Third part of message,
dealing with what to do when kids go bad!!
Hope you enjoy it,
Really enjoyed this series, and taking Parenthood beyond the traditional constraints of the family.
Parenthood Part Three
Facing the Giants
This is a pretty amazing story.
Alex Kendrick teamed with his brother Stephen to write Facing the Giants. The cast is comprised of volunteers from Sherwood Baptist Church, located in Albany Georgia. , as well as others from the surrounding area. The Kendricks hired five film pro’s to fill the technical positions on the motion picture. Church members and community volunteers helped to keep production costs down by supplementing the professional crew.Wiki
This very ordinary church has made a movie with a budget of $100, 000.
The kicker to the story?
The film has grossed over $5,000,000 as of late October, 2006.
The film is maintaining a respectable $2,400 per theater average in its third week after release. Opening weekend’s average was over $3,000 per theater, grossing over $1,300,000.
The film is maintaining a respectable $2,400 per theater average in its third week after release. Opening weekend’s average was over $3,000 per theater, grossing over $1,300,000.
The church made the film to portray the gospel in a contemporary way, hoping to show it in the local theatres!!!!
Here is something from the Rotten Tomatoes site,
“I have to say, that in an age of super budgeted feature films where most come and go in a couple of weeks after tanking, Facing The Giants outshines and out classes a large majority of those Hollywood giants. Maybe that’s another message the film makers didn’t intend to be communicated through their film but is there anyway. Watch out Hollywood. If you won’t make family friendly films which portray Christian people in a positive, realistic way, then they will. And people will come and spend their money to see them”
Media get it wrong over Wilmots
Dear Friends,
Malawi is a country with about 12 million people and there really are 1 million orphans. Constantly our Malawian friends are living with death; last week the director of Total Life Care lost his 6 month old daughter. 1 in 4 children really do die before the age of 5. Mother’s and Father’s really do wonder if they will have enough food to feed their families, HIV infected people really are as high as 1 in 3. Despite this Malawian people continue to inspire us with their human spirit, resilience and warm hearts.
As you know Madonna has put Malawi on the map, somehow though, we have found ourselves embroiled in media hype surrounding Madonna and adoption. So we thought it may be helpful to clarify a few things. We are at present going through the process to adopt a beautiful little girl, Jessica. This is something that, because of its personal nature, we have chosen to keep confidential until things were official and our family and organisation were informed. I guess it is no longer confidential. And we do apologise to those people involved in our life who are reading about such a sensitive and personal issue in the paper; like members of our family.
The article is not true and the quotes attached to Angela are also not true. My understanding is the “human rights charter for children” should protect their identity, so we are disappointed at the article and feel that it is a violation of Jessica’s rights. We did speak to a journalist, over the phone, but are upset that this is the slant they put on the article. In contacting us we were given the impression that because he heard of us adopting children, he wanted to highlight orphans and poverty. It was later he brought up our present adoption process, which we were quite surprised by, due to the confidentiality. Unfortunately we are being used to create a story and we naively went along with it, allowing pictures to be taken of our family. My understanding is they are using all people quoted to create a story.
We are not involved in a ‘tug of war’ with Madonna. During Madonna’s time in Malawi she did visit the orphanage were this little girl is currently being cared for. Jessica was one of many children that Madonna spent time with and she has no intention of adopting Jessica, but that’s about where the story begins and ends. We are very sympathetic to and supportive of Madonna and appreciate her desire to respond to the world she lives in. We wish her, her husband and her children all the best in their adoption. It is not an easy journey to decide to adopt or to travel the road to adoption and we are just thankful our lives are able to go on without the scrutiny of press she is subjected to.
Thanks guys for your continued support of us. Poverty is a chronic problem and won’t end overnight, please don’t tire of hearing about it, praying for it and standing against it. Our lives really do make a difference.
We are not giving any further interviews, as our commitment to these beautiful people in Malawi and our duty of care to our children is one of dignity, empowerment and uplift and not for manipulation for the sake of a story.
Warmest regards
John and Angela Wilmot
(Michael, Shaun, Grace, Martha, Brian, Ruth and one day Jessica)
John and Angela Wilmot and Madonna adoption controversy
John and Angela Wilmot, John being a friend I studied with at BTC, have made the third page of the West. I suspect this story could grow, and we might see John and Angela on TV. It appears they are in a adoption row with Madonna. Angela and John have already adopted four boys and where well down the track of adopting Jessica when Madonna spotted her and expressed her desire to adopt her.
Angela has stated that Madonna has done the right thing in adopting David, the child in the middle of the previous controversy.
