Favorite Christmas Movies

   Merry Christmas readers!!
   I'm back, just like I said I would be! Wow! Hopefully I can make a habit of this. :)
   Another thing that really helps to get me in the Christmas spirit is watching Christmas movies. There are all kinds of them! Ones about Jesus, ones about Santa, humorous movies, heart touching movies, and ones with a little bit of everything! But, all of the ones on my list are all more on the heart-touching side. Or, at least heart-warming. :) Though I love plenty of funny Christmas movies, my top five favorites happen to not include any of them. Guess I'm more of a 'Drama' genre kind of girl. Hmm...
   Anyway, here's the list!


1. It's a Wonderful Life

   Okay, so this is seriously the greatest Christmas movie of all time EVER!  If you haven't seen this, stop reading this and GO AND WATCH IT! It always touches my heart and gets me ready for Christmas. I look forward to watching it all year long! 

2. The Polar Express

  Another one that if you haven't seen you need to go watch right now!! Something about this movie just gets to me every time I watch it. It is so beautiful! 

3. The Nativity Story

   An amazing story of Jesus' birth and the events leading up to it! 

4. It's a Meaningful Life

The two main reasons I love this movie would be because 1.It's a spin-off of 'It's a Wonderful Life' and 2.It's VeggieTales. Enough said. 

5. Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas

   This movie is just so sweet! It never ceases to bring a smile to my face and, since I am an emotional sop, tears to my eyes. :) 

Well, those are my favorite Christmas movies! Do you share any favorites with me? What's one of your favorites? Feel free to tell me! Tune in next Monday to hear my top five favorite Christmas traditions! 

Merry Christmas again everyone!

MR

Christmas Music!

   Hark, dear readers! I hear the sound of sleigh bells jingling down the hill! The air is ripe with the smell of cocoa and cinnamon and cookies! I see the colors of red, green, gold, and silver everywhere I look! That can only mean one thing... Christmas is FINALLY here!!!

   Ah yes, the most wonderful time of the year is upon us at long last! Decorations are going up, trees are selling and the joyous sound of Christmas music fills the air. Which brings us to the subject of this post. Christmas music, one of my most favorite parts of the season. The old Christmas hymns have such deep, powerful lyrics that vividly describe Christ's birth and the events surrounding it. A lot of the newer Christmas song help to reawaken our Christmas spirit and remind us of the true meaning of Christmas. Just listening to them sends a thrill of joy through me! So, I thought I'd take the time to share with you five of my favorite Christmas songs, to help light up your Christmas spirit! 

   

1. Oh Holy Night!

This is my number one favorite Christmas song! It is sung by Josh Groban, and written by Adolphe-Charles Adam and Placide Cappeau. 

2. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Such a beautiful song that captures the longing of Israel for their Saviour! I have always loved this one! It was written by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin. This particular version is sung by Bebo Norman. 

3. Just a Girl

This song always brings tears to my eye!. It is the touching story of how the innkeeper denied Mary and Joseph a place to stay, and his realization of what he had done. The song is written and sang by Brandon Heath.

4. Believe

   I have always loved The Polar Express, and this song is one of the reasons why! It is beautiful, and never ceases to get me in the Christmas spirit! It is sung and written by Josh Groban. 

5. Where Are You Christmas?

   Another song I love! It is sung by Faith Hill and written by Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will Jennings. 

6. Peppermint Winter

 

  BOOM!! Surprise sixth song! :D I had to share this because it is Owl City, and it is awesome! Enjoy! This was written and sung by Owl City (<3).

   I hope you enjoyed this little marathon of Christmas musics, and that they helped to get you into the Christmas spirit! Check in next week to see a list of my five favorite Christmas movies! 

Merry Christmas, dear reader! 

