The Room by Joshua Harris~By Kyle

A great, must-read post on The Rebelution blog (online home of the Harris brothers, authors of Do Hard Things)!


The Room by Joshua Harris

The end is near~by Kyle

They are coming. I can feel it. Already two of my three sisters have re-appeared from the labyrinth of this foreboding place, their faces beaming as they announce that their doom has not yet come. My brother Timmy . . . not so lucky. More of the same for him. I can hear the sound of footsteps approaching; my doom has come. They will summon me, and when I re-appear, I will be resolved to face the gloating of my sisters. Yes, they will have won. I will be beaten. I will have had my first cavity removed, for I feel certain I have one. As I sit here in the chamber of this dentist place, I remember the uncomfortable feeling I have when anything sweet touches one of the teeth on the top right part of my mouth. Yes, I have lost. Now all that remains is to hope that when all is said and done I will have less cavities then my sisters. Okay, I doubt that will even happen. As I sit here, wondering how much my loss will cost me, I can't help but ask this question: Papa, did you pay for Daddy's cavities? Perhaps there is still hope. Ah, they have come. Goodbye, fellow friends and family, I leave for a dark, fear-inspiring place. Do not mourn, for there must still be hope out there . . .  the hope that is lost to me.

P.S. Okay, no more Shakespeare for me. I am not all that gloomy, yet.

Update: And I will not be gloomy! In fact, quite the opposite! I just escaped the dentist with NO cavities! It turns out that the discomfort I was feeling in one of my teeth was caused by it being chipped, not by a cavity. There is still hope! To roughly quote my favorite hobbit Samwise Gamgee: "It's like in the stories, Mister Frodo, the stories that really mattered; the ones where you didn't want to hear the end, because how could it end happy? But the heroes in those stories, they were holdin' on to something."
Frodo: "What were they holding onto, Sam?"
Sam:    "That there's still good in this world, Mister Frodo, and it's worth fightin' for!"

Indeed! So I will continue to brush me pearly whites every night, and I will continue to swig that half a mouthful of poison (anticavity wash) in my mouth before I go to bed, even enduring the disgusting taste that lingers after I have vehemently spit the stuff back out. It will all be worth it if only to keep my sisters from gloating at my downfall. So goodbye for now you dark dentist place! This will not be our last meeting, nor will it be my last time I escape from the labyrinth of your halls without a cavity. ;0)

The Piano Guys~ Titanium/Pavane~ By Victoria

                          I love this song The Piano Guys play. It is definitely one of my favorites!

My top ten favorite Christian movies~by Kyle

 

Hi everyone! During the wintertime here in good ole rainy Lewis County (Washington State does NOT deserve to be called anything close to "good"), movies and books become a staple in our household. It rains more often then not this time of year, and it currently gets dark at around 5:00 PM. As a result, you will often find our family gathered in our living room (where we have our own personal "theater") watching some movie or another or reading one of our family's classic books like Where the Red Fern Grows, the one we just finished. I bet our family is not alone in our hibernation-like preferences in the winter, so pass the popcorn and resolve to work off the buttery calories the day after tomorrow again! here is my list of favorite Christian movies:

1. Courageous   My overall rating: 5    
       Simply the most awesome movie ever made! And the message in it is exactly what is needed in our day! It has everything a good movie needs: Action, an evangelistic message, several tear-jerking scenes, lovable characters, humor, strongly portrayed morals, and so much more. As far as the PG-13 rating, I personally do not think it is worthy of that. Timmy and Joe love it.

2. The Grace Card   My overall rating: 4.75
    Another very good police movie! Though quite a bit grittier than Courageous, The Grace Card has just as good of a message, particularly in grace. :0) There are many scenes where a poor acting crew would be painfully exposed (as they so often are in Christian movies), but this movie's actors nail their scenes almost every time. It too will keep you very well entertained, laugh, cry, and come away with a strong Christian message. I think it is rated PG-13 too, and that rating might be deserving. Again, Timmy and Joe watched and enjoyed this movie, though.

3. Fireproof    My overall rating: 4.5
   You can't go wrong with a Sherwood Picture's movie. Fireproof and Facing the Giants are virtually a tie in my opinion, but Fireproof wins 3# because of its powerful message about marriage. Another movie that no Christian should be without!

