One of my favorite things...

I have had this little daily devotional flip thing since I was in high school. I think I paid a dollar for it at a school fundraising bazaar - I went to a non-denominational Christian high school. Oh, who I am kidding - it was a Calvinist outpost of the local Dutch Reformed Church. It didn't kill me - it just turned a Southern Baptist into one of John Calvin's elect, but I digress... Anyhow, it's called Little Gems, from the Women's Division of the World Home Bible League in South Holland, Illinois. Now if that isn't the CRC, I don't know what is! I used to keep it on the clothes rod in my closet so that every morning when I got ready for school, I could read my little gem for the day. Suffice it to say, I have had this wonderful little treasure for about thirty-six years and I still look at it every day. It's been to college with me, the various offices I've worked in, my kitchen counter - even the bathroom. I brought it to the office with me this morning, and don't you know - I have a place for it right here in front of my computer monitor. Today's quote: God give me sympathy and sense, And help me keep my courage high; God give me calm and confidence, and, please, a twinkle in my eye.

The other night I watched this movie; my friend lent it to me and gave it two thumbs up. I'd never seen it - Tim hates dry humor and Albert Brooks - and I will have to admit that some of his movies have been real stinkers (Mother, The Muse) - but Defending Your Life was actually pretty good. Albert Brooks is Daniel Miller - a guy who is afraid of success in life - and he dies when he has a head-on collision with a bus. He gets to Judgement City - which is apparently a way station before the afterlife - and he is told by his defender, Rip Torn, that he has to defend his life. He meets Meryl Streep, who is unafraid of anything and really enjoyed her life - and seems to be enjoying the afterlife - and falls in love with her as she teaches him to find joy in whatever life brings. Anyhow, the whole gist of the story was pretty thought provoking: when we are called upon to defend our lives, will we be able to say that we embraced the joy of life or were we afraid of actually living? I'm not sure how theologically correct the film is, but it was a good movie. Check it out if you've never seen it.