Golden Compass movie- STEER CLEAR

Red flags waved over seemingly family-friendly film

by Josh Montez

Are you choosy about what your little ones watch in the movie theatre? If so, here’s one you definitely want to steer clear of in coming months: The Golden Compass.

The Golden Compass is being trumpeted as a kid-friendly flick much like C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. What’s unclear is how closely the film corresponds to its genesis: His Dark Material, a trilogy written by atheist Phillip Pullman, promoting the virtues of atheism. And that concerns Bill Donohue with the Catholic League.

“Pullman, himself, to his credit, does not deny it. He comes right out and says that his goal is to kill God in the books for children, and to undermine Christianity.”

Jim Ware is co-author of Shedding Light on His Dark Materials; a book that highlights the anti-Christian themes in the Pullman series.

“In this parallel world that he creates in The Golden Compass, the church is really the villain. In his scheme of things, God is really the Devil who has succeeded in fooling everyone into thinking that He’s God.”

Whether or not those themes will be clear cut in the movie remains to be seen. Still Adam Holz with Plugged in Magazine offers this warning.

“I think that as we see more stuff on the His Dark Materials trilogy, I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say it’s really heretical. And that Pullman has intentionally tried to undermine and reshape the Christian story.”

Articles on The Golden Compass will soon be available at pluggedinonline.com. 

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The color of your heart

What is the color of your heart? Is it stained and dirty or is it white as snow?I really like the pastor's message this morning, he was discussing purity in what ways we can stay pure and he gave us an illustration that really stuck with me!

This is a picture of an Ermine.




It is normally found in the northern parts of the US, the more cold regions. And what makes this animal so unique is the fact that during the spring/summer it stays brown with a white underbelly and then during the winter it is completely white to blend with the snow. It's fur is so unique that it was often hunted and during the middle ages was used to make clothing out of. The Ermine is so protective about it's pure white fur that it would stay away from anything or anyone that would dirty it's pure white fur. Hunters would go to their dens and make the whole entrance dirty because they knew that the Ermine would not enter it's den because it would not risk dirting it's white fur. It would rather sacrifice his life to the hunter than ruin it's purity!

Think about that! If we as Christians acted like the Ermine, that we were so concerned about our own purity that we would rather sacrifice our own lives than compromise our purity then we would be such a powerful servant for Christ.

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Proud mommy moment!

I actually caught a picture of Hezekiah smiling, I am so proud of him. He is starting to Coo like crazy and when I talk to him he responds back- it is so awesome! Also, I am trying to place him on his tummy now so that he can try and roll over... we will see if he makes any progress. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Make sure to check out his website, the link is to the right on my blog for all the updated pictures. Here are some other pictures I have taken recently:

Power Outage

We woke up this morning to not having any power at all in our area and also at Andrew's work they had no power as well. Luckily, his work can run on a generator so he still had to go to work. I still don't know why, it could have been because of the park they are still finishing across the street it could have been because of the fires. Keep the fires in your prayers that they will hopefully slow down soon!

Lovesac

Andrew, Hezekiah, and I headed down to the mall last night to take a look at the Love sac's. We have for a long time always wanted one and now since they are on sale and we will be moving to a bigger apartment and need more seating we thought this would be a perfect alternative to buying a couch. The sale will be going on until the 31st, so we have plans to buy this is the next week. Yeah!!! I am so excited!!!

Baggage

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

What baggage do you still carry around with you? I was reading and this verse stuck out to me today. Inside our baggage we have compartments, issues from our past or present that we compartmentalize inside this baggage. Issues from past relationships, or from when we were growing up. When I pack for a vacation, I am meticulous about how I pack my clothes and where I put each item into the piece of luggage because I want to maximize the space that I have.

With our baggage, we don't want to maximize the space to allow for more issues to make a home in our lives. Sometimes, people really do let these issues take root in their lives. And even though they so desperately want to let go of this baggage sometimes they grip even harder because of fear! Fear of the unknown, fear of how much better they would feel if they were free of the control of this baggage.

