Movie review The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey

I went today and saw The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey today. My reaction is mixed. Peter Jackson produced a great adventure movie, following Bilbo Baggins and the 12 Dwarves on their mission to reclaim the Lonely Mountain for the dwarves.  But once again the writers added to the story, I guess because they thought it wouldn’t be interesting to a 21st Century audience. One addition actually detracted from the story, and didn’t really seem to belong there. That was the rock monsters. That scene began a series of events that, though fast paced, were too unbelievable, even for an imaginary place like Middle Earth.

Overall, it was worth the time to see. I am glad that Tolkien doesn’t have to see it.

And Now there are Three

Welcome the latest addition to my growing family, a girl born at 1:30 this morning. She joins a sister and brother as my three grandchildren. (Now I seem to have the theme song to “My Three Sons” playing in my head.)

Four more years

It’s over. We get another four years of the least qualified President ever.  After the last election disaster, I posted some predictions, most of which came true. 

1- I said President Obama would not be reelected, and I was wrong, thanks to the lap-dog media and the lily-livered GOP (which seems not to understand that running moderates gives the Dems the office). If the media would return to be the unbiased truth tellers they are supposed to be, they would have told us everything they knew about Obama’s past the first time, and all we have found out too late about the Libya incident last month.

2- I predicted the stimulus and housing crisis would take us to a depression. I came close on that one. We continue to have miserable joblessness  though it seems Obama and the media have put us under a spell, making us think 8% is an acceptable number. Housing is slowly coming around, but many still have house worth thousands less than they paid for them.

3- I predicted another terror attack on US soil. There was the embassy attack and a couple of shootings that the administration refused to call terrorist attacks.  Several terrorists have been stopped before they could do any damage, which is a good thing. And yes, Osama Bin Laden is enjoying his time in Hell with his master. But Al Qaida is still very active in the Middle East, and perhpas emboldened by our wimpy attitude towards their host in Pakistan.

4&5- Along with that prediction, I said, “The rest of the enemies of the US will soon see that Obama is too inexperienced at international affairs.”   He seems to think he needs to apologize for our actions. And I have heard that a lot of people in the rest of the world are laughing at us. In another  prediction I mentioned that Russia would try and take advantage of Obama’s lack of experience. Mr Putin is again the leader and seems to be flexing his muscle. So I guess I got those two right.

6- Lastly, I said there would be a strong third party this year which would make the Big 2 make their differences more obvious. Well, this year there was a definite difference, but not a strong enough third party to have an effect. So I was half right.

Let’s see: Correct on #s 2, 4 and 5. Half right on 3 and 6. So I got 4 out of 6 total. 67% is not bad for an amateur. But in the school where I teach, that is a D-. 

So, I will make no more predictions, other than that in four years God will still be on the throne and having His way.

Politics asside

Here a few non political thoughts.

• Why was Sandy called a “Super Storm” since it was only a category 1 hurricane. Is it because it was 1,000 miles across instead or 2 or 3 hundred?

• And why do the big three networks have to spend entire newscasts on one storm for a whole week? Aren’t there other newsworthy stories in the world, more important than interviewing all the victims? Yes, the storm is of national significance, but the sorrowful  stories are more local, aren’t they?

• Why it that people who don’t want to work drive like maniacs to get there on time? Why not leave a few minutes earlier and relax, rather than stressing out the other drivers (me) on the road by tailgating and cutting in between a inches to spare while going 10 mph over the limit?

• Why do advertisements for furniture stores have to have the announcer yelling at us? Do they think we’re deaf? Don’t they know that some of us change the channel or turn down the volume so we can’t hear them anyway?

• Since no one uses the old 5.25 and 3.5 inch floppy disks anymore, why not make computer flash drives the A or B drive, instead E, F or G?

Well, enough for now.  Let’s hope the Chinese let us keep our blogs when they take us over so we can continue with such important questions as these.

4 more days. Finally!

In four days we will finally come to the end of the 2012 campaign season. I am tired of political ads. I am tired of the “I’ll fight for you in the capitol.” I don’t like fighting. I like it when politicians actually work! Mr/Ms politician, hear this: Don’t fight, FIX! Take off the boxing gloves and put on the work gloves.

Oh, and one more thing, please don’t start the next presidential campaign until 2015!

Athletes in Pink

Many sports now have a “Pink Night” in which the players wear pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. High school, college and even professional teams raise money by selling t-shirts or other apparel. It’s a great idea, as breast cancer is a disease that takes the lives of all too many women, and even affects some men.

