Saturday, August 13, 2011

surfer girl





well my dear ones,


A few weeks ago, my friend, Trish, told me
that I really should go see a movie called
"Soul Surfer," about the life of
a young surfer girl named Bethany Hamilton.
Trish said on a scale of 1 to 10
she considered it to be a "12."

We didn't get a chance to see it in theater,
but my wife picked up the DVD
and this afternoon we finally got a chance
to sit and watch it.
I concur with Trish; it's at least a "12."

Bethany was the young Hawaiian girl
who wanted to be a professional surfer,
but at age 13 (back in 2003)
she lost most of her left arm
in a shark attack while surfing.

Within a month, she was back in the water;
the movie details her amazing courage
in the face of tragedy;
it's the most uplifting movie I've seen
in as long as I can remember!

You can learn more about Bethany here:




and here:


     
Actually, I'm much happier that my wife
got the DVD instead of us going to the theater.
While AnnaSophia Robb did an excellent job
of portraying Bethany,
the DVD had many out-takes on it
including several interviews with
the actual Bethany.
So if you watch it on disc
please be sure and see the bonus material.

I love this young woman!
In the span of a couple of hours
she has risen to become
one of my best inspirations.
and one of my greatest heroes.

Bethany is awesome!




Have a great week!


grace, peace, and love to you,

dave

Sunday, August 07, 2011

recharge




well my dear ones,


I've been having some issues
with my bike for the last couple weeks,
like not being able to start it
because the electric starter
couldn't turn the engine over.

Back in the good old days,
we bikers didn't trust electric starters,
and we rode bikes that had kick-start backups.

However, nowadays, most bikes are just like cars
in that they rely on a battery to fire them up.

With a discharged battery,
my Harley was just a 750 pound lump
of iron, steel, and rubber;
without a recharge,
it wasn't going anywhere.

Bike or car,
once your vehicle is started,
your alternator keeps your battery charged.
If your alternator goes,
or if the belt that drives it breaks,
your battery will die in short order.

It's much the same with us;
sometimes we keep on driving ourselves
when we have nothing keeping us charged.

It's easy to get caught in a rut
and just keep on working and working
until we grind ourselves down
and we feel like we have no energy at all.

That's when you need to stop,
and plug in to the Source;
take a deep breath,
and look around you
at the beauty of Creation.

Today, as I was mowing the lawn,
I caught some movement at the corner of my eye;
when I turned around,
I saw about 20 orange butterflies
flitting about one plant in my wife's garden.
It was so awesome to just watch them.

From the song of a bird
to a display of clouds in the heavens
there are wonders all about us.
Try and take some time to take them in
that you might recharge your heart
and refresh your soul.

Oh yes, what about my bike?
The battery was beyond mere recharging;
it needed to be replaced.

Sometimes we need a recharge;
and sometimes we need replacement parts.

2600 years ago,
the prophet Ezekiel told us it was possible
that we could ask for and get
a new heart and a new spirit.

May we all get them when we need them.  =)
     




Have a great week!


grace, peace, and love to you,

dave