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FF 003 - The Importance of Stories
20 Plays17 days ago
Our father panel discuss the stories they love and why they are important. What impact can a good story have? Why are movies important in our culture? Is "Gladiator" the best guy movie? Or is it "The Patriot"? This episode is fun and reveals a lot about our panel of regular dads. Enjoy!
Email us questions or comments: Jarod@PreacherDad.com
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Transcript
Introduction & Best Guy Movies Debate
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome to Fatherhood Friday on the Preacher Dad Podcast. I hope you're looking forward to this episode because I sure am. In this episode, we talk about stories, movies, and books.
00:00:13
Speaker
What is the best guy movie? The best guy movie, dads, what is it? And also, what is the purpose of Tom Bombadil? Is The Lord of the Rings the greatest story ever written? Is The Hobbit hilarious?
00:00:28
Speaker
And is Harry Potter real? All of these subjects come up and more in this very fun and interesting episode about all the stories that we tell ourselves and the importance of them and the significance of them.
00:00:41
Speaker
So sit back, relax, enjoy. And as always, this podcast is brought to you by Cornerstone Fellowship. Cornerstone Fellowship is a small church with a big heart, just a little bit north of Tombsboro, Georgia.
00:00:53
Speaker
And we would love to love you if you have a chance to come on by. We are looking to make a difference in our community and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that need it. So if you are passionate about him and you want to come and be a part of us, we would love to have you here.
00:01:08
Speaker
Come to Cornerstone Fellowship just a little north of Toonsboro, Georgia, or you can check us out online at cornerstonefellowship-ga.org.
00:01:19
Speaker
cornerstonefellowship-ga.org. Or you can look us up on Facebook and find us there as Cornerstone Fellowship. God bless you and enjoy your Friday.
Heroism & Fatherhood in Film
00:01:41
Speaker
Hello everybody, welcome to Fatherhood Friday. i hope that you're having a great start to your weekend. like tell people all the time, you can't mess up Friday, you gotta work hard. If you wanna mess up Friday, you gotta try hard.
00:01:55
Speaker
And so hopefully your Friday's going great. ah We are here today again with Matt, Tony, and Nate. And we are excited about this episode today.
00:02:06
Speaker
um We are going to be talking about stories, talking about not just movies, but books and, and some of our favorite, um, our favorite movies or, or, or books or stories.
00:02:23
Speaker
And, uh, I think that, uh, it'd be interesting to know what everybody thinks about what is the best guy movie. Like if you can only watch one guy movie, yep.
00:02:36
Speaker
and we all kind of understand what a guy movie is. certainly If you can only watch one, or you know ah somebody can only watch one, which one should they watch?
00:02:48
Speaker
gladiator Gladiator. All of the answers are wrong. that That was Tony. Sorry, I tried sleep in there before it got stolen away from. No, I will say unapologetically for story and history and wholesomeness, ah The Patriot.
00:03:06
Speaker
and By far my favorite movie. great By far my favorite movie. We watched it on the 4th of July this year. I watched that movie so trust good i watch it probably two to three times a year.
00:03:19
Speaker
Two to three times a year? Yes. I'm jealous. Me too. Wait until the kids are asleep. and then Nice. Matt, matt what's yours?
00:03:31
Speaker
Well, I had Patriot as well, so I guess Dumb and Dumber.
00:03:36
Speaker
but
00:03:39
Speaker
no air pan dumb dumb or dumb pretty much yeah no i don't i guess so I guess my oldest three kids, since they're girls, I guess I haven't watched any man manly movies in a long, long time, so I can't tell you any besides Patriot. yeah I think I agree with you guys.
00:04:01
Speaker
Patriot and Gladiator are like Way up there. We can throw a Braveheart in the running. It's a great story. You just got to know when to skip. Yeah, you got to have the fast forward button handy on that one.
