Freshwater: Oz the Great and Powerful

Freshwater

Located in the wilds of Wyoming, the name Freshwater was chosen as a Western analogy to Christ. Just as He is the Living Water, and we must have Him to have eternal life, any desert dweller knows the importance of fresh water to life, both for self, and the nourishment of crops or livestock. By taking nourishment in God and His word, we strengthen our own relationship with Him, our faith, and the quality and abundance of our fruitfulness.

Our keystone verse is from Jeremiah, Chapter 17, Verse 8: "For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see whenSave heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

The fruit that we speak of is mentioned in Galatians 5:22
"²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, ²³Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

And the heat could be anything we experience that might test our faith in God; trials and tribulations, relationships, anything that focuses our love and attention anywhere but on Him...

Friday, April 19, 2013

Oz the Great and Powerful

We decided to take the family out for dinner and a movie last Thursday, and after perusing all of the available rating appropriate movies and the starting times, we decided that Oz the Great and Powerful would be a good movie to see on the big screen. After seeing several trailers for the movie I must admit that I was looking forward to it!

I was a little worried that it would be too long for the kids to sit through without a bathroom break (141 minutes), and sure enough, Hannah and Laramie both had to go, but it was a quick trip and we didn't miss much!

After supper we zipped back down the road to our favorite theater, where we used our Rewards Card to earn a free date pack by purchasing admission to the movie. I hustled to the theater to find some seats, while Paul took restroom duty. I whipped around the corner into the room, only to find that it was completely empty! Thursday's early showing must not be a very popular time slot, because we were the only people in the movie that night. We were able to laugh and joke through the movie just like we might have at home!

The movie itself is definitely great. I can absolutely see why it is one of the most popular movies in the world. It is well written, well played, and the special effects and camera work are absolutely stunning. I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil the movie itself, but it is a great story of the human spirit. You learn a lot of things about how all the legends that we know and love from The Wizard of Oz came to be.

There were a few parts where I jumped, and I felt Laramie, who was sitting next to me, jump a few times. Even Paul jumped at least once! Overall, I didn't feel it was scary, though there were a few pieces that were startling. If you have a phobia of witches in general, especially the creepy, green witch from The Wizard of Oz, then you should probably steer clear, as she's a major character, and we even learn what made her such a heartless monster.