Saturday, May 27, 2006

X-Men 3

My little sis and I got back from going to see X-Men 3. Oh Wow! It is excellent! Just as good as X1 and X2. For those of you have not seen it yet, I won't give too much away. To be as vague as I can be: there are some sad moments, some on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments, and some very awesome moments.

I am happy to dispell a very disturbing rumor:
There is NOT a love scene between Wolverine and Storm. Ick!!!! Just the thought of that gives me shivers.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
Make sure to stay to the VERY end of the credits. If you don't, you will be sooooo disappointed!

This is definitely a movie to see, and one that will eventually be added to my growing DVD collection.

Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend!

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Never a good time

Have you ever noticed that it's rare to find a good time to do anything?

-- You have a gigantic load of dirty clothes, very few clean ones, and you know that laundry MUST be done, but your entire day and weekend are booked solid.

-- You know that you really need to get your new car registration sticker on you car. You have it sitting on your desk, but something always seems to come up and by the time you have time to do it, it's too dark outside.

-- You have your gym membership and have the desire to have that lean, toned body that you always wanted, especially with summer coming up, and... eek!... bathing suit season (shudder...), but something always comes up and disrupts your ideal exercise schedule.

-- You desire to be close to the Lord and deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ. You know that the easiest way to accomplish this is to spend time with Him by reading His Word and praying, among other important spiritual disciplines... BUT "something" always comes up or distracts you. For all your "good intentions," it's just never a good time.

Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever thought, 'If I only had some more time?' or 'I don't have enough time today, but maybe tomorrow.' If you have, you're not alone. Many Christians (myself included) have struggled with this and are still struggling.
Friday night, after going to see AQ's play, I eventually got home and I began to feel kind of lethargic. I haven't felt close to God in a long while and I don't have the same joy in my heart that I remember having. "What is wrong with me?" I asked myself.
That's when God turned on the light bulb... "You can do nothing APART from ME!"
I had to admit that I haven't been consistent in my quiet times or prayer life. No wonder I didn't feel like myself. God's Word is the bread of life and I've been starving myself, just trying to live off of "spiritual snacks" (ie. going to church, ABF, ladies Bible study, etc.) but my private time with the Lord is what is most important to Him.

He also reminded me that "stuff" will ALWAYS "come up." The enemy will do whatever he can to distract us, whether it's temptation, our own flesh-desires, deadlines, kids, you name it.... Satan doesn't want us to be close to God, thus becoming more like our Savior. Satan wants us to stay stagnent, indifferent, luke-warm, apathetic, and ineffective in this world. But God says NO!

Though life can be busy and hectic at times, that is still no excuse. Jesus says that we can accomplish NOTHING if we are apart from Him. We cannot bear fruit if we are separated from the Vine. God knows that life is not always easy, but He also says that if we want to be more like Jesus, then we HAVE to make HIM our first priority.
Satan may try to tell you...
It's never gonna be a good time to pray.
It's never gonna be a good time to read your Bible.
It's never gonna be a good time to fast.
It's never gonna be a good time to exercise.
It's never gonna be a good time to eat healthy.
It's never gonna be a good time to go to bed on time.
It's never gonna be a good time to tithe.
It's never gonna be a good time to witness to your unsaved friend.

Then what do you do?
Well, God then suggests the unthinkable... give up some activities and/or reschedule your schedule. Just as you would write in your calender "Volunteer with ______" or "Go see movie with ______," don't you think God wants to be on your calender as well?

I challenge you (and myself) to make sure that you are daily: in the Word for at least 15 minutes (letting God speak to you) and "on your knees" in prayer (allowing yourself to talk to God).

"I will hide Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You."

Friday, May 19, 2006

Wait For God's Best

Today at work, Linda, my boss, was telling me about the day she spent yesterday at her lake house with her dear friend, Bev Brown. Bev is one of the leaders for the older single ladies Bible study at church. While they both were talking, praying, and planning the upcoming fall Bible study, Linda happened to find a letter that someone had written a few years to her little cell group. She brought it with her to work today and shared it with me. It really touched my heart, so I thought I would share it with you as well.

