Quick Travel Update

Hey guys! This me from Tennessee. [Cheesy I know, but it does the job] So anyways, as you know I'm on the filming tour for 'The Child' documentary and we are about half way through. Thanks for your prayers, and please keep them up! God is really blessing us, but of course Satan doesn't like that. I'm glad I'm on the right side :) I know I haven't really done anything on here since I left, but I am one of the trip bloggers for the film crew. If you go to www.thechilddocumentary.wordpress.com, you can see some on-the-road pictures and hear a few of our thoughts. If you are a Facebooker, you can find us under "watchmen cinema" I believe. I hope everyone is doing well, and having a blessed August. Thanks again for your prayers!

So long for now!

"Hi! I'm From Whirlwind Tours....."

"Hey there! I'm your friendly local Whirlwind Tours representative. We are here to assist you in all your traveling plans and preparations. Shoot, we'll take care of everything for you while you just try to keep up with our pace. So strap yourself in [keeping all arms and legs inside the vehicle] and get ready for adventure!"

Okay, so much for the tour guide bit, but it does feel good to be writing an update about my after iGovern life :) The fact is, is that I am getting ready to leave tomorrow morning on a 3-week tour around the eastern half of the nation to do the principle shooting for "The Child". [The movie that the Tate family is producing]. Earlier this week,we were in D.C. for a few days getting to do some really cool interviews with some high-profile people [Mike Farris, Wendy Wright, Heritage Foundation, congressmen, etc.] =) That went great, but not without its fair share of adventure [sideswipings in D.C. traffic, technical difficulties, over-chlorinated pools etc.] However, the Lord blessed it and we had a great time. Now comes the long haul. Ms. Gina is the travel coordinator, Mr. Larry is the producer, Grace is the director and Daniel Tate, Justin Wright, Alaina Wright, a new friend Ray Ma, and myself are the crew [with embroidered Polo's to prove it ;) We are excited as well as wondering what it will all be like. All of your prayers would be greatly appreciated as we are on this journey and I hope to be able to update this blog a good bit while I'm on the road. It looks like I might be the bloggy guy for the production, so I will post links or whatever as I figure all that out. We also have a Facebook page, but I am not completely up on that as of yet. Well hey, I have packing to do, so I'd better run, but I hope you are all doing well, and look out to hear from me soon! Hi-yo Silver.........

