16 February 2008

Friday night fun with new friends!

Last night, I was invited for a single girls' Valentine party by Jennifer, a friend I'd gotten to know through our Daniel study last year. She's the one I mentioned back in December having such a heart for missions, especially regarding the Chinese people. And she is just the sweetest girl. And I'm so glad she had thought of me and included me in her get-together last night. I had such a good time!!

We had pizza and fresh-from-the-oven peanut butter cookies. And then, we had a cake decorating contest. There were eight of us, so we paired up in teams and pictured is our lovely 'winner'. :) And I got, as a prize, a lovely hand-painted flower pot with a chocolate heart sticking out of it.

Then, her roommate suggested we all watch a short movie that they play for new members at Northpointe Community Church (north of Atlanta) any time they get involved in a small group. I had never heard of it, but it's called "Most". It's Polish (?). It's got subtitles. It's very heart-wrenching. But very powerful. I'm not sure if the writer had intended it to be such a Christian parallel, though it wouldn't surprise me if he had, but watching it from the Christian perspective, you really get just a glimpse of what it would be like to truly sacrifice your Son in order to save others. I had tried to find it on Amazon and even Google, but didn't have much luck, so not sure where Susan had found it, but if you're able to get your hands on a copy, I highly recommend it! Especially for a study group of some kind. It's amazing. I'm so glad she shared it with us.

We wrapped the night up with a good game of "Catch Phrase" and I can't remember when I've laughed so hard. One of the younger girls in particular (on my team) was cracking - me - up! When the other girl was trying to get us to say 'put them on ice', saying "It's what you do with fish! ... you know, after you catch them! ... before you kill them!" ... And Mara just said mildly and sweetly, as if in all seriousness "You love them". :) That, and then when Susan was telling us how this young man she knows had "to flee from Cambodia and came to the U.S. ..." Mara, with total concern for the guy said "He had a flea? ...did he get rid of it?" (That time she was serious.) !!! :) Too funny. Now, maybe you had to be there, but they were all just cracking me up.

Such a good time. Especially after the crazy week I've had!

Thanks, Jen for thinking of me!

Had a blast. :)

~Okay... did a little more research and finally found the trailer of "Most" on Youtube. First, here's something put together by a pastor on the movie. Sounds like it really was intended to bring home the message of the sacrifice of Christ by His Father. This piece is very well-done, and I encourage you to watch it, but it is pretty in-depth and just know that it's not 'fluffy'. Also, you may want to wait if you do plan on watching it in its entirety. It's not 'easy' - it's not meant to be. But, it offers an encouraging ending and is definitely worth the soul-changing lesson that comes from it. (I've also included the clip of the trailer at the bottom, if you don't want quite the extended version of the pastor's clip.)

Pastor's Clip


Movie Trailer

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot Jess. I'm over here bawling my eyes out! Better warn Mom not to watch it!!! :)

Anonymous said...

Hey Jessica! I'm so glad you could come last weekend (& tonight!). I'm including a link where you can purchase Most. It's the only one I found. :) See you later this evening. Yay! Jennifer
http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=794