Set Apart Feminity (Impending book 23/50)

    I started this book a couple of months ago with a friend. We wanted to seek out how to be spiritually hunger for Christ as single godly women. Leslie Ludy is starting to become one of the people I look up to as a Christian woman and mentor.
   In my current circumstance of singleness, I could be watching Sleepless in Seattle with a bag of chocolate or a mountain of microwavable popcorn watching and unrealistically dreaming about a guy who will come into my life and love me for me. No makeup. No glamourous clothes. Just me. I want to be beautiful, to truly feel beautiful and not just have people tell me that I am.
   When the current "hip" thang (at least for my genre of 20-somethings) to do is get married out of college or at least be in the race to the alter, I would greatly recommend reading this book. It doesn't have ridiculous Bruno Mars banter about "you're beautiful just the way you are" but instead tells me that apart from the beauty of Christ, I am nothing. Yes it sounds harsh, but true love sometimes has to.

"On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. ⁵ No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. ⁶ “‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” ⁷ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked.
⁸ “‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine.
⁹ “‘I bathed you with water and washed the blood from you and put ointments on you. ¹⁰ I clothed you with an embroidered dress and put sandals of fine leather on you. I dressed you in fine linen and covered you with costly garments. ¹¹ I adorned you with jewelry: I put bracelets on your arms and a necklace around your neck, ¹² and I put a ring on your nose, earrings on your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. ¹³ So you were adorned with gold and silver; your clothes were of fine linen and costly fabric and embroidered cloth. Your food was honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful and rose to be a queen. ¹⁴ And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign Lord." (Ezekiel 16:4-13)
 

    From birth, we were detestable in our sin (blood). We did not do anything to change our state, btu rather it was the Lord Almighty who sought us out, washed us, fed us, clothed us, and even adorned us with jewelry. No matter what the world tells us about inner beauty, we are not the ones who create by rather reflect the beauty of our King, Jesus Christ.

  So with this revelation in hand, I'm starting to see the areas in which I need to give up myself in order to let God in. I want to be that light in a dark room, but my sins sometimes cause me to fear not having the world's approval. I think that my heart needs major surgery, a daily struggle of giving up things in my life that cripple me. Clothes, guys, talking about guys with other girls, being financially mindful, food, stress, fear of not having control. Pray for me. This will not be easy but I want God to be the center of my life, not just by "weekend fling" or "if I get through the rest of my to-do list".

The Help (Book 20/50)

"You is smart. You is kind. You is important."
If you thought the movie was amazing (like I did), then you should definitely read the book. This book is written during the historical early 1960's in Jackson, MS. Though the book is fictional, it follows the history of the civil rights movement, including the death of Medgar Evans, a member of the NAACP.
I think that even though this took place in the South, many are naive to think that this still does not continue. In some ways, people are still categorized by their profession or their ethnicity. Will we ever truly get away from this? Who knows.

What is important and shines through is the love that Aibileen has for Mae Mobley, and Minny caring for Miss Celia. It's a true saying that "love knows no bounds", racial or otherwise. It's like the "Love Chapter" of 1 Corinthians.

Mockingjay (Book 17/50)

Wow! I was not expecting the ending of this book. For the first two, they were intense and constant action. I was a little saddened about the ending; parts of it seemed sloppy. When reading about the part where Katniss is on the battlefield, close to President Snow's home, it seems that she's going to go in and kill him off. However, the part that does not get cleared up is the ending. The bombs were made by people who did not understand the ramifications of creating a weapon. But who's idea was it to rally up children in front of the President's home?

I cannot imagine what the pain must have been when she saw her sister run in there to help the wounded children. Since the beginning of this book, Katniss has done everything she possibly could in order to save her family, particularly her sister. At the end of the book, however when the second bomb detonates, she cannot help her sister and watches her die. I think that this is relevant to how we view life. Sometimes we try so desperately hard to control things that are out of our control. We are human beings, living in (what some peeopl call a "rat race") world that we are infallible and not omniscient. For us, that's scary. This is what Katniss tries to fight in the Hunger Games and during the war.