I'm at iGovern

Hey everyone! Really busy, but I want to tell you that I'm having a great time, and we went to D.C. today, and heard part of the Elaina Keagen hearings. Great fun! Capture the flag is tonight, way too many things to tell right now, made alot of friends! Miss you all!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Hello all my friends and relations! I have missed you all profoundly, and I'm sorry I haven't posted recently. There are reasons though, and good ones. It all started back at the beginning of this year, right before I got elected as the president of our GenJ club. I was giving a campaign speech at the Tate's house and afterward we were talking about the Parental Rights Amendment, and how the word really needed to get out to the citizens of our nation who haven't heard about it, or haven't heard enough to care. The Tates had been thinking it would be very cool to make a documentary about the whole issue and the implications and consequences it could have on our culture. Another family that was there [the Kruses for all you Daughters of Destiny-ers], also really liked the idea and in fact, the dad had some background in news/media stuff. Anyways, it was all very interesting to talk about, but still, and idea. We did, however, pray about it as a group before we all left, and were still interested in the idea. Fast forward to the last couple of months. The Tates had done some research on the movie idea, and in fact, felt like they were supposed to pursue it. [As did the rest of us]. With that in mind, Grace contacted the heads of Parental Rights.Org, and asked them if she and Mr. Larry could come up and have a meeting with them to ask them some questions about the history and story of the Parental Rights Amendment. They did have that meeting, and the result was that the PRO guys were extremely excited about the whole documentary idea. They said they'd actually been wishing someone would get that thought and make one. On top of that, they agreed to let our production be official affiliated with Parental Rights.Org! And that they'd help us make contacts with cases of people who they'd worked with for interview bits! It was very exciting and marked the place that it looked like some kind of movie was going to be made. Okay, so research and other pre-production started, and then Grace, Elissa, and Mr. Larry went up to Patrick Henry College a few weeks ago to see a seminar by filmmaker George Escobar [a film executive who was called to start his own independent film company a few years ago called "Advent Film Group". One of their projects was "Come What May". This seminar was a great opportunity, and I waited expectantly to hear the pearls of filmmaking wisdom that would be brought back ;) In an amazing God-event, the Tates came back telling me that not only was the seminar great, but that George Escobar had offered us the use of his professional filmmaking equipment!!! It was truly an amazing [and slightly unbelievable] turn of events. Nevertheless, last Tuesday found me and Daniel T., Steven T., Grace T., and Elissa K., going up to Purcellville, VA to meet with an Advent intern to pick up and train on the equipment! It was a 10 hour round trip, but it was an amazing time. We didn't really know what they were going to give us, but we figured maybe a camera and a couple of accessories. It turns out that they were giving us a ton more than that. We were amazed as Miss Intern showed us a stack of flight cases containing a great camera, lighting fixtures, mics, audio, and the list just went on! In all, it was like a text book setup. We were so excited as we put it in the car and I drove back home with Steven and Elissa. This week is the start of shooting for a teaser trailer that is scheduled to be done soon. Very, Very, cool. Please pray, and I'll send you all to our film website once we get it up and running =) Another cool development in my personal life, was that I've been working on my application for the GenJ Leadership Corps. When we went to Purcellville, I had finally gotten it ready, and was able to deliver it to the head GenJ office. [very handy ;) I didn't expect to hear back too soon because the website said they'd get back in no less than 10 days. To my surprise, I got a call the next afternoon saying that I had been accepted and would I be available to be a counselor at the iGovern camp at Patrick Henry at the end of the month. This was one of the big reasons I wanted to get my application in quickly, so I was very blessed to see the Lord work in that way. With both of these subjects it has been very cool to see God confirm and propel these desires that I had been feeling were from Him, but had not really been given a clear go-ahead on. Needless to say, it was a great reminder of the fact that the plan that God has for me and my life is the absolute A #1 best way it could ever go. Sometimes I [and maybe you too] get afraid and worried when we don't see how our hopes and dreams will [or even could] play into the "hum-drum" of our immediate circumstances. I know that I don't really want to set my jaw and plunge down my own path of life, but it can be very disconcerting in our limited mindset to just do the next thing the Lord places in front of us and not calculate the probabilities or percentages of how everything could, or might, or should work out. I believe that God wants us to hope and imagine and dream, and the answer to this question is not to just nip our hopes in the bud and bury our dreams in the sand of impossibilities, but to ask the Lord for the hope and faith to trust that the plan is incredible and the desires that He gives us will not just be washed down the drain. Also, God has been reminding me that His plan will never leave me with regrets or feeling like I missed out on something better. His plan was custom made for me before time began. It is the most fulfilling, most moving, most inspiring story that could ever work out in my life. Pretty hopeful ;) So anyways, this is why I've been [and will be] busy, but I will endeavor to keep you all up to date on your post shots and I hope you've all enjoyed this one :)

