Somethings off with the formatting here, but read on anyway:

Some friends of mine just posted a comment to my opinion about The Golden Compass. It sparked a train of thought in me that I thought I could write in just a sentence or to response to their comment. However, it got a little longer, so I decided to give it its own entry as it may spark further discussion.I want to make a follow up remark to Justin and Erika Kirkham’s well written comment which you can read by clicking here.Bravo! That is a great perspective and one that is certainly reasonable and graciously put. I want to make an effort here to be totally transparent and honest and respond to the line of thinking you raise when you say “It is our opinion that if we as Christians did in fact pull all of the books and movies that are contrary to God’s Word from our shelves (and we’ve got plenty of dvds that would fit into this category myself which leads us to a big decision as to what we plan to do about that…), we may actually find ourselves spending more time reading our Bibles and Bible-related materials (and prayerfully applying what we’ve read) instead of inundating our free time and our minds with not only ungodly, but in this case, anti-God materials and activities.” Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, this is the best opinion of The Golden Compass and His Dark Materials I’ve read yet.  Click here to read “Fear Not the Compass,” from Jeffrey Overstreet with Christianity Today.

I just put some new photos up of Caitlyn and Grayson taking a bath together, posing in their matching Christmas pajamas, at Mawmaw & Pawpaw’s for Thanksgiving, and just playing around the house.  Click here or on the Photos tab at the top of the page.

A friend of mine lost his mother on Thanksgiving day.  He is my age, so his mother was pretty young.  He and his wife have three young children about the same age as mine.  Please remember to pray for them. His loss got me thinking about how children deal with the loss of their loved ones, especially their grandparents.   Read the rest of this entry »

Okay parents, I know some of you have voracious readers for whom you would like to buy some books this Christmas. Since The Golden Compass will be a big push AND since many of you probably don’t want your kids to read those books, I’ve decided to list my favorite alternatives. These are all series that share some things in common with The Golden Compass and His Dark Materials. They are all written for either children or a young adult audience. They are all from Christian authors. They all bridge the gap between our world and an alternate universe. And they are all basically an allegory for Christ’s redemptive work on the cross and God’s free gift of grace. Read the rest of this entry »

With Christmas rolling around and kids growing up, I’m sure some of you will be getting new computers for Christmas. If not, many of you already have them in your homes, and your kids probably love to play on them. So, how do you keep them safe online?

Obviously, you must use a combination of approaches. Most importantly, you must monitor your children’s online viewing. Set limits for the amount of time they spend online. Periodically check your computer’s history and cookies. You might consider previewing some or all of their incoming e-mail. Keep the computer in a central location in your house so that it’s easy to see what’s going on. Whether or not your child has a computer in his or her room, consider using an internet filtering service. Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, it’s the Christmas shopping season again. So far the stores seem to having good sales and online sales are higher than expected. In light of the fact that it seems our economy is doing well and people appear to have a little more expendable income than expected, I’ve decided to post my Christmas Wish List with convenient links. Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t read Part One or Part Two, click on their links to go there.

His Dark Materials, Part One

His Dark Materials, Part Two

Here’s a list of links for materials about the movie The Golden Compass as well as the book trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Some of these materials support the movie and books, some are speaking out against them, and some just provide information. They are provided in a completely random order. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, but here goes. Read the rest of this entry »

According to Peter Bradshaw of Guardian Unlimited, The Golden Compass has “no other challengers as this year’s big Christmas movie.” Click here to read the review.

The film The Golden Compass opened today in Europe to lackluster reviews. Read one from the UK’s TimesOnline by clicking here.