00:04:13
Speaker
But basically, Patriot is the American version of Braveheart. Yeah. I mean, you know, with the, with the exception of a handful of, you know, a few coarse words, it's really a pretty wholesome movie. There's nothing really inappropriate at all. It's a, he learned some great lessons as a father and it's patriotic and it's a good history. It's just a good movie. Wholesome, wholesome murder. real try it Wholesome killing. I wouldn't say murder.
00:04:41
Speaker
Whatever it was, I, I think it was justified. You know, I get to be here and judge him now as an American 200 years in the future. i guess So I like, I like Patriot a lot too, because the father is the hero.
00:04:56
Speaker
yeah He messes up and makes mistakes and his children kind of show him the the light and the truth and things he ought to do. But the dad is the hero of the story.
00:05:07
Speaker
And I, I love stories that, that do that. And I think that all of us, as fathers, want to be the hero in our home.
00:05:18
Speaker
And I think that that appeals
Power of Storytelling in Culture & Religion
00:05:20
Speaker
to us. And what's another what's another great story where the father is the hero, the father or the husband? can Can I make a point real quick about what you just said there?
00:05:30
Speaker
because Besides the one on your head? This is very much not a point. This is very round. 200 pounds rounder than it should have be. But anyway...
00:05:42
Speaker
um You're talking about how like the the guy is the hero in that story, but it's not just that he's the hero. He's the hero because he was a guy and because he stood up and did hard things that only a man would be able to do very well.
00:05:59
Speaker
He wasn't the the hero dad because he bowed down to the feminine wisdom of the weaker people around him who wanted him to see rationale and softness over his grit and over his survival and in his integrity.
00:06:12
Speaker
And that's that's why he is such a stellar warrior hero character. He he wasn't
00:06:21
Speaker
he he wasn't soft, and he wasn't kind, and he wasn't he wasn't willing to negotiate or barter when evil was coming to destroy his people. he was He was ready to give absolutely everything that he possibly could so that his kids would live in a brighter future than what he imagined was heading their way, even if that meant they had to live there without him.
00:06:42
Speaker
And that's a very masculine approach to problems. Matt, you look like you wanted to say something. The one movie that that stood out, where the father stood out, is The the Quiet Place.
00:07:00
Speaker
Oh, yeah. That is a really, really good story. you Have you seen that one, Jared? I've seen the beginning, and I wasn't able to get to the end yet.
00:07:10
Speaker
It's really not a horror movie. It's really, was kind of portrayed as that, but it's really more of a thriller. It's not, gro it's not graphic. I haven't avoided it on purpose. I just haven't gotten to it.
00:07:22
Speaker
yeah Yeah. It's a, it's a really, really good story. Yeah. And it's, I haven't seen any of the other ones, but the first one was really good. I mean, at some point, and my oldest daughter's 13, at some point in the next year or two, probably I'll let her watch that. I mean, it's really not that graphic and it's, you know, it's monsters. Yeah. coming to come in to kill you if you make any noises. But that dad, I forget his name, but off the office, John, something other. John Resente.
00:07:49
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, he's he does i mean he he provides for his family. He protects them. He sacrifices himself. he um You name it. He's resourceful.
00:08:03
Speaker
He's a smart guy. He's fantastic father. doing whatever he can do to save his his children. And one of them, the first and the second one, they have a baby. And you can imagine keeping a baby quiet from these monsters who are gonna kill them if they make any noises.
00:08:20
Speaker
And so it's just, it's so it was a really good movie. yeah I think you have seen that scene in the bathtub where she's giving birth and trying to be quiet at the same time. That is intense. That was intense in cinema.
00:08:35
Speaker
Yep. And that one other one that, again, you know, and people who have so young kids, they'll they'll appreciate it maybe. Y'all will make fun of me, though.
00:08:47
Speaker
Finding Nemo. That's a good dad. That's a good add of that it's a good father movie. That is my favorite Pixar movie. I mean, he's he he he gives these strict boundari strict rules to his kids, boundaries. Look, don't go over there. Something bad's going to happen. like Listen to what your dad said, you know.
