Harry’s Last Stand: A Faith Based Look at The Deathly Hallows
In anticipation of the release of the two part film version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, I decided to post my review of the book that was featured on RelevantMagazine.com. This is more of a Christian, faith based look into the world of Harry Potter and his last journey. I hope you enjoy it!
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As the last book opens, we learn that war has broken out in the wizarding world, and Harry finds himself facing the forces of evil with only the company of his friends Ron and Hermione. Wizards who do not support Voldemort are forced into hiding, murders are happening every day and Harry and his friends are being stalked ruthlessly by Death Eaters. With a mark on his head and filled with doubt about his only guide Dumbledore, Harry races to find the last of the Horcruxes and defeat Lord Voldemort once and for all.
Reading the final installment in the much beloved series, I began to see many similarities to our own lives as Christians. As the world came tumbling down around Harry with a government overrun by evildoers, I saw historic similarities of World War II. In the novel, dark wizards take over the government and begin to seize “Mudbloods” (wizards and witches born from Muggle, or non-wizards). Propaganda was distributed declaring that the Mudbloods were dangerous. Money was offered to anyone who turned in a Muggle-born. These Mudbloods were then imprisoned, tortured and murdered, all in the hope of creating a “pure” magical race. All of this echoed what happened in Germany to the Jews as Hitler tried to realize his dreams of a “pure” Aryan race. There were also similarities in the story to what some Christians think the “end times” might be like if the anti-christ came to power and began to fight and exterminate believers. Harry, his band of followers and their adventures reminded me that no matter what, we as Christians should never lose faith and continue to fight for what we believe in.
“You Never Got A Chance To See How Good I’ve Done…”
If you watched American Idol this week you know that it was Mariah Carey week. Through out the years I’ve been a fan of her songs – some not even knowing that it was her singing. Those were mainly when I was younger and didn’t know who was singing the song unless it was Britney Spears or the Backstreet Boys or *N-sync.
So after I was reminded of the good songs she sings, I went and listened to her new album on iTunes. Found a few good songs that I absolutely love.
First off was Bye Bye, which is the song she sang on Wednesday night. This song speaks so much to me. A lot of it says the same things that I have felt over the few years since I lost my grandfather. If you know me he was very important to me and was more of a dad to me then I’d ever known then.
There are a few lyrics that just get me every time: “And you never got a chance to see how good I’ve done, And you never got to see me back at number one, I wish that you were here to celebrate together, I wish that we could spend the holidays together.”
The one thing I always wished I could have told him is that he inspired me to become a writer and entertain people just like he did through out his life. He loved to tell stories and jokes to you, no matter if you had heard them a hundred times before.
And of course the spending holidays together was always so much fun. I love the holidays so much. It’s so much fun to spend time with family and it’s never really been the same since he left us. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t had some great times since then. We just miss him.
However I know he is watching from above and is proud of me. And I hope to keep on making him proud.
And something I know he’d be proud of is that recently I’ve decided to transfer to a small Christian college close by and begin studying the field of youth ministry. God has been pulling me in that direction and I finally took notice and am doing something about it.
I think the youth ministry will go very nicely with my novel writing. At least I hope it will.I know my knowledge of the bible will grow and I’ll be able to translate that into my work so that is a major plus and I’m very excited about that.
Not growing up in a Christian/Church family I never really learned a lot about the bible – except for the many times I went to church with both grandparents or the few years of attending a Christian school – and that has always intimidated me when it comes to writing Christian themes.
Of course now I’m a little intimidated about going to a Christian college, but I’m really excited that God has pushed me to take this step and further my study of His will and word.
So all in all I think my grandfather would be proud of what I’ve accomplished so far in my life. Even though he never got a chance to see me back at number one, I still plan on continuing to make him proud.
