Movie Devotions

Good Monday morning!

The Gallery Pics are from Saturday as the Faulkner Five prepared dinner for the Ronald McDonald House. It was a VERY rewarding experience, and I'll give you more details below under Weekend Review. (I'll have 4th of July pics tomorrow. We'll spread it out a little this week!)

JUNE SPECIAL GUEST - KIM MONTGOMERY - PART THREE - Alas, today is the last day Kim will be with us on A Simple Life. As much as I hate to see her go, I've enjoyed the last few days! (See you at the track tomorrow, Kim!)

17. What is your family's favorite meal you prepare?

Anything in the crock pot (also known as our "Chef"). Usually roast served with mashed potatoes and fried okra. (I, too, love the crock pot. It is my special "friend.)

18. What is your most difficult daily struggle (patience, time management, organization, road rage, etc.)?

Procrastination!!!

19. You are at home ALL day long by yourself with no car. Do you go stir crazy or thoroughly enjoy every minute of the day?

Enjoy it!! I put on some coffee, find a book, and I'm in heaven.

20. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Neither. I'm a middle-of-the-day person. (Me, too! If you want to see me at my very best, you need to be around at 2:00 p.m. each and every day! Right before nap time!)

21. If you could have any actress play you in a movie, who would it be?

Julia Roberts, I love her smile. (That's the perfect person to play you, Kim. You have the best smile.)

22. If money and family and friends were not an issue, where would you most like to live in the world?

Hawaii. No doubt about it. A modern day Garden of Eden.

23. What is your favorite spouse date?

Going out to eat and then to a bookstore for browsing and coffee. (That's my favorite spouse date, too... except I like to stick a movie in there. You and I should do that really soon!)

24. What instantly brings a smile to your face?

Absolutely my family, friends and church. I am a blessed woman surrounded by wonderful people.

I feel the same way when I am around Kim. I am a blessed woman to have such a sweet friend. Thanks again for helping me out, Kim. I appreciate it very much. (Your check is in the mail!)

Weekend Review

We had a very fun, action-packed (for us) weekend. The fishing thing never happened for Mikie and the boys. However, early Saturday morning, Mike called his Dad and they were able to go for a few hours. They had a good time visiting and catching up, but only one tiny fish was caught... and thrown back.

Everyone pitched in and cooked a dish for our Ronald McDonald House visit Saturday evening. Roxie made a Refreshing Cake. Austin made Wild Rice and Chicken Soup. Josh made another pot of Wild Rice and Chicken Soup. Mikie made two huge pans of his wonderful Barbecue Baked Beans, and I made crock pot Macaroni and Cheese. Sweet Melia brought tons and tons of cookies. (We also took a large tray of store-bought barbecue and buns for sandwiches. You know. Since it was the 4th of July weekend!)

We had to be there before 5:00 to deliver the food for dinner, so we left around 4:15 and arrived 15 minutes later. (I had no idea the House was so close.)

Inez, the live-in director, greeted us, gave us a tour and even let us see the one empty apartment in the House. It is a beautiful facility (only three years old), and it has 41 rooms. Families can stay in the house up to a year. I thought the Ronald McDonald House was only used for families with sick babies at Children's Hospital, but they house families from all area hospitals.

I also had the misconception the majority of families living in the House had children battling cancer. The Birmingham House averages one "cancer" family a month. The majority of the families living in this house have premature babies at UAB, St. Vincent's and Children's. The majority of families living at the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis have children suffering from cancer. (That House is in the same city as St. Jude's.)

It was a "slow" weekend, but a few people were starting to come in and help themselves to the food in the kitchen as we prepared to leave. We had forgotten all of our cardboard boxes we had used to bring the food into the House, and Roxie offered to hop out of the van and retrieve them. She came back to the van with the boxes, wearing a huge grin.

"See that man and those two women on the bench over there?" she asked.

We all nodded.

"One of the women is his wife, I think. When he came out of the house to talk to them he said, 'The food tonight is off the chain.'"

"What does that mean, Mike?" I asked, worried. "Is that bad? How can 'off the chain' mean anything good?"

"Mom. It means he LOVED the dinner," Roxie said. While I was relieved to know he enjoyed his meal, I was now worried how my 13 year-old daughter knows what "off the chain" means.

I can't keep up!

If you ever want to take a meal to the Ronald McDonald House, call Inez at 212-7255, or check out their website (www.rmhca.org) for more information. Inez told us one of the best times to bring a dinner is during the summer months... really May through September. It is by far one of the best things we've ever done as a family.

And because I'm a fanatic about giving credit where credit is due, this idea came to me from my friend, Tonya Brown! (Her family took taco salad!) Thanks, Tonya!

Movie Devotions

If you've known me two minutes, you know I LOVE movies. I've mentioned this book before (about 400 posts ago), but I wanted to talk about it one more time. It is called Movie Nights for Teens (25 More Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions With Your Teen) by Bob Smithouser. Mr. Smithouser works for Plugged In Magazine so these "devotions" are written in the same style as Focus on the Family movie reviews. They are so easy to understand, even The Enchanting Belinda "gets" it!

I picked Father of the Bride to use for an example today. (SHOCK!) And I guess you also already know... this movie is to be watched with your teenage CHICKS!

The chapter begins by giving you the basic information... rating, theme, running time, actors and director.

The next section is entitled "Cautions." As the subtitle indicates, it talks about alcohol use, sexual and violence content, language, etc. (This section is always very detailed. It even gives you the number of times a curse word is used.)

Next, you receive a detailed "Story Summary." If you haven't seen the movie before, you can be confident you know what you're getting into before you sit down with your family!

One of my favorite sections is called "Before You Watch." For this particular movie, the author tells you to "buy a few bridal magazines and flip through them together. Find out what styles she finds appealing, and by extension some of her dreams for that special day. Cut out favorite photos and paste them in a notebook, or make a collage that you can reflect upon when she actually gets engaged. By looking at those magazines, gather a sense of what the editors consider important about weddings. Do you agree? Also, talk about why brides wear white, and relate that to previous discussions of sexual purity (1 Corinthians 6:8-20).

Now you go to "Bible Bookmarks." This section gives you multiple scriptures to use when discussing the movie when it is finished.

"Talking Points" has questions to ask after the movie. Scripture is used throughout. "George talks about life's surprises and how they can sneak up and grab hold of us. Have you encountered any surprises lately? Have circumstances challenged your expectations? Take comfort in scriptures such as Philippians 4:6-7, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 26:3 and 43:2, which can keep us from overreacting as George did." And so on and so on.

You can read the questions ahead of time and pick the ones which are pertinent to you and your teenagers. You can also put them in your own words so conversation will flow more easily.

Mr. Smithouser always adds a "Follow-Up Activity." With this particular movie, it is, of course, your wedding album. "Help your teen understand that an elaborate, romantic ceremony and reception shouldn't be the ultimate goal, but rather a spiritually grounded beginning for a lifelong journey."

It is a great book, and it makes the parent think, as well as the kids. I've used the book and some of the questions for Secondhand Lions and That Thing You Do.

If you have little ones, I suggest the book Movie Nights for Kids.

As always, pick and choose how much you want to use from each chapter. You want to be careful to NOT make Family Movie Night a "school" event. You still need popcorn, pillows and a really good movie!

Have a remarkably good Monday. Since we've finished the ice cream theme on A Simple Life, Tuesday I'll have a "dinner" recipe. There will be pics in the Gallery from the 4th of July. There will be more thought-provoking topics. (Yeah! Right!) But there will be more... always. Come visit again.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda