HOW DOES A NATION LEARN FROM 'the Help'?

If you think you know what it was like to be black in America in Martin Luther King’s days, you will very likely have a whole new perception after watching The Help. You will most certainly have a whole new appreciation for the valiant character of The Help in hard, unfair and demeaning circumstances where caring for the children of certain prejudiced, cruel and sometimes negligent parents who employed them often overshadowed their own needs and overruled their own desires.

In The Help a young woman (Emma Stone) who had been raised by one such caring nanny becomes interested in journalism and with the help of two black maids (Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer) she determines to tell their story in a book called The Help, which stirs the conscience of a nation while rattling her city to its foundations, especially rattling a certain very prejudiced employer, played by Jessica Chastain; nannies get fired, and children cry after them.

This movie adds humor to a serious history lesson; and my thoughts are that many of those same children, who were taught to believe in themselves and were cared for by The Help,  grew up to become champions for their cause and ultimately for the case against discrimination. (Ephesians 6:7-8) Hallelujah! ♥

The Help: The Official Blu-ray™, DVD and Movie Download Website

60 Second Preview

IN HUGO A BROKEN OLD MAN IS SAVED BY A BRAVE BOY

I watched Hugo this weekend – a heartwarming story about a boy (Asa Butterfield) who becomes an orphan and finds a father in a broken old man (Ben Kinsley); but first he has to fix him. Am I talking about the boy or the father? You will need to watch Hugo for yourself to find out. But I will tell you that his trail is fraught with danger on every side from constables to child services. The triumph of the story resides in a lost dream that is recovered because a boy, who has been forced to resort to stealing to survive, risks his freedom to return an automaton to its rightful owner. (Deuteronomy 22:3) Hallelujah! ♥

WATCH THE TRAILER! 

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY SON

Michael, none of us went as far as you did to try to rescue a helpless woman. You have suffered greatly, and even now you are incarcerated. Your vindication will come swiftly.
"How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; and do not give him over to the desire of his enemies.
The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health." Psalm 41. Thank you Jesus! Hallelujah! ♥

God speaks to us day by day in heavenly arrangements. The song, Assembly of Dust_04_Arc of the Sun (Feat. Mike Gordon of Phish) came with my new laptop. I thought this part of it added so eloquently to the charm of it all. Make yourself at home we've been expecting you, we've been waiting for you to arrive, black and white images encircling you and tracking the light from your eyes raising you high like the arc of the sun.
I changed 'raising your high' to 'raising you high' because there's no 'high' like the MOST HIGH.
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.Psalm 75:6-7 KJV Hallelujah! ♥

FLORIDA, ARE YOU READY FOR HURRICANE MICHAEL?

What will ‘Hurricane Michael’ bring to the shores of Florida in the year 2012, geographical coincidence, or certain judgment?

In March, 2005, my son, without telling anyone went to Florida. His objective was to rescue Terri Schiavo. In July of that same year, he turned 21 in a cold and lonely Clearwater jail cell, where, among other things he was made to sit in a chair for 25 hours straight, and like Terri, went without food himself for 7 days.

In his bitterness and in his desperation, he prayed that God would send a storm to where he was.

To most this was simply a legal matter. To me the ‘People of the State of Florida vs. Michael Mitchell’ became a ‘Declaration of War’.

If Governor Bush himself had tried to bring Terri so much as a cup of cold water to wet her lips he would have had to bring the National Guard with him. That, for all practical purposes, would have meant ‘civil war’.

I said, in a letter to the Public Defender, “There is a Wonderful Counselor who has never lost a case, and in the end He will vindicate my son.”

After more than a year behind bars, Michael is free on probation because the Public Defender was true to his word, and I thank God for that.

But the thing about hurricanes is that when they are particularly devastating, their names are retired and they are given new names. As I left Florida, I heard a radio announcer say that one chosen in 2005 was ‘Michael’. I have not been able to verify that information, but Wikipedia does say that Hurricane Michael will rise from the Atlantic in 2012. A co-incidence? Read Michael Mitchell - Criminal or Rescuer and decide for yourself. How far do you go to save an innocent woman’s life?

