Sorrow & Faith

"There is no sorrow on earth that Heaven cannot heal."

I've heard this quote before but can't place exactly who it should be attributed to. It's particularly poignant to me given the circumstances of the past week or two. There are so many different sorrows that we face here on earth, but they all share one thing in common - profound, heart-wrenching and deeply felt sorrow affects everything. No matter the exact details, sorrow impacts everything it touches. Vibrant sunsets lose their shine. Favorite foods taste dull. Hobbies lose their appeal.

While heaven can in fact heal every earthly sorrow, its not an immediate band-aid fix; at least not in my experience. That's where faith steps in. Faith believes that someday things will be better again once the sorrows subside. Faith believes that heaven's fix will restore the sunset's luster and food's flavor. Faith, while appearing to some to be silly, believes in a future that doesn't feel possible.

It's easy to claim that you have faith. But you won't know how much faith you have until its tested. When you stand before God with a heart full of sorrows and say "Can you fix this, Lord?" That's when you know the extent of your faith and the full extent of God's faithfulness.

I have no idea how the current circumstances that I'm in will work themselves out. But I stand now before God asking Him "Can you fix this?"

The Pirates That Don't Do Anything

This weekend we decided to try something new - we went out to the movies as a family. Given that our youngest is only 3, this has been very risky in the past. The last time we tried, we took the kids to go see Cars when it was in the theatre - complete disaster. My husband missed the last fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie walking a stir-crazy two-year-old up and down the halls.

But, she's older now we argued and we wanted to do something special for our son. He had an entire week of green-card days last week (meaning he was good at school and didn't get fussed at for talking) and he deserved a little reward. Going out to eat doesn't mean much to a Kindergartner and Mr. Biggs is both expensive and induces mild anxiety in me and hives in my husband. (It's truly a fun place to go if your kids are older, but at 3 & 6 too many older children run unsupervised and there's too large of a kidnapping risk.) Being that its still winter here, outdoor activities are out of the question, so we weren't left with many options that are appealing to kids.

Luckily, however, we hadn't seen the new Veggie Tales movie, The Pirates That Don't Do Anything. We LOVED it! These pirates have been side characters now for years and it was fun to watch them produce a feature-length film focused on them. While the faith message was a bit subdued in the film, it was still present. And it was really good for the kids to see the characters develop discipline and a work ethic as the movie played on...and to see those changes rewarded in the end (slight spoiler, but not really.)

The movie theatre we went to had a well-stocked snack bar, so we were able to let the kids split a pizza and a coke in their seats which may have contributed to their ability to sit still for a full movie. At any rate, however, I'm not complaining - it was nice. This is definitely a movie you should see, though it would be just as good of a home purchase or rental. There aren't any huge special effects or anything to warrant a $10 ticket purchase (unless you're celebrating something.)

As for the film itself - these guys have seriously improved their animation skills in recent months. The animated water was EXCELLENT and the texturing, lighting, etc. really appeared much more lifelike than past videos. Kudos, guys! And the soundtrack rocked! Kurt Heineke outdid himself this time...if I ever see the soundtrack in stores, I will probably either buy it or download it from iTunes.

As for my kids, they're now walking around the house quoting the movie. My son now has faux labor-saving-devices and says that anything he's scared of is "on his list." I guess that's the best sign they liked it - and I don't have to worry about what he's quoting or imitating.

Accepting failure without admitting defeat

If you've read this blog for any length of time at all, you know that today was weigh in day. Despite have a dismal week this week, I dutifully weighed in knowing that the results would not be good. Still, I wanted to get back on track and that meant surveying the damage. Well...I gained this week. And as any dieter will tell you, gaining weight (even when you've had a bad week) is really, really discouraging.

So...the question of the day is "how do you accept failure without admitting defeat?" The key here is to get back on track and do the best job I can - for today. Hitting all of my dietary and excercise goals - for today. And yet, even though I know what needs to happen, my brain is having a hard time communicating that to my heart. I'll be brutally honest - I'm discouraged. Yes, I ate more points than I was allotted. Yes, I didn't work out this weekend (despite the fact that I have a good excuse.) But somehow I still expected that scale to go down. Irrational - I know.

There are several really good reasons why the weight is slow in coming off. I have really good explanations for why I went over my point values this week. But in the end tally none of that matters. The reasons...the rationales...even if they're completely true (and they are) the scale still went up.