 

However, why all the attention to women’s health when there are diseases that affect men that do not get much attention? Prostrate cancer is one. Granted, it is not as serious as breast cancer, but it still would be good to find a cure. Lance Armstrong raised awareness of it, and his foundation raised money for research. But how many women’s teams sell apparel and wear yellow in support of prostrate cancer awareness? Equal time, you know.

No longer children

It is a day to remember. The youngest of my children is 18 today. How time flies.  I can still remember that morning when Mrs. L woke up and said “It's time.”  I thought we had a few hours since previous births followed many hours of labor. But no, this one came quickly.  I can still hear her as a 1 year old saying “Kit-ty” when she saw one of the cats, like the one in the picture, we had at that rented farm house.  And she grew up too fast, as they all did.  I have four adult offspring.  Now I am a grandfather. How soon before those two (soon to be three) little ones are adults?

Anyway, Happy Birthday, “Child”!  May God grant you His mercy and grace as you become the woman He means you to be.

NFL names in other words

Try this little quiz while enjoying your favorite NFL team this weekend. The answers are below. Highlight the blank area to reveal them. (I found this years ago when and had to update it.)

Guess which NFL team???

  1.  Army insects                                                          17.  True Americans
  2.  American gauchos                                                  18.  View the predators
  3.  Seven squared                                                        19.  Tiny scuba gear
  4.  High church leaders                                                20.  John, Peter and Paul

  5.  Credit card users                                                    21.  Rodeo horses
  6.  Streakers are this                                                    22.  Birds trained to kill
  7.  A 747 and DC-10                                                   23.  People from a big state
  8.  Indian leaders                                                         24.  Six shooters

  9.  Hostile attackers                                                     25.  Preparing to move
10.  King of the beasts                                                   26.  Black jungle cats
11.  Thieves                                                                   27.  Luxury cars
12.  Used to be girls                                                       28.  Six rulers

13.  Sun-tanned bodies                                                   29.  They butt heads
14.  A dollar for corn                                                     30.  Bald American 
15.  Invoices                                                                  31.  Family of giants 

16.  Hot epidermis                                                          32.  Large blackbirds

                            

BONUS- A former team: Lubricators

Answers: (highlight this area)

  1.  Giants (GI ants)         2.  Cowboys                   3.  49ers                        4.  Cardinals 

  5.  Chargers                   6.  Bears (Bares)             7.  Jets                           8.  Chiefs

  9.  Raiders                   10.  Lions                        11.  Steelers                   12.  Bengals (been gals)

13.  Browns                   14.  Buccaneers               15.  Bills                        16.  Redskins

17.  Patriots                   18.  Seahawks                 19.  Dolphins (doll fins)  20.  Saints

21.  Broncos                  22.  Falcons                     23.  Texans                   24.  Colts

25.  Preparing to move   26.  Black jungle cats       27.  Luxury cars            28.  Vikings (Roman numeral vi)

29.  Rams                      30.  Eagles                       31.  Titans                     32.  Ravens

BONUS- A former team: Oilers

The President and Transparency

This evening, I was watching the news when the anchorman mentioned President Obama releasing his tax returns and calling on Mitt Romney to do the same. Said Mr. President, “Every candidate should be as transparent as possible.”  Ha! “Do as I say and not as I do,” would be more accurate with the Nontransparent-one-in-Chief.

Dear Mr Obama, if you want us to take you seriously, you need to follow your own advice and be transparent about a few things. Like:

• Your actual, hard copy birth certificate;
• The Indonesian passport you had as a child;
• Your academic records, including the ones from Occidental College with the name you used there, which was not Barack Obama, if I recall;
• And don’t forget the application to Occidental for a scholarship for International students;
• Your records form Harvard;
• Your association with a known home terrorist, in whose house you began your political career.

And the list goes on.  While your at it, have your Treasury Secretary come clean on why he didn’t file his taxes for several years. He says he forgot. Yeah, right. I wish I could get by with that excuse.

Are you ever going to admit that you were not raised in the typical fashion of African Americans of your generation? That you never lived in a real ghetto or government projects, or that you never faced Jim Crow laws, so you cannot really say you know what most blacks go through.

I realize much of this is hearsay, but if you are going to be “as transparent as possible” then you should set the example and prove your critics wrong.

Lilacs, butterflies and the Resurrection

This may look like just any lilac bush, but it has an interesting story. It used to be three times as tall, but a few years ago we had a late frost that killed the bush.  When I finally got around to cutting it down, some new growth had appeared. So I trimmed down the dead branches and left the new growth. Now, after three years, it is blooming again.


Yesterday, when I was outside taking care of the dog, there just happened to be a butterfly on the bush, so I snapped this picture on my cell phone.


