God loves everyone

When I decided to move to Los Angeles one of the first things I vowed to do was find a church. And did I. One of the first things that caught my attention about Hollywood United Methodist Church last July (aside from the awesome building and awesome people) was that they were in the middle of a Crossflix sermon series, the pastors were preaching on different movies each Sunday of the summer. And when I visited that Sunday one of the movies scheduled to be preached on in a few weeks was Dogma by Kevin Smith.

I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan, which I know, might throw some of you for a loop. But I am. I remember back in college some friends went to see Dogma and when I asked them what it was about one girl said, "Religion but you wouldn't like it, they cuss a lot and there are lots of dirty jokes". And that intrigued me. I had a reputation for being a conservative Christian but in truth, I was just a Christian. The conservative assumption came from the belief by some in college that if I went to church ( I did, twice a week, and I was a youth group leader), I must be conservative.

But guess what? I'm not. And I now own Dogma and every other Kevin Smith movie pre-2009 (don't get me started on Zack and Miri Make a Porno, that's a whole other blog, the movie just wasn't that funny....). And when I saw that they were going to do a sermon on a Kevin Smith movie I vowed to be back in Los Angeles in time to hear it. And I was. And it was pretty cool.

But today was even cooler. We've had some great sermons in this summer's Crossflix series but today's was on Milk and I knew it would be intense given our church's activism. And when we snuck in late and sat behind our friend Pauley I wondered what was up. She seemed really excited about something. And then she whispered, "That's Dustin Lance Black" and pointed down the pew. Yep, the man who won an Oscar in January for best original screenplay of the movie Milk was sitting not five feet from me. So cool. And then I got to introduce myself and shake his hand.

Pauley had gotten word to him about the sermon and he showed up. She was shocked because she doesn't know him personally and because she was participating in the sermon, talking about his Oscar acceptance speech in which he announced to the whole world that God really does love everyone. Yeah. Pauley was excited. And so was I.

Dustin got a standing ovation after they showed a clip from his speech, and he was mobbed after church but as I stood back and watched it all I thought about the scripture Pauley had read:

Micah 6:8
"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

And I thought about how the spirit of that scripture was exactly what had brought me to Hollywood UMC, about how it had brought me back and kept me there, how it had showed me that God really does love everyone. He loves the television actress, he loves the Oscar-winning screenwriter, he loves the gay fathers and their little girl who walk into the sanctuary 15 minutes every single Sunday, he loves the homeless man who sat behind me and smelled so badly, he loves the crazy man who condems single mothers, he loves the drag queens and the ministers and the Kevin Smith fan. He loves us all. And I think that's pretty freaking cool.

10 things I have done in the last week

1. I finished another quarter at the University of Phoenix and started another, within 24 hours.
2. I spent two and a half hours in the world of Harry Potter and wished it had lasted another two and a half more.
3. I saw the movie "Adam" which is a very sweet romantic comedy, which we saw for free at a sneak preview!
4. I started scrapbooking again after almost a year sabbatical. I've made it through the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas '07 trips with my parents. I'm getting there.
5. I've discovered the delightful television show "Chuck" and watched almost two seasons. In fact I spent most of my graduation itunes card downloading an entire season that's not yet available on DVD.
6. I've figured out how to survive, and thrive, on less food, no caffeine, and no air conditioning in the middle of a heat wave in Los Angeles in July.
7. I have finished another draft of my script which is now entitled "Operation Gold Digger" and sent it out to several trusted screenwriting peers for feedback.
8. I saw the movie "Funny People" after standing in line for 2 hours outside to get in. I can't say anything about it because I signed a legal document and had to go through a metal detector to get in. But I can tell you it was free!
9. I went to a sneak preview of the movie "The Ugly Truth" (see a trend here, I'm finding ways to enjoy free AC) and enjoyed it way more than I thought it would.
10. I ate homemade hummus that Angela made and it was fabulous!

Hmmm...

Remember my post about me getting fed? And how I'd invited one of my Tuesday friends to come to church? Well, he came. It took two weeks of reminders and invites but he showed up yesterday and I was pretty excited. Not because I'd gotten him to come but because he was there. Because he decided he wanted to give church another try.