The singer — who faced a public backlash when she took a 13-monthold boy from Malawi to Britain — is thought to be returning to the impoverished African country to adopt an 18-month-old girl called Jessica. However, the youngster, who was found abandoned under a bush, could find herself caught in a dramatic tug-of-war battle. Australian missionaries Angela and John Wilmot have spoken of their fears that their plans to adopt the little girl could be thwarted by the pop queen. In an interview with Closer magazine in Britain, Mrs Wilmot, 34, said: “We heard that Madonna was interested in a child, who we now hear is Jessica, but we are quite far down the line with our adoption.” The Wilmots said they were already in the process of adopting Jessica when the 48-year-old singer expressed interest in taking her to Britain and made a follow-up visit to the orphanage to see her. The couple, who already have two sons and four adopted children, moved to Malawi seven years ago. Madonna met Jessica at the Kondanani Orphan Care Centre at Blantyre earlier this year. She then “fell in love” with David Banda at the Home of Hope orphanage in Mchinji and took him to London amid a storm of controversy, with some critics claiming the move was not legal. “We knew Madonna was at the orphanage and she’d met all the kids, but we were already in the process of adopting Jessica and we hope we’ll be successful,” Mrs Wilmot said. Kondanani Orphan Care Centre’s Cherrie Martin said: “Madonna is a lovely lady. Very down to earth and very caring. She really loved Jessica when she met her.” Despite their concerns for Jessica, the Wilmots said they backed the singer’s planned adoption of David.
KATIE HAMPSON
Scrapbooking
Having a mad keen scrapbooker for a wife has its advantages!
Beautiful story books to hand on to our kids one day,
interesting journalled photo books to reminesce over.
I have set up a blog for my wife’s, and our churches, scrapbooking club.
I don;t think it will get many entries, maybe once a month,
but here it is anyway.
www.bedfordscrapbooking.blogspot.com
Jeremiah 10.23-25
23 I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own.
We are not able to plan our own course.
24 So correct me, Lord, but please be gentle.
Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.
What a awe inspiring piece of scripture. The Weeping Prophet has an ability to get to the heart of the matter. He recognises his own frailties, yet also has a deep desire to be in the centre of the will of God.
What does it mean for God to correct us? How does He do this? Only if we are humble and open to His correction in this life. If we decline His offer of a gentle lead now, He will correct us later.
Prayer, “God that I would hear and listen and obey your voice now. God that You would make it clear what my path is to be today, tommorow. Cause me to make Godly decisions, made in the light of Your vision and will for my life.”
Running around like a headless chook
Oh dear, must be something in the water.
Have you heard the true story about the headless chook who kept living for 18 months after having his head cut off?
“On Monday September 10, 1945, farmer Lloyd Olsen of Fruita, Colorado, had his mother-in-law around for supper and was sent out to the yard by his wife to bring back a chicken. Olsen failed to completely decapitate the five-and-a-half month old bird named Mike, leaving one ear and most of the brain stem intact.
Not quite sure what to do with his by now loose head, on the first night after the decapitation Mike slept with it under his wing; it was this touching tenacity to life and the now redundant organ that convinced Olsen to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot.
Despite Olsen’s botched handiwork, the by-now-headless Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, apparently not noticing that neither activity could be accomplished properly without a head. After the bird did not die, a surprised and no doubt guilty Mr. Olsen decided to continue to care permanently for Mike, feeding him a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper; he was also fed small grains of corn. The unfortunate Mike occasionally choked on his own mucus, which the Olson family would clear using a syringe.
When used to his new and unusual center of mass Mike could easily get himself to the highest perches without falling. His crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat, leaving him unable to crow at dawn.
Being headless did not stop Mike putting on weight; at the time of his beheading he weighed some 2½ pounds and at the time of his death, this had increased to nearly 8.
Not quite sure what to do with his by now loose head, on the first night after the decapitation Mike slept with it under his wing; it was this touching tenacity to life and the now redundant organ that convinced Olsen to reprieve Mike from the cooking pot.
Despite Olsen’s botched handiwork, the by-now-headless Mike was still able to balance on a perch and walk clumsily; he even attempted to preen and crow, apparently not noticing that neither activity could be accomplished properly without a head. After the bird did not die, a surprised and no doubt guilty Mr. Olsen decided to continue to care permanently for Mike, feeding him a mixture of milk and water via an eyedropper; he was also fed small grains of corn. The unfortunate Mike occasionally choked on his own mucus, which the Olson family would clear using a syringe.
When used to his new and unusual center of mass Mike could easily get himself to the highest perches without falling. His crowing, though, was less impressive and consisted of a gurgling sound made in his throat, leaving him unable to crow at dawn.
Being headless did not stop Mike putting on weight; at the time of his beheading he weighed some 2½ pounds and at the time of his death, this had increased to nearly 8.
I’ve got to be able to use this as a sermon illustration somehow??? 🙂