Friday, August 23, 2013

Swing Away

Dialogue from Signs:

Cunningham: You didn't used to play baseball did ya? I know you. You're Merrill Hess! I was there the day you hit that 507-footer over the left field wall, set the record. Man, that thing had a motor on it. It's still the record right?

Merrill: Got the bat at home on the wall.

Cunningham: You've got two minor league home-run records, don't ya?

Merrill: Five.

Cunningham: Why weren't you in the pros making stacks of cash and getting your toes licked by beautiful women?

Lionel Prichard: 'Cause he has another record most people don't know about. He has the minor league strikeout record.

Merrill: Hello Lionel.

Lionel Prichard: Merrill's a class-A screw up. He would just swing that bat as hard as he could every time. Didn't matter what the coaches said, didn't matter who was on base. He would just whip that bat through the air as hard as he could. Looked like a lumberjack chopping down a tree. Merrill here has more strikeouts than any two players.

Cunningham: You really got the strikeout record?

Merrill: Felt wrong not to swing.


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Babe Ruth always held the MLB strike out record, too.

The only way to hit home runs is to swing.

Some people would never list themselves in strike out Hall of Fame. But they also never swung the bat.

You can't be afraid to fail . . . to strike out. At ANYTHING. If you are afraid, you will never hit the ball. You will never really be in the game at all.

Swing away.


"Did someone save me?"



Signs  2002  Mel Gibson

"Did someone save me?"

"Yeah, I think someone did."


Colleen:  "Graham . . . SEE!"            I want to see.  "Tell Merrill to swing away."

Bo:  "This water is contaminated!"

Merrill:  "It seemed wrong not to swing."  (Merrill was formerly the Strike Out King AND the Home Run King of their small town)

Graham:  "Swing away, Merrill."

Morgan:  "Dad . . . what happened?  Did someone save me?"

Graham:  "Yeah.  I think someone did."

No.  I don't believe people just get lucky (or unlucky).  I don't believe in coincidences.

I believe someone saved me.

See.


With me . . . without me.



Roy - "With me . . . without me . . . with me . . . without me."




June - "With me . . . .



Yeah, Tom Cruise is nuts (see Scientology), but I still enjoy his movies.  I've been watching him since Risky Business (though Rebecca DeMornay was the draw there -- not Tom dancing in his tighty-whities).

Here's two of my favorite scenes from Knight and Day.

It sometimes gets annoying, trying, testing . . . but God says this to me every day . . . . . .

Okay . . . . . . with you.




This idea (or proposition) seems to be the point of family, friendship, faith in God, community, church . . . . It's not religion or spirituality or mysticism.  I need you . . . and I hope that you need me. 

I don't want to live in a world without God.

It would be difficult living in a world without YOU.  I NEED you.  

With you . . . 

I want to pretend sometimes that I am strong alone.  I am independent.  Self-sufficient.  But, I'm not.

"Don't allow your hearts to be troubled . . . you believe in God . . . believe in me, too.   There is plenty of room where my Father lives.  If that were not the truth I wouldn't even mention it.

I'm leaving here so that I can go and prepare a place just for you . . . there.  If I leave here to do that, then I will make sure that you get there, so that you can be WITH ME."     John 14:1-3

I believe that He is WITH ME, now.  I believe that He has prepared a way so that I can be WITH HIM, later.

I want YOU to be WITH ME later, too.  WITH HIM . . . WITH ME . . . WITH US.

It is my hope . . . .  that being together . . . doesn't stop when my heart does.