Loving the Lord Ministries Documentary

Thank you all for your prayers regarding my health and my trip to Minneapolis (see my previous post)! I had a great time, and everything went really well. It's been neat to see God's hand on this documentary - to Him be the glory!

So here's the story (with plenty of details!! ha ha) . . . On Sunday we left around 1pm to meet our friends the Alzen Family at the church where they were performing (halfway to my destination). I was able to film their concert for a future project, and we had a lot of fun visiting with them! Later that evening they drove me all the way to the Vest's home, and we had a blast playing word games in the van - thank you Alzen family! :-)

The Vests were very welcoming and kind, and since it was late I went right to bed so I could be well rested for the next day! I hadn't been feeling the best (sore throat, runny nose, etc.) but thankfully the next morning I wasn't any worse, so we were able to go on with everything as planned!

 

On Monday morning we set up and did some audio/video tests. Then we started with Amy's interviews, which continued well into the afternoon. She did an awesome job explaining all the Lord has done for her and Loving the Lord Ministries!

Eric (Amy's brother) did a great job with the lighting, and he also had a second camera so we could get shots from different angles.

When Amy's interview was over, we got some extra shots of her reading her Bible and a few other daily things. Then we interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Vest (Jeff and Margie). They did a great job as well!

I had such scrumptious, healthy meals while I was staying at their house!! Yum! It was fun to get some shots of Amy and her mom working in the kitchen together.

 The next morning we started the interviews with the moms, girls, friends and staff who have been blessed by Amy and her ministry. We did a total of 12 people that day, so we were all kept very busy!! There was a neat variety of people (who all had such good things to say!!) and we were able to find several different backgrounds for them.

Mrs. Vest did a great job asking the questions and just being there for the interviewee to talk to, so they wouldn't have to be staring at a light!! :-)

Amy is so sweet with everybody, making them all feel special, and her smile and hug just shine with the love of Jesus! She was such a blessing to me with her prayers and encouragement!

Thankfully the weather was really nice, so we were able to do a couple interviews outside.

Then back to some more inside . . .

 

It was a very full and busy day!! We got some great footage, and now I'm looking forward to the editing process!!

On Wednesday, we talked over lots of details - narration, pictures, editing, and more! It's amazing how much time and planning can go into one movie. :-) It has been SO much fun seeing it all come together, and it's been such a learning experience for me! I hope that this documentary will give glory to God, and that many people will be blessed by watching it!

A big thank you goes to the Vest family for all the work they've put into this documentary (and to Eric for taking these pictures)!! It's been a joy to work with you all!

Thank you, Amy, for being willing to submit to the Lord and follow His will for your life - you are an encouragement and blessing to so many (including me)!!!

Upcoming Adventures!

Wow, it's been quite a while since I've given an update on what's been going on around here!! :-) I'm so excited, because I have an annoucement to make . . . I'm leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow, and I'll be gone until Wednesday! Why? Because I'm going to be filming a documentary about the young lady who spoke at the purity conference - Amy Vest - to enter in the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival!! We plan on doing interviews and other filming for two to three days, and then there is so much to go over regarding editing, and much more!!! It's amazing how much work making a movie is . . . but it's so neat how God has been working out the details for this to happen. From start to finish it has been - and will be - awesome to see how He puts everything together!!

Please pray for me to be healthy, because right now I have a sore throat and stuffy nose. Caleb's had a fever the last few days, and I'm just hoping and praying that I don't get worse!!

Next week I'll hopefully do a post on how everything went . . . thank you for your prayers!!

Choir at the Convention

View this link to see the video. And thank you to Maria for taking it with her camera!! This is my first experience singing in a choir, and I enjoyed it!! You can see me on the far right on the step. :-)

Movie Review: The Privileged Planet

 

Do you like to watch movies? I sure do!! I remember thinking when I was younger, that I couldn't think of hardly ANY movies that were clean the whole way through - without any swearing, immodesty, or other inappropriate, ungodly things in it. But now . . .  I could think of a LOT of movies that would be great for the whole family to see (and you wouldn't have to fast forward anything)!!!! We don't watch movies a whole lot, but when we do, I really enjoy it, and since I'm getting more into filmmaking now, I'm watching with different eyes. I hope to do more movie reviews here on my blog, and tell you what I've watched and what I think of it. If you have any ideas or thoughts regarding a movie you've seen, I'd love to hear them!!

So today I'm going to review a documentary made by Illustra Media, called The Privileged Planet. A good friend recommended it to me, and so I bought it on Amazon. It's about an hour long, and has some neat special features. I found it to be extremely interesting, educational, and well done.The computer animation (in my limited opinion) was AMAZING!! The main thing that disappointed me, was that it hardly mentioned God (only a little at the end) and I couldn't quite tell if it was made by Christians or not. Although I must admit if you are trying to reach someone who doesn't want to hear about God, a good way to do it is to give all the evidence, and then, in a way, leave it up to the viewer to see that the universe HAD to have a Creator. Personally, it was a faith-builder for me! How can anyone know about such a detailed, intricate, amazing creation - especially the vast universe, and the uniqueness of earth - and STILL be an atheist or believe in evolution? While I'm not sure little kids would get a whole lot out of The Privileged Planet, I would highly recommend this movie for the entire family!!

