David Platt Radical Book

I just finished reading this book after it was recommended to me by a friend. This book has challenged me (really shaken me up) about what it means to truly be a Christian. I have been on a journey now for about 10 years trying to discover the truth of the Gospel, and what it really means to be called a Christian... A disciple of Christ. I do have many changes to make in my life, and this book helped me to see some "blind spots" in my own Christian walk. I highly recommend this book, but it is not an easy read at all.

Movie Monday (a day late)

Today's review is about the movie, "The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry".

This movie is wonderful!!! It is definitely a Christian movie with the main emphasis on sharing your faith with others. The first time I saw the trailer for the movie, I thought it would be good, but I was not super excited to watch it. Actually, when I started watching the movie I still was thinking it will be a good movie, but not a great one. The movie didn't grab my attention at the start, HOWEVER, after about 15 minutes (after some story build up) I was hooked and I basically cried (sobbed at the end) through this whole movie.... The good kind of cry. (No crying promised as I could have been extra hormonal :) To me the movie trailer doesn't really capture the heart of the film.

This is a wonderful movie to watch with your whole family...young children included. Issues such as bullying, sharing your faith, forgiveness, and the importance of studying your Bible are addressed in this movie. After watching this film, I thought how the world could be different if we had more people like Jonathan Sperry in it. FYI... Jonathan Sperry is played by "Captain" of the "Love Boat"... I just love him in this film.

The best part about this film is that you don't have to buy it, although you may want to. You can rent this movie at your local video store (I know it is at Family Video and Blockbuster for sure). So go rent or buy this movie today, and then come back and let me know how you liked (or loved) it.

Blessings...

Amazing Testimony

Some Thoughts on Marriage...

This month I will have been married to my hubby for 16 years... In the beginning of our marriage I couldn't have imagined we would make it to 16...shoot I didn't think we were going to make it past 3 years... But because of our Great and Powerful God we are still together and we are in love...not the love that is found in a romantic chick flick, but real love...the kind that takes lots of work, and most importantly God to make it last. I don't know if I am going to be able to transfer my thoughts into something that makes sense on this blog, but I am going to try to. So here it goes...

My husband has been reading a Christian book on marriage (and no I didn't give him this one...he bought it himself which totally shocked me :) It is really having a positive effect on him. I have noticed in the last month or so that he is really trying to make some changes when it comes to our marriage...Changes of his heart. Pursuing God to help him do things that are really hard for him. If I summed it up I would say he is seeking to become less self-centered by becoming God centered. As that happens he becomes more serving to me...thinking of me before he thinks of himself.

About two months ago my hubby and I went through a rough patch... We have done so well for so long, but you can never get to comfortable in a marriage, and I believe the rough patch brought to light things that still need to be worked on in our marriage. I think that is about the time that my husband started reading the book I referenced above. The Lord also showed me many areas that I lacked in when it came to our marriage. So for the last two months my husband and I have been working on our marriage through lots of communication and prayer. It's a long process, but one worth going through.

OK, so in the midst of this process I thought of something. I do believe that my husband and I should work hard on our marriage and do everything possible to make it the best it can be, but if our focus is that we work on things in our marriage so we can be happy, then we have missed something. Don't get me wrong I do want to be happy, but even when I experience the best day with my husband there is still something that is missing deep down in my soul. A happy marriage will not totally make me feel fulfilled...it's not suppose to. God is the only one that can fill up my soul completely.

So what am I trying to say? In the pursuit of a good marriage, I need to keep my focus on God. I know that God wants me to truly serve my husband and be the wife that He created me to be. The wife that God wants me to be is impossible for me to be on my own. I totally need God to strengthen and empower me to be selfless so I can truly serve my husband. If I truly let God work through me then more than likely I will have a happy marriage, but having a happy marriage is not the end result, but an overflow of God's work in my life. And that empty feeling in my soul will be more filled because I will have been seeking God to empower me to what only He can do through me. So in the end my husband will benefit, but I think I will have even benefited more because I will have drawn closer to God. Does that make sense???

Bottom line... You can work hard to have the best marriage you can, but realize that even if you attain what the world calls a good and happy marriage, you may still feel very empty. On the other hand, work hard to be the wife or husband that God has called you to be by surrendering to God and the work He wants to do to make you the wife/husband He wants you to be. In most cases I would think you would have a good marriage, but good marriage or not you will have something that cannot be taken away from you... A closer walk and relationship with God...there is nothing sweeter in this life.

OK, it is 11:30 and my brain is shutting down, but I hope at least some of what I was trying to say was understood... Until next time...

Movie Monday

Today's Movie is "The River Within" and overall I think this movie is good. I first like it because it is a Christian movie, and the movie deals with many different issues that we face today. Like...
-Unrequited love and relationships

-Issues that teens face (I don't want to give the movie away)

-The Purpose of the Church (meaning Christians) I think this was my favorite part of the movie

-People who don't believe, but have questions

I didn't recognize any of the actors in this film, but overall the acting was pretty good. The movie also comes with a Bible Study guide that you could use after viewing the movie. Again, this movie would be good to watch with a group of people, and then talk about it using the guide that comes with the DVD.

I don't think this movie is available at regular video stores, but is available for purchase online and at some Christian bookstores. I don't know if this is true (because I didn't really check it out), but it appears that you can watch some of the movie on YouTube (check it out), although I don't suggest that would be the best way to watch the movie :)

If you watch the movie, come back and let me know what you thought...

Until the next time...