Life Perspective: Reviews & More

According to a web tool called Typealyzer which is of the personality tests and theories genre, this blog belongs to a group called, "The Performers." Typealyzer Quote: The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. They enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions. Note: writing style on a blog may have little or nothing to do with a person´s self-percieved personality. While I do hope my blog is somewhat entertaining, I would say in this case, Typealyzer has fallen way short of the mark! What do you think?

When Sheriff Andy Taylor sent his young son Opie off to school, on at least one occasion his parting words (as in Ep. 34: "Barney's Replacement") were, "Do a good day's work and act like Somebody!" This may sound odd or even pretentious to the modern ear, but in the South in the 1960's, such an admonition simply meant: You are special. Act like it! So many times we get such tunnel vision about the problems in our lives that we lose sight of the fact that each of us is special - we are all Somebody. Read my full devotional at Act Like Somebody!

Thanksgiving Bracelet Encourages Gratitude and Thankfulness Thank You God, I am Grateful Message on New Bracelets Just in time for Thanksgiving: While the news media is often blamed for spinning the news to promote fear in these tough economic times, one television journalist has been doing the opposite. Toni Garbo, a managing news editor in Cleveland, is spreading gratefulness and hope with her new wristband,  "Thank You God, I am Grateful." Thank You Wristbands - Focus on the Positive Garbo says she was inspired to create the "Thank You" wristbands by watching televised celebrity awards shows, stating she is always touched when she hears a celebrity thank God in front of the world. She originally created the reminder wristband, which she compares to tying a string around your finger, for herself saying, "I needed a reminder to help me pause and reflect on the good and the positive found in the moment and throughout the day." Reminder Brace...

Mayberry was that small Southern town where everybody knew their neighbors and Sheriff Andy Taylor was everyone's father figure in a simpler time and place. Imagine what a Mayberry Thanksgiving might have been like! Thanksgiving in Mayberry T  hanksgiving in Mayberry -- H  elen and Ope home from school, A  ndy closes the Courthouse; N  ow Aunt Bee sets the rules, K  eeping everything just so, S  ets the table, cooks the food, G  iving each guest big helpings I  n the day's festive mood. V  ery soon all are seated I  n the Taylor's residence N   ow it's time for grace,  says Andy, G  ives thanks for God's providence. Previously published in  The Mayberry Poem - A Tribute to Mayberry. More Mayberry Articles More About Mayberry

On one of the first cold nights of November, at midnight on November 20th to be precise, I went to Bellevue Cinema 8 in Nashville for the midnight screening of the highly anticipated movie, Twilight . Did I say midnight screening? That's what we had been told, but the movie didn't actually start until 12:20 AM on November 21. There were 10 of us there when I arrived at midnight. Where were the screaming hoards of teen-age girls? I suppose wise parents had kept their young ones at home on a school night, a decision I applaud. By 12:20 there were 18 of us there (only 3 of them males), including two groups of giggling female teens - the target demographic of this movie about an eternally 17-year-old vampire and the girl who loves him. After 20 minutes of fidgitting in a very un-vampirelike fashion, the audience was more than ready for the movie to start. To read my review of Twilight , go to Twilight at Midnight Also see A Christian Take on Twilight

' T is the season - H olidays are upon us A s we gather together N ow with our loved ones K eeping family traditions S avoring, turkey, dressing, ham... G ive thanks to the One I n whose name we gather V ine from which all blessings grow I t is good to be thankful N ever forgetting G od is great, God is good...

Free Holiday Music Performances and Plays in and Around Nashville, Tennessee Nashville/Davidson County is a large Metropolitan area full of free things to do for the holidays (in fact, I once wrote a   poem   about it). One of my favorite free things to do is to walk around downtown Nashville, sauntering down Broadway, past all the decorated honky-tonks, making my way down to Riverfront Park which almost always has a large tree lit for the holidays. Then I turn left on 2nd Avenue, and stroll past the small stores in the historic district, admiring the decorations and wares. I usually end up eating at Old Spaghetti Factory, San Antonio Taco Company, or Demos' which is the only cost (except parking) to my free holiday night out. There are several parking garages downtown, and one is right between Demos' and San Antonio Taco Company. Another annual Christmas tradition of mine is Gaylord Opryland's "A Country Christmas," which started on November 14 and continu...

