mother worry

Our new town is different from our old town in so many ways. But I am only going to talk about one right now.

I have never seen so many fashion conscious little bitty girls in my life. At the mall I saw a little girl, no more than seven, begging her mom to let her go into Banana Republic. What?

At seven I didn't even care if I wore clothes, definitely didn't care where they came from.

My nearly twelve year old girl doesn't care either. She has a few opinions. Mostly, what color they are and are the loose enough. She prefers her clothing actually touch her body in a few places as possible.

The kids in her old school didn't really care.

Here, every store I go into I see these very young girls discussing clothes as if they are twenty year old fashionistas.

Don't we expend enough angst the entire rest of our lives wondering whether we look ok, whether we fit in, whether people approve of us? Why start at seven, eight, nine?

So, the other part is, my girl will be starting this new school. Will she be surrounded by stylish babes who will be judging her because they can tell her clothes came off a clearance rack somewhere other than the Gap or whatever is hip these days? She seems to be oblivious to all of that and may not even know unless someone says something directly to her. But still...

I want so much for her to be accepted and liked for who she is. But I guess she's entering that phase where it is very difficult to be accepted for just being yourself. 6th grade + is all about judging and being judged, from what I've seen.

I guess I just do my part, turn her over to God and hold on to my hat!

speaking of movies

We recently watched two really good movies. Both of them are true stories about people who invested their lives in the lives of others.

The first one is Freedom Writers. I particularly liked how this movie shows the power of a story. Whether fiction or non-fiction, a story can take you out of yourself. It opens the world up to you and gives you new perspective.

The other movie was Pride. This movie demonstrates both kinds of pride. The negative, empty, boastful kind that tears people down and the positive kind that builds people up.

The main theme is the way one person can influence another or even a group to positive change. Very powerful. Of course, said influence doesn't happen over night and it isn't easy. And the people being changed sometimes don't want to be changed.

Do you have any experience in this? Have you been able to impact someones life by investing in them? Or have you seen it happen first hand? Maybe you are the one who was changed because of another person's willingness to step into your world and give you a needed boost?

movie time

Ok, I love movies, so I couldn't resist this list that I saw on a new friend's blog. Mother Wit

Bold the movies you've seen.
Put ** by the movies you would recommend.
Italicize the movies you want to see
AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies -- 10th Anniversary Edition:
1 Citizen Kane (1941) - I was very young, I need to see it again.
2 The Godfather (1972)
3 Casablanca (1942)))
4 Raging Bull (1980)
5 Singin' in the Rain (1952) **
6 Gone With the Wind (1939) **
7 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8 Schindler's List (1993)**
9 Vertigo (1958)**
10 The Wizard of Oz (1939) **
11 City Lights (1931)
12 The Searchers (1956)**
13 Star Wars (1977)
14 Psycho (1960)
15 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
16 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
17 The Graduate (1967)
18 The General (1927)
19 On the Waterfront (1954)
20 It's a Wonderful Life (1946)**
21 Chinatown (1974)
22 Some Like It Hot (1959)**
23 The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
24 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)**
25 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)**
26 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
27 High Noon (1952)**
28 All About Eve (1950)
29 Double Indemnity (1944)
30 Apocalypse Now (1979)
31 The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32 The Godfather Part II (1974)
33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)**
35 Annie Hall (1977)
36 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
37 The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) - I saw most of this, but I don't think I got to see the end.
38 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39 Dr. Strangelove (1964)** if you have a warped sense of humor
40 The Sound of Music (1965)**
41 King Kong (1933)
42 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43 Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44 The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45 Shane (1953)
46 It Happened One Night (1934)
47 A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48 Rear Window (1954)** great suspense
49 Intolerance (1916)
50 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) **
51 West Side Story (1961) **
52 Taxi Driver (1976)
53 The Deer Hunter (1978)
54 M*A*S*H (1970)
55 North by Northwest (1959)
56 Jaws (1975)
57 Rocky (1976)
58 The Gold Rush(1925)
59 Nashville (1975)
60 Duck Soup (1933)
61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62 American Graffiti (1973)
63 Cabaret (1972)
64 Network (1976)
65 The African Queen (1951)**
66 The Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) **
67 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68 Unforgiven (1992)
69 Tootsie (1982) **
70 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71 Saving Private Ryan (1998) **
72 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
75 In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76 Forrest Gump (1994)**
77 All the President's Men (1976)
78 Modern Times (1936)
79 The Wild Bunch (1969)
80 The Apartment (1960)
81 Spartacus (1970)
82 Sunrise (1927)
83 Titanic (1997)
84 Easy Rider (1969)
85 A Night at the Opera (1935)
86 Platoon (1986)
87 12 Angry Men (1957)
88 Bringing Up Baby (1938)**
89 The Sixth Sense (1999)
90 Swing Time (1936)**
91 Sophie's Choice (1982)** only if you like tear jerkers
92 Goodfellas (1990)
93 The French Connection (1971)
94 Pulp Fiction (1994)
95 The Last Picture Show (1971)
96 Do the Right Thing (1989)
97 Blade Runner (1982)
98 Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)**
99 Toy Story (1995) **
100 Ben-Hur (1959)

