A Pastor’s Business Card

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door. Therefore, he took out a business card that he had printed “Revelation 3:20″ on the back of it for just such an occasion, and stuck it in the door. When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned.

Added to it was this cryptic message, “Genesis 3:10.” Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

Genesis 3:10 reads, “I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked.”

Hilarious Bulletin Bloopers

The Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.

The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.

Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say “Hell” to someone who doesn’t care much about you.

For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be “What Is Hell?” Come early and listen to our choir practice.

This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn singing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

The Associate Minister unveiled the church’s new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday: “I Upped My Pledge–Up Yours”

The Fasting and Prayer Conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: ‘Jesus Walks on the Water.’ The sermon tonight: ‘Searching for Jesus.’

Ladies, don’t forget the rummage sale. It’s a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.

Don’t let worry kill you off – let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang ‘I will not pass this way again,’ giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The church will host an evening of fine dining, super entertainment and gracious hostility.

Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM – prayer and medication to follow.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B. S. Is done.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use the back door.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church.. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

Enjoy!

Never Judge

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery. He answered the call asap, changed his clothes and went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father going and coming in the hall waiting for the doctor. Once seeing him, the dad yelled:

“Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have the sense of responsibility?”

The doctor smiled and said, “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital and I came the fastest I could after receiving the call… And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”

“Calm down?! What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do??” said the father angrily

The doctor smiled again and replied: “I will say what Job said in the Holy Book “From dust we came and to dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go and intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace”

“Giving advice when we’re not concerned is so easy,” murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor exited happily, “Thank goodness! Your son is saved!” Without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any question, ask the nurse!!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was in the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

As you very well know, I’m a big Harry Potter fan. Actually, I have participated in Harry Potter podcasts before (well, one… one which I very much hope continues in the future). Now, my good friend Rosie invited me to participate in “Aboard the Knight Bus”, a podcast in which we will do a chapter-by-chapter analysis of the Harry Potter book saga. We sill also discuss different aspects of the Harry Potter universe; movies vs. books, Pottermore, Houses, etc. We are only beginning, but I think you’ll enjoy the podcast. And as usual, comments are very much welcome.

Shameless plug finished. Now, if you’d visit Rosiesummers.podbean.com, you can find us there.

Well, I hope you listen to us, subscribe and give us great reviews (hehehe)…

See you soon!!

Are you grateful? I hope you are. I know that I try to be, although I could remember to give thanks more often.

This little story is –shock!!– from Godvine.com, and it speaks of how we humans could be more grateful than we are. We sure remember to ask God for help in troubled times and for His blessing. But… do we remember to thank Him? Let’s be grateful. Always.

Enjoy!

Workroom of God

A newly arrived soul in Heaven was met by St. Peter. The saint toured the soul around Heaven. Both of them walked side by side inside a large workroom filled with angels.

St. Peter stopped in front of the first section and said, “This is the Receiving Section. Here, all the petitions to God said in prayer are received.”

The soul looked at the section, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets from all the people of the world.

They walked again until they reached the 2nd section, and St. Peter told the soul, “This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are packed and delivered to the persons who asked for them down on earth.”

The soul saw how busy it was. There were so many angels working in that room, since so many blessing were being packed and delivered to Earth.

Finally at the farthest corner of the room, the soul stopped at the last section. To the surprise of the soul, only one angel stayed there idly, doing nothing. “This is the Acknowledging Section,” St. Peter told the soul.”

“How is it that, there is no work here?”

“That’s the sad thing,” St. Peter answered. “After the people received the blessings they asked for, very few send their acknowledgments.”

“How does one acknowledge God’s blessing?”

“Simple,” St. Peter answered. “Just say, “‘Thank you, Lord’.”

I hope you liked it… see you soon!

Said western is 3:10 to Yuma.

This movie is about Dan Evans (Christian Bale), a veteran of war who only has one leg, and his odyssey to get Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison, where he is to be executed. Evans’s ranch hasn’t gotten water in a while and his cattle is dying out and he is deep in debt. He needs money to pay it off and to be able to bring his ranch back to life. This is why he accepts to take Ben Wade to the train in exchange for 200 dollars.

Everything in this movie is good. Everyone is brilliant. Bale and Crowe are flawless. Ben Foster plays Charlie Prince, Wade’s right hand, and he’s SO good. He’s a cold-blooded criminal who is loyal to death to Wade. Logan Lerman plays Dan’s son, William, and he is also great. He plays a brave boy who disobeys his father in order to do what he thinks is right, and help him take the prisoner to the train.

I very much enjoyed the character develpoment in this movie. There are good and bad people, but nothing is completely black or white. Sometimes criminals can be more loyal than “good” people, and good people can do terrible things in the name of “justice”.

Thanks again, Louise. This was a very satisfying movie, and I recommend it very much!

See you soon!

The Humble Servant

One day a humble servant of the Lord lost a very dear friend to the scourge cancer. The humble servant felt great sorrow and prayed that he would someday see his friend again. After much time in prayer, the humble servant was confronted by a demon. The demon said to him, “Why do you waste your time in prayer? There is no proof that God exists.”

The humble servant answered him, “I have faith and that is why I pray.”

The demon then said to him with disdain, “Faith is no more than superstition. On what do you base this ‘faith?’”

The humble servant answered, “I base this faith on trust.”

“Trust in whom?” the demon retorted. “In whom do you have such trust that you would ignore the laws of probability and the laws of science?”

“I trust in Christ,” the humble servant replied.

