My review of Seven Pounds

Spoiler alert: I'm gonna share my detailed thoughts of Seven Pounds starring Will Smith.






Turn away NOW if you haven't seen it & want to.





I'm warning YOU!




Fine then.




As soon as I got home the babysitter asked me "how was it?" The popcorn was great. Peanut M&M's divine. The movie? Not sure.

I think Will Smith is an AH MAY ZEENG actor. Seriously, he can pull off just about any role. From alien fighter to homeless dad....he's got it going on! And his performance in this is nothing but top notch. And I should know because...well, just because.

The problem was the story line. I LOVE the idea of giving...from your heart...your whole heart...just not sure I meant literally.

The idea of trying to reconcile the deaths of his fiance & the other car of strangers just doesn't work for me. It's like people who do, do, do good things hoping they'll get into heaven. They're amazing people. They have a kind heart. But did they ask for The Savior? Are they doing these things in His name? Or are do they believe "I'll get to heaven if I'm a good person" ?

I have a friend who said that to me once "I'll get to heaven if I'm a good person". It reminds me of Mark Beeson (our pastor) talking about how he explains the acceptance of Christ to people he encounters. He asks them to rate themselves from 1 to 10..based on how good of a person they think they are.

Got that? 1-10 based on how good of a person THEY think they are. 10 being Jesus - cause he's perfect. 1 being Satan - cause he's...well...the devil. Of course he throws in that Mother Theresa was probably a 9. I think he said most people will say they're a 4-6. He then explains that accepting Jesus is filling in that gap from 4-10 or 6-10. We need someone to fill that gap, because we can't do it ourselves.

You can't fill the gap w/ actions. But you can w/ Grace. You can't fill the gap w/ money. But you can w/ Mercy. You can't fill that gap w/ warm fuzzy feelings. But you can w/ Love.

Will Smith was obviously trying to fill a gap. A gap of guilt, shame, responsibility. I've felt that gap. I still feel that gap. Even though I know it's filled w/ concrete, I sometimes fear it's only quicksand. I have to be reminded constantly.

I think most in the theater felt, that when the movie was over...he had earned forgiveness. Forgiveness for the deaths. Forgiveness for the stealing. Forgiveness for the lies.

I didn't feel that way. Yes, he gave away a lung, a kidney, part of a liver, his heart, his eyes, his home & bone marrow. Those are all unbelievable things. But in order to do it he had to kill himself. He. Had. To. Kill. Himself.

You can see it in the scene where Will is stung by the jellyfish (& also when he gives bone marrow) that he's punishing himself. He wants to feel pain like his fiance did. He thinks that will somehow make things right. But we all know that's not the way it works. He's empty...not whole...broken...

I'm not a theologian, a biblical scholar or a good person for that matter, but I know that God uses broken people. In fact I would say He uses me MORE when I'm broken. To whisper a word of encouragement or bless someone w/ a hot meal. I'm more receptive to His guidance when I'm submitting...when I'm broken...

I just can't help but think about all the people in my circle of influence who are broken...looking for something to fill the gap. Maybe it's w/ good works. Maybe it's w/ sex. Maybe it's w/ drugs. Maybe it's w/ shopping. Maybe it ends w/ suicide. Maybe it's all of the above.

Maybe it ends w/ ME or YOU...showing up...pouring into...emptying out...

Disney's Desperate Housewives

ht: Lisa Donati - no link, just credit.

Marriages I look up to

It was 1998. I was attending a Mary Kay retreat on the Oregon Coast w/ my Mom. I was a peon consultant, she was an upcoming director.

We were listening to someone speak (please Jennifer, don't ask me who. I can't remember). They asked us to write down the name of a couple whose relationship you respected. I wrote down the parents of a friend. They had been such a loving, funny, giving couple...ever since I could remember. I was friends with their daughter & had been since age 3.

My Mom had seen the name I wrote & immediately got offended. I didn't understand that she had expected for me to write her name down as the best marriage I had seen. It took until this morning in the shower, reliving that horrible day of arguing, for me to get it.

