Tag: Christianity

Favorite movies

· 2 Comments ·

My son posed a question to me tonight,”Mom, what is your favorite movie?” I am not sure I have a favorite but I have a short list of movies that I can watch all the time. I could watch these movies over and over. As sad as it was to my son Captain Underpants did not make my short list. Movies can do something to your soul. All of the movies on my list do touch my soul. Now they are not all huge blockbusters and I am sure some people will see this list and say WHAT they liked that movie. We all have our likes and dislikes and that is what is so wonderful but mankind. We are all different and there is something for everyone. I will say there is a big theme that runs through my movie choices and that is music. I love music. I am terrible of knowing song lyrics. My husband will poke fun at me that I work on the radio with music but have no idea what songs are “about.” It is true. I don’t think I ever have been able to hear lyrics enough even as a youth to get what a song is about but I love the melody and I love the beats. I personally love that there is technology now on my iPhone that scrolls the lyrics when I listen to the music.

I feel so much emotion with music. It brings me to tears. I can’t explain it but I can hear a song and it fills me. I feel it with the beat, I feel it with emotion that causes goosebumps. It can cause my lungs to fill with air and tears escape. It isn’t tears of sadness just emotions. At church certain songs cause the hairs on my neck to stand up. Raise hands to surrender. I need Gods help and there is a pull to raise hands to God and admit full surrender to him. Music can cause these feelings in me. Not every song does this to me. In fact days go by at work and I listen to music my whole day at work and I don’t feel anything but then Indigo Girls come on and yes the emotions. Eva Cassidy is another one that can bring on goosebumps.

I thank God I still can get this reaction from music. Since my hearing has dropped in past years music doesn’t sound the same. So much music sounds horribly off tune to me. Maybe that is why it is so special when I have those songs that still “get” me.

So my favorite movies are:

1- Mr Holland’s Opus

2- August Rush

3- Mary Poppins

4- Greatest Showman

5- Saving Mr Banks

Probably not movies that would be on most people’s list but that is the beauty of being an individual. I can have my favorites and you can have yours. What are your favorite movies?

Advertisement

The Big Picture

· Leave a comment ·

speck pictures

Have you ever seen Horton Hears a Who?  It is a cute book, amusing childrens movie and a question that can keep you thinking for days on end.  Are we just a speck?  Are we just this small part of a big picture?  I have been thinking about this since last Wednesday at my Bible Study.  We talked about how we see the toil and strife that affects all of us.  Sometimes it just seems like we can’t get a break.  That is all of us, we are humans.  But when people say the phrase, this is all happening for a reason, is there a reason- a greater picture that this all works together?

I have a hard time getting my head around this at times.  I have had my share of troubles, sleepless nights.  Wondering how is this all going to work out or will it work out.  I think of the big things in my life now.  I think of jobs, money, my kids, IEP’s, hearing loss, a best friend with cancer, lice and the list could go on and on.  I wonder why there just can’t be a break.  Why people can’t just live the simple life, isn’t that the American Dream?  But then I see how some things that have been a roadblock, a problem can work out for the greater good of our family.  Moving to a town where I didn’t know a soul, heck I had never heard of the town before.  Now seven years later I no longer see this as a problem I see this as home.  I have more “family” than I had anywhere I had lived before.  I am more connected now with a church, school and other organizations.  There was a bigger picture and God knew this and he took care of us.  I can go through this whole list and after time has passed and the fog clears my head from the situation I see that there is a greater picture.  I maybe can’t see the whole thing but things do work out.  Things that we don’t understand can sometimes go into focus.

focus picture

So are we just a speck on this piece of paper of life?  All these things happen around us and to us and we have to trust that this big picture will all make sense.  Do I have the answers, NO.  But I trust in God and God knows ALL.  He knows how all these little things, the highs and the lows we will experience in life.  He knows how it will all work together and I have to try and get my simple human mind to accept that.  I don’t understand why there is hurt, why there are children that die, why mom’s get cancer.  I don’t understand, I don’t see the whole picture but I have to trust God does and he knows what is happening.

So listen for that voice, just like Horton heard from the Speck.  God is there for all of us and he cares about each one of us even if we are just this tiny speck in his universe.