“In Christ!” the demon exclaimed. “In Christ! Name one thing Christ has done to earn your trust. Tell me please, what has He ever done to earn your prayers? I dare you to name one miracle He has ever performed that has been proven by science to be true. Name it! Name it!” he taunted with glee.

The humble servant stood with patience, and then answered with three simple words: “The Church exists.”

“What?” the demon declared in confusion. “What!” he said again with vexation. “What do you mean ‘the Church exists?’ Please tell me how this relates to trust. Please tell me how this justifies your wasted time in prayer?”

The humble servant calmly explained his answer. “Jesus Christ made a promise–the simple promise ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.’ And now after 2000 years the Church still endures. It endures despite a history of heresies and persecutions. It endures despite the tyranny of despots. It endures despite the laws of probability and the laws of science. What greater miracle is there than this—that the son of a simple carpenter, who lived a life of poverty, and dwelled with the lowly, who never ventured more than a hundred miles from the town of his birth, and who died a criminal’s death on a cross, would establish a great and holy Church, and that the teachings of this Church would be spread throughout the world by twelve simple men–men who hid in fear after the crucifixion? Yet in a mere three days after this lowly criminal’s death, these twelve sprang forth and proclaimed His word and gave up their lives so that His promise would ring true. And over the centuries thousands of others gave their lives also, so that the Church would go on. The most powerful kings and most menacing armies stood against her, but the Church did not falter. For 2000 years this Church has withstood the test of time, overcoming the greatest of odds again and again. It surmounted the insurmountable. It beat the unbeatable foe. It prevailed through the harshest of storms. I say to you, this Church has shattered the very laws that you exalt. It defied that laws of probability, and it humbled the laws of science.”

The humble servant continued on, “The existence of this Church is not a myth. The existence of this Church is not a legend. That this Church exists is an undeniable fact. That Christ’s promise was kept is an undeniable fact. And if He kept this promise, then how can there be any doubt that He will keep His greatest promise—the promise that was central to His ministry, the promise that said ‘If you believe in me, and eat of this bread, and drink of this cup, you shall live forever.’ So when you ask ‘why do I have faith,’ I tell you, it is because I have trust, and nothing that your fair science can offer can break that trust. This is why I pray, so that someday I will enjoy that most sacred covenant of all”–the humble servant paused briefly and then added with solemnity and conviction–”together with my friend!” He then looked the demon right in the eye. “What good can your science and probability offer that is greater than this?”

With those words, the demon turned away, never to bother the humble servant again.

Just for the record, I know not all scientists are against the idea of God, ok? I just thought this was a nice story.

I hope I’ll be back soon with a review… See you then!!

Two things I immediately notice in people are the look in their eyes and their smile. Pope Francis has very kind, peaceful eyes and a very honest smile. So, I just tust him. Plus, he elected his name because of St. Francis of Assisi and he’s a Jesuit. That speaks of a very smart and yet humble person; I love that combination.

That’s pretty much what I wanted to say. I pray that Pope Francis will be a great leader and a strong one, so he can guide us. But I’m pretty confident he will!

Well guys, see you soon!!

First of all, what did I think about Seth McFarlane? He was ok. Many jokes were out of place/vulgar, some others were ok. I want Hugh Jackman back.

And now, for the winners with my comments (Taken from Deadline Hollywood):

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained – I couldn’t agree more. He was AMAZING.

ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Paperman - BEAUTIFUL!! The perfect mix between CGI and classic animation. And it’s cute.
John Kahrs

ANIMATED FEATURE
Brave - Was it better than the other nominees? I think so. Was it the abolutely best animated film from 2012? Nah.
Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Claudio Miranda, Life Of Pi - I have yet to see it, but from what I’ve seen, it looks awesome.

VISUAL EFFECTS
Life Of Pi - same as above.
Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer and Donald R. Elliott

COSTUME DESIGN
Jacqueline Durran, Anna Karenina - I’d have preferred Les Mis to win, but I’m parcial.

MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Les Misérables - YEAH!!!!!!!!
Lisa Westcott and Julie Dartnell

LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
Curfew – No idea. Ha!
Shawn Christensen

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Inocente - Same as above.
Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Searching For Sugar Man - Man, I do have to watch these things…
Malik Bendjelloul and Simon Chinn

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Amour (Austria) – It sounds lovely and touching. I hope I can watch it soon.
Michael Haneke, director; Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka and Michael Katz, Producers

SOUND MIXING
Les Misérables - Of course!! Making the singing alive thing sound good must have been challenging. And Javert’s fall… ouch!
Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson and Simon Hayes

SOUND EDITING
(tie)
Zero Dark Thirty
Paul N.J. Ottosson

Skyfall
Per Hallberg and Karen Baker Landers – I’ll watch these soon. Ish.

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Anne Hathaway, Les Misérables - ABSOLUTELY!!

FILM EDITING
Argo - I ned to watch this… :S
William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Lincoln - It does look stunning…
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

ORIGINAL SCORE
Life Of Pi - ……….
Mychael Danna

ORIGINAL SONG
“Skyfall” from Skyfall - Oh yes. Great song!
Music and Lyric by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Chris Terrio, Argo – ………

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained - Great and original. Great he won!

DIRECTING
Ang Lee, Life Of Pi - I really have to see this movie. It’s embarrassing.

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook - Haven’t watched it, but Jennifer Lawrence is a fantastic actress. I’m sure she deserves it.

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln – I was rooting for Hugh Jackman. The range of him… but DDL is great.

BEST PICTURE
Argo - I take their word for it.
Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck and George Clooney, Producers

So, that’s it!! How about you? What did you think of the results?? Do let me know!!

See you soon!