Stand Strong

Though the message was a good one, the mother bothered me greatly from the very beginning of the movie. Her sheer disregard for her family, her children, her husband was enormously troubling to me. I tend to think her position of gluttony and self-centeredness was a bit overdone. It was especially difficult for me to watch her neglect her youngest son and the best actor of the lot by the way. This woman was basically portrayed as being a habitual shopper, and an avid reader of magazines while neglecting all the other duties that come with being an attentive, loving mother and wife. She was portrayed as being lazy beyond the norm. After the laborers were removed from her life, her true self-became painfully apparent. Unable to find the strength and energy to pick up after herself was particularly appalling to me. From a husband and father point of view, I could not understand how a man could remain committed to such a woman and this comes from a man who is totally against divorce. Yes, she came around a bit in the end, but I never did feel the energy and excitement that typically comes from a transformed life, especially when Abba Father takes control of the reigns. The stay-at-home mom and the youngest boys stole the show! Bravo for such women and children as these. (Spoiler alert) By the way and for what its worth, the ending seemed very unrealistic to me. Through the extreme stress that comes with losing everything, when would a couple find the time and energy to even think about having another child? Instead of trying to focus on the 'miracle' spin, the father should have asked everyone what they enjoyed most about their new life and end with a solid, transformative prayer instead of fading out just as a prayer begins.The gluttony, idolatry and debt spin were realistic to me, especially with the display of all the boy's toys and luxury vehicles, and the unnecessary purchasing of 'stuff'. The moral of the story? There is nothing more liberating and exhilarating than living a debt free life, something we all should strive to achieve with diligence and perseverance while allowing the Father to lead the way!

This movie and its lessons of life and money ill-spent may be one of the few hopes the younger generation will have a chance to learn over the course of the film. Yes, it includes the family's eventual very slow path to studying the bible, but there is no particular church reference mentioned. The majority of the film starts out with a middle-class suburb family, already addicted to spending everything they have to present their lifestyle to others - all the while by going into deeper debt. The audience will quickly see there is little financial foundation in the family's life except to use the plastic cards and roll over more equity from their home to keep the pretenses up. Yes, they do crash, they do face the selling off of all the "toys" on Craigs List and the resulting embarrassment of pride-gone-wrong with their peers. But it is a story of starting over, only this time with a better understanding of what is real important. The young generations today with their smart phones and Facebook will rarely get the life lessons needed, except perhaps if they are encouraged to sit down and be "entertained" by this film. You may not agree with the end result of the film, but where the family goes is surely desperation leading them to seek out solid answers that have been written for a thousands of years.

It all starts here: in the Bible. Relationships. Work. Money. God gives solid direction on it all. Listen to it, and you'll do well; ignore it and you'll have problems. That's the clear message of Stand Strong. Matt Webster was a high-flying businessman who lived like a king, and allowed his family to do so too. But as the economy imploded, so did Matt's family finances. The Webster family faced total economic destruction, but their family life was already on the rocks. Could this family be rescued? Enter Josh Webster and his family. Josh is Matt's younger brother, and he takes Jesus' teachings seriously. His happy family lives within their means, so they can have something to share with others in need...including their relatives. This movie honestly portrays America's love-affair with materialism, and Jesus' teaching that you cannot have two masters. You'll either love God, or mammon; you can't do both. A 4 star movie that every Christian should see with their family.

Definitely a 5 star movie with a great message! So many wonderful thought provoking moments! Loved the contrast of the rich and spoiled family to the close knit family that prays & works together! Loved how the scriptures were woven in throughout! The story definitely prompts one to take a closer look at priorities! The acting was superb - simply a great family movie! As was mentioned in the movie, "The most important things in life aren't things!" I highly recommend this movie!!

5 stars for the wonderful meaning this story tells. Life can change, without us even realizing it, but it is up to each of us to find hope in joy when life takes a turn for the worse. I love these quotes from the movie: " You can't take it with you. Invest in your family." , " The most important thing in life aren't things. AND, " We don't own any of this, it belongs to God.". This is a Christian film about getting our priorities correct. The movie starts out with a family living the high life and when they lose everything, they have to go thru trials and figure out what their priorities are and allowing God to be part of the plan. This is not a high budget movie, nor does it have the best actors, but despite it limitations, the underlying messages are clear.

I enjoyed stand strong very much. There was a good message and I hope it will make people think about what they are doing to themselves by getting into so much debt.