She's Gonna Eat Me!

I've never been much of a runner.  My dad always said, "I only run when someone's chasing me."  I've lived by that quite a bit.  There are some exceptions though.  I run when I'm playing sports and when there's only one piece of pie left, to name two instances.  But usually it's just when I'm being chased.  Pumba, in Disney's The Lion King, is a great example of running when getting chased. 

One of the best scenes in Disney's Lion King is the scene where Pumba runs from Nala and screams, "She's gonna eat me!"  Not only does Pumba make a hilarious face (see picture to the left), but I've never seen a warthog run that fast.  He didn't skip a beat.  Once he saw Nala in the grass, he was out of there.  Once there was danger, he scrammed. 

There are times in our life that we need to run like Pumba.  When we see or sense danger, whether spiritual or physical, we should get out of there as quickly as we can.  In Genesis 39: 12, Joseph shows us how to run from spiritual danger, "And [Potiphar's wife] caught [Joseph] by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out."  Once Joseph saw that he was in spiritual danger, he fled the scene. 

When we recognize that we're in spiritual danger, we need to flee the scene.  We can't afford to stick around.  I know I said that I only run when someone is chasing me, but Satan is always chasing me.  He's chasing everyone, and tempting them to stray off the beaten path.  We need to always be running from him towards our Savior, Jesus Christ.  As long as we're headed toward the Savior, we will feel his protecting light and be able to endure to the end.

Vroom Vroom

"Ka-chow, Ka-chow!"  Lightning McQueen boastfully celebrates his win at the beginning of the movie Cars.  He's caught up in his victory dance, that is if a car can dance, and doesn't realize what the next hour and a half (human time) will hold.  He sure is in for a reality check though.  There are a ton of great parts in this movie, but there is one scene that I'd like to focus on. 

In this scene, Doc Hudson AKA The Hudson Hornet, is trying to give Lightning McQueen some racing advice.  Doc says, "I'll put it simple: if you're going hard enough left, you'll find yourself turning right."  In a very sarcastic tone, McQueen responds with, "Oh, right.  That makes perfect sense.  Turn right to go left."  He throws Doc's advice to the curb without even considering it.  Why?  Because in McQueen's eyes, it doesn't make sense.

Many times we are like Lightning McQueen.  When we seek for advice, specifically through prayer, we may not always get the answer that we're expecting.  We'll often times get an answer that makes no sense to us.  Turn left to go right?  How will that ever work out?  1 Corinthians 1:25 says, "...the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

It all comes down to faith.  Do we have faith enough that if we turn left we will go right?  Will we listen to the answer we receive even if it makes no sense to us?  We must remember that God has created every track that we'll race on in this life.  He knows every bump, divet, and curve.  When we heed to the master's advice, we will find that we're not only happier, but we're winning the race as well.  Remember that God loves us and will never lead us astray.

Remember Who You Are

Nothing brings me back to my childhood like a classic Disney movie.  Who am I kidding, I still like to watch those.  My favorite one is probably The Lion King.  There are so many quotable lines in that movie.  Rafiki, "It doesn't matta, it's in the past.  Hehehe."  Zazu, "It's a small world after all."  Simba, "I laugh in the face of danger.  Hahahaha."  Just a few examples there.  There is one quote in particular that I want to focus on though.  Its when Mufasa visits Simba in the form of a cloud and gives him advice as to what he should do.  He says, "Simba, remember who you are."

In order for us to remember who we are, we have to know who we once were.  Romans 8:16 reads, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God."  We are literally God's children.  That's who we are, and that's what we must always remember.  God is our Father in Heaven who watches over us every second of every minute of every day.  How cool is that?

There are times in life when we might feel like Simba did.  Times when we won't know where to go or what to do.  That's when we need to take Mufasa's advice and remember who we are.  Remember that God is watching over us.  Remember that he hears and answers every last one of our prayers.  Remember that he sent his only begotten son to die for us.  Remember that we mean EVERYTHING to him.  If we always remember that, then we will have no need to worry.

Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho

"Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It's off to work we go." ~The Seven Dwarfs.  A lot is to be said about the Seven Dwarfs in the movie Snow White.  One of the first scenes in the movie has the dwarfs marching in single file and singing the song previously quoted.  Why are they so happy to be off to work?  That has always puzzled me. 

It hasn't been until a couple of years ago that I've really enjoyed helping others.  I used to look at it as more of work.  I was working to benefit someone else.  Though that is true, I still didn't have the right mind set while doing it.  Moroni 7:6 says, "...for if he offereth a gift, or prayeth unto God, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing."

The act of helping others consists of two separate, but equally important, parts.  The service itself is only half of it.  In order to successfully serve others, we must have the right mindset while doing it, which is the other half.  We could do all the service in the world, but without the proper mindset, it would profit us nothing.  We should all strive to have the mindset of those seven dwarfs who were happy as can be to go to work.  If we have that attitude while we serve others, we will be able to see the daily blessings that come from genuine service.

You've Got a Friend in Me

I've always enjoyed Pixar movies.  Somehow they're all really really good.  Especially the Toy Story series.  Man, what a well made series.  The theme song, You've Got a Friend in Me, has been stuck in my head the past couple of days.  It's gotten me thinking about what a friend is.  I used to qualify a friend as someone I'd hang out with on a regular basis.  That's a friend right?  Eh...not quite.  As I thought more about it, I realized a friend is much more than that.  A friend is someone that you can trust, someone you can look up to, someone that sincerely cares about you. 

I was reading in John chapter 15 and Christ talks about us being his friends.  However, we're not automatically qualified to be his friend.  John 15: 14 reads, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."  I can't think of a better friend to have the Christ himself.  He will always be our friend, but we can be his if we do as he commands.  How cool is that! 

As the theme song of Toy Story goes:

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Yeah, you've got a friend in me

Christ is and will always be our best friend.  May we strive to be the friend that he would have us be.  As we continue to live his teachings and follow his example, we can be that friend.  And when the road looks rough ahead, we can turn to him.

Patience Iago

There's great wisdom in the statement Jafar makes to Iago many a times in the Disney movie Aladdin, "Patience Iago."  Patience is a tricky subject.  Patience is more than just waiting.  It's also about not getting frustrated or discouraged. 

Alma gives a great scripture about patience.  Alma 26:27 - "Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success."  What a dynamite scripture.  It shows how important patience is.  No matter how lousy our day is going, or how much we are discouraged.  Bear with patience thine afflictions and we will have success.  That is a promise.  And the Lord doesn't break promises, so if we do our part by having patience, we will be blessed with success in whatever aspect we need.

So when we're in those tough situation where our frustration might get the best of us, just think of the wise words that Jafar spoke, "Patience Iago."