00:09:04
Speaker
And they still do it, but then he spends the rest of the movie trying to find his kid. That is a good one. His little fish. Well, and you know, he is the hero of the story. And he's a good he's a good character. His character arc is great in that movie.
00:09:18
Speaker
I just love i love Finding Nemo. Honestly, I think that another one that I really identify with is Frequency. have you guys ever seen Frequency? No. No. So this is a great fatherhood story. Write it down.
00:09:33
Speaker
You need to write it down. It's got ah it's got some you know salt and pepper language in there, a couple places, but and some some adult subject matter is is in it too. but Basically, this this guy... so Huh?
00:09:48
Speaker
Like paying bills and stuff? Yeah, definitely. Adulting. you know We don't want kids to know about bills. No, this guy is trying to solve a serial killer murder.
00:10:01
Speaker
He's a police officer, and it And he and stars Jim Caviezel. And egies he's around with his dad's old shortwave radio.
00:10:14
Speaker
And he starts talking to this guy over the shortwave radio. And there's like this L'Oreal Borealis over New York. It's like this incredibly rare moment. And for some reason, this shortwave radio is able to go to the past.
00:10:30
Speaker
And he realizes that he's talking to his dad. who died in a fire some years earlier. And he's like, before his dad died, he's able to talk to him. And he's like, oh my goodness, he figures out, he figures out that he's talking to his dad like the day before the fire, where if he just would have turned one way, he would have lived, but he didn't and he died.
00:10:50
Speaker
So he tells his dad, turn the other way, turn the other way. and then he loses the connection. And his dad does and lives. And so it starts this butterfly effect like, It changes things over here and it changes things over here. And suddenly the serial killer killed somebody else that he wasn't supposed to have killed. And like, it is a really, really well-written movie that it stars Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel. Those are two of my favorite actors. So I can, I can recommend it.
00:11:18
Speaker
If you have a little bit of a, you know, filtering on the language, but it was great. Yeah. im to check that one up let' took it out Speaking of Jim Caviezel. Hey man, sound of freedom.
00:11:30
Speaker
Freedom. Oh, yeah, that is a good one. You know, we're talking about um these movies, and what do you guys think about books? yeah I know that books are not always the most popular of subjects with dads, but I know that I have enjoyed them a lot of times. and um What are you guys' thoughts about reading books?
Books vs. Movies: Teaching & Imagination
00:11:54
Speaker
So let's... I would say let's preface this a little bit and just kind of go into some backstory, just some stuff we were talking about before we started recording the podcast. Um, just the importance of good stories in not just our culture, because they can tell us, they certainly can tell good stories in our culture, but they, they flex a different muscle and they're able to can just films, books, you name, or just stories that are passed down, you know, generationally. as i think Tony mentioned that, you know, that are told around a campfire.
00:12:25
Speaker
Um, you know, they have the ability to convey truth and in a very powerful way. So that's why Jesus did it. Yeah. Yeah. Jesus used parables. He used stories to teach eternal things.
00:12:38
Speaker
And I think the most powerful stories, uh, they direct us to eternally true things. Yeah. And that's why we gravitate toward so many stories, you know, these stories that are like, man, we're cheering on the hero. It's because,
00:12:56
Speaker
we want to be that hero to our family. It's because there's something innately in us that wants to be heroic and brave, but also, you know, there's a longing within us for like, there's a lot of stories that have a Messiah in them, some sort of a promised savior that's going to come and deliver everybody. I mean, star Wars is that way.
00:13:17
Speaker
Dune is that way. I mean, there's, there's there's so many yeah different situations, different stories that, speak to that kind of longing in our hearts for Jesus. And so I think that stories are remarkable for being able to teach things and in a way that people remember and gravitate to.
