Fireproof

Lt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. Inside burning buildings, it's his natural instinct. In the cooling embers of his marriage, it's another story.

After a decade of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that they are ready to move on without each other. Yet as they prepare to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's dad asks his son to try an experiment: The Love Dare.

While hoping The Love Dare has nothing to do with his parents' newfound faith, Caleb commits to the challenge. But can he attempt to love his wife while avoiding God's love for him? Will he be able to demonstrate love over and over again to a person that's no longer receptive to his love? Or is this just another marriage destined to go up in smoke? (Plot synopsis from IMDb)

I probably wouldn't have even known about this movie if I didn't have that 2nd job at Lifeway so now I'm doing my best to get it known to others. People kept coming and and saying it was "so good" and "truly amazing" so I thought it might just be worth a peak.

I knew enough about the book and the "Fireproof My Marriage" study we also sold at Lifeway to know the movie was going to be more Christian and marriage-related in nature than most, so I asked Mom and Dad to join Austin and I for the viewing last night. I worried that it would be more applicable to my parents who have been married for 25 years than to Austin and I who are still new in our courtship but I figured there might be 1 or 2 things we could draw from it. Boy was I wrong. No matter what relationship stage you're in (married, divorced, planning to marry someday-with or without knowing who that person is), you will benefit from this movie.

Knowing it was a Christian-made and based movie told me 1 thing to expect: Bad acting. And there is. Not horribly bad but there's no Tom Hanks or Sandra Bullock-level experience to be had. But, there were also a few things I expected that I was happily dissapointed in. Here are the things that surprised me from the movie:

1. It's hilarious. There are parts of this movie and characters involved that made me laugh harder than most comedies I've seen. Really, really funny stuff.

2. The drama is absolutely up to par. This is where the acting doesn't fail. There are a few on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments and they will do just that. I was proud.

3. The sheer number of people in the theater. The movie opened Thursday night at midnight (rather, Friday morning) and I heard that our AMC theater sold out that night. 3 days later, we still had a packed house. It was awesome. It's nice to see such support up here out of the Bible belt for a movie with actual meaning.

So, in case you aren't convinced yet: GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! It's definitely on my favorites list.

Until next time, may "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:7)

Love you,
Mandy ><>

PS - Girls, take tissues... =)

In Case You Were Wondering...

Your Name
As defined by the Urban Dictionary

Aaron
In India "Aaron" is a slang word for pimp.

Austin
Ultra sexy male who usually has at least 2 ladies around him. You wanna be seen around an Austin.
(2 ladies?! The other better be your sister...) =)

Cara
A wonderful girl who looks exotic and is a great person to me around. They also aren't a stalker, but is very good with guys.
(Haha, I don't know girl...)

Erika
(Sorry, Swearika yielded no results. Go figure.)
One who is naturally equited with the tools and machinary to pull off a succesful and satisfactory rape of an unsuspecting victim. Those who get raped by an Erika usually end up savoring every last minute of it.

Karen
A person who deserves to be punched in the liver and pushed into a water fountain.
(Punched in the liver?! I don't agree with this, just so you know.) =)

Kevin
A physically attractive, selfish, self centered friend/occasional lover who loves tattoos, beer and great music. Positive outlook on life, keeps everything neat, clean and well organized, and only likes movies with interesting plots and listens to adam corrolla.

Scott
A racist against blacks. Typically short and loudmouthed.

Twig
A tall goon-ish character with long arms and long legs who never fails to make his friends laugh. Twig is a handsome, loathsome brute yet I can't take my eyes off of him!

And last but certainly not least...

Mandy
Slang for MDMA. "Mandy" is a powder form of the drug ecstacy. Is often preferred to ecstasy pills as MDMA is pure, whilst ecstasy pills are often adulterated. It is a popular drug amongst ravers and people who do not trust the purity of pills, and ecstasy in general has always been associated, often by the police and government, with the underground dance music scene.


There you have it folks!!

First Things First...

ARRRGH!!!

It’s that time again Mateys!!!

Happy National Talk Like a Pirate Day to ye!!

In honor of such a glorious holiday, I give ye some Pirate humor! Shiver me timbers!!

Q: What do pirates do in their spare time?
A: Arrrrrrt!!

Q: Why does it take Pirates so long to learn to spell?A: Because they spend so much time at C!

A pirate walks into a bar wearing a paper towel on his head. He sits down at the bar and orders some dirty rum.
The bartender asks, "Why are you wearing a paper towel?"
"Arrr..." says the pirate, "I've got a bounty on me head!"

Q: What did the Pirate say when he had a heart attack?
A: Arrr! Me heartie!!

