The movie is called Shots in the Dark, and is about Abby Cooper, whose husband was killed. She gets angry at God and decides to go find his murderer.
As I prepared for the shoot the week before, I was getting increasingly uncomfortable. Often I prayed and talked to the Lord about my concerns, talked to John and to several others. Most importantly, however, I kept holding on to the promise that the Lord gave me that He is with me.
Saturday morning, as is my habit, I got up to pray. As I was pouring my heart out to the Lord, I looked up and saw a photograph I'd placed on the wall several months ago. I'd written "Peace be Still" on it.
Suddenly I realized I wasn't just reading it, I was hearing it! I knew the Lord was speaking to me in that still, small, but powerful voice of His.
A few minutes later I looked at my rotation of Bible verses and that day's verse was "Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be discouraged for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10
I was in tears of joy!
We got to our location, and we shot the scenes. The whole process went smoothly, the actresses played their parts well, and we even finished sooner than expected! The only glitch was a bit of comic relief which did nothing but make us giggle.
It was the second shooting of part 1 of scene 45. John Hambrick was filming, Brenda Foulks was delivering her lines, Dana Gore was reading opposite, James McGraw was holding the mic and checking the audio, Charyl Armstrong was taking stills when the camera wasn't rolling, and I was intent on watching Brenda perform her role as Peggy.
At the moment when Brenda and Dana were just about done, I suddenly heard a dry swish, swish, swish sound. Looking around with a puzzled look, it suddenly dawned on me that a cat was in the cat box! Oh the joys of directing a film! It reminds me of the days of shooting The Death of Kevin Frye when we had Toad Trouble and James' Bowie's Dad, Wade Sr., became our Toad Wrangler.
I actually love these impromptu interruptions. They make great bloopers! Watch for it when the movie comes out!
It's amazing how easily I slipped into my role as director! I knew the Lord had kept His promise and was, indeed, with me. He kept me from being discouraged and afraid and held me up with His victorious right hand.
Many thanks to Dana, Brenda, Charyl, James, and John. Working together as a team gave us scenes that turned out amazingly awesome!
Most of all, thanks to my God who is with me and makes the impossible possible.