In Answer to Your Questions

Dear Readers,
some of you have asked some questions about my blog as it pertains to my final post. I will not be deleting Footprints in the Sand so you can still come here whenever you would like. If you would like to contact me, please comment and I will see your post and will respond. In the future I may begin a new blog but that will be sometime down the road. If I do blog again you will see a post about it here on this blog.

If you have further questions, please leave a comment. Thank you.

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The End

Dear Readers,

In 2008 I began Footprints in the Sand and little knew where it would take me. I could not have imagined that hundreds of people would read a blog written by me of all people. Blogging these past two and a half years has been such a joy to me. All of the comments and encouragement I received from you all on so many occasions is not something I will soon forget. I thank you for your kindness and I thank the Lord for giving me an opportunity to be a part of your lives in some small way.

Footprints in the Sand was inspired by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, A Psalm of Life.

"...Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait."

My blogging journey is now coming to a close. It has been a difficult decision to make but I know that for now, my journey into the blogging world ends here. To everything there is a season and I believe that I have accomplished all I can here for the present. So many chapters of my life are closing, I graduated from high school, I am going to college this fall, and today is my last birthday as a teenager, but I move forward with trust in a sovereign Savior who does all things well. I do not know what my future holds but I know Who holds my future.

"May the Lord find us faithful, may his word be our banner held high. May the Lord find us faithful, everyday though we live though we die."*

It is my hope that you will desire to leave footprints behind you upon the sands of time. Life is but a vapor but eternity is forever and you cannot underestimate the power that one of your footprints might make in regard to where someone will spend eternity.

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

-Sir Winston Churchill

With Gratitude,

*May the Lord Find Us Faithful by Mac Lynch

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The Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake: recipe

There isn't a dessert that I like better than cheesecake and if it had fewer calories, I would love it even more. Last weekend I was searching for a special dessert to make for my mom in celebration of Mother's Day and I came across a recipe for the Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake. Ultimate turtle cheesecake? I was going to make that. And even though my crust didn't look as beautiful as the crust on the picture; my family said that it was a cheesecake worthy enough to be on the Cheesecake Factory menu. I'll take that as a compliment.

For all of you cheesecake lovers out there--this recipe is for you.

Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients:

24 OREO Cookies,
finely crushed (about 2 cups)
6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Preparations:

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

MICROWAVE caramels and milk in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over caramel layer in crust.

BAKE 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MICROWAVE reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake.

Note: This is a Kraft Foods recipe and therefore calls for Kraft brand products but I used some different brands and it worked perfectly well.

The finished product!

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Jane Eyre 2011: movie review

I am one of the biggest self-professed Jane Austen fans. I adore period dramas. However, I am not a huge fan of the Bronte sisters, but this past weekend two of my best friends headed to the movie theater because Jane Eyre (2011) had finally arrived in a theater nearby. I'm not quite sure what I was expecting as we sat watching movie previews before Jane Eyre began, but I was slightly afraid that two hours of this movie would be a long two hours. However, I got more than I bargained for and Jane Eyre was definitely worth the price of the movie ticket.

 

Written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre is the story of a girl who grows up unloved, abused, and alone. After the death of her parents, Jane is sent to live with her aunt's family who is cruel, heartless, and accuses Jane of being wicked and the children frame Jane for their own wrongdoings. Eventually Jane is sent away to a school for orphan girls and kindness is not a word that any of the teachers or the headmaster know. Jane is finally able to secure a position as a governess and at the age of 18 she is freed from the school that she has been in so long. While working as a governess Jane Eyre meets Mr. Rochester and the course of her life is forever altered.

 

The new Jane Eyre film is relatively true to the book and fans of Charlotte Bronte will have not difficulty recognizing her story in the film.

 

Positive elements in the film:

The coldness and loveless life that Jane endured would have turned many people cold and heartless but Jane isn't bitter. She loves in spite of the fact that she has never felt real love. When Mr. Rochester asks Jane what her tale of woe is she says, "I have no tale of woe." Jane doesn't feel sorry for herself or her situation. On several instances Jane resists moral temptation even when we know that many would have given in and seen nothing wrong with it. She cries out for God to help her escape her temptation.

 

Negative elements in the film:

Jane Eyre is rated PG-13 and therefore it contains more adult themes. Jane Eyre has some thematic content surrounding the state of Mr. Rochester's life in the past and there are a few instances when people appear to be drinking wine. A picture of a nude lady is briefly shown.

 

Violence:

Jane's cousin hits her causing her to receive a blow to the head and blood is seen. Jane is locked in a dark room and smoke and voices explode from the chimney. A girl is beat with a stick. Jane is forced to stand on a chair for hours.

