Still Growing......Am I?

I was asked about a year ago to read and write a review of the Still Growing.....An Autobiography by Kirk Cameron. On the surface, most people who have seen this book have commented that they don't think they will read it or that it seemed kinda crazy for an actor so young to write such a book. I was intrigued because (1) I had such a crush on this guy when i was younger (2) he has become a good man and i wanted to know what happened in his life to make him the man he is and (3) i'll admit it, i like to read about the lives of celebreties, in particular those who were child stars and then after their shows were over, seemingly disappeared. Although Kirk Cameron never really disappeared, he just switched from mainstream Hollywood to the very limited Christian Hollywood, if you will. He even says in his book that he was once told of all the religions to pick in Hollywood he picked the most unaccepted. Well....that'd be because he didn't pick a "religion"....he chose God. An amazing thing to do considering the status he had at the time. You really have to read the book to understand how he got to this point and why it was such a difficult thing for him. Honestly, read the book anyway....it was a good read, a quick read (even if it did take me a year to do it.....i had circumstances beyond my control). The book can seriously be read in a day or two. It's short, but worth the read, in my opinion. It will never be regarded as great literature, but it is really worth the read. Anyway.....back to the topic at hand. We all know Kirk was a child actor. We saw him grow up on Growing Pains before our eyes. His character was funny and charming and a wonderful goofball. The child off the camera though was nothing like that. He came from a loving, family oriented home. The only boy with 3 younger sisters, caring, attentive parents who were always there for him. But he was shy. He hated the fame that came with acting. He didn't like that everyone thought he WAS Mike Seaver and approached him in public no matter what he was doing. He felt awkward as a pre-teen and teen going through puberty so publicly. He was raised in a house who believed in morality but not necessarily in Christianity. They believed in not drinking, smoking or doing drugs. They believed in not having sex before marriage and all the other things that good people believed in. They just didn't go to church. Kirk's father didn't want to mold his children's minds religiously, instead he wanted them to find their own way. It wasn't a bad way to grow up generally speaking. He had lots of friends from his neighborhood, a great family, and a dream job. But when he was 17 he couldn't help but think something was missing in his life, something big! He was seeing this girl who invited him to go to church with her family. Instead of saying no, like he considered doing, he went. This one thing gave him things to think about that would change his life! He had always considered himself an atheist. Thinking about God was just odd. He began to ask himself questions. Ultimately, he realized that God does in fact exist and he was missing out! From that moment on life took a new turn for him. He refused to do anything on camera that would not reflect well on his new found Christianity. Amazing for a young man on a hit tv show. Especially for someone of such a young age. Since that time he has married a wonderful woman. They have adopted 4 kids and had 2 more of their own. He has done movies such as the Left Behind series and Fireproof. He has programs running on major Christian networks. He really works hard to make sure God comes first in his life. Toward the end of his book, he asks some questions for the reader to consider. Really breaks Christianity down to its basics.......are you a sinner? Absolutely yes i am! Have you broken the 10 Commandments? WHAT? YES...one by one.....have you kept God number one in your life all the time? well.....no. Have you ever used the name of God, who gave you life in a way as to express disgust? well.....yeah i'm sure i have....i know i have. Have you lied? EVER....even once...any kind of lie...they are all the same.....of course i have. have you ever stolen anything? um yeah....taking anything that doesn't belong to you is stealing....it doesn't have to come from a store. Have you ever coveted something your friend or neighbor has? well yeah....i see things and wish i had them. Have you ever had other gods in your life? idolizing anything or anyone other than our one true God........well probably i'm sure there could be something. Have you ever committed murder? see here's the thing.....he is not just talking about taking a life......but God considers hatred the same as murder. So have you ever hated anyone? yeah....i can think of a person or two at the very least. here's a big one.....have you ever committed adultery? not just the act of it.....even lusting after someone other than your spouse.....and this does include premarital sex. um yeah...guilty. Go through each commandment one by one.....ask yourself. For reference go to Exodus 20. Just by my own admissions right there.....I am a lying, theiving, adulterous, murdering, idolizing, slanderous sinner. What would God want with me? Simple......he loves me. He loves me in a way that only a Father can love. He wants me to come to him. He wants my repentance. He wants me to say "Forgive me for these things, i am turning to you and only you. Show me the way to live for you." And the amazing part of that is he sent his ONLY son, his son who was perfect in every way, to die a horrendous death on a cross next to thieves and liars, and he did it all for me. Think of it this way.....if everyone else on Earth was perfect and you were the only sinner.....God would still have sent his son to die for you. He loves you that much. He loves me that much. Overwhelming isn't it! Just when i have things figured out, or so i think, something comes up and grabs me and snatches me back to reality. I will never have it all figured out. God intends to keep me growing everyday, the rest of my life. He has an amazing plan for me, and for you. But we have to keep learning every day. We have to seek him every day. Reading this book was enlightening for me. I needed something to snap me out of my hum drum life, to get me back in the swing of growing. Seeing that someone else who seems to have it more together than me is still growing and learning was just what i needed. Like the old song says..."He's still working on me, to make me what i ought to be, it took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, the sun and the earth, jupiter and mars. How loving and patient he must be, he's still working on me."