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We got this water boy who's out in the desert with a big jug of water, but somehow he dies of dehydration.
What's that about? And how does this apply to us today?
You're a filmmaker and you have a passion. You have a desire to do something great for God. All that's left is to go do it.
You got to keep working at it.
There will be difficulties. Know, there'll be these huge obstacles in your way.
They will look gigantic, and they're supposed to look gigantic.
Because this is your training ground. You get better by doing the hard stuff. You have to, see the forest from the trees. If you only see a forest, you may say, my goodness, how can I ever get through this?
But if you identify, one tree at a time, you can walk around it. Oh NO another TREE. No problem. Walk around it. Before you know it you're on the other side of the forest.
The same thing with this water boy. He's in the middle of the desert. He's got a huge jug of water, and he's just looking at it, going, This is what I want.
This is what I desire to do. All he had to do was drink the water. It's right there in front of him.
But somehow, like with film, it feels unattainable. We just can't do it. It's too big. There's too many pieces involved. It's too creative. And yes, it's different. It's different than making a dollar store trinket.
But the water is in front of you. That font of life. And it's the Lord.
We've got to totally trust in the Lord. He's the guy who's going to give you the confidence to walk through the desert, to drink the water.
He's waiting for you.
He's the guy that's going to get you through the forest. He's going to show you the difference between the trees. But you have to walk. You have to keep walking every day. Work on your discipline. Go for it. Do not be afraid. I can't remember how many times it says that in the Bible. Do not be afraid.
But it says a lot.
Because God knows we're afraid. We are human. We human beings need a savior. We need someone to help us because we can't do it on our own. That's how God made us. We have to recognize that.
And when we just look at these obstacles that are in front of us and go, I can't do that. You know what that is? That's your pride. And to say, I can do it on my own is prideful too.
You have to look at the obstacle and say, Yeah, I can't do it, but I know who can. And I have to walk through it. I have to walk over it, around it.
He will guide me.
That means you have to be moving.
Like little children you can guide them if you're holding their hand, but they have to walk. If we are in motion the Lord can guide us.
Move forward in trust and surrender.
Practice your filmmaking. You need to be ready.
Because who knows the day or the hour the opportunity will arise for you and you want to be ready. Hone your skills. We're never done, growing.
Look at Thomas Aquinas. He wrote volumes, as a matter of fact. He had so much to say, he had three scribes he dictated to all at the same time. Because one scribe could not keep up and Thomas was passionate about his using his gift.
And then he gets to the end of his life and he says he's written nothing. Because God showed him something. He showed him something mind blowing.
God showed Thomas this incredible vision because Thomas kept writing, He kept striving.
He kept trying. He was in love with the Lord.
We too need to fall more in love than we are now.
Just keep going.
For love.
Discipline yourself every day. You can totally do this.
Let God guide you at his pace. And at the same time, you have to push yourself a little bit more.
When you are in your day, and you are living your life and you get to the point that you're tired, love a little bit more.
As a husband, as a father I'm going to get to the end of today and I'm going to have done all this work, and I'm going to get home and my wife may need help with dinner. At that point my moment has arrived. I'm wiped out but if I give a little bit more, God will do amazing things.
He will unleash incredible grace in your life because you used your nature and pushed a little bit more for the love of God.
You added a little extra bit, and now God builds on it. If you do that every day, if you do that multiple times a day, you are going to reach a greater level in your artistry as well. And that's just a fringe benefits.
Nothing should be in your way. Plow forward.
At the same time move at the pace God has for you. And you will not get discouraged. If you keep in mind God's idea of success.
Your success is not determined on the box office. Your success is determined by what God considers success.
Who knows what you films are going to do. Who is it going to inspire? What do you want? You want a fleeting success? Or do you want eternal Success? I think you want eternal success in the end. Sure. There's a part of us is like, Can I just have a little bit of a fleeting success that would really make it easier to get to the eternal of success?
If it happens, praise God. If it doesn't happen, Praise God. He knows the plan for you. He's got the perfect plan. You will have great peace when you submit to his plan. Surrender to his plan.
He made you. He knows your DNA! He made your soul. The plan you want is the plan God has for you. Let Him reveal the desire of your heart.
And you're going to do more than you could ever imagine. Look at Thomas Aquinas. You know, the other thing I learned about Thomas Aquinas, he had one of the brother friars sit with him at dinner to make sure he didn't try to eat something that wasn't edible.
This genius of a man was not successful in his social surroundings. He couldn't successfully eat his food. He had to have help eating his food. But that guy could write sumo style. All right. We all have gifts. Success looks different in the eyes of God than it does to us. So we have to learn to look at that success, at how he sees success.
I can't do this topic justice in a blog. To go deeper we need to connect and come together for the glory of God.
Pray that people will have generous hearts and fund this renaissance.
Unite with other Catholic Filmmakers like you.