00:13:37
Speaker
And I know that a lot of people, in in fact, George Barna has done some research that, if I'm remembering this correctly, there's a large ah majority of Americans now get their worldview from the movies that they watch the stories that they're watching is what's is what's guiding their thinking about their worldview and some of those movies are good and are teaching good things but some are not sure so movies is the way that a lot of people are communicating and understanding their world and i think it's always been stories whether it's in a book or in a movie or in an opera or
00:14:21
Speaker
even songs tell stories many times. um The arts communicate to our souls in a deep, meaningful way. I just even think about, you know, other world religions, even just a couple thousand years ago before you had written history and everything was passed down orally.
00:14:40
Speaker
Well, and so much of the Old Testament too is narrative. Like there's there's a lot of the Bible itself that, It's not just that Jesus was a storyteller of great stories, that there are even true stories, true narratives, true ah depiction of these characters and what was going on in their heart and their mind that try to draw us together through not just time, but circumstance through a common reality, a common capacity to perceive of one another.
00:15:11
Speaker
And the I think that's that spiritual piece that you're talking about that, ah really kind of is a ah little piece of the thread that runs through almost any story. There's always some capacity to either you know reflect on the real spiritual spiritual nature of the universe in a very subtle but identifiable way, or it's a complete revulsion to that.
00:15:33
Speaker
And it stands out as an oddity because it it makes no sense because of what you spiritually know to be true in the universe in which you live. So that's the There are even, you know, stories that are massively sci-fi or whatever, you know, different worlds, different universes, different aliens and characters and whatever.
00:15:51
Speaker
There's still a common ethic that kind of makes sense of all of that. And then because of that common ethic, I think that's part of that, that spiritual underpinning that either draws you in or pushes you out from a story as being identifiably true and fundamentally true in the capital T truth kind of way.
00:16:11
Speaker
or just repulsive because it doesn't know truth and it doesn't recognize anything in your life that you can identify with that you enjoy. Yeah. There's a good illustration of this.
00:16:22
Speaker
Back in the 60s, Star Trek was popular on TV. And there's a you know in that part of our history, there was a lot of racial tension.
00:16:34
Speaker
I don't know if it's more than now, but there was a lot of that. And there's an episode of Star Trek where these two aliens are are upset with each other. They're they're annoyed.
00:16:47
Speaker
They're fighting, I think. And the Enterprise crew is there trying to bring peace. They're trying to have peace negotiations. And the aliens, one side of their face is black and the other side of their face is white.
00:17:03
Speaker
And, you know, the the makeup artists do it that way. And the the other alien, the other side of his face is black and the other side of his face is white. It's just flipped. And so they argue and they fight and they have this angry exchange and the Enterprise is trying to calm them down. And what's portrayed in that episode is just the silly nature of their animosity toward each other.
00:17:28
Speaker
why would you Why would you fight with each other just because one side of his face is white opposite of your side of your face. You know, just because of that, you're going to fight over this. And so it really a great way to make a ah very poignant point that this is silly.
00:17:49
Speaker
What a person's skin color is sure does not have anything to do with their heart. It has to do with their culture and their life. It's certainly part of their story, but it doesn't have anything to do with the value of the person or what have you. I just think that's a good illustration of the way that stories kind of can really make a really powerful point in lots of situations.
00:18:16
Speaker
Yeah. but I think too, to to get back to what Nathan was talking about earlier the with but the books and their uniqueness of their capacity, I was ah recently reading God of War on PlayStation 5 and that's just phenomenal graphics in that book.
00:18:34
Speaker
Really good book. No, i'm just kidding. there um
00:18:42
Speaker
Hey parents, if you're looking for a fun and entertaining way to teach your children about character, then I've got the right podcast for you to check out. It's called Character Stories Podcast.
00:18:53
Speaker
On the Character Stories Podcast, we do voices of other shapes and sizes, and we have occasionally sound effects as well. And I would love for you to come and join us over there and hear a great story that has a great lesson and moral in it as well.
00:19:11
Speaker
So come on over and check out the Character Stories podcast today.
