Archive for March, 2007

March 14, 2007

One Night With The King
Length: 122 min
Rated: PG
Distributor: Gener8xion Entertainment
Release Date: 2006-10-13
Starring: Tiffany Dupont, Luke Goss, John Rys-Davies, Tommy Lister, Omar Shariff, James Callis, John Noble, Peter O’Toole
Directed by Michael O. Sajbel
Produced by Stephan Blinn, Richard J. Cook, Matthew Crouch
Written by Stephan Blinn; Mark Andrew Olsen and Tommy Tenney (novel)

As the film unfolded I was drawn into the love story between King Xerxes and Esther, and appreciated Esther’s bravery in defying cultural traditions to save her people. Based on the novel “Hadassah”, the movie follows a young Jewish woman by that name (Tiffany Dupont) who lives in ancient imperial Persia during the reign of King Xerxes (Luke Goss).

Orphaned as a child, she has been raised by her kind, wise uncle Mordecai (John Rys-Davies) who works as a scribe in the king’s palace. Political turmoil in the King’s house forces him to cast aside his queen and launch an empire wide search for her replacement. Despite the fact that the Jewish people are at the bottom of the Persian totem pole, the beautiful Hadassah is conscripted into the king’s harem as a candidate to become queen. There she trains for her future queenly duties under the rough but encouraging eye of the intimidating royal eunuch Hagai (Tommy Lister). For her protection, Mordecai gives Hadassah a new name, Esther, and encourages her to keep her Jewish identity a secret.

After winning the king’s heart with her simple beauty and generous spirit, Esther is chosen as queen. Meanwhile Haman the Agagite (James Callis), who sports a 500 year-old blood grudge against the Jews, slowly connives his way up the Persian political food chain. When he gets close enough to the top, he spins a plot that pits the empire against the entire Jewish nation. It falls to Esther to save her people at the risk of her own life by revealing her true heritage to her husband king.

I believe this is an important film in that it puts faces and real-life dilemmas with the stories. It shows that issues like courage, love, hatred, betrayel have played out for generations.

I was surprised to see some errors, such as a “candidate” for the queen being hoisted on to a western side saddle, not yet invented at that time.

But it’s high story and it’s thought-provoking, and worth the time to watch.

RTF gives it 3 stars.

Filed under: real review

March 12, 2007

(chorus)

Sarah DeLange is a homeschooled freshman. One of her favorite subjects is English because she enjoy writing. She is a songwriter and feels as if God is calling her into the music industry, and she would love to pursue that calling. She holds a deep affection for her friends & family, for music & singing, and most of all, for her beautiful Savior.

Filed under: real lyrics

March 12, 2007

Filed under: real devos, lydia rule

March 8, 2007

Filed under: Jade west

March 6, 2007

Planet Wisdom is one of the hottest sites on the web with reviews, articles, forums, and more. Check out their review of Glamorous ” by Fergie featuring Ludacris.

This is an excerpt of Planet Wisdom’s take on Glamorous, reviewed by Krystal Burns.

She begins by painting a pretty picture of life in the fast lane, but says even though she “wear[s] them gold and diamond rings/ All them things don’t mean a thing.” She admits she’s dreamed of this kind of success since she was a little girl, but her dad warned her of the vices. Now she says, “I’ve got problems up to here/ I’ve got people in my ear/ Telling me these crazy things/ That I don’t want to hear.” The chorus, sung with Ludacris, implies the sort of shallow relationships that develop when built on money: “If you don’t have no money go home.”

We’ve heard a gazillion times that money doesn’t buy happiness. We say it with our mouths, but in our hearts we’re sold on commercials and magazine ads that promise eternal bliss based the right look or latest gadget. Everything in the media seems to tell us you need money to be happy. And let’s be honest, buying things does provide a temporary happy-rush. But the same media that sells the rush also broadcasts the reality of the broken relationships, suicides, and drug-and-alcohol addictions of the rich and famous. Why aren’t they happy? Money is an illusion, and no amount of it will fill us up. Even Fergie, one the top female artists today, is warning that there’s a high price that comes with fame and fortune.

Read the rest of this review at Planet Wisdom.

Filed under: real review

March 1, 2007

I skiied a half-day three years ago. I took a lesson from a fit, amazing senior citizen. As I skied between him and several 4-year olds, I felt like I could conquer this.I did. I wasn’t great, but I loved the feeling of swishing down the bunny slopes. The half-day whizzed by in a heartbeat and it was time to go home.

This past week I had my second experience. I was in Colorado again for a Focus on the Family radio interview, but also a very special wedding. My niece got married on top of the mountain at Keystone Resort. (more…)

Filed under: real word, T. Suzanne Eller

March 1, 2007

Dirty. . .
By Jenn Joshua, RT Staff Writer

Have you ever wondered how it’s possible to be ‘different’ from the rest of the world? Well, me too! A few months ago especially, I was haunted by James 1:27 where it says, “This is pure and undefiled religion: to keep yourself unspotted from the world”.

What exactly did unspotted mean? Did the term refer to inward things, outward, or both? And once it was defined, how was it to apply to my daily life? (And what entertainment would I have to give up if it were true?!)God tells us that He looks our hearts – we’re called to be different INSIDE – what spills from us when we’re ‘nudged’ should be totally different from what spills when unbelievers are ‘nudged’. I’m not saying that what’s inside is the only thing that matters – that we can dress like whatever, live like whatever, talk like whatever – but rather that if what’s inside is ‘true, noble, right, and pure’, what spills from us should be just that!

As Amy Carmichael put it, “A cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill a single bitter drop”.It’s been said that if you put a frog in a saucepan of tepid water and set it on the stove to boil, it won’t jump out because the temperature change is so gradual – it doesn’t even notice – it just sits there ‘til it boils to death. (By the way, this might be a good experiment for biology class, but otherwise it’s not really recommended!) I think we sometimes get so steeped in the culture that we don’t realize we’re slowly being boiled alive – that the music, the movies, the books and magazines we feed our minds are beginning to have a subtle effect on us…

For example, have you ever done the Queen Anne’s Lace flower experiment? You know, the one where you slit the stem of the flower, and put each side in a different glass of food coloring? In a matter of days, the flower is two different colors. The change is subtle at first – the color creeps up the stalk and gently fills each bud – then suddenly, with a burst of color, there you have it! Half blue, half red… plain and bold for everyone to see!If we’re feeding ourselves filthy things – or even just mildly dirty things – it’s still eventually going to show, no matter what we do.

Maybe it won’t evidence itself in flaming colors, but it’ll be there and people will see it.

“Therefore, my friend, be diligent that you may be found in peace – without spot, and blameless.” 2 Peter 3:16

Jenn is a senior in high school whose love of writing is surpassed only by her love of working with kids. After her graduation in the spring, it is her plan to work at an inner-city kid’s camp, followed by an internship at a local children’s home.

Filed under: real devos, jenn joshua

March 1, 2007

Filed under: Jade west