Return to the Hiding Place

Lori and I had a real treat yesterday when we heard Peter Spencer speak at the Dallas Christian Media Association meeting. Mr. Spencer shared how his friendship with one of the members of Corrie Ten Boom's "young army" of Dutch resistance during WWII lead to the creation of the film Return to the Hiding Place.

Mr. Spencer, the Director/Executive Producer, spoke of a fourteen year process of seeing his vision for the film grow from concept to script to reality. The production is a true family affair with one daughter serving as producer, one daughter acting in the film, the assistance of a son, and Mrs. Spencer spending countless hours assisting with the extensive period wardrobe.

We enjoyed several clips from the film and I'm convinced that Peter Spencer's passion for story telling has resulted in a masterful presentation of people at their best and worst.

It is evident that Mr. Spencer and his team have done a wonderful job completing the painstaking research involved in creating a film that is historically accurate and true to the philosophies and motives of the real people who lived this drama. The dialogue is thought provoking and profound especially the scenes that involve  John Rhys-Davies.

Several years ago, my wife  Lori and I had the pleasure of spending a few hours escorting Jeanette Clift George from Wichita Falls to the DFW airport. Ms. George is the actress who played Corrie Ten Boom in the original film The Hiding Place. She is a delightful person as is Mr. Spencer.

It is sad and almost beyond belief that something as horrific as the holocaust could be forgotten. Especially for me, growing up with a Jewish heritage (my grandparents were Goldstein and Abramson) and seeing the photos of my father's two brothers in their army air corp uniforms, photos that were taken a few months before their bombers were shot down over Germany and the English channel. Films like Return to the Hiding Place play a vital role.

Follow Return to the Hiding Place at http://hidemovie.blogspot.com/ and http://www.hide-movie.com/

Here are the pics I promised!

This is my new "Waring Harp." I just love it! My four year old son, Jonathan requests that I play "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." (I play it as if I were playing "Beethoven's Fifth" in a huge concert hall)!

This is my Dad, "Supervising" while my daughter Janna, works on assembling the harp. It was a family project. My dear husband helped as well.

A "Harp" Deferred... Part 3

I received my package from "Waring Harps," that included the kit with all the pieces for the harp. I was excited! We ended up taking the kit to Oklahoma with us for Christmas. My Dad graciously offered his help and his very clean and organized garage for our harp construction. I was very grateful. He had all the tools I needed. So my Dad, me, my husband and my daughter Janna, all worked on various aspects of the harp building process. It was a lot of fun! Plus, it was a blessing to have a nice instrument that was made with the love from many family members. :o) I was also able to purchase a nice tuner. Although this harp stays tuned pretty well, as with most instruments, they have to be tuned frequently and for me, a digital tuner is a must! I have some pictures of the construction that I would like to add here, but I am unable to transfer them from my cell phone to my computer...ugh! I will post the pictures as soon as I'm able.

A "Harp" Deferred...! Part 2

After looking around, I couldn't find any decent harps in the "dirt cheap" category...(surprise, surprise)! The least inexpensive harps I could find (other than a lap harp...and that was out of the question), were the Heather Harps, produced by "Mid East Manufacturers." However, I read many articles and blogs advising against these harps because they are poorly made, etc. I was not to be discouraged though, so I pressed on...

To my surprise, I ran across an article where someone recommended "Waring Harps." He said they are harp kits that you put together yourself. He went on to say, that for a homemade harp, these have a clear sound! That piqued my interest! In looking for a harp, you want one with a clear sound.

Although I don't consider myself an expert "Harp builder," after looking on the website, etc., I decided that this was the harp for me! I was excited! :o) I called Mr. Waring and talked to him in person. He was very nice. When inquiring about a case for the harp, I found out that he has custom-made cases for an additional amount. I did read where someone said, if you buy a harp such as this, you definitely want a case to protect it. Well, with 11 children, when I spend that much money, I would HAVE to have protection for it! Besides, having a case for any harp is a good idea even in ideal circumstances. 

I ended up having enough money to purchase the harp, a custom-made case and a "Sylvia Woods-Learning to Play the Folk Harp" book!  Mr. Waring also has a "learning to play the folk harp book" and it is a very good book, that I highly recommend.

Stay tuned, (pun intended) for my next blog installment where I will share the details about building and tuning my new harp!

A "Harp" Deferred... Part 1

Proverbs 13:12  Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

A couple months ago, Don and I were at my brother and sister in law's. Don was telling them that years ago, as an adult, I took harp lessons. He went on to tell them how much I enjoyed playing the harp, how God worked it out for me to take the lessons in Kentucky, then again in Texas. He also told them that I've never had a harp of my own.

