11th Anniversary Age of Adaline Date September 30, 2015

In this post: All the details on our Age of Adaline date plus anniversary pictures, and chalkboard door art.

Hello dear ones! I know it’s been a good while since my last post. I promise I haven’t forgotten you. I have so much to share with you and a lot of catching up to do. I wanted to skip ahead and share this extra special date. I hope it inspires you. Here’s how we celebrated our 11th anniversary, our Age of Adaline date (based on the movie).

Lover’s silhouette chalkboard art~ I used the silhouette from a picture of Chris and I. You’ll see the picture on the collage poster board I made. It’s in the middle

Anniversary Collage Poster Board~ I printed out black and white pictures of us throughout the years. I glued pieces of old wall paper I found at Goodwill, onto poster board from The Dollar Tree. I put a poem I had written in the middle.

Here is the poem. You may link to this post, but don’t copy it. Thanks!

The Story of Us” by Amber Dover

“Let everyone see, the rhythm and rhyme of you and me. As we grow old, every storm we can weather. Let us never go cold, because we’re better together. Every kiss is a song, of the sweetest pain. The roses and the thorns; we two remain. I love you.”

My first set for our date.

The set after we went antique shopping.

My Vintage Look

I did as many finger curls on my head as I could. I used a peach lipstick. I added a peach belt to a dress I had to give me that 1940’s style. The big necklace Chris bought me the night before from a street vendor, a lady handmade it.

The Agenda

The night before our Adaline date we got in the vintage mood by listening to jazz live at The Loft in down town. I attempted to put victory curls in my hair but it didn’t turn out quite right.

Me reading to the kids when we got back.

Age of Adaline Date (what I got pictures of)

• Antique shopping

The guys and I went antique “window” shopping (meaning we didn’t buy anything at this place).

Messing around…

We did pay to check out the lunchbox museum.

We finished with lunch at Steak n Shake because it always has a vintage feel. Then my parents got Michael so Chris and I could have some romance.

Here’s my anniversary present: a vintage type writer from either the 1930’s or 1940’s. It works too. We got it at a thrift store.

• Read Braille

• Gigi’s cupcakes~ Wedding Cake is an amazing flavor!

• chili dogs and cream soda

• Romantic photos

• Star gazing

We used the star app on my tablet.

• Speak Portuguese ~We looked up “I love you” and I wrote it on the type writer

• Poetry and slow dancing I didn’t get pictures of

Random funny pic of Leeland partying with us.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Age of Adaline on Pinterest:

More of our Date Nights:

Date ideas on Pinterest:

 

Minions Movie Night July 31, 2015

Hello dear ones! A couple weeks ago my family and I went to see the Minions movie. This is how we had fun. Also, I’ll review the movie. Please come hang out :).

I drew a minion on our chalkboard door to get everyone excited.

 

I bought a Minions coloring book for a dollar. I also found sugar cookies and fruit snacks that are Minion themed. I found the Minion bead kit at Michael’s Craft Store.

 

Chris and Michael made a Minion bookmark.

 

Michael drew a Minion based on a tutorial.

Here are toilet paper roll Minions.

Now my review:

My family and I really loved the Despicable Me movies. Underneath the craziness they were about family and love. They gave me a warm fuzzy feeling. But Minions was a disappointment. There were way too many innuendos. The plot was flat. The Minions couldn’t fill Gru’s shoes as main characters. They are hilarious for shorts, but in my opinion they can’t carry a whole movie. The best part of the movie for me, was the end…when Gru showed up. In conclusion, although there are spots of funny, the smut and lack of a decent plot and strong characters, ruined it for me. This felt way more adult than childlike.

God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

You can find more ideas here:

The Danger of Idolizing Celebrity Preachers July 24, 2015

“Not many [of you] should become teachers ([a]self-constituted censors and reprovers of others), my brethren, for you know that we [teachers] will be judged by a higher standard and with greater severity [than other people; thus we assume the greater accountability and the more condemnation].”

James 3:1 Amp Version

“God still speaks through rocks and donkeys.” ~Paul Washer (Amen bro!)

I like to watch preaching but I’ve learned the hard way not to idolize preachers…just as I learned not to idolize “experts” in any field. Humans make mistakes. I may go to a doctor to consult about my health but that doesn’t mean that I should trust a doctor blindly. Preachers and pastors have a great calling to guide God’s people, but they are still human, and every follower of Christ has the same Holy Spirit. We all have access to God’s Word. And ultimately when we stand before God in Heaven we will take account for ourselves. “But the preacher said this…” won’t cut it. Do you know Jesus personally? That’s what matters. You won’t get to Heaven riding on someone’s coat tails.

