Fracturing the Formula – Plugged In
From Focus on the Family’s PLUGGED IN
READ ABOUT…standing your ground in a world that demands you follow its ways…not HIS ways. In this candid interview with actress Candace Cameron Bure, music artist, Rebecca St. James and author/speaker Andrea Stephens, you’ll see how God blesses those who stand firm in His ways. From Focus on the Family and Plugged in…Fracturing the Formula
Candace Cameron Bure is a former Full House star and current cast member of the ABC Family series Make It or Break It. Andrea Stephens is an author, speaker and former model. Rebecca St. James is an actress, author and Dove award-winning singer/songwriter. All three women are not only talented, successful and gracious entertainers, they’re women who decided not to play Hollywood’s game by Hollywood’s rules. All three have weathered the pitfalls of fame and come out on the other side with more wisdom than whiplash. I spoke to each (individually) to find out what their “formula” was, what they think of the industry they’ve been a part of and what they would tell teens who want to go into the business without suffering the star-studded ailment now known as Britnification. …read more
DREAM AND BELIEVE – Teens Who Overcome
These two sisters may have cystic fibrosis but you wouldn’t know it by the set of lungs they’ve got. Very inspirational. What dream did you achieve when everyone else told you that it couldn’t be done? Christina and Ali- Way to GO!
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
By Haley Faye Snyder
Why can’t I look like her? I’m nothing special. Guys don’t notice me, girls look down at me, and all the adults think I’m “so adorable” (blech).
Hold it girly! I don’t like where that train of thought is headed! Let’s back up a bit.
In this day and age “pretty” is a very dangerous term. Yes, I said dangerous. The truth is many people see beauty as the girls on the magazine covers or the movie screen. What we need to realize is that they have a make-up crew, costume crew, personal hairstylist, and a person trainer. Plus, many magazine covers show the girl after editing to make her look skinnier.
I know what you’re thinking: So, that still doesn’t change that I’m nothing special. Wrong, you are special! “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God is VERY special, don’t you agree? Well, God made us in His own image. Saying that we aren’t anything special is like saying God isn’t anything special. It shouldn’t be said because it’s just a lie.
Still refusing to believe me? Try this one: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; you works are all wonderful, I know that full well.” What King David is trying to say here is that all of God’s works are wonderful. You can agree on that one, can’t you? Well, we are God’s works too. That means we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Don’t argue, it’s in the Bible!)
I’m Haley Faye Snyder. I’ve lived in the same Christian home in Kentucky since I was born. I have one little brother and two loving parents. I go to Westport Baptist church and have my whole life. I accepted Christ into my heart when I was six and then re-committed my life to Him when I was 11 at Boones Creek Baptist Camp.
Destined to Win
By Michelle Medlock Adams, iBegat.com Associate Editor
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24 niv
Every time the Olympics roll around, people all over the world gather around their television sets and watch the greatest athletes in the world go for the gold. It’s an amazing time.
Olympic athletes make it look so easy, don’t they? The gymnasts stick their landings with ease. The runners whip around the track like graceful deer. The ice skaters jump and spin—all with smiles on their faces. What we don’t see when we watch the televised competitions are the grueling hours at the gym; the early morning workouts; the injuries along the way; the sacrifices they’ve made; and the price they’ve paid to become super athletes.
If you’ve ever been on a sports team, then you understand the importance of training. Juma Ikangaa, the 1989 NYC Marathon winner, once said, “The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.” Preparation is key—physically and mentally—for athletes.
The same is true for Christians. We have to train and prepare by reading the Word of God and spending time in prayer. Becoming “buff” spiritually-speaking will help you succeed in the plans that God has for your life. No matter what hurdles lie ahead, you’ll clear them all if you’re prepared. That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges along the way. Just like super athletes pull muscles and suffer setbacks, you’re sure to encounter trouble in this life; however, you’ll come through a winner if you keep your heart filled with God’s Word and maintain a winning attitude. You may never be a member of the Olympic team, but as a member of God’s team, you’re destined to win!
Michelle Adams is a successful and award-winning author. She teaches at writers conferences across the country and shares her love of the written word with aspiring writers. Visit Michelle at www.michellemedlockadams.com
Charlie St. Cloud
3 STARS
Reviewed by iBeGat Staff
Rated: PG 13
ABOUT Charlie St. Cloud…
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD stars Zac Effron as Charlie, a bright young man with a promising future. Growing up in a small, seaside yachting village, Charlie is at the top of his high school graduating class with a full-ride sailing scholarship to Stanford in the fall. During the summer, Charlie and his little brother, Sam, practice Sam’s baseball every evening in the woods at sunset. However, when a tragic, drunk driver takes young Sam’s life, Charlie cannot let go of Sam and imagines himself playing catch with Sam every evening. Five years later, Charlie must decide whether to let Sam go and save his girlfriend who’s in trouble at sea.
