you can do. You have a role in the body of Christ that is unique and irreplaceable.

Glen Fitzjerrell ( @unkaglen ) in his July BridgeBox sermon (via thebridgechicago)

[thebridgechicago]

God will speak to your heart, and He will do what He always does: call you to something crazy, bold, and outrageous that requires a huge leap of faith.

Glen Fitzjerrell ( @unkaglen )

[thebridgechicago]

If you lose joy, whatever caused that is not of God, and needs to be challenged.

Glen Fitzjerrell ( @unkaglen )

[vi-et-amino]

LA

I’m challenging myself to write one blog a week for the next six months. So here we go ;)

I can hardly believe that it has been over a year and a half since I moved to Los Angeles.

I’ve learned so much since I’ve been here and grown in ways I didn’t know I needed too. It’s been good stuff though.

Quite a few people from back home in Texas were concerned and skeptical when I made the decision to come here (and I have no doubt some still are). I heard all sorts of doom and gloom, 

“It sooo liberal.” 

“It’s expensive and the taxes are horrible.” 

“They don’t like Christians or conservatives out there.” 

“You’re going to be really lonely.” 

“It’s almost impossible to make it out there, you know that, right?”

I could go on but I won’t, since I’m sure you get the drift.

Now, to be fair, almost all of the above is true to some degree. It is more liberal in Cali compared to Texas, it is quite expensive (and the taxes are horrific), and some people ‘out here’ really do dislike Christians and/or conservatives.

‘I’m alone but I’m not lonely, for a dreamer nights the only time of day.’

I’ll disagree with the lonely bit, however. I am an introvert, so I like being alone. For a writer, alone is good. As for being an actor, I’m not that type of actor. I don’t love acting for the attention (that’s actually a drawback for me) or the adulation or the affirmation of how great I am. I’m an actor because I love to play in other people’s skin and live in their stories for a while and do things I would never do in my normal life. 

If I wanted, I could be doing something every single night of the week. LA is never short on entertainment or things to do and see.

Is it nearly impossible to make it out here? Depends on who you talk to.

For me, it should be impossible. I’m a woman, I’m on the wrong side of 30 (as in I’m not in my teens or early twenties and I have no intention of lying about my age like I’ve been told to), I don’t have any important connections or money to speak of, I’m not the right body type, and I refuse to play the Hollywood game. 

I once read that if your dream doesn’t seem impossible to achieve than it is not big enough. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement. 

In this world, my dream looks impossible. But with my God, impossible isn’t in his vocabulary.

Having said that, I do have people ask me about moving to LA and how difficult it is, etc. 

I’m not going to say it isn’t difficult. The many, many people who have come and left this city with their dreams and aspirations unfulfilled will attest to that. Doubly so if you want to go into the entertainment industry. 

If you are coming to LA for fame and fortune, to be lauded and applauded, to finally be appreciated for all of your beauty/talent/skills- this place will eat you alive. 

I truly believe that LA is just a reflection of who you already are.

I came to LA as a self-sufficient adult who knows who I am and what I want. LA and the industry will not change that. I’ve suffered rejection and setbacks but those things haven’t changed what I know to be true about myself and my faith. 

Since I moved here, God has given me a great apartment, a fantastic church, wonderful friends, and a job that pays the bills.

Have I sold a screenplay yet? No.

Do I have an agent yet? No.

Have I landed any major acting roles yet? Nope.

To quite a lot of people, that would seem like failure.

But Jesus up on that cross looked a lot like failure at the time as well.

I’m not afraid of failure or looking like a failure to other people.

I’m afraid of living my life small and living it according to other people’s version of success.

I came to LA because God called me here and I’m not leaving until I’ve done what he sent me here to do.

Do I know how that is going to play out or how long it is going to take?

No. And I don’t care how long or how it happens.

Maybe that makes me odd or a fanatic or even crazy. Maybe.

Oddly enough, I’m okay with that. 

-B.

[thebridgechicago]

Many times I’ve heard people say, ‘I don’t believe in the God I was raised with, but I like the God you talk about.’ You don’t have to overcome what messed up people do or say about Jesus. Just love, and know that a simple act of love speaks louder than anything else.

Glen Fitzjerrell ( @unkaglen )