The Eagle succeeds and pleased me very much

By Rachel Weatherford



Director Kevin Macdonald turns an action-packed novel into a gripping movie that explores a young Roman centurion’s drive to redeem his family honor by finding and returning a famed golden eagle to Rome, lost when Flavius Aquila, Marcus Flavius Aquila’ father, and his legion disappeared in northern Britain 20 years earlier. His loyal slave Esca accompanies him, and they must cross Hadrian’s Wall and enter the wilds of northern Britain (modern-day Scotland). In the process he discovers the goodness of humanity – and the brutality of it.

Injured in battle, the younger Aquila is tired of sitting around and suffering because of his father’s loss. He tells a Roman senator that he will either find and return the Eagle and the remaining legionnaires, or die trying. He finds the Eagle of the Ninth, learning of his father’s bravery and honor in his final moments of battle. As they flee to the safety of the other side of the wall, Esca and Aquila are being hunted by the Blue Seal people for stealing the eagle back and because they feel Esca betrayed them. When he becomes injured and cannot go on, and tells Esca to go without him, Esca says he will not leave unless Aquila frees him. Aquila frees Esca. Esca then runs away and returns with the remnants of Aquila’s father’s army to make one last stand as Romans against the tribe.

Channing Tatum stars as Marcus Aquila. Jamie Bell is Esca. Tatum isn’t just eye candy like people might assume but has an actual backbone.

Tatum’s character does some brutal things, like stabbing a fleeing boy, a soldier, who couldn’t have been more than thirteen. He also does some great things, like saving Bell from certain death in the gladiatorial ring, who becomes his slave and best friend by the end of the movie. He also risks his life to save his men multiple times, and he is an intelligent, great and brave commander, even though at certain parts the audience seems to wonder if he’s going to make a terrible mistake just like his father and shame his family forever.

The movie, surprisingly, has very few sexual scenes, the most disturbing of which was a ritual by the tribes of Britain in welcoming their leader. The movie did have a lot of sexual innuendos and references to outside encounters. There was no female lead character at any point in the movie, and the scenes with women were of them either attending gladiatorial games or standing outside silently while the male members of their tribes tramped past.

There was only one noticeable cuss word.

However, the movie does include extensive scenes of violence and war. Considering this takes place in Britain when military-minded Rome wanted to conquer the world, it makes sense. An interesting note is that the movie does not actually show much of the killing on-screen, except when Tatum drowns the enemy leader of the Blue Seal people, although the viewers are well aware of what is going on off the screen. There’s moments when it seems like they will show something, and then the camera will flip around to one of the other characters and then back to the now dead person. Also, apparently no one in the movie appreciates children, because several of them are killed on-screen and off-screen, one by his own father.

The costumes looked as if they got the smallest budget, and the set design of the houses looked far too modern. The indenginous tribes were portrayed as total savages, which served to make the Romans look less brutal, but in truth the Romans were extremely vicious and ordered soldiers who let nothing stand in the way of conquering everyone.

Despite a couple obvious flaws, I wasn’t asking for my eight dollars back, and neither was anyone else in the theater.


Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

For the Bible Tells Me So

I always find it incredibly disturbing when I hear of a Christian, who really is a Christian and trying, who has been surrounded by teaching - so much teaching that the person is unable to learn anymore. Sermons are supposed to be messages from God, and more of a teaching thing. But we should also be outreaching and giving of ourselves. That way, we give, and we receive.

But our faith should be our own. We should be reading out of the Bible everyday, and learning that thing like the back of our hand. 

But our faith should be own. We should be reading out of the Bible everyday, and learning that thing like the back of our hand. We should be reading out of the Bbile everydayThere's always some new revelation, everyday. I can read the same chapter everyday, and God says something new.

And what's more disturbing is that while we are surrounded by devotionals, self-help books, and more knowledge more accessible more easily than ever before - and yet we really know less of God than ever before. Why do we know less of God? We do not have encounters with the Holy Spirit. We read about other people's encounters with God, and that is really what the so-called self-help books are - other people's encounters with God. It's their Bible studies. Why can't we have our own? We have the same ability as anyone else to accurately hear from God, so long as our hearts are right and we are praying to His Spirit.

I for one am going to follow like one of my pastors said - "I'm a vivid reader. I'm going on a fast from reading everything but the Bible."

I for one am going to be doing a lot better about going to the Bible first if I need an answer.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

OMG: Three Looks at the story of Perez and Zarah

Several years ago, when I was a much younger Christian, and barely knew what personal prophecies were, I met a man named Moses Vegh. He came to our church, and His message transformed my life.

I am now seeing that I am beginning to step into that prophecy, and have acted in that area for several years. I must nurture that gift.