00:19:17
Speaker
We're talking about ah a little bit before we started. I just recently, i mean, I read all the time. I'm always nerding out on economic stuff or political stuff or doctrinal stuff or things of that nature.
00:19:30
Speaker
um Stuff that just kind of bores your life away generally. And I ah enjoy that stuff, but it's been a long time since I've actually stuck my teeth into a narrative of any kind.
00:19:41
Speaker
And I don't know what led me to it as a particular starting point, but I ended up with C.F. Lewis's ah space trilogy and got my, just this last week, got my way through the Out of the Silent Planet book.
00:19:55
Speaker
And one of the things that was kind of striking to me about just going through that and to what you're talking about here, Jared, generally in the power and capacity of story, is that the the way Lewis imagines a world that is so recognizable from our vantage point as to what the true nature of that universe and that world really is, but yet without all the experience and the history and the corruption of what we have. well He's able to present a capacity for logic and reason and development and argument that feels very divorced a divorce from the touch of sin in some capacity, in the way that some of those dialogues go through there.
00:20:37
Speaker
And it's really intriguing to see that just how fundamental the way that we construct reality around ourselves, all of it has that kiss of death in it in some kind of a way.
00:20:50
Speaker
It was a very self-reflective book. just ah And just looking at the narratives, the way that the narratives unfeel and or unravel and and kind of reveal the nature of the oh the the story as it's progressing were so creative and clever.
00:21:04
Speaker
it And some of the questions that they have these alien characters present to this human character are are given a a capacity to explore thought in such a deep level and just explore the kind of the the presuppositions of how you even start your argument.
00:21:21
Speaker
Oh, well, why would you consider this to be this way? Well, I've never considered anything ever to be that way because that would be to assume this sinful presupposition from the start.
00:21:32
Speaker
What if you never had that? How would you move forward? And it was just, there was, I've really found it to be quite illuminated because it really made me want to dig deeper into my own capacity to reason through problems, to reason through just kind of what what frustrates me or excites me about life. Like, what's the meaning of these things?
00:21:49
Speaker
Is it connected to a deeper wrong or is it connected to a deeper connection in Christ? How do i how do I know whether where where my tether points exactly are coming from and and how do i be a vanguard against those things?
00:22:03
Speaker
It's a brilliant book. really All of that comes from you're a mean Dude, you're talking about the master here. All of that comes from masterful storytelling. And C.S. Lewis is just about the king.
00:22:14
Speaker
i mean, I think The Lord of the Rings is pretty much the most masterful storytelling I've ever read. But C.S. Lewis is my favorite author. What did you say?
00:22:27
Speaker
was going to say, he didn't he didn't write that one. So it can't be the greatest. the greatest It has to be at least very, very greatest. It could be second place, maybe. lewis Lewis is pretty well the king of storytelling to me, but Tolkien is right up there too. but But you're right. These books really, if you read them thoughtfully, and Tony, you're a really thoughtful guy.
00:22:49
Speaker
A lot of other people are not so thoughtful, but you can really get a lot out of them, especially from a great author like Lewis, because he put a lot into his stories. And again, this is just a, I mean, it can be just plain old entertainment, but yeah.
00:23:05
Speaker
There's a lot more to it if we will allow ourselves to go there. I think also, um sorry, Matt, what what real quick. the um You want to obviously vet things first and and and kind of know where you're able to take them and have those conversations. But I think it's also a fantastic way to convey truth to kids, ah to our children, is through books. And so stories like the Chronicles of Narnia, and we were just talking about that, I really, really want to dive into the books. I've seen the movies.
00:23:33
Speaker
um but just to see the the Christ figure in that story, you know, Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, um just a way that you can you can kind of convey that. Obviously, you know, we have the children's Bible books and stories and such, but just a powerful way to convey truth to children in a way that they can understand, I think is is great. But Matt, what were you you had something you were going to say there. No, that's very important. And on those lines, my wife, May, she she said a long time ago when we first started homeschooling, or when she started homeschooling,
00:24:03
Speaker
Um, she's like, if we, if, if we don't do anything else, let's develop a love of reading in our kids. Like they, they have to love to read.