 

The two hours that I spent in the movie theater were not without reward. From the beautiful music that graced the film, to the gorgeous scenery, and to the timelessness of Charlotte Bronte's tale; this new adaptation of Jane Eyre is one that will become a classic. Jane teaches us a lesson--we may not have had the best childhood, we may not have felt love, and we may have always been falsely accused; but that's no reason to be bitter. Life is what we chose to make of it. We can let circumstances crush our joy or we can use our joy to crush our circumstances. Jane Eyre knows that, and we love her for it.

 

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Life and Music

I can hear the metronome ticking, the piano rings with sounds of my sister's playing, and George; my sister's cello, just got put back in his case. This is what an afternoon in my house sounds like. It is music, harmony, and the repetitive clicking of that metronome. Tonight I have orchestra rehearsal and that reminds me that the concert is in two weeks and then it is all over. No more youth orchestra for me; I will miss it.

Music is a big part of my life. In a way, life is a lot like music. Sometimes you dance through life like you're waltzing to Strauss. Sometimes you soar like Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture. And sometimes life is sorrowful and it feels as if all the sad pieces of classical in the world mesh together. Do you know what I think? If I traded all the sad pieces of life for all the happy ones I could miss some of the greatest moments of my life.

"Music is what life sounds like."
-Eric Olson

Have you ever listened to a piece of music and come to the conclusion that this song was just too quiet, too mournful, and wouldn't have one of those Dvorak endings? When I was younger all I liked to listed to were thoundrous classics and if the beginning was spectacular I would just hit the "next" button. I learned something, though. Often the most quiet, dull, or unassuming part of a song can burst into the greatest rousing song of all. That is why I wouldn't trade all of the sad or difficult things that I have been through. At the end of the road when I look back over those painful things, I can see that many of them made me stronger. I tried harder, I learned from my mistakes, and when the road ended; I heard the music soar.

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This Amazing Love

Who would you die for? Who would you live for? Who would you not die for? Who would you not live for? Those are four questions that are the revelation of our lives. They reveal who we love and who we do not love.

I will tell you that I would not die to save a terrorist, a murderer, the person who hated me enough to falsely accuse me, and I would not die for a child abuser. I wouldn't do it but Jesus Christ did it. He was humiliated, beaten beyond recognition, nailed to a cross, and hung to die so that the most wicked and vile sinners could be redeemed. There were no exclusions in God's plan of salvation and when I think about that, I am astounded.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
-Isaiah 53:5-6

All of the anger I've had, all of the unkind feelings I have thought, all of the times I didn't obey, and every other time I did something wrong; I experienced the forgiveness of God because of his Son's death on the cross. That is amazing love and it extends to everyone who lives, has lived, and who has yet to live! If you think that God doesn't love you, if you think that he doesn't care about you; look to the cross because that is where his Son broke his heart to save you.

...And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.*
-Stuart Keene Hine

*How Great Thou Art

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Soul Surfer

When I first saw the trailer for Soul Surfer, the movie, I was a bit skeptical of the wholesomeness of it. The film is the story of Bethany Hamilton who, in 2003, lost her left arm when a shark attacked her while she was surfing. I remember the news reports about Bethany's courage, the line of jewelry that was released which bore her name, and I remember hearing passing comments about Bethany's faith. Eight years after the tragic accident, the story of Bethany Hamilton lives again in Soul Surfer.

It's true that Bethany is a surfer and surfers do wear bikinis but don't let that ruin the movie for you. I don't condone all of her clothing choices but Bethany does love the Lord and she has used her loss to show his love. In an interview she stated "I gave my life to Jesus when I was five" and she said that he "Is the one who gives me courage." While the producers of Soul Surfer may not be Christians they did show the faith and practices of Bethany and her family. In several instances people pray to the Lord. Bethany's parents cry out to God for help when she is near death. As she lies in the hospital room Bethany sees her dad reading the Holy Bible (producers wanted to cover up these words but the Hamilton family requested that they wouldn't). A youth leader in Bethany's church quotes Jeremiah 29:11 when Bethany questions the sovereignty of God in allowing her to lose her arm. The list of faith-based content could continue on but I hope that you'll watch the movie and discover it.

As I sat in the the movie theater munching on popcorn and enjoying the film I knew I would definitely recommend it to the female audiences out there. Apart from the swimsuit styles shown, Soul Surfer is a higly family-friendly film that inspiring and touching. Honestly, I never cry in movies but I nearly did in this one, ;) It's almost the weekend so why don't you go to see the story of Bethany Hamilton? Tomorrow my friends and I are planning to go see it together and I think they're going to love it too. Click on the following link to read the Plugged in Online (Focus on the Family) review of Soul Surfer. Plugged in Online gave the movie 4 1/2 stars out of 5 for family-friendliness! http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/soulsurfer.aspx

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