Thor: The Dark World

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

~1 Corinthians 10:31

Thor: The Dark World lived up to many expectations. For me they exceeded the expectations and went just a little too far.  Many people had been counting down the day until this movie would be released, myself included.  As the showing of Thor began I sat in a theater filled with many other anxious enthusiast awaiting the beginning of this new sequel.  

The movie started out on a fantastic note.  As the lights dimmed and the camera rolled I was immediately thrown into an intense introduction battle.  Even though I was quickly tossed into the movie, there was now feeling of being lost or not knowing what was going on.  At this point it was very easy to follow and comprehend what was happening, but you must remember I was only about one minute into the movie.

After dramatically setting the stage the movie continued onto a more familiar scene as the stars of this production, Loki, Thor, and Jane, were gradually introduced.  In the movie it focused on each person’s separate lives before bringing them together.  This was a very wise thing to do, as I was able to identify with each one individually, and feel their emotions before the movie gained too much speed.

Thor himself had a slight change of character in his sequel compared to the original.  In the original movie I remembered him as the arrogant, foolish, stubborn, child, who yearned for war and battle.  When watching the Avengers I began to be introduced to a more controlled, responsible Thor.  In this sequel he has changed from that rebellious, belligerent son to a wiser, more grown-up Thor.  While still the same character, he has more wisdom and strength over his emotions.

As the movie continues and the plot unrolls, they audience escalated into several battles.  It is here that a breech is seen in the walls of mighty Asgard, and one begins to doubt its survival and leadership. I am reminded of Thor’s power; yet wonder if it enough.  It is here that I realize Loki has not changed.  He is a cruel, heartless, person.  I watched in suspense as things began falling apart.

The first heart tripping death occurs.  In sadness, and for some tears, I watched as I believe there is no hope left.  Now two walls have been cracked, Asgard’s and Loki’s.  In this heart wrenching turn of events you realize Loki has a heart. He demonstrates vulnerability, that he has feelings and emotions.  For me this was more scary than the heartless Loki.

As the audience is thrown back and forth between earth and space things start getting more confusing.  What will be the next step?  My hope is now put in the vulnerable Loki.  Things are thrown back on side.  There is hope for Asgard, as plans are made and action is taken again. Friendship is ruling.  As the big battle occurs people, things, feelings, and humor are flying everywhere.  I feel my heart soaring has hits are given.

The battle ends, and as in every drama, I am drawn into a touching scene.  I am surprised as it ends in wonder on who is still left and who is gone.  It does not end on that touching note however, but rather on a much weirder one.  Giving the perfect set up for Thor 3 and Avengers 2.

With everything considered, this movie was great, however there were many things that could be changed for the better.  The humor was good, but often times I thought the attempt to make things funny ended up hurting what was going on.  A lot of the crude humor could have been taken out to make the movie even better.  The movie started out simple and easy to understand, but it did not stay that way.  It is difficult to jump back and forth from earth to sky and not have people lost. Unfortunately, for Marvel they did not accomplish this feat.  As the movie picked up I felt confused, and a lot like Thor’s hammer being tossed around.  Something else that could help was the weirdness level.  It was too weird in too many places.  If they had played down the weirdness level, and crude humor, it would have run much smoother and I would not have been so lost.

      

Overall Thor: The Dark World is a movie worth watching.  This movie was unlike any I had seen.  This movie had so many unexpected turns you never knew what would be next.  There was not a single time I thought I knew what was going to happen next, that I was right.  There are not many movies that can accomplish this, but this one did.  I watched in wonder and awe at each trick thrown in, each direction change.  The stakes are high for the next Marvel movie.

~Hasta Luago Caiman!    

Oh, The Places To Go

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." 

~Matthew 28:19

Have you ever dreamed of traveling somewhere? Well, let me tell you I sure have. My travel expereince consists of just about nothing. While it is true our family has moved several times in it's existense, we still have managed to leave out a HUGE chunk of the world. Let me put this in some figures for you.

Out of the 50 states of America I (personally) have lived in 2, Tennessee and North Carolinia.

Out of the 50 states of America I have visited 9 states, Tennesse, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolinia, South Carolinia, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, and Maryland. (Aka Washington, DC)  

Out of the roughly 196 counties of the world I have been to, 1, the Untited States of America.

