Movies

Hey Readers!

Today, I want to share what has been on my mind lately.  I have been thinking much about movies and about when it is right or wrong to watch a movie with certain content.  I hate being so particular about what I watch, but I can't help it.  This is my strong opinion.  When a movie has any explicit sexual content (an intimate scene, certain jokes and conversations, bikini like outfits worn throughout most of the movie, nudity, or anything like that) I will not watch it.  The marital embrace is sacred and is not meant to be viewed for entertainment (it is seriously sinful for the actors and actresses to even act out those kind of scenes).  If something sinful or inappropriate needs to be in a movie for the sake of the story, it should at least be implied that it took place.  I also stay away from movies which use God's Name in vain and swear words too many times.  Before watching movies (at least R, PG-13, and sometimes even PG rated movies) I often visit a Christian movie review website (I highly recommend www.pluggedin.com).

There are a lot of bad movies out there, but there are also a lot of good ones.  Here are some movies I enjoy and would like to share.  They are not all perfect, but they're good.

The Avengers
The Captain America Trilogy

The Thor Trilogy

Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2
FlightPlan
Jack the Giant Slayer
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Hobbit Movies
Emma (both versions are good, but my favorite is the BBC version)
Pride and Prejudice
North and South (BBC)
Wives and Daughters (BBC)
The Shop Around the Corner

The Sound of Music

Mom's Night Out

Forever Strong

Here are some with religious themes:

The Passion

God Is Not Dead

Son of God
For Greater Glory
October Baby
Bella
The Perfect Game
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I Am David

Heaven is for Real

Courageous

Fireproof
War Room

And some of my favorite animated movies are:

The How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy

Despicable Me 1 and 2
Ratatoullie
The Emperor's New Groove
Frozen
Tangled

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 1 and 2

MegaMind
Tarzan
Wreck-It Ralph

I enjoy many of the animated Disney movies.

I will update this list occasionally.  There are more movies I enjoy, I just can't think of them all.

Also, I just want to warn you that the Christian movie review website I recommended (www.pluggedin.com) may seem strict to the extreme.  What I like about the website though is that I can read about was bothers me most in a particular movie (like sexual content) and I can decide for myself if I think it is worth watching. 

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Prayers for My Grandma

Hello!

On Friday, August 23, my grandma had a heart attack.  She will be released from the hospital tomorrow and will be living with my family and me.  She is doing fine, but her heart is failing and we are unsure how long she will be with us.  If you all could pray for her, my family and I would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you so very much.

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Prayer Request

Hello readers,

If you all could please pray for my "Special Intentions" I would really appreciate it.  Thank you!

Today, I would like to share one of my favorite Bible quotes. 

"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope."      ~ Jeremiah 29:11


God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Happy Independence Day!!!

I hope you all had a Happy Independence Day!!! 

Please remember to pray for all those who fought for our freedom during the War for Independence and for all those now who fight and have fought for our freedom and protection.  Pray for our Catholic Bishops and all those fighting for Religious Freedom.  We can join them by praying and taking action (www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/index.cfm). 

Prayer for the Protection of Religious Liberty

O God our Creator,
from your provident hand we have received
our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
You have called us as your people and given us
the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,
and your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,
you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,
bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel
to every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us
in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.
Give us the strength of mind and heart
to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened;
give us courage in making our voices heard
on behalf of the rights of your Church
and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,
a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters
gathered in your Church
in this decisive hour in the history of our nation,
so that, with every trial withstood
and every danger overcome—
for the sake of our children, our grandchildren,
and all who come after us—
this great land will always be "one nation, under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/religious-liberty/fortnight-for-freedom/fortnight-freedom-prayer-resources.cfm

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Children of Mary

On Saturday, June 29, my family and I went to visit the convent of a new order of nuns called the Children of Mary to volunteer.  It was an amazing experience!  We began our day with Holy Mass at 9am said by a wonderful priest who celebrates both the Roman and Byzantine Rites.  The Church was absolutely beautiful!  After Mass we sat for 20 minutes with our friends who we met there and had coffee.  Around 10:30am we began our work.  My sisters and I all helped weed the large garden.  My mom and little brother worked in the flower beds.  My dad helped build part of one of the nuns hermitages.  We ate lunch around 12:30pm and got back to work around 1:15ish.  My legs were so sore from being crouched down for such long periods of time, but I was happy to do all that work.  We worked until 5pm and attended evening prayer in the Church.  Right after, we ate dinner with the nuns and the other volunteers.  I truly enjoyed my conversations with the nuns.  They spoke all about how they came to realize their calling to the Religious Life.  Some of them were converts to the Catholic Faith.  I must say, converts to the Catholic Faith are some of the most devoted Catholics.  I truly admire them.  They were all so very friendly.  If you want to learn more about The Children of Mary, you can visit their website at www.childrenofmary.net. 