Because of Winn-Dixie

Sometimes when you go looking for a miracle, the miracle comes looking for you!  
There are no better words to describe the wonderful warm feeling you will experience in the pit of your belly than to say simply, 

"Watch this trailer"!


Watch the Trailer

And that's my review!

'THE ULTIMATE GIFT' DELIVERS!

Based on Jim Stovall’s Novel, The Ultimate Gift will keep you off guard from beginning to end. It is full of the kind of surprises that make you glad you watched it. The Ultimate Gift is a wonderful mix of serious issues and lighthearted humor for all ages wherein a rich young man (Drew Fuller) is forced through a series of challenges given from beyond the grave by his grandfather (James Garner) to find the true meaning of what is really important in life. He learns the meaning of work on Gus’s ranch (played by Brian Dennehy) and the meaning of friendship through a little girl (played by Abigail Breslin). Even though he endures hardships in deepening degrees, even facing death, it never leaves a bad taste in your mouth and the end is well worth the journey.  Ecclesiastes 7:8 Hallelujah! 

The Ultimate Gift 

REAL STEEL – ‘My Thumbs-up Review’

             If you get a chance to watch Real Steel, you will not be disappointed!

Real Steel is a heartwarming story about an eleven year old boy, Max, played by Dakota Goyo, who was abandoned by his dad, Charlie, played by Hugh Jackman, a washed up fighter.  Even if you are not a boxing fan, you will love Real Steel! The action is real and so are the 8-foot-tall steel robots that tend to mirror their controllers in the ring.    

          My favorite line in Real Steel is spoken by young Max to his discouraged father at ring-side, “Yes. You can.”

          Life lessons learned from Real Steel are also Biblical ‒ it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts! Ezekiel chapter 18 and Revelation 22:11 Hallelujah! 

Sing, baby, SING!

Recently I was laying in bed, kinda feeling sorry for myself because of all my problems that 'God isn't solving fast enough', and I was thinkin' about pouting just a little. The window was open and I began listening to the wonderful melody the birds outside were making. It seemed to be louder and clearer than usual, and there seemed to be more birds than usual. Suddenly I received an impression of a bird sitting on a limb, pouting, with its wings crossed, all grumpy-like and complaining about its 'lot in life' what with being just a bird and all. I imagined the bird refusing to be happy - refusing to sing saying, I won't sing... I'm not gonna do it - no sir - not until I get more bird seed, more appreciation, and better living conditions.                                                                                                      
I know that's never going to happen and that was my 'Life Lesson'. You will never see a bird feeling sorry for himself, no sir. He just picks up his tune and lifts it up to the sky every day, rain or shine, hot or cold. No wonder God takes care of the sparrow and knows whenever one falls to the ground!
And so my advice to you my friend, is - sing! Hallelujah! SING!

If A Sparrow Falls

The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove when he was baptized. I’m thinking maybe he has descended upon me in the form of a sparrow, hallelujah.

My first angelic encounter with the little winged wonders of creation occurred some time before I made Jesus my Lord and was born again. I can’t say to the day when the little sparrow came into my furnace, but I know it was fall, because it was getting chilly; which is why I flipped the nearby switch on the wall and went out to the living room to adjust the thermostat. Just as I did that there was a whooshing sound and rustling coming from down the hallway. I had to take off the front panel and remove the blower motor to get that cute little guy out of there. When I think about it now I’m surprised that it so easily let me pick it up and that it stayed so calmly in my hand until I opened the back door and released it.

I put the blower motor back on the furnace, replaced the front panel, flipped the switch, and headed for the living room to once again set the thermostat; but just before I got it within firing range I heard that same whooshing and rustling sound again. I turned the thermostat back down.

That’s when my husband started to pay attention because I shouted, “What in the world is that bird doing back in the furnace?!!!”

I went down the hallway, took the front panel off, removed the blower motor and gently picked up the little bird from inside the furnace and this time, I went all the way around to the front door and released it. I went back down the hallway, put the blower motor back on, replaced the front panel, flipped the switch, and went back out to the living room to set the thermostat. I felt the click; I heard the familiar rumble signaling that the furnace was getting ready to fire up. Then I heard another sound that was becoming familiar ‒ it was a whoosh and a flutter.

