A whole new world.

I find it interesting how almost every great secular film or song is a direct steal and perversion of something biblical. That or, they reference something biblical.

Just a thought.

Then, with more thought, I came to remember a few words from a discussion over on Tait's Blog, which basically boiled down to, 'There ain't nothin' new under the sun. Gods word is direct and meaningful in every area of life'.

Nothing is independent of the bible.

The bible can help us with such small decisions as what color our car should be. It's a strange and wonderful book that holds such secrets.

I keep telling people to read it. Especially Christians. Yeah, I know of a lot of 'christians' who could use a good dose of the 'good book'.

Well, with that, I'm going to buy some lenses, and go to bed. I need a 135mm at f2.8 or lower, and a 28mm or wider at f3.0 or lower. I'd love to get my hands on a 17mm lens at f2.8. I've seen two of them, but they both ran for upwards of 150 dollars. Also, I wouldn't mind a 50mm at f1.2.

My current collection includes a 50mm lens at f1.8, a 28-78 variable at f4.5-5.6 respectively, and a 35mm at f2.0 . The 35mm is a great indoor lens, but the 50mm holds the title for outdoor videography. And the variable isn't good for much of anything.

I just bid on an 80-200 variable at f4.5-5.6. Not bad. Not great. But it IS a 200 dollar lens, and it looks like I might get it for 10 bucks. I love ebay. I love people who think digital cameras are better than 35mm film, and thus sell their beloved film camera accessories at a very small fraction of their worth.

With that happy thought in mind, and a glass of ice tea in hand, I hit the pillow with much content.

~ In Christ, John.

In memory of 'The Good Olde Days'

Sometimes, I get passionate about people trying to take away the past. Reinventing the wheel, isn't a good idea.

In the spirit of saving the past, I have to put on my uniform once in a while. An outfit that blatantly screams, "I LIKED IT THE WAY IT WAS". I'm not resistant to change, but I'm only for change if it's changing things back to the way they were.

With this in mind, I hope you enjoy the following pictures. These were taken the day after Thanksgiving, when Kelly and Andrea Reins came to our house for a three day visit.

I greeted them, and Kelly promptly took the following pictures. (click to enlarge the images)

Thanksgiving... The Last Holy Day.

Christmas was, at one time, a day when families came together and celebrated the birth of the Savior of mankind; Jesus Christ.

Over time though, a little green and sickly fellow known as Mr. Secular, came along with his double barreled shotgun called 'Tolerance' and blew the holy day of Christ's birth into kingdom come.

In the left barrel, he shot santa clause, and in the right barrel, he shot selfishness. Christianity was altogether unprepared for an attack of this kind, and fell almost without a fight.

The Resurrection of Christ was no different. Spurred on by his success, the little grinch and his shotgun attacked with full fury the day in which we remembered Christ's victory over sin and death.

Tolerance's barrels thundered, blasting out distractions such as 'Easter Bunnies' and chocolate eggs. Pagan to the core, without doubt or apology.

The little grinch was almost completely successful on both counts, with only a handful of people remembering the truth behind these Holy Days, and avoiding the pagan confusion that rained down so heavily in these times. Through time, even the term for these events was changed from Holy Day, to a mere 'holiday'. Reverence is gone.

However, the handful of Christians that were left over have by this time learned that we have to combat the grinch. His shotgun must not attack our last Holy Day: Thanksgiving.

The grinch is letting us poison ourselves slowly with this one, but he has fired his shotgun numerous times as well.

The day is for celebration and remembrance of all the many blessings, great and small, that our Father in heaven has bestowed upon us, despicable, sinful creatures.

Or... wait... Maybe it's about football and turkey, or a turkey with a weird hat, or something like that.

Christmas, Santa Clause. Resurrection Day, Easter Bunny. Thanksgiving, Turkey playing Football, or something like that.

I don't quite remember. The battle is so heated, the fog of war has arisen and I can't quite see clearly. Maybe it's about the Indians... Or those cruel people who stole the land and food from the Indians... What were they called? Pimples? Oh, right. Pilgrims.

