Love Comes Softly

Recently, I was browsing in the video store and came upon this series of movies based on novels written by Christian author, Janette Oke. I had read the novels many years ago and enjoyed the stories, so I promptly rented the four videos and watched them over the next few days.

Amazon's Description: A woman’s dream to forge a new life for herself on the great American plains becomes a test of her pioneering spirit, her inner strength, and her undying faith. It was Marty Claridge’s dream to build her new life on the frontier with her husband. But when the courageous pioneer woman is suddenly widowed, she’s offered a new opportunity – to marry a widower in a marriage of convenience that leads to unexpected love.
Directed by Michael Landon, Jr., Love Comes Softly is based on the best-selling series of novels from Janette Oke, which has sold over 30 million copies. Love Comes Softly has aired on the Hallmark Channel, garnering record setting ratings.

I liked the movies. They are stories of faith and love, cleanly written and portrayed. One reviewer says, "Love Comes Softly, based on the popular Christian novel by Janette Oke, is a romance, but Landon carefully avoids any bodice-ripping histrionics. Problems get solved perhaps a little too easily, but the movie is cleanly written, pleasantly understated, and respectful to its characters. For many viewers, Love Comes Softly will be a welcome change from overheated secular love stories."

The other movies in the series include, Love's Enduring Promise, Love's Long Journey, and Love's Abiding Joy.

Appreciation Dinner

Every October, our little congregation does a "Pastor Appreciation Dinner" along with Thanksgiving. This year, the leadership decided to do a "Congregation Appreciation Dinner", with the leadership team preparing, serving, and doing cleanup for the congregation. There are four of us putting on a spaghetti dinner for about 60 people tomorrow night.

I've enjoyed the preparation this week. Yesterday, I made 3 large pots of spaghetti sauce, which is now sitting in my fridge, the flavours blending together nicely. Over the course of 3 days, I've been baking chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars, chocolate chip/peanut butter cookie bars, and banana bread ~ and tasting a little of each along the way. :)
Tomorrow afternoon we'll meet at the church to set up and decorate tables, and prepare the salad, garlic bread and spaghetti. We've ordered (but I don't think they're going to arrive in time) appreciation gifts ~ mugs that are inscribed with, "Thank you for your servant heart" on one side and a Scripture verse (I can't remember which one) on the other side.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow. The dinner will be nice, but I'm looking forward to the comraderie of working together with the others to put on the dinner. They're wonderful people to work with. We make a good team.

Unsettled

Last year and the year before, I spent a lot of time on my computer; a lot of time online. But in the past several months I haven't been online very much, and some days ~ sometimes several days ~ I don't turn my computer on at all. I don't know why the change, and whether this is a temporary season or a permanent change. I seem to be doing a lot more reading instead, which I suppose could be a good thing. Except that I have the feeling that for me, right now, reading is more of a stress-relief than pure enjoyment.

At the moment, I still don't have a clear picture in my mind of what I want my blog to be. I don't really want to journal my daily life and events. I think I'd rather write more regarding things I'm thinking about. But to be honest, right now I don't really feel like writing much about those things, either. I guess this blog will be a variety of types of posts ~ or maybe none at all ~ for awhile, until I get settled what I'm doing with it.