It has taken over

Yes, High School Musical has taken over our house! I bought it for the girls as one of our movies in the our first shipment from the Disney movie club and they love it! A while ago a friend of mine took my daughter and her daughter and another little girl to the movies, so while I was on Plugged In online to check out that movie, I also looked up High School Musical, because I had never heard anything about it while it was new, but at that time had been hearing about what a testimony it was to Disney about making clean movies - because it made so much more money than ever expected. So anyway, now I figured out that is because it was a made-for-TV movie, not a theatrical release!
I bought it, but just the original version - not trusting the bonus features or whatever else there may have been in any one of the 'extended' versions. We love it, it is a really sweet movie, with not even any innuendo. There is some mild crush sense. To be clear, I mean no one actually 'talks' about having a crush on someone, but there is some senses of it. Zeke wants Sharpay to come and watch him play basketball, and there are obviously feelings happening between the two leads, but they don't do anything about it - one small kiss on the cheek at the very end!
(There is a couple of actual kisses at the end of the sequel so be fore-warned)
It has reminded me of our evolution as parents! When Olivia was 3 and I was a new Christian, I had heard someone on TV, on 100 Huntley Street or something talk about letting our daughters watch movies like Lady and the Tramp and then wondering why women get involved with men that they have to change. So although I don't want to necessarily over-analyze everything, I saw some validity in that train of thought so I began watching our movies more discriminately (I don't think that is a real word, but you get my drift). Not only does the Lady manage to settle the Tramp down, but Hercules is the son of a false god, Mulan prays to the ancestors and Ariel is downright disobedient to her father with no real repercussions....he even gives her what she wants!!! Horror of horrors! Needless to say as a good mother with the intentions of protecting her child and possibly someday children from all things bad I gave away a lot of our Disney movies - because I didn't want negative messages in our house.
Well, that is all well and good - but you know what happens??? 3 year olds grow up and need to know about other religions, false beliefs, and yes, even that people (and deer) even die, even sometimes mommies. So now my kids are older and some of the movies that I have previously banned - I have realized that there is value in using as conversation points. Not necessarily when they are 3, but when they are older! Apparently there is a whole book about it - by Kathryn Stout or something called Movies as Literature. Anyway, many of these movies have provided excellent conversations about why Ariel doesn't get disciplined, and why she maybe should have, or how there is no hope or joy in religions who rely on the dead to answer prayers or give luck - our hope comes from Jesus, God, who became man, to die as a substitute and ultimately rose to life and is LIVING today, interceding for us at the throne of God! Yay!
So all of that to say that from the very first watching of this movie, we were able to talk about the point - and that is that God has a plan for you, a plan, a purpose, and He has designed you a certain way, with talents, gifts, abilities and desires, to be used for HIS glory - and no matter what other people think of you or want you to be, you can do things for Him, for the audience of One and it will be the right thing! I love it! I love being able to talk about the good, look for the spiritual and even when necessary discuss the unspiritual! It's not like we are letting them watch the Exorcist or anything, just remembering that even if there is negative elements, as long as they are age appropriate, you can use those as teachable moments!
I love being a mom, and what it has made me learn about myself!