Secular America is trying to completely wipe out Thanksgiving, and any other Christian dominated Holy Days. They've succeeded with Christmas and Resurrection Day, but Thanksgiving isn't yet completely gone.

Don't let your minds, or the minds of your family, fall victim to the lies of secular America.

As Brett Harris said on he and his brother Alex's blog, 'The Rebelution',

I understand why non-Christians feel uncomfortable celebrating this Christian Holiday. They might "feel" thankful, but thanks be to whom?!?

If thankfulness includes a readiness to somehow repay kindness or blessing, the very real questions become, "To whom are they repaying?" and "Isn't it inconsistent to feel thankful on Thanksgiving when you have rejected the existence of the very person who's blessed you?"

Read the full article here.


VisionForum.com is selling a collection of books for 40 % off their retail price. I recommend you get them, and read them. Read them to your family. They're great books, and a great defensive maneuver against secularism.

Buy the books here.

If you're subscribed to the Vision Forum newsletter, you would have received an email with links to free downloadable materials from Vision Forum about Thanksgiving. If you're not subscribed to the newsletter, you should be, just so you don't miss anything else than they might provide you with.

These newsletters aren't sales spam; They're wonderful collections of wisdom and Godly counsel. I highly recommend them.

For those of you who missed the links, I will provide them below. Read these materials with your family and send them to your friends. It's a great treasure, not to be thrown around lightly.

Thanksgiving Scriptures to read with your family

The Mayflower Compact

Cotton Mather’s “The Life of Bradford”

My favorite, and probably the best all-in-one course on Thanksgiving and the secular attack, is 'Little Bear' Wheelers "The Complete Pilgrim Adventure" from Mantle Ministries. It's a fantastic resource, and split into very easily watchable episodes. Wheeler does a fantastic job presenting the truth and history (his-story, as it's known by Wheeler and his family) of Thanksgiving.

Order it here.

Well, thank you for giving me your time. I realize it is valuable, but hopefully you leave this blog with a refreshed enthusiasm for protecting the 'ancient landmarks' and Holy Days of a Christian Nation.

God Bless you all, and have a wonderful day of prayer and Thanksgiving!

~ In Christ, John.

Among the Heather...

I roved out on a bright May morn,
So calm and clear was the weather
I chanced to roam some miles from home,
Among the beautiful blooming heather,

CHORUS:
And it's heather on the moor, over the heather,
Over the moor and among the heather
(repeat last two lines of previous verse)
And it's heather on the moor.

As I roved along with my hunting song,
My heart as light as any feather.
l met a pretty maid upon the way,
She was tripping the dew down from the heather.

"Where are you going to my pretty fair maid,
Come hill or dale now tell me whether."
Right modestly she answered me,
"To the feeding of my lambs together."

"I come from far beyond the hill,
To fetch a lamb that's strayed from t'other.
But I think I'll stay awhile this day
And take me time among the heather"

Well, we both shook hands and there we sat,
For it being the finest day in summer,
We sat 'til the red setting beams of the sun
Came a-sparklin' down upon the heather.

"Now, I must be gone before night's dawn,
And take the little one with the others
But I am loathe to part from you
As loathe are lambs to depart their mothers"

Up she rose and away she goes,
Her place and name l know not either,
But if I were king, I'd make her queen,
The lass I met among the heather

CHORUS:
And it's heather on the moor, over the heather,
Over the moor and among the heather
(repeat last two lines of previous verse)
And it's heather on the moor.





Just a fun song I've been listening to recently, by the one and only Charlie Zahm. Great balladeer, he is. Possibly inspiring a story. More on this soon...

I wrote another chapter to faces a while ago, but it didn't really fit the mood of the story, so I'm going to rewrite it. I like the general idea, but not the way it was written.

Anyway, I'm moving on.

After getting home from the Film Festival, I got a card from the Zimmermans; It was a late birthday card.

On the inside, it said, 'Happy Birthday, and Get Well Soon!'

At first, I was surprised, but reading onward, I saw that it said 'Oops, I thought this was for our Son in Law!'