This book also shows two sides of humanity: Peeta, who continues to show compassion, even though he's deranged at times; and Gabe, who thinks like a soldier, showing at times a lack of compassion and mercy towards others (especially the "enemy"). This book was well written on the personalities of the character. It showed humanity as it is, broken and constantly striving to fix itself.

Not quite sure how this became a children's book. There are themes in these books about death and morality that I think would go too far over anyone under the age of 15. Not to mention some of the scenes described are graphic; parents should consider whether or not their child has the capacity to understand what's going on and not have to worry about giving them nightmares.

Forgiveness

In the earlier months of this year, I read C.S. Lewis Readings and Meditations, and it struck me when I was reading the "Forgiveness" section that I have been still harbouring harsh feelings towards those who have done wrong to me. It's not something that can be easily forgotten, especially by me. Reminds me of, "you can receive 100 compliments, but you'll always remember the one insult." Maybe it's our dependency as humans to live in society, and not just live but to be liked as well. No one wants to live in a society that doesn't approve of them, right? The Pilgrims set sail for a new country altogether. If I chose to sail away, where could I go?

This weekend, I joined friends and family up in New Hampshire for a little bit of camping and learning more about God. It was a great weekend that was needed, especially after the final week of summer camp I endured with minion children. What surprised me was Saturday morning when we picked out verses of the Bible that had to deal with fellow believers being one body, sharing the common link of Christ and also forgiveness towards one another.
It's one thing when you try to subdue those feelings of hurt and anger, but God does not let you keep them for long. He shines light on them, through everyday encounters or even with unexpected circumstances, tries to drag you out of the cocoon you've made for yourself of anger, depression, guilt, etc. For the sin inside of us, we want to stay in bed or ignore the responsiblities that lie ahead. "It's human nature!", society says. Does that excuse you? Does this mean that we can keep on going along in life? Paul asks these questions to Christians in Romans about the sacrifice of Christ's blood doesn't give us a "free pass" to sin, but rather to fight against it. To continue on in the race, the battle over sin.

For my 50/50 challenge, I just finished reading Not Easily Broken by T.D. Jakes. Didn't know that he was a famous preacher till my pastor told me about him. But his book was helpful because while reading it, I became more aware of the challenges that the characters faces, they were hard. Lots of times the husband and wife could have thrown up their hands and say "It's over!" But there was something that caused both of them to return back to their marriage, something that looked like it had no pulse and revived it. The verses that kept being repeated was Ecclesiastes 4:8-12,

 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; netiher saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good?                                                   Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to himm that is aone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.                                                                                    Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not [easily] broken.

This verse was repeated because, between the two of them, there wasn't much to go on. Both were successful when it came to their individual desires and work ethic. However, as a couple, there were faults between them that needed to be addressed. And it was only by the grace of God that they came together to work on their marriage instead of leaving it on the side of the road.

Life in the South

For almost two weeks, I've been adventuring down in the South and it's been quite an eye-opening experience. Sitting in the car with my friend Sarah before we left her driveway, it didn't hit me that we were going to be traveling over 2000 miles to what was almost another country.

When we drove into Virginia, things started to get more spread out. There were cows everywhere, well that and  crosses. Many places had three crosses, some were as tall as skyscrapers while others were nothing more than tree limbs tied together. Not exactly sure what the significance was, but it was a clear sign to me that we were in the Bible belt.

Tennessee had to have been the biggest revelation of what the South was. While we were on a self-guided tour to UTenn, there was a place nicknamed Religion Road. Not because there were a multitude of religious organizations but there were different denominations. Each had their own building, a small home that could have housed a family or three; there was a kitchen, a worship area, and even a living room for students to get together. It was culture shock, that's for sure.

People watching is a great way to learn about a culture you're not used to. While we made a pit stop for gas. As I looked out the car window, I was able to make some observations: a teenage couple walking out of the store with mom behind them, a teenage boy with a wife-beater (and to be blunt, looking like a typical southern boy) talking to his friends filling up at another part of the station. Meanwhile his grandfather shouted over to him something of the equivalency of "don't walk away when your car's being gassed up". To my right was a woman who was trying to calm down her lap dog, who apparently thought that I was a threat. All of this was in good ol' fashioned southern talk.