I say this as a fellow student and a fellow traveler in life. We should test the spirits. We should search the scriptures for ourselves.

Paul speaks of the Bereans

“11 Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more noble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [[a]concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11 AMP

Now to bring balance, sometimes we won’t like a sermon because it doesn’t tickle our ears and our flesh hates it. We feel conviction and maybe we are fighting it. How do we know the difference? Well, what are we using as our standard? God’s Word in context? or our emotions and experiences? In the end it does not matter what we have experienced, what we feel, or what our culture says….all that matters is what God says. God’s truth will often bring conviction. It will bring the fruit of the Spirit. But if a sermon brings condemnation, pride, fear, or other ungodly attitudes then it is not of the Spirit.

Sometimes preachers give messages in the flesh. Again, they are human. I saw this in my Dad. He was a former drug dealer that turned preacher. I could tell when my Dad was preaching from pride and his flesh. I could also tell when my Dad was humble and it was God’s Spirit speaking through Him. I struggled to listen to his sermons done in pride. But when he spoke with humility, my heart opened.

Things to question when you hear a message

• Does the Bible (in context) support this?
• Does the speaker display Christ-like behavior?
• Does it edify the body of Christ?
• Does it make sense?

I pray that you will be strong in these last days. These are deceptive times. I try to teach Michael to read the Bible himself and not idolize me or his dad. I tell him that we are human and we will fail him at times, but Jesus is the perfect friend. The Heavenly Father is the perfect parent. God’s Word is perfect guidance (read in context). I hope to share helpful info on how to read the Bible, soon. I’m working on it.

I pray that you, dear one, won’t idolize me or any other blogger. We may look put together on the outside but I assure you that every one of us are just as human as you. We struggle with sin just as much. We are desperately hanging on to Jesus to help us through this mess of a world. The thought of someone putting me on a pedestal scares me. I don’t want that.

Anywho, so when you meet teachers, preachers, pastors, and any leaders in the church…remember they are human. They need friends. They need accountability. They need guidance. They need love. They bleed. They cry. They need prayer. Even the ones that are really off theologically. Even the corrupt ones. God’s grace is available to all. Any one can be changed by God if they repent. Don’t idolize them. Please pray for them. They’ve taken on a scary task.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Writing Spaces July 23, 2015

Hello dear ones! Believe it or not, I am still writing my trilogy The Truth Seeker’s Chronicles. I’m on the second book and hope to release all three at the same time. I’ve made it a priority to leave the house once a week and go write. Some of this time is taken up writing my blog as well. I found several nifty places to write. I’m excited to have found these, because it’s easy to be creative in the right atmosphere. Here are some spots in downtown Columbus, Ga.

Iron Bank Coffee~ Iron Bank is my favorite place to write. The classy coffee/snack shop is located inside an actual old bank. They have a large room upstairs that can be reserved. The two vaults on the main floor are decorated rustic chic and one has a couch to sit on. The prices are reasonable and the service wonderful. I also like to sit by the window and look out at the street. They also have live bands and special events like Trivia night.

Looking at the rain while sitting by the door

Upstairs ~ I can just imagine rich bankers standing around discussing business up here long long ago.

The Vaults

Freeze Frame Yogurt Shop~ I’m not as acquainted with Freeze Frame but I like it so far. It stays open later than Iron Bank. You can customize your yogurt and you pay by the ounce. It’s similar to Sweet Frog but it has the rustic feel of downtown.  They have local artwork on the brick walls. I found this very unique gummy frog to put on my yogurt. I didn’t eat it though. It was too cute. I was pleased with the service as well.

Picasso Pizza~  I like to eat outside of this pizzeria and hear different musicians play an acoustic set. One day I listened to these elderly chaps play the blues. Sometimes our contemporary music minister plays here. The pizza is delicious, and one slice is enough to fill me up. The only problem with writing outside during the Summer is the bugs. I think I’ll like it more in the fall.

There’s still so much of downtown to explore. I hope to share more with you soon. God bless and remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Miss Congeniality & Fun with Dick and Jane Date Nights July 2, 2015

Hello dear ones! Chris and I had a couple of awesome movie themed dates recently. Enjoy these original dates: Miss Congeniality and Fun with Dick and Jane. Here’s how it went down.

