Where in the story are you?

Which Disney prince/princess are you? What character from the Wizard of Oz? What Pokémon are you? which Jane Austin hero/heroine? which one from the Twilight saga? and on and on it goes… the list of quizzes you can take.

Next thing you know, they'll have a quiz to see which quiz is most revealing of your TRUE identity.

No one likes quizzes in school, so how come people like them so much on Facebook? (other social networking sites, too?)

Why do we do these quizzes when we’ve got so many real things we’re supposed to be doing? It’s more than just a fun diversion, don’t you think? Is it that we like to figure ourselves out? or we like to proclaim who we are for all the world to see?

Lots of them have to do with seeing what character you are in a particular story. When stories really get to us, really move us, we like to put ourselves right into the action, the character development, the drama… so we can get lost in it all, or maybe get found…

You know, I haven’t seen a quiz yet that asks, “Which character from the story of Jesus’ resurrection are you?” And I’m intrigued by the prospect. It’s a wild story. And putting yourself into it could be revealing. Easter is too important a holiday to let it go by after you’ve eaten enough chocolate eggs. How do you put yourself into this great drama of life-giving death and tomb-busting new life? (click on the title of this post to read one eye witness account)

Is there anyone out there who has seen such a quiz already? anyone who wants to create one? I’m planning to make one in the next 2 days, but it’s very possible you could do a much better job than I, so do let me know. Or just let me know your ideas and I’ll include them.

This Thursday night, ‘by the way’ is hosting our weekly gathering at the Crowne Plaza… and we’ll be putting ourselves into the resurrection story, seeing where we fit in and what the story can reveal about us (and about the God who’s the main character of the story). I’m really looking forward to it. Whether you live nearby or far, far away, I hope you can join in this conversation. Any thoughts that my questions here have shaken loose in you, please share…

Emitting Easterjoy,

Kari

Dialogo: How do you remember?

Today marks the opening of the summer blockbuster season, officially, and the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen. As happened somewhat with the "return" of the Star Wars movies, some folks beging waxing eloquently about the good old days, or share stories of how the very first Indiana Jones film impacted them as kids, teens, or even college students. All of this sharing is a good thing when we have a collective memory to share information from. As you watch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull there are references to each of the three preceding IJ films, films which the youngest star, Shia LaBeouf would never have been able to see as a child (he was 4 when the last Indiana Jones movie was released).

Throughout the new Indy film, there are pictures of older characters, musical inferences of past adventures, and even occasional story arcs that link up with previous stories in the series. All this led me to wonder how we remember stories from our past.

When teaching smaller children, or reading to them stories, it is always interesting to see how many of them remember these stories later. Maybe you remember The Grinch, or Bilbo Baggins, Heloise, or Flicka, Black Beauty? All these are characters in literature that most people come into contact with at some point in their lives. For many of us today, we see these characters in elaborate films, or in exciting, beautifully drawn anime or mangas.

But all of this reflection on stories, makes me wonder...how do you remember a good story? What stories do you remember from when you were just a child? What images stand out to you that keep returning years later from a book you read, or a movie you saw as a child?

The grand story we are all in, God's story, has an amazing narrative, one that has been told for thousands of years. Yet, sometimes those images and people have been forgotten. For most of us, a stained glass window may hold little meaning if we never heard the story. So what part's of God's story are important for you? Are you willing to share some?

--sak--