REMEMBER ME

If you haven't seen the movie "Remember Me" yet, then as my friend Heidi said...RUN, don't walk to go see this movie! Karen and I went to see it yesterday since it was raining here in Florida. Had it not been for a few of my friends seeing it already, I wouldn't have been overly anxious to go watch it because the previews just didn't look all that exciting to me. Well...of course "Edward" looked all well and exciting in it but the plot line didn't show much detail on the previews. However, we went and we LOVEDDDDD it! I won't go into much information about it here because I don't want to ruin the movie for you. In a nutshell though, the movie starts out with a very violent opening which alarmed me at first. I began to question what type of movie it was going to end up being. Then, for the next few minutes of the first half, it reigns pretty simple and pretty predictable. You must stick with it though and follow it thru to the end. The end of the movie is the WHOLE MOVIE. There are many spoilers out there right now but I'm urging you not to read the spoiler just this one time. If you find out the ending of the film by reading the spoilers before seeing it, you will be so disappointed. Way disappointed! I'm usually one that reads "spoilers" because I'm so impatient. This time though, I urge you not to. I didn't and am so glad I stuck to my guns and didn't read about the ending.

Of course Robert Pattinson (Edward) was phenomenal in this film. I was worried for him and had hoped that he would shine in this movie beings that he had been made famous by his Twilight/vampire movies. I hoped that he would prove to everyone that not only was he HOT but he has extreme talent as an actor as well. The Remember Me film proves just that. He ROCKED the big screen in a whole new way this time. Oh, and for all of you ladies yearning to see the racey romantic love scenes with him in Twilight, go see this movie - you'll definitely get your fix. LOL! There are a couple of racey moments within it. He isn't with "Bella" in these but his co-star is a great actress as well along side him in this film. For those of us who fell in love with Edward long ago and are obsessed with his very name, this movie will only make you love him more. He plays that same romantic, loving, caring, supportive, guy that he does in the Twilight films - only he is REAL in this show. He is a real guy in a real relationship and the movie leaves you wanting more and more of him yet again. For those of us who are currently and already obsessed with him, we might as well check ourselves into an institution and ask for help now after seeing this Remember me film. We are officially lost causes. HA HA!

And the end of the movie - oh the end...it totally takes your breath away. Karen and I left the theater in shock. The ending is a shock and awe ending - a true surprise twist that you never saw coming. I left feeling as though someone had hit me in the stomach with a baseball bat. I'll quote my friend Heidi again...it was epic! The ending made the movie what it was. Well and Edward too. (in this movie his name is Tyler but I personally think Edward sounds better. Has a catchy little ring to it. LOL!)

So...line up a babysitter and grab a few girlfriends this evening. GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW! I never steer you wrong - don't wait until it comes out on DVD. See it NOW! I'd see it 50 times over again if I could. Don't pay any attention to the measly 2 stars that US weekly magazine rated it. They are nuts!

In the meantime, I'm off to Coconut Point with Karen for the day. We are enjoying our girlie lunches and yummy Florida dinners. Last night we hit the watermark grill for St. Patrick's day dinner. Tuesday we hit up the SEA SALT restaurant off 3rd for a spectacular lunch. It's beautiful out today so I thought I'd show her around Bonita Springs and Coconut Point. Good times - good times!

XOXO, Angie

FIREPROOF

We put our ol' Apple TV to good use last weekend and purchased the movie Fireproof. I had heard the hoop-lah about it but Brent and I hadn't had the chance to see it as of yet. It was great to finally sit down and watch it together. Brennen even got in on the fun and joined us as well. I found several "teaching moments" with him throughout the show that left an open door to discuss "grown up" topics with him. Things that I felt like he should know as a young man and how those things would pertain to his future. One of those teaching moments was this segment I've included below. Make sure to turn off my blog music first before pushing play on this video.

