Dear readers,
I feel like I've been gone for far too long. I've been promising a monologue and still have not delivered. For that, I apologize. It will be coming in the next week. So many exciting things are happening, I hope. I recently got some great ideas for tv series. I just need to gather some more material before I can make it a go and try to pitch it. My last screenplay is basically finished. My next goal is to get it filmed. I thought I could get my first book written, but so far no real luck. Other inspiration may be needed for that endeavor. All I know is I've been busy in the background writing away and felt bad because I felt like I was neglecting those of you that I see at least checking back every once in awhile. I hope I can keep your interest for just a little bit longer as more starts to come out. ~CeCe True Hero A Review of True Strength by Kevin Growing up my tv hero awas Hercules. I understood that these were characters on tv played by actors, but they were still my heroes. I never missed an episode. I knew exactly when it was coming on and even if my parents decided not to tune in that week, I always did. I noticed in Season 4 that there was less of Hercules and when he was on the show, he didn’t look the same. I wouldn’t find out for at least fifteen years. Fast forward to the present day. My next with the actor behind Hercules came in the form of Christian based films. The first of the was God’s Not Dead. This film came to me at a time in my life when things were kind of low. I’ve struggled for many years, but more of that in another piece. The point is I’ve argued with God for years. Shortly after watching this film I found What If. Both of these films came at a time when I needed a way to escape myself and the thoughts in my head. These movies led me to to seek out True Strength. This book is Sorbo’s story. The terror he experienced due to something that back in the ’90’s had no name. It seemed like an anomaly. His aggravation over his limitations are easily expressed. The depression that engulfed his life after losing something that defined him and his struggle back to health are compelling and well worth the read. When I picked up the book I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I figured this was just some backstory leading to his great success. Maybe an explanation to my observations as a child. I did not expect to be taken on a journey of fear, tears, hope and something I could relate to on a personal level. What I got was a look at the true hero behind my childhood hero. Before I continue I just want to tell those reading this that I do not place him higher than the great men and women who fight for this country. They will hold my highest respects. What I'm saying that is through the hard times, the frustration that life threw at him, Sorbo managed with lots of help to persevere even when he wanted to throw in the towel. I’m also not here to retell his story. It is HIS story and I could never do it justice. Those interested after reading this though, I encourage you to read the book. I don’t suggest an audio copy for I feel you would lose his inflection and his message. While reading this book, I couldn’t help but think of a quote from the Disney film Hercules: “For a true hero isn’t measured by his strength, but by the strength of his heart” Zeus Hercules (1997) So what makes a hero? The above quote says it all for me. Those familiar with the Disney film know that Hercules give up his strength to save Meg then miraculously regains it. To return to Mount Olympus as a god Hercules must prove himself a true hero. I’m not saying that any of us are part god, but we all have that power to be a hero and Sorbo was no different. When he started out he was Hercules, one of the strongest characters in mythology. He had it all and could take any hit. When life knocked him down and seemed to steal his very identity. He was lost. I know that feeling. Depression came with it as new limitations were discovered each day. He was no longer that strong person who needed help from no one, but seemed to help everyone. He lashed out angrily at those around him, including his wife. What he faced would not have a name for some time. His life had been defined by this iconic character and now even that seemed gone for good. I understand the feeling, though not nearly on his level. But here’s where the hero comes back in. He had a deal for a major movie that he pulled out of. Thinking at the time it was weakness, I disagree with his assessment. That, in of its self, was strength. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard or disappointing, but he did it for his own health while coming to grips with what was happening. I applaud him for coming back to finish Hercules and applaud him for knowing it was time to give up the character. He was forced to move on and accept the limitations of his new life. But I would not say that it was a defeat. With Hercules behind him, he moved into playing Dylan Hunt on Andromeda. While things were still not the way he wanted, they were improving when he let go of what he could not control. He stopped lashing out over small things. The symptoms he’d been facing, while still noticeable to him, were no longer debilitating. He began enjoying life again. All you have to do is check his filmography and be amazed by the amount of work he seems to get done in a year. If you check out his website it’s even more amazing. The hero of television is gone, though you can still find the seasons on DVD and Netflix. But the man behind the hero lives on. It seems that his real strength is not in the physical strength he exhibited on Hercules, but in his heart. Through the accounts of his illness and recovery he shows us his true intentions and the strength he had to persevere and get back out and enjoy life. I see the true hero now, not in the iconic television character, but in the man who brought him to life twenty some years ago. Thanks