00:24:13
Speaker
And so, so yeah, it's, they're going to read, they're going to read imagination stations. They're going to read all kinds of silly stuff, you know, but, um, but it's very important that they enjoy reading.
00:24:25
Speaker
And, um, my oldest, she's 13. She's read through her favorite, Terry Potter, um, But she reads. I thought she was a Christian, though.
00:24:37
Speaker
Yeah, she is. absolutely She actually is. And she can and and she knows right and wrong and knows that's a lot of that stuff is just fake. And, you know, but um so or is it that's a conversation for it another day? But she but right now, I actually asked her today what her favorite books were.
00:24:54
Speaker
Of course, that was all the Harry Potter was another one. I can't remember. She's reading now some series and then Christian heroes then and now. So she just reads tons of ah stories just about missionaries.
00:25:07
Speaker
And so but she just loves to read, which is fantastic. So ah just wanted to say, important yeah.
00:25:17
Speaker
It's very important. I've been reading The Hobbit to our kids. Actually, i just we just finished it. And ah that book is hilarious. If you guys have never read The Hobbit, you just need to go for fun. Just read The Hobbit.
00:25:31
Speaker
Because is funny. And I'd forgotten. It's been maybe 20 years ago that I read that book first since. And so I was just like, OK, let's read it. We read it to my younger kids.
00:25:44
Speaker
And I really liked it. And I realized how smart Tolkien really is, was. He's probably smarter now. But is that the is that the best book to start with? Because we're starting that The Lord of the Rings here pretty soon. We start with that one.
00:26:01
Speaker
Yeah, I would start with that one. It's easy, it's fun, it's funny. i would start with The Hobbit and then you know when you read The Lord of the Rings and Nate, this is for you too because I understand you have you you still need to get there.
00:26:16
Speaker
try ah You gotta push through the first part of your of the first book because the stuff with Tom Bombadil is probably just way beyond me.
00:26:27
Speaker
But it is a little bit like Why are we stopping and talking to this tree guy, the shepherd of the trees? um So after you get past Bombadil, it really picks up and it's very riveting and gross. So push through that part.
00:26:45
Speaker
If you're really cool about hallucinogenic additives, you can potentially get close to perceiving why that's even in there. But it doesn't... you know he Reading those books, I mean, there's the greatness of The Hobbit was really expressed well when Peter Jackson ripped it into two different stories and elaborated far beyond the context of the original narrative in such a deep and thoughtful way.
00:27:14
Speaker
Certainly not in a cat-scrab way. It just brings in characters that were never a part of the story. It was awful.
00:27:22
Speaker
The movies are fantastic. But the, and the books, I, that's one of the last, honestly, before this book that I'm reading now, that might've been the the most recent book that I had read was the Lord of the Rings trilogy when the movies came out, when I was in high school.
Favorite Books & Reading's Impact
00:27:38
Speaker
So it's, it's been a little while, but yeah, the, the, the Tom Bombadil feature is kind of the big red flag about books generally. And, and every now and then you kind of have to,
00:27:51
Speaker
You have to watch for those warning signs, and and and you'll you'll get that from the critics. They'll let you know whenever the movies are better. And this is definitely one of those cases where... ah No. No, they will never. No. The critics are always wrong. Trust the audience, not the critics.
00:28:10
Speaker
Truthfully, most of them probably can't read to begin with, so that might be why they're coming to the conclusions they are. Every time, look. I have seen a number of movies where I've read the book either before or after I've seen the movie.
00:28:26
Speaker
Every single time the book is better than the movie. I have never seen ah movie based on a book where the I felt like the movie was better than the book. It's never happened.
00:28:38
Speaker
um I will say that with the Lord of the Rings movies, the movie was such a spectacle when I was young. Like it was, It was one of the most fantastic movies I'd ever seen in my life in terms of visual and the and narrative richness that I immediately went to the books and just read the books between the first and the second movie coming out because I wanted more.
