An Offer I COULD Refuse

So, I had an interesting proposition pop up recently.

We received a letter from a "location scout" for a movie that is being filmed in our area this Spring. (They liked the look of the outside of the house ~ supposed to take place in New England and our house is traditional, red brick).

Curious, I thought it would be fun to explore further. Since my niece's boyfriend is in the business (Apollo 13 and Blindside), I called him and he said he knew her, everything was legit, and gave me some coaching.

I called her and we chatted and she said to e-mail her and she would come out and look at the house.

After we hung up, I thought I'd better find out more about the movie.

I "googled" it, and everything came to a S.C.R.E.E.C.H.I.N.G halt.

Here is what I find out:



New Line has picked up the Farrelly brothers comedy "Hall Pass" from turnaround from Fox, signing up Owen Wilson to topline the picture. Jason Sudeikis is also in negotiations to co-star.

The story centers on a married couple who find themselves in a lull in their marriage and just going through the motions. The wife then gives her husband (Wilson) a "hall pass," a free ticket to engage in extramarital encounters. Sudeikis would play the guy's best friend, who also gets a free pass.

The movie begins production Feb. 23 in Atlanta.

With the Bible being my plumbline and my compass, and knowing God's heart on this, I knew immediately that this was something I could not and should not pursue.

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure,... ~ Hebrews 13:4

Of course, I have no idea how the movie ends ~ does the "Hall Pass" allow them to live happily ever after? But, the END certainly does NOT justify the means.

So, needless to say, I did not e-mail her.

It will be interesting to see which house they end up choosing.

Not ours ~ "But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15

(Please know that this is JUST not right for our family ~ for whatever family that chooses to participate...I wish you nothing but the best.)

Recipe for the New Year

Take twelve beautiful, full-grown months;
see that they are thoroughly cleaned from....any and old transgressions of ~
bitterness,
strife,
malice,
rancor,
hate,
jealousy
Scrub them completely from any clinging impurities of....
spite,
picking off all specks of ....
pettiness
foolishness
empty conceit
idols
self

....in order that these months ahead are unhindered from the past, so that they are as FRESH and CLEAN as when they came from HEAVEN'S great "PANTRY of TIME.

Cut these months into batches of thirty or thirty-one equal parts (February, accordingly.)

Do not attempt to lump the batches together, but prepare one day at a time, as follows:

One part QUIET TIME with the Lord (preferably in the morning)
One part READING of GOD'S WORD (preferably in the morning)
One part LISTENING for GOD'S DIRECTION (preferably in the morning)
All parts PRAYER
All parts OBEDIENCE
All parts LOVE
ALL parts FAITH
ALL parts HOPE
ALL parts HUMILITY
ALL parts PATIENCE
ALL parts KINDNESS
ALL parts GOODNESS
ALL parts GENTLENESS
ALL parts SELF-CONTROL
ALL parts FORBEARANCE
ALL parts REJOICING
ALL parts THANKSGIVING

Next, spice up this recipe with wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and compassion. Dollop in a teaspoon of whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellence, and praise. A dash of laughter, a pinch of fun, a sprinkling of friends, and a smidgen of tears and silence are important additions.



Stir vigorously with Jesus' forgiveness, freedom,
joy, peace, comfort, mercy and grace.

Place in a bowl of GOD'S FULL ARMOR, and bake continually with PRAYER.

.

Serve with a warm portion of gratitude and a wonderful over-flowing cup of GOD'S GLORY for the year ahead, and may His favor flavor your every day with blessings beyond measure.






(I adapted this from a devotional
I read 1-2-10 by Harold M. Smythe)

Calendar Girl

I LOOOOVE calendars!

As each month rolls into the next, I relish the flipping of each page.

I have them ALL over my house.

Come December 26th, I am out the door ~ not to get merchandise bargains....but to get half-price calendars. Yippee!

Here are the ones I am enjoying this year:

This one I have in my dressing room that I look at while putting on make-up and blow- drying my hair.




This one I have on the back of my door to the bathroom. I see this one alot.




This one I have on my bathroom mirror. A girl can dream while she's brushing her teeth, right?



This one my husband bought me for Christmas and I have in my laundry room to keep up with the dogs' medicine.



