Oh my gosh… Right now, I am so floored you might as well call me “Tiled.”
Thanks to the awesomeness of y’all out there, I reached one hundred followers last night :)
To the Lord be the glory, and I am *so* grateful for each and every reader/follower.
My first post was Sept. 11, 2011 and it is truly a wow feeling to see how far I’ve come (leaps and bounds) compared to where I was with my riting Skeels.
I started this blog
Solely.
Only.
Just.
Because it was a way to start building that dang “platform” we all need these days.
I was worried, real worried. My wife will tell you
she’s nodding as I write this
that I am *not* the handyman in the family, so "platform" and "building" scared the poop out of me...
Although I’d heard of them folk, I was clueless about "blogers" (I first heard about this “web log” thing in 2008, but laughed it off as self-promoting fluffiness.)
Fast forward that 8-track to 2011 and someone said I should start the process to platformness.
Off I trundled to bloggerville, carrying only a half-eaten ham sandwich once owned by No. 1 Son and a bottle of hazelnut creamer.
Writers cannot live on regular coffee alone.
I stood there quaking, but then something weird happened… so many people like David, Ara, Rach, Melanie, Sarah, Ali, Cassie, Alex, Morgan and Leigh – (to name only a few RockStars) reached out to offer help, support and friendship.
Simply, I was – and am – boggled at the bloggers who care(d.)
I am truly blown away by the Band of Brothers spirit that lives and breathes in this small part of what I used to describe as the Blog O’Fear.
Now, as I enjoy a coffee and a mini-chat with friends, this place in space feels more like ehome.
So, on a final note of seriousness, I’d like to take this moment to express how I really feel:
(Jumps up and down, does the Electric slide –badly – while shouting Whoo hoo! Whoo hoo!)
Thanks y’all… and please drop by Thursday for a special announcement regarding my first evah Blog Hop. It’s going to be fun, especially if you like being Irish on St. Patrick’s Day :)
Many New England Patriot fans probably wish they’d never faced the Giants.
I mention this only, ‘cos I’m about to review a movie called Facing the Giants, but didn’t want anyone thinking I’m ragging on the Patriots.
(When it’s Boston, I always think “Big Papi” rather than “Tom Brady.” Congrats to the team from New York, but seriously, good luck to the Red Sox Patriots next year :)
Originally released in the fall of 2006, (I won’t win any awards for “Breaking News” movie reviews)Facing the Giants is a family-friendly drama about a high school football coach who draws up a new game plan for his team … but only after he decides to make a major change in the way he lives his life.
(General Synopsis – or watch the clip :)
In his six years at Shiloh Academy, head football coach Grant Taylor has come close, but has yet to have a winning season.
A new year means a new season, but when the best player on his Shiloh Eagles – the guy who scored a third of the points last year – decides to transfer schools, all seems lost.
Combined with the pressures at home, (he and his wife struggle with infertility; the family car is dying and various unexpected repairs are needed in the couple’s small home,) it’s easy to see how Coach Taylor loses hope in his battle against fear and failure.
(And then he discovers a group of fathers plotting for a replacement after the Eagles lose the first three games of the season.) Good Grief, Charlie Brown....
However, an unexpected challenge helps Coach Taylor find a purpose bigger than just victories. Daring to trust God to do the impossible, he and the Eagles soar up to discover how faith plays out on the field … and off.
The Eagles work to turn things around and make a run for the playoffs, but disaster strikes and the defending champs, the Richland Giants, now seem unstoppable as they march toward their fourth successive state championship.
Facing the Giants was made bySherwood Pictures, a decidedly unique film making ministry at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. Sherwood pictures is also home to the new movie, Courageous, which I recently reviewed here.
(They also made Flywheel and Fireproof – and I plan to review both in the next two weeks.)
If you liked Rocky,Remember the Titans, Rudy, Radio or The Rookie, (and apparently any sports movie that begins with “R,”) you'll love this great underdog story that shows the power of faith and prayer in dealing with life’s problems.
Moms, this *is* a great family movie, but just make sure Dad has a secret box of Kleenex hidden behind his popcorn:)
On a personal note, my wife and I struggled with infertility for several years. To anyone currently walking that rocky road of monthly hopes raised and dreams dashed, I would say please watch this movie and do so with an open heart – and, if you are so inclined, have the prayer warriors at your church pray over you.
(We did in the late summer of 2006 – just as this film was released – and a friend, April, prophesied that we “would be pregnant by the end of the year.”)
September - Zilch. October - Nada. And November rolled around, but no second line adorned any of the myriad of pregnancy tests we tried.
In December, April came to visit on the day when my wife said she didn't want to take the last test of the year. We'd taken November as a "month off" and we hadn't really tried - for various reasons.
Sure, and didn’t this prayer warrior pray, and then some more while the test lay hidden under a towel sitting on our white kitchen island.
And then it was time.
My wife and I looked at each other, and with another, seemingly endless sigh of dashed hopes, I uncovered the test. Which had TWO lines. Instead of our “normal” one.
No. Way……
Really, Papa? Another Photo :)
Much screaming and crying (but not from me, I just had pepper in my eyes) later, the news sunk in: The Lord has blessed us with a baby in the womb.
The womb-baby later became No. 1 Son. (Here is our "Big Boy." He will be five in July, and to God be the glory.)
Sorry for getting off-track with the movie review, but all of a sudden, I realized I could – and wanted to – share a true, positive and personal message about Facing the Giants :)
I give this movie 4.5 broken crayons out of a possible five broken crayons. (Recycling stuff is fun :)
It’s been awhile since my ongoing series - You Know You’re a Parent When… hit the blog, so this sleep-deprived dad apologizzzes.
