I Am a Warrior

Ave Maria:)   For some strange reason ,I am getting my fill of warrior movies on HBO and other cable channels...Last Sat. by a stroke of luck, Josh told me The Last Samurai would be showing..starring Tom Cruise and this Japanese actor I so love- Ken Watanabe--- a bit about this epic movie:  The film stars Tom Cruise (who also co-produced) in the role of American soldier Nathan Algren, whose personal and emotional conflicts bring him into contact with samurai warriors in the wake of the Meiji Restoration in the Empire of Japan in 1876 and 1877. The film's plot was inspired by the 1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by Saigō Takamori, and also on the stories of Jules Brunet, a French army captain who fought alongside Enomoto Takeaki in the earlier Boshin War and Frederick Townsend Ward, an American mercenary who helped Westernize the Chinese army by forming the Ever Victorious Army. The amazing, harsh sometimes graceful fight scenes , the drama, the cinematography ,the human values depicted  the script..many times poetic...makes you think and internalize yourself--all these elements are just excellent enough to get those Academy Award nominations... we have to give it to Tom Cruise, he did go out of his way to make really good movies especially mid-part of his career. What was the other movie? natch... Heartthrob the Brad Pitt was on the tv screen playing the most handsome Achilles -ever in the digital-effects glossed Troy --but  never mind the digital effects..it was bearable and actually added to the grandeur that the movie tried to convey-- ahh those were the centuries of war and gore , when men stood in awe of powerful kings and valiant, loyal warriors -- when men did not resort to viral or nuclear bomb attacks to win wars...but really pitted strength against strength, courage against courage, where intelligence and cunning were lethal combinations that won wars against all odds ! When men were not afraid to die for the causes they believed in. What a hopeless romantic I am, tell you that.uh-huh. On Sundays too.. tho'I haven't been able to catch succeeding episodes , they have this Spartacus movie series, no doubt inspired by the cult movie Gladiator.. the treatment given by the director here in Spartacus ---> a combination of epic war genre and some comic book, computer game effects borrowed, everything exaggerated from colors, lighting, fight scenes executed, with blood flowing in slow-mo... I wonder if this is the way action movies will be produced from hereon...we don't need to exaggerate war..it already is violent in itself..but I guess the  modern audience appetites are not easily satisfied. This Spartacus has an eerie dark side to it, I can't quite put my finger into it , it plays late late nite and that's good becoz, there are a lot of sexy scenes and gore not fit for children. But who tells kids what they may and may not watch these days.We old folks would be the last to know. It's the perfect timing for me on a personal note..watching these movies one after the other.Hey, I must be on Gladiator mode myself-- or am I being roused by the Lord to wake up and "fight"..not sleep thru difficult circumstances of life..not be passive or afraid as different challenges /trials come and especially when these will affect matters of faith and attitude in life. Let's see at 53.. 'am awfully tempted to splurt been there did that... this would include all growing up pains from childhood, pre-teen years.. pag- da- dalaga... and then going on discovery mode of just about everything there is to discover in life: romance, learning,maturing (no kidding),  illness, friendships, betrayals, boredom, inspiration and peak moments in life whether this be related to artistry, love, profession... most of all, one's faith....Finding God... really finding Him. It's not so much that we have never known or experienced the LORD in our life -- it refers more to the realization that God is Head-over-heels in love with man..with us...with you and me..and that there's no running away from this love..and that in fact in a way...there's no peace.. not UNTIL WE GIVE IN AND GIVE A POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE LOVE GOD LAVISHES ON US.. It's a love that can kill..Yes...Kills sin in our system.. there is no other weapon against sin..only the love of GOD , recieving and being healed and transformed by this love makes us develop a spiritual radar that helps us recognize sin in all its forms, and grows in us an automatic abhorrence for it.  Bad news : it don't grow overnight. Good News : It Will Grow. Just stick it out with JESUS. When we reach this crossroad..and it need not be dramatic, with the sky turning orange and we getting blinded by the actual sight of GOD --- for all we know , it could happen during  a simple walk in the park.. or as we put our child to sleep... it could happen during prayer ( with others present or just ourself in deep reverie).. perhaps when  we are reading the bible, attending a seminar and suddenly..the Truth of how God loves us hits us more than a ton of bricks... like lightning inside our heart is the best way I can put it. This love.. the knowledge that it exists and is ours for the claiming or rejecting changes the ballgame of life. Later on , we find out this love is tied up to the Coming of the Son, Our Saviour Jesus Christ. And all the more we are required to face up to it. Reaching my crossroad in my early 20's made Life ..this earthly journey..a Great Challenge. I could not be in any part of the globe.. could not be doing anything whether it was bargaining for the price of milkfish in the wet market or having a heated argument with my son... could not go thru the pangs of illness or heartbreak nor enjoy any success or triumph in life without acknowledging the Presence of God..and how His love ties up all the pieces of my life. Sometimes , we tire.. call it total burn-out..not just spiritual but as we exhaust all our energies giving our very best... trying to Inject Sense into every minute we exist.. it is not improbable that we are tempted to throw the towel... no we donot die..but we lamely say..."God,please let me be. Stop loving me.. I refuse to change -- it's futile..., I refuse to surrender totally to Your Will..and I really would just like to live a regular life."  "Regular" meaning -- to be independent of God's Will and Commands. Well..watching warrior movies ..three in a row snaps me out of my foolishness...Warriors fight till the very end..and even if they die physically..theirs is still the sweet triumph of fighting and remaining loyal to the Cause they have chosen to fight and die for. So hang in there... let's pray for each other, I am sharing a video of a blind man singing at one MRT terminal..he sure brought me back to my senses..I was much to blest by his presence and the gift of his music and his warrior stance. Blind and Beautiful http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwc7Aarcb9M A Smile on Your Face http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xs-V0quzfqk 2Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Heb 12:1-2 1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. God bless you......................................ta mye