This movie review is a Father’s Day tribute to honor the roles of the father in the family and in society. If you are wondering why I don’t have a Mother’s Day tribute here in my blog for this year, hubby and I went home to my province and celebrated it with my 69-year-old Mom and 91-year-old grandma – two great matriarchs in my family.

Circumstances won’t allow me to visit my hometown again and celebrate Father’s Day this June 19 with my 76-year-old Dad. I thought about honoring my Dad here instead. Since he is not updated with the technology-driven world, he’d probably joke around saying what I wrote about him over social media will already “expire”  before it reaches him. Yup, that’s how funny my Dad is. 😉

This photo of us taken around year 2011 is enough proof on how funny we are. 😀

Before I proceed with the movie review, I’d like to share some snippets on who my Dad is. My brother wrote an essay about him 11 years ago, which was selected as one of the articles read during the graduation rites of my brother’s class (Sanlingan 2005)  at the Philippine Military Academy. When the announcer started reading Kuya’s essay during the ceremony, there came the gushing and shedding of tears – our tears. It did bring us all to tears because my brother was right, our Dad is “The Unsung Hero” and yet loved and respected by all.

Taken inside the cockpit of the Cessna aircraft during Kuya’s Naval Aviation Group Graduation in 2010.

Our Dad is a man of few words and yet he cracks the silliest of jokes. He is seldom the disciplinarian and yet when discipline comes from him, we all remembered this need to hide as his discipline would mean leaving a mark for the rest of your life. He seldom gets angry but when he does, it is the kind of anger that you would not want to see.

I am grateful though to my Dad that he got to “discipline” us.  If it wasn’t for this, our lives might be in a total mess right now and without direction. Now that I am a believer, I have learned that discipline in a family is very important not to show who’s the boss in the household, but for parents to guide their children in the right way because they love them and only because they wanted the best for them. It’s just like how God, a Father to His sons and daughters, disciplines and rebukes us so we could live fruitful and better lives.

My Mom is never the stage mom type and when I was in grade school, I was always invited to participate in dance numbers, presentations, oral declamations, etc. So you’ve probably guessed who was with me most of the time during these activities – my Dad. 😀

It is a #FlashbackFriday today so please allow me to backtrack a little bit to when I was in grade school just to share some photos of moi and the extra curricular activities I have mentioned:

Here we are preparing for an Ati-Atihan folk dance number when I was 6 years old. That’s me second to the right.

Before The Walking Dead, there was zombie dance. lol Seriously, this is a Hawaiian dance number.

Grade 3 Star Scout Camping. There’s another star scouter wanting to have her photo taken with me – except that she became a photo bomber. Tsk, too late. 😀

I totally love my childhood because of Girl Scout Camping. This was taken during our hiking and swimming at Obou Falls along with my childhood friends and classmates. That’s me in the middle wearing a white shirt.

I played the role of a bridesmaid during a school program.

Competed with other schools in the folk dance category during the Literary & Musical Contest.

Performed during a school play when I was in Grade 6 and played the role of Thisbe in one of the stories in Greek mythology, “Pyramus and Thisbe.”

I’d just like to give credit to my Dad for being our all-time photographer – these photos and memories wouldn’t have been made possible. Nope, I am not a Daddy’s girl and I do not consider myself as one. I never experienced being so absolutely clingy to my Dad, but at some point I did feel a deeper connection with him more than my Mom when I was in high school. But when I got into college, I felt that both my parents did so well in raising me and my siblings, and they never had any “favorite” among the five of us.

I believe one thing that I am forever grateful to God for is the fact that I grew up with both my parents present through every milestone that we went through. Though we all had to leave home when we all went to college, we always looked forward to the days when we will all come home together and both our parents were there to welcome us.

As for my Dad, I admired him for being a civil engineer by weekdays and farmer by weekends (tending farms is difficult)  just to make sure we have enough for all our expenses as a family, while Mom was a grade school teacher on weekdays and stayed at home cleaning, gardening, cooking, and doing take-home work on weekends. But this kind of setup didn’t mean Dad had no time for us at home. It was, on the other hand, quite the opposite. Despite juggling through a lot of responsibilities at work and at home, my Dad made sure all our needs (not just material things)  were well-provided for including emotional support, bonding time, etc.

Dad, the civil engineer, fresh from oath taking during his late 20s.

Dad, the farmer, and me, the farm girl. I mean, the photographer. 😉

I’d like to share at this point a little trivia on me – I was Daddy’s little maid. We all are actually, but I believe it is more of a “youngest”  thing. *wink*  Yes, every time he cuts grass in the garden with the lawn mower and he was all sweaty, you’ll hear him calling out to his “errand girl”:

“Nen (my nickname which is short for Nene)! Please get me a glass of cold water and towelette and wipe my back dry.” 

Then, after a hard day’s work at the farm, Daddy would ask me to give him a back massage while he is resting. When I was little, back massages for my Dad meant doing my “cat walk”  on his back while he’s lying face down. Well, that was when I was still skinny and little. When I grew older, it became just the regular back massage.

It was only when I was in college and the only child in the family still studying that my parents were able to gather enough funds for our house to have it completely constructed – the product of all their hard work, patience, and perseverance. But it is more than just constructing a house that they have built – they have built something greater in us over the years.