Bye Bye – Mariah Carey
This is for my people who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high
We won’t ever say bye (no no no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends, and cousins
This is for my people who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky
Cause we won’t ever say bye
As a child, there were them times
I didn’t get it, but you kept me alive
I didn’t know why you didn’t show up sometimes
On Sunday mornings
But I’m glad we talked through
All them grown full things separation brings
You never let me know it, you never let it show
Because you loved me, and obviously
There’s so much more left to say
If you were with me today, face to face
Never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on I
Wish I could talk to you for awhile
Miss you but I try not to cry
As time goes by
And its true that you’ve reached a better place
Still, I’d give the world to see your face
And be back here next to you
But it’s like you’ve gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do
Is say bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye
And you never got a chance to see how good I’ve done
And you never got to see me back at number one
I wish that you were here to celebrate together
I wish that we could spend the holidays together
I remember when you used to tuck me in at night
With the teddy bear you gave me that I held so tight
I thougt you were so strong you’d make it through whatever
It’s so hard to accept the fact you’re gone forever
Never knew I could hurt like this
And everyday life goes on I
Wish I could talk to you for awhile
Miss you but I try not to cry
As time goes by
And its true that you’ve reached a better place
Still, I’d give the world to see your face
And be back here next to you
But it’s like you’ve gone too soon
Now the hardest thing to do
Is say bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
Bye bye
This is for my people who just lost somebody
Your best friend, your baby, your man, or your lady
Put your hand way up high
Cause we won’t ever say bye (no no no)
Mamas, daddies, sisters, brothers, friends, and cousins
This is for my people who lost their grandmothers
Lift your head to the sky
Cause we won’t ever say bye bye
Never knew I could hurt like this
I never knew it
Every day of my life
I wish, I wish, I wish, I wish
That as time goes by
And it’s true that you’ve reached a better place
Still I’d give the world to see your face
And be right here next to you
And the hardest thing to do is say
Bye bye
It’s hard to say bye bye, bye bye, bye bye
So come on somebody sing it with me, wave your hands up high
Cause this is for my people who just lost somebody
This is for everybody
Who kept their head to the sky
Cause we won’t ever say bye bye
(Am I) Lost & Found By Saving Grace
I just finished watching the season finale of Saving Grace. I must say there is just something about this show that is just so honest and pure, but gridy and edgy at the same time.
This is the kind of stuff I would like to write one day when I’m an established author. It’s raw, true-life kind of stuff. The show is non-apologetic about being very realistic. It doesn’t try to sugarcoat some of the realities that life throws at you.
But the great thing about this show is the writers have taken a gridy drama and put faith, God and angels in the center of it. It’s so refreshing to see something so good – in many different ways – on tv today.
The last episode really hit a cord with me. The performances were just out of this world. I have to give it up to the writers and actors of this amazing show. They did an excellent job with the sexual abuse story line.
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Desperate For Some Faithful Housewives
So Desperate Housewives was all-new tonight and as a fan I was reminded of how much I love this show.
First they’re housewives, second they’re desperate and third they’re hilarious. Now for the slow, let me repeat that. They’re housewives, they’re desperate and they are so hilarious!!
Tonight’s episode was a little shocking to me. And not for the reasons you might think. The episode was entitled, “Sunday.” And as you can guess it revolved around church, God and the number one Jesus.
Lately I’ve noticed a lot of Christian themed elements in prime time network television. You know what I mean if you saw last weeks American Idol results show that opened with the final eight singing “Shout To The Lord.” Yes, a worship song – one that if you’ve been to worship service you’ve probably heard this song a few times. This shocked me. I couldn’t believe it. They even kept in the Jesus parts. I saw again, I was shocked. Then I remembered the week before when they had Dolly Parton on a couple contestants sang songs with Jesus mentioned several times.
Read MoreOne Emotional Love Story
So I’ve been watching One Tree Hill on DVD and let me tell you this show is a guilty pleasure.
First off I love the story between the two brothers. It’s so interesting to see the emotion from these two and the tension that they have, mainly put there by their evil, egotistical, jackass of a dad, Dan Scott. I know you can tell I like this guy.
I love watching the relationships grow between all of these people that are at times so completely different, but at the same time are on the same emotional rollercoaster ride as the other.
I must say the relationship between Haley and Nathan is so magical. They have this chemistry that you just don’t see much of on tv. They are just the perfect couple. They look so good together and they are both good for the other. Haley makes Nathan a better person and Nathan gives Haley the courage to follow her dreams. I just love them as a couple. I also hated the fact that they split for awhile. I was actually screaming at the tv for Nathan to go after her. But I’m just glad they’re back together.
Read MoreA Little About Me
I’m a part-time writer, full-time procrastinator. I love romantic comedies and action flicks. I find the world funny and try to focus on the good and not the bad. But most of all, I’m just someone trying to find his place in the world and find love and friendship along the way. So I hope you enjoy these musings of a world of insanity.