Like Arrows
This past week, I had the opportunity to have a prescreening of the movie Like Arrows. I was provided this opportunity for free for my honest review of the movie.
From Executive Producers, Alex and Stephen Kendrick (“War Room” and “Courageous”) and FamilyLife’s Dennis and Barbara Rainey and Bob Lapine comes the wonderful new movie Like Arrows
This movie will play for a limited time, May 1st and May 3rd, 2018 in 800 theaters nationwide. See the link below to find a theatre near you.
Charlie and Alice are a young couple trying to get through the daily grind of life. As their family grows so do the complications that swirl around raising children.
Charlie and Alice try to do the best they can but realize their children are slipping away from them.
Through some conflicts and rebellion within their family, they realize with the help of some wise friends, their best isn’t gaining them any ground and they need to make changes.
Before it is too late, Charlie and Alice make the decision to be intentional about godly parenting. They decide the only thing that is going to change their family is if they change their focus.
We see the time lapse and the journey of 50 years with this couple as life ups and downs begin to lived hope and restoration as they focus their family on God and His Word.
This Movie was a Must See
There is no way around saying this. If you have children in your home that are still living there or are even coming home from college to live for a time and younger. This is a must-see film.
I loved this movie. I spent the first half of the movie enjoying watching the ups and downs of raising children and the last 20 – 30 minutes of the movie crying.
Le me tell you it why this had such an impact on me. I have this idea that my husband and I are doing the best we can. We go to church regularly, we study God’s Word, and occasionally we go through spurts where we latch onto a process of studying God’s Word and then it fades away.
When we get busy and life takes over things, God, gets pushed aside. We try to be intentional but when it gets hard or something comes up, we just keep going. Not as much in our personal walks with Christ but with our children.
This movie made me see our lives and our children’s lives in fast forward for the breath that it is (Psalm 39:5).
I see my life going by quickly but when you look at the depiction of someone’s life in an hour an half the reality is an eye-opener. When this short time spans the 50 years of Charlie and Alice and the life of their children, you see that time is so precious and you only have so many moments.
Our number one priority and mission as parents is to raise our children. In that limited amount of time we have to influence them, it is vital that we raise up the next godly generation.
Raising Arrows
One of my favorite lines from the movie comes from the daughter when she is speaking at the parent’s 50 anniversary. She says speaking of her parents, “They showed me what it means to live my life in Jesus instead of trying to find a place for Jesus in my life.”
How too often, I try and find a place for Jesus in my life and the life of my children. I want their relationship with Him to be genuine but the realization that I need to be intentional at making Him the focus of our home and not just something we do but who we are.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. Psalm 127:3-4 (NASB)
Our children are gifts from God. They are our reward. What a beautiful perspective that I often overlook.
When my husband and I let our arrows fly, we need to have made sure they have been given an intentional and proper focus and our aim has to be centered on Jesus.
I loved this movie and would recommend it to anyone who has children, who would like to know how to support a family with children, or just wants to watch another amazing movie by the Kendrick Brothers. This is an excellent resource and with amazing insight from FamilyLife. You will not be disappointed.
Please watch the quick snippet below and check out in the links below where to see this movie in a theatre near you.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1teIZdpfixfvqnGlEmGOrxWYGJLqIqXTi/view?ts=5ad9efe3
Social Corner:
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- Like Arrows – Press Release
- Like Arrows – Link to website/ticketing page (theater verification)
Jaime, this is a great review, and it is now at the top of my list to go see.!
That is great. It is playing nationwide today and Thursday. May 1st and May 3rd. And I am assuming it will be on DVD or a streaming network at some point.
Definitely worth the time, Crystal.
Take your teenagers also?
Thanks for joining in the conversation, John. Yes, I would say this would be good for teenagers. The idea behind the movie is really making an intentional plan and goal for your family to dig into God’s Word. I think is is vital for parents to determine that this is important for their family. Parents really have to set this up as a president for their families if they want their kids on board. Think Joshua setting the president for his family to serve the Lord.
What I love about this movie is that is showed life in kind of a fast forward as such. Seeing the possibility of the end result of kids walking closely with God could really benefit families and teenagers. Sometimes seeing it in another family or from someone else’s perspective is also helpful. I think anything that is a great conversation starter with your kids is beneficial. This movie has helped our family have real conversations about studying God’s Word and we have younger kids who only saw the first half of the movie.
Thanks again. I would love to hear what you think of the movie.
Hello, should we take our 11-13 year old girls to watch, or it is too much for their understanding and they are not ready it. Thank you
I don’t really know what you share with your teenage daughters. There is an issue with the daughter in the movie and she is 15. She is sneaking to see a college boy who mistreats her which prompts a disagreement with the Father. This is what stemmed the family to launch into change. I would say that is up to you to what extent you discuss these topics with your daughters. It could be a great time to discuss safe and appropriate behavior with boys. The value of your sweet daughters as young woman and what it means to really be loved by someone that loves Jesus first. Blessings to you and your family. I would love to hear about how this went!
I really appreciate your input, it was very helpful. I will go to watch the movie with other parents and once the movie comes out on DVD (few months from now) we will have a better option of co-viewing it with our daughters and do some explanations/comments as we watch it. I am very convinced the movie would be very beneficial for teenagers probably ages 14 and up….
But I will comment how it went. God bless you and everything you do for the Lord.,
Margarit
Thanks, Margarit. I am looking forward to hearing about the conversation you have with the other parents. I think this is a good decision. It will be a great time to discuss with other parents maybe the things that you are doing that works for you and maybe get some helpful tips on things you can try.
I was not able to watch this with my husband (which I am really looking forward to doing) because I screened it on my computer. We will have to see it when it comes out. We have tried several things but I think it comes down to being intentional and sticking to a plan.
Like I shared with the gentleman below. My kids watched some of it with me. When it started to get to issues I felt they were too young to address, I didn’t allow them to continue. They are a bit younger than your girls.
I am also looking forward to the materials that FamilyLife puts out from the movie. I think it will be great stuff. Thanks again for joining me here!