While reminiscing our younger moments spent with our parents, it just dawned on me how we were taught to value hard work over riches and accumulation of possessions, why quality time with loved ones is better than splurging and being with a lot of people on grand occasions, and being content with whatever we have. They didn’t particularly instruct us with Bible verses on how to live our lives, but now that I am slowly learning the Bible day by day, I realized that my parents brought us up according to the Scripture – live life simply with fear in the Lord.

To end this part, I’d like to share this text message that my Dad texted me about a difficult situation that I am going through. This was in the vernacular (Bicol), so I’d just translate it for you:

“As long as you trust in yourself, you trust in God and if it is meant for you, it will and it will come.”

Of course, Mom also has something similar regarding another event which I informed her yesterday:

Never mind the exclamation point because my Mom wasn’t angry nor excited, she just wanted to emphasize the last statement. That is how my Mom texts – stressed words in capital letters accompanied by exclamation points at the end a.k.a. generation gap. lol I’m just kidding. It’s a good thing my Mom doesn’t read this. But if she does, errrr, love you Mom! 😀

Another thing, praise God for Skype – long distance relationships are now easier to deal with. After reading this, you might have this impression that he is a perfect man. But honestly, like any Dad in this world, he is not perfect, too. Well, let’s just say he’s close to being perfect. I chose to see him that way despite his imperfections. He is our hero, anyway.

“Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12

A portrait of Mom and Dad talen in 2012. 🙂

Courageous: The Movie

Now, let’s get on to the movie review. This is, by far, one of the best movies I have watched that focused on fathers. If I have to commend the Kendricks brothers for producing such great Christian films, it’s because a majority of the scenes portrayed all depicted real-life scenarios. Although we can say that some were tweaked to fit the entire theme of the movie. If all the scenes were to happen in real life though, some may take quite some time to happen, unlike how the timeline progressed in the movie.

Not all relationships and marriages are the same. They’re always a case-by-case basis and yet watching this movie now made me realize what to expect and what to do if time comes I am faced with the same situations. I highly encourage all the young men out there, fathers, and soon-to-be fathers to watch this film, and I am praying you will step up to the place that God has called you to be – as Godly leaders and future leaders of your homes. My husband and I watched this film together, and what he blurted to me after watching was this,

“Honey, can you look up on the internet for more movies like that?” 

Ah yes, that’s an affirmation, a positive response. I was just glad that was the kind of response that the movie elicited from him. I wasn’t expecting anything at all regarding my husband’s reaction though I did my research what the movie was all about prior to watching. I just thought we’ll view it like any regular “chill time”  movie that we come across and watch during rest days.

Praise God for sending the Spirit to guide and prepare our hearts, minds, and souls on how we are going to interpret the movie. I only recommend movies if I rated it with 5 stars (very good)  meaning it made such a life-changing impact on me i.e. how I view things, how it changed my perspective on certain things, such as my lifestyle, my attitude, and my character, and so on. So yes, please do watch this movie.

Hubby and I watched it a couple of weeks ago, and we both agreed this is the perfect movie to watch on Father’s Day. Thus, I’ll cut this short for now and let you watch it. But first, don’t forget to shower your Dad with much love and appreciation on his special day as a father. 🙂

The Ginete family at Dad’s ancestral house circa 1993 and my favorite sheepish, no-teeth smile which I never seem to outgrow. 😀

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY TO ALL THE FATHERS and most especially to my ONE, GREAT FATHER from up above, FATHER GOD! ❤

RESOLUTION

“…I now believe that God desires for EVERY father to courageously step up and do whatever it takes to be involved in the lives of his children. But more than just being there providing for them, he is to walk with them through their young lives and be a visual representation of the character of God, their father in heaven.

A father should love his children, and seek to win their hearts. He should protect them, discipline them, and teach them about God. He should model how to walk with integrity and treat others with respect, and should call out his children to become responsible men and women, who live their lives for what matters in eternity.

Some men will hear this, and mock it. Or ignore it. But I tell you that as a father, you are accountable to God for the position of influence He has given you. You can’t fall asleep at the wheel, only to wake up one day and realize that your job or your hobbies have no eternal value, but the souls of your children do.

Some men will hear this and agree with it, but have no resolve to live it out. Instead, they will live for themselves, and waste the opportunity to leave a godly legacy for the next generation.

But there are some men, who regardless of the mistakes we’ve made in the past, regardless of what our fathers did NOT do for us, will give the strength of our arms and the rest of our days to loving God with all that we are and to teach our children to do the same.

And whenever possible to love and mentor others who have no father in their lives, but who desperately need help and direction. And we are inviting any man whose heart is willing and courageous, to join us in this resolution.

In my home, the decision has already been made. You don’t have to ask who will guide my family, because by God’s grace, I will. You don’t have to ask who will teach my son to follow Christ, because I will.

Who will accept the responsibility of providing and protecting my family? I will. Who will ask God to break the chain of destructive patterns in my family’s history? I will. Who will pray for, and bless my children to boldly pursue whatever God calls them to do? I am their father. I will.

I accept this responsibility and it is my privilege to embrace it. I want the favor of God and His blessing on my home. Any good man does. So where are you men of courage? Where are you, fathers who fear the Lord? It’s time to rise up and answer the call that God has given to you and to say I will. I will. I will!”

– Adam Mitchell, COURAGEOUS