Ironically, this is the season we celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.  Both the lilac and the butterfly can be symbols of the most important event in history.  Just as the bush was dormant for 3 years, so the Lord was in the grave for 3 days.  Just as the caterpillar dies and becomes a beautiful butterfly, so Jesus conquered death and rose again to new life.


And we too can have new life in Christ by repenting and believing in Him.

Leap Day

I don’t have much to say, but I wanted a post on February 29.  So here it is!

A few random thoughts, though:

• I’m glad the Republican presidential race is going on. I hate it when the choice is made in January, and we have to wait until August to make it official.
• Why do weather forecasters say we are going to have a little weather when there is a storm approaching? Don’t we have weather 24 hours a day, every day, whether it is clear or raining?
• Gas prices are climbing again.  Politicians are claiming ways to lower the prices.  I have one: Stop buying it from the Arabs and use what we have!

Enjoy what’s left of 2012.  All 10 months of it.

Change in the New Year

This came in my email last week.  I was thinking of doing a prediction post, but I like this one better. ~PL

THE BOTTOM LINE

Mark LaCour

________________________________________________________________________

“My days are like a lengthened shadow, and I wither away like grass. But You, O Lord, abide forever, and Your name to all generations. (Psa. 102:11-12).

________________________________________________________________________

Change -- it’s the slogan of politicians, the promise of unfaithful partners, the quest of scientists, the dream of inventors. Change is inevitable. While I type this my body will have changed microscopically so that I’m not the same person I was when I started -- having succumbed to the second law of thermodynamics.

But there are some things that will never change in 2012. Here are a few immutable things you can expect to happen this year: First, contrary to our relativistic culture, truth will not change in 2012. Truth by nature is immutable and eternal. If hypothetically all truth was capable of change, then the single truth that all truth changes would be immutable -- incapable of change (Psa. 117:2). Hence, proving the point.

Second, God’s nature, will, and glory will not change this year. Since God can’t increase or decrease, His plans can’t be frustrated, neither His glory diminished by any action or inaction of His creation. ". . . the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind." (1 Sam. 15:29).

Third, Jesus Christ as our high priest cannot and will not change. “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “you are a priest forever” (Psa. 110:4). And if a priest, then effectual in being heard by the Father (Heb. 7:25) and sympathetic toward His people (Heb. 4:15).

Fourth, the inability of sinners to please God will be inexorable. Just as leopards can’t change their spots (Jer. 13:23) sinners can’t please God -- never have, never will. All the cajoling of religious authorities, all the charity of benevolent philanthropists won’t change a sinner’s status before God (Rom. 3:10-18) in calendar year 2012.

Fifth, the hatred of your spiritual enemies won’t change in 2012. Expect the accuser to accuse, the world to seduce, and the flesh to oppose. It’s what they do and the forecast is for more of the same.

Sixth, God’s grace won’t change in its sufficiency in 2012. Whether faced with the opportunity to bless (2 Cor. 9:8), or struggling with trials (1 Cor. 10:13), everything you receive will be a mercy from God.

But lastly, there are some things in 2012 that must change: God’s people must change. They must be born again (Jn. 3:7) because they must see the kingdom of God. They must repent of their sins because they can’t perish (Lk. 13:3), and they must believe and treasure Christ (Heb. 11:6), because their pre-ordained inheritance demands their trust and obedience. All these “must” changes never change in how God deals with His children. They’re as immutable as God Himself -- which is far greater than any resolution you can make for yourself in 2012.

HT: Mark LaCour

1-1-12

A new year. The name January comes from the Roman God Janus, who had two faces facing opposite directions. So we look ahead and hope for good things- or strength for the bad. And we look back and remember the good things- and hopefully learn from the bad. Let’s not boast of our achievements, instead, let us keep growing in the grace of the Lord.

I was thinking of wise, profound words to post, but I’ll instead give you the words of one wiser than I. My brother in Christ and former pastor Bob Jennings had this to say on his blog:

New year? The new year is a reminder of a great day coming when the Lord Jesus will return and make all things new.

Revelation 21:5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”

Sin, sorrow, and sickness will be gone.

Revelation 21:4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”

These words are “faithful and true” but only for those who have had a new birth, John 3.3 – an invasion of the living God into the heart, causing a person to begin to be radically different than he was and different from the surrounding world. He is a “new creation”, 2Corinthians 5.17, and as such, the Christian is a partaker already of the coming universal new creation – all things new. All the more, I’m not sorry I began to follow the Lord Jesus 40 years ago. I’m not sorry I came to Him as a sinner, trusting His sin-payment on Calvary. He is all I have. He is all anyone can have. Everything else gets stripped away.