My attempt at a video

Wow! I took this on my new phone. It has a 60-second video record feature. Obviously it's not super high-tech, but is pretty fun to play with. I don't have a camcorder so this is a step in that direction. Too fun!

Recently Finished

What's So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
An intricate look at the grace that God has given to us. What grace really is and how we often don't take it seriously by trying to be "good enough". Some time is spent looking at forgiveness and how we are to forgive others as we have been forgiven.

"If we comprehend what Christ has done for us, then surely out of gratitude we will strive to live "worthy" of such great love. We will strive for holiness not to make God love us but because he already does."



Ten Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe by Larry Osborne

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pretty good book about the spiritual myths and urban legends that are often common beliefs among Christians. A reminder to learn what the Bible really says instead of just believing what we've always been told or what is commonly accepted among believers.

Fingernail Polish

Which one do you think I should go with?

Red



Black



Blue

Could They Be Any Cuter?

Storm


Mocha

Due to Rising Energy Costs, the Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Turned Off

Due to Rising Energy Costs, the Light at the End of the Tunnel Has Been Turned Off: How to have a Happy, Fabulous Life Even When Your Circumstances Look Dim by Karen Scalf Linamen

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Learning to rise above our circumstances and not letting our emotions be dependent on them is a summary of what this book talks about. "Peace, joy, and hope don't reside in our circumstances." In each chapter, the author talks us through various strategies for learning to rise above our circumstances - such as not taking things personally and learning to talk to ourselves in a positive manner rather than our inner Eeyore.

Chapter 1 - "I know that it's possible to experience peace, joy, and hope independent of my circumstances."

Chapter 2 - "I know how to manage old and new memories."

Chapter 3 - "I know how to tap into endorphins, adrenaline, and attitude."

Chapter 4 - "I know how to choose the tone and content of my inner dialogue."

Chapter 5 - "I know how to hang on to images that heal and empower."

Chapter 6 - "I know how to take it in stride when I have a temporary setback."

Chapter 7 - "I know how to choose life, making healthy choices whenever possible."

Chapter 8 - "I know that good stuff exists outside the periphery of what I see and feel."

Chapter 9 - "I know how to be still and listen."

Chapter 10 - "I know how to take care of my basic needs, including my need for intimacy with God."

Chapter 11 - "I know how to be inspired by big dreams."

Chapter 12 - "I know how to get unstuck."

Chapter 13 - "I know I'm gonna make it."

And some more quotes:
"...making a conscious effort to free my emotions from the tyranny of my circumstances."
"...what we believe about an experience can impact our emotions far more than the experience itself."
"...five ways to change the beliefs we attach to the events in our lives:
1. Don't take it personally - '...the truth is, we really don't know the motives behind much of what people say or do.' '...life is hard enough without always assuming the worst. Whenever possible, assume the best.' 'Out of a dozen possible motives behind any action or comment, try to pick one that will create the memory that will leave you nursing the fewest wounds.'
2. Don't generalize, catastrophize, or internalize
3. Be a spin doctor - 'Is there anything good you can glean from the experience? Did you learn something? Grow in some way?' 'We can remember the mistake or the flop or the wound. Or we can remember the growth that occurred as a result.'
4. Keep this, toss that - 'Keep the good stuff. Move past the pain.' '...skimming the fat from the milk, keeping the sweetest parts and tossing the rest.'
5. Don't be an elephant - 'If we're not careful, a "perfect" memory can keep us from getting over a snag in a normally healthy relationship, and it can also rob us of our own happiness, hope, and peace.' "
"Sometimes, to get where we wanna be, we have to forfeit a few rights along the way."
"...finish freeing my emotions from the boney grasp of painful circumstances."
"Feeling bitter, angry, depressed, hopeless, powerless, or inferior doesn't determine your future. What determines your future is believing that you'll always by there."
"Don't stay stuck. Dissolve something...but don't give up... or resign yourself to a place of immobility forever."
"...grief in itself is not a trap. Believing that you can never transcend it is." - from What Happy Women Know by Dan Baker and Cathy Greenberg
"Is there something you need to accept, forget, forgive, reframe, give up, identify, grieve, change, or ask for?" "...what would help you get moving again?"
"So where do peace and happiness and hope reside? Wherever the storms can't reach. In ourselves; in our faith; in the never-changing nature of God; in the healthy choices we make..."

