Defiance: My opinion :-)

PluggedIn Online Review Here

Gabe and I both thought this movie was definitely worth seeing. It is rated R- for war time violence and language. The violence was not as bad (read: gory) as many war movies I have seen- I was not terribly uncomfortable like I normally am. And the language was there, but often in a foreign tongue and subtitles-- and it wasn't every other word, so again, I wasn't uncomfortable like usual. (I don't like language, gory violence, or sex. That's what makes me squirm and dislike the movie. No thank you.)

That said, this is still an uncomfortable movie to watch. It's based on a true story- a band of Jews hiding and running, and surviving, in the forest for 3+ years during WWII - and the Holocaust is very far removed from being easy entertainment. There are scenes which are extremely difficult, but good to examine as "Well, what would I have done? How could this situation ever be handled properly? What is proper when you are fighting for survival?" I ask these questions because of what I mentioned in my previous post- that this movie was very thought provoking because of the future that we believe lies ahead of us.

Imagine having to survive on the run. Imagine surviving outdoors in winter. Here, it's below freezing all the time, day and night. And numbers adding to your provision daily....

As Christians in America, we believe it is foolish to think that we will forever avoid severe persecution. In much of the world, an individual will be killed for believing in Christ. We may think it won't happen here, but when examining the possiblities it should be considered. It is becoming more and more politically INcorrect to be a Bible believing Christian. Throughout history, various groups have been segregated and killed for negative circumstances, whether war, famine, poverty, economic decline, etc... not to mention their race or religion. And it is certainly not uncommon now. Numbers show that more Christians have been killed in the 20th century worldwide than in all previous centuries since the cross combined. It won't take much antagonism- look at how frightening the riots and protests were in CA after "same-sex marriage" was banned by voters. Tighten the cinch a bit, especially in more sensitive areas, and we'll see more drastic measures.

Consider the future. Consider your family. And be prepared, come what may.

My Plant Wish List

Plants:
Foxglove (variety)
A rhubarb plant (just one please!)
Lily tree (garden pleasure, white w/ red first choice, but love them all!~)
Gift of hours worked in our yard/garden :-)

Other Stuff:
table top ironing board
gift certs to Sleepy Hollow Nursery or SavMart
gift cards to Joanns/Craft Warehouse
Nice bible cover, chic, but not teenish (!)

Baby Stuff:
Changing table pad

And hey, while I'm at it, I would also love a nice, landscaped, garden area... by the current swing area and behind the house are open to brainstorming... :-) And an herby garden....

So after talking with Gabe...

We ordered from Gurneys too, so we could take advantage of both their buy $50/take $25 off specials. Normally I like the buy $25/$25 off, but since this was for seeds and such, we thought it was a good investment.

So, in addition to the previous list of goodies, we ordered spaghetti squash, black raspberries, cowpeas (are these the same as chickpeas? anyone?) pinto beans, kidney beans, lima beans, bush green beans, soy beans, an ornamental pepper, butterfly plants, rainbow tomato variety, and pole peas. Many of these we are planning on vaccum packing for long term storage as well.

And for those of you whom I was asking about ordering fruit trees, we discovered (through my mother-in-law's good advice!) that we can purchase asian pears and nectarines from Van Well's nursery here in town for bigger and cheaper than the catalogs, so we will be doing that.

I also now have a birthday list going of my "plant wish list!"

Random Miscellaneous from our House....

I put my order in at Henry Fields today :-) I am so excited, even though I am setting my sites high for having a new baby and expecting to yield garden blessings... Thankfully, Gabe appreciates my desire to grow at least some of our food, so he is very helpful! I ordered one huckleberry plant, two goji berries, and seeds for carrots, sugar snap peas, green pole beans, zucchini, and sweet bell peppers. I think that's mostly easy stuff to harvest and eat :-) I would have ordered more corn- I loved the seeds I had last year, and I still have some left, but I need to remember where I got them. They produced all season instead of in a bunch, plus the ears developed really well compared to my previous year!

Kiera is coming along really well with her potty training. I haven't mentioned it much because we are doing the "no-pressure" approach with her- just encouragement and "candies!" She is starting to be able to know when she needs to go, and catching herself to at least finish in the pot. She does the best after naps and in the morning. She is so proud, and Melia is great- "I'm so proud of you Kiera! Good job!"

Mom and Dad watched the kids for us last night so we could fit in a date- we went to see Defiance; we both wanted to see this one. I will do a review later... because of our views on our personal future as Christians and Americans, I found this movie to be intensely thought provoking.

And now, for your second question....

How do I win her over?