Date Night Disclaimer: These dates are intended for married couples. You may not like my movie choices based upon your own convictions. If that’s the case, then I encourage you to adapt these ideas for the movies of your choice. Ultimately my goal is to inspire others to have a fun marriage.

Miss Congeniality Date Night

We rented the movie Miss Congeniality. It’s about an agent that goes undercover as a beauty pageant contestant. So I set a table fit for a beauty queen.

First we got in the spirit of things by watching funny pageant videos on youtube. World peace! Just sayin’.

 

I found everything at the Dollar Tree. I have trophies, ribbons, and medals for our contests later. I have a tiara and bouquet of flowers for the winner. I used crepe paper for the banners.

The hubby and I enjoyed a nice dinner. Then we prepared to compete. I’ll admit…the competition was rigged, especially the Evening Gown competition, since my hubby didn’t compete. Ha! I made sure this date was guy friendly. I found a couple of fun things at the Dollar Tree.

“Talent” Competition

Chris was killin’ it on the paddle ball. Once he got the hang of it he was a pro!

I was embarrassingly hilarious as a ribbon twirler. We each chose a song for the other to use. Chris chose an upbeat dance song for me. I know he had to be laughing inside.

Chris won most athletic. He also won Best Kisser, but that’s besides the point. Leeland helped hold the trophy. He’s a pretty good kisser too! 🙂

Then we each tried to play the recorder. I had an advantage since I play the flute, but it was still harder than it looks.

I won most musical.

Interview

I found a site that helps contestants prepare for the interview section. First, Chris and I made up funny platforms. Mine was “Save the snails’ Then we asked each other questions.

Here’s the link for questions: http://thepageantplanet.com/233-practice-pageant-questions/

Evening Gown Competition

My evening gowns competed :). The pink evening gown won!

I won Miss Date Night!

Fun with Dick and Jane Date Night

(This is the movie from 2005 not 1977. I haven’t seen the older one.)

You can watch the preview here:

Fun with Dick and Jane is about a middle class married couple. Dick has a great job and he and the wife prepare to live extravagantly when Dick is promoted. Unfortunately Dick is being set up to take the fall as his company crashes, and the owner gets away with the money. Dick and thousands of others in the company are now competing for jobs. This is actually a comedy :). Dick and Jane go through all kinds of crazy scenarios as they try to find work. I have listed activities that go along with the movie.

First I gave my hubby this invite. The front is a quote from the movie, just in case I freaked you out a bit. The joke is that the couple is so busy that they don’t have time to be together when they are in the mood. They schedule to have sex on Saturday. Again, this date is for married people. Any married couple with kids can understand the quote.

Inside

 

Activities (we only did the first three):

• Learn some Spanish ~ Dick and Jane’s little boy spends so much time with his Spanish nanny, that he speaks in Spanish all the time. This causes a predicament when Dick gets mistaken for an illegal alien. I love that part of the movie.
• Sing “I Believe I Can Fly” as loud as you can~ Dick sings this in the elevator when he believes he’s being promoted.
• Find the best disguises~ When Dick and Jane find themselves on the verge of losing everything despite their honest efforts, they resort to being partners in crime. I do not endorse stealing, but they do have some funny outfits. They get into some crazy situations.
• Play in the sprinkler~ Dick, Jane, and their son become so poor that they bathe in the neighbor’s sprinkler.
• Find a distortion machine and make funny voices~ Dick and Jane steal from a rude business man that did Dick wrong. They act silly with a voice distortion device.
• Walmart Bingo~ Dick doesn’t do so well at being a greeter. You can find this fun game at my favorite dating site: http://www.thedatingdivas.com/just-the-two-of-us/walmart-bingo/
• Have Slushees (make sure to pay!)~ The first thing Dick steals is a Slushee. That is the beginning of his slippery slope into crime.

We watched the movie in our van. Our treats were popcorn, cream sodas, and chocolate.

 

Our disguises 

 

I think we’d make poor thieves, but that’s a good thing :).

