"...Just give hope a chance to float up"

"That's what momma always says. She says that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it's the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will, too..." _{Hope Floats}

Just to take a little more time with 'Hope', it's quite a story which I won't tell - but it deals with how we handle our failures, how we view relationships and how our view of ourselves can change. The whole concept of 'hope' itself spiritually just reminded me how we need God so and sometimes we don't understand what He is doing in our life and then sometimes we 'get it' like Sandra did with her mom played by the Gena Rowlands!

Gena is one classy 'Barbara Stanwyck' kinda lady. Her role in this movie reminded me of the one she had in Something to Talk About with Julia Roberts. The little girl in 'Hope" has done quite a body of work herself - Mae Whitman has been a daughter in

• an all time favorite and tissue frequent viewer with Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan - When a Man Loves a Woman
• with Will Smith and Bill Pullman (who has played alongside Bullock in While You Were Sleeping) as the president's in Independence Day,
• with Michelle Pfeiffer as George Clooney's in One Fine Day,

and as a young lady her work continues as the daughter roles fade. Did you know Forest Whitaker directed 'Hope' - he's a blog post in and of himself; winning an oscar this past year with quite a compelling speech

"Thank you. Thank you. Just a second, just a second. OK. Take it. OK. I wrote something down, because I thought if it would happen that I would be a little overwhelmed and I am. So, OK.

When I was a kid, the only way that I saw movies was from the backseat of my family's car. At the drive-in. And, it wasn't my reality to think I would be acting in movies, so receiving this honor tonight tells me that it's possible. It is possible for a kid from east Texas, raised in South Central L.A. in Carson, who believes in his dreams, commits himself to them with his heart, to touch them, and to have them happen.

Because when I first started acting, it was because of my desire to connect to everyone. To that thing inside each of us. That light that I believe exists in all of us. Because acting for me is about believing in that connection and it's a connection so strong, it's a connection so deep, that we feel it. And through our combined belief, we can create a new reality.

So I want to thank my fellow believers in The Last King of Scotland. I want to thank Peter, Jeremy, Andrea, Lisa, Charles, Kevin, James McAvoy, Kerry, Stephen, Fox, DNA, Channel Four. I want to thank the people of Uganda, who helped this film have a spirit.

And here's my favorite part...

And finally, I want to thank my mom and my dad. I want to thank my wife Keisha, my children, my ancestors, who continue to guide my steps. And God, God who believes in us all. And who's given me this moment, in this lifetime, that I will hopefully carry to the end of my lifetime into the next lifetime. Thank you."

Okay I've rambled enough; until next time.

From Pastor's sermon last Sunday: And He said to me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried and our hope is lost; we are cut off by ourselves. Therefore prophesy and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am Jehovah when I have opened your graves, O My people, and have brought you up out of your graves. And I shall put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. And you shall know that I Jehovah have spoken and have done it, says Jehovah. _{(Eze 37:11-14)}