He has Risen

· Leave a comment ·

He has RISEN INDEED.  I want to wish all of you a blessed Easter Sunday.  A day we can all remember that our Christ has died for our sins, but overcame death and ROSE AGAIN.

I have wonderful memories of Easter.  I remember dressing up in our finest and living in Minnesota can be a challenge some times if there is still snow on the ground or winter temps.  We always would get up early and search for our Easter baskets that had been hidden with such care.  Then came time for the eggs.  They could be hidden anywhere, the microwave, oven or on top of the TV.  We would walk down the block to the large Lutheran church and have breakfast with our friends and family in the church basement. The one thing I learned is I DON’T like hot cross buns.  They were always served on Easter Morning.  We would then worship together as a family.  Easter afternoon was always special event.  We would go to my grandparents that were about 6-7 blocks south on the same street as we lived on.  Grandma laid out Easter eggs all around the yard and the basement.  One thing you need to know about this grandma she is the height of organization and fairness.  She had a label maker and the kids names were on our eggs and we were to only pick up OUR eggs not our siblings or our cousins.  A large dinner followed and just a wonderful day to be with family.

I want to pass these traditions on to our children.  I worry to many traditions from generations past are getting lost with our children.  This morning my kids woke up at grandma’s at 6am.  They ran downstairs and had to find if the Easter bunny left them any goodies.  We then dressed up just like days of my youth.  Greta had a dress on and Henry wore a suit.  He was so proud and my little prince charming and Greta is a young lady.  Now we all are busy in the kitchen getting the meal ready for Chad’s family to come for a dinner of ham, potatoes, salads and all the trimmings.

I wish you a day of renew.  A day where the sun’s rays can cast down on you.  God is not dead he is surely ALIVE.

A Good Cry

· 2 Comments ·

Image

Do you ever have a day when the world seems so very heavy and you don’t know if your shoulders can bare the weight of all of it anymore.  I am not typically a person that freaks out, or cries or wallows in pities of life.  I know of people that beat themselves up almost daily for decisions they have made and how they carry out their daily lives.  I have faults and have many mistakes but I try to move on.  

Yesterday I don’t know what happened.  I stepped away from the craziness of two kids playing the Hunger Games and just spent sometime by myself in my room.  I played some music and all of a sudden I felt a feeling come over me that made the tears flow.  I always try to be the person that holds it all together.  To be the person that finds the bright side to every dark situation.  I may not always believe in the bright side but I need to bring that out for the others involved.  Yesterday life just hit me and I cried.  I cried and cried and it felt good.  It was a release of all these pent up emotions.  There was nothing horrible I was harboring, but it is just the stresses and reality of everyday life.  There were issues in my childrens lives that I thought of, there were issues in my husbands life that came to front, there were issues in my own life that all seemed to hit me.  

It is odd how little things can do this to you.  How seeing something, or listening to something can bring up such emotions.  It was just a cummultive effect for me.  I received some information in the mail, information that was very useful to me but seeing it just brought reality to life.  Then hearing the lyrics of a song it allowed the floodgates to be opened.  I remember being a little girl and something would happen and I wouldn’t cry.  I wanted to be the strong one, the one that stood fast and had the brave face.  I can remember my dad coming into my room and explaining to me that crying frees the soul.  That a good cry is actually good for you and can get rid of toxins and other things that you are keeping in.  That usually did it then the tears would come.  

I believe in prayer.  I believe in Gods love for us and that we can always go to him in our time of need but also remember to go to him in our good times also.  I try to pray and be a good pray warrior.  I pray for others around me and I pray for my family and myself.  I believe that like this quote says above that the things that are going on in my life and in my families lives are being done for a greater purpose.  Things happen for a reason, these things we can learn from, we can grow from and we can change ourselves and others around us with the knowledge we have gained.  God has a purpose for us.  He is shaping us into the person we are to become.  It may be putting a burden on our heart for service, or a group of people that need a voice.  I pray I see this purpose and I may be put to work for the greater good of others.  

I had my good cry and from that I will work and pray to see what the greater purpose is and where I am needed.