I shouted at my husband, “I CANNOT believe it. That bird went right back up there and right back down into the furnace!”

I turned the thermostat back down, went down the hallway, flipped the switch, removed the front panel and took out the blower motor; but this time it was way down inside, rustling around at the bottom of the furnace and there was no way I could reach it.

Sometimes I’m not the quickest person in the world, but even though I wasn’t saved, I read the Bible almost every day. I remembered Jesus talking about sparrows (Matthew 10:29) and he said, “…one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

          So I prayed a silent prayer to God, “If you will just get that bird to come up out of there, I promise, I won’t turn the furnace on.” Why I prayed that, I don’t know; for some reason, it seemed appropriate.

          Then an incredible thing happened ‒ that little grey bird came hopping up out of that furnace all by itself! It hopped up onto the furnace ledge and hopped down onto the floor. It was all smoky, and its little tail feathers were almost totally burned off. I picked it up, cuddling it as gently as I could, wrapping it in a towel. “I’m sorry little birdie.” I said, “I’m so sorry.” and set it carefully in a box in the middle bedroom. It stayed there quietly until the next morning. When the repair men I called came to look at the furnace it had gone on to its reward, hallelujah.

And oh, by the way, if I had been successful in turning on the furnace, it would have blown us up. There was a gas valve sticking out an inch or so on the side of the furnace and according to the repair men, it was damaged or loose somehow, probably by us moving furniture down the hallway or something or other, and if that furnace had started running it would have blown our house up!

We lived in that mobile home for twenty years and never before or after that time did we ever have a bird come in through the furnace vent.

If you knew how many times God has saved your life, how amazed you would be! Which brings me to the heart of my story, “Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Hallelujah!

That’s actually just the beginning of the ‘birds of my life’. When we moved to our house there were two beautiful pigeons on the roof. I think they were love birds, hallelujah. I didn’t see them again until just before we moved. One of them was perched on the basketball hoop that was next to the house near our driveway. It seemed so close, almost within arm’s reach as I looked up and spoke ‘pretty bird words’ to it. I was so amazed when, instead of flying away, it side-stepped all the way around the hoop until it was right above me and seemed to be really paying attention; and not only that, but the other one came over to the edge of the roof and peered down at me with just as much interest!

After we moved to our new apartment I was in the kitchen doing dishes one day and I was crying because we had lost the house and because of a host of other reasons; feeling very much let down because of all the things I had been expecting God to do for me. When suddenly I turned around and there was a flock of little birds, I’m almost sure were Chickadees, trying to stand on the window ledge and the air-conditioner that was next to it, and it was almost like they were trying to get in. It seemed so ridiculous to me because they must have stayed there for fifteen minutes, vying for a spot on the ledge, and totally ignoring me though I was right there staring at them. God used those little birds to remind me, hallelujah.

I was feeling seriously sorry for myself and depressed and weepy one day when I went out to hang clothes on the line, not because I had to hang clothes on the line, I love to do that; but because of my family not being together. Suddenly, there was a loud whooshing noise, like something big and heavy falling into the center of a small patch of weeds, that I think used to be a garden, near my clothes lines. I had to stop what I was doing and stare in amazement at the patch of weeds, waiting to see if I could tell what it was.

Maybe I’m finally getting kind of used to God speaking to me in the way that he does, in the way that only he can, because I wasn’t as amazed as I probably should have been when I saw Robins come marching out of the center of that patch of weeds. I don’t know how many there were because it all seemed so surreal; there could have been 10 or 20 of them. They marched off in all directions, but two of them marched right up to me, and one just kept coming, and kept looking right at me. I looked right back at it and said, “Okay.” It still stayed right there, walking back and forth and looking right up at me, so I said, “Okay, Lord, I get it… okay.” and tears of relief filled my eyes. I knew my God hadn’t forgotten me; and I’ll never forget how that flock of Robins hanged around me all the time I was out there that day, hallelujah.

And this is my prayer for you that you may be able to see in unmistakable ways, how God has not forgotten you, my friend, in Jesus name. Amen. Hallelujah!