So today I was telling the story of Judah and Tamar's twins, Perez and his younger brother Zarah to my friend. (I am a big fan of Genesis.) Zarah stuck his hand out, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread on his wrist, but then he pulled his hand back. Perez broke through and was born first, and then the baby with the scarlet thread came second. Read the complete story in Genesis 38:27-30: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2038:27-30&version=NKJV

By pulling his hand back and hesitating, not breaking through and pushing for his life, he lost his birthright, and his brother earned it. As a reward for breaking through, he became the ancestor of Christ, whereas it could have been Zarah's if he had tried or made more of an effort to do so. Or it should have been Zarah's, but he allowed it to pass him by.

Or we could interpret it another way.

Perhaps Perez is an example of Christ. Christ does the impossible, he breaches (a military word, goes with conquer) the barrier between God and man, and breaks through our sin and shame through His Blood and water and the birthing process to bring us new life, and becomes the firstborn son of God. Perez had received the word, "This breech be upon you!" And so it would pass onto his sons, all the way to Christ. Zarah is an example of Christians, who come out second bearing the scarlet thread, or sin. So it's a battle in our hearts to fight it, but Christ leads us into the kingdom.

Or there is a third interpretation.

Zarah is an example of Israel. They are the technical firstborns, but when they reached out for God and He went for them, they pulled away from Him, but not before He marked them. When the Israelites hesitated, Christians broke through and realized the truths of God. They did the impossible because they can now believe in God and go to heaven, which was impossible before! It startled everyone. The Israelites came second, and it is harder for them to believe, but they will come eventually! And everyone came from Judah and Tamar, because Judah was the chosen son to continue the inheritance and line of Christ.

Thoughts?

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

 Rachel

Stress and Time Management

It's so hard to fit God in, because as you're trying to make time for yet another Person, you realize how little time in this world you have, especially if you don't have a daily schedule, other than classes, but you're more of an on-call, freelancer type more than anything else.

And then there's the times when you get to talking to someone because you do something out of the ordinary, and time passes by, and she's talking, and you're answering, and then asking questions, and your skills are written not veral, and you don't want to be rude and just walk out. But I suppose that either way you are rude, rude to the person you're leaving, and rude to the person you are keeping waiting by staying. So you have to pick who to be rude to, and it's always the wrong person (never be rude to your employer or someone above you).

Or you just have to be a more assertive, aggressive person. I like assertive, not passive, passive-aggressive, or aggressive. But assertiveness is hard to attain.

It can get stressful. Or someone expects you to spend eight hours working when you're only getting paid for five, and they aren't quite doing their job, either, because they feel underpaid, and everyone feels underpaid, or not paid, feel it's unfair, and so it doesn't matter. It seems that if the higher-ups would shut up and be glad they get 15 hours of pay at minimum wage, and do their work, and not procrastinate - because journalists who prostranate will NOT be surviving long in the journalism world. They will either shape up or get fired, or get yelled at, and eventually quit.

And journalists do not get paid well, it's more of their passion, just like most careers in the world. That's why journalists are typically single and childless, especially if they work on a larger newspaper or are actually good at their jobs.

Oh well, you live and you learn.

Back to stress. I guess I need to learn time management. I've decided to start scheduling 15 to 30 minutes between as much as possible, except classes. Don't be too overwhelmed!

Actually apparently I'm just right.

Three outside activities - KRCU, IT, and SPJ - and a paid position at the Arrow eight hours a week, and then 10 at KRCU. 18 hours of work, and two leadership positions. WOW. No wonder I feel a bit exhausted. But as long as I am too tired to dwell, I don't have to get into my heart issues or character flaws - some minor ones others don't have to work through yet because they are not as disciplined as me (and I am not that disciplined)...

And that's a bad thing. So it's great that I'm going through Soul-Shaping with Mandy on Friday Bible studies.

Also, everyone. Please pray that time works out for me. Please pray that things stop interferring with my life and that time, and that if possible, we find a good time that works for both of us, but where I can still get off campus.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

This is a great website to get help making your blogger page look more how you want it to look! It helped me a lot. I did not personally have anything to do with this.

http://www.digitalportfolioguide.blogspot.com/


Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Video Commentary on Psalm 117

February 8, 2011

This is a short devotional on Psalm 117, which has only two verses. Feel free to comment and share your thoughts with me.
Complete text:

Psalm 117

¹ Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.
² For he loves us with unfailing love;
the Lord’s faithfulness endures forever.

Praise the Lord!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Comments Now!

Hey everyone! I'm pretty sure people can now leave comments. Let me know if there is still a problem, and I will do my best to get it solved!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

IS IT POSSIBLE: Finding God in Inception, Part Two

The concept of dreams has been around since the Earth was made.