She yelled at me for quite awhile explaining that the husband had cheated on his wife at work. He'd gotten caught by fellow coworkers. The wife was humiliated in our small town where everyone knew. They had moved out of town to get away from the drama. (please note that all this info is hearsay, I don't know the exact details)

Maybe it's just me, but I respect that woman. To work through the trouble spots instead of giving up. Most of us would rather give up than put effort into our relationships. How easy it would have been to walk away. It must have been difficult to stay. To hash things out. To earn trust again.

I think of them so often in my own marriage. How would THEY treat each other if this happened? Would THEY be able to laugh this off?

I hope my marriage has the ability to help someone through their tough times. I bet this couple doesn't even know the effects they've had on me & my husband. I think of them quite often, even though I haven't seen them in 17 years.

Is your marriage an example of tolerance, forgiveness, diligence, love? Mine isn't always, but I put energy into it. If I don't...who will?

Christmas Angel?

Kenady burst into my office to tell me the news.

Kenady - "People who are really really really really nice...when they die...they become Christmas angels. Maybe Mema (my mom) is a Christmas angel!"

Me - under my breath "She wasn't THAT nice."

Kenady - w/ out missing a beat "Well, maybe she's a Halloween angel then."

For my brother

My brother & I used play this song over & over at Christmas. We even made up moves once. Which is hard because you had to run to the other room, hit rewind, run back before it started. Remember hitting rewind? Is that what we call "the good ol days?"



Here's another favorite.

You're about to call in sick

I love blondes. Really I do.

BLONDE IN THE SNOW

It was snowing heavily and blowing to the point that visibility was almost zero when the little blonde got off work. She made her way to her car and wondered how she was going to make it home. She sat in her car while it warmed up and thought about her situation. She finally remembered her daddy's advice that if she got caught ina blizzard she should wait for a snow plow to come by and follow it. That way she would not get stuck in a snow drift. This made her feel much better and sure enough in a little while a snow plow went by and she started to follow it.

As she followed the snow plow she was feeling very smug as they continued and she was not having any problem with the blizzard conditions. After an hour had passed, she was somewhat surprised when the snowplow stopped and the driver got out and came back to her car and signaled for her to roll down her window. The snow plow driver wanted to know if she was all right as she had been following him for a long time. She said that she was fine and told him of her daddy's advice to follow a snow plow when caught in a blizzard. The driver replied that it was ok with him and she could continue if she wanted, but he was done with the Wal-Mart parking lot and was going over to Sears next.

Christmas Letter 2008

It's here! It's here!
Christmas 2008
I'm behind writing my letter.
I hope it's not late.

Life at our house has been nothing but crazy
With 3 little girls, there's no time to be lazy.
Each day in our house there's so much to be done
From sunrise to sundown we are all on the run.

Cyra is 9 now, and growing so tall.
She started 4th grade this year in the fall.
Her favorite pasttime is reading & art.
Anything Disney grabs hold of her heart.

Kenady is 5 & is loving school
She making new friends & is totally cool.
She picked up reading & spelling so fast.
I'm sure she'll be at the head of her class.

Campbell is 3 now & is as popular as can be.
She sees friends all over town from GCC.
She can sometimes be like Jekyl & Hyde,
But we're doing our best to bring out her best side.

Our dog Coco is still as cute as can be.
She letting the girls play with her...finally.
Mostly she just follows me around
And picks up food dropped on the ground.

Ross has some changes heading his way
A new job in Oregon starts in a few days.
Starting over is going to be a fun thing
Can't wait to see what this adventure brings.

Now for an update on little 'ol me
Just trying to be the best mom I can be.
Sewing, cooking, cleaning & clothes
No explanation needed, you all know how it goes.

Can't wait to see our family back home
It's just not the same talking to you all on the phone.
Pretty soon we'll be making another cross country move,
Pray that the transition is easy & smooth.

I'll pray for you all that your Christmas is blessed
By the One who gave us the greatest gift.

The Conforth family
Ross, Mandy, Cyra, Kenady, Campbell & Coco

We had so much fun taking this pic with Daley. The girls were laughing inbetween shots. I know we don't look like the Corleone family...but we had fun pretending!

Hey ya! Charlie Brown style

ht: diaper diaries

$100 challenge on WSBT Part 2

Here's the conclusion to our grocery challenge. I didn't know she was going to ask me what meals we made, so I started rattling off stuff I normally make. The truth is we ate 3 meals a day. No take out. No hot lunch.

Check out the final interview.