Review of The Grace Card

Our family was able to watch The Grace Card this week.  It has just been released on DVD for those of you that may not know.  It is always a pleasure to see a movie that contains Judeo-Christian values as opposed to what Hollywood typically mass produces.  

The Grace Card follows the lives of two police officers.  One of those police officers has experienced great tragedy in his life that has left him bitter and very anti-God.  The other police officer is a bivocational preacher and is finding that true ministry is not just what is preached behind a pulpit on Sunday morning.  Both men learn much from their relationship with each other and the movie emphasizes the importance of loving and showing grace to others even in the most difficult of circumstances.  

My biggest problem with The Grace Card is that there wasn't a clear presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Christ was mentioned by name, but not the clear message of redemption in Him.  This is one area I have appreciated so much from movies like Facing the Giants and Fireproof.  They clearly show the way of salvation in those movies.  It reminds me of another movie I have watched before called "Time Changer."  If you have not seen this, I highly recommend it.  The whole premise is what happens to a society that gives a moral message without showing that the only way to righteousness is through the Gospel and the Gospel alone.  

I would still recommend The Grace Card.  It is a far cry from the other side of the coin we are bombarded with on a daily basis from Hollywood.  But, I would have Christians be especially careful in making sure their message of hope and righteousness is only by means of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Everything else is just good works and still means nothing in the scheme of eternity.

A Great Resource!

If you have Netflix, I highly recommend getting this video to watch.  It is a documentary on Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.  If you homeschool, it would be a wonderful addition to your history of the Civil War.  If you don't homeschool, it would be a great resource to share with your children the spiritual lives of these men and how their faith impacted everything they did.  There are some black and white photos of the Civil War in this documentary, and some are of men dead on the field.   I did not find them especially gruesome or bloody, but depending on the ages of your children, you may want to preview it first.  This documentary was so very good that we ended up getting a copy from Amazon.  I rented it off Netflix thinking that it would be a great resource to give the children added information about the war.  I had no idea it would be so God-honoring.  I found myself greatly convicted by the lives of these two great generals.  My husband liked it so much he started reading a book on Stonewall Jackson afterward.  In a time where our children, and especially our boys, are lacking Godly examples of what it means to be a man of faith in difficult times...this DVD is a rare find.  If you decide to rent it, let me know what you think!  God bless!

History Reading

Anyone who knows me knows that I am an avid book collector.  I have always had a great appreciation for books, mainly given to me by a mother who read to me almost non-stop!  So, when I became a homeschooling mom myself, it was easy to start filling the shelves with quality literature.  Unfortunately, many good history books are out of print and we have authors today who choose to rewrite history to fit into their political, spiritual and social agendas. 

A great resource for history books that we found out about years ago at a homeschool conference are the Landmark books.  There are about 200 of them, and most all of them are out of print.  We have picked up a few here and there from homeschool conferences we attended.  I have gotten some great deals on them through Ebay.  And I have also been fortunate enough to find them tucked away in obscure little used bookstores we have found while vacationing.  I never seem to take a vacation from searching for books!

I never thought we would have this many just picking up one or two here and there.  But, here they are.  I had my oldest daughter get them all out and write out the titles for me since I have been known to buy a book I already have!  We'll blame that one on getting older!  I urge you to look for these books when you are out and about.  They are written on about a fifth grade level, but hold so much information on their individual subjects that they are fit for adult reading as well.  Some of the best children's authors of the 50's were asked to author these books, so they capture the reader's attention.  My oldest son, Josiah, has really enjoyed these and has read several already.  Since they are out of print, some of them can be expensive, but at the homeschool conferences we have attended, they have ranged from about 8 to 12 dollars a book.  I have found quite a few of them much cheaper by winning auctions on Ebay or by finding them in used bookstores.  Other people have been successful getting them almost free from libraries that are discarding them!  So, when you are out and about, keep a lookout for Landmark books...and Happy Hunting!

Looking Forward to Watching This Documentary

If you are interested in keeping an eye on this movie, you can access their website here.  They have the latest information about the movie and more clips that you can watch. 

Book Review

I cannot believe it has taken me this long to read this book.  To think that I am approaching my 47th birthday in January and I have never read this Christian classic.  I have made it a habit ever since having children that we have a family read aloud before bed every night after family devotionals.  This is on top of other books I read to them during school times.  We just finished this wonderful book.  If you have not already read it, I urge you to do so.  It is the heart wrenching story of the Ten Boom family, Christians caught up in the setting of WWII who take up the dangerous cause of hiding Jews from the Gestapo.  Knowing the danger they are in, they continue to make the selfless decision to hide and help God's chosen people.  It is a beautiful story of self-sacrifice.  But, it goes even farther than this.  It is the story of a family who is caught, sent to prison and then, some of them, on to an extermination camp.  It is the story of childlike simple faith in a God who works all things for our good.  God's overwhelming Hand can be seen throughout every page.  I was especially convicted by Betsie Ten Boom's thankfulness in all situations.  She is a shining example of taking from God's Hand all that He gives with gratitude.  There is even a time when she is in a camp that is riddled with disease and fleas and she even thanks God for the fleas!  We find later that even God uses the fleas for her good.  One of my favorite quotes from Betsie is,"...tell people what we have learned here.  We must tell them that there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still.  They will listen to us, Corrie, because we have been here."  These women were heavenly minded!  It has encouraged me to be more heavenly minded as well. 