As soon as I got to MS, there was no turning back. Confederate flag driver's plates, a brief comment about the "Northern Aggression", and every restaurant serves frog legs and sweet tea. The first two things are a laugh compared to what the food is. DELISH!!!!

Yesterday we went to New Orleans. Visited the French Quarter, took pictures in Jackson Square and ate beignets while drinking cafe au lait at Cafe du Monde. Need I say more? It was the Cajun experience I've been waiting for.

In two days, I'm going to attend my first southern wedding. I've been told to expect not a lot of dancing at southern weddings, it's more a social gathering of chatting and less tangoing, however, this theme to this reception is "dance the night away". I'm looking forward to a good time. 

This past Sunday was another experience, listening to the sermon at a southern Baptist church. The sermon was about Colossians 2:16-19, 

"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."

Rules are a good thing, however, as we are human and prone to overuse, legalism can set in. As Christians, we have a duty to walk a tightrope without looking to the left or right. Satan tempts us with beliefs of a better life apart from Christ. Job, lifestyle, loved ones, 401K, fashion, "keeping up with the Joneses", etc. Paraphrasing what Paul said in another part of the New Testament, anything that can be beneficial isn't always good for us. It requires self-control, something that by human nature we reject and have been rejecting ever since the Garden of Eden.
What we all face in life is how to apply reading what the Bible says into practical application. While we may not know what is going on in people's personal lives, we each can be beacons of light to others who may be suffering battles. It takes courage to talk to others about things that make us uncomfortable, the question is what will we do with opportunities that God lay before us?

The Hunger Games (Book 12 of 50/50 challenge)

Wow! I just spent the past three days engulfed in this book. At times debating whether I could read a couple more pages before my eyes would rebel reading any further. This book grabs you and has you falling for all the characters, just like the audience in questionable fashion in the Capital.
While I was reading the last few pages, I became torn between the "love" triangle that has emerged (if you can really call it a love triangle). Katniss is now complicatedly in the thick of feelings for Gale and Peeta. I have to confess, when I was watching the Hunger Games I thought Katniss was saying "Peter" it a funny accent.
Suzanne Collins did a great job having you hate and at the same time love some of the minor characters. I cried when Rue died peacefully as Katniss sang to her. At first, I didn't know whether to like or not like the girl nicknamed Foxface. Thresh, I wanted to destroy Cato (these are names make you question the parents' sanity who chose them).
The book is by far better than the movie, there were some things in the book that made me wonder why the director and screenwriters didn't see them as necessary. Either that or I need to go back and watch it again. :)

Rainy Mondays

So I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and started to read the Hunger Games series. Read three chapters yesterday, it's going to be one of those books that I can't put down. I can already tell.
Right now I'm trying to finish reading Faith in Real Life as well as continuing to read the 365 day bible I have. So far, I'm almost done the month of June. It's fascinating reading 1 & 2 Kings! When you get through the whole chronology, the stories of the kings and the prophets are compelling. I think I like Elisha. He's very straightforward with people about what God wants them to do, he doesn't hold anything back.

What do you do on rainy days? Are you more like the children from the Chronicles of Narnia, trying to escape the threat of a dull and boring day by doing something adventurous that could lead you in an entirely different direction that you were expecting? Or is there a list of things that continues to build upon itself like the mythical bean stalk?

Prayer

   It's something that at times, we deem as insignificant however, it can have the biggest impact on our lives. Prayer is something that Jesus did constantly as a man on earth. He needed to spend time alone with God, his father.
 
 Today I learned that lesson again through a friend who asked me to pray for them. This has definitely been one area in my life where God has been refining me. Actually, a few friends have been asking me to pray for them. It really does excite me to be asked that, to me it means that they value our friendship and to be strengthened in the Church, the body of Christ.

   Someday I wish to be a prayer warrior. To not backdown from someone offering and to even offer to pray for someone myself. I have to admit that I've been sheepish around the subject, especially with people who I know to be nonChristian. Guess I always have that silly fear that if I ask, people will become outraged that I should ask to pray for them. It's silly, I know. It's also sin telling me not to be obedient to God. Guess that's something you could pray about for me :)

Truly understanding the Great Commission

    It's hard to understand what the Bible tells us, even when it is being point blank with us. Jesus said in the Great Commission, that we are called to "go and make disciples". There isn't a cliffnote in there saying that He meant countries that didn't have a sufficient GNP or those who have the worst healthcare, Jesus meant what he said by all peoples and all nations. So why, as Americans, do we often confuse missions with international instead of a domestic task?