Wait For God's Best
Author Unknown

Everyone longs to give himself or herself to another human being, to have a deep soul relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But, God says to the Christian…

No, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content being loved by Me alone… I love you, my child. Until you discover that only in Me lies your satisfaction, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with Me, exclusive of anyone or anything else, exclusive of any other desires or longings. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan, one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best.

Please allow Me to bring it to you. You must keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things, keep experiencing the satisfaction of knowing that I am, keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. You must wait. Don’t be anxious.

Don’t look around at the things others have gotten or received from Me. You must keep from looking off and away. Look up to Me or you’ll miss the things I want to show you, and then, when you’re ready, I’ll surprise you with a love more wonderful than you would have ever dreamed. You see, until you are ready and until the one I have for you is ready…

I am working even this minute to have you both ready at the same time… until you are both living exclusively for Me and the life I’ve prepared for you, you won’t be able to experience the love that reflects your relationship with Me, Prefect Love. And dear one, I want you to experience by the flesh a picture of your relationship with Me and to enjoy materially and completely the everlasting union of Beauty and Perfection and Love that I offer you through Myself.

Believe, and be satisfied…

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Kudos!

I just wanted to give a big Kudos to AQ and PoD for a great performance at Sat. night's show of Saga of the Golden Horseshoe. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as did LoW and my lil sis. To all readers, please say a prayer for AQ's ankle, when you get a moment. Apparently, her boot cut the back of her ankle right before her entrance during the first performance Fri. night. Hope you're feelin' better, sunshine!

Hard to believe we're already half way through May. Where has this year gone?
But there are still many things to look forward to this summer.
Several movies, in particular, that I want to see are:

Over the Hedge -- opens May 19
X-Men 3 -- opens May 26
Cars -- opens June 8
Click -- opens June 23
Superman Returns -- opens June 30
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 -- opens July 7
Lady in the Water -- opens July 21
Monster House -- opens July 28


"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (Proverbs 18:24)

Thursday, May 11, 2006

Update

Well, praise the Lord that I survived finals. Yippee!
I decided not to take any summer classes this year. The only complaint I have against my school is that their summer semesters are VERY short. The longest summer class is only 10 days. Yes, you read correctly. 10 days to somehow absord an entire semester's worth of information. Maybe God has blessed some people with that kind of mental compacity, but I don't believe I am one of them. I have been advised that if I ever did consider taking a summer (10 day) class at Criswell, then I should take Hermeneutics (the study of the transmission and translation of the Scriptures and of the principles and procedures of their interpretation and application. In other words, learning how to study & interpret Scripture correctly.) I have been told that this particular class can be a bit tedious when stretched out over a normal semester, but only having 10 days makes the subject less tedious and drawn-out. But, we shall see...

Don't forget to give your Mom a hug or at least a phone call this Sunday because it's Mother's Day. Even if you and your mom don't have the greatest relationship in the world, just remember: you only have one Mom, and reconciliation has to begin with you. If you are stubborn enough to wait for the "other person" to make the 1st move, then all you'll gain is a lot of wasted precious time that you'll never be able to get back.

For those of you who did not know, our very own Apocalypse Queen will be lighting up the stage as part of the cast of The Saga of the Golden Horseshoe, a rumored-to-be very funny, knee-slapping, melodrama put on by Word of Mouth Productions (WOMP). The show opens this weekend and will run through the 21st. I have been informed that all food items, especially popcorn and ice will be baned from entering the theatre. Apparently, after the popcorn/ice throwing meheim that ensued during a few performances of WOMP's "Peril on the High Seas", management would both like to protect the actors and actresses and leave less mess for the janitors to clean up. Your cooporation is appreciated.

If anyone is interested, I just checked Christi Berger's blog. Baby Berger has not made his or her appearance yet, but hopefully any day now.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week!