4. Facing the Giants   My overall rating: 4.5
   Awesome! This movie has many good memories wrapped into it, as we have often had it along for family trips and watched it during family movie nights. Even better, it has football in it!

5. The Widow's Might   My overall rating: 4.25
   There is no action in this movie (a negative in any teenager boy's opinion), but the movie moves along at a good pace and keeps you entertained pretty well. It is just a small, but significant, step below Fireproof and Facing the Giants in my opinion.

6. The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry   My overall rating: 4
   Again, no action, but the "good ole day" (it's set in the '60s, I think) feeling of the movie and movie quality lifts it above most of its competition. It has a great message about sharing the Good News with others, though one of the young characters "feelings" towards a female character is rather corny since they are both around the age of 12.

7. End of the Spear   My overall rating: 3.75
   Since I have only watched this movie thrice, and mostly only remember some of the rather disturbing scenes, I can't really gauge where this movie sits in my list. But wow! What a story. The movie chronicles the mission, and eventually the martyrdom, of Nate Saint and his friends.

8. Jerusalem Countdown   My overall rating: 3.75
   This new-found favorite of mine's (I can't say as much for my sisters) is one of the few good Christian action movies out there. In my opinion it is better than the Left Behind movies in the apocalyptic genre. If you want to bite your finger nails for an hour and a half, this movie will fit the bill nicely.

9. The Penny   My overall rating: 3.5
   Another new-found favorite. The acting is sketchy at times, but the last half-hour, when the story is all tied together, makes watching well worth it.

10. Last Ounce of Courage   My Overall rating: 3.5
   I almost begrudgingly place this movie above some of the other competition like Flywheel and Christmas with a Capital C. Though I was somewhat disappointed with the rather weak (in my opinion) message, I appreciate what they were aiming at. It is worth a watch . . . if you've got nothing else going on.
 
  What are your favorite Christian movies? Comment below!

Some Pictures from the Farm ~ By Caroline

We have had several days of beautiful sunshine around here! Here are some pictures from the last couple of days.

This is the pretty view from the top of our hill.

 

 

The horses sunbathing.. :o)

 

 

 

Ruby and her mother Cosmo hangin' out.

 

Poor Cosmo isn't due to kid for another month, but is already so big! We are thinking she probably has triplets.

 

Poli is the first doe due in 3 1/2 weeks! She probably has twins.

 

Poli and Addy :o)

Update on my book~By Kyle

  Hi Everyone! I am finally getting excited about my book! After getting it to a point where it is edited correctly (well, at least 99.999 percent of it), I am well on my way to becoming a published author.:0) I decided to publish with FriesenPress (http://friesenpress.com/). FreisenPress is a perfect publisher for me because it is a mix between a self-publisher and a traditional publisher. I do quite a bit of the work, of course, in getting my book ready, but the people at FreisenPress will help me with some of the more complicated stuff (Book cover, text body design, publishing, exc.) I have filled out a lot of the forms and stuff already, and come Monday I am going to download my manuscript. This will start what my publishing consultant calls " the book layout phase". This phase is the one where my book, the book cover, and all the other stuff like the table of contents will be pieced together and made ready to publish. I will be sent a "proof" of my book after this phase, and if I am pleased with how my book is laid-out and everything, I will give FriesenPress the go-ahead to publish my book! I have not been given an estimate yet, but I would imagine that my book would be published sometime this spring.
   Something I did recently in my book was removing the name "hobbit" from it. After learning that J. R. R. Tolkien invented hobbits and that they are not a widely used race like dwarves of elves, I just didn't feel right including them in my book. Instead, I created gimbits. They are similar to hobbits, but not so much as to make them look like I was copying Tolkien. Here is how one of the characters in my book describes them:
  

"‘What is a gimbit?’ Well, I suppose I should start by explaining what they look like. Gimbits are very short, the shortest of all the halflings, and are very stout for their stature. They have large, flat feet and usually sport them off by walking barefoot. Consequently, their feet are very tough and leathery, and they seem to be all the more proud of them because of this.