   "Somehow we think that getting on a plane to host a children's camp in Africa is doing missions, while hosting a Sunday morning children's program is just "doing church". It is a mistake to lose sight of the fact that the church - wherever it may be - is God's missional vehicle for redeeming the world. Intersecting our faith with real life is about recapturing the church's missional identity." [Mike Tatlock, faith in real life, 61]

   I've grown up in church my whole life, and I never quite understood that a missions' field is wherever God puts you. I thought that it was somewhere far away: in the jungles of the Amazon, the plains of China, or in the grasslands of Africa, that God calls us to give some of our time to helping others know Christ. Apparently I had an adventurer mentality (and still do!) however, my perspective of "missions" has been aligned to cover my geographical position.

   Two years ago I went to on a missions trip with my Christian college group to California and we heard a pastor, who was from South America, tell us how he and others like him were being called to the United States. This stunned me at first because I thought that people were being called from the U.S., not to it. But then I realized that there are people living among us here who need to hear the gospel as crucially as those who are living in nomadic tribes or in skyscrapers in other countries. No one is immune to sin and therefore everyone needs the salvation which is in the blood of Christ.

Next month I am taking a road trip down to Louisiana. I was told that Florida doesn't count as the real South, so this will be my first experience. In a small way, I still feel like the adventurer of my childhood; going to a land that I've never been before, getting to experience things I've only been told of, and capturing it on paper like a sociologist. The Life of the Southerners.   

Getting in a rhythm

It's interesting that the summer months can be the most productive or the most sluggish, depending on what you choose to do with yourself. Currently, I'm trying to find a summer job. It's been difficult since I'm competing with high school students and the many other college kids who are attempting to save money for tuition/books/eating/books/lodging/etc. However, I did have an interview that went well last week. Praise God! The past few weeks, I've been in a small group going over the book of Jonah (did you know he was a prophet???). One thing that's natural (and sinful) is for us to compare oneself to another. For instance I can read about Jonah's disobedience and think, why didn't he just trust God; yet when I live my own life, I find myself coming up with excuses.
I believe it was Socrates who said, "Examine thyself". What type of magnifying glass do I perceive myself? Am I honestly as hard on myself as I am on others? Honestly, I'm not.

A book that I've been indulging in is faith in real life: creating community in the park, coffee shop, and living room by Mike Tatlock. In it he talks about church as being more relational experiences and less an actual building with four walls and a steeple. Two years ago I took a missions trip to China, where dilution of Christianity in the government churches, leads many Christians to have what are called "house churches". And it's exactly what it sounds like, church in your pjs (kidding about the pjs part). I never knew that this was something that could be done. It's difficult sometimes to grasp the thought that God can do anything.
We are methodical people, we plan for God to appear in others' lives. And I'm not saying let's be anarchists to agenda books and schedules, but I think that we prohibit the Holy Spirit to do what He does best, draw people to God.

On a separate subject, I finished dogsitting for a friend. This is what I realized after the 11 days: 1) I will never get a Corgi, they're too hyper and don't know when to stop chasing things, especially when that thing ends up in the pool; and 2) I miss having a dog. Over the past week or two, my mom has been looking at dogs online. I've been questioning here and there as to whether she is simply wandering on the internet or if she really wants to have a dog again. Hopefully in the next few weeks, who knows, there may be an addition to the family. :)

Let the countdown begin!

Went to a friend's bridal shower this weekend. I can honestly say that I've never seen so much pink in my life. The bride-to-be was of course so glad that to be showered with love by friends and family, even if it meant being embarrassed for a moment or two. :)

There's now a week and a couple days left until finals and I know it's going to go by so fast! This week is going to fly by at warp speed. Don't blink!

After the semester it's all wedding bonanza! May and August I'll be wearing my revamped bridesmaid dress to make sure I got my $110 out of it. Speaking of which, does anybody have any songs to play for wedding receptions? I'm trying to keep a list to ask the DJs. 

Things to pray about:

1) Where I'll be working/interning this summer. Up in the air, hopefully somewhere that is in the realm of what I want to do after I graduate.

2) Where I'll be living in the fall. I'm taking my stand against housing on-campus, well that and I can't afford to give the school $4G's for bed & board that, quite frankly, has been a nightmare this year. 

3) Summer plans. There's always the beach every weekend! Can't wait to get my tan on and spend time with friends. There's lots of plans, including possibly visiting the "real" South. I've been told that my time at Cinderella's castle doesn't count. If that's the case, then my time at Epcot talking to a Scotsman doesn't count as jumping across the pond.

Woo-hoo for lilacs in full bloom!

Being a sloth isn't as hard as being a worm.

So this week I feel pretty lazy. As far as 50/50, it's more like 1000/50. Movies aren't hard to watch, it's just the books I can't find time for. (Ironic, I know.)
Movies:
13) West Side Story - the story is ok, but the dancing is hilarious!!!!! Let's be honest, a majority of the people playing high schoolers def aren't.
14) Burlesque - wouldn't recommend it for the language or much of the content. Actually, just don't bother watching it.
15) Legally Blonde - I don't care what Reese Witherspoon says, I'd choose orange over pink any day of the week!

Books:
Debating between one about New Orleans' french quarter or a book of gathered written pieces from C.S. Lewis. Decisions, decisions.

This week is going to be very interesting in terms of how much sleep I get as well as how much homework I get accomplished. Right now, I have a large iced coffee that is assisting me in "homework". :)

(So how many days before May????)

Relationships are to be treasured, good and bad.

Just finished reading Passion and Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. What a great book! I've never read anything by Elliot before, but it is definitely worth reading, whether you're a girl or boy.
If you have struggled trying to understand how God desires friendships and relationships between men and women, read this book! If you're a single Christian man/woman seeking to grow in Christ, read this book!
There have been many seasons in my life where I've struggled with feelings to become more than friends with guys I knew but every attempt I've made was not godly. If you have experienced this or feel like this, I'm telling you, ya gotta read this book!
It's comforting to know that Jesus Himself struggled being a human with temptations. It's encouraging that the Bible provides numerous stories, the greatest love story of all was Jesus on the cross. When Jesus was riding on a donkey into Jerusalem for Passover, the Jews screamed, "Hosanna!" and did not understand that "salvation" was the exact intention of Christ on the cross at Calvary.

Wait a couple of days and see what happens...

The wonderful, white, fluffy stuff has almost disappeared as quickly as it fell just a couple of days ago. Today was a cold, dreary day as the rain started to melt away the snow. By 4pm however, the sun made a comeback. I'm glad that we did get snow, even though I'm more grateful that I got a snow day as a result, because it wouldn't be a New England winter without it. It makes the ground and the trees into a majestic scene that can be short lived though very much appreciated.

Today I watched the movie, the Blind Side and it made me hopeful about God's grace and the ability He gives us in circumstances to "pay it forward". Many times, especially in the American culture, we typically do not assume the role of being the helper. We generally are not instinctive to help out others. Help out a complete stranger? When that happens, it gets news coverage. Why? Because it is a rare act that as humans, we are not generally prone to doing. 

Some egoists would say that we do this out of selfishness, that the belief that we shall be rewarded somehow is the reason in which we choose to act. Now I do not subscribe to this belief, how depressing a world would be live in if everyone did something based on selfishness? 

Yet here we are, many times you'll hear how our society as a whole has progressed technologically. And in that respect, yes we have; however, we also as a society have continued to play the apathetic card in too many circumstances. Hearing about civil wars and famine in third world countries, or after listening to the news about the Middle East someone makes a comment that we should just "pull our troops out and 'nuke' them".

It's unfathomable, in my mind, why God allows us to continue to live; why He wouldn't just see us in our selfish ways, rebelling against His perfect path for us. What makes Him not just wipe us out and start over? In Romans, it says that because of God's grace and righteousness which he imputes on us, through Jesus Christ, that we continue to live. (Read all of Romans, it's that good!) That we may suffer, succeed, and live until death greets us.