What Lasting Memories Are We Leaving?

I just finished reading a wonderful book entitled "Homemaking" by J.R. Miller. I highly recommend it. It is one of those books that need to be read over and over again to help remind us of our duty before God to raise children for His glory. It was encouraging and convicting at the same time. I want to leave you with just a taste of what was in the book. This was in the final chapter entitled, "Home Memories."
"We are fast moving on through this world. Soon all that will remain of us will be the memories of our lives. No part of our work will then afford such a true test of our living as the memorials we leave behind us in our homes. No other work that God gives any of us to do is so important, so sacred, so far-reaching in its influence, so delicate and easily marred as our home-making. This is the work of all our life that is most divine. The carpenter works in wood, the mason works in stone, the smith works in iron, the artist works on canvas, but the home-maker works on immortal lives. The wood or the stone or the iron or the canvas may be marred, and it will not matter greatly in fifty years; but let a tender human soul be marred in its early training, and ages hence the effects will still be seen. Whatever else we slight, let it never be our home-making. If we do nothing else well in this world, let us at least build well within our own doors."
May we rely on the strength of Christ to help us properly train our sons and daughters for His work and glory. Only by His might can it be done. I pray God strengthens all of us for this eternal task.

A Wonderful Movie

I wanted to tell you all about a wonderful movie that I discovered some time ago. I am a great fan of the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. It is much better than Hollywood's version of it. And if you have read the book, the BBC production is one of the closest adaptations from a book that I have seen. I found this movie quite by accident and it has quickly become one of my all time favorites. Our family has an extremely strict set of rules when it comes to movie viewing (we do not watch TV). Anyway, this movie is one of those keepers. It takes place in England, so don't let the title fool you. The first time I just saw the title "North and South" I thought it must be about the Civil War! There is a tender love story and it is so refreshing that they never even kiss until the end of the movie. Quite honestly, I would have rather that have been after they were married like in Pride and Prejudice, but nevertheless, I think it is a movie well worth watching. It is a little too mature for children however, so I do caution you. There is a young man that does commit suicide by drowning in the river. You do not see when he does this though, but you do see his body when the police take it to his wife for identification. He is fully clothed, but is a purple color from being in the river where the dye from the factory has drained. There are other themes children would not understand, such as fighting among union members in the factory setting, the leading man fights a man over the fear that his smoking will cause a fire in the cotton factory, and a possible a few others that I cannot recall. But, there is no profanity in the movie! There are no inappropriate relationships either. It is a great movie to watch with your husband one evening. Pop some popcorn and make that a date night! You can rent it online through Blockbuster, or through Netflix. I have not seen it in the stores, but we bought our own copy through Amazon. So, give it a try and if you do, leave a comment and let me know what you think! Happy viewing!

Protecting the Eye Gate - A Movie Review

As parents, one of our primary functions is to protect our children from harm. That harm includes many things...things they see, read, listen to, wrong associations, etc. One of the most overlooked areas that we find in our society happens to be the "eye gate." What do we let our children watch? From horror movies, to video games that promote killing, to programs where we constantly have women and men parading around on screen in immodest dress...and the list goes on. It was with this in mind...and the fact that one cannot even look at a good many commercials today to see things that we would not want our children exposed to...that Jonathan and I decided to not have cable television anymore. In fact, we don't watch any TV in our home. We do have a television, but we use that mainly for school curriculum for a few subjects like math or art. For the most part, we watch DVD's that have been carefully screened by Jonathan and myself. And, we are even careful as to the amount of time that our children are allowed to watch DVD's. We have found that even if the material is not questionable, too much watching causes them to lose valuable tools of their imagination, as well as giving them a mentality that they "need" to be entertained. We would much rather them play together, work together or spend their time pouring over good books. One of the challenges in our society is finding Godly material, or at least moral material that we would allow our children to watch. That is what brings me to tell you about a wonderful resource our family has found in "Franklin Springs Media." They are a Christian company that has wholesome, inspiring DVD's fit for the whole family. They are extremely well done...just as professional as any you would find in the secular world and they have been such an encouragement to our family. So, if you are looking for great material to watch...fit for the whole family...and you would like to support their efforts by buying their DVD's...please go to their website and give them a try. I will be posting reviews of movies and books periodically as I find those that meet our criteria. If you have any you would like to pass on, please leave a comment. We are always excited to find new things to add to our library! Until next time...God bless!