I have a hard time imagining what it would be like to have never gone to church since I've been going my entire life. But seeing Michael yesterday gave me a little peek into that world. He was nervous and thought we'd tricked him into coming to a Catholic church (our church building does look cathedral-like). But he stayed and he said he was glad he'd come.

More and more I think about my life on a small scale. I think about how my actions affect others, how others actions affect mine. I think about what I can do today, what I can do tomorrow. I think about life and the end and how different things might have been or could be.

It's a lot of thinking but as a writer that's what I spend most of my time doing. I'm in the rewriting stages of a script right now and that involves me spending most of my waking time, whether I'm watching a movie (ooh, that's the point of entry - is that a good idea to copy somehow?) or washing dishes (the opening scene needs to be funnier, that's all, just funnier. Ugh.) or waking up (I think that the wedding should be televised, internationally, yeah, that'd up the stakes). So thinking for me never stops.

What do you think about?

Musical thoughts

I don't remember where I was the first time I heard a Michael Jackson song. (I do remember where I was the first time I heard the Bon Jovi record "Slippery When Wet" though! And yes, it was an actual record. And it came all the way from Puerto Rico as I recall, a gift from a friend's grandmother.) I remember some older friends introducing me to his music because in the 80s I was still pretty little and I thought the music from the 50s, 60s, and 70s was current. I thought the Monkees were the latest thing. I thought my parents music WAS the music of the time. I had no idea there was this whole other culture out there.

To me Michael Jackson wasn't a music god like he apparently was to some people. To me he was a singer, a dancer, an entertainer. Granted, a very good one. And he was a part of my childhood. Until these last few weeks I had no idea that I knew the words to so many of his songs. I didn't know the impact they'd had on me. The memories they brought back.

Music does that for me. It reminds me of where I was at the time, what was going on. I remember very distinctly sitting in the portable at Northwest Elementary, in what was maybe third or fourth grade, passing the worn notebook paper that held the lyrics to Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach". I remember dancing around the backyard, grass beneath my bare feet, singing my heart out with Tiffany. I remember how those New Kids on the Block songs make me think of so many dance routines I put on in the Roxberry's cool basement on hot summer days. I remember singing The Fat Boys "Wipe Out" over and over again on the way home from school, and I wonder now what my dad thought back then!

Music is amazing. It stays with me. It colors my day. There are some days I want peace and I'll put in a slow, mellow CD, maybe Joshua Kadison or Yo-Yo Ma. There are days when only Eminem or Kanye West can help me express what I'm feeling. But I often turn to music, even if it's just a song or a melody. And I sing. I sing with all my heart. And today, as I watched the memorial service for Michael Jackson, I thought about what he'd done, with his gift of music. How he'd brought so many people together. How he'd brought so much joy to so many. And to me, that's pretty extraordinary.

ER

Fifteen years ago I remember watching a videotape of a show I'd recorded off NBC. I remember watching it and falling in love with the characters, the stories, the whole thing. It was a little show called ER.

Last night I watched the series finale (yes, a few months after the fact) and was saddened to think that something I've been watching for half my life is over. I grew up with those characters. And they affected me in so many different ways.

I remember that fall it premiered, I was still in high school, wandering the stacks of the Howell Library, looking for books. Not just any books. MCAT books, books on medical careers. I was going to be an emergency room physician I decided. I read and read. And then I finally realized I didn't have the right type of intellect (I can't memorize to save my soul, and that's pretty important in med school I hear). But I soaked up the information and research anyway, I was fascinated. (The Practice made me want to be a lawyer, The West Wing made me want to move to Washington D.C., Alias made me apply to the CIA, you sense a trend right -- hopefully writer will get me "into" all these careers someday!)

In grad school I took a course in health communication and we did a study on how health information was dispersed through television and movies. We used ER as an example several times. Finally, all my TV watching was paying off!

But more than that, ER showed me, every week, what good writing looks like. How it is quick and interesting and funny and serious and makes you cry and laugh and think all at once. And the finale did just that. I love television, and for me, ER will live forever as a part of my life.