MR

Disclaimer: I own neither these songs or these videos. And I just googled the singers and songwriters, so please feel free to correct me if my information is wrong. :)  

The Very Best Thing

Hello all!
  I just wanted to write a quick note to inform you all that I am still alive. Alive and well, as a matter of fact! Mostly getting Christmas projects ready to go for my friends and family members. But also doing some writing! It has been along time since I've done any such thing, I am ashamed to say.
   But I also wanted to post this because I've gotten to thinking about this past year. A lot has happened. A took care of this big, fuzzy white German Shepherd for about nine months and fell in love with her. I started teaching piano lessons. I lost my Grandma. I started taking horse lessons, which is something I've wanted to do my entire life. Literally. To sum it all up, I've had a lot of life impacting things happen to me in the last year. It might not sound like too much, but these things have affected me. They've helped me to mature, to grow to experience life a little more.  And as I look back on it all, I can't help but see that God has a plan for me. And already he's starting to put it into action. Most of the time, I don't realize it. I get so caught up in the monotony of everyday life. But everything that's happening, even the little things, are shaping me into the person God wants me to be. And I don't want to forget that. I want to make the right choices so I can be that person. Don't you?
   So basically, I just wanted to remind you that God really does have a plan for you. And even if it's not having you single-handedly save the world from terrorists, or bring the gospel to the deepest darkest parts of Africa, it's still going to be something great. I find myself wanting to do something more than what I'm doing right now. I always read books about these characters who save the world, or impact it forever. And I want to do that. I want to do something great. But what God is having you do now is great. Even if it is just something seemingly simple. Like teaching the little kids in class. Or helping out in the kitchens. Or sticking a track in a coat pocket at Wal-Mart. The greatest thing that you could possibly ever do, is exactly what God wants you to do, with a trusting, willing heart. That even if it's just something "ordinary", you know it's what God has for you, and you know it's the very best thing that you could do. So, just trust God. He really does have a plan.
    Have a good evening, my dear readers!
               MR

Don't Be a Demas!!!

  Hello all!! I'm back again! This post shouldn't be too long, but I really wanted to share this thing I found!
First of all, hello again! I haven't blogged in a long time, and it's for the same old reasons (laziness and lack of inspiration), so we won't go there. But I've been doing pretty good! I crochet, if you didn't know that, and we have ANOTHER bunch of babies blooming up in our church, and I'm also selling a bunch of these Anna and Elsa dolls, so my life has basically been a long almost non stop time of crochet! That sentence wasn't quite right, but I think it helps to illustrate the point a bit more. :) But anyway, let's get to the point of this post, shall we?

   I'm in the midst of re-reading through my Bible, and at the moment I am on 2 Timothy. I literally JUST FINISHED chapter four of said book, and I found a verse there that really caught me eye. Paul says in the first part of 2 Timothy 4:10,

"For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica."

  Did you catch that? Demas, a man that was with Paul during this time in his life, forsook what he was doing, and pretty much turned his back on Jesus Christ and God, the Creator of everything, for the temporal, worthless things of this world. I don't know what exactly these things were, but compared to God and what he was doing, they are absolutely nothing, whatever they are! 
   I know that this definitely applies to my life, and I'm pretty sure it applies to everyone's in some way. We reject Jesus and the things he has planned for us everyday to follow after the empty promises the world feeds us. Whether it be our dreams, or the things we enjoy, or some kind of fulfillment we're seeking, we do it all of the time. And guess what? It NEVER WORKS!!! In the end, we usually end up with our lives a tangled mess of mistakes, our hearts shattered to pieces, and left all alone with no one to turn to. Now this doesn't always happen, but when we choose the things of the world, something along these lines does occur.  At the very least, we break our Saviour's heart, and it's a good long while later before our relationship with Him is back to what it was. 
   Now I want you to take a look at the first part of the very next verse, 2 Timothy 4:11:

"Only Luke is with me."

   Demas wasn't the only one to leave Paul. If you look back in verse ten, it says that a man named Crescens and Titus left Paul too. Though it sounds like they left Paul on good terms, Luke was still the only one to remain with Paul during his time of need. We should be faithful like this! To our friends, our relatives, our church family. Don't give up on people, even if they irritate you, or if they seem hopeless, or whatever be the case! Luke stood by Paul through thick and thin, and we should do the same for the people we love. But more importantly, remain steadfast in your faith. Don't leave God for the things of this world! He stays faithful to you, and we should do the same! I don't know if you understand this, but Jesus Christ the Son of God, left Heaven, to come down to our sin filled earth, and gave his precious life for you! Jesus Christ died for YOU,  and we leave him behind for some whim or fancy. Remain faithful! Never lose hope! Jesus is always with you, even when it's tough. Don't be a Demas. Be a Luke! 

