Yet another attempt to give my personal opinion on movies we watch:
Movie: District 9
If you are the type that likes Alien movies this is the movie for you. However, these aliens came to earth by some unknown reason and are unable to leave our planet, some twenty years later, Aliens have double their population and Humans don't want them around anymore. A couple of Aliens try to leave and that's when the plot goes wild. This movie is very bloody, tons of machine guns and of course violence. The Aliens look very much like that "Predator" Alien movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger that I did like by the way but this movie, has in my personal opinion a "political piont of view." But whatever. The Director leaves prospect for another sequel and John can't wait. I could care less. It was too violent for my taste. The Sequel will be call "District 10" You will have to watch the movie to find out why.
Movie: The Young Victoria
I love it!!!!! John didn't even bother to watch it with me, which is sad because he missed a true love story between The Queen of England and Prince Albert of Belgium. It begins with a young Victoria at 17 years of age, the next heir to take the throne after King George and an extremely protective mother. I love period movies and I didn't hesitate to rent this one. Very safe to watch and I love watching true story movies. This movie has a touch of "Pride and Prejudice" type of romance. Love it!!!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Would Jesus Get a Tattoo? The Marks of a Christian
My thoughts exactly on Tattoo's! I couldn't have said it any better! I will show this article to my daughters when they are older, and I pray and hope they stay away from this awful trend.
_______________________________________________
By: Chuck Colson
Seen an interesting tattoo in church lately? You’re not alone. But should Christians tattoo themselves?
In Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick, a character named Ishmael is forced to share lodgings with an unknown man. When he wakens in the night, he is terrified at the sight of his roommate—a savage, covered head to toe in tattoos.
As S. M. Hutchens writes in Touchstone magazine, readers in Melville’s day did not have to be told that this man was a pagan; his tattoos made it obvious. Readers understood that tattooing one’s body was not a Christian practice.
Especially was this true among Calvinist-leaning Christians of New England, who stressed the continuing applicability of Old Testament law, which, in Leviticus, forbade tattooing marks upon one’s body.
But today, 160 years later, even some conservative Christian authorities don’t think the ban on tattoos applies. This law, they declare, has been superseded by the coming of Christ. They consider tattoos an area of Christian freedom. Well, maybe they’re right—I’m not a legalist.
But as tattoos proliferate in the Christian church, we ought to begin to think a little more seriously about them.
First, let’s remember that God forbade the Israelites from tattooing their bodies because this was a practice among the pagans. God wanted His people to be set apart, and not mimic the customs and behaviors of the gentiles. And the New Testament tells us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. They are not raw material on which we simply carve graffiti.
Second, tattoos today point to the principal things in which people locate their identity—membership in the Navy, for example, or maybe a gang or a tribe. Even young women who mark their bodies with flowers or butterflies are aspiring to a certain identity. Hutchens writes, “These things, however, are in fact not principal things and through which we are not meant to mark our identity.”
Christians need to ask themselves as well an important question—that is, what are (or should be) the marks of a Christian?
According to the New Testament, the marks of believers are faithfulness, patience, kindness, fortitude, and love. Hutchens writes these marks alter, not the skin, but the countenance of believers—so much so, he says, “that the faces of the saints can be distinguished by those who look upon them.”
In other words, the marks of the Christian ought to be spiritual—etched into our souls—not etched onto our bodies.
Some believers argue that there’s nothing wrong with a Christian-themed tattoo, like the cross. And Christians who get them do so out of love of Christ. But believers ought to ask themselves which sort of mark God would prefer. Tattoos last a lifetime—unless they are painfully removed. But the spiritual marks of a Christian last through all eternity.
In the end, Hutchens writes, many Christians reject tattoos, not because the Old Testament prohibits them. Instead, an “understanding of the higher and the lower, the superior and the inferior...[keeps] Christians from emulating what remains for that reason a pagan practice.”
And this is what we are going to remind our friends and our kids if they’re thinking about getting a tattoo or, even worse, a body piercing—God would prefer us to carry the true and visible marks of a Christian: faith, hope, and love.
_______________________________________________
By: Chuck Colson
Seen an interesting tattoo in church lately? You’re not alone. But should Christians tattoo themselves?
In Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby Dick, a character named Ishmael is forced to share lodgings with an unknown man. When he wakens in the night, he is terrified at the sight of his roommate—a savage, covered head to toe in tattoos.
As S. M. Hutchens writes in Touchstone magazine, readers in Melville’s day did not have to be told that this man was a pagan; his tattoos made it obvious. Readers understood that tattooing one’s body was not a Christian practice.
Especially was this true among Calvinist-leaning Christians of New England, who stressed the continuing applicability of Old Testament law, which, in Leviticus, forbade tattooing marks upon one’s body.
But today, 160 years later, even some conservative Christian authorities don’t think the ban on tattoos applies. This law, they declare, has been superseded by the coming of Christ. They consider tattoos an area of Christian freedom. Well, maybe they’re right—I’m not a legalist.
But as tattoos proliferate in the Christian church, we ought to begin to think a little more seriously about them.
First, let’s remember that God forbade the Israelites from tattooing their bodies because this was a practice among the pagans. God wanted His people to be set apart, and not mimic the customs and behaviors of the gentiles. And the New Testament tells us to treat our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. They are not raw material on which we simply carve graffiti.
Second, tattoos today point to the principal things in which people locate their identity—membership in the Navy, for example, or maybe a gang or a tribe. Even young women who mark their bodies with flowers or butterflies are aspiring to a certain identity. Hutchens writes, “These things, however, are in fact not principal things and through which we are not meant to mark our identity.”
Christians need to ask themselves as well an important question—that is, what are (or should be) the marks of a Christian?
According to the New Testament, the marks of believers are faithfulness, patience, kindness, fortitude, and love. Hutchens writes these marks alter, not the skin, but the countenance of believers—so much so, he says, “that the faces of the saints can be distinguished by those who look upon them.”
In other words, the marks of the Christian ought to be spiritual—etched into our souls—not etched onto our bodies.
Some believers argue that there’s nothing wrong with a Christian-themed tattoo, like the cross. And Christians who get them do so out of love of Christ. But believers ought to ask themselves which sort of mark God would prefer. Tattoos last a lifetime—unless they are painfully removed. But the spiritual marks of a Christian last through all eternity.
In the end, Hutchens writes, many Christians reject tattoos, not because the Old Testament prohibits them. Instead, an “understanding of the higher and the lower, the superior and the inferior...[keeps] Christians from emulating what remains for that reason a pagan practice.”
And this is what we are going to remind our friends and our kids if they’re thinking about getting a tattoo or, even worse, a body piercing—God would prefer us to carry the true and visible marks of a Christian: faith, hope, and love.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Red Class 2010
Sofia's last day at All Saints Little Saints school was this past Thursday. I was sad. I had already gotten used to all the fun activities and all the English Sofia was learning. She'll pick up English all over again, God willing, in September. But from now on, I have to push Spanish on Sofia. She knows how to count from one to ten in Spanish. This summer, I will start working on Sofia to start recognizing letters and numbers in both languages. It's never too late, never too young!
This picture was taken when she first started. She only gained three pounds by May and grew 2 1/2 inches.
Here's Sofia with her buddy James. He really liked her. John and I are keeping our eyes on him, you never know.
Every January is Western month. My favorite!
This picture was taken when she first started. She only gained three pounds by May and grew 2 1/2 inches.
Here's Sofia with her buddy James. He really liked her. John and I are keeping our eyes on him, you never know.
Every January is Western month. My favorite!
The Red Class picture of 2010. Sofia has a habit of not looking straight at the camera.
This was taken last week. Again, she's not looking at the camera but at the floor. But at least she's there.
This was taken last week. Again, she's not looking at the camera but at the floor. But at least she's there.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Marriage Talk
Today, John and I spoke in front of other married couples who are struggling. We have been preparing for this talk since January and all I can say is that it is not easy. We spoke about sex and intimacy.
We spoke about how our marriage crumble and how the Lord through Retrouvaille rescued us. I was the first one to talk and boy did my tears started to run. I didn't think I was going to cry but I did. Then it was John's turn and he cracked as well.