This one I use as a diary to record my days' doings.




This one I have over my desk, so as I wait for my things to get printed....I can revel in the glory of God's creation and creativity.



This one I have by my bedroom chair because it warms the cockles of my heart.



There is also the ones I use for marking my schedule. They are ministries that are close to my heart:

Wycliffe Bible Translators and Hope Now Ministries.

After the year is up, I will keep these and pray over them.

As I matter of fact, I have a hard time throwing away any of my old calendars....sometimes I use them to put on packages or for craft projects.

Time.

Marking time. How truly fleeting it is. Tomorrow I turn over a new page ~ where do the old page go?

Billy Graham writes: “Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day.”

Time is one of our most precious commodities. A remarkable gift from God.... given to us to use it as we choose, with no strings, no caveats. Ideally, we would choose to use it to glorify Him. How I hope that I somehow do.....despite the time I have wasted. May God restore the years the locust has eaten to glorify Him, and....Lord, just like Moses I pray ~ Teach me to number my days, that I may gain a heart of wisdom. May I be wise in my time management and all matters that concern You.

Yes, I am a "Calendar Girl." I want them to help me to number my days.

RICE and LICE

Well, Labor Day is just around the corner....and, as usual, summer flew by.

It was a good summer.

Jim finished his chemo, and the PET SCAN was clear!!! Praising God, the GREAT PHYSICIAN, and thanking Him for His mercy and grace.




For me, it was a low-key summer, and I LOVED it. A few trips, here and there, but for the most part ~ HOME....where I like to be.

In May, we went to PA for a family wedding....saw lots of people I have not seen in Y.E.A.R.S. ~ so, that's always fun. Got to spend time with my Grandmother, 103 years old. I fed her, I combed her hair, I rubbed lotion on her, I laughed with her, and I sang and danced with her. She was gone a week later. What a GRACIOUS gift for God to give me one last time with her. I usually don't visit PA until later in the summer. So, thanks, Justin and Tina, for planning your wedding when you did. It also happened to be Mother's Day weekend. I haven't been with my Mother on Mother's Day in probably close to 30 years. So, we had a special event. I invited a group of women, who mean A LOT to me and my family....for tea. We went to Abigail's Tea Room in Reading. It was a delightful afternoon and a very rare occasion.




L. to R.: my Mom, Sara Beth, Sis.... my next-door-neighbor while growing up and like a second Mom, and Meg.



L. to R.: my Aunt Ruthie, my sister, Kathy, family friend, Denise, my niece Tammy, my Aunt Kay, and my cousin, Deb


The end of May, we went to Pullman, WA for another special event. My husband had commissioned a bronze sculpture of our niece, Corinne, in conjunction with her memorial scholarship. The first scholarship was being awarded since we lost Corinne to cancer almost two years ago. She was a senior in high school. The artist, Jeff Wolf, drove something like 14 hours to come to the "unveiling," which took place right before the awards ceremony for scholarships. His speech was so incredibly moving. He explained how Corinne's spirit touched him so very deeply, and how much it meant for him to do the sculpture of her.





Wanda and Matt (Corinne's mom and brother) came to visit last week. We went to the beach for a few days, and had fun playing games.





My girls, however, had a much busier summer.

Sara Beth went to Honduras on a mission trip, to "love on" some children at an orphanage.




She also was a counselor for a camp for children with cancer.




Meg went to China for six weeks. This, my child, who is a very picky eater. Thank the good Lord for rice....it sustained her.




Both had very interesting, eye-opening experiences.

Meg came back from East Asia telling tales of an extremely different culture, and with beautiful pearls.

Sara Beth returned with some very poignant tales, too; but unfortunately...she also returned with lice.

UGH!!!!!! Bless her heart! That has been quite a journey. We have managed to go twenty-three years without the PESTS....and NOW she got caught.

Unfortunately, we had to "put down" our dog, Abigail last week. She was a sweetie. So, that was tuff.



Abigail making herself cozy on top of my suitcase while I pack.

So, that sorta wraps up our summer in a nutshell.

Well ~

Summer '09,
Was one of a kind.
One ate lots of rice,
and the other got lots of lice!!!

Hope you had a nice summer.

Blessings and love,

Becky