Trust me, we are blessed, so I ain’t complaining, no sir-ee, but now that No. 3 Son has joined the ranks of his bruddas, we the parents, are outnumbered so things have been just a wee bit crazy busy.
Take the other night – it was dark and stormy – and I was alone downstairs. Something bothered me, and as I tip-toed over a trail of devastation (left by Thomas the Tank Engine who’d crashed into a tall Lego building,) I realized I had nothing to share.
Nothing interesting or funny had happened – and if it had, I was probably out writing.
(The Awesome in-laws are in town for another two weeks, which means I can write when the sun’s going up instead of down.)
I digress…
So, there I was, all sad and about to kill the lights and head to bed to ponder this mysterious lack-of-funnies, when my beady little eyes latched onto something…
“Oh, that’s funny, and I reached for the light switch again…
Oh, that’s funny…
Funny!
I glanced down, and slowly walked the living (play)room with the eyes of a burglar.
Five minutes later, I had my unusual suspects and as I grabbed the camera, I was doing the funky little chicken dance (in my head).
Ahem, so without any father adieu, I present with limited commercial breaks the inaugural YKW Picture Post.
PS…There was *no* staging (except for one wrinkly issue :)… all that you see is as I “discovered” it.
Dude, Did Anyone Call The Cab?
The Lads –You Know You’re a Parent When Elmo, Pooh and Scooby Doo remind you of “the lads” heading home after a few pints and many tall tales – twenty years ago :)
Coloring Books, anyone?
My former Bookshelf –You Know You’re a Parent When the bookcase you brought downstairs – the one that would have looked awesome filled with memoirs, bios and other cool author-y books has been commandeered by the Sons of Koopmans. (If you look closely, second shelf, on the left is a wooden in-box… that’s me :)
The Good, The Bad and The Elmo? – You Know You’re a Parent When you realize you’ve walked past The Good, Bad and Ugly poster a thousand times and never spotted the movie’s special guest star.
Pitter Patter of Wrinkly Feet :)
Wrinkles – You Know You’re a Parent When you find these two wrinkles at the end of a blanket :)
SCNAK – You Know You’re a Parent When you work to teach No. 1 Son (who is 4.6) how to spell “SNACK,” but you and the little man end up nearly peeing with laughter as you try figure the correctpronunciation of this new word known as “SCNAK.”
Why Are The Pooh Shoes Lined Up?
Pooh's Shoes – You Know You’re a Parent When a pair of Pooh slippers are found not only lying on their side, but next to one another – and not dispersed to either end of the house.
Oh oh… The Mayan’s were right!
You grab the Best Of Depeche Mode (Vol. 1 and 2) cassettes…
The aliens are here!
You run, no you streak from the house, and unable to find a convenient soccer club, you jump off a bridge onto a nasty, old mattress.
“Beware the Sides of March,” you cackle, before hobbling off to wonder why no one ever explained that months had shapes…
Today is the first Wednesday of the month, which means its Insecure Writers Support Group day. This month, I'm focusing on a wife and mother who pushed through tons of insecurity and fears on her journey to the Mystical Land of Publication...
Aloha,
I’m reviewing a newly released paperback book called The Other Side of the Fence, A Lie Masquerading, written by first-time author Kristi Woods of Honolulu, HI.
(Woods and I are part of the same homeschooling group, and after reading one of our regular newsletters, I was delighted to discover someone in the group was a published author.)
The Other Side of the Fence is a Christian-based work of non-fiction, and from the very beginning Woods sets the pace of the nearly 200-page book, which is filled with personal examples of how she has strolled – and stumbled many times – in her walk with the Lord.
Describing herself as a “simple Christian homeschooling military wife,” Woods writes with an eloquent and passionate style, and her book is very well researched and is filled with hundreds of scripture references and spiritual “pick-me-ups.”
Woods’ book is meant to be interactive and as such, she closes each of the fourteen chapters with a heartfelt prayer from the author next to a page where readers can jot down thoughts, list praises and offer up prayer requests relative to the preceding ideas.
Now that she's made it safely to the Mystical Land of Publication, I wanted to share part of a recent post on Woods’ Bearing Branch blog. The part that caught my attention is when she shares some of her early fears.
“As I stepped out to write The Other Side of the Fence, A Lie Masquerading fear reared its head. Writing and publishing were both foreign to me, and because writing this book seemed to be the beginning of a ministry He was (and is still) forming, I knew it was not to be taken lightly.
“I had never ‘thrown’ myself out there before in such a fashion, sharing very personal stories in such a public manner. Fear certainly attempted to make that fact bigger than life. But, every one of fear’s ploys amounted to nothing in light of the Truth. When I chose to keep focus straight ahead, on the Truth, forward progress was made. God was with me, and His will prevailed.”
(Me again. I don’t presume that everyone reading this is a Christian, and by no means am I trying to sway anyone’s opinions, but the words of this first-time author really struck a chord with me – and I believe they mirror the self-doubt many of us writers live with on a consistent basis.)
Sprinkled with a good amount of humor, I totally recommend The Other Side of the Fence and thoroughly enjoyed the informal style of the writing, which in many ways reminded me of a journal or open letter written to a close friend or family member.
###
Kristi Woods
Kristi Woods is a military wife and mom to three children. Currently, she and her family live and homeschool in Hawaii, but they “move wherever the Lord and the military take them.”
For more information about Woods, or to purchase The Other Side of the Fence, A Lie Masquerading, click on over to herblog.
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