This is such an ah-ha moment for anyone struggling in life. Not just in their marriage but in everyday life. How can we continue to spit in God's face day in and day out but yet wonder in the next breath, why our life has gone to such hell in a handbasket? We are all guilty of it. We've all been there. I don't want to roll out my blinged out zebra print pulpit (as I would envision it would be if I was ever a pastor) Ha ha - and lay down my prechings for the day. I am a sinner like the rest of the world. However, I've come to realize that I cannot get through life without my super, awesome, big, big God. Mine and Brent's marriage alone has had a couple of turbulent times in its 15 years. Marriage is never easy - ever. I don't care who you are. Marriage takes work. Hard - never ending - undying WORK! As young girls wishing for the moment of our lives when we finally make that walk down the aisle hand in hand with our handsome young prince, no one ever sits us down and says...Marriage will be hell at times. Marriage will suck at times. There will be times when you will want to give up. There will be times when you will detest and literally hate one another. There will be times when you will plot to smother him in his sleep with your own pillow when he leaves the toilet paper empty on the holder (remember that? If you are a long time blog follower you will.), etc. etc. etc. No one tells us that marriage will be the hardest job in our lives and that we will have to fight and fight some more with every second of every day to keep that marriage well, attended to, comfortable, safe, and so on. We just marry and have the false belief that life will be our fairy tale from there on out.

Thankfully, my & Brent's marriage has always had God in it. At certain times, God has been way more prominent in our marriage. Other times, he hasn't. It is in those moments when we failed to make God a priority that our marriage ultimately paid the price. As we look back in hindsight, we can see a pattern. No God = turbulence in the marriage. As we have grown older, we realize that a marriage takes three. Brent, me, and God. It's not a 2 person partnership, it is a three person team.

So...on top of having teaching moments with Brennen during this movie, and loving that fact that I was watching Kirk Cameron on TV again just as I did back in the day when I was a young girl watching "Growing pains" I also found myself enjoying the fact that I was watching the movie with my best friend, my partner in crime, the love of my life, my air. We watched the movie side by side, gripping one anothers hands, just like young school kids in a theater all over again. After watching the show, I took a huge breath of fresh air and found myself once again thanking God for the husband that emails me emails from his office during the day just like he had a few days ago. It had words that read "Thank you for being my ROCK and keeping our life together. I would not live with out you! You mean something to me I can’t explain…Thank you." I found myself thanking God for the husband that does simple but oh so powerful things like he did this week when buying my favorite sugar cookies from the bakery at the grocery store and then leaving them on the kitchen counter for me to find the next morning - along with valentine heart candies that he had removed from the box and spelled out the words "I love you" with. I found myself thanking God for the husband that works his tail off day in and day out to provide for our family in the way in which he does. In the end, I was plain and simply put...just thanking God and just being thankful all the way around.

Although we couldn't totally relate to the storyline in the Fireproof movie because we had never been up against those type topics, the movie did make me grateful for those couple of turbulence in our marriage that ultimately helped propel us to today. We'll celebrate our 15 year anniversary on March 5th and as Brent always says..."That is world record time now days baby." Without those turbulence in our past, we wouldn't be where we are today. Without those turbulence, we wouldn't have been brought to our knees by God and taught to rely on him. If we hadn't reached out for God during those dark moments when on our knees, we probably wouldn't still be married today.

So, although the plot line of the movie differed substantially from topics that our own marriage had been through, we could definitely relate to the times when we had basically spit in God's face but yet sat wondering why our lives were in shambles. My friends and family will tell you that I like to call it "Gods baseball bat to the knees theory." Keep ignoring him - keep shunning him while thinking you don't need him (God), keep being embarrassed of him, etc. and then eventually...our big mighty and oh so powerful God will whip out a baseball bat and swing it just low enough to hit your legs in just the right way that it will knock them out from underneath you and bring you to your knees. Thus, bringing you closer to him. No, I do not believe for one second that God punishes us for our sins. However, I do believe that he will present us with consequences in some way, shape, or form for the dumb choices we make in life. Those consequences are teaching moments that he intends for us to learn from, give glory to him because of, and soften your heart while doing so. In return, you learn that you can't make it thru life without him. And we can't!

So watch Fireproof - with or without your spouse. Preferably with your significant other though. Either way, just watch it. It's a great movie - even though my man Kirk is a little rusty on the acting skills after being away from the camera all these years. :) We still love him though, don't we girls??? And in the meantime, I'm going to go put my blinged out zebra print pulpit back in storage for now and stop my preaching for the night. Thanks for coming to the service. Wink wink! ;)

In him always, Angie