Gratefulness: August 2011.

I am putting a bit of focus on welcoming the gifts in my life and appreciating the generosity extended to me, and to that end I set myself the task of writing one thank-you note each week in August. Blessings last month included:

• A gift from my friend Kellie to see Hairspray with her, performed at the Baton Rouge Little Theater. It would have been a delight just to spend the time with her, but the quality of the musical was above and beyond what either of us expected and made the evening really memorable. Neither of us had seen it before in any form so it was quite a treat.
• An overnight stay with Micah and Michelle. (Does it really count as overnight if I was under their roof for less than four hours, total? Basically a glorified nap!) No matter the length of the visit, it was a gift that made the logistics of my life immensely easier.
• Several boxes of clothing, resulting from a friend's urge to clean out her closets. Hubs, Girlie, and I all added to our wardrobes, thanks to my sweet Sarah. 
• We are now part of a congregation that has been an incredible encouragement, so I sent a thank-you email to the friend who first shared the church with us. What a blessing, Melissa! 

What blessings can you acknowledge with a note this week?

Movie: The Last Picture Show.

Over the past several months, Hubs and I have been working our way through the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American movies. Aside from just a few movies that left us shaking our heads (yes, 2001: A Space Odyssey, I'm looking at you), we have enjoyed it quite a bit.

Last week, for our usual Friday pizza and movie night, we chose The Last Picture Show. In this drama, Sonny, Duane, and Jacy are three high-school seniors, class of 1952, chomping at the bit for more than their tiny, dying Texas town can offer. Their stories are engrossing and superbly told, and they feel like real people that my parents or grandparents might have known. It was interesting to see several famous actors at such early stages in their careers, too; Randy Quaid has small role as a particularly skeevy young man interested in Jacy. I also enjoyed seeing bits of some familiar old "picture shows" playing at the doomed local movie house.

I'd watched this movie many years ago and remembered liking it, but apparently I had seen an edited version on TV because I had no recollection at all of viewing any nudity. But, lo and behold, in addition to a lot of second-basing going on with the teenage characters, there was a skinny-dipping scene that had me hoping against hope that nobody at the pool's edge would uncross their legs. Personally, I coulda gone all day without that scene, but it certainly made its point about the embarrassing lengths some teens will travel to win acceptance from their peers!

Up next: The Apartment.

Fighter Verse, August 21.

Romans 10:13-12 (ESV)

For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Fighter Verse, August 14.

Romans 8:38-39 (ESV)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hallelujah!

Fighter Verse, August 7.

Jeremiah 32:40 (ESV)

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.