story | Heartstone Journey

Why The Remake Of Ben-Hur Is About Forgiveness, Not Chariots!

The pile of books that I’d like to read keeps growing and so does the list of movies I’d like to watch. One of the movies on my watch list was the remake of Ben-Hur. So, recently after digging out from a New England snow storm…I made some dinner, poured a glass of wine and rented Ben-Hur.

Didn’t know what to expect from this remake since the 1959 film, based on Lew Wallace’s nineteenth century novel ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ’, starring Charlton Heston was so epic. I think just about everyone would agree that Charlton Heston would be a tough act to follow.

That didn’t stop Roma Downey and Mark Burnett from considering a streamlined remake of the 1959 film. Like its predecessor, the remake of Ben-Hur, features a charismatic actor (Jack Huston) as Ben-Hur, epic scenery of the period, and an absolutely stunning chariot race! But the remake takes a bit of a different path from the original with more of an emphasis on the power of Jesus Christ to bring about forgiveness — a welcome emphasis that is so needed today.

Spoiler Alert

Why Christmas Isn’t About Peace

As we step into the Christmas season we find ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping to fill that space under the tree, making plans to be with our loved ones in the coziness of our homes to enjoy a nice dinner…and we ponder the joys this time of the season brings.

Christmas trees, white Christmas, Santa Claus, nativity scenes and all the symbols one would find on some card we pick out in the card aisle of our favorite store. Then there’s the yearly conflict on what to call the company party; a holiday or Christmas party. Can I say ‘Merry Christmas’ without getting fired? Is it a holiday tree or a Christmas tree? Is Jesus really the season or is it a pagan holiday? Is it a Christian holiday or is everyone included like on the coexist bumper stickers?

…the conflict of Christmas!

So let me ask you something, do you really think that Jesus traded Heaven for Earth to come and bring peace? Let’s see what the Bible tell us.

3 Reasons “The Magnificent Seven” Is Magnificent

I love a good Western! Some of my favorites include, “The Good The Bad and the Ugly”, “The Outlaw Josie Wales”, “Silverado”, “Open Range” and the new “The Magnificent Seven” is a worthy successor to its 1960 namesake.

The original Magnificent Seven is more your dad’s favorite film than a cinematic blockbuster, which was also a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Japanese film “Seven Samurai”. Denzel Washington does a great job in leading a cast of acting talent with a heroic and watchable performance. If you’re looking for classic Western action, the movie does not disappoint in giving the audience spectacular gunfight scenes faithful to this genre of movie. Also notable, were the inventive set pieces accompanied by astonishing scenery and backdrops. I have not seen a Western this good in awhile.

Spoiler Alert

Moving Forward…Together

It was a beautiful summer’s evening at the Danversport Yacht Club accented with a magnificently painted sunset brushed by God Himself. The sounds of merriment from the family wedding faded into the background as I walked out into the parking lot with my cousin.

As we meandered through the maze of cars in the parking lot, our “shallow man” talk began to make an abrupt course correction. Like a mysterious wind coming out of nowhere, my cousin began to open up, sharing the dark road he was traveling and the impact it was having on his family. The wound was deep, but the shame kept him silent for years. He was an absolute mess and wow…I had no idea.

Men are taught over and over when they are boys that a wound that hurts is shameful.

—Robert Bly (Iron John)

Here was the rub…

Face Lift: New Design For 2016!

This year the Heartstone Journey website comes into it’s 5th year. I don’t tackle a redesign every year, but I do try my best to switch things up for my readers by keeping the site fresh and relevant. Because of these thoughtful redesigns, I’ve continued to receive great feedback and the Heartstone community has grown because of it.

There was intentional design time in the new crisp images on the home page and major adjustments to lots of lines of CSS/PHP code, but getting more comfortable with the WordPress space, these redesigns are taking me less time.

Since 8Bit decided to close up shop back in 2013 and kick the Standard Theme over to Woo Themes, I began looking for a new theme platform. Spent many hours researching and finally landed on the Genesis Theme platform from Studio Press and it was definitely the right decision. If you want to create a beautiful website without all the crazy effort, I highly recommend starting with one of the themes from Studio Press gallery — it’s the framework that powers this website and the only one I recommend. I started out with the Remobile Pro theme and decided to move to the Altitude Pro theme.

Why The Remake Of Ben-Hur Is About Forgiveness, Not Chariots!

Why Christmas Isn’t About Peace

3 Reasons “The Magnificent Seven” Is Magnificent

Moving Forward…Together

Face Lift: New Design For 2016!

Favorite Quotes

Cool Scripture

Never Out Of The Fight!

Resources