00:29:02
Speaker
I had no idea that it was all you know dumped deep under Tom Bombadil, but I did want more. I'll throw in something here just in in terms of books and movies and TV series I'm going to throw in.
00:29:15
Speaker
If you want a really good story on what not to do as a man, watch the series called Poldark, but watch it with your wife and let her tell you when to turn your head because there's definitely some stuff in there that we probably should steer our eyes away from.
00:29:28
Speaker
But great story. Great story. um It has a lot of... It just shows... I think it it shows a lot of um our faults in humanity, but along the same lines, it's also dudes that know how to act like men Just not in a very Christian way, but good storytelling.
00:29:49
Speaker
But it was a book series before it was a TV series. I did not know that. yeah Interesting. yeah that's that's a bb It's a BBC production. all right why so talk about great is We're starting to run run long on time.
00:30:06
Speaker
Let's see if we can go through our favorite books ah before we close it up for this episode.
00:30:15
Speaker
so Who wants to go first? I can go first. So again, and this is something we were talking about um before the show started. ah Along the same lines, Tony just read his first novel. ah I just am almost finished reading Old Yeller to mike my four-year-old daughter. And that's the first book, like novel that I've read in a long time. So I'm going to have to claim that one because that's the only one that I can really remember.
00:30:43
Speaker
But in terms of my favorite book, I'm going to say Wild at Heart by John Eldredge. It's not a story, though he tells stories in there. But one of the best books that I've written in ah ah red want to say red and read in a long time.
00:30:58
Speaker
It's about masculinity. Spoiler alert.
00:31:03
Speaker
Awesome. I think my favorite ah book series has to be The Chronicles of Narnia. I just find it to be incredibly profound and fun and just a real, real joy to read. C.S. Lewis is my favorite author. And I mean, I love Mere Christianity.
00:31:22
Speaker
It's an incredible book. Everyone needs to read it. But his fiction stuff is great. And Tony, I'm so glad you're reading the the space trilogy because that's like a deep cut for C.S. Lewis fans. Like most people haven't touched those and yet they are remarkably profound. wait till out Wait till that hideous strength, man. That is like riveting.
00:31:48
Speaker
Very interesting book. Well, truthfully, the hideous strength is the reason why I'm in the trilogy to begin with because I've heard a lot of pastors that I follow reference that book in various quotes or sayings that they're throwing out for illustration points.
00:32:05
Speaker
I think that was my lead-in point, but I did want to correct something that Nate had said, ah maybe by accident, that this was the first book I'd ever read. And this is, I am a very learned, educated, gemacated reader of books. and And this is at least the third book that I've ever read.
00:32:24
Speaker
So I've got quite a storied career. I've been at first in a long time is what is what what I was alluding to. But I apologize if I misspoke. Absolutely. that I don't read narratives for the longest time.
00:32:38
Speaker
I really struggled to construct the imagery in narratives in a way that was compelling enough for me to want to keep doing it. And this has really been the first positive experience I've had with a narrative book in such a long time. And I, I would have to attribute that to C.S. Lewis himself having such a crafty writing style to be able to make things very easy to comprehend, but very deep things to comprehend too.
00:33:03
Speaker
And know um I'm really enjoying that. So I'd, Out of the the three books that I've read, I'm going to have to put this one now apparently at the top. and i And I would say kind of like Nate, I've read, how you know, books that help us grow spiritually different, you know, just those type books.
00:33:29
Speaker
I've got a and then I've got another one that I've looked at some over the last like six or seven years. It's on Stonewall Jackson. It is like that thick. but I still hadn't finished it, but it's for for fun reading the fiction book. Recently over the last year, I've done the green ember series.