   Thank you to whoever reads this, and I pray it encourages you in some way! Goodnight all!

                                  MR

Oodles of Doodles!

Hello all!
Lookee there! I DID post today after all! :D Well, I really wanted to share some of my drawings with you all. So, here's a couple. :)

 This one (above) is a picture of one of the main characters from my book. Her name is Breeta Valliny Kap,  and she's a lot of fun. Not just writing her, but she's just a fun person. :) Er, character that is....

This one is my version of the Slavemark from the How to Train Your Dragon books.

You see little doodles of this model all over scrap pieces of paper in my house. :P

And that's all I have for now. :P Maybe I'll out a few more on later...

Anyway, have a good evening! I'll try to blog again sometime next week! :D

MR

Forgiveness In BIG THINGS and little things

 

Oh my! Guess who didn't blog when she said she would??? Yeah, that's right. Me. I had valid excuses for the first few weeks, like writing a short story for a competition, then strep throat, then the flu. But after that, I just kept procrastinating. So, here I am, asking you to forgive me again. :P
   Well, I thought I'd blog about something I read in my Bible yesterday. I just started going through Matthew a few days ago, and wow! I'm already convicted over so many things, but this one little passage really stuck out to me.

"38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

"39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."

   Do we really ever think about these verses? Not only should we show mercy in the big things, but in the little everyday things too. Like when a sibling is rude to you, and you could so easily give him a burn that will hurt for weeks. But if you "resist not evil", like it says here, you just turn and walk away. Or when someone is grating on your nerves, and all you want to do is snap at them and tell them to quit. But instead, you remain calm and show mercy.
   I can't help but think of Betsie Ten Boom when I think of forgiveness. My family and I recently finished The Hiding Place, and boy, can we all learn lesson on forgiveness from Betsie! If you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about. Even though the prison guards surrounding her were cruel and heartless to the prisoners and to each other, Betsie felt no hatred toward them. All through the book, we see Betsie asking Jesus to forgive these people, even as they beat fellow prisoners! And we can't even forgive the cashier at Taco Bell for being a little grumpy!
  We all forget to show mercy, in little things or big things. I know I do! So I thought I'd write this as a reminder to all of us to show mercy this week, and every week. Before you open your mouth to speak, think, "Is what I'm about to say pleasing to God? Will it help this person, or the people around me?" If not, then don't even say anything! Sometimes, that's best. :)

(( Keep your eyes open for my next post! I might even do another one tomorrow! But no promises, mind you. :P))
MR

This picture comes from: http://scriptoriumdaily.com/

Alas! (A Post in Which I Beg the Forgiveness of Those Who Follow Me)

Oh, for Millie's Sake!! Has it truly been this long since I last posted something?? I would say that I couldn't believe it, but alas. I can. I have come to humbly beg the forgiveness of my followers. I have failed you greatly! But, I have returned! I shall hopefully post something more meaningful and deep tomorrow. But at the moment, I have not enough time.  And also, you must pardon the poetic speech that I am using. I know not what has gotten into me! Perhaps it is the late hour. Or, perhaps I have become far too engrossed in the way Cruedwynn Creed speaks....
   Ooo!! There's something I can post about! The Legends of Karac Tor, by D. Barkley Briggs! Now, there's an excellent piece of literature for you. He has such a superb writing style! And the characters are extremely well written! And the plot is magnificent! I have read The Book of Names, and I am halfway through Corus the Champion. Which I have fondly nicknamed "Corus" for short. :) But anyway, if you haven't read them, DO IT NOW. NOW, I say!
   And on that note, I must bid you all a very fond farewell. I shall (hopefully) post on here again tomorrow!
                            Goodnight, and joy be to you all!!
                                           MR