How many times do we have an problem in our life to we let it completely take a hold of and consume our lives? We dwell on it and think about it every chance we get, and what could have been a small problem to be solved now has evolved into this HUGE problem because we have let it take a hold of every part of our lives. I think of when I am at the airport with my luggage (with wheels) and just like when I have a lot of luggage it is the same with our spiritual baggage... the more luggage/ baggage we have the slower we move and the more immobile we become because these things completely tie us down. The thing with baggage is that it will strap you down so much that you don't even know what is right or wrong anymore because it completely covers you life and it's all you see. Baggage will skew your perspective and make you see things that are lies and make them your reality.

As a Christian, we have the awesome ability to let Christ free us from the baggage that is not allowing us to see the truth and the reality of life. Christ CAN and WILL take that baggage for us and completely get rid of it. The problem is, we have to LET IT GO! Letting go is the hardest part of it all, but if we truly desire to live a Godly life and please the Lord then we will let Christ be the focus of our lives and let Him take our burdens. Thank you God for being so gracious and loving to your servants.

CIO or Ferber

I have been reading several different books like Babywise, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, and Healthy sleep habits, happy child... and I have tried to get a wide variety of opinions on how to get Hezekiah to take naps. At first it seemed so cruel to just let him cry it out (Ferber method) the first couple of weeks because I think it is so important that they know that you are going to be there for them and they need the bonding and cuddle time. Now, Hezekiah is 6 weeks old and I figure now is a good of time as any to start getting him scheduled so that OUR life can be a little more predictable as well as his. After reading these few books, I kind of just take bits and pieces and see what works with each method. I don't want him to get used to me holding him or nursing him to go to sleep or rock him... I want him to be able to fall asleep on his own.

When all is said and done, I think that Hezekiah ALREADY sleeps better at night when I make him take naps at certain times. I had to write down his schedule on a piece of paper so I could remember when and what needs to happen. Nap time in the afternoon CAN be a little frustrating because he will cry like for almost an hour before he falls asleep. Now, some of the other methods say you should pick them up when they get too stressed so you can calm him down but as soon as I came in picked him up calmed him down and tried to lay him down again he would start right up again. Soo.... I tried the Cry it Out (Ferber) method. I only let him cry for a maximum of an hour and by then it is already time for him to eat again so it works out just fine. So, if anyone has any suggestions... bring it on!

Food for thought

If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben
Stein is just a quirky actor/comedian who talks in a
monotone. He's also a very intelligent attorney who
knows how to put ideas and words together in such a
way as to sway juries and make people think clearly.
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited
by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary, Sunday,
12/18/05.

Herewith at this happy time of year, a few
confessions from my beating heart: I have no
freaking clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them
on the cover of People and Us constantly when I am
buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often ask
the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know
who Nick and Jessica are either. Who are they? Will
it change my life if I know who they are and why
they have broken up? Why are they so important?

I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do
not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

Am I going to be called before a Senate committee
and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just
have no clue who Nick and Jessica are.

If this is what it means to be no longer young.
It's not so bad.

Next confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors
was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little
bit when people call those beautiful lit up,
bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel
threatened. I don't feel discriminated against.
That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry
Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting
me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact,
I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers
and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It
doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger
scene on display at a key intersection near my beach
house in Malibu. If people want a crèche, it's
just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred
yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a
Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting
pushed around for being Christians. I think people
who believe in God are sick and tired of getting
pushed around, period. I have no idea where the
concept came from that America is an explicitly
atheist country. I can't find it in the
Constitution, and I don't like it being shoved down
my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the
idea come from that we should worship Nick and
Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we
understand Him?

I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too.

But there are a lot of us who are wondering where
Nick and Jessica came from and where the America we
knew went to.

___________________________________________________

In light of the many jokes we send to one another
for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not
intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended
to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter Anne Graham Lotz was interviewed on the
Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God
let something like this Happen?" (regarding 9/11)

Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and
insightful response. She said, "I say God is also angry when he sees something like this. I would say also for several years now Americans in a sense have shaken their fist at God and said, God, we want you out of our schools, our government, our business, we want you out of our marketplace. And God, who is a gentleman, has just quietly backed out of our national and political life, our public life. Removing his hand of blessing and protection. We need to turn to God first of all and say, God, we're sorry we have treated you this way and we invite you now to come into our national life. We put our trust in you. We have our trust in God on our coins, we need to practice it."