Trader Joe's/ The Landing at Isle De Foray

Hey everyone! It feels good to do another post here. Sorry about the lack thereof, but I've been on my toes thereof. There are alot of things going on right now, and I am torn between several internet accounts, etc. when I sit down to the computer. [I know, I know, no excuse for neglecting my blog, but still.] So anyways, I though I'd do a lighter post than my last one, [though I enjoyed the conversation], so I think I will tell you about some humorous/adventurous things I have done by myself and with the entourage during the past few days. Okay, starting with last night, I will relate to you all the tale of my shopping trip to Trader Joe's. Some of you may know that I am a guitar player. Some of you may also know that I have recently been blessed to be able to start lessons again with my former teacher. [For those of you who don't know that, now you do]. So yesterday afternoon found me setting out from our house in the middle of a rain storm to drive the hour to Va Beach where my lesson is. Dad had arranged for me to borrow my grandma's car since I have yet to get mine back from a friend who's been working on it. I got to my lesson [and had a very good time with that] and then I was thirsty. As I was driving away, I suddenly had a bright idea. I was coming to a shopping center that had the only Trader Joe's for miles around. That store is not such a hot topic for me, but Grandma June loves it. [I also noticed that the same shopping center had a Sonic and that Sonic was sure to have cherry limeades!] With those two good ideas, I pulled in and went to Trader Joe's first. So here enters the funny [to me] part (:=3 [that's a chef] Anyways, I walked in the store and the first thing that hit me was, "Man, what am I going to get for Grandma June that is not outrageously priced here?" Then, because I was still thirsty, I got distracted by some really good looking drinks in glass bottles. Now I knew that this store has a pretty good selection of 'drinks that I would never drink'. So even though I was pretty sure these drinks were not alcoholic, I still didn't want to be looking all interested in the display and come to find out that it wasn't something I wanted. So I kind of pretended to be really interested in what was behind the display, until I could look at the bottle out of the corner of my eye and ascertain that it was safe, and then pick it up for closer inspection ;) After that ordeal, I decided not to get it, and then I started to notice that that store really seemed to be the young, uppity, beachy, high-tech, trendy, place to be. Really kind of shwi-shwi if you know what I mean. I started to feel slightly out of place as I roamed the isles of the store but I tried not to come of as a hick that had only been to this place once before. [though I had only been once before ;) [but hopefully not as a hick] So I was still searching for something when I saw The Samples. I love samples almost as much as free lunch. Now if you are a refined sample sampler, then you will know the tricks of the trade. By these I mean your approach. You don't want to appear over-eager or they will feel like you're trying to bum a free snack. My approach was to take the "food critic" persona. I politely asked if I could try one and then acted like I frequently tasted chicken whatever-whatever. I nodded my head to show that I was moderately pleased, but not to raise their hopes of selling me one too high. [That really works when you want them to quit bugging you about buying one]. Satisfied, I moved on to continue with my search. Finally, it hit me: Grandma June loves to get green olives from that store. The only problem was that I couldn't find olives. I tend to be a sign shopper, and I didn't see any sign that said "olives". Not even "canned pickled things". I felt pretty silly about asking a worker for one little jar of olives, but push came to shove and I did. He showed me where they were, and I went through the check-out with one item. I kind of felt beachy, like, "yeah, I only get one item from any given store. My pugs can't wait in the Prius to long so I like to make alot of short stops. Olives here, yogurt cups here, bottled water for the pugs here, etc., etc." ;) After I left the store and got back to the car, it was nice to be out of ritzy land. My escapade ended with a happy ending- a large cherry limeade. [In all fairness Trader Joe's is a perfectly good store with some cool stuff. I just had fun playing it up in my head. The girls or Matthew weren't there so I had to come up with my own adventure :)

Now let me tell you about last Sunday. If you've read Rachel and Sarah's blog, you will know about the hike at the park. What you may not know is that Matthew and I went back the very next day. It happened like this: Matthew and I were sitting around on Sunday afternoon after some family worship time and no fun Sunday afternoon stuff to do. Now ever since Saturday, I had been formulating a plan to get my boat from the Solomon's campsite and go on a water exploration at the park. That was simmering in the back of my ideas and it suddenly jumped up. After a conference with Matthew and our respective parents, he and I headed out to see what we could do. We knew beforehand that I probably had only one oar [Which doesn't taste very nice preciouss]. Nevertheless, we left with hopes that God would bring us an oar one way or the other. [Or we'd just get my boat and come home]. We got the boat and strapped it on top of the truck. Next, we stopped to get some lunch at Pizza Hut in Suffolk. We completely baffled the waitress with our order but in the end had a great time. Our oar hopes weren't so high, but we ventured into Wal-mart to see what they had. We found a 5-foot canoe paddle for only $12.79 or something. That led us to hope that we could treat my john-boat like a large canoe and just use 1 oar each. We uneventfully got to the lake and launched the boat successfully. It's really amazing how a clunky boat can suddenly become so graceful and smooth once you put it on the water. Thankfully, it had no fresh leaks [though every john-boat has slight ones] so after praying we set out keeping to the edge of the lake and feeling like Frodo and Sam. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful out there. There were nooks and coves of water and rocky bluffs all around the edges. I could have spent hours and hours out there and never gotten tired of it. We came up to one of these coves that looked particularly inviting and we rowed up to the bank and tied on to a tree. Then we set foot on our newly-discovered island for the very first time. [Okay, it wasn't really an island, but we got to it by water, so that counts for something]. We knew right off the bat that this island needed a name. I suggested "Isle De Foray" [hence the post title] and we kind of left it like that. We got into a pretty good rhythm with the rowing. I gave the main power and Matthew the skipper steered from the back ;) We safely got back from our maiden voyage. and left with fervent vows to return soon. Hopefully with the girls. All in all, it was great fun and thanks for letting me tell you all about it. Oh, would anyone like to see a play we did on Mother's day called "Don Coolio's Package"? Let me know. See you all soon!

