News on Comments

Yes, dear readers, I'm finally back!

January is always a busy month for me, with all of the pro-life activites keeping my weeks busy in preparation and the weekends busy with participation.  Add sickness to that, and one can become horribly overwhelmed, and as a result other things (such as this blog) have to take a back seat.

But, now January is (almost) over and I can write for your enjoyment again! :)

First though, I wanted to talk about the comments.  Blogger changed a little bit, and I can now reply directly to a comment instead of having to write back as if I were another reader.  But, when I do reply through the form of another comment, a little circle with a pencil in it appears next to my name so that it is obvious that the author is the one writing the comment.

I love getting comments, and I try to reply to them in a timely manner.  Make sure you continue to check back for my replies, especially if your comment included a question.

Thank you, readers, for your continued support.  I'll be reviewing War Horse and We Bought a Zoo very soon.

God Bless!

And, thanks to all of you who prayed for my Mom.  Through the Lord's goodness, she did not have to go to the hospital and she is now fully recovered!  Praise be to Christ, and may God bless all of those who implored Mary and her Son to heal my Mom.

I Have a Dream



“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream… that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal....' [...] when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last’”.

May we all remember this great civil rights leader today in our prayers,  and in turn ask him to pray for our nation- that our efforts to end to unjust discrimination against the unborn and the elderly in our time might be as successful as his movement was years ago.

May God forgive and bless America.

Amen.

Quote and picture from http://www.thekingcenter.org.

Prayers Needed!

Good Evening!

I know it's been a while since I've posted something substantial, and I thank you for your patience.

I need all of you to pray for my Mom.  My Mom is an incredible person, and it was only through her guidance that I was able to become a good, wholesome person.  I am so blessed to have a mother as selfless, loving, strong, and brave as her.  Over the past month, a virus has been passing from one sibling to another in my family, and now my Mom has it.  It's no mystery how she got it, since she took such special care of each child as he or she went through the sickness.  But, my Mom has it even worse than we did- her throat is infected.  Please pray for her, because nothing seems to be making her feel better and she may have to go to the hospital.

My Mom has a special devotion to Mary, so it would be really nice if you all would ask our Blessed Mother's intercession for her.  I know she will listen to all of us as we beg her to heal one of her most faithful daughters.

Thank you very much, and God bless.

The Importance of Fantasy

Good Morning Followers!

For all those interested, I have (finally) posted a new article on the St. Austin Review's online "Ink Desk" called The Importance of Fantasy. 

Also, just a side note, for all those looking for a good movie to see in theaters, I highly recommend War Horse.  It is rated PG-13 for the war scenes.  My brother and I went to see it and LOVED it.

I will do an official review on it soon, but in the meantime I wanted to throw the idea out there before it leaves theaters.

May God bless all of you; have a wonderful day!

The Bible in a Year

Happy New Year!

I plan to write a more thorough post about New Year's Resolutions soon.  I've been recovering from almost a week of sickness, which is why the prolonged silence on this blog.

But, I did want to encourage all of you to join me in reading the Bible in a year with Clare at The Catholic Young Woman blog.  I know I posted a while ago about a plan I had found, but I fell behind.  I was planning on doing some serious catch-up when I read Clare's post.

Clare's plan is simple, easy, leaves catch up days at the end (hence the pressure is off if you get sick or busy), and since she posted it and asked people to join her, one gets the feeling that they're not doing it alone.

Here's the link.  Please, comment if you are going to do this with me!  I will be sure to update you all on how I'm doing, if you will comment to do the same!

May God bless this new year!

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let Earth receive her King!

Let every heart prepare Him room,

and Heaven and nature sing,

and Heaven and nature sing

and Heaven, and Heaven and nature sing!

Gerard van Honthorst



Vice Verses

Switchfoot-Vice Verses
Alternative Rock
2011
This is Switchfoot's latest album, and the song I've been analyzing, "Selling the News," is from this new CD.  As always, this new album is full of awesome sounds and insightful lyrics.  Jon Foreman, the main singer, has an incredible voice and cries for a world-wide change, starting with one's soul and working up to saving this "nation that eats our youth" (from the song "Blinding Light,").

Switchfoot is not afraid to address topics that are not considered politically correct.  They begin their album with a song called "Afterlife" which is about living life out loud, choosing to live to the fullest with the end in mind.  Another highlight on the album are "Restless" which is based off of St. Augustine's famous quote "Our hearts are restless until they rest in You."  This song is truly beautiful, and inspires the listener to seek to do God's will in his life, starting with finding and accepting God within him.  One of my favorites is "Thrive" which is about wanting to "thrive, not just survive" in body and soul. "Dark Horses" is probably their biggest mainstream hit from this album, and is about continuing to run against the crowd and pain without giving in, and many have called the last song "Where I Belong" their best yet.  This song is about the end of one's life, and about finally arriving "in a world where I belong," and living so as to achieve this end.

When you are feeling down or are in need of some motivation to continue to fight the world's lies, I suggest this CD to you.  It will inspire you and fill you with the fire you need to get out there and continue the battle.

As always, there are no curse words or inappropriate topics.  Switchfoot has once again succeeded, creating an album that wakes everyone up with fresh, fast beats, awesome notes, and fearless words.

May God bless this band as they continue to use their popularity to spread His message!

This is the last post in the series "We're Selling the News."  I hope this series has been both educational and inspiring; may the problems and solutions outlined here fill you anew with a desire to fight God's battle with all your heart.  And may God bless all of you!