I have been wanting to post about Twilight, the book by Stephenie Meyer and the upcoming movie, but I have not have time to put my thoughts down until challenged by a Twitter follower to respond to her blog . So, after typing a few thoughts there, I thought I would post those thoughts here and expand on them a little. Twilight , the book by Mormon mom Meyer, is that rare phenomena - a sexy book about virtue, conscience, and good, old-fashioned morals and manners. If you enjoy old Bronte sisters and Jane Austin novels about brooding, noble, self-sacrificing heroes, this book is for you. Edward is an unexpected delight, a superhero who COULD easily be a demonic villain but makes a conscious decision to put aside his powerful drives and urges to be a better being. Edward has been around for over 100 years, but he is forever 17 (and played in the upcoming movie by 22-year-old Rob Pattinson). He falls in love with Bella while battling his overwhelming urge to kill her and drink her...

It's Christmas in Mayberry, the mountains are white Opie and his friends are all filled with delight. The town is lit up, wreaths are on every door Andy whistles the carols he's whistled before. Opie skips along Main Street to hear the Mayberry band, Leon lopes close behind him; what's that in his hand? No, it isn't a sandwich's sticky remains, It's Christmas and he clutches a new candy cane! They arrive at the band shell where they join Aunt Bee - She has a basket of goodies for the picnic, you see. An old man greets Bee; he's delighted to see her; The former town grump - our good friend Ben Weaver. Soon Floyd shows up, joined by Howard, Mike, Sam. Goober stops to say "Hey;" Gomer joins the band. The band strikes up some carols, then Barn starts to sing, But they unplugged his microphone so the harmonies ring. Aunt Bee spreads a blanket on the rather cold lawn, Folks are bundled up snug with their winter coats...

A Review of the Book "Finding God in the Lord of the Rings" by Kurt Bruner & Jim Ware I was first introduced to Bilbo Baggins when I was in the 6th grade. While I enjoyed the   The Hobbit,   I was not overwhelmed by it although I was interested in continuing the saga when she gave me   The Fellowship of the Ring   the summer before my seventh-grade year.   The Fellowship of the Ring   and the subsequent two books in   The Lord of the Rings   trilogy affected me profoundly and perhaps had more impact on me than any other books besides the Bible. If you have read some of my  poems , you may have an idea how much these books have influenced me! For many years I was hard pressed to explain why the books captivated me and why I returned to read them year after year. Certainly the plot was gripping and the characters were substantial. The world, people and languages of Middle Earth seemed real, with layer upon layer of history and myth. ...

A poem of encouragement for our military troops in Iraq and all over the world during the Christmas holidays, this poem was published on the old Associated Content/YCN site on 11-13-2008 where it garnered 4,529 page views before the site shut down in July 2014. "Christmas in Iraq" 'Twas the night before Christmas in an Iraqi town; And our brave U.S. forces had all just hunkered down. Not a Humvee was moving, not a Jeep stirred the sand As troops dreamed of their homes, each and every man... To read the entire poem, please go to "Christmas in Iraq" Feel free to forward this link to any military men and women during the holidays

I was glancing through an older newspaper a few days ago and I came across an advice column where the question involved a woman who had her body surgically altered and took hormones in an attempt to become a man. The question concerned a family scrapbook, and whether it was OK to keep photos of the woman as a little girl. The advice completely revolved around the woman who had the surgery. What did "he" want? How would "he" feel? The rest of the family's concerns, what they wanted, and what they should tell their children were simply not important considerations. At the same time, provocative promotional materials have been flooding my TV and magazines at the checkout counter about Thomas Beattie, the former model who chose to mar the beauty with which God graced her, having her body surgically altered, taking hormones, so that she now looks like a man, well at least sort of. She became pregnant - she IS a woman on the inside, after all, but now Barbara Walters...