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed these ideas and they will inspire you to have your own fun date nights. Do you like themed dates? I’d love to hear about your own dates. Please leave me some comment love.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

More dates on this blog:

Date ideas on my Pinterest:

 

Big Fish Christmas Stories: Games Review December 18, 2014

Hello dear ones! Got some time on your hands this Christmas? Check out these fun Christmas games from Big Fish. Here’s a review for the Christmas Stories series: Nutcracker, Tin Soldier, & A Christmas Carol.

By the way, I’m not getting paid for this (I wish I was…hint hint Big Fish lol). Seriously, I love puzzle/adventure games. These are the best I’ve played in awhile. I just want to share with you.

First off, there is an order to these games that I didn’t realize but thankfully I just so happened to play them in that order. The Nutcracker comes before the Tin Soldier. A Christmas Carol can be played at anytime but there are references to it in the Tin Soldier. So it must’ve come out before.

The graphics are gorgeous and the story lines fun. I would let my 8 year old play these for sure…if I wasn’t so stingy with my computer lol.

A Christmas Carol~ I played this game first. It has an interesting twist. You play Scrooge’s nephew. You come to visit and help him because he’s plagued with nightmares. It turns out the evil side of Scrooge and his devil helpers have ruined Scrooge’s life. You team up with the three ghosts of Christmas and angel Scrooge to change Scrooge’s past, present, and future. I love how Scrooge’s life can be changed. It’s such a neat retelling of the story. There are plenty of puzzles and objects to interact with. You get to see several beautiful Christmasy scenes. The background music will keep you in the Christmas spirit too.

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/25375/christmas-stories-a-christmas-carol-ce/index.html

Nutcracker~ You’re late for the Christmas ball but you make it in time to help the Nutcracker save his princess from the evil Rat King. The game delves into the Rat King’s backstory. I love how they tie other tales into this one. They make it so believable. The music is also a treat. Once again they deliver when it comes to graphics.

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/20319/christmas-stories-nutcracker-ce/index.html

Tin Soldier~ Team up with the Tin Soldier and the Nutcracker to save the Tin Soldier’s beloved from an evil baron who has turned them all into toys. This story ties in to the Nutcracker. Meet Hans Christian Anderson and learn what it’s like to be toy sized! That was my favorite part….shrinking. Great music and graphics. Fun hidden object puzzle games and lots to interact with.

http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/27949/christmas-stories-3-andersens-tin-soldier-ce/index.html

I can’t tell you which was my favorite. I enjoyed all three tremendously. I usually play Nancy Drew games on PC which take several days. It took me a few hours each for these games. I like that they weren’t too time consuming. I could play one after another on a lazy day. They’re addictive like candy!

By the way, I had a membership with Big Fish so I was able to get all these games with credits that had built up. If you play a lot of games it’s better to get a membership because you save bunches. I just cancelled my membership because I may go months without playing a game. I binge play. I’m not very consistent.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the review. If you get a chance to play, please leave me a comment and tell me what you think of the games. And if you have any holiday game suggestions I’d love to hear that too!
God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Movie & Toothless Cookie Pops Review July 21, 2014

Hello dear ones! Michael and I saw How to Train Your Dragon 2, a couple of weeks ago. I made these cookie pops inspired by Fiction Food’s blog.

http://www.fiction-food.com/2014/06/toothless-cookie-pops-for-how-to-train.html

I didn’t use jelly beans or lime tootsie rolls though.  I used mint M&M’s for the eyes and chocolate almond bark.  It would’ve been better for me to have used vanilla almond bark because I had to add an insane amount of black dye to get the right color. Brown plus black dye equals purplish. The dye stained Michael’s tongue and fingers.  Chris said they look like Gollum. Anywho, I tried.

Now, onto the movie. It’s been forever since I’ve done a movie review. Let’s see if I remember how.  How to Train Your Dragon 2 was a great movie in my book. It’s a little intense  for a kid’s movie. I rate it as being more intense than The Lion King, ya know, when Simba see’s his father die. I don’t want to give anything away but there is a wicked twist that’s just wrong. How to Train Your Dragon was never a movie about marshamallow hugs and rainbows in the first place. Still, I didn’t expect the movie to get so intense. I may have teared up a bit.

What I like about the HTTYD movies is how they explore family relationships. In the first movie, we see Hiccup develop a better relationship with his dad. In the second movie, Hiccup meets his mom. My favorite part is when Hiccup’s Mom and Dad get back together. They totally could’ve had Hiccup’s Mom declare her independence and stay in her own little world. Instead she chose to return to her family and that was beautiful. She was willing to love again.

