Category Archives: Uncategorized

How Faith Helps My Fear (4 Lessons from Psalm 23)

Covid19. It has turned our lives upside down. One moment I’m enjoying my senior year at Lancaster Bible College, and the next I’m going home because I am no longer able to work or learn alongside of friends. There were so many people I was hoping to spend the rest of my senior year with. And I treasure the fun that I had. But with the universities closing and classes being moved online, things will have to change.

This isn’t your usual blog post from me. This isn’t about a movie I watched or a book I am writing. It’s about fear. Its about living in world that’s constantly changing, the threat of sickness and death, and how we respond to it. Many of you might not be afraid of this Corona Virus, younger people have only mild symptoms, you may think it isn’t your issue. But it has become all of our issue. The rhythms of life in America have been halted, the new normal reigns supreme, and in this time of uncertainty, we are very prone to fear.

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Sonic The Hedgehog Review

I remember the first Sonic The Hedgehog trailer. It was terrifying.

Then the news came out that Sonic was getting a redesign after the internet went into flames over how he looked. Still, most of us thought, “Oh… ok. So the Sonic movie might still stink, but at least he won’t look like some nightmare creature.”

But then the movie came out and people started saying it was a good movie. That’s when I got excited.

You see, as a kid I was always a fan of Sonic. I’d would often play the first few levels of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Genesis over and over again (because, honestly, I could hardly make it past the Chemical Plant Zone)! Also, every Saturday morning I would sit in front of the TV to watch Sonic collect Chaos Emeralds and battle Dr. Eggman in the show Sonic X! So when I heard that the Sonic movie was actually good, I just had to go see it myself! And so, a group of friends and I got together, went to the theater, accidently chose a showing with closed captioning, aaaaannnnnnnnddddd…

WOW! I am going to be completely honest. That was a lot better than I expected!

Overall I think Sonic The Hedgehog was a really good, character focused movie that manages to tap into it’s video game nostalgia while being something completely new. I’m going to try to keep this post spoiler-free incase you haven’t seen it yet.

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Mr. Rogers’s Friend: How Creative License Creates an Authentic Message. (Part 2)

Last week we looked at the recent movie ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ which featured Tom Hanks as Fred Rodgers and followed the character Lloyd Vogel and his conflict with his father. This week we are going to take a look at the article that inspired the movie as well as what the author has to say about it today.

In actuality, Lloyd Vogel does not exist. He never fought his father in a fight that ended with a black eye. The real man, Tom Junod recognizes this, Lloyd Vogel is a fictional character inspired by a real life person. But, as Tom Junod implies in his recent article from the Atlantic, that despite having a story that was creatively different, ‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ still contained a story that captured the core of who Mr. Rogers was.

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‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood’ Part 1: A Much Needed Nostalgia Trip into a hurting, but hopeful world.

This is part one of a two part blog series, the first installment will act as a movie review while the second one will dive into the story behind the movie. Please enjoy!

‘A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,‘ is a beautifully done movie, directed by Marielle Heller, that dives deep into the friendship between Lloyd Vogel (inspired by the real-life journalist Tom Junod) and the children’s TV show host Fred Rogers. The movie is ‘inspired by’ a real life story and features an invaluable lesson that we all need to hear. Minor spoilers ahead!!!

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