Christmas in Bed

I wished for it. I prayed for it. I wanted it so bad. And I got it on Christmas day!

From sun up to sun down on the 25th of December I got to stay in bed
most of the time, watch movies on DVD, pig out on lots of food (junk
mostly), and I got to spend some time at home with my family. What a
day!

It was exactly what I needed after all the hustle and bustle of 2005–a day of rest and relaxation.

Thank You, Lord, for such a wonderful gift!

It’s here!

Hey, everybody!!! It’s finally here!!! It’s Christmas!!!

This one’s for y’all…

Have a very merry one this year!

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!

Informing God

This is from my Daily Bread devotional this morning. Just wanted to share it with you…

—–

We cannot tell God anything He doesn’t already know. When we pray, we simply put into words what He’s been aware of all along.

That doesn’t make prayer unnecessary; rather, it encourages us to pray.
We find relief in talking to Someone who knows us and our situation
fully. It’s a comfort to know that God’s response arises not from
information we give Him, but from His perfect knowledge of our
circumstances. He knows all conditions–past, present, future–that
bear on our well-being.

"Your Father knows," Jesus said in Matthew 6:8. He knows our thoughts,
our intentions, our desires; He is intimately acquainted with all our
ways (Psalm 139:6). He knows the anguish of our heart, the strain of
continual frustration, the enemies inside and outside that war against
our souls.

So, can we presume to dictate the time and terms of our deliverance
from trials or adversity? Can we say our way is better, more likely to
develop our soul? No, we cannot teach God anything. He alone knows the
way to bring us to glory. Out of all possible paths, He has chosen the
best, the route most adapted to who we are and what He has in store for
us.

We cannot teach God knowledge, but we can love and trust Him. That’s all He asks of us. — David Roper

—–

The answer God may choose for me
Is sure to be the best,
So may I always thankful be,
And in His goodness rest. — D. De Haan

—–

God knows the end from the beginning, so we can trust Him with everything between.

King Kong

Rating: 5 out of 5
Directed by Peter Jackson
Starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis, Colin Hanks, Thomas Kretchsmann, Jamie Bell, Kyle Chandler

Peter Jackson did it again–he made me sit through a three-hour film without once thinking about the time. The man’s getting to be known for his lengthy yet wildly entertaining films.

King Kong is a huge action movie big on special effects and heavy on drama. Everything is in place here–characters are introduced well early on in the film and it gets you to care about them once they start running around from Kong and the other freaky (and some familiar) creatures; visuals are very rich and well integrated; and in the middle of it all the interaction between Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) and Kong, the emotional center of the story.

I liked how the main characters’ motives are explored and expressed on screen, as it got me to really feel for them and understand why they’re doing what they’re doing in the film. Even Kong’s feelings and thoughts were well conveyed thanks to the talents of Andy Serkis (who pulls double duty here playing one of the ship’s crew, Lumpy) and to the screenwriting prowess of Jackson and his writing partners, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (the same team who worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy).

There are a lot of exciting sequences in the film. Chase scenes and fight scenes that will get you screaming and twitching on your seat. The scene where Kong fights three T-Rexes while protecting Miss Darrow in one hand was exceptional, well directed and well executed. Lots of laugh there! Lots of screams too!

Performances from the cast was good. Naomi Watts was awesome. Jack Black was (to me) surprising, as I always thought of him more as a wacky, funny guy and never really saw him doing a dramatic role. But he played the part of Carl Denham well. The most expressive of the supporting cast was Kyle Chandler who plays a self-obsessed leading man. I enjoyed the way he played around with his face (I miss his Early Edition tv series).

The movie is great and I think it should at least get nominations for best picture and best director in this year’s Oscars. I’m certain it will get Oscars for technical aspects of the film. And it should definitely rake in lots of money at the global box office. =o)

God Will Lift Up Your Head

A song by Jars of Clay from the "Redemption Songs" album

Such a very encouraging and uplifting song! My "get-up-and-go" song these days! I’m currently listening to their latest album on their official website. Can’t wait to get a copy of the CD!
=====

God Will Lift Up Your Hand

God will lift up your head
God will lift up your head
God will lift up your head
He will lift up, lift up your head

X-ceptional X-Men 3 Teaser Trailer

I don’t know what to say, except that the trailer is awesome! I saw it 6 times already.

I hope the rest of the film is too!

You can view the trailers here:

www.x3.theanimecom.net
- for those who don’t have Quicktime

www.apple.com
- for those who do

Enjoy!!!

First Official X-Men 3 photos on USA Today

Finally, something to drool at!!! =o) Visit the gallery by clicking here. You’ll see Beast, 2 images of Angel, Wolverine and Storm.

X-tremely X-cited

I got this update from SuperHeroHype today and I got so revved up that I had to post it here…

The trailer is a montage of scenes from the film. It starts out with a
voice over by Patrick Stewart. As he talks about the war of mutants (as
well as angels and demons), we see a bunch of very, very brief scenes.
Here’s what I remember (not necessarily in order):

- The X-Men walking down the hall in the basement of the X-Mansion. We see Wolverine, Storm, Kitty Pride, Colossus, and others.
- An exterior shot of the X-Mansion
- Storm walking out of the Mansion doors and looking at a cloudy sky.
- Quick shot of Professor X in a wheelchair.
- A shot of Beast and the other X-Men at what appears to be a funeral.
- A shot of Angel, shirtless and in a lab, quickly unfolding his wings in from of some scientists.
- A quick shot of the President and his advisors.
- Juggernaut in a containment cell.
- A shot of
Magneto in the woods flanked by Pyro, Juggernaut, and an Asian mutant
among others. Magneto delivers a line and dozens of mutants raise their
fists in the air.
- Cyclops screaming at the sky.
- Wolverine meeting Cyclops at Alkali Lake and his glasses flying off and into Wolverine’s hand.
- Jean Grey waking up on an infirmary table.
- An X-Student walking through the halls of the Mansion flying paper airplanes with his powers.
- Storm flying through the air, then spinning and knocking people over.
- Storm flying and knocking Wolverine out of the way of debris falling down (in a Danger Room training sequence).
- A shot of Magneto causing a car to fly up into the cab of a truck.
- A shot of Magneto and other mutants walking along the Golden Gate Bridge. The Bridge then starts ripping and bending apart.
- A shot of Jean Grey casually walking towards a door in the infirmary and it violently blowing apart.
- A scene of Wolverine jumping out of a tree and tearing someone apart with his claws.

The trailer then concludes with the X and Wolverine’s claws as seen on
the poster. The reaction to it was overwhelmingly positive among us and
we applauded it (which was again surreal with Hugh Jackman there seeing
it for the first time with the rest of us). We asked to see it again
and they obliged. Jackman even wanted to see it too, so he stuck
around. All in all it was a fun evening. You’ll hear more about our
visit to the set in coming months.

The X-Men 3 teaser trailer will be attached to "King Kong" when it hits
theaters, but it will debut online this coming Monday, Dec. 5th. Watch
for it on Apple’s website in High Definition quality.