While I will agree with Zach that it was a bit slow, the overall content was very satisfying. There are deeply spiritual themes in this movie that impact me in significant ways, as was the case with the first one. There is something about story and visual elements that communicate in ways to me that other methods do not. I guess that’s why Jesus taught so often with parables. Here are a few elements that really resonated with me.

LUCY SEES ASLAN WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES

Early on in their return to Narnia, the children reach an impassable barrier. Lucy sees Aslan (the Christ figure) but no one else does. When Peter asked her why she could see Aslan and he couldn’t she replied, “Perhaps you weren’t looking.” How many times have I missed seeing Jesus simply because I wasn’t looking? How many times have I walked by opportunities he had created for me because I had my mind somewhere else? How many blessings have I missed out on by failing to follow his leading because I already had a plan that didn’t need him? I want to be like Lucy… I want to see through eyes of faith.

FORGETTING OUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH AND OUR DELIVERER

During another scene, Peter makes a plan to attack the castle of Lord Miraz. As the plan is debated, warriors dedicate themselves to fighting to the death. Lucy makes an interesting observation. She says, “it is though there are no other options. You will die here, or die there. Perhaps you are forgetting who delivered us the last time.” Lucy clearly understands the need to wait on the power and wisdom of Aslan to lead them. But Peter is tired of waiting. The attack on the castle meets with disaster and creates a powerful picture of how our impatience can have dire consequences… not only for ourselves, but for others. I understand Peter. Maybe too well. I am not a patient man. But I know that I must rely on my deliverer…. even if that means waiting sometimes.

ASLAN IS BOTH GENTLE AND POWERFUL

There is something absolutely captivating to me about a lion being the picture of Jesus Christ. I can’t really explain the internal reaction I have to the image, but it is powerful and it is very moving. What is so awesome about this story is the incredible range of character that our Lord has. When Lucy and Aslan finally meet up, there is warmth and joy, laughter and encouragement. In another scene, Aslan displays strength and power, and even judgment against evil. I know that is who my Lord is. He is all those things and more. There is something about this movie that draws me to him. I want to know him both in his gentleness and encouragement. I also want to know him in his power and strength. I want to have the child-like faith that Lucy has. The kind of faith that sees him above all others. The kind of faith that is willing to wait. The kind of faith that is willing to risk. The kind of faith that shows others that he is real.

You may not like it much as an action movie. You may be like Zach and decide once is enough. But I hope you are willing to let it elevate your faith. And I hope you are willing to let it remind you of what an awesome God we serve.

BTW - The swashbuckling mouse is a hoot. Loved him!

For another thorough review of the Christian perspective, click here to read the post at Christ and Pop Culture.

You’ll have to click here to go watch

This is frightening and enlightening on several levels.

FRIGHTENING

First of all this is a LEGAL matter as it relates to our country. Our Founding Fathers never envisioned a handful of people being able to decide policy and law for the population as a whole. That was and still is supposed to be the role of the legislative branch. It is the legislative branch that is duly elected directly by the people. That is why they are responsible for crafting laws and legislation. Every 2-6 years they must face the same people that elected them and answer directly for the choices they have made during that time. It is that direct accountability to the people that was designed to keep legislators in tune with the needs and moral code of the people they represent. The role of the judicial branch was to evaluate the legality of new laws in light of the U.S. Constitution, not based on their personal preferences and agendas. You see, the U.S. Constitution is the guiding document of our entire system of government. It was painstakingly and brilliantly written by men who wanted to lay the foundation for a system of government that would stand the test of time. And it has… until recent years. It amazes me how this country worked so well (that is not to say without error or flaws) for generations with the Constitution as our guide. But somehow we have reached a new age. An age where a small number or even individual judges can make legislation driven by thousands or millions of Americans and crafted by the legislators they elected meaningless. Further, we have reached an era when the judges who are accountable to no one can even dictate law, even though there is absolutely no provision for that in the document that we base our government on. What has happened to us?

ENLIGHTENING

In many ways, this is similar to what we as Christians have done with our guiding document - The Bible. You see, the Bible is supposed to be our source of truth. It is “a light unto our feet and an light unto our path”. We declare it to be the inspired written word of God to us. It is the source of our faith and where we go to learn more about our faith…. and about our founder.. Jesus Christ. But a funny thing has happened in recent years. All of a sudden, it seems to be open to interpretation. As if God didn’t really mean what he said. I guess he was just old-fashioned and out of touch. Surely the fact that WE are more enlightened now should allow us to make adjustments and even changes to what God put in place. Just because something made sense back then doesn’t mean we should abide by it today, does it? Shouldn’t we be free to legislate from our own bench? We should be able to dictate what faith should be today instead of being restricted by a document that was written a long time ago shouldn’t we? This is part of the allure of the New Age movement and what Oprah Winfrey is promoting these days.