I don't know what the rest of the month has in store, and rain is predicted this week, but so far, this has been a perfect November. Never have I seen such beautiful colors in Nashville -- and they have lasted so long! When I was a child of 5, my father was stationed for a year at Fort Dix, New Jersey. I remember some things about it vividly. We had recently returned stateside from India. The first months passed without leaving much impression; then suddenly, it was FALL! Never had I seen such beautiful colors as on the hillside behind our house. I remember collecting maple leaves and being entranced by their bright colors, and by the smell of the autumn leaves. Those days were full of delight for me, enjoying the vivid colors, and spending as much time outside in the woods as possible. That's what this fall has been like for me. It was like Autumn took a wrong turn and brought a New England fall to Nashville by mistake. The colors were so vibrant they practically glowed, and t...

Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network The last golden leaves Fell from the trees And blew in the breeze. The colors so bright, Multi-hued delight. Autumn took a wrong turn; Colors we rarely see In Tennessee - How the hillsides burn! New England's bright edge Seen in each tree and hedge, And bronze pumpkin sedge. Still the colors remain - A glorious stain Until the next rain. As each autumn returns I know I will yearn For sights such as these: Crimson, scarlet reds, Seen in each tree and hedge - How it pierces my heart! 'Til the last golden leaves Fall from the trees, And their beauty departs. © Kathryn Darden. All rights reserved.

If you are a fan of "The Andy Griffith Show, you will definitely enjoy the   Mayberry USA   board at http://mayberryusa.yuku.com   . It is a great place to find out more about the cast, crew and show, as well as meet other fans of "The Andy Griffith Show." Sponsored by the   Mayberry Page   at www.christianactivities.com   ,, the   Mayberry USA   forums are family friendly and suitable for all ages. At  Mayberry USA  you'll find games like original Mayberry Hangman, played steadily since May 2005, as well as Mayberry Trivia and other words games over at the  Mayberry Carnival . There are general discussions about Mayberry and life in general at  Floyd's Barbershop . And at  Mrs. Wiley's Social Club for Mayberry Singles , there is a thread called Raising Opie where single Mayberry parents can talk about the joys, tribulations and advice of raising a child without a spouse...like Sheriff Taylor did. If you need some ...

Sword Swallower Goes from Tennessee Renaissance Festival to "America's Got Talent" Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network Performing at Tennessee Renaissance Festival The Tennessee Renaissance Festival has featured something a little different the past couple of years when sword swallower Dan Meyer (of "America's Got Talent" fame) performed portions of his incredible program for the amazed onlookers who have seen him do the seemingly impossible. Last year I watched a nurse I know pull the sword out of his mouth, and this year, Her Majesty, the Queen (of the Tennessee Ren Fest) pulled a steel sword from Dan Meyer's throat. Dan's career has burgeoned this past year with appearances at Ripley's Believe It or Not, the Guiness World Book of Records, and "America's Got Talent," and I was able to hear some of the details first hand! Early Skepticism about Sword Swallowing Growing up as a child in Indiana in the 1960s...

I have a poem and an accompanying slideshow published at the following links! I hope you enjoy them! The Leaves of October - poem The Leaves of October - slideshow

Why Christian Activities Magazine is endorsing John McCain read more | digg story

November AC challenge -- to write a Thanksgiving poem written in the acrostic form. Kathryn E. Darden ,  Yahoo Contributor Network ' T  is the season - H  olidays are upon us A  s we gather together N  ow with our loved ones K  eeping family traditions S  avoring, turkey, dressing, ham... G  ive thanks to the One I  n whose name we gather V  ine from which all blessings grow I  t is good to be thankful N  ever forgetting G  od is great, God is good... Close