      “As far as their personalities, they control their emotions much better than dwarves do and are more thoughtful, if not more wise, than most halflings, but in a negative sense they are slower to action as well. They will have four meals a day when they can and call their four meals ‘breakfast’, ‘brunch’, ‘linner’, and ‘dinner’. Many believe that Elrahin created gimbits as the only halfling race, that dwarves are only gimbits with the blood of men mixed in their veins, but I find it easier to believe that Elrahin created both dwarves and gimbits as separate halfling races. They are a unique race for sure, the most obvious difference in the gimbit and dwarf’s personality being in the gimbit’s firm dislike of mining stone. They will dig their homes in separate hills like the dwarves do, but they would rather have a house above ground than mine into a mountain. That, I guess, is a definition of a gimbit in a nutshell, though they are far, far more complex than that.”

Also, here is the picture I found for the cover of my book:

 The right-hand side of the picture will need to be cropped quite a bit to make it the right size, but I am pretty happy with it for the theme of my book. My book cover designer will add the title and my name when he/she designs the cover of my book. Can't wait!

Here is the updated synopsis:

Join the adventure of Aaron, Amy, and Michael, three teens who are thrust into a world inhabited by elves, halflings, talking animals, and other such creatures. In this other world there are many paths leading to places both good and bad, and magic swords that can guide you onto the right paths . . . and guard you from the wrong ones. The three teens are soon plunged into plans of a war between the ancient powers of the light and darkness and must travel to Burrowhill, a halfling city, to save it from destruction. But after one of the teens chooses a path that leads him into enemy hands, his friends embark on a desperate journey to save him before it is too late.

 Through fierce battles with foul creatures, to a journey into the beautiful elven city of Evantiell, the teens and their friends must trust more and more in their swords and the lord who made them as they become brave warriors for the light.

Stay tuned for several "sneek previews" of my book in the next few weeks. :0)



150 tons, anyone?~By Kyle

Hi everyone. Above is one of my many responses to the "what do you do with your spare time since you are a homeschooler?" question. This video was taken several weeks ago, so I am even closer to finishing it!
P.S. Sorry for the terrible video quality and sound. I am not a photographer by any stretch, and I had to use a regular camera, not a video camera, to take this video. If you get carsick like I do, you might not find it all that enjoyable. The stupid formatting on the video also cut off the last bit of the video and had the words appear sooner than I had planned.

New Ray Comfort Video: Genius~By Kyle

Hi y'all, sorry it has been a while since our last post. We are enjoying life so much that it is hard to sit down at the computer :0). Just wanted to let you know that Ray Comfort (producer of the evangelistic 180 movie) just produced another film called "Genius". This 30 minute film uses the story of John Lennon as a springboard to share the gospel. It is pretty cool. You can view Genius at its website: http://www.geniusthemovie.com/. Warning: though this film contains none of the disturbing images of the Holocaust like the 180 movie does, some of the people interviewed in this movie can be pretty unsettling (a cross-dresser is among the ranks of the interviewed, for example). But those are the people that need the gospel the most!

Depraved Indifference~By Kyle

Below is a video that continues to challenge and inspire our family:

 

Check out Mommy's latest post (http://onlyonedayliketoday.blogspot.com/) for the top ten reasons our family is seeking to adopt another brother or sister. It is hard not to be changed when you view this video, and I think every Christian should take it to heart. I, for one, want to be that hero for Christ described in the video!

My top New Year's goals~By Kyle

Happy 2013 everyone!

My 2013 goals:

1. Grow more into the man God wants me to be
2. Spend routine time in His Word
3. Train myself to reach people with the gospel
4. Publish my book, The Crossroads of the Other World (a little excited, mostly nervous about this one)
5. Finish my second book, To the Far Corners of the Other World
6. Finish Papa Bob and Meemom's rock wall this spring
7. Work more routine hours this summer (whatever I am employed in)
8. Do fifty push-ups and sit-ups a night (I started this a while ago, actually. If you don't think its hard, try it sometime)
9. Begin to exercise routinely (If there ever was a time to keep your body healthy with Obamacare kicking into effect, it is now.)

Something I would like to do: Throttle the next weatherman I come across -- just kidding! (We have had three forcasted snow storms, each of which have got my hopes up, but all three have delivered virtually no snow. We even had 3-5 inches predicted and a winter storm warning issued for Christmas morning --- which, you will remember, had me almost in a state of delirium, but Christmas morning contained nothing more then wind blown slush, wet snow flakes, and rain . . . with no accumulation)

Did any of you blog followers set any goals?