Mommy: Kiera, do you want to be a good girl?
Kiera: No.
Mommy: Kiera, do you want to be a bad girl?
Kiera: Yes.
Mommy: Kiera, you know bad girls get in trouble, right?
Kiera: Yes.
Mommy: Kiera, do you want to get in lots of trouble?
Kiera: No.
Mommy: Kiera, why don't you want to be a good girl?
Kiera: Cause I bad girl.

I feel like Charlie Brown: "Oh brother."

Ok, so now what?

Yesterday I was trying to catch up on some of my posts on KI (our online bible classes), and one of the questions really got me going. By the time I was done, I just felt that the Lord had walked me through that very personal answer and I was in tears.

The question was "What was Elijah's challenge to the people of Israel? What are some of the things in that challenge that you wrestle with?"
1Ki 18:21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
My answer was making Him my Lord every single day, starting with a first-thing morning devotional time. I want to in my heart, but my heart is not what drags me out of bed in the morning. I need to simplify it- either I prioritize myself, or I put Him first. Gee, what should my answer be? So by the end, working through all my excuses, I was praying that He would encourage me to get up and get it done. Period.

Well, He did. Melia woke me up at 6am, and I sent her back to bed. (Why do they get up before it's light out? Why?) She went quietly, but then of course, I couldn't go back to sleep. And I laid there and argued with Him- couldn't He just reveal something to me in bed? Does praying count for devotional time? It's Sunday Lord, doesn't church count? Please God, IT's 6 AM! After a while, I got the drift, and got up. Made some coffee, and completed two days of bible study. Like I should have, but let's just say my heart wasn't exactly joyful about it. (I am NOT a morning person.)

And the rest of the story? I barely participated in Sunday school, I fell asleep in church... and I was a zombie at work. But- I did my morning devotional. I think this is something I should pray about. I know it's best to start the day devotionally, but when my brain doesn't turn on until at least 8 or 9, I'm just not quite convinced that this is going to work. And here you have me justifying what my head doesn't want to do, but my heart knows I should.

How do you force that worldly sleepyhead down and lift your soul up?

Finished!

I can't believe I finally got it done, especially after how I was feeling this afternoon- exhausted!

Just to update you, Melia picked out some legos and a motorcycle. Good enough? Happy five year old? She really wanted to buy him some horses, but I tried my best to steer her towards the "boy" aisle. She loves this little guy- he's her "way way nice friend." We're expecting the betrothal papers soon! ;-) lol

But after shopping (where I ended up at Albie's w/ $90 groceries for $.14! after $30 in catalinas...) I was completely drained, plus my patience was out the window. Thank the LORD Gabe was home to help with the girls, because Kiera was being a constant challenge. And after dinner and resting on the couch, I felt better. Better enough to ask him to move the final thing so I could finish the first coat, and put a quick second on to finalize it! I'm just so tired of the mess! Here's a pic of yesterday- you can see the couches pulled away and STUFF just piled on top!

I do love the color though- it looks so nice behind the couches and with the windows! Now, for putting everything back!

Question of the Day: BOY birthday- Yikes!

What do we buy for a five year old boy's birthday?

I've been told anything with guns and wheels will do the trick....

My Accountability Group

OK, hubby's off playing with friends, girls are down napping, and mommy is feeling surprisingly energetic... So, I am making a list to do this afternoon!

1. Finish Painting- at least as far as I have prepped (which means i can reach...)
2. Clean up last Christmas items (this means the deer will go back to normal)
3. Make bread
4. Sew on Melia's new Cubbies patch, and seam-rip the bag she was blessed with (I will try to take pics of this)
5. Clean off mini-frig ('cause we gotta stick it in the tub to defrost-after I figured out that putting it on the porch just won't do the job...;-)

Here I go! Cheer Me On! (this will be the first at-home afternoon in a while that I have not just laid down and crashed, so it's exciting for me!)

update: painting finished for today! 3 pm
update #2: misc Christmas stuff packed up, little child awake, parked in front of her "Bug Show" (great cartoon on TBN on Sat!) 3:25pm
update #3: Bread is rising for the final time, and Melia's vest and bag are ready to go! I had to do a little extra work on the bag, so it took longer, and now it's time to start dinner, so mark that last item off the list :-) But that's ok, I feel great about being so productive during what is normally my really bad drag down time! wooo hooo! I will clean off the fridge tonight- it's not difficult, just cleaning up my aerogarden and taking the stuff out (just apples and drinks)

Prego Brain

So, just another little example of my lack of brain power lately :-)

Monday night, at work. Time to count the safe. I grab my pen and pad, and spin around in my chair, ready to go.

Except..... I have a pad and scissors.... no pen.