I marvel at how frustrated I can be with our wandering away from our national founding documents, but how I can at times justify my own wandering from the dictates of God’s Word. It’s amazing how we can be so committed to certain principles as long as they don’t threaten our preferences. But as soon as our personal agendas begin to clash with other demands, suddenly we become very willing to put long-standing wisdom and principles at risk. What is it about us in our humanness that always thinks that our reality is different…that our situation changes the playing field…that we suddenly know better than the collective wisdom of the ages…or the truth of God?

Further, this is enlightening in that those of us who care about the moral code and foundation of our nation (Christian and non-Christian alike) must make our voices heard. You can be guaranteed that voices are being heard that contradict ours. And those voices are winning the day more and more often. One of the clearest ways to be heard is through your vote. It’s time to realize that our votes may be more important for those who will be supported and placed in judicial roles than in legislative or presidential roles.

Please pray for our country. And please ask God for help to place the proper value and role on his Word in our own lives. I know I am.

Archuleta did what he does best - he sang ballads well. But he also showed how limited he is with a very mediocre effort on the Chris Brown song.

Mercado displayed a lot of pizazz and spiciness along with some pretty good vocals. She is a far more interesting and entertaining performer than Archuleta, but she is swimming upstream against the judges. They are clearly in the camp of the Davids.

Cook had a misstep with the middle song by Switchfoot. Great choice, poor execution. But at least that was sandwiched between two other very good performances. He is by far the most versatile and marketable of the three. He should easily win.

The question for tomorrow night will be if the voters are swayed by the pronouncements of the judges or if they will elevate Mercado into the final against Cook. We’ll see.

Tonight we’ll get the answer to that last question. For my money, I’d rather watch Syesha perform than Archuleta, but we know he has legions of teeny-boppers and undoubtedly some love-sick women in his corner and Syesha doesn’t have. They will not be swayed. What’s up for grabs are the “Independent” voters. Just like the presidential election, this week probably hangs in the balance of uncommitted voters and how they react to last night, and how they react to the judges clear preference for DA vs DC.

Will it be David vs David….

or Cook & Mercado?

Tune back in for live coverage of tonight’s elimination. Right here!

Non-Elimination Stuff

• The best thing about the group songs is that they are almost over.
• Fantasia - I really grew to like her during the season she won because she overcame a lot and had a Macy Gray kind of voice. I still think she has the ability to sing like crazy, but I wasn’t too crazy about this song. I didn’t understand half the words and there was a lot of screaming… but maybe it’s just me.

RESULTS - WHO’S IN TROUBLE…

• Archuleta - First one out on stage is DA. There’s no way that they are going to officially declare his position, or anybody’s position for that matter this early in the show. OK…they’re doing the “going home” videos. Teeny-bopper girls everywhere (and a few of the older variety). These are his voters. this will be tough for Mercado to beat. Sheesh! (or Syesha).
• Mercado - It must be sort of overwhelming for these kids to show up in their hometowns and experience something like this. it must be somewhat surreal. I hope they all take in as much of it as they can because there may never be anything else like it again. I understand the tears. They are certainly tears of joy. Regardless of what happens, I hope the moment remains with them long from now.
• Cook - How about that… he only went to the audition to support his bro!  How’s that for a kick in the pants for little bro?  Interesting thing about watching the video segment is that it seems that Cook really does have the most diverse fan base.  It seems to span ages… and has both men and women, boys and girls.  That’s the kind of fan base that can sustain a stronger career than the purely female base that I saw for Archuleta.

Ok… we’re coming down to the wire.  Something is getting ready to happen.

AND THE LOSER OF THE “CLOSE ENOUGH TO SNIFF THE FINALS” ROUND IS……

Syesha Mercado… Well, the judges got their wish and the long predicted finale is now a reality.  It’s really no great surprise, but I thought that she really had a chance to upset Archuleta.  She has shown a lot more personality than DA and is far more interesting to watch.  She’s been in the bottom so many times, I don’t think this was much of a surprise to her.  She reacted as if it were a given.  And while I have thought for weeks it would wind up with DA vs DC, I would rather have had her in the championship round.  Oh well, it will be the Little D against the Big D.  I’m expecting Big D to put a hurting on Little D.

Good luck, Syesha.  I hope you enjoyed your moment.  And maybe you’ll have a few more.