who are you?

I was a liar, a cheat, a vandal, jealous, covetous, full of envy and selfishness. I was rebellious and then, when I was nine years old, I gave my life to Jesus.

Ok, so some of those things still temp me. I obviously have not lived a sinless life ever since I was nine years old. In fact new and bigger sins have come into my life from time to time. But what has changed is the state of my heart. I have a new heart. I have a heart that longs for things of God rather than things of the world. Even through my life I can see where God has changed me from who I was last year, and the year before and next year I won't be who I am today.
I'm not who I was. Are you?

friday's feast

Appetizer

Describe a toy you remember from your childhood.

I had a toy record player. You know round disk things that were bigger than CD's... Anyway, these actually weren't much bigger than CD's. They were thick plastic and had little bumps on them so they played like a music box. There were several records in bright colors and the only song I can remember was How Much is That Doggy in the Window.

Soup

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you?

When it comes to people, I am probably and 8 or 9.

When it comes to other stuff, I am often a 2 or 3.

Salad

Where would you rather be at this very moment?

a spa

Main Course

When was the last time you learned something new?

about two days ago I learned about bumble bees seeing as we have a swarm that lives near us and hangs out in our backyard. They seldom sting, but can and will gang up on an intruder. They are excellent pollinators and they make and store small amounts of honey.
Dessert

Fill in the blank: I have ____________ but I haven’t ____________.

I have been through the desert on a horse with no name but I haven't got the sense to come in out of the rain.

Ok, that one wasn't for real.

I have read thousands of books, but I haven't written a single one.

recommend a good christian book

I Haven't seen a list of Christian books like the one we just did with secular books, so I decided to make one.

If you want to, take the list and add to it. Particularly books that are classics or those you think are destined to be classics. Novels that have a life-changing or challenging message.

As with the other list, Bold the books you have read.

Italicise the books you would like to read.

Rather than marking the ones you recommend, just make comments -- that's more interesting.

CAPITALIZE the books you don't know enough about to know if you want to read them or not.

Christian book list:

1. In His Steps – Charles M. Sheldon -- the book behind WWJD. I recommend it. Very challenging.
2. The Hiding Place – Corrie Ten Boom -- Maybe my all time favorite book. If you haven't read it, you must!
3. Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
4. Pilgrim’s Progress -- John Bunyan --I'm not sure if I read the original or just the Jr. version. But a great story. Every Christian should have this under their belt.
5. Foxe’s Book of Martyrs – John Foxe --Again, a must read. Not an easy read, obviously.
6. The Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis -- I've started this one several times. I'm gonna read it one day!
7. Christy -- Catherine Marshall --If you've seen the series, but haven't read the book -- The book is much better.
8. Through Gates of Splendor – Elisabeth Elliot -- Read it.
9. Run Baby Run –Nicky Cruz -- Read it. The story of a gang member and his redemption.
10. Hind’s Feet in High Places – Hannah Hurnard -- Not the best writing from a technical perspective, but a beautiful allegory with a great message.
11. Redeeming Love – Francine Rivers -- Based on a Bible story. Everyone should read this.
12. The Debt – Angela Hunt -- May change the way you see Christianity.
13. The Chronicles of Narnia – C. S. Lewis -- Such a beautiful portrait of our Jesus. I cry every time I read these books.