God bless you!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

My Life Dream

I have been contemplating what I want to do during my lifetime, hopefully in the near future.  My life dream is to marry a polite, hardworking, Catholic gentleman, live in a simple house, be a homeschool mom (to the best of my ability), raise a family to become saints, grow an herb and vegetable garden (not a small one, but not to big either), be involved at Church in some way aside from going to Mass and Confession, do fun family activities often (esp. hiking, biking, and traveling), and go on occasional trips to the movie theater and amusement park.  The simple things in life are the things that truly make me happiest.  Before, and if, I ever get married, I'd really like to visit one of my best friends in Hawaii.  And one day I would love to visit Rome (Germany, Switzerland, and New Zealand would be wonderful places to visit too, but that is a lot...who knows though)!  I feel God is calling me to the married life.  Please pray for me, that I make the right decisions in life and that I follow the Will of God if I am called to another vocation.  Making life decisions can be very stressful at times.   Feel free to share any of your life plans! :)

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Owl City

For a while now I have been thinking, what is my favorite music artist?  I never really had one because I like a variety of different kinds of music.  I like just a few songs from many different music artists.  For a while I was thinking, maybe Brad Paisley or Rascal Flatts was my favorite, but country music is not my all time favorite genre (I prefer pop).  I want an artist who's majority of music is clean and catchy.  Just these past two months I have been listening to a lot of Owl City.   So far I am very happy with his (Adam Young) music.  My favorites are "Gold", "Shooting Star", "I'm Coming After You", "When Can I See You Again", "How Deep the Father's Love for Us", "In Christ Alone", "Vanilla Twillight", "Fireflies", "Deer in My Headlights", "Take It All Away", and "Good Time".  I think it's cool that he sings some Christian songs as well.  Here are some videos of my top favorites.

This one is in a higher pitch than the original.  It's still catchy.



God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

They're Out!

The Poster and Trailer for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" are out!



(Image from www.theonering.net/torwp)

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

Quote Page Updated

Hey there! 

Just want to let you all know that I have added quite a few new quotes to my blog's quote page.  Feel free to check it out!  I think a lot of them are very touching.

Take care!


God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ

My Hobbit and LOTR Post

As many of my family and friends well know, I am a very big "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" fan (a big J.R.R. Tolkien fan you might say).   As I have said in previous posts, I am slowly working on the LOTR trilogy and I read "The Hobbit" (one of my very favorite books).  Reading "The Hobbit" before watching the movie really helped me understand and appreciate the movie and even the LOTR movies.  Tolkien sure did put a LOT of thought into his books!  I would really love to learn all the Catholic/Christian symbolism behind his stories (I know very little of the symbolism).  I should read what the author, Joseph Pearce, writes about the symbolism of "The Hobbit" in his book "Bilbo's Journey: Discovering the Hidden Meaning in The Hobbit ". 

The LOTR movies were wonderful!  I especially love Gandalf's wisdom in the movies.  I am definitely adding some of his quotes to my quote collection and on my blog's quote page.  I still have to watch the extended edition of the three movies.  I saw some clips of the extended edition on youtube and have learned so much more about things I didn't understand in the shorter version.  I also love how "The Hobbit, An unexpected Journey" and the LOTR movies connect. 

I am dying to see the second "Hobbit" movie! I hear that the preview for the second Hobbit movie, "The Hobbit, The Desolation of Smaug" will be shown before the "Man of Steel" Superman movie coming out  in Theater on June 14.

Well, enough of my ranting.  Have any personal thoughts on the books and/or movies?  Who are your favorite characters?  Mine are Kili, Fili, Bofer, and Bilbo (in The Hobbit) and Sam, Frodo, Legolas, and Gimli (in the LOTR Trilogy).

God bless!

 ~ littleromanJMJ