JUDGES PICKS

• David Archuleta - A Billy Joel song is a pretty natural pick for DA, but it’s a broken record in terms of style. I must give him credit for the acapella start. Very confident, and very strong. He was rock-solid with it. I never have any real complaints with his ability, just that he lacks personality and depth, aka believability. All in all. a very strong performance though.
• Syesha Mercado - An Alicia Keys song is a bold and big opportunity for her to rise above DA. She has finally reached the stage in the competition where her personality actually shines through and complements the song. The song was challenging with lots of runs, but she delivered beautifully. She is a real player to make the finals.
• David Cook - Cowell’s pick for DC is really out of left field. A Roberta Flack song for a rocker dude. Nothing predictable about that one. But DC can really show some chops and versatility here, which I know he has. While it may not be the best thing he’s ever done, it is a huge complement that he can pull off something like this song. And the final notes were really strong.

PERSONAL CHOICES

• DA - A Chris Brown song may give him a chance to raise his game a bit. He’s been locked into ballads for a long time. And stumbling onto center stage, DA is showing his limited range. I give him credit for trying to show something different, but what he’s really showing is that he can’t successfully move out of his box. Plus, the believability factor plays into this one too. Trouble is brewing.
• SM - Fever has the potential to be really, really different. And after DA showed his limited range, SM has the chance to really put him under the bus with this one. What in the world has gotten into this girl? This is not the same girl that sange in the first 4-6 rounds. Big props for this as a personal choice. Very creative and I think successful. I’m really surprised by the critique of Abdul and Cowell. I don’t think she will regret it. Far more entertaining than the song DA just did.
• DC - Picking a Switchfoot song is really surprising. Switchfoot is a popular contemporary Christian band. Most people probably will not be familiar with this song, but he actually is far off the original artist’s quality. This is another surprise, because Switchfoot performs this MUCH, MUCH better, and I would have thought DC would match them. Critique may depend on their familiarity with it. At least Randy knows them, and knows he missed it.

PRODUCER CHOICES

• DA - Singing another snoozer song, DA does the Dan Fogleberg song, “Longer”. Fogleberg is actually a Peoria, IL native, where I am blogging from. This song is much more in tune with DA’s abilities. He’s good at what he’s good at… he’s the ballad man. I think Randy wants him to sing the phone book… just a guess.
• SM - Another up-tempo song for her. She has become an actual performer, not just a singer. Maybe that’s the best description of the difference between her and DA… he’s purely a singer. It appears to me that the judges are still pulling for the David vs David finale. I don’t know why. Archuleta is as exciting as watching wall paper dry. At least she offers some spice.
• DC - I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing seems like a good pick for him. But he seems to still be a little off. Looks like he’s starting to settle into the song though and hit his stride. Very good finish. I think the crowd liked it.

FINAL ANALYSIS

Archuleta did what he does best - he sang ballads well. But he also showed how limited he is with a very mediocre effort on the Chris Brown song.

Mercado displayed a lot of pizazz and spiciness along with some pretty good vocals. She is a far more interesting and entertaining performer than Archuleta, but she is swimming upstream against the judges. They are clearly in the camp of the Davids.

Cook had a misstep with the middle song by Switchfoot. Great choice, poor execution. But at least that was sandwiched between two other very good performances. He is by far the most versatile and marketable of the three. He should easily win.

The question for tomorrow night will be if the voters are swayed by the pronouncements of the judges or if they will elevate Mercado into the final against Cook. We’ll see.

Since there are only three to rank this week, I thought I would go back and check my earlier rankings against the results. After the review, this week’s rankings are at the bottom of the post.

PREDICTIONS FOR THE FINAL 12 (From Week 1)

Click here to check out all the rankings from that week

Guys

1. David “Aw Shucks” Archuleta

• Strengths
• Overall like-ability; raspy-edged mature voice; speed-dial teen girl fans, confident performer, “aw shucks” personality
• Weaknesses
• Too low-key so far, front-runner status can be disadvantage

2. Michael “Double D” Johns - “Dingo Dude”

• Strengths
• An Australian accent (always a plus), a strong voice, ability to do “foreign songs” well
• Weaknesses
• Is either really good, or just average, still hasn’t risen to the level of his “Bohemian Rhapsody” standard since then

3. David “Help Me With My Hair” Cook

• Strengths
• Has the most “edge” to his voice of any of the dudes left, seems to be comfortable with himself, benefitted by comparison to Carrico
• Weaknesses
• Demeanor, dude just doesn’t seem to be “in it”, May be trying too hard to be cool with an “I don’t care” ‘tude.