In light of recent events...terrorists attack,
school shootings, etc. I think it started when
Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body
found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in
our schools, and we said OK.

Then someone said you better not read the Bible in
school . the Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou
shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.
And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank
our children when they misbehave because their
little personalities would be warped and we might
damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed
suicide). We said an expert should know what he's
talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have
no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong,
and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers,
their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard
enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a
great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and
then wonder why the world's going to hell.

Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but
question what the Bible says.

Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and
they spread like wildfire but when you start sending
messages regarding the Lord, people think twice
about sharing.

Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles
pass freely through cyberspace, but public
discussion of God is suppressed in the school and
workplace.

Are you laughing?

News from the Holybee's

**Update- We will be signing the new lease agreement on October 31st and our move in date can be as early as November 1st when we get the keys. I will let you know if we need any help with the transfer, will not be until the following weekend probably.
_____________________________________


Last Sunday, my Dad became a married man... again!! His new wife Gail and him were happily joined in marriage and I could not be any happier for him!! They were married in Oregon and we was not able to fly up for the wedding due to Hezekiah being so little and my sister was able to send me this picture of them. Here is to a happy and long marriage together, I wish you the best :)

Amazing how quick our 1 bedroom apartment seemed to close in on us... with all of the baby stuff and the lack of storage our little 1 bedroom apartment has quickly turned into a house with only paths going to the living room, kitchen, bedroom, etc. After talking with the management office, we have decided to transfer to a 2 bedroom apartment in the same complex. Instead of our $795/month we will be paying $985/month which is quite a jump from what we are paying now but we might as well slowly increase our monthly if we want to prepare for a mortgage. We will only be signing a 6 month lease so that way if the market changes for us to buy a house then we won't be locked into a year lease. Below is a picture of the unit we will be renting, it will be downstairs and will have a washer/dryer. It won't be ready until the 15th of next month, but I am looking forward to getting settled in the bigger apartment!! Yeahhh for more room and the baby will have his own room which will work out now that he is starting to sleep more at night!

Hezekiah's 1 month check up

Went very well yesterday, Hezekiah is now weighing in at 9lbs and 9oz which the Dr said is the 25 percentile for his age and same with his length. His brain growth they said is in the 50 percentile. They gave him a little shot yesterday, so he was a little unhappy about that until I nursed and he felt all better. Things are moving right along for our little man, he is starting to get some chubs around his face and in his legs now... Ohh I cannot wait for him to fill out more :)

Videos of Hezekiah: smiling and also cooing

Video of Hezekiah smiling


Video of Hezekiah cooing

Breathing

We take for granted the little things in life all the time! Hezekiah is napping soundly in his crib and I get out of the shower to check on him and I rest my hand on his chest just to check to make sure he is still breathing... I know it might sound a freaky to always check to make sure they are breathing but nonetheless every mother tells me they do this like in the middle of the night too (which I have done also). As I rest my hand on his chest, he gets startled and his hands and feet both flail out and then they quickly go back to where they were before I disrupted him. It's so amazing being a mom, I am changing his diaper this morning and I am talking to him in this high pitched voice and telling him that his diaper stinks and he gives me this toothless smile and I can't help but just LOVE him so much more. Yesterday after bath time, I laid him on our bed so I could put some baby lotion on him and he is just so enthralled with me talking to him and massaging this lotion on him that he lets out this little "Ahhh" and then gives me another smile and I think "MAN, I LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY SOOOO MUCH!!!" I am finally at a point where sleep deprivation is no longer an issue because Hezekiah lets me sleep a few hours at a time which does not seem like a lot (I know), but when you look forward to getting 1 hour of sleep you know it's sad! Now, Hezekiah has kind of gotten in his own sleeping and eating routine and it helps me soooo much now and I am starting to feel somewhat like a normal person finally.

