Wild Things

This was one of my favorite books as a child. Looks interesting. Do you think you will see this movie?

Balance

Hubby and I went on a retreat a few chilly weekends ago with a group of young adults from his church. We spent the weekend at a cozy lake house on Lake Hartwell in north Georgia, enjoying good food and good conversation. The theme of our weekend retreat was balance - examining our unbalanced lives and brainstorming ways to live life with a better (slower) rhythm.

I've been thinking often since the retreat of our many friends and family members who are suffering right now with job loss and unemployment problems and the stresses that those situations incur. While I grieve with those who are suffering, I also encourage all of us to seize this time as an opportunity, and not as an obsession. Instead of worrying day and night about finding a job "just to get by" or working 24/7 to keep a miserable job, why not spend some of that time taking small steps to pursuing your dream? Why not take a chance and open your own business? Why not spend a full day outside in the middle of the week? Why not take a trip to catch up with loved ones?

Time is a gift and should not be wasted. Use it wisely - sometimes the simple pleasures in life are the most meaningful.

I remember a song that I used to listen to in high school that reminded me of the beauty of each season - why all of the different time periods in our lives are perfect exactly as they are - Nichole Nordeman's "Every Season." While I haven't listened to any of her music in years, this song still speaks to me in times when I'm feeling lost.

Do you have loved ones that are suffering? In what ways can we inspire them to take advantage of the time they have?

Image courtesy of the amazing Altmix Photography.

Coming Soon

Hubby is very excited about this weekend's movie release of Watchmen. He finished reading the old school comic book a few weeks back, so the timing couldn't be more perfect. I have to admit, it looks pretty good. And the concept - who is watching the watchmen? - is an intriguing question about checks and balances that retains quite a bit of relevance today.



Personally, I'm excited about Public Enemies. The trailer was just released today. Who can resist Johnny Depp, Christian Bale and last year's Oscar-winning Best Actress Marion Cotillard in a tommy-gun era mobster drama? Still not sure about those accents, but we can all expect lots of action from director Michael Mann. Alas, I will be waiting awhile - the film will be released this summer.

First, Bale will appear in Terminator: Salvation, which I'm not very excited about. Just as a side note.

In hiding

Thank you for letting me hide a little during these past few weeks. I don't have any excuses for my lack of blogging, I just stepped away for a little while. I am back now, and have much to comment about. But for now, please accept my apologies for leaving you.



Photo courtesy of Corbis.