Movie Madness Deals

The other day I was at Target and browsing through the DVD section to see what might be on sale. Lo and behold, they had a whole rack of DVDs on sale for $3.98 each! I quickly called Jono to list off some of the movies and see which ones he might want me to get. Here's our loot:

Titles are: My Best Friend's Wedding, Gremlins, Annie, The Holiday, X-Men, X2, X-Men the Last Stand, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Untouchables, The Italian Job, Batman Begins

Turns out, we already had The Untouchables but at $3.98 it was worth getting just in case. Actually My Big Fat Greek Wedding wasn't on the $3.98 shelf, but it was only $5 so I picked it up as well. They also had Kate & Leopold and Serendipity bundled together for $10. It was quite the movie-find-day!

Just being silly

Debi is a hot dog
Originally uploaded by twiga92

Another pic from our visit to Henry Ford museum last weekend. You can lay down and pretend to be a hot dog. Pretty funny! Jono and I both got our picture taken as hot dogs.

In other news, I'm re-reading a couple old favorites - Pandora's Clock by John Nance and The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers. I don't remember the outcome of Pandora's Clock so it's exciting and suspenseful. It's a combination aviation thriller and medical thriller, 2 of my favorite genres.

Frank Viola's Pagan Christianity

Pagan Christianity: Exposing the Roots of Our Church Practices by Frank Viola

My review

rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

A lot of our modern-day practices in the institutional church originated from pagan customs in the early centuries. This book discusses these various origins and how far today's church has come from what is seen in the New Testament. Some of these practices that arose from pagan origins are the order of worship, sermons, the distinction between clergy and laity, and church buildings themselves.

I can see why this book is so controversial. There are some good points brought out in the book. It is important to know why we do what we do and not just continue to do something solely because it's "the way we've always done it". There should be purpose behind what we do. However, just because the modern-day church doesn't match what is seen in the New Testament doesn't mean that it isn't biblical.

I would recommend this book for pastors and church leaders to perhaps re-evaluate the reasons why they do things a certain way. However, I would also say that the book seems to be throwing out the baby along with the bathwater, as the saying goes.

The Rook by Steven James

The Rook by Steven James

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another great suspense novel! This is the sequel to The Pawn where FBI agent Patrick Bowers tracks a serial killer. Though you don't have to read The Pawn first, this book does mention happenings from it so it's helpful to have knowledge of that book before reading this one. Patrick Bowers is back along with another FBI agent Lien-Hau Jiang and this time they are trying to find an arsonist. While attempting to solve the arson case, a disturbing video of a kidnapping is discovered. Suspenseful and page-turning, this book was difficult to put down. Between the action and mystery of who was really the bad guy, the characters are developed and relationships grow. Plot twists abound as well. Fantastic read!

Family Visit

Living in a metro area, there is a lot to do and see. But generally, because we live here, we don't always take advantage of what's in our backyard. Jono's dad and his wife Pat visited us this weekend so we did some touristy stuff with them.

Friday night we went to downtown Detroit and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe Detroit.


Then on Saturday we headed out to the Henry Ford Museum and Imax Theater. We saw a movie at the Imax - "Under the Sea" in 3-D. Very cool - fish swimming right up to you and it was like actually being underwater. Then we spent quite a bit of time looking around Henry Ford. It's not just old cars. They have a lot of historically significant stuff and a section with timelines that was quite interesting. Jono and I are both in what is considered the "Generation X".


I took a ton of pictures - they had some rock stars' cars and guitars as the current special attraction. There's also a section on the history of flight.


Afterwards, we went down to Belle Isle, an island in the Detroit River between Detroit and Windsor, Canada. You can see the skylines of both cities - 2 countries. (Detroit on the right)


Jono and his dad


It was a very fun weekend!