How many times do we in our own lives take for granted the little things in our life. Unknowingly breathing, having a roof over our heads, a job to pay our bills, friends who genuinely care for you, a family who loves you no matter what! My little baby boy, no matter how I am feeling or how bad of a day we have had, I feel so blessed just when I look at him because his presence just makes me feel so special that God chose me to be a mother to him. It's crazy how much God blesses our family, and we choose to dwell on the great things that GOD is doing in our lives. Satan tries to bring people into our lives with their drama and crap and cloud our blessed life, and even in spite of Satan's best efforts, we still keep positive and do what we know GOD would want us to do not try to please the people. We are seeking to please the Savior and do what He wants us to do because ultimately He is the One we want to please. Only through prayer and petition has God given me a peace about the choices I have made and I do not have any regrets!

Everyone has a choice in their life, either you are going to choose to be the kind of person who focuses on EVERYTHING that God has NOT given you, or you can chose to be the kind of person who focuses on EVERYTHING that God HAS given you and give thanks. What kind of person will you choose to be? I take a big breathe in and deep breathe out and Give Thanks to God for giving me breathe today :)

All smiles!

Gosh, time passes by so fast! Hezekiah, we've noticed, the last couple of days has actually started smiling... like in reaction to something we do like make a funny face. Of course, every time I go to grab the camera to tape or catch a picture we looks at me with a blank stare like "What is that thing you are holding?" I am so excited to see him smiling, I cannot wait for more milestones to come it's so cool to see little progressions in him just in 5 weeks time. Crazy!?

Huggies vs. Pampers

After several frustrating days with the Huggies diapers, I have come to the conclusion that Pampers currently works better on Hezekiah than Huggies. For whatever reason the Huggies don't quite fit well on his legs and he is constantly leaking. So I totally trust pampers and have not had any incidents so far with leaking with the Pampers. Yipeee!!

On a side note also, Hezekiah is slowly slipping into more sleep... YEAH!!! He went from sleeping 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours and is working his way up to 3 hours at a time now which for me feels great because I finally feel like I am sleeping more. Amazing what 1 more hour of sleep makes you feel a ton better!

Just when I think...

That I have Hezekiah figured out... he pulls a night like tonight. I am sitting here at my laptop with the radio playing while he lays in his baby carrier trying to get him to stop crying. Because at some point tonight his sleep schedule must have gotten all jacked up... plus he was a little colicky tonight because of some apparent gas he could not get out. We both once again at our wits end were willing to try anything so we both tried every position known to man to try and get him to stop crying. Gave him some Mylicon thinking that it should help, then resulted to the carrier with the radio playing.

This would happen on the night before Andrew has arranged to go on an overnight hike starting tomorrow. Not really a great idea to be sleep deprived when you need to hike.

Who does Hezekiah look like more?

Poop

Today, Hezekiah's diaper was not as tight as I thought it was and he pooped and it leaked onto my shirt, my pants, the boppy, and the couch.... fun stuff!!!

1 month old

Today Hezekiah turns 1 month old today, and I still cannot believe it has been 4 weeks since he is born. His face is changing so much and I cannot believe how much he has grown already. Here are some pictures I took at home of him here at home. We plan on getting some portraits at a studio done of him so we have some nice ones to frame.

Also, after several nights and not getting hardly any sleep we decided the Hezekiah does not sleep well in the cradle. We would lay him down and 15 minutes later he is waking up. So, we thought that maybe he does not like the cradle very much anymore, so we set up the crib in our bedroom to try and see if he will sleep better in there and sure enough he was sleeping in 3 hour increments 2 nights in a row now. So, it looks like at 4 weeks Hezekiah is already sleeping in his crib! Which is great for me because I have finally been able to get some more sleep other than 15 minutes at a time. Seems like his little growth spurt is finally coming to a close, he was up and wanting to nurse every hour during the day... so hopefully this will be ending here very shortly.

On another note, we are still keeping our eye open on the housing market right now to see if something worth our money will actually come up. Keep this in your prayers.