Happy 4th of July!

Well, this week we celebrate America's 233rd birthday!
Enjoy the cookouts, picnics, pool parties and fireworks.

Oh yeah, if you've got Old Glory, let her fly!

Happy 4th!!!!!

Rainy Days And Sundays!

Nothing makes a rainy Sunday afternoon more enjoyable than watching a great classic movie. So, I thought I'd give you some suggestions for your next rainy Sunday. Enjoy!

(1.)The Invisible Man (1933)

Claude Rains stars as scientist Jack Griffin , who discovers a serum that causes invisibility. Unfortunately, the serum also causes insanity-- Ouch, I hate when that happens! Truly, one of the most fascinating movies ever made.

By the way, it co-stars Gloria Stuart, the elderly survivor in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic.


(2.) The Adventures Of Robin Hood

Forget Kevin Costner and his really, really bad haircut--Errol Flynn
is Robin Hood! This 1938 classic has it all--action, adventure, comedy and romance! Plus, one of the greatest sword fights, you'll ever see on film.

Flynn is perfect as the cocky but caring Robin. And Olivia deHavilland is wonderfully luminous as the lovely Maid Marion.

An example of the first-rate dialogue is when Robin introduces the rotund Friar Tuck to a very cautious
Will Scarlett--

Robin: "It's alright, he's one of us."
Will: "One of us? He looks like three of us!"

Classic!


(3.) The Third Man

The Third Man is one of the all-time great thrillers.

Unemployed pulp fiction writer, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton), arrives in post WWII Vienna to work for his old college friend, Harry Lime (the magnificent Orson Welles).

There's only one slight problem when Holly show up--Harry is deceased--
or is he?

The Third Man is movie-making at it's finest! It's not just a movie, it's literally art! From the askew camera shots and angles, quirky score, snappy dialogue and of course the towering talent of Orson Welles-The Third Man is a cinematic masterpiece!



(4.) King Kong (1933)

When given a choice, always go with the original. This one is so much more satisfying than the 2005 remake.

Even though the special effects may seem quaint by today's standards, this one still packs a wallop! It's still just as mesmerizing now, as it was for your grandparents, when they first saw it.

Plus, Fay Wray practically invented the screen scream!



(5.) City Lights

This 1931 silent romantic comedy was written and directed by motion picture legend Charlie Chaplin.

The plot revolves around Chaplin's tramp character and a poor blind girl, who sells flowers on a street corner. When they first meet, he's instantly smitten. The girl, however, thinks the tramp is a millionaire. He continues to let her think he's a man of great wealth.

Through a series of misadventures, he obtains the money for an operation that restores the girl's sight.

Full of humor, sight gags, and sweetness-- City Lights is rightly revered as one of the greatest films ever made! Oh yeah, it has probably the most emotional ending in motion picture history! You'll cry- I promise!

Thanks, Dad

This Sunday, you'll celebrate the most important man in your life.
So, as that day approaches, I thought you'd enjoy some fun facts about Father's Day, from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Father’s Day: June 21, 2009

The idea of Father’s Day was conceived exactly a century ago, by Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Wash., while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm.

A day in June was chosen for the first Father’s Day celebration — June 19, 1910, proclaimed by Spokane’s mayor because it was the month of Smart’s birth.

The first presidential proclamation honoring fathers was issued in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day.

Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.

64.3 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation.

Thinking of You, Dad

9,003
The number of men’s clothing stores around the country (as of 2006), a good place to buy dad a tie or shirt.

14,012
The number of hardware stores (as of 2006), a place to buy hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers and other items high on the list of Father’s Day gifts. Additionally, there were 6,749 home centers across the country in 2006.

23,270
Number of sporting goods stores in 2006. These stores are good places to purchase traditional gifts for dad, such as fishing rods and golf clubs.

78 million
The number of Americans who participated in a barbecue in the last year — it’s probably safe to assume many of these barbecues took place on Father’s Day.

Mr. Mom

140,000
Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2008. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for at least one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home. These fathers cared for 234,000 children. Among these stay-at-home dads, 54 percent had two or more children, and 52 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

25%
Among the nation’s 11.3 million preschoolers whose mothers are employed, the percentage who are regularly cared for by their father during their mother’s working hours. This amounted to 2.9 million children.

How Many Fathers?

25.8 million
Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2008.

22 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18 (among married-couple family households only).
2 percent lived in someone else’s home.

1.8 million
Number of single fathers in 2008. Currently, among single parents living with their children, 16 percent are men.

8 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18.
About 51 percent were divorced, 25 percent were never married, 19 percent were separated and 5 percent were widowed.
43 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

85%
Among the 30.2 million fathers living with children younger than 18, the percentage who lived with their biological children only. In addition, 11 percent lived with stepchildren, 4 percent with adopted children and fewer than 1 percent with foster children.

Child-Support Payments

31%
Percentage of custodial fathers who were due child support. They numbered 678,000.


$2.4 billion
Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2005; they were due $3.3 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $22.4 billion of the $34.7 billion in support that was due.

43%
Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due, not significantly different from the corresponding percentage for custodial mothers. These fathers received an average of $6,210 in child support in 2005, compared with $5,981 for mothers who received full support. (These figures are not statistically different from each other.)

36%
Percentage of custodial fathers with child-support agreements or awards.

72%
Percentage of custodial fathers receiving noncash support, such as gifts or coverage of expenses, on behalf of their children. The corresponding proportion for mothers was 59 percent.

Time with Daddy

53% and 71%
Percentages of children younger than 6 who ate breakfast and dinner, respectively, with their father every day in 2006. The corresponding percentages who ate with their mother were 58 percent and 80 percent. (The percentages of children who ate breakfast with their mother or father, respectively, were not significantly different from each another.)

36%
Percentage of children younger than 6 who had 15 or more outings with their father in the last month, as of 2006.

6
Average times children ages 3 to 5 were read to by their fathers in the past week, as of 2006.

66%
Percentage of children younger than 6 who were praised three or more times a day by their fathers.

UPlifting!!!!

I must admit, that when I walked out of the theater, after seeing Disney Pixar's latest movie UP, I felt..well, oddly strange!

I had just seen a movie that affected me, in a way, few movies have, or probably ever will. It was truly moving!

By now, you know about the rave reviews--and rightfully so!
This is a movie that deals with dreams deferred, loneliness, loss and restoration. It's about how life gets in the way of all our very carefully laid out plans and lofty expectations.

While kids will enjoy the animation and characters, adults will identify with the themes of the movie. However, you'll also be greatly touched and encouraged!

It goes without saying, this is a movie worth checking out.
Trust me on this one--UP--is no downer!

What A Great Weekend!

This weekend, I had the privilege of hosting Operation Ethan,
a benefit concert for 8 year old Ethan Bibb, who was recently diagnosed with brain and spinal cord cancer.

The event was to help his family with the massive medical expenses related to Ethan's illness.

On hand to entertain were Building 429, 33 Miles,
Pocketful of Rocks, plus, Myra Mason & Friends, and Britten Newbill! What a power-packed line-up!

It was another wonderful example, of God's people extending
a hand to those who are truly in need!




Enjoying The Music At "Operation Ethan"





Introducing Myra Mason & Friends






33 Miles Takes The Stage





Michael Farrin Of Pocket Full Of Rocks






Catching Up With Britten Newbill