Halloween

One of these days, I'm gonna throw a Halloween Party. Not a Harvest Party. Not a Fall Celebration Party. A Halloween Party. I will ask that my guests dress up as devils in red suits, witches with warts, any of the traditional costumes. All the things my childhood church would have frowned on!

Why the rebellion? Because we are letting the New Agers and pagans take away OUR holiday - All Hallow's Eve or Halloween. (November 1st is All Hallow's Day or All Saints Day). There were Christian reasons for the costumes once upon a time. For a good article on this, go here.

Of course, today much of the Christian origins are lost. Little girls are opting for tramp wear instead of angel wings. But, we can recover it. I'm convinced of that. And one day, I'm gonna throw a Halloween Party!

At the Movies: Disturbia

I loved Disturbia! I was a little reluctant to rent it fearing its target audience would be teens and twenties and thus “too young” for us to enjoy. Wrong! It is a teen comedy movie, but it’s also a boy meets girl movie and a buddy movie. A loose remake of Hitchcock’s Rear Window, it’s one of the most suspenseful films I’ve seen in a long time.

Shia LaBeouf plays Kale Brecht a smart young man who has withdrawn into a world of anger and grief following a tragic accident. A teacher pushes the wrong button and Kale slugs him and thus earning house imprisonment. Limited to his home and a 100-yard radius outside, boredom pushes Kale into the role of a voyeur. He fills his days spying on the neighbors, one of whom may just be a murderer.

Throw in beautiful new neighbor Ashley, best friend Ronnie (scene stealer Aaron Yoo), a domesticated Trinity as mom (the Matrix’s Carrie Ann Moss) and a brooding and menacing neighbor (David Morse) and you have the ingredients necessary to keep you laughing and biting your nails for a wonderful 104 minute thrill ride.

While Jimmy Stewart was limited to a long-range zoom camera, our young sleuths live in the 21st century and avail themselves of technology and the Internet. (There’s blatant product placement throughout the movie, but it doesn’t get in the way of the storytelling.)

Shia LaBeouf is outstanding. I had a hard time believing this was the prankster from Even Stevens. He actually made me forget I was watching an actor – I just saw Kale.

Disturbia proves that old-time thrillers can still be made, that gore isn’t necessary and the PG-13 rating isn’t at all as limiting as R-rated directors want to insist.

[For a parents’ guide to Disturbia go here.]

Best Spaghetti Sauce - EVER

A friend of mine posted this recipe back in the summer as "the best-tasting spaghetti sauce." After having the pleasure of tasting it - she's right!! Here's the recipe. She has other recipes on her site that you might be interested in (she's a good cook!).

Skunked

When driving home at night, I’m going slower than I usually do. Living out in the country, I know at any time some critter can pop up out of the brush and onto the road in front of you. So the other night, I wasn’t surprised to round a curve and see a skunk in the middle of the road in front of me.

The little fur ball was in no hurry to get out of my way, so I honked my horn. The skunk bared its teeth and sprayed! Thankfully, I was out of range. He was still in the road, so I revved my engine. He walked a little further, snarled and sprayed again.

We repeated this process twice more and by this time, I’m irritated! “You little silly thing! I’m trying to protect you. You’ll get hit if you stay on the road,” I grumbled from behind the wheel.

Then it hit me. The Lord had just given me an object lesson. How many times do I growl and snarl when my plans are thwarted? I’m sure the Lord looks at me and marvels, “You little silly thing! I’m trying to protect you.”

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Is This For Your Granddaughter?

It's amazing the damage five little words can do. There I was minding my own business at Hobby Lobby. I had picked up a cute little "Baby's first Christmas" ornament to send to a dear friend. I was full of warm fuzzies thinking about Elaine and Ella Rose. That's when the attack occurred.

The cashier picked up the ornament and said the appropriate, "Oh, how cute!" Then she stabbed five dagggers into my heart:

"Is this for your granddaughter?"

Immediately the girl knew she had stepped into a mine field! Perhaps it was the color draining from my face. Perhaps it was the sharp intake of breath I had upon hearing the vile question. But really I think it was the blood spurting from my wounded ego that began to pool on the floor at my feet that gave it away!!

Is this for your GRANDDAUGHTER?!!!!

I've never lied about my age. (I'm 45.) I've never evaded questions about my age. And, truth be told, it is completely within the realm of possibility for me to be a grandmother.

BUT. . .

I don't want some cashier at Hobby Lobby confirming that fact!

Aarrgh.

If I Could Turn Back Time. . .

I returned from a brief visit to Gatlinburg to find a friend had tagged me for a Table Topic: “If you could relive a time or event in your life, what would you choose?” Since Rosie listed five, I took that as a precedent and have listed my five times/events I would love to relive:

#5 Summers on my grandfather’s porch listening to family and family friends spin yarns and tell tall tales. I’d love to hear those stories again and ask the questions as a child I so wish I would have asked now that I no longer can.

#4 (tie) A late spring afternoon sitting with Bobby at the back of the Jefferson Memorial. Looking out at the spring blooms and the coral, lavender and pink tinged clouds as the sun set while we shared our hopes and dreams.

Late one early spring evening in Gatlinburg, Bobby and I are sitting around the fountain in The Village after the shops had closed and other visitors had gone to their hotel rooms and we are once again sharing our hopes, dreams, fears, desires and plans.

#3 On our honeymoon, Bobby and I had the wonderful opportunity of touring Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany. As a little boy, Bobby had seen a photo of this castle and couldn’t believe it was an actual place! As a teenager, he had traveled with his family to Germany and hoped to visit the castle only to arrive as the gates were closing. This was a crushing disappointment, but years later it made sense. The Lord had planned for Bobby and his new bride to experience the fairytale castle together. I was so thrilled for him, thrilled to witness the fulfillment of one of his dreams, and then it happened. I fell in love with the place too. Now we refer to it as “our castle.”
#2 My wedding day. I know it’s corny, but there you go. I enjoyed my wedding. The ceremony was God-centered, not us-centered which is what we wanted. We had a church-shaped wedding cake because the Church was such a part of us as a couple. The songs all had such meaning for us. One special song, My Tribute, was played during the prelude: “How can I say thanks for the things You have done for me? Things so undeserved, yet you give to prove Your love for me. . .all that I am or ever hope to be, I owe it all to Thee.” As we went to dinner that evening at the Brown Hotel, we passed a conference room and a soloist was singing that song. It was like a hug from God.

#1 Time with my Dad. Dancing with him. Listening to him singing or imitating someone or telling a story. Telling him I love him one more time.