GALS

1. Brooke “I Dare You Simon” White

• Strengths
• Totally unique among all the women, strongly reminiscent of Carly Simon (which can NEVER be a bad thing), underestimated
• Weaknesses
• Whole new world for a girl that has never even seen an R-rated movie(although I admire that), environment and experience may catch up to her and overwhelm her

2. Carly “Take 2″ Smithson

• Strengths
• Incredibly strong voice, LOTS of experience
• Weaknesses
• A previous contract, too MUCH experience, I think voters will eventually think twice before giving her the win because of it

3. Syesha Mercado

• Strengths
• Winning personality, good vocals
• Weaknesses
• Seems a bit frail and sickness-prone, not particularly distinctive which could drop her lower unless voters find something more to latch onto

Overall, not to bad. 2 out of my top 3 ranked guys are still standing, and 2 of my top 3 ranked gals made it to the last two gals in it. On top of that, some of my assessments were dead on too.  So what does that mean going into the final three rankings?  Not much.  :-)  Here they are…..

THIS WEEK’S RANKINGS

1. David Cook - Cook remains the man to beat. he’s got everything a recording company could ask for. It’s not even debatable whether or not he’s the best still in the competition. But whether or not he wins will always be up for grabs until the last phone call is made.
2. Syesha Mercado - In a surprise move, I have put Mercado ahead of DA. I think she has really found herself over the last few weeks. While neither her nor DA had a lot of personality in the early stages, she finally seems to have found hers. She’s not in the same category as DC, but her spunkiness combined with good vocals over the last several weeks plus the fact she’s the last gal in the competition moves her into the #2 spot in my opinion.
3. David Archuleta - DA consistently delivers quality vocals… but they lack conviction. You watch this kid and you just know he has virtually no experience with most of what he sings about. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it’s just that the emotional depth of a song can’t be explored if you’ve never been there. He was and is more likable than Carly Smithson who had a similar problem. But Carly’s problem was not so much life experience as just not connecting with the song or the audience. I think DA has shown he connects with the audience, he just needs some seasoning to become believable.

It’s a huge shocker to me to have moved Mercado past DA. The battle of the Davids has seemed inevitable for weeks. But a funny thing happened on the way to the finals… Syesha showed up. It may still wind up being a David vs. David finale, but I think one between DC and SM would prove to be more memorable.

I grew up in SC… Mother’s Day usually looks like a much warmer version of Easter. People are dressed in bright colors and enjoying brilliant sunshine. They smile as they think how wonderful the day will be as they enjoy a wonderful morning together in church and then pray that they will be fortunate enough to beat the competing churches to the front of the buffet line for lunch.

THAT DIDN’T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE TODAY IN PEORIA, ILLINOIS.

We awoke to a steady rain and high winds. The temperature was a wet and windy 52, which means it felt much cooler than that. It’s not exactly the kind of day that makes you wake up with a smile on your face. But it was Mother’s Day, so we faked it, minus the bright colors.

In spite of the gloomy weather, it was a wonderful morning in church together. We continued to point out different spiritual gifts. But since this was Mother’s Day, we focused on gifts that mothers seem to have in spades.

1. Teaching - Moms across the world have the important task of distilling tons of necessary information into a usable formula for their children. That’s one of the primary elements of a teaching gift, being able to put necessary knowledge into understandable formats for their student. Whether you’re a mom or someone on God’s team, it’s a high calling to carry out this function.

2. Faith - One of the most enduring pictures most people have in their minds is that of a praying mother. Mother’s have a unique ability to get ahold of God and trust him in circumstances that look hopeless. Lot’s of adults owe their lives to a praying mom. Within the context of God’s team, faith goes a step further and will put themselves at risk because they believe God’s promises. They will take a chance and run the deep route. And when they do, they inspire the rest of the team.

3. Helps - This one comes right out of the Mother’s Playbook. The difference between helps and service is that helps goes much deeper. It not only renders service, it comes alongside and holds up the other person and provides support. And further, there is a mutual exchange between the giver and the receiver that benefits both. What a beautiful picture of moms. But it’s also an awesome role on God’s team. These people become the glue that holds the team together and helps keep everyone strong and connected.

4. Encouragement - Mom’s are the world’s greatest encouragers. Only moms can turn scribbles into world-class art… dribbles off the end of the bat into near home runs… and make-up messes by 7 year old girls into beauty secrets. I believe this is one of the most widely available and under-used gifts on God’s team. Encouragement can often be offered for a cost of less than 60 seconds… but we are far too reluctant to offer it. There is seldom if ever a bad time to receive encouragement, we just need more people willing to offer it. But don’t offer it with the intent to receive back, that becomes flattery. Just give for the sake of giving and helping someone in their day.

Wherever you are today, if you have the ability, make sure you call your mom (mine is in Hawaii today.. I’m thinking of flying out to offer Mother’s Day wishes) and let her know how much you appreciate some of the things she did in the above list. And don’t forget your wife either! That’s right… I’m talking to you!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY

Almost all the gang below…