God in the Box

4 filmmakers, a box, and the most controversial subject in the world, set off on a 10 day 8 city tour across the United States to ask people two profound questions: Who is God to you? And what does it look like? Where did this brilliant idea come from? On a road trip to Tucson Nathan Lang, Nick Calderon, Troy Browder and Jim Manley were talking about they poor state of reality television, and like all good entrepreneurs they knew all they needed was a good idea, they were in luck Nathan had it- “God in the Box”.

The plan…build a box, add video, a stool, a pad of paper and let people share honestly and openly about God. God of all things - the topic which more wars have been fought over than any other topic in the world. When I asked Nick Calderon if he knew what they were getting themselves into, and the profoundness of this project, he answered: that they had no clue, nor did they have a clue how great this project would turn out, it was truly enlightening!

So they set out in their RV with their God Box, which is often referred to as the main character, to get inside people’s heads and to figure out their basic concept of God. The boys are pretty tight lipped about this documentary, as it has yet to be released, but they did tell me that what people came up with was astounding - the differences in their opinions, thoughts, ideas and concepts were shocking. The passion behind this topic was far beyond anyone’s expectations. While watching the documentary previews I heard a lot profound and heart-felt statements, but the most upsetting statement I heard was “What God means to me is trouble in the world”. It broke my heart actually. Really I think it to be the exact opposite of how God would want to be defined. The neatest thing happened while I was doing the research for this article. My youngest son, Gavin 10, reminded me that the actual box from God in the Box was parked at our neighborhood church for weeks. Crazy, I must have passed it like 100 times, each time wondering what it was all about. Now, to be writing a story on it - is it odd or is it God?

While interviewing Nick, he said to me that he learned more from the questions that he did from the answers. I get it, there are so many more questions about God that aren't unanswered. He also told me that he found great comfort in knowing that he wasn’t the only one full of questions. I think if we’re all honest, we’re all full of questions. With the state of the nation how could we not be. This amazing documentary is in post production as we speak! I absolutely cannot wait to see it! What I’m hoping, this film is actually about is taking God out of the box. It seems to me that we have been putting God in a box for way to long . What happened? Is it not time to ask ourselves if we are a country built on God, where has he gone? And with the state of our country what it is today, would it not be in our best interest to put him back in charge

So I guess Nick was right - it is all about the question. It’s hard to look at all the suffering in the world - cancer, Aids, suffering children, floods? And still have faith, but if we start questioning God on the bad stuff then do we not have to start questioning him on all of the good, like the fact the sun comes up every morning. I could go on and on with questions -what about this? What about that? How come this is happening? How come that is happening?- But I don’t want to because I think God is Love and there is no question about that. We may not always understand why or how it works, but I think that if we all just made a conscious effort to love each other just a little bit more, this world would become a whole lot better place!

To see a sneak peak of this film visit their site at www.godinthebox.com

The Westin Kierland

Here is the review I wrote for www.swellcityguide.com

Check-in was rough, but besides that, this Hotel is absolutely amazing. First off, location, location, location. The Westin is conveniently located less than 20 minutes from the Sky Harbor Airport, and once you get there, you have everything you need to have a fabulous vacation. It is within walking distance of the most incredible stores, Cartier, Tommy Bahama, Lucky Brand, Juicy Couture, and my favorite, Anthropologie.

So, after check-in, I checked into the Agave Spa. When I walked in, the smell alone was soothing. I ordered a smoothie they call “Calm” which I drank with my feet in the hot tub. . . Amazing! Then I received the best massage I ever gotten in my life. Before the massage even starts, they have you drop your worries in the Apache Worry Basket. Neat, eh? The massage is called Tui Nai, a soft tissue massage, which is a unique massage and a 5,000 year old Chinese tradition that seeks to establish a more harmonious Qui and Blood flow, allowing the body to naturally heal itself. I don’t know about all that, but what I can tell you is that they do this massage with an almost rocking motion, which is the most amazing, relaxing thing I have ever experienced. So relaxing in fact, I almost fell down when I stood up. The Agave is a full service spa which you don’t always find in hotels. They also have couples massage rooms – the staff is amazing – an all around great spa.

I am not much of a golfer – what I mean by that is that I have only golfed once in my life. But, I hear from reliable sources that it is a challenging and fun golf course. You can rent a Segway and after an hour lesson, ride one while you play golf. You can also rent and play golf in a kilt, which is a neat little twist of tradition and weirdness. Come to find out that Arizona had many Scottish immigrants that came over to build the railroads. Who knew? Shows you what I know about Arizona history.

The Westin Kierland also has an amazing children’s program. I got to spend the afternoon poolside in a Cabana. It was wonderful. I ordered vegetable wraps – fresh and healthy – YUM! Cabanas are very important in Arizona, especially to families, as when it reaches 115, you need shade. They have an adult pool and a family pool, with a lazy river, which is so neat! Their children’s program is very special – it includes a passport program where the children get stamps and pins for the activities they participate in. Some of these activities include arts and crafts, story time, kids trivia, pajama parties and nightly campfires with S’mores included. They even have a Director of Fun.

The employees at the Spa and Pool were absolutely amazing. With a Spa, Golf and a family program, this hotel has a lot going on. The entire time I was waiting for that impeccable, perfect thing. . . and I found it at DESEO.

I knew that Deseo’s was special the second I walked down the stairs into this amazing four star (should be five) restaurant. The artwork hanging straight ahead was indescribably fabulous. When I asked about it, they told me the story of Cuban artist Nelson Garcia Miranda. He was a dishwasher at the hotel and he often told the head Chef that he was an artist. The Chef asked him one day if he could bring in some of his artwork for the hotel opening. Nelson happily obliged. His artwork was noticed and loved by a local gallery owner and now his amazing artwork can be found throughout the hotel. Nelson paints during dinnertime at Deseo’s. I got to meet and watch this amazing man paint. Such a success story! After watching him paint, my date and I sat in their muddle bar while we were waiting to be seated for dinner. Their signature drink is a Mohita. Mohito’s are something I knew nothing about, and come to find out is a pretty neat thing. Muddling is the mashing of fruit, berries and spices into a drink, along with Rum if that is your thing. They even have muddling classes on Wednesday night. Pretty Cool! Moving on to dinner which was amazing.

I don’t know whether it was that I was hungry, but I know that their fresh, baked bread and garlic whipped butter was the perfect introduction to the experience forthcoming. The ceviches were all good, but the experience I had with the Millionaire Tacos was incredible. Definitely a must! The Kobe beef tenderloin on flat bread had a chain reaction of flavors, the first followed by the next with something I wasn’t familiar with. Quite a pleasant experience. I never knew there was such a science to it. The Kobe beef was something my date and I decided we would definitely return for. I wasn’t disappointed with anything I tasted, but the Kobe beef was definitely my favorite. My date rechecked the check-in when he came to pick me up and the problem had been corrected. I absolutely recommend the Westin Kierland!

Reviewed by Emily Sadler at emilyism.com

The Westin Kierland Spa & Resort
6902 e. Greenway Parkway
Scottsdale, Arizona
(480) 624-1000
www.kierlandresort.com