HAHA! Now get this, I was just getting over a cold when I got that card.

Isn't that hilarious?

Man. I just love timing.

Anyway, yawl have a great time, I'm going to clean my office!!

Oh, here's a picture of me at FED.

Slightly touched up in Photoshop, but not much.


I just liked the feel of the picture. And my suit coat was too big.

Who cares.

;-)

Enjoy folks!

A few words of Texas wisdom!

At the film festival in San Antonio, we met a young man named Adam Terrell. Adam is a very sharp young man, constantly absorbing the information around him, and he has a great way of listening closely to every word being spoken.

His Father was a real blast to hang out with too, and had a ton of valuable wisdom that he can manage to slip into normal conversation without anybody noticing. We went to a burger place, and he did quite a few tricks that kept Gator baffled, as well. Haha, it was SOOO much fun!

It really was a blast guys, I look forward to spending more time together! We really don't live that far apart...

Now, a few words of wisdom I stumbled across, while perusing Adam's site.

Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules of life really are:

You only need two tools: WD-40 and duct tape.

If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40.

If if does move and shouldn't, use the duct tape.

Ha! Thanks for the advice Adam, I'll remember that....

As for the rest of you, that was found in the joke section of Adam's site.

Check it out! http://www.freewebs.com/adamterrell/index.htm

Well, I'm out for now folks.

God Bless, and have a great day!

~ in Christ, John.

A time comes for the cutting of the wheat..... and hair.

This is the longest my hair has ever been, to my knowledge. Or rather, a picture, of the longest my hair ever WAS. Because I've never let it get even close to this bad ever since. It was one of those things where we didn't realize just how bad it was. And of course, it didn't look this bad when it was combed. Either way, it seems that this 'nasty ratty ulgy bleck' look is very popular in culture today among both men and women. How unfortunate.




In other news, I've heard the best definition of Beauty ever, from R.C. Sproul Jr. I can't quote it exactly right now, so I will later. Basically though, he said that beauty is NOT in the eye of the beholder. I AGREE. I even said it before he did.

So, Beauty is how well something reflects the glory of God.

That's basically what he said. Isn't that brilliant?

Yeah.

Brilliant.

You have a good time!

L8r.

A little update from... here.

I was just going through some old photos I've had for quite a while but never got around to posting.

Why?

I don't exactly know.

I continue to work on scripting the Salvation Mountain documentary, but I have yet to actually write a physical line down. First I have to establish a basic point to point plotlist, then I'll script it and start gathering sources.

The Texas summer is over, and fall is here. It's not nearly as beautiful as Alaska, that's for sure, but it does have a photographic element about it.

Actually, these pictures are from this time last year. It's been a while. We trimmed down all the weeds around the lake and all the nasty scrub brush. It looks a lot cleaner now.

I promised Todd a nice picture of the front of our house.

So far, I haven't put it online yet. I will eventually though...

A Lifetime of Childlike Faith - Entry 1

A Lifetime of Childlike Faith is the current working title for our latest project.

A documentary film on the faith and life story of Leonard Knight.

More on this later. I gotta hit the sack now.

Anyway, yeah. Leonard Knight. Awesome guy.

And the results, ladies and gentlemen....

We've returned home from the film festival with empty hands, but hearts full of joy.

Our film got a wonderful reception, with double ovation during both showings. The audience actually broke out into cheering and applause TWICE in the middle of the film, at both showings.

It was well recieved.


Here's actually a clip from us on stage, for question and answer with Doug Phillips.

Also on the stage is a young man who directed a film called 'Hallowed be thy name', a 5 minute drama that was very well done.

http://www.heumoore.com/stage.wmv

The film was runner up for audience choice, and we were extremely close to getting the title. From what I've heard from a few various but not particular or named sources of various size shapes and ages, we were VERY very close to getting the award for audience choice.

I'm not sure why 'Why did the duck cross the road' got runner up instead of 'Hallowed be thy name', but it sure did.

Either way, it was good fun.

More reports to come, I'm sure....