Q: How much did the Pirate pay for his piercings?
A: A buck-an-ear!

I hope ye Scalawags find some buried treasure today! Arrrrgh!!


------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright, now that that's over, let's get on to the serious stuff. =)

Many thanks to those of you who chose to comment on my last post. Its good to know I still have amazing friends ready to stand up for me, even if we don't totally agree on everything. You all had something interesting and thought-provoking to say and I'm contemplating each opinion thoroughly. Here are some notes I have for each of you so far:

Scott - You are too smart for your own good. But, then again, you always have been. =) Thank you for your amazingly kind words. It blessed me immensely to know that you still think of me as a good friend even though I haven't seen you in what? 6 years?! Wow. Anyway, a lot of what you said has been the thread I've been holding onto these past few months and I appreciate the backup. Paul is my hero but I'm still not quite sure how exactly to "count it pure joy when [I] face trials of many kinds." But I'm working on it. Hearing my thoughts on the matter come from someone else strengthens me greatly. Thanks for wisdom and friendship old friend! =) (That's old as in "long-time" not a comment about your age. Arrrgh!!)

Swearika - First of all, I absolutely love the irony of that name. In high school, your swear words consisted of "Oh my cow!" and "Gramma!" You rebel you. =) Anyway, thank you as well for your kind words and great wisdom. I agree with you on serving others with our talents and I found the quote you gave from Mosiah very interesting. It reminded me of the parable Jesus tells in Matthew about the King saying "... whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." I think that's a really good point. The 1 problem I had with it is, shouldn't your family come first? I think that, if you can't even help your own family, should you be trying to help others? But, then again, maybe her family doesn't need help or maybe she is just better at helping others. Either way, I think ou're right, that talent should not go to waste. (Matthew 25:29) Thanks G-Sauce!

Twig - First of all, thanks for the writing analysis. Haha, made me feel good. I'm glad I can write things that hook people. =) I agree with you that we should pray that no matter who wins, God will work through that person for the greatest outcome to His glory. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't care and weigh the facts before we go in there and just punch the card in a pretty little pattern. (I know that's not what you said, I'm just trying to make a point.) =) I think the freedom we've been given to vote in the first place is a gift from God that we should not take lightly. He is a God of choice and our choices in life affect our outcome later on. I think the same goes for seemingly everyday, mundane things. I definitely understand your contempt against politics and it's ability to separate people by our differing opinions but that happens with just about everything. I highly doubt there are 2 people in this world who agree on everything 100%. We need to learn to embrace our political differences just like everything else and not let them get in the way of our relationships. Because, believe me, when we allow these things to separate us, all that's left is a trail of hurt. Thanks for your comment loyalty buddy!

Cara - Your comment really surprised me. Though not in a bad way. I was hoping you would comment because, (no offense to the others) as a Mom, I value your opinion the most on this subject. Problem is, I really expected you to agree with me. =) It made it extremely interesting. I never expected her to be a stay at home mom (hardly anyone can do that 100% thanks to the economy these days). I just thought that the gravity of her career choice was too much. But, I think you're right. Someone like her would obviously want to be in this position. She's probably been dreaming of it for years. So now I'm afraid that, if she did drop out for her kids, she would in some way always blame them for that. That would be terrible. And I have no doubt the kids would pick up on it instantly. In the long run, it might actually be better for them if she does make it. If anyone knows what the difference between an unhappy Mom and a happy Mom does to her kids, its me. And I'd want my Mom to be happy. Thank you so much for sharing Cara. And give the boys my love!

For those of you who haven't had a chance to comment yet, the lines are still open. I'll take anything. If you're holding back disagreements 'cause you're afraid I'll cry about them, please don't. I promise to be open if you are. =)

I love you all so very much and miss those of you I haven't seen in way too long. Let's get together yeah yeah yeah! Shouldn't we be getting close to a 10 year BHS reunion? We would've had a 5 year had we actually elected a class President with responsiblity! (Plug for you Scott. I voted for you.) =)

*Muah!*
Mandy ><>

"I thank my God upon every rememberance of you." -Philippians 1:3

Glutton for Punishment? You Decide.

Well, apparently, meaningless picture-laden posts just don’t get people’s attention anymore. =p

Alright, I have to begin by admitting that I’m quite a bit more than extensively nervous to write this post. The last time I shared my opinion on something, I had to endure nothing less than a catastrophe (as some of you may recall). I was publicly and privately ridiculed, lost a very large group of friends and basically had to rearrange a large chunk of my life. And, even though I do feel like my life has improved because of it, it kinda hurt (understatement of the century) and I’d rather not do that again. So, before I begin (even though this didn’t work last time), let me state one more time that the following is completely MY OPINION!!!!! For the love of all things holy and decent, please please PLEASE do not take any of this personally.