Here is a product description from Amazon, which describes the movie perfectly:

Today, most scientists and philosophers claim that Earth is an ordinary speck of dust adrift, without purpose or significance, in a vast cosmic sea. This idea (popularized by the late astronomer, Carl Sagan) is an outgrowth of the naturalistic philosophy that has dominated science for the past 150 years. Yet, remarkable evidence--unveiled by contemporary astronomy and physics-may now tell a very different story. Building upon the overwhelming success of Unlocking the Mystery of Life (widely acclaimed as the most effective refutation of Darwinian theory, ever produced), Illustra Media presents The Privileged Planet. This hour-long documentary explores the scientific evidence for intelligent design and purpose in the universe. In the process, Earth is revealed as far more than the product of time, chance, and random natural processes. We now know that a rare and finely tuned array of factors makes Earth suitable for complex life. We depend on our planet's oxygen-rich atmosphere, its large moon, its planetary neighbors, and its precise location within the solar system and Milky Way galaxy. But the story does not end here. For, the same factors that make a planet like Earth hospitable to life also provide the best conditions for scientific discovery. Is this correlation merely a coincidence? Or does it point to a deeper truth about the purpose of the cosmos and the reality of a transcendent designer? The answer could dramatically affect 21st century science. Through stunning computer animation, interviews with leading scientists, and spectacular images of Earth and the cosmos, The Privileged Planet explores a startling connection between our capacity to survive and our ability to observe and understand the universe. A connection that points directly to the work of a creative mind and plan. This extraordinary documentary will be a focal point in the escalating debate between evolution and design.

You can go here to view the trailer and find out more information.

2010 Homeschool Convention

This was the fifth convention that mom has coordinated - and I think it was one of the busiest!! I believe we had a record number of people attending, as there were around 750 adults and teen registered, plus all the kids! The keynote speaker was Kevin Swanson, and Buddy Davis did sessions for the kids and a concert for everyone on Friday evening. They were both really good, and I enjoyed listening to them! In conjunction with the NDHSA Homeschool Convention, we had a "Pure Heart" Purity Conference going on as well. Mom let me be the coordinator for that (although she helped me out a lot!) and I really enjoyed it!

As you probably know, the convention was held in Fargo, ND at the Holiday Inn. The halls got pretty squished at times, but it was nice to have the hotel attached to the convention center.

Here is my friend Lydia U. sitting at the purity conference registration table. Her and her sisters were a huge help!! And we had several other great people helping as well - the Vest family (Amy Vest was the speaker for the purity conference), Anna, Elizabeth and Barbara!!! Thank you everybody! :-)

(Elizabeth, Anna U., Amy, Lydia U., Maria U., Anna, Barbara, me)

Here is the Great Hall, where Kevin Swanson spoke. He was a very animated speaker - he kept everyone's attention, and had some great things to say! I didn't get to hear all of his sessions, but what I did hear was very good. I hope to listen to his radio program more often now.

Here is mom speaking briefly on stage, with some of the other NDHSA staff/board members . . .

. . . and here's the homeschool choir, with me in the first row on the far right. We sang Just Over in the Gloryland, and it was a neat experience for me, since I'd never been in a choir before!

And here is Buddy Davis singing at his Friday night concert. Everybody loved him (especially the kids)!!!

Here's Amy speaking at one of her five sessions.

 

She did a demonstration here with a blender and some fruit. Yes, that fruit smoothie looks SO good (and we were all hungry!!) but wait a minute . . . if you put that icky dark stuff in it doesn't look so good anymore. In the same way, we may have a clean heart, but if we allow anything bad - no matter how small - to take root in our lives, it could ruin us!

If you attended the NDHSA convention, visit their website at http://www.ndhsa.org/ to give an evaluation. You can also buy MP3's and CDs on there of all the different speakers. Hope to see you next year in Jamestown!! (March 3-5, 2011, with keynote speaker Andrew Pudewa!)

P.S. A BIG thank you goes to Maria U. for taking all these pictures!!

Update on Caleb's Foot

Yes, I'm still here - things are finally settling down a bit from the convention - and I have good news about Caleb's foot!! The doctor e-mailed us the other day and said that he looked at Caleb's x-ray, and the bone is growing back pretty well, so Caleb doesn't have to have surgery!! YEAH!! He's very glad, as you can imagine! Praise the Lord!! Thank you all for your prayers!!

Pictures of the convention coming soon! :-)

Please Pray . . .

We just heard that there possibly will be major flooding next weekend in Fargo, Moorhead, and the surrounding areas. Thankfully we shouldn't be affected by it since we don't live by a river, but the homeschool convention might be!! People should still be able to make it, but please pray that everything will go smoothly, and also pray for the homes and safety of those living in the area! Thanks!

A field south of Fargo’s Microsoft campus is filled with water Friday after several days of snowmelt accompanied by rain. Most of the weekend is predicted to have less than a 20 percent chance of rain. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor photo from In-Forum.