For many people, this life is the creme de la creme. They go on living for themselves, numero uno as it were. And the fact of the matter is that this life is temporary. That when you die, you will stand before God and be accounted for everything that you and I did in our lives, the good and the bad. Some will believe that the good things they did have outweighed the bad and therefore God (being the merciful Judge that he is) would be persuaded to not banish people to hell. Unfortunately for them, this is the wrong way to think. If there was a judge who believed that a serial killer should be let free because of the numerous good works that he did in his life before he decided to kill people, we would consider that judge to be ill-advised. But praise be to God that He gave us a way to be atoned through Christ Jesus! Jesus took on all of our impurities, our sins, our faults, upon Himself at the cross. As He drew his last breath, he replied, "It is finished." (John 19:30) What is finished? The divide between God and His people. The promise that He gave to Abraham continues on.

Finally snow!

     Today was a snow day and instead of staying inside the entire day, which I was about to do cause I was on the verge of a Daniel Day Lewis marathon, I hung out with my friend and we went on an adventure.
Here are some of the pictures to prove our excursion...

The accessories on the snowman we provided, since the snowman looked a little plain and sad with only having one arm.

Regarding the 50/50 challenge, it's still pressing on. For movies this past week, I've seen:
#7: Much Ado About Nothing - Definitely recommend, and it proves again how bad of an actor Keanu Reeves is, however, do not let this deter you for there are plenty of great actors and actresses in this film.
#8 The Secret World of Arriety - it's the anime version of the borrowers. It's a children's movie, just to warn you.
#9: The Mighty Macs - It's about a college women's basketball team who wasn't even consider an opponent. If you like basketball, you should watch it. If you're obsessed with David Boreanaz, you shouldn't because he's barely in it.
#10: The Last of the Mohicans - After my teacher showed us a little bit of this film, I was hooked! It does have a love story in it, but the history is very rich in it. This takes places in the mid 1700's, during the French & Indian War between the English and the French. This was the only war that started in North America and "spilled over" into Europe.
#11: In the Name of the Father - Not only is Daniel Day Lewis in this, but Emma Thompson and Pete Postlethwaite (if you grew up in the 90's, he starred and narrated James & the Giant Peach)
After watching these movies, I can now say that I have less of a tendency to fear Lewis. After watching him in movies like Gangs of New York, his character portrayal was really good. Like scary good.

As for books, I'm currently reading (#8) Passion & Purity by Elisabeth Elliot. I've so far only read the first chapter and already am hooked! If you ever want to understand how to maintain a healthy balance of friendship with the opposite sex, ladies (and guys too!) should definitely read this book. I'm also excited to read this book because I'm leading a study on it, so I better know my way inside and out of it.

My official first blog

Wow! This is weird. I'm finally stepping into the technological world. Feet first of course.

Ok so since I gave up facebook for Lent, this has led me to seek other sources to speak my mind and still interact with the world.

Conduct of accountability. 50/50 challenge, need to read 50 books and 50 movies by the end of the year, OR THE WORLD WILL END AS WE KNOW IT. I'm pretty sure that it won't but I don't want the Aztecs to give up hope on their calendar. Maybe they just ran out of room?

So far, here's the scoop on that:
Books:
Mentor by Chuck Lawless, it's a great book if you want to become a mentor or are looking for one
Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, didn't like this one at of the whole series. Maybe it wasn't mythical enough for me or possibly because there was a lot of real life truths to it.
Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle, this one's my FAVORITE! Sad that Narnia gets dissolved but so grateful to the future they have with Aslan!
Pride + Prejudice by Jane Austen, not sure why it took me this long to read this book but I loved it!
Novella of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
Push by Sapphire, READ THIS BEFORE YOU WATCH THE MOVIE!
Forgotten God by Francis Chan, mainly about how the western Christian thinking doesn't firstly seek the Holy Spirit as much as in the biblical times.
*note, these aren't in chronological order.
total= 7/50

Movies:
Courageous, definitely recommend!
Boy in the Stripped Pajamas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Terri
Pride & Prejudice, the version with Keira Knightley (even though the cinematography was breathtaking in this one, the BBC version's better for understanding the storyline)
My Neighbor Totoro
total = 6/50

I don't know why but for movies I'm stumped. Maybe I should check out my netflix. See what movies I've always wanted to watch but never had the time (and still don't).