The Prostitute Who Came in From the Cold - Origins

I had a newspaper route for ten years and I encountered all kinds of people deep into the night. A lot of them became friends. I looked forward to seeing them on a regular basis, I guess largely because I knew they looked forward to my arrival; and that was the main reason why I enjoyed my job. I was always welcome and actually ‘sought after’. Most everyone anxiously anticipated my arrival; the store clerks were happy because the customers would be happy, and the customers were happy to finally get their daily paper, even if it was late, at least most of them were. I had over thirty store accounts and boxes to reach and even if I didn’t leave the dock before 3, I still was finished with my route by 5am. I’m laying the groundwork for all the reasons why I was in a hurry, not just a hurry ‒ a BIG hurry. And even though I used my radar detector religiously, I still have copies of the speeding tickets to prove it!

But you know what they say about schedules being made to be broken. Even though I had my blinders on and kept my focus on my job; there are people who become stranded and sometimes one has to take into consideration the gravity of a need. I never said, “No.” to anyone who asked me for a ride. Even if they had to hang with me for the rest of my route before I could drop them off. Even that didn’t happen too often because my route covered the furthest south and the furthest east of Rockford and began and ended downtown. For a while, I had two routes that also stretched out to the farthest west and north! So I really had little reason to refuse someone a ride if it was truly needed. I met a lot of interesting people that way; and I always made sure they knew that God was the one who saw their need and who put me there just at the right time and that, as it was usually the case, if I had left the dock five minutes earlier or five minutes later, we would have missed each other.

One winter we had a lot of snow, and one particular night, it was piling up all around me. I had to fill a box at a motel on 11^th Street and the wind sweeping down the street from the north was so cold I could barely stand to be out of my van for the thirty seconds it took me to insert the key and fill the box. The sidewalks were impassable, and the snow plows were having difficulty keeping the streets cleared so that even with tall boots, a person would have trouble finding a suitable pathway.

 I was genuinely surprised to see her emerge from the lobby as I was filling the newspaper box. She was scantily clad in high heels and a designer jacket. She leaned into the wind and trudged out into the street. I was still trying to warm my hands up in front of the heater vent in my van as I passed her by. I was glad that my van was high enough off the ground to glide over the piles of snow that were steadily getting deeper between the tire tracks in the street. To be able to make a new path into the parking lots, I did a lot of coasting without my brakes. I filled the box at Burger King in this manner even though getting in and out of the parking lot took extra time because I always went all the way around the building and came out the other side and I had to make my own path through the snow. She walked up to my van and asked as clearly as she could with frozen lips, “Do you ever give people rides?”

I said, “Yes, I do give people rides.” She was very glad, and so was I because I couldn’t imagine anyone walking in that cold. And you know, sometimes there are appointments in life and I knew we had encountered one because I only had two more boxes to do and the second one was exactly two houses away from where she lived!

 I pulled in to do the first box and when I got back in the van she said, “I can tell by the music playing on your radio that you’re a Christian.”

I nodded.

Then she asked, “Will you pray for me?”

I went past the last box because I had to turn around anyway and then she said, “You can let me off here.”

 I said, “Okay, what do you want to pray about?”

She said, “I want God to help me make a decision to do something I know I’ve needed to do for a long time. I need to change my life.”

I said, “God will not only do that for you, but He will make it look easy. Amen.” God dropped that special faith down into my spirit and I had perfect faith to believe that He would do it. Hallelujah! Nothing was ever said about who she was, or what she did indeed want God to do for her, but to me, she was the ‘Prostitute Who Came in From the Cold’, and shortly after that I told my pastor about my idea for the book series, number two of which is in the kiln of the fire of the everlasting love of God Almighty, Savior of all mankind and especially anyone who will humble themselves and call upon His name. And JESUS is His name. Hallelujah!

Experience salvation like you've never seen it before!

ON SALE NOW!                    Official Author Page                 PREVIEW!

 Barnes and Noble actually has a very nice store with special offers.  Right now, if you buy two NOOK Books, you get a $5.00 gift card!
 You can even get a FREE NOOK Reader Simple Touch for a year's subscription to the New York Times!


Michael Mitchell - Criminal or Rescuer now at Barnes and Noble for $9.99!


Watch my blog for other special offers!