It looks harder than it looks. On our way home, I felt a sense of peace and a headache! The stress from placing myself in that place again gave me a headache but my soul was at peace that I had served the Lord in this tough ministry.
The couples attending this talk feel at ease that they are not the only ones with marriage troubles. God willing, we will keep on doing this talk as long as God allows it. -Sandra.
We spoke about how our marriage crumble and how the Lord through Retrouvaille rescued us. I was the first one to talk and boy did my tears started to run. I didn't think I was going to cry but I did. Then it was John's turn and he cracked as well.
It looks harder than it looks. On our way home, I felt a sense of peace and a headache! The stress from placing myself in that place again gave me a headache but my soul was at peace that I had served the Lord in this tough ministry.
The couples attending this talk feel at ease that they are not the only ones with marriage troubles. God willing, we will keep on doing this talk as long as God allows it. -Sandra.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Five on Friday - Teeth
1) How often do you brush your teeth? every single day. twice a day.
2) What kind of toothpaste do you use? Regular Colgate. anything else does not do the job for me.
3) How often do you floss? every time I eat meat and/or stuff that gets stuck in my teeth.
4) How many cavities have you had? a couple. I think.
5) Do you/did you have braces? A retainer? Headgear? Rubber bands? An expander? None thank goodness! I feel lucky!
-Sandra.
2) What kind of toothpaste do you use? Regular Colgate. anything else does not do the job for me.
3) How often do you floss? every time I eat meat and/or stuff that gets stuck in my teeth.
4) How many cavities have you had? a couple. I think.
5) Do you/did you have braces? A retainer? Headgear? Rubber bands? An expander? None thank goodness! I feel lucky!
-Sandra.
Monday, May 17, 2010
5 Things About Me Today
1. Monday's suck all the time.
2. I met my new boss today. She seems nice.
3. I need to get back to my 2-3 liters of water a day.
4. I need to get back to exercising.
5. I'm seeing my therapist this week. I need to release. I need to understand.
-Sandra.
2. I met my new boss today. She seems nice.
3. I need to get back to my 2-3 liters of water a day.
4. I need to get back to exercising.
5. I'm seeing my therapist this week. I need to release. I need to understand.
-Sandra.
Friday, May 7, 2010
My Father
My Father, Jorge Arevalo, was welcomed by the Lord this morning.
I loved him. He loved me as well. Our relationship was always conflicted. I've tried to understand the reasons why we butted heads so many times. We didn't have a really good beginning but what he left me was priceless;
Work Ethic
Responsibility
Always go for that extra mile and beyond
Help those in need
My daughters will never meet their grandfather. They will meet him through pictures and stories but most importantly, I will teach them the same things my father taught me.
Here's my dad with Sofia.
He's got the coolest poses. He sure knew how to look good all the time.
I loved him. He loved me as well. Our relationship was always conflicted. I've tried to understand the reasons why we butted heads so many times. We didn't have a really good beginning but what he left me was priceless;
Work Ethic
Responsibility
Always go for that extra mile and beyond
Help those in need
My daughters will never meet their grandfather. They will meet him through pictures and stories but most importantly, I will teach them the same things my father taught me.
Here's my dad with Sofia.
He's got the coolest poses. He sure knew how to look good all the time.
My mom and dad when they were dating. A year later they were married.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Holding On
I want to take this time to thank everyone for their prayers for my Dad who is currently in a Coma. Today is his 16th day in a coma.
This was a very tragic accident and we are all coping in very different ways. There is not a single way to grieve. There are many ways. Some chose to grieve in public, some, like me, chose to grieve in private.
My father and I didn't have a "fantastic" relationship, we had a "distant" relationship. However, I still loved him, my way. There are only two people close to me who know exactly how I feel about him. I pray that the Lord allows him a second chance for him to renew all his relationships, including mine.
As I watch him on his ICU bed, motionless, I go back in time thinking how different things could have been. The "What If" questions start pouring on my head. During this last 16 days, I have felt a mixture of emotions all in one. I have felt anger, guilt, sympathy, love as well as conflicted. I will not defend the way I feel, because they are mine and they are neither right or wrong.
Seeing my dad motionless breaks my heart. I don't feel I need to show it, but I do feel the pain. My hope is in the Lord that he may raise my father from his coma to a new beginning.