Which further means tha out of the 7 continents, I have been on only 1, North America. Although I should get some brownie points for living in that continent too! 

And if I continue to go even further out of the 9 planets, (Yes, I count Pluto) I have only been to 1, I haven't even been to a moon! Lame right I know, but Earth is pretty cool.

I love where I live. I have no desire to, "Shake the dust of this crummy little town off my feet and see the world," as George Bailey would say. (It's A Wonderful Life) I love my town very much, but I would love to travel someday.

Places to go...

Italy

New York

Ireland

New Zealand

Sweden

Scottland

Alaska

Canada

Austria

And any place possible for a missions trip.

I may never get an actual chance to see the busy streets of New York, the paintings in Italy, sheep in New Zealand, the filming spots of Sound of Music in Austria, and I may never go on a missions trip. Do you know what though, I am ok with that. I will follow God wherever He leads me and If I never leave this, "crummy little town," then I will be content with serving Him from here. 

But whose to say you can't dream a little. "HOT DOG!" :D

Hasta Luago Caiman! 

Winter's Secret

"There is a time for everything,

    and a season for every activity under the heavens:"

~Ecclesiastes 3:1

To some winter is an enchanted time, the snow gently covers the earth in a blanket of soft white, icicles glisten on houses like Christmas lights, and families are being drawn closer together.  To others it is the most dreaded season of the year, when you are always cold, your shoes and clothes are constantly wet, and the days are shorter than could ever possibly be wanted.  Many seem to overlook the secret that winter carries.

With winter come many of the most anticipated holidays.  One of them is Christmas.  Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ and His birth.  To man, the birth of our Savior was the start of a new beginning.  He was the King who had come to save us from eternity in a place so bad we cannot even begin to comprehend it!  

After Christmas comes New Years.  New Years marks the start of another year.  This could be a new beginning, or the start of many hard times, or even just another year like the last.  No matter what the answer is, both of these holidays have something in common.  They are a start.  They are the beginning of something big, something that could be life changing.      

 Winter is the chance to start over.  When God gives us salvation, He gives the chance to be cleansed, to be restored through His love and His blood.  He offers us a new beginning.  Like a rainbow, winter is a reminder of a promise.  The promise is that Jesus has washed you white as snow.

To several, winter means death, the time when life curls up and dies.  It is the moment when everything goes into hiding, when animals and people become afraid of the world around them.  Yet the real secret of winter is that it does not bring death, but the chance to start a new life, a new beginning.    

Hasta Luago Caiman! 

Denying Self

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

~Galatians 5:24

That verse means when we commit ourselves to God we our giving up ourselves completely. There are two major issues we find though in the world today.

1.   We are so self-focused we do not know how to completely give ourselves over to the Lord.

2.   We consider ourselves to be useless and ugly; of no value or importance.

 

Let’s start with number one.

The definition of self is: “The entire person of an individual.”

Have you ever wanted something with your whole being? Take a minute to think about it. Maybe it was car, or a job, or a guy/girl. Whatever is was we have all had a moment of wanting something with everything we have inside. The thing is God wants us to feel that way about Him all the time. He wants us to wake up everyday and decide that today is not about us. We have to give ourselves up.

(Luke 9:23)

“And He said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let Him deny himself and take up His cross daily and follow Me.”

 Our thoughts always tend to wander don’t they? Thoughts like: “It’s impossible to give my self completely. I mean your WHOLE being, isn’t that a little unrealistic. How bout I give you an hour today God?”

We are so easy to forget what God has done for us.

(Luke 23:32-36)

 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”^[c] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

(Luke 23:44-46)

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Do you know what He just did? He just died. He just gave himself up completely for you. Body and spirit He sacrificed to God for us. Can we not do the same?

He had full power and full authority to save Himself yet He didn’t. He made a willing choice to die for each and every one of our mistakes and sins that we would ever commit.

(Mark 8:35)

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever looses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Let’s move on to number two. Technically speaking this one should come before what we just talked about, but I wanted you to understand what it meant to sacrifice yourself before I went on to this one. So often we consider ourselves to be useless and ugly; of no value or importance.