to the True Hero, Kevin Sorbo. ~CeCe Found the groove for a new story. I hope it has enough working to be my first novel, or at the very least my first novella. For those who looked at House Guest, you might recognize the characters. I've taken them out of that story and reverted back to original story line I had in place for that screenplay. It may not be nearly as suspenseful, but hopefully a bit more realistic and relatable. Liw Cowrl will soon be staring in her own story as well. Her full sketch is nearly finished and her role will be to repair a broken land and unite two groups of people who openly despise her. Down on the Dairy is on the back burner. I haven't decided what to to with it. It has the potential to be comical and dramatic, but nothing seems to be coming to me about the characters in their work environment. Hopefully more on that one later.... Finally, I've got an idea for a perspective piece on the hard or hearing. It may end up tying into Liw's story and they become one in the same about being caught between two worlds and trying to unite them... Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Thank-you to those that follow this blog. More to come as the juices keep flowing. ~CeCe Soul Harvest is the fourth book in the Left Behind series. It picks up right where Nicholae left off after the Wrath of the Lamb, the great earthquake that devastated teh entire world. Ray is halfway across the world, separated from his family. Buck is back in the states and unable to locate Chloe. Both are praying that the other is alive and neither will give up the search for their wives until they find the body. Rayford Steele learns that his wife, Amanda, was supposed to be aboard a plane headed for New Babylon when the earthquake hit. He believes in his heart that she is still alive, but is told she died when her plane went down in the Tigirs. Rayford will stop at nothing until he finds her body, even if he has to search the Tigirs River alone for the downed plane. Meanwhile Buck is back in Illinois frantically searching the wreckage of the a house for Chloe. He and Tsion found her car parked in the garage and he believes her body may be trapped under the building in the basement. He learns instead that one survivor from the neighborhood saw her escape the house and run through the backyard. He learns that she was taken by helicopter to a local hospital badly injured, but would survive. Now he must race against the Global Community to get her somewhere they can both hide and keep a low profile. When he gets there another surprise awaits him. While the searches are on, many Jews are converting to Christianity. At this time in history though they are known as tribulation saints. Tsion desires to return to Israel to lead the the 144,000 converts against the Antichrist. The Trumpet Judgements are beginning. But before this can happen the believers are sealed on the forehead and set apart from those that follow the Global Community and Nicholae. This mark appears to the Tribulation Force and can only be seen by other believers. With this mark; Rayford, Buck and Tsion, are able to distinguish who they can trust as people take sides in this war. Stay tuned for Assassins to find out what happens next to the Tribulation Force. ~CeCe From the studio that brought us ‘God’s Not Dead’ and ‘What If’, Pure Flix Entertainment brings us ‘Hope Bridge. This is a great movie for the current generation. There seems to be so much talk of suicide in the news this day, young and old. This is one boy’s journey of pain, loss and hope. Sixteen year old Jackson (Boo Boo Stewart from Twilight) has just lost his father. The family finds out that it was suicide and his father jumped from a local bridge. When Jackson gets into a fight at school over something another student says, he’s suspended and sent to see licensed psychologist, Dr. Eric Grant (Kevin Sorbo). This leads him to a therapy session where he meets Sopie. He enlists her in helping him to find answers to explain his father’s suicide. But will the answers he finds bring him comfort or just make the pain worse? In this journey of sucide, loss and struggle will Jackson find the support he needs to continue on? What will he discover about his father that may lead to his own final decision? This film is a great Public Service Announcement to all those who have dealt with/are dealing with suicide in thier life. It supports the the awareness and prevention of suicide that seems so common in today’s society. A warning that for some it may be too heart breaking to watch the affects of suicide in this film. We see an acting side of Stewart few have seen. In Twilight he always had a smile on his face. Here we see sorrow, pain, even anger in this young actor’s face. It shows great versatility in an actor of his age. I encourage others to watch this film. I hope that you can find hope to deal with the pain you may be facing. I also pray that for those that struggle that you will find support and be able to let go when you can find the answers or the answers you find are not the ones you seek. ~CeCe One man and his girlfriend are part of a local ministry when he takes a risk and leaves her and that ministry behind. Fast forward fifteen years, the same man, Ben Walker (Kevin Sorbo), is walking into an office building on his way to a business meeting. His life is perfect. He has a high paying job. He’s just been made a pertner at the banking investment firm he works for. He jus proposed to a wealthy female in New York. Plus, with his promotion, he bought a new car. Oh yeah, sounds like the good life. Until that brand new car goes haywire and he wakes up back in the the little town he left behind. The angel, Mike, tows Ben’s car and sends him to meet his family. He welcomes Ben into the ‘What If’ complex. Ben is still confused. He recognizes his old girlfriend, Wendy, but not the kids in the house or even the house itself. He becomes even more confused when they go to