Jacob had a vision of wrestling with God, but he was marred forever after because God touched his hip.

Joseph could interpret other people's dreams. Daniel also had this gift.

Great kings had dreams, a prophet or friend of God would come along, interpret it, and many kingdoms were spared - however temporarily - their lives.

Always God was given the glory when a dream could be interpreted by one of His people.

Dom Cobb doesn't interpret dreams - he creates dreams in order to manipulate people. He deceives them to steal information out of their heads that they wouldn't otherwise tell. He extracts information from dreams - and, as we find out, plants them.

A bit like corrupted heroes of the Bible. Daniel and Joseph could, essentially, "extract" crypted messages/information/secrets from God for people, if you look at it like that. However, they did it to help God save people.

Cobb does it for himself. He's like the patriarch Jacob was before God changed his heart.

That's the one thing Cobb's missing, in all his guilt, cheating, and suffering: God.

And morality.

Yes, he loves his children. Yes, his wife committed a grievous error. But he committed one as well, and he left his children. Surely small children cannot understand their father disappearing without a trace. They must have felt like orphans, since their mother committed suicide. Stuffed animals, as the grandfather puts it, do not make up for a father who doesn't raise his children.

Sometimes humans feel that way. They cannot understand how God can be their father, yet seem so distant. They feel orphaned, cut off from their father except for the occasional "good things." Unlike Cobb's children, though, we are responsible. We are usually the reason why we are isolated from God. He loves us and desires to be with us always (Cobb desired to be with his children as well). Still it makes a good point. It is very, very easy to get cut off from Father (God) and then to wonder when He will come back.

In our case, we should go looking for Him, and then He will find us and come to us and save us and heal us, through the Blood Jesus shed on the cross.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

First Video Blog

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Blog update

Updating my blog, trying to make it look more user-friendly and to promote my Facebook. Just add me and say you are from my blog!

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Facebook/Internet Addiction

Life is hectic, but I need to exercise more. Today I got more exercise, but my back still really hurts. I am so glad I do not have a fifth class to deal with, although if it was a Wednesday night class I would be all right.

I am now attending more to what I eat, and to my spiritual discipline and life. I have been successfully waking up to study the Bible and pray this week. It's a daily struggle, but one I am striving to accomplish. If I am not in control of my spiritual life, than what am I really in control of? Nothing.

I can see the obvious influences of my spiritual discipline; I am more attentive in my classes, more alert to spiritual things, and closer to God. I have more courage and less fear, although anxiety has a firm grip in my heart. I must rid myself of this A-type personality. And I am beginning to see the emptiness in my life, the part of my heart that I have kept from God and focused elsewhere. I have always known that I am highly addicted to Facebook and the Internet in general, and less to my computer. Since I access Facebook and the Internet through my laptop, I am addicted to it. I can tell I am feeding it because when I try to focus on God I long for the Internet.

I am also finding myself to be a more honest person, and less tempted towards deceit. I am trying to be more transparent. As always, it is a struggle against our nature and darkness.

But waking up and setting a time to read my Bible and to pray (for myself, my future husband, and my companions) is great, and is developing my character. I have also began the slow, constant, and painful battle of bringing my own distorted images, fears, and obsessions to God, for I no longer desire to be unclean and impure. I now use Facebook, the Internet, and watch two TV shows. I cannot go cold turkey, for my soul will soon go through withdrawals, and I need my computer to do work with. I just don't know what to do. God, show me.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

The After and Me

Above: The lead singer, Josh, and me. He is signing my
Bible, which went to Cambodia with me.
Below: Me and The Afters, who performed at the Rock and
Worship Roadshow, where they performed and I
volunteered. Ladies, I am not sure what their marital
status is. Photo courtesy of Tom White.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

TFK AND ME PICS

Me and TFK after the Rock and Worship Roadshow in
Cape Girardeau, where they performed and I volunteered.
They also signed my Bible that went to Cambodia with
me. They were calm and cool and ready for the photo, like
photo taking experts. It was great. We even talked some.
Yes, the two in the middle ARE married ;) Photo courtesy
of Tom White



Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

I MET THOUSAND FOOT KRUTCH AND THE AFTERS - IN PERSON

Friday night was the best night of my life. Or at least one of the very best nights ever in my very short life. I'm going to add a slideshow of pics of me with The Afters and Thousand Foot Krutch.

Yes, I said "with me" and listed two Christian bands, one of which, TFK, is a pretty big name.

I MET TFK.

Now, I'm not a vocal TFK fan (or at least I wasn't until Friday night), but I LOVE them, and I respect their music.

I got to shake their hands. Yup. It was freaking awesome.