You may be a bit confused. I know I was when I first thought about this. Are we not supposed to consider ourselves worthless, and God so worthy? Okay, there is difference between putting yourself higher then God, and thinking of yourself, His creation, as ugly and unimportant. We are not higher then God, but we are also not ugly and unimportant. If we were useless why would Jesus die for us? Self-image is a big issue. The way you see yourself, reflects your relationship with God. You can look at any magazine in a grocery store and immediately feel worthless and ugly. But that’s not the point. Do you know what your body is made for?

 

(1 Corinthian 6:19)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own.”

 

(Ecclesiastes 12:7)

“And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”

Your body is just a carrying device. It is a protective coat over your spirit. It was made out of dirt and to the dirt it will return. So, why may I ask are we so concerned with what dirt looks like and not what our spirit looks like. Your body is not worthless, but God did not create it for us to look in the mirrors and see worthlessness, and ugliness. Move your focus. Your focus should be on the things you cannot see in a mirror. Can you see God? No, so put your focus on Him.

(2 Corinthian 4:18)

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Our bodies are temporary moving trucks for our spirits. They are a dwelling place for the Lord. And most of all our bodies are not ours, their God’s. Every time you criticize your body for not being what we deem to be “perfect,” you criticize God and you criticize His creation.

Each day you get up you have to die to yourself. You have to make a commitment to live in a way that is all about God. Life is not about me, and it is not about you. Life is about how you can make God the center focus of the world, and that starts with making Him the enter focus of your own life.

~Hasta Luago Caiman! 

Musical Ability

"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music..."

~Psalm 98:4

I was blessed to be born into a family with very strong musical abilities. We are like the Von Trapp Family Singers, only we do a little more on instruments then with our voice.

My Mother plays the flute, my Father plays the tuba, my oldest brother plays the cello and guitar, my other brother plays the violin, piano, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and I am sure others, my little sister plays the flute, and everyone can sing. So, you may be wondering what my musical talent is. Well, honestly I do not know.

(My oldest brother Daniel playing the cello)

When I was 5 my mother began teaching me the flute, and when my sister was old enough teaching her the piano. At 13 and 10 we decided we didn't want to play the instruments we were learning we wanted to play each others instruments. So we switched. I have now been trying to learn the piano, and she has been learning the flute. We have both gotten pretty far, but I must confess I struggle with time to practice and my piano playing ability's are lacking. I can play a little, but the way I put it is, "my family plays the music, I dance to it." I could also sing. But I am definitely not fluent in the language of piano, though I hope to be one day! :) My artistic ability right now is focused more on my ballet positions and projection, then scales and notes. However my dreams are still there. 

I am so thankful and blessed to be born into my musical family. There is never a dull moment. It is wonderful to watch things come together in a song. It is truly inspirational to watch my family use their talent to bless others and glorify God. 

~Hasta Luago Caiman!    

Family Nights

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

~Philippians 4:8

We have a lot of family time in our family. It is wonderful to be able to spend so much time hanging out together. We often run it to a problem though. 

What to do!

That seems like the age old question that gets asked. "What movie are we watching?" "What game are we going to play?" It used to be dreadful, but now we have figured out things that everyone loves, and focus on those things, while still trying new things as well!

This post is to help you with family night ideas. To help you break the ice.

These are some of our family nights...

Sunday: Each Sunday we have Pizza Night. Mom makes homemade pizza from scratch to finish, but it is not hard. After she has made the dough we all come in and help cut up, and put on the toppings. We usually make three pizzas, meat (For the boys), veggie (For the girls), and half cheese half peperoni. (For the picky eaters) After the pizza is made we lay out the pizza blanket, have pizza, and watch a movie. (Side note: The pizza blanket is an African blanket my uncle gave us that we lay out to eat on.) Some of our family's favorite movies include: 

October Baby

Fly Wheel

Facing The Giants

Fireproof

Courageous

Grace Card

The Waltons Episodes

The Blind Side

Evan Almighty

and of course Duck Dynasty Episodes!

TV Shows: During the summer our family TV show was America's Got Talent we would all gather round to watch in awe and giggles as our favorite performers walked on stage. In the fall and winter our family show is Survivor. On TV show nights we settle down in our chosen spots to enjoy the fun activities on screen. A good perk for these nights is a bowl of popcorn and some snugly blankets.

Mini Family: Apart from complete family nights we have what I like to call mini family nights, or one on one time. These nights typically involve just Daddy and daughter. My mini night is watching The Amazing Race with my Daddy, on Mondays after I get back from dance. My sister's mini night is watching old TV shows like, Leave it to Beaver, I Love Lucy, and The Brady Bunch before bed occasionally. They also like to play cards sometimes, Kings Corner, Go Fish, etc.