Here goes…

Ok, some of you might be a little disappointed to learn that, as a whole, Mandy votes 99.9% Republican, no matter what the issue or who the candidate. I think that most people would find that a little upsetting and I see your point of view. I am aware of the fact that it’s not really a smart/safe practice and, a lot of times, the candidate I’m voting for truly isn’t the best man for the job. But, the truth is, the word Democrat scares the pee out of me.

As I stated in my last “controversial” post, I am quite the conservatist. This is due mostly to the way I was raised (which is true of just about everyone) and the fact that I actively hold the Bible precedent over all other sources of information, opinions, laws, etc. I do not agree with or condone abortion and homosexuality and find that, sometimes, war is, in fact, necessary. *Gasp!* I know. Deal.

Anyway, that’s a road I don’t really want to take this post down so I’m gonna back up a bit. I just wanted to give you a little background before I dive in to what I really want to say.

This year, after the Presidential candidates were chosen for this election, I decided to put my hardcore Republican-only voting record aside and really look at what I had in front of me. This was mostly due to the fact that, everywhere I looked, it seemed Obama was staring me in the face. (This was probably mostly due to the Democratic radio station I listen to almost religiously. But the music on The Buzz is sooo good!) =) Anyway, my point is, you had to dig to find anything about McCain but Obama was, and still is, incredibly popular. And, because I still have some faith left in my fellow Americans, I figured there had to be a good reason. So I started looking (though not extensively by any means) and here are the marks I gave:

Background
(Note: I believe this list to be somewhat more important than where the candidates stand on the different issues.)

Education - In truth, on paper, Obama’s gotta have a bigger IQ than McCain. I believe this is evident by their speeches for one but also the fact that McCain (at least as far as what I saw) didn’t take his schooling as seriously as Obama did. So, for education, I give Obama a checkmark and McCain a Debbie Downer “waa-waaaaa.”

Career - One thing I found quite interesting while digging into the careers of both candidates is that Obama’s list is much longer than McCains. Obama’s resume actually reminds me of mine. My “Work Experience” section stretches on for 2 whole pages (and that’s only ‘cause I left out a few babysitting jobs and the summer I spent mowing lawns for USD 348). I am an amazing candidate for secretarial work and/or customer service. It looks pretty impressive and really is if I’m applying for a job similar to the one I have now. Problem is, I could never be President with that list. And neither could 98% of the other lawyers in the world. Winner: McCain.

Religion - Blech and blech. The end.

Family – This one is split. Obama gets the gold star in marriage thanks to McCain’s somewhat shady divorce from his first wife (for whatever the reason, I’m not proud of that situation), but I love love love the McCain kids. Not that Obama’s children aren’t awesome as well, just that they’re a little young and you can’t fully see the reflection of parental responsibility until a child is grown. All seven of McCains children are, as far as I could find, good, upstanding adults.

Issues

Abortion – McCain (or, if you prefer, Republican in general)

Same Sex – Neither (but I lean towards McCains view more)

Gun Control – This is a whole other blog in itself. I’ll simply say for now that I don’t agree with the Constitution on this issue so I don’t even take it into account when voting. I just hope I don’t get shot. =)

War – Honestly, it doesn’t make sense to me to have any opinion on this issue whatsoever unless you really and truly know what we’re dealing with. So, I listen to those with military experience, especially those involved right now and especially those that are close to my heart. If you are fighting in Iraq right now or have any military experience at all and don’t agree that we should stay over there, please let me know. Until then, I’m listening to the 3 men I know over there, the 2 about to go and, most of all, my recently married cousin willingly returning in December for his 2nd tour. Winner: McCain.

Obviously there are a whole lot of other issues that I could (and probably should) address but, this post is already a lot longer than I intended and I haven’t gotten to the thing I hold the highest opinion on. So I’m gonna move on. Considering I’m a Republican though, it’s a safe bet to assume that I’ll lean towards McCain on just about all of the rest.

So…as you can see, in background, I’m pretty split down the middle of these two candidates. It is only their position on issues that makes me lean towards McCain. But that, again, is because of my background and the fact that I too – at least as far as issues go – am a Republican. It was bound to happen. So, based on all that I listed, it makes sense for me (that’s me, not you) to vote for McCain, wouldn’t you agree? In the bag. Done. Finito! Or so I thought…

Enter Vice Presidential candidates. If you don’t hate me yet, you probably will.

Confession: Mandy is sexist.