They asked why I never had my own harp and I told them because I could never afford at least a few thousand dollars to buy a basic harp! I told them that the harps I practiced on were Troubadour lever harps and huge concert harps! At that time, you could buy a new Troubadour lever harp for $2500, but now they're about $3500. And, of course concert harps are closer to $10,000 and more!

Then they asked how much a small harp would cost. I told them that I thought small folk harps can cost as little as $150. When we left their house that day, they handed me $200 and told me to buy a small harp and enjoy it! I couldn't believe it! Tears came to my eyes...it was such a blessing! At that moment, the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "I want you to have a small harp to play and enjoy now. When you play it, be reminded that you will be able to have a larger harp someday." Wow...I felt extremely grateful, humble, undeserving and blessed...

A Day In the Life...Some Funny things

These events just happened...Hopefully, they will at least give you a little chuckle for your day! :o)

• Last night when I was working on the taxes, John yelled out "Mary's bum is hurting!" Then, Mary walked over to me, while pulling her pants down and exposing her "bum" said, "Will you kiss my bottom?" (She will ask me to kiss her "boo boo's" and then she will ask me, "Does it feel better, Mommy?" And, I'll say, "Yes, it feels all better now, Mary.")
• While riding in the car, Hannah, Faith and I were having a conversation about babies in the womb. We were talking about how the babies are formed in the uterus, when Hannah said, "I remember when Mary was born and the midwife talked about the plate feeding her." I said..."What???" She said "I remember about Mrs. Joyce telling me that they feed the baby with the plate!" I said, "She said they feed the feed the baby with a plate? What are you talking about? Oh! You mean the placenta! Not the plate! Yes, the baby is given oxygen and food through the placenta!" LOL! She had the right idea, just the wrong word. I do that ALL the time...like mother, like daughter!
• We are keeping our friend's dog "Freckles." Earlier today, Freckles sat down on our "Wiggles" play guitar and it sounded like the song was coming out of the dog's rear end! But, even funnier, the song that started playing was "Wags The Dog!" That was funny! He just sat there, while "Wags the Dog" was playing under his rear! LOL!

Movies that I will never Recommend

After sixteen years of producing TV content some people are astounded when they find out that I haven't seen most of the films that have captivated them and the rest of the world. Some of these folks are other media professionals, most are Christians and I usually just respond by saying, "no, I never saw..." Now, I would like to share why I have not felt compelled to see films that are touted as "masterpieces of film making." Simply stated, holiness trumps knowledge of the world.

Unfortunately the list of films that I have seen and regret seeing is much longer then it should be. Some of the films that I include in this list may surprise you. Films like the Passion of the Christ and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and Schindler's List as well as stinkers like Buckaroo Bonzai and pointless films like the adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley. Some will argue that since many people came to know Christ after watching Passion of the Christ and many others draw spiritual truth from the Lord of the Rings that they are good movies. God does use flawed people and movies to influence people but that does not justify the use of wrong methods.

My criteria is pretty simple: If the film has no redeeming value, I'm not interested. If the film resorts to the use of excessive violence, sex, or emotional manipulation, I'm not interested. If the filmmaker operates under the illusion that they must be super realistic in order to tell a good story, I'm not interested.

About 25 years ago I read the conclusions of Malcolm Muggeridge, a long time producer for the BBC. He basically said that movies and TV did more harm then good. He was right. There are a few people who have managed to use the medium to tell meaningful stories in a wholesome way. Recent productions that have given me hope are The Ultimate Gift and Butterfly Circus. Sadly, while visiting a friend's home recently they were selecting a movie to watch. I recommended that they consider these two options but my suggestion fell on deaf ears while they proceeded to watch a horror film. There happened to be one person who expressed interest in watching The Ultimate Gift. That person does not profess to have a relationship with Christ.

Some argue that since the Bible gives the gory details and juicy tidbits it is okay for us to portray such acts vividly. Desensitization to real human travail, sorrow, ecstasy, etc. is dangerous. I have watched a young child die, attended accident victims, and experienced numerous other extreme situations - they are not neat and tidy, they are rightfully difficult to deal with. I would not have willfully chosen to experience them but God directed me into them and His grace was with me.

When we willfully choose to expose ourselves to things that God hates, i.e. violence, lust provoking imagery, proud looks, and rude speaking, it is simply wrong. What can we say to defend our tolerance of such things "hey God, cut me some slack, I need to be entertained."

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about [and view] such things. - Philippians 4:8