14. Get Out of that Pit – Beth Moore
15. The Purpose Driven Life – Rick Warren -- I found it to be basic and a disappointment, personally
16. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire – Jim Cymbala --yes! Read it!
17. The Prayer of Jabez – Bruce Wilkinson -- Trendy, interesting. read it or not.
18. The Pursuit of Holiness – Jerry Bridges
19. Phantasies – George MacDonald -- Written a long time ago in Scottish dialect. Fortunately it has been edited to be understood by us. But it is deeper than I am. This was instrumental in C.S. Lewis' conversion.
20. Any biography of George Mueller
21. Any biography of D.L. Moody
22. Any biography of Amy Carmichael
23. A Severe Mercy – Sheldon Vanauken -- a beautiful true life love story.
24. Heaven – Randy Alcorn
25. The Practice of the Presence of God –Brother Lawrence
26. Any biography of William Tyndale
27. Evidence That Demands a Verdict – Josh McDowell
28. The Knowledge of the Holy – A.W. Tozer
29. This Present Darkness – Frank Peretti -- Another trendy one. food for thought. Not for everyone, though I think. several of my friends had a lot of nightmares while reading this one.
30. Twelve Hours One Friday – Max Lucado
31. The Bondage Breaker -- Neil T. Anderson
32. The Case For Christ – Lee Strobel
33. Left Behind – Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins -- the first one is good. But I wish I hadn't read past the first 4 or so. They get draggy in my very humble opinion.
34. The Jesus I Never Knew – Phillip Yancy
35. The Book of God –Walter Wangerin Jr.
36. At Home in Mitford, ( or any of the series) – Jan Karon -- Beautiful easy relaxing read.

If you do this list, let me know in the comments. And also mention if you've added anything.

Thanks!

This post was edited for corrections and to add my comments.

monday madness

I guess I'm creatively challenged. I just keep doing these memes.

But this one is about food!

1. Are there any weird "food rules" you have? Feel free to list as many as you like.

Well, I don't have rules about what food can touch what other foods and stuff like that. But I have become rather high maintenance dietarily speaking. Not because I want to be. I love food and would love to just eat what I want, but my body has become very rebellious against a lot of different foods. I won't even bore you with the list of what I can't have, though.

You're welcome.

2. When you were growing up, what ONE thing did your parents always remind you of, when it came to meal time (or cooking)?

Sheesh, my mom reads this. Actually, I can't really think of anything. I think she frequently said if I were really truly starving I'd be willing to eat an egg sandwich (which I actually like now).

3. Is there anyone you know whose food you won't eat (for one reason or another)?

Well, there is this one lady who doesn't wash her hands after handling raw chicken and then she touches the bread and everything else with those salmonella hands. I kinda refrain there, when I can-- if chicken is involved.

4. Is there anything you "specialize" in cooking, that people actually ask for?

Used to be my homemade bread made with flour I ground myself. I haven't made any for a while, though.

5. When you were growing up, what one meal do you remember as being your favorite?

McDonalds hamburger and fries. Other than that, Macaroni and cheese or chicken and dumplins.

6. Today, what is your IDEAL meal?

ooohh, that's a hard one. Probably a Moroccan meal, but it would have to exclude the things that bother me so that I could eat it peacefully and joyfully.

Moroccan lamb and lentil soup. Moroccan salads, B'stella, honey bread, then perhaps some kind of chicken dish and the wonderful strawberry chocolate pastry for dessert!

This meme comes from Monday Madness.