Rainbow Cone

The Rainbow Cone is the signature dessert of Original Rainbow Cone, an ice cream place with several locations in the Chicago area. It consists of chocolate, strawberry, pistachio, and Palmer House (cherry flavored ice cream with chunks of cherry and walnuts), ice creams and orange sherbet. Original Rainbow Cone has a booth at the annual Taste of Chicago too, so that is a great place to try the Rainbow Cone. Incredibly yummy!

Jewel Quest Mysteries Curse of the Emerald Tear

This is a great hidden object game for the computer--the scenes are beautiful. And there are puzzles plus jewel quest games at different points. It's a lot of fun.

Zechariah 3:1-5

Clean Garments for the High Priest
1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. 2 The LORD said to Satan, "The LORD rebuke you, Satan! The LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"

3 Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. 4The angel said to those who were standing before him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."

5 Then I said, "Put a clean turban on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by.

I love reading this because it brings to mind how we were all in filthy rags, but God has been merciful to us, and we are clothed in Christ's righteousness.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I had heard a lot about Twilight and know some people who were very into it, but I honestly thought I wouldn't really be into it--reading about vampires isn't really my thing. But then I found I wanted to read it since there was so much hype about it--I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. My friend Melissa gave me Twilight, and I found I really enjoyed it. It is about Bella Swan, a high school girl who moves to Forks, Washington and ends up falling in love with a vampire. The romance is cool, and the characters (including the vampires) are fascinating. I am reading the other three books in the series too. Something I think is really cool about the whole Twilight phenomenon is that it has gotten so many young people excited about reading.

NYPD Blue

This was a great cop drama. It was a great show because it didn't just focus on trying to catch bad guys (although is was cool watching the investigative work), but it also really focused on the character's personal lives--their relationships, their struggles, the challenge of trying to balance "the job" with family. And through the years, as new characters were added, those characters were just as engaging as characters in previous seasons who had left. Andy Sipowicz is an especially interesting character--kind of gruff and sometimes offensive, but really a teddy bear on the inside who struggles with insecurities. Brilliant show.

Fireproof

I had heard a lot about this movie and was glad to finally see it. I was deeply moved by the film. It shows a young married couple who is struggling and seems to be on the brink of divorce. The husband, a fire captain, lives at work by the motto, "Never leave your partner behind," but at home finds it hard to care for the woman he once loved. His father then challenges him to read and follow a book called "The Love Dare," that gives a challenge for each day (for example, the first one is to not say anything negative to your spouse). The father also speaks to his son about Jesus Christ and His great love. This ends up transforming his son, and ultimately the struggling marriage. I think this movie can really have a positive impact on marriages.

Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult

This is a fascinating, thought provoking novel by Jodi Picoult about a woman who works in search and rescue who discovers she was kidnapped by her father when she was a child. As in other Picoult books, the story is told from different character's viewpoints, the chapters alternating in different characters' voices. This is an effective technique as it brings out different sides of the situation. This was a suspenseful book, waiting to find out more pieces of information regarding what happened and why characters made the choices they did.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

When I read this passage, I think about the distinction between happiness and joy. Happiness is a mere feeling and is a fleeting thing. One minute I can be happy, and then in the next minute something can happen to take that feeling away. As circumstances in our lives change or things become difficult, the feeling of happiness can leave us. But joy, the joy we have as Christians, is something much deeper. The joy in knowing what Christ has done for us, that we are saved by grace is something that remains even though everything else in our lives may change and we may be faced with some difficult trials. We can always rejoice in our Savior.