These last 16 days have been difficult for everyone. I have been trying my best to still carry on at home with my daughters who have no clue what is going on. It is difficult at times, to laugh with them, but I must. I don't want them seeing me crying all the time. I must carry on for them and my husband. John has been extremely supportive of me and family and I thank him for that.
Seeing my dad in a coma makes me appreciate my family even more. If you are angry at someone, make amends. If you hate someone, forgive them. If you are not getting along with someone, sit down and talk about each other differences and don't leave without a solution. If you don't, you will come to regret it. I have.
Life is too short and we only have a short time to make it right.
-Sandra.
This was a very tragic accident and we are all coping in very different ways. There is not a single way to grieve. There are many ways. Some chose to grieve in public, some, like me, chose to grieve in private.
My father and I didn't have a "fantastic" relationship, we had a "distant" relationship. However, I still loved him, my way. There are only two people close to me who know exactly how I feel about him. I pray that the Lord allows him a second chance for him to renew all his relationships, including mine.
As I watch him on his ICU bed, motionless, I go back in time thinking how different things could have been. The "What If" questions start pouring on my head. During this last 16 days, I have felt a mixture of emotions all in one. I have felt anger, guilt, sympathy, love as well as conflicted. I will not defend the way I feel, because they are mine and they are neither right or wrong.
Seeing my dad motionless breaks my heart. I don't feel I need to show it, but I do feel the pain. My hope is in the Lord that he may raise my father from his coma to a new beginning.
These last 16 days have been difficult for everyone. I have been trying my best to still carry on at home with my daughters who have no clue what is going on. It is difficult at times, to laugh with them, but I must. I don't want them seeing me crying all the time. I must carry on for them and my husband. John has been extremely supportive of me and family and I thank him for that.
Seeing my dad in a coma makes me appreciate my family even more. If you are angry at someone, make amends. If you hate someone, forgive them. If you are not getting along with someone, sit down and talk about each other differences and don't leave without a solution. If you don't, you will come to regret it. I have.
Life is too short and we only have a short time to make it right.
-Sandra.
Five on Friday - Food
1. Tea or Coffee or juice in the morning, and why?
Coffee only when one of my girls has woken up in the middle of the night
2. What's your typical breakfast on workdays, and what on weekends?
Workdays: Oatmeal
Weekend: John's Ultimate Weekend Breakfast
3. What do you drink through the day?
Water. Plain and simple.
4. Best snack?
Starbucks Banana Nut Bread. Delicious!
5. Your favourite dinner when you cook for yourself alone?
I don't cook for myself, therefore, I pick up the phone and place an order to my favorite restaurant. Plain and simple. Why cook, right!
-Sandra.
Coffee only when one of my girls has woken up in the middle of the night
2. What's your typical breakfast on workdays, and what on weekends?
Workdays: Oatmeal
Weekend: John's Ultimate Weekend Breakfast
3. What do you drink through the day?
Water. Plain and simple.
4. Best snack?
Starbucks Banana Nut Bread. Delicious!
5. Your favourite dinner when you cook for yourself alone?
I don't cook for myself, therefore, I pick up the phone and place an order to my favorite restaurant. Plain and simple. Why cook, right!
-Sandra.
Monday, April 26, 2010
As I am Sleeping...
Thoughts from a Coma Survivor:
I heard someone say that I am in a coma.
It doesn't feel real.
The noise here is unlike anything I have ever known.
There seems to be activity all around me,
but I cannot move, cannot open my eyes.
There are bits and pieces of memory. Fragments.
Fragments of thoughts, and sound, and sensation.
I just woke up again, but still can't move,
or let anyone know that I can hear.
My body won't move and my eyes still won't open.
For some reason I cannot stay awake.... if this is awake.
I am drifting as though on an ocean.
I drift within sight of shore but can't reach the shore,
or make myself heard. No one sees that I am here.
The tides carry me away again
and blackness envelopes me, and I feel nothing.
When you come to see me please talk to me.
Please tell me something familiar.
I need something familiar to hold on to.
I need your touch and contact with you,
even if I can't respond.
I need a connection with sounds, talk,
and voices that are familiar to me. –Stephanie.
I heard someone say that I am in a coma.
It doesn't feel real.
The noise here is unlike anything I have ever known.
There seems to be activity all around me,
but I cannot move, cannot open my eyes.
There are bits and pieces of memory. Fragments.
Fragments of thoughts, and sound, and sensation.
I just woke up again, but still can't move,
or let anyone know that I can hear.
My body won't move and my eyes still won't open.
For some reason I cannot stay awake.... if this is awake.
I am drifting as though on an ocean.
I drift within sight of shore but can't reach the shore,
or make myself heard. No one sees that I am here.
The tides carry me away again
and blackness envelopes me, and I feel nothing.
When you come to see me please talk to me.
Please tell me something familiar.
I need something familiar to hold on to.
I need your touch and contact with you,
even if I can't respond.
I need a connection with sounds, talk,
and voices that are familiar to me. –Stephanie.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
City Worker Struck by Pickup Truck
City Worker Struck by Pickup Truck
Please pray for my dad. He was hit by a pick up truck this past Thursday. He's currently in a coma and fighting for his life.
Sandra.
Please pray for my dad. He was hit by a pick up truck this past Thursday. He's currently in a coma and fighting for his life.
Sandra.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Movies We Watch
We received these movies about a month and half ago and just sat down this past weekend to watch them. Talk about looking for extra time to relax. We decided when Sofia was born that we would not be one of those parents that take their babies to the movies. We just think that's wrong but whatever makes people happy. Netflix makes us movie happy besides is cheap. You save on gas, expensive popcorn, and water, babysitter and most importantly you save on time.
So here's another pretty BAD movie review from your inexperience movie critic.
Movie: 2012
If you have seen Independence Day, War of the Worlds and the Day After Tomorrow, rolled these three movies into one and you get 2012. The difference between these three past movies is that they were good! 2012 is about the crust on the earth sinking due to some odd solar inefficiency happening right on 2012, a year that the Maya's had predicted the world would come to an end. What's worse is that the top global officials all knew about it and knew exactly the day and time when the world would start going into turmoil and all they do is build three state of the art ships/submarines and charge the wealthy a Billion Euros to save their own skin but you must get to China prior to that dreadfully day. Woody Harrison was the only watchable person in this movie and his role was small. We gave this movie a 2.5 out of 5 stars and the 2.5 goes for the Graphic people.
Movie: Inglorious Basterds
This movie is about a small group of American Jew Soldiers going to France to well, kill Nazis. If you have seen Quentin Tarintino movies in the past, expect the unexpected. Brad Pitt stars as one of the Inglorious bandits and his accent is hilarious! Fun movie to watch. If you think someone might live, expect them to die. If you expect a character in the movie to die, expect them to live.
Someone I thought that might live, died! We give a 3 out 5 stars. The 3 stars go out to Brad Pitt's southern accent. -Sandra.
So here's another pretty BAD movie review from your inexperience movie critic.
Movie: 2012
If you have seen Independence Day, War of the Worlds and the Day After Tomorrow, rolled these three movies into one and you get 2012. The difference between these three past movies is that they were good! 2012 is about the crust on the earth sinking due to some odd solar inefficiency happening right on 2012, a year that the Maya's had predicted the world would come to an end. What's worse is that the top global officials all knew about it and knew exactly the day and time when the world would start going into turmoil and all they do is build three state of the art ships/submarines and charge the wealthy a Billion Euros to save their own skin but you must get to China prior to that dreadfully day. Woody Harrison was the only watchable person in this movie and his role was small. We gave this movie a 2.5 out of 5 stars and the 2.5 goes for the Graphic people.
Movie: Inglorious Basterds
This movie is about a small group of American Jew Soldiers going to France to well, kill Nazis. If you have seen Quentin Tarintino movies in the past, expect the unexpected. Brad Pitt stars as one of the Inglorious bandits and his accent is hilarious! Fun movie to watch. If you think someone might live, expect them to die. If you expect a character in the movie to die, expect them to live.
Someone I thought that might live, died! We give a 3 out 5 stars. The 3 stars go out to Brad Pitt's southern accent. -Sandra.
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