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD is a moving, heartfelt drama. Even though the plot is predictable and somewhat sappy, Zac Effron shines onscreen. He keeps the movie from falling into its own melancholy traps. The movie has strong, overt Christian references, including prayer to Jesus Christ during a funeral, but they are spoiled by some Romantic elements, brief foul language and an implied sex scene. Otherwise, however, CHARLIE ST. CLOUD is an enjoyable, inspiring drama. Please visit Movieguide.org for the complete review…read more at movieguide.org
In My Opinion:
Charlie St. Cloud is an okay attempt at a teen love story. It’s got a few steamy places that imply pre-marital sex (and the movie would have been just as good without these and the language). There’s some light cursing, too. But overall, if you keep your sights set on higher personal values you’ll enjoy the pretty blue eyes of Zac Effron.
What I Learned:
I learned guilt does harsh things to a person. It affects every part of us and I learned life is too short to not make the best of every minute with our friends and family. In a heartbeat, they can be gone.
Charlie St. Cloud Trailer
Whispered Secrets – 4 Stars Book Review
Whispered Secrets book 2 in the Leven Thumps series is a must read.
Author: Obert Skye
Series: Leven Thumps, Book #2
Genre: Adventure/Fiction/Young Adult/Fantasy
Fourteen-year-old Leven Thumps is an Offing with the power to see and manipulate the future. Well, that is, when his power wants to show up. But in the mean time, he has a lot more to worry about than his temperamental powers – such as the fact that there are certain sinister beings who want to mesh the world of Foo with reality, and the fact that the powerful lithen Geth is, at the moment, a toothpick, and the fact that his other half – the one with all the anger and hatred – is in Reality. Not to mention the fact that Leven’s friend Winter is having problems, and that Clover, Leven’s Sicophant, keeps giving him the wrong kind of candy and can’t stop pulling pranks. Throw all these elements into a pot, stir it around, add a dash of dreamworld, humor, battles between good and evil, and tons of imagination, and you have Leven Thumps.
Despite the forebodings the Harry-Potter-ish cover gave me, this book was a BLAST. I bought it yesterday and finished it a little bit ago – I was laughing the whole time! (When I wasn’t marveling at the ridiculous amount of imagination used, and staring in awe at the amazing cover art). I highly recommend this book. There is no language or sexual content – just lots and lots of humor, plot twists, magic, adventure, and dreams!
(Although, since I haven’t read the first book, I’m not quite sure how Geth’s essence came to be inside a tree. Which in turn was made into a toothpick. I’ll be reviewing Book #1 soon.)
$7.19
Age: 14+
4.5 out of 5 stars!
*Reviewed by Mirriam Neal
Impossiblly Possible – Mirriam Neal
‘Impossible is not a word.’ ~ Geth, the Leven Thumps series
On one of the bulletin boards I have hanging above my desk, there is a small blue card that reads “The task ahead of you is never as great as the power within you. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
Most of you know that verse by heart; you’ve heard it so many times. It’s everywhere – Bible book stores, sermons, bumper stickers, t-shirts. For such a ubiquitous verse, it’s easy to not pay attention to it. And if we do happen to actually notice it, we don’t really take it literally. “Oh, sure, I can do all things, blah, blah, blah. Great.”
Why do we get this reaction from reading this verse? Because, living in the society we do today, we don’t often see miracles performed. Nobody blind randomly starts walking, we don’t hear news reports of a bunch of pigs throwing themselves off cliffs, and we certainly don’t see anyone who was dead come back to life (Elvis aside).
But just because those huge, gigantic, jaw-dropping miracles don’t happen before our eyes any more doesn’t mean that there are no more miracles. I have had many miracles happen in my life. My mom suffered a heart attack not long after we moved to Georgia a few years ago – and during the heart attack, she died. My mom’s heart stopped beating, and she was dead. But do you know what? With everyone praying for her, God allowed her to live again. Defibrillators were used, and she came back to life.
I’d call that a miracle. My mom was raised from the dead.
Not long ago, my Dada also had a heart attack – and underwent bypass surgery. But in spite of these events, both of my parents are now whole and healthy. God came through for them in an amazing way.
But what does this have to do with us? We KNOW God can perform miracles. But we can’t.
And what I have to say to that is –
No, we can’t.
So what does that verse have to do with us personally? The fact that God can perform miracles through us. In and of ourselves, we are powerless. We have nothing. But if we allow God to use us, he can work miracles in the lives of others that you would never dream. Allow yourself to be used by God, and you can do the impossible – through Christ who strengthens you.
MIRRIAM NEAL “I’m sixteen-years-old and a Christian – I love writing, fashion, friends, etc. etc.
I’ve been blogging for almost two years.”
Yes, I’m writing a novel – rewriting it, actually, and working with a publisher. I can’t wait.
It’s allegorical fantasy for YA’s – I’m working on several other writing projects as well.
OTHER RESOURCES
Check out the Leven Thumps Series