I got my picture with them. One copy is on my cell phone, others are on my Facebook profile (http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1305480075). And on my friend's camera, since I did not have my own.

I got their signatures - in my Bible, nonetheless, the one that went to Cambodia with me.

And I talked to them. I made a complete fool of myself, and I'm sure they've forgotten me, but I talked to them; I won't forget it for sure.

TFK is below, The Afters is above.


Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel

Guy at Dinner

So on my college campus there is a main cafeteria. It is called Towers' Cafe. All sorts of people who attend SEMO eat there. Today I saw yet another odd person.

Now, I like to think that I am a perceptive person, although sometimes I feel I over-analyze people. But being in a career that values character development and realistic characters who COULD be the person you meet means that I have to study people carefully. And, of course, watching Criminal Minds every week does not help matters. And when the conversation does not spark my interest, people watching does. Especially people who are eating, which is creepy, I know. But actually it makes sense; they are meeting a basic survival instinct. And it makes sense that while they are eating they would be meeting other survival instincts.

Like reproduction. Which is the equivalent of sex.

SO that gets into the boy at dinner. I say boy, but really, he was a young man.

He was tall, dark, and mysterious, and I don't mean it as a joke. He had dark hair, dark eyes, dark tan skin, and seemed mysterious.

He also looked like a predator. NOT a predator like a pervert, but more like a predator who is seeking a prey, like in the wild.

Yes, he struck me as a wild animal looking for something in the wild.

But this was only when he was sitting at the table with these girls. Three, to be exact, and another one walked up and started talking to him (I think she could tell she made the wrong move about a fourth of the way into the conversation when he had this I-can't-believe-she's-here look (or it was this-might-ruin-my-chances-of-getting-laid-but-I-ought-to-be-civil look) and the other girls had crossed their arms and were looking away and seemed rather put off by the presence of the fourth girl, who did not quite fit into their little group).

He had a nice presence, cute when he smiled and walked, attractive.

Until he sat down.

I guess when he was eating he was thinking, deep down, that he would survive, but then he also wanted to have children so that he would continue to survive (that's the base instinct of guys - the need to reproduce, which makes sense, since their seed is how women's eggs become babies, and because Adam was initially charged with re-populating the world; 'multiply and fill the earth').

But he had a creepy vibe, like a predator seeking out prey. And these girls were it. (And, of course, I'm pretty sure he was sneaking glances at our table - guys who feel the need to 'spread their wild oats' typically don't care what girl it is.) But really I think they were happy prey.

Well, he sort of drove off one guy, who finally left the girl he was flirting with originally after he finished eating (clearly he was satisfied for another day). He really didn't seem like a predator, more like he was pleased he got asked to eat with them. I missed the part where the 'predator' guy came over, but since he sat down next to the other guy, I'm assuming they knew each other.

Side Note: If you go to Towers to eat alone, you better hope you find someone to sit with so you don't look awkward. Actually, in that case, you can just go sit with strangers and stare at the TV so it doesn't look as pathetic. Most likely if you profile people and find the right type, it will go off without a hitch. We would get, for just three, a six or eight seater table, and then guys would overflow their eight-person table and start sitting at ours. It's like we're in Europe; no one cares. I just eat alone at the UC; I'd never eat alone at Towers.

Of course, the predator would never seem awkward in any situation. He was the type who could eat alone and still be cool about it. But I have seen him other times, and someone always comes to sit with him. That's the good thing about fraternities, you meet endless people.

Anyway, back on topic.

So after he got rid of the other guy and had the girls to himself (he really was attentive to them, strong eye contact and stuff) they talked and laughed and had a good time. They really looked like a little clique, so I am assuming that they knew each other, or at least knew of each other. Actually, personally, it looked like a commune or a harem. No lie. But anyway, after awhile, the other girl came up and it went weird.

Then another guy, a Resident Assistant, sat himself down. Man did the predator EVER look pissed, but managed to cover it well. (I think the RA had been chatting up with one of the girls, and she turned her half-middle flirt on him, and he was probably sensing the RA as a possible competition.)

He totally threw his hand over his face and shook his head and rolled his eyes up as if he couldn't believe his - bad - luck.

I'm pretty sure he was mentally salivating. He smiled, carried on a conversation, but I saw him pick up his knife and fork and start rubbing them together. No, seriously, he looked like he was sharping the knife subconsciously while he grinned. Then he licked the leftover food he got off the knife off the fork (so maybe he just was super hungry, because he totally looked down at his plate after that, as if looking for more food and then got up again to go get some, guys can really pack food away).

So maybe it was all innocent and he was just flirting, or maybe he really is a predator. I'll never know, and if I do for sure, I'll let you all know! But remember, God can save everyone.

Praying you have faith, hope, and love always,

Rachel