The only distinction I can think of between accepting failure and admitting defeat is your resolve to get back on the proverbial horse and be willing to try again...and again...and again. Truthfully, I've given up on hitting my goal weight by summer. Realistically, I'll be lucky to hit my goal weight in this calendar year. I'm just resolved to keep trying...even if it means beating my head bloody against this brick wall.

Pro Life Hollywood?

I know...this sounds like an oxymoron. Believe me, I know. But, I just read a blog entry that supports that very assertation. You really should check it out.

Now of the six movies that are listed in this blog, I've only seen one of them - Knocked Up. And I must admit how surprised I was by the pro-life themes woven subtly throughout the movie. While graphic and admittedly quite vulgar, the main character (played by Katherine Heigl of Grey's Anatomy) steps up in a big way when she winds up unexpectedly pregnant. Not only does she choose to keep the baby, she also chooses to establish a relationship with the baby's pot-smoking, porn-watching idiot father. And...over time, he too steps up and cleans up his act before the baby arrives.

It was quite different from all of the pro-choice political jockeying and monologuing that usually comes from Hollywood's stars and starlets. But...as the point is made in this blog, Abortion is neither sexy nor heroic - its killing an innocent, defenseless baby. How are you supposed to defend that in film? Simply put - you couldn't. Not in a film that the public would actually want to see and pay $10 to see it.

Too often, our society tends to gloss over the real facts of pregnancy and instead allows women (and men, too) to make decisions that appear to make sense in the short run without any consideration for the long-term implications (death for the baby and profound medical and mental risks and complications for the mother.)

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets

Well, I finally got the chance to go see National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets recently. It's been out nearly a month and I've only recently managed to find the opportunity to go see it. I think life is way too busy when it takes four weeks to find two hours of relaxation. But I digress.

I really enjoyed this movie. If you enjoyed the original National Treasure you should definitely see this movie. It's even a movie that I'd recommend paying $9 for a theatre seat. Just like the original, Ben Gates, Riley Toole and Abigail Chase are hunting down treasure. Only this time they're joined by Ben's parents, Patrick and Emily, as the trio seeks to exonerate Ben's ancestor who has recently been accussed of masterminding the Lincoln assassination.

As one would expect, there are more than a few similiarities between the original and the sequel, but it doesn't detract from what is at its core an entertaining movie for the whole family that doesn't stoop to debauchery, foul language or gore for its laughs. There are Indiana Jones-esque scenes that capture younger audiences as well as high-brow humor for history and policital buffs. Simply put - there's something for everyone.

Heath Ledger (1979-2008)

Heath Ledger was found dead today in his Manhattan apartment. Apparantly he died of a drug overdose. How sad. (click here for MSNBC's coverage). Joining the ranks of other gone-too-soon Hollywood stars and starlets, Heath will probably make headlines for several days and then be a trivia question for future game show contestants.

I personally enjoyed his performances in The Patriot, A Knight's Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You. But I think The Patriot has to be my favorite. His character, Gabriel, is desperately trying to find his way in the world, hoping to have his father's blessings, but ready to make his way in the world with or without it. His character had conviction which is sadly lacking today - even in Hollywood.

Weight Watchers Weigh In

(*sigh*) Weigh in day. You either love it or hate it. Me, personally, I vascillate frequently between loving it and hating it. Despite having stayed on-plan all week, I lost a measly.5 pounds. While you would be correct in stating 'well, at least you lost weight this week', its still a supreme discouragement. Unfortunately, this go-round my insulin resistance is making this a long, arduous journey.

I did fine all week long, however, it was time to adjust my Glucophage dosage on Friday and that threw everything into turmoil all day Friday and Saturday. I was at home all day Friday, so that made things somewhat easier, however, we had errands to run on Saturday and that threw things all askew. We didn't have lunch until 2:30 and by then my sugars crashed and I was loopy. The medicine clearly warns you not to skip meals with this medication, however, it neglected to mention that delaying one can be bad, too. I didn't feel well for the rest of the day.

Then Sunday came. We went out to eat as Casa Grande in Woodland Park after church with some other members. Unfortunately, its difficult (if not impossible) to eat healthy at a Mexican restaurant. I did the sensible thing and ordered a Chicken Fajita Taco Salad without the crispy bowl (the best part, IMO), without sour cream and without guacamole (also wonderful additions IMO). Basically it was grilled chicken, lettuce, peppers and onions with a small smattering of cheese with salsa as a dressing. Impossible to count points, but the best I could do in the situation.

All of that brings me to today's results. I've now lost 3.8 pounds in about four weeks. Respectable, I guess, but far less than I'd like. At this rate, I'll hit my goal weight in 2009 if I'm lucky.