Game Night: Our game night is any weekend night that everyone is home, but often times it is now anytime we are all together whether it is Tuesday at lunch, or Saturday night. After taking a survey of my family, I am able to give you every one's favorite games.

Emilee - Clue

Dad - Monopoly

Mom - Blokus

Daniel - Risk 

Matthew - Rook    

Me - Balderdash

Other favorite include:

Banagrams

Imaginiff

Life 

Trouble

Rummy

and Bohnanza


Family nights in our house can be rambunctious, crazy, and very competitive, but one thing is for sure, never underestimate the power of family time! 

~Hasta Luago Caiman!     

Fear vs. Peace

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubles and do not be afraid."

~John 14:27

What is Peace?  According to the dictionary peace means: 

In a state of tranquility; serene

Free from strife.

If God tells us to have peace, why is it so hard to do that?

Have you ever heard someone say, "It's okay to be afraid."  This is one statement I really do not like. If the bible clearly says "Do not be afraid." Why are we telling others it is okay?  The only thing I believe is worthy of fear is God, and that is a completely different kind of fear.

What does fear do to us? What do we gain from fear, and worry....nothing!  So why is it so often our go to emotion?  Is it because we are human, because sin is in the world.  It may be all of those things, but this post is not a discouragement, but an encouragement!  When I am fearful my favorite two passages of scripture are Matthew 6:25-34-

  

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

 and

2 Timothy 1:7-

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

Next time you feel fearful and discouraged instead of saying to yourself, "It's okay to to be afraid." remember, "God has not given us a spirit of fear."

~Hasta Luago Caiman!

Happy 18th Birthday Matthew!

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."

~Psalm 127:3

Guess what today is? It is my amazing brother's 18th birthday!!!! 

 I cannot believe how grown up he is! It seems like just yesterday we were playing dress up, building legos, playing basketball, and so much more.

 Being the middle children we were partners in crime, but the funny thing is that even though our activities have changed we are still partners in crime. :D Now I have the joy of new activites like going to mid-night premires, playing cards, picking on siblings, driving everywhere, and going to see AWESOME broadway musicals like The Lion King! I cannot say enough how much he means to me and how much he has given for me. He has the biggest, sweetest, kindest, heart and continually pours it out giving what he has to bless others. He has a strong heart for God.

 All I can say Matthew is to shoot for the stars. Set a goal and don't be afriad to set high ones! 

God has blessed you with so many talents! Violin, singing, theater, knowledge, writting, etc.

(Matthew as the guest soloist for the Greensboro Adult Orchestra:) 

I will always be right here to support you. 

Keep your eyes on God and begin to fly! <3  

<3 I love you! Partners in crime forever big brother! <3

When Life Gives You Mistakes

"Though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand."

~Psalm 37:24

It’s funny how many mistakes we knot into life.  We may think of it as being "just a mistake," but we can learn from the mistakes we have made.  Many inventions have been made that have improved our society.  Many of the things we love and use most today were a mistake.  One such mistake was the potato chip.  The potato chip is one of the world’s most ingenious inventions.  It was formed out of a mistake, but turned into a life changing creation!

The mind behind this mistake was George Crum. What a great name for the maker of his invention! :) Crum was a chef at Carey Moon Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York.  On August 24, 1853, a costumer came in that would change Crum, and the world forever.  This customer ordered a plate of fried potatoes, but was unhappy with the result of the thick, soggy potatoes he received.  The plate was sent back many times and Crum become very upset.  He whipped the plate up and slashed the potatoes insanely thin, fried them until they were as hard as rock, and after making his point, served them to the customer.  The customer loved the size, the texture, and the taste especially!  The object that was a mistake became a huge hit, and was a regular item at the lodge.  Crum had made a new invention!  He named his mistake, Saratoga Chips. Now called Potato Chips!

George Crum’s mistake was out of anger, annoyance, and frustration; but it became something that would forever change our history!  Everyone makes mistakes.  It is impossible to be mistake free.  God can take what is "just a mistake" though, and make it into a new creation, one that can be used to serve Him.

So, when life gives you mistakes, make potato chips! :D

~Hasta Luago Caiman!