Come mid-March I realized this man wasn’t calling because he just wanted to be my friend. By then, however, I thoroughly enjoyed his friendship. I told myself, and anyone who would listen, that I really wasn’t interested. In fact, I even told him one day at Dunn Bros. I sat across the table and laid, line upon line, the boundaries that needed to exist if we were to remain friends. My oratory may have included things like “I’m not dating,” “I’m not interested in dating” and “if it feels like a date that’s not okay.” I was completely comfortable with and unwavering about everything I said…

…until he opened his mouth. Let’s call it what it was: I rejected his advances directly and unequivocally told him to abandon his pursuit. He, in turn, was sincere and honest – and honoring. There was no malice or defensiveness in his response; he opened up about where his heart was and why, and how he would respect every boundary but still be there despite my response. As I listened I found myself wondering why I was saying no to him; there was no answer.

I went home and told my dearest Becca about the conversation. She didn’t pity or encourage me, she just laughed. “If he gets you to change your mind you’ll definitely marry him.”

So I called upon the one person who was certain to be on my side – a friend who had previously shared my impression of this loud, extroverted man. Granted, she had gotten to know him after she married his best friend, but I was still assured that she would understand and talk me out of this craziness.

Here’s how that went:

So we’re here to talk about Gregory, right? He really likes you but I’m not sure how I feel about it yet. You know how I used to feel about him; now I really like the guy. What can I say? He grows on you like a fungus. [insert 10 minutes of processing out loud] Wait a second! [insert squeal] You should definitely date him! I’m on Team Gregory and we’re going to have shirts made!

My one ally deserted me over the course of lunch at Cheesecake Factory. That was the Friday after our not-date coffee date.

Then came Monday. It was a terrible day at work; everything that could go wrong did. I was overwhelmed, stressed and angry. As 5 o’clock got closer, I thought about how I had nothing to do that night. I needed to be distracted by something fun and enjoyable…and I thought of Gregory. At the end of my long, hard day I wanted to spend time with this man I was adamant about not dating.

Whoops.

First I woke up 30 minutes late. Let the rushing around, ‘don’t forget to brush your teeth and put on deoderant madness’ begin.

Then I fell down the stairs on the way out the door. Let the expletive flying, tear inducing, ankle/knee twisting, jean ripping frustration commence.

Halfway to work; forgot my phone, crap. Turn around only to find phone in my pocket. The memory loss has begun as well.

Then I drove past a beautiful 9-year old with Down’s Syndrome, walking alone on the side of a busy road. “Missed the bus, walking to school, no I don’t need a ride, I’m walking (duh).” Thus starts the fear and anxiety portion of my day.

Call 911 (too much? never can be too careful with children), tell them about the beauty, pray to Jesus.

Arrive at work (only) 8 minutes late.

Lord have mercy on my soul.

While on the shoulders of her grandpa, a 15-month old toddler has her arms stretched out straight in front of her for more than 30 feet. Upon reaching the sidewalk in front of Target, she immediately climbs down and runs off to the right of the front doors. She stops only when she reaches her goal: a large concrete ball that she imagined was a giant toy.

P.S. She looked super surprised (and a little annoyed) when it didn’t move at all. She then proceeded to run to the next giant concrete ball 15 feet away and try again.

Another of Brown’s books, Angels & Demons, is coming to a movie theatre near you this summer. Andrew Leigh has some beautiful thoughts on the book/film (and Brown). Here are a few excerpts:

Reading Angels and Demons, I wasn’t so much struck by the work’s bigotry as by how badly it was written. The cliched style is the literary equivalent of cotton candy. And for someone with so much animus toward religion, Brown employs the deus ex machina more frequently than the Old Testament…

Imagine that someone made a film that portrayed Steven Spielberg as a closet anti-Semite and Holocaust denier. Movie fans would be justifiably outraged. But Dan Brown wrote a book (soon to be a movie!) identifying another great artistic virtuoso, Bernini, as a secret atheist who hated the Catholic Church. In reality, though, Bernini was a devout Catholic who went to mass every day and pursued the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, which include up to five hours of daily silent meditation.

As someone who grew up in the theatre and art world, your article was like a breath of fresh air.

In “Christian film,” you’ve got a genre defined entirely by its message.

The problem is that everyone knows good art should always put story and character above message. Message films are rarely exciting. So by their very nature, most Christian films aren’t going to be very good because they have to fall within certain message-based parameters. And because the Christian audience is so glad to get a “safe, redeeming, faith-based message,” even at the expense of great art, they don’t demand higher artistic standards. So aspiring filmmakers who are Christians have little need to perfect their craft, and Christian investors have little need to spend a lot of money because the message is going to be most important anyway. Add in the fact that the average heartland Christian couldn’t care less what a critic thinks–if anything, they assume they’ll feel the opposite of a movie critic–and you’ve got even less incentive for Christian filmmakers to be obsessed with quality.

The above points all lead to one predominant problem: young Christians aren’t encouraged or trained to become great artists. If a young Christian wants to become a filmmaker, they are often either discouraged to do so because Hollywood is so dangerous, or if they do find encouragement, they have a hard time getting proper training. There are two primary things that can foster someone becoming a better artist: one, seeing and being inspired by hundreds of great films, and two, getting a great artistic education. For better or worse, many parents won’t allow their kids to see some of the great films (because of questionable content), and many Christian kids are discouraged from attending the best film schools (also because of questionable content). This not only impacts potential filmmakers, but actors as well. Therefore, when Hollywood starts to pursue more faith-based films and filmmakers (which they have), they find the cupboard bare. So even if and when they decide to make a faith-based film, they have a hard time finding great Christian filmmakers or actors, which affects both the film and the publicity.

~ Dallas Jenkins

Amen, and thank you.

Sincerely, Lauren

I must confess I’m lusting over it; it’s perfect in every way and would likely bring peace to the world shortly after falling upon my bed. If anyone out there would like to bless me abundantly…my bed is a double (though a king would be *perfect*).

Unbelievable.