Monthly Archives: December 2013

My “Best Of What I Saw” 2013 Version

By my count, I saw 38 films in 2013, plus over a hundred DVDs and several dozen TV shows. Of course, not all of them are created equal, and here’s my wrap up of what was actually worth catching! Best … Continue reading

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A Christmas Prayer (A Mustard Seed Musing)

A prayer for Christmas Eve: Holy God, I wonder what you see when you look at us. Do you see the ways that we strove to be like Jesus this year? Do you see the times we fed the hungry, … Continue reading

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Desolation Of Smaug: The Hobbit Strikes Back (Movie Review)

For fans hoping for a quicker, more action-oriented prequel to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug will be a welcome relief. Picking up soon after the evens of the first third of Jackson’s The Hobbit, we’re ushered into a … Continue reading

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American Hustle: Broken Dreams (Movie Review)

I’d heard American Hustle billed as a period piece Ocean’s Eleven. I didn’t find it that clever (plot twist wise) or hilarious, but David O. Russell again takes a reasonably straightforward plot (The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook) and turns it into an engaging piece. … Continue reading

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Can Santa & Jesus Get Along? (A Mustard Seed Musing)

Lately, it seems like there’s a groundswell to pick Santa or Jesus, like Team Edward or Team Jacob, Dallas Cowboys or Washington Redskins, creationism or Darwinism. That you can’t give credit to one without disavowing or at least diminishing the other. But … Continue reading

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Reframing Christmas (A Mustard Seed Musing)

I’ve been setting up various Nativity scenes for Christmastime since I was a little kid. I had a wooden one that was mine to set up, that all of the pieces fit together as a puzzle; another of my favorites … Continue reading

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Tradition Making, The Horrifying Truth! (A Mustard Seed Musing)

This Christmas story is all true. And potentially a little shocking. My parents had a plan. (Anyone who knows them knows that they always have a plan.) Even after I’d gone away to college, the Christmas schedule would remain unrepentantly unchanged. … Continue reading

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Remembering Newtown, Boston, & Brandermill: Can We Change? (A Mustard Seed Musing)

Why is it that it takes tragedy to get our attention? Why can’t we change until we lose something? Why do we think it’s always going to happen to someone else until it happens to us? A year ago today, … Continue reading

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The Day Christmas Died (A Mustard Seed Musing)

It seems like the end came long before we realized it. That Christmas actually died years before we knew it, like they say that a star burns out but we don’t know if for years. It’s a funny thing, stars. … Continue reading

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Mary Poppins: The Power Of Laughter (Movie Review)

It’s been years since I’ve seen Mary Poppins, and my expectations were low, as many of my childhood favorites don’t stand up to the test of time (see: Tarzan, the Legend of Greystoke). But Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke provide … Continue reading

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