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Hello to my readers! (Do I have any?:)

By now you've probably heard the news that I'm moving. My husband has accepted a position as Program Director at Miracle Ranch in Port Orchard, WA. This is something we've been praying and working towards for a long time. And although we're sad to leave our friends and family here at Northlake, we are thrilled for the next adventure God is taking us on.

I have had an amazing time serving God, parents, and kids here at Northlake. It has been a challenging and rewarding journey, and I will miss you all so very much.

Please come give me a goodbye hug at our reception this Sunday, April 27th, immediately following the second service.

And I hope your next CM Director will take over this blog and keep you all updated and informed and entertained too.

God Bless,
Deanna

Making movie choices

I don't know about you, but sometimes it is really hard to pick a movie to take your kids to (or yourself, for that matter). MPAA guidelines are often of little help in determinig the suitability, and likeability, of a film. Here once again our faithful friend, the internet, comes to help us!

Movie Mom blogs and writes movie reviews at Beliefnet.com. As part of each review, she tells you what age the film is suitable for, the MPAA rating, and then sorts out any profanity, nudity/sex, alcohol/drugs, violence/scariness, and diversity issues included in the film. This is very helpful to see right at the top of the review. In addition, Movie Mom assigns each film a grade that reflects the overall value of the film. She writes, "The grade reflects the merits of a movie for its intended audience and within the context of its own aspirations. A B grade means that the movie is likely to be a satisfying experience for the people most likely to want to see it. Just because a movie is not offensive does not mean that it merits 90 minutes of a child's life. Children are as entitled to movies that illuminate, inspire, and entertain, filled with engaging characters and insightful writing and visuals. So are adults." I appreciate this attitude immensly.

Christian Answers offers Christian Spotlight on Entertainment which includes movie reviews from many contributors. In addition, you can scroll through viewer comments at the bottom of the movie review as well. This is helpful in giving you multiple perspectives. The reviewer gives each film a "moral rating" as well as stars to indicate movie making quality. Each review I have looked through has been detailed in it's analyis of potentially "objectionable" material as well as discussion ideas families could have following viewing. This site also has detailed information about Christian filmmaking if you are interested in exploring this emerging area of ministry. Finally, I appreciated the daily prayer focus that encourages people to "take a moment to pray for these influental people...don't just complain about Hollywood...pray."

Finally, I like to look at critic reviews after I've seen a film to determine if these "film folk" agree with my assessments. I guess it's just a fun past-time. Rotten Tomatoes has been helpful to me because here you can find multiple reviews from all over the country and from all kinds of publications on one site. Each movie is given a rating, depending on the number of positive or negative reviews. You can sort the reviews by "fresh" or "rotten" depending on if you want to read the positive or negative comments. While this site doesn't offer much perspective on the "moral" values of a film, it is interesting to see where those who watch movies for a living fall on any given film.

I hope this is helpful to you as you enjoy movies with your families!

April & May

I'm back! Sorry for the hiatus. I've got lots of good stuff to share with you in the coming days.

For now, the Awana April & May calendar can be dowloaded HERE.

Are you a scrapbooker?

Because I am! It is a hobby that I thoroughly enjoy, especially because I get to capture the stories of my family, and things I want my daughter to remember about who we are and what we believe.

Even if you're not a scrapbooker, I think we all want a way to keep the memorabilia from our children's school years. Here's a great way to do it. This kit has it all from K-12th grade. Each year has pages to include pictures, stories, and "favorites" as well as a memorabilia packet to store those report cards, art projects, papers, etc. For all you get, I think the price is fantastic.

Enjoy this easy way to preserve those memories!

Spring's a coming!

The first day of spring is coming soon: March 20, just in time for Easter. Celebrate spring with your kids by sending them to this website. With a few clicks of a mouse a spring garden will appear right before their eyes.

Of course, you can try it out for yourself first. I had a good time with it too.

March Calendar

Good News! The Awana March Calendar can be downloaded HERE.

another funny

Many of you probably remember (and miss) Pastor Robert. Well last week he regaled several staff inboxes with this little number. His message: "Want to make this Easter the most memorable yet? Here's what the church staff needs to do. Rehearsals begin next week."

Click HERE for the fun! (There's a short commercial first.)