A Darwinistic Antithesis to God's Sovriegnity and Providence Over Life and Death

Taken From the Virginian Pilot Editorials on Wednesday, April 28th, 20210

Abortion Option

"With outrage I just read the following in The Pilot:'Gov. Bob McDonnell's effort to restrict government funds from being from being used for abortions.... was sustained by state lawmakers.' My husband and I tutor elementary school children who struggle with reading. My student happens to be one of eight born to an alcoholic mother and suffers from alcohol syndrome. It breaks my heart to look at his physical and mental disfigurement. Shouldn't this woman have been able to obtain an abortion? What are the prospects for this child, and what is /will the state and our illustrious male legislator do for him?"

[I am not disclosing the author's name at this point]

Dear friends and readers, is it really necessary for me to say anything? However, taking the risk of officiousness, I will lay out a few of the many errors that struck me as I read this sad peek into the worldview of a fellow American. Now, I understand that this mindset is common enough, and is a "natural" response of sinful man. Knowing those things though, only spurs me on to push the point farther. Okay, to start here, let me list some of the big errors in this argument coming from this twisted worldview:

1. This viewpoint shows a basic contempt for the sanctity and holiness of life.

2. It rejects the sovereignty of God's Providence that let this child be born into this world [i.e."Shouldn't this mother have been able to obtain an abortion?"].

3. It suggests that a person's worth or value [maybe even right to live] comes from their "potential", or achievements, or physical or mental capabilities. [Instead of a "certain inalienable right" that was directly given by the Jesus Christ to this child.

4. In the repeated cuts on Bob McDonnell and "our illustrious male legislators", the author shows an adherence to feminism and a very socialistic view of government that would elevate the state to the level of Almighty God and would "give" the state the power to determine who should live and who should die. Also, the author basically takes the lawmakers to task for letting a "incompetent drain on society" ever come to life in their state. [Further implying a trust in the State as high priest of this sought-after "utopia".]

So there you have it, an example of the thinking that a nation without the Lord will quickly slide into. This lady was basically saying,"It breaks my heart that this mother let this disgusting child ever be born". She wishes her student was dead! I seem to recall Jesus saying something about the thought of murder being as wrong as the real thing. Once a culture heads down the slippery slope of pride that would allow them to be deceived into thinking that they should be the ones who determine who has the right to live, where will they stop? I shudder to think of who would be next on the "compassionate hit list". Maybe the sick and elderly, maybe "anti-social and reclusive families who refuse to entrust their children to the state". You know, this mindset is not at all new. Hitler would love this article. The truth is, God is the only one who has legitimate authority to decide who lives, and who dies, and when. It it wrong and despicable to attempt to take over His role. I pray that God will turn our nation's heart back to Himself, and that our culture will realize that abortion is murder and murder has always been the easy way out. It's just that in the past, murder is not what Americans have aspired to for their nation.

Big Moment

Hey guyses! I [sniff], I just want to [sniff], I just want to let you all know that this [sniff], is a very emotional time for me because I just got my first ever blog award. I just need to stop a minute and take this all in.

:) But seriously folks, this is cool. And very gracious of Ms. Ozee the younger [the benefactor]. In essence, my Lady Catherine De Bourgh. [yeah, yeah, I watched it with my sisters. And actually, I enjoyed it pretty well.] So anyways, here it is for your admiration. I have to think for awhile about who I'll award it to. See you all later!