church on Sunday morning nad he’s the new pastor and is expected to preach. Still thinking he is a hot shot bank investor he shuns his family and his ministry and seeks answers. His response to the ‘What If’ complex is “What if I don’t want to change?” This is God’s wake up call to Ben. What if he hadn’t gotten on that bus fifteen years ago? What if he had returned in eight months like he told Wendy? What if he hadn’t gotten in that brand new car that day. All Ben can think about is how good is life was as a bank investor. But was it really all that grand? This film explains the ‘What if’ of life. What if we hadn’t made the choices we made? How would our life be different? Does God ever give a glimpse of what we could have had if our choice had been different? Does He give us the chance to make the necessary change and get our life back on track? Join Ben Walker on his quest. The only way for him to return is to commit himself fully to the ministry in the small town he left behind. Can he give into the will of God and forget his grand, high palying life or will he die forever wondering ‘What if’? This movie left me with questions about my own life. Lately I’ve spent a lot of time wondering ‘What if’? What if I didn’t work in the job I have? What if I lived somewhere else? What if I was that person making a lot money? I find myself asking these questions daily, but without much answer. The message of the movie kind of hit home, Surrender fully, that is how God can change our life. This movie was awe inspiring and ripped my heart apart. The tragedies that can harden the human heart against God, making someone believe there is no God or hating him. The same kind of tragedies that can soften other hearts and turn the heart back to God. One college student dares to challenge his philosophy professor. When Professor Jeffrey Raddison (Kevin Sorbo) announces on the first day that to pass his class each student my write on a piece of paper and sign it the ‘God is Dead’ one freshman student refuses. At the core of this student’s belief he cannot bring himself to write such a statement and deny his faith. “Whoever acknowleges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns be before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10: 32-33 Raddison gives his student, Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper), the last 20 mins of three class sessions to prove God’s existence. Now Wheaton must put together a compelling case to win over his fellow students and convince them that truly God’s Not Dead and he does exist. He challenges Raddison in his own arena. But this is more than proving or disproving the existence of God, it is more about awaking faith and spreading the gospel. As I watched this film I couldn’t help but imagine the many Bible stories where one person stood alone when others thought he was crazy and had to prove the existence of God, not with tangible evidence, but through faith. I thought of David defeating the giant, Goliath. I thoguth of Daniel in the lion’s Den. I was even reminded of Paul, imprisoned, yet still spreading the Good News. It was not through tangible proof of God being with them that they overcame unspeakable odds, but their faith. And it’s the same faith they displayed that changed the hearts and minds of those that persecuted them. This movie displayed that same faith and changed the lives of characters in the film. This movie truly shows that God’s Not Dead. I encourage everyone to watch this movie. Spoiler Alert!!!: You will cry, it is that moving. ~CeCe “Spirit. in every language in all the Realms, surface and Underdark, in every time and every place, the word has a ring of strength and determination. It is the hero’s strength, the mother’s resilience, and poor man’s armor. It cannot be broken, and it cannot be taken away.” -Drizzt Do-Urden pg. 271 Exhile R.A. Salvatore The above quote captures the motif of this novel. It opens ten years after Drizzt has gone into self exhile from Menzoberranzan. Instincts rule his every move in the dangerous Underdark. The principles he held dear are buried deep inside. Drizzt longs to rekindle those principles, in essence to reawaken his spririt once more. This leads him to Blingdentstone, the home of the deep gnomes of the Underdark. Here, Drizzt meets an very unexpected friend, the gnome he spared 10 years earlier, Belwar. Belwar brings Drizzt into his home and nurtures his spirit. Drizzt fears the hunter inside. The two bring out the best in each other. Together both of their spirits are awakened. When Drizzt feels that he is a danger to deep gnome community he sets out back into the Underdark, but this time he is not alone. Belwar joins him in his adventure to keep his spirit alive. Drizzt’s is not the only spirit that faces challenges in the Underdark. Matron Malice will stop at nothing to bring back her son and punish him for leaving on the eve of battle and disgracing her family. She takes control of Zaknafein’s body, Drizzt’s friend and father in Menzoberranzan, and uses her control to send him after Drizzt and kill him. Deep inside, underneath all the spells the Malice uses to control Zak’s actions, his spirit fights against her. His principles of good moral fight against killing his son. Can the true spirit of these characters win out in the treacherous Underdark? Will instinct rule their actions and rob them of their spirit? Or can the friendships these characters share keep them alive and reimind them of their full potential? This novel was an epic read from start to finish. I liked seeing the struggle of these characters to be themselves and not allow their situation to rule their actions. The dangers kept me on the edge of my seat and made it difficult to put the book down. I look forward to the next book in the set, Sojourn. ~CeCe |
AuthorI work full time as a call center representative. In my spare time I write and read. I also enjoy watching Netflix. Archives
March 2018
Categories |