If you have concerns about dating relationships, well Hiccup does share a kiss with Astrid. It’s pretty clear that everyone expects the two to get married. Also, the twin girl, Ruffnut,  has some youthful lust issues. It’s supposed to be funny but it really annoyed me. None of it was a deal breaker for me though. It’s just an opportunity for discussion.

Ultimately, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is about friendship and forgiveness. Sometimes love is hard. Sometimes the people you love the most, hurt you the most. You have a choice. Become bitter or forgive and let love empower you. Hiccup faces several challenges as he journies into manhood. I think he handles them well and overall, is a good role model for boys. Plus, Toothless is just adorable. Enough said, four stars :).

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Create in Me~ Kelby Dover May 29, 2014

Dear ones, here’s my nephew’s music video. I’m thankful for the heart for God that both my older nephews have. Be blessed & remember email sub. to come to my blog to see the video. God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Kelby Dover~ Create in Me

Multiplied by NEEDTOBREATHE

Hello dear ones! This song blesses my socks off so I hope you’ll enjoy it too. Email sub. remember to come to my blog to see the video.

Multiplied by NEEDTOBREATHE

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Noah the Movie: The Facts April 1, 2014

What is Noah, the movie really about? I’ve got three resources to help you sort fact from fiction.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Some say this is a balanced view on Noah and others call it liberal. It’s a good read none the less.

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/noah

 

 

I usually check Plugged In before I go see a movie. This review will give you all the details on why the movie is PG-13 so you can make an informed decision.

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/noah-2014.aspx

 

 

Is the Noah movie taken from the gnostic gospel?  This one will really stir you up. Is the creator referred to in Noah actually the gnostic creator, an evil god who hates the world? An article to ponder with lots of info even if you’ve never heard of gnosticism (something early Christians fought hard against).

http://drbrianmattson.com/journal/2014/3/31/sympathy-for-the-devil

 

Whether the director is an atheist writing about a God he doesn’t know or a gnostic glorifying Satan as the loving spiritual god and Yahweh as evil, this movie has brought about a lot of discussion. I also think it brings a challenge for Christians. Do we know our Bible? Are we pointing others to the true and One God who loves the world so much that He died for it (that blows gnosticism to bits)?  Father God makes it clear in His word that He doesn’t enjoy punishing the wicked. God’s justice was met in the Biblical account of Noah but there is also His grace as He saved Noah and his family. The people on earth were so corrupt that there was no redemption left for their souls. The flood gave us a chance to know God, for humanity to start again. Who knows if humanity would’ve lasted much longer the way it was going. I mean…EVERY thought of man was wicked. They probably would’ve killed each other off. Some suggest that bloodlines were even corrupt as humans mingled with fallen angels (hence the Nephilim). A hybrid blood line would have kept God’s promise of a savior from coming to pass. There are interesting takes on the Biblical account.  But we know from God’s word in whole that God loves humanity and wants to redeem us from the curse brought by sin. He is God. We are not. Bottom line. I can only love the one who gave me breath, who gives me all that’s good, and who died to save me.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I  have my own feelings about the movie but since I haven’t seen it I can only point you to reviews. I don’t want to spend money on something I won’t enjoy and now that I’ve got gnostic themes in my head that’ll probably make it very hard for me to watch. That’s just me. But I believe with any movie that has Biblical themes we should be cautious. We should know our Bible enough to sort the facts. Our theology should be based on God’s word, not media. With that being said, media can be a tool. You can use it to talk to others about topics that normally wouldn’t be discussed…like hey, Noah! You can let it push you to further study  the Bible.  I don’t believe we should use media as a tool for legalism or a way of bashing others. We can speak the truth in love, yes, the controversial truth can be spoken in love. It’s  how we say it and our motivation for saying it.  You tell the truth so it will bring life and healing to others….so it will save others. But truth does often hurt. Grace helps the rough edges.  We all have a choice when it comes to media and culture. Will we let media drive us, whether it pushes us away or draws us in? Or will we use it as a tool, an opportunity?

The missionary who baptized me had a wonderful gift. He could take any conversation, any topic, and use it to talk about God. What a wise skill that is.  Christ is my best friend and God’s truth & love is at the core of everything that matters. Jesus is life. Less of me and more of Him. My opinions, my cultural ideas, my standards for media etc… matter little. What matters is God’s grace and truth. I pray that this post reflects Him.

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover