I love what Miller writes on page 13, "I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is no to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time." This is very true. A lot of people waste time everyday. I know I waste time doing things that I do not really need to be doing instead of doing something productive. This does nothing the help me.
He also writes, "If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God." This is also so true. If a person is just going through the motions and a person does not think about what they are doing he will not engage in God. the deep relationship will not be there. I know sometimes that I am just doing something out of habit and am not thinking about engaging in God.
These two things also go together. It is easy to waste time and not think about God. Instead of wasting time, I could be doing a Bible Study or praying. It is easy to waste time, but that is falling into a trap and I need to start thinking about doing something productive instead of wasting time.
I really liked this reminder in Blue Like Jazz.

Project Update

Due to availability issues with some of the movies I was going to watch I have to change some of the movies, so here is an updated list. Ballet Shoes, Rent, Slumdog Millionaire, The Bicycle Thief, A Raisin in the Sun, Hoop Dreams, The Pursuit of Happyness, Cinderella Man, Oliver Twist (1922), Dirty Pretty Things, The Grapes of Wrath, and Pretty Woman.

Final Project Update

For my project, I have watched three movies. I have watched Slumdog Millionaire, The Bicycle Thief, and Ballet Shoes. I have started the reviews for the movies and have created the blog. I am going to use a PowerPoint and show my blog for my presentation. My blog address is http://www.moviesaboutpoverty.blogspot.com/.

I liked the story of the women not wanting to change the colors. They wanted to leave the colors red. “Won’t we be celebrating in the power of the Holy Spirit next Sunday, too? They left the color red for Trinity Sunday. When they laid the new rug, it was red. “But at least our Pentecostal red rug was laid down the center aisle in testimony to the spirit that runs through us.” I love that they saw that they were worshipping in the presence of God every Sunday. I do not usually think about that, even though I know it is true, it doesn’t come into my head. I will think about that more often now. I also like that they liked to have the color to brighten things up. The color was also helped to remind them that they were worshipping in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I really liked two stories from Neumark. I liked the story of Ernestina and Enid who walked in the walk-a-thon. Ernestina was 85 and had a pacemaker. She did not get into the van until after the fourth mile when some of the other older women got into the van. Enid had a bullet lodged in her foot from a drive-by shooting. Enid also spent her Saturdays for several months walking around the community with voter-registration forms. These two women did not care that it would be hard to walk in the walk-a-thon, they wanted to help. They did not use excuses to get out of helping, they stayed and helped. Some people would have used a lot less than what these ladies had as an excuse to get out of something, but these ladies pushed through any way.
I also liked the story she told about Danielle. Danielle’s mother died from an asthma attack brought on by smoking crack. She has eleven brothers and sisters. Some of her siblings are older and living on their own and others went to live with other relatives. She and four of her siblings were left parentless and an uncle moved in. There was a swimming trip planned for the church, but Danielle didn’t own a bathing suit, so Heidi Neumark took her to get one. They stopped at McDonald’s for lunch and Danielle got extra napkins and divided the bag of fries into five little piles. When Neumark asked her what she was doing she replied, “My sisters and brothers will feel sad that I got french fries and they didn’t. I’m taking them home to share.” Danielle did not keep the fries for herself; she shared them with her brothers and sisters, even if that meant she did not get as many french fries. She is a great example for everyone. She cared about siblings and so she shared with them. We should care enough about everyone around us who needs to be able to share with them, even if we get less than what we could have had.

In Second Isaiah, on page 189, I love the quote that says, "God's thoughts are higher than human thoughts." I think if I thought about that more often I would not worry as much about things and I would be more patient with God's plan. Everyone needs to realize that God's thoughts are higher. We do not always know what God is thinking and what He is thinking is always better than what we are thinking. So, we do not have to worry about the plans for our life because God's thoughts, God's plans are better than our own.

I really like things that Heschel said aboout justice. He says,"Justice is as much a necessity as breathing is, and a constant occupation." We need to have justice in everything we do and all the time. It is not just a good thing, it is a necessity. I also liked the quote, "yet the concern for justice is an act of love."

Final Project Update

I am going to watch movies that focus on poverty. I have a list of movies already and have narrowed them down to 12. I have already seen Slumdog Millionaire. I still have 11 movies to watch. I am going to blog about each movie and I need to start on that blog. The twelve movies that I am going to watch are:
Slumdog Millionaire, Pretty Woman, Hoop Dreams, The Pursuit of Happiness, The Color Purple, On The Waterfront, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, The Bicycle Thief, In America, Rent, The Grapes of Wrath, and Oliver Twist.
In case I watch a movie and feel that it does not deal enough with poverty I will also watch Of Mice and Men.
I am going to try to watch as many movies as possible with a minimum of 12.