Hard to believe? Probably not. Refer to that "controversial" post and the reason 2/3 of the CABB group no longer speak to me and you’ll see that you already knew that. What’s funny is, most of the time when you say someone is “sexist,” it is assumed that they value their gender above the other. Not me. I’m the exact opposite (which is NOT reverse sexism people!!!) Sorry, flashback to my days at the EEOC…

“Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God…For man did not come from woman but woman from man; neither was man made for woman but woman for man.” –1 Corinthians 11:3,8-9

You had to know there was gonna be some Bible in here somewhere. Well, there it is. I get my Jesus star for the day. =) Kidding!!!

Anyway, so, if you haven’t already figured it out, I am having some struggle dealing with McCains choosing of Sarah Palin as his running mate. First of all, I can already see the arguments my Christian friends might have with equating this verse with this situation:

“But Mandy, McCain IS the head. Palin is just the Vice President. I could see how this argument would fit if Hilary was still in the running.” (Which it did, by the way.)

Or

“But Mandy, this verse is intended for marriage, not the presidential candidates.” (Prove it.)

And one step further…

“Well Mandy, do you have a problem with female bosses in businesses? What if Waddell & Reed got a female CEO?” (Answer: Yes and I’d quit.)

Please understand that I do not believe that women are not capable of doing the same things men do. Well, some really aren’t but, have you met my mother? I just think we’re (A) not supposed to, (B) don’t need too or, (C) shouldn’t. Take your pick. I apply the appropriate answer depending on the situation. With Palin, however, I can’t really figure out which response to specifically apply to her. Maybe, in this case, I don’t need to apply any. *Gasp!* “Wait! Are you saying you think a woman SHOULD be VP?!”

No. I’m not. But I’m not saying a woman shouldn’t either. Perhaps that verse DOES apply just to marriage. Perhaps it’s ok for women to be VP’s or P’s or CEO’s or any other letter or letters they wanna be. I’m not comfortable with it, but that alone doesn’t necessarily make it wrong for anyone but me personally. (Hence, why I’ve always been an “Assistant.”) Especially where Palin is concerned. As far as women go for being really good Presidential or Vice Presidential candidates, she pretty much takes the cake. I believe she truly has the ability, resume and general presence to do the job she’s running for.

Here’s the problem I do have with Palin:

Son Track (19) – Just deployed to Iraq
Daughter Bristol (17) – Pregnant, unwed
Daughter Willow (13) – 13 years old; enough said
Daughter Piper (7) – Hilarious and full of energy
Son Trig (4 months) – Down syndrome

This an argument that I’ve found is usually put out there by self-proclaimed Democrats. One said:

“I've had to chuckle over conservative pundits tripping over themselves with delight when they name Sarah Palin as the poster child for conservative women with family values. True heroines of conservative women, such as Dr. Laura Schlessinger, assert that parents, especially mothers, need to spend large quantities of time with their children and arrange their working hours so that one parent is always available to care for the children. In this framework, the concept of a feminist pro-life woman is oxymoronic; the life the woman is concerned about is her own.”

As harsh as this may be, I have to say that I agree with this opinion. Look at Palin’s situation. I am not a mother but motherly instinct tells me that, if you were to pick any one of those children, you’d have yourself a full-time job. Palin’s got 5!!

Now, who knows? Maybe she can co-lead a country and raise 5 children who could all use a little extra attention. Maybe Todd Palin wants to be a stay at home Dad and is really, really good at it. I don’t know. And I probably never will. But, as a conservative woman and (Lord willing) future mother, I do not condone her taking this on. At least not right now. Her children should be her first priority and I just cannot see anyway they could with the demand of what she is trying to do.

So here’s my dilemma: If I don’t condone her running alongside McCain in the first place, should I vote in a way that may allow her entry to the White House? Like I said, she IS a good candidate but I hold family values higher on my list of priorities than any other issue. So what now? Do I allow McCains choice in running mate to discredit my decision to vote for him? Afterall, I don’t think Obama is a BAD choice. I just don’t think he’s the BEST choice. But, then again, is McCain really the BEST choice? Reminds me of a quote by a noted scholar: “I’m pretty convinced that whoever it comes down to in the general election, it’s going to be like Alien vs. Predator: Whoever wins, we lose.” Gah! *Tears hair out*

Maybe Jesus will come back before November 6. We can only hope and pray.

All my love my babies,

Mandy ><>

Mandy Is...

...wondering if anyone would like to hear her opinions about the upcoming election...

Definition of an Awesome Weekend:

In case you can't tell, that's my Daddy baptizing my boyfriend. Currently the two men I respect the most in this world. God is sooo good! =)


"When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."