00:33:45
Speaker
I mean, Jared, you probably heard of that, right? Read it. feel like i have heard of that. I've not read it. I've heard of it. Yeah. So it's a fantastic book for, for kids and adults too. I enjoyed every bit of it, but it's about these rabbits who they lose their home. The wolves come and and take over and there's the,
00:34:04
Speaker
there's hawks and eagles and all the bird, all the, the, the, the mean animals are after the rabbits. And it's this, it's full of like strategy and war bravery,
00:34:17
Speaker
um like intense battle scenes from these rabbits and doing extraordinary things. And of course, sacrificing for, for each other and really, really good story. I'd recommend it for sure for your kids and,
00:34:32
Speaker
ah Don't let them just read it by themselves. You read it along with it with them. But Green Ember, i don't know who don't know who wrote it, but we it's a good one. We recently went through the Winged Feather Saga together. I've heard a lot about that.
00:34:46
Speaker
It's but very good, guys. I mean, the Winged Feather Saga is fun to read. If you want to read something with your kids, um to your kids, that is it's meaningful and it's got a lot of good depth in it. It's written by a Christian named Andrew Peterson.
00:35:00
Speaker
um But it's really fun fantasy story, that's a good one. You know what? This is going to sound like a joke, but it's
Creative Reading Experiences & Conclusion
00:35:10
Speaker
definitely not. But legitimately, what a ah great reading assignment, especially for young homeschool kids, that young homeschool boys, father-centric, was Godzilla minus one.
00:35:24
Speaker
That, it's ah it's a Japanese ah ah dialogue to the entire movie, so you have to read it. to be able to keep up with what's going on. And the story itself, it's of course got the Godzilla factor in there, but the whole narrative is about this man trying to take care of a woman who's not his wife and her son, who's not either of their sons. It's just a random orphan boy that she was using to try to get resources from people after Godzilla nukes their town.
00:35:52
Speaker
So the ah story is ah about him kind of stepping into honor and stepping into being a leader and learning how to to ah fulfill a duty for that family, even though it's not technically his role.
00:36:05
Speaker
It's a very, very rich a story about the meaning finding meaningfulness and manly characteristics and manly tropes that are not really commonly found in those types of movies.
00:36:21
Speaker
i took my I took my boy to read it um as a homeschool assignment. That was our reading class for the day. was We watched Godzilla Minus One. It was really, really cool. He did a good job keeping up with the narrative.
00:36:34
Speaker
and It is in English, Tony. Well, it wasn't when I did it. yeah I need points for that. yeah That's why I love homeschooling. I mean, we can just go watch a Godzilla movie and call it reading class.
00:36:48
Speaker
Yes. When? I'm not going to lie. They did that in public school when I was a kid, too. But at least this time, the teacher wasn't inebriated with the lights off the whole time. so
00:37:03
Speaker
Hey, in closing, I got a question for you guys. I was just wondering if you wanted to buy my broken barometer. No pressure. a ha the No?
00:37:15
Speaker
Oh, that setup coming from 600 miles away. thank All right, guys. Well, it's been great. It's been great chatting with you. And i hope that ah we've encouraged somebody out there to pick up a book or to go, you know, watch Gladiator.
00:37:32
Speaker
or a frequency or one of these other great movies that we've talked about and just be inspired. I think there's a place for inspiration in our society that is really important.
00:37:43
Speaker
And so I hope that you dads out there have been inspired. I know if I've, I've enjoyed chatting with you guys about some of the things that I really enjoy. So I hope that you have to pick up Jared's book.
00:37:55
Speaker
Yeah. and Yeah. If you want something to read, pick up battle plan. That's it might be backwards on the screen, but battle plan is available where on Amazon.
00:38:09
Speaker
But yeah, go to preacher dad.com. If you want to learn more about what we're doing here. um If you want to buy any ads or sponsor us, you know, we will accept your money.
00:38:19
Speaker
We certainly will. But mostly we just love each other and we love Jesus. And we hope that we've encouraged you a little bit more on your journey today. So,
00:38:31
Speaker
Have a great Friday, everybody. Happy Friday and God bless.