For my third post of the day, the problem with the Hallmark channel is everything.

I laughed as I typed that, but it is true. However, I am happy to report that I am thankful to watch it without yelling at the television after years of prayer. So, I watch it and have even bought a few of the movies on iTunes.

We all know the equation: A small town or city gal goes to a small town or city to find herself. In the midst of this, she meets a cowboy, lawyer, or baker. It’s love at first sight, but then they part and end up working together in some strange circumstance. There is conflict and a significant misunderstanding where they run from each other, but learn there the other was like no one they’ve ever met and their life isn’t the same without them in it. They understand that this person is everything they are not, and they make them come alive and are willing to leave their big corporate job to become the local baker or farm help and adopt a dog. There is always a dance and competition for you can’t have life without a challenge and dancing. This is Hallmark, and we love it because it is safe. I can watch this movie without really watching it, knowing there is a happy ending and no stress.

However, it isn’t real life.

A few weeks ago, I was at Brent’s house, where his mom let us have a movie day. This sort of thing rarely happens, but we all sat in the living room and watched “The Secret: Dare to Dream,” starring Katie Holmes and Josh Lucas. I knew nothing about the film going into it, but it’s seriously one of the heart happiest movies ever created, and I immediately bought the DVD on eBay and have watched it more than three times since. It also happens to be filmed in Southern Louisiana, so it was fun picking out places, including the famous restaurant Middendorf’s (which was ironically messed up during Hurricane Ida) and the French Quarter in New Orleans.

“Based on the groundbreaking best-selling book by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret: Dare to Dream follows Miranda (Katie Holmes), a young widow trying to make ends meet while raising her three children and dating her boyfriend (Jerry O’Connell). A devastating storm brings an enormous challenge and a mysterious man, Bray (Josh Lucas), into Miranda’s life. Bray reignites the family’s spirit but, unbeknownst to Miranda, also holds an important secret – one that will change everything. With its timeless messages of hope, compassion, and gratitude, The Secret: Dare to Dream is an inspiring and heartwarming film that shows how positive thoughts can transform our lives.—Lionsgate “

–Taken from IMDB website

I highly recommend this film and if you watch it, trust it ends happily. 

I cannot detail the movie without giving anything away but will say as I sit in my hotel room due to a hurricane wonder where my Bray is. …And that, my friends, is what is wrong with Hallmark and romantic movies. I am not pining over the fictional Bray and find it hilarious I’ve been sitting in this hotel room making bootleg Christian items from photoshop and a sale on the Walgreens website. However, if Bray reads this, I’m just here on the first floor, using all the WiFi, typing this blog, and purchasing mugs I made for the future coffee bar. The delirium is getting real!

“Are you still making your stuff??” – My dad and aunt cackling

It was not until they mentioned it that I realized I’ve been on my computer all day making things, but it’s kept me busy and creative. However, it is equally alarming at my choice for the day.

With all of the above said, I go back to a song from the artist Jax. I’m sure she is a huge deal somewhere, but I know her from Instagram, and she writes music and makes parodies of songs with celebrities. I do not remember the first video I watched, but I do know it showed up under the recommendations for me. It was a perfect match because whatever the subject was, the video was hilarious. She makes music and such for background info, but all of this was to say she also wrote the following song for her parents, and it is the most lovely description of a beautiful relationship. “Like my father” is the name of her song, and I will include the lyrics and YouTube link. She is not a Christian artist, and it is not technically a Christian song, but it is as genuine as can be.

It made me tear up because it’s how I feel about my dad. Growing up my whole life my mom was sick, and my dad gave up his career and life to take care of her. As teenagers, my mom ended up in the hospital and didn’t want to talk to anyone, but he showed up at my grandma’s house with flowers and told my grandma he wasn’t going anywhere. She never forgot that because she told me the story years ago before she died in her nineties. After marriage and having me, she got extremely ill. He tried working but couldn’t make money. He prayed about it because he could not work AND take care of her and was getting worn down when God told him, “I am your Provider,” and quit his job and was able to take care of his family through various opportunities.

He’s the most incredible man I know, and I am more than blessed to be able to call him my dad. We have had our share of problems that Jesus fixed, and I do not share my true feelings about how much he means to me to HIM enough, but he ruined me for giving me the highest standards I hold of a guy. When I was a teenager, my mom had a stay in a nursing home for rehabilitation after her stroke, and the manager told me that, and I responded I already knew. I have to remember my Dad is sometimes a human being with feelings, even though I imagine him as a superhero with superhuman strength who can do anything and always has the answers.

My dad was not born ‘my dad’. He was a man who became a Christian and followed Christ. He was shaped into the man he is today through trials and tribulations and loss and life. With all that I am writing, don’t be fooled. I give him a pretty hard time about everything, and he does the same. I like Hallmark, and I love a good romantic comedy. I could shamelessly watch Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping on repeat, and that is not a lie. I can say every line from You’ve Got Mail and swoon at all the Hallmark movies, but I pray to find a man who loves me like my dad loved my mom. We were not rich by any means, but I always grew up with what I needed and knowing I was loved and accepted. I grew up with an example of a Christian man who depended on God and in everything was to turn ‘to the Lord’. I never lacked for anything and could always run to my dad with any problem, and he always had time to listen.

My dad is not a man of deep thought or poetry. He isn’t a romantic, but he is caring. He is wise and has discernment. He is a provider and handy. He can fix anything and always looking to help someone who needs it. He has a servant’s heart and is one of the greatest men I’ll ever know and am so thankful to call him my dad. This blog post is proof of a heart change in more ways than one.

I am not sure why I’ve suddenly thought of all these things, except having the time to think this week and wondering about my future husband. I’m not worried about it, but I have just had passing thoughts about where my Bray is. 🙂 But, I don’t want a Bray. I want the man God has for me just as he is.  I recently bought the song I mentioned and am stuck in this hotel room watching Hallmark channel. Therefore, this blog post was born. 🙂

“I wanna come home to roses and dirty little notes on Post-it’s 
And when my hair starts turning grey, He’ll say I’m like a fine wine, better with age.
I guess I learned it from my parents that true love starts with friendship
A kiss on the forehead, a date night
Fake an apology after a fight

I need a man Who’s patient and kind 
Gets out of the car and holds the door 
I wanna slow dance in the living room like 
We’re 18 at senior prom and grow old with someone who makes me feel young
I need a man who loves me like my father loves my mom

I wanna road trip in the summers 
I wanna make fun of each other
I wanna rock out to Billy Joel and flip our kids off when they call us old
He’ll accidentally burn our dinner 
And let me be the scrabble winner 
And when my body changes shapes He’ll say ‘oh my god you look hot today’

I need a man who’s patient and kind
Gets out of the car and holds the door
I wanna slow dance in the living room like We’re 18 at senior prom
and grow old with someone Who makes me feel young
I need a man who loves me like my father loves my mom

And if he lives up to my father, Maybe he can teach our daughter
What it takes to love a queen 
She should know she’s royalty”

Who were you before the world told you who you should be?

I have (almost) found the one my soul loves…

“What is that smell?” Sketchy Motels: Hurricane Ida Evacuation Saga Continues

We escaped The Bates Motel: Hurricane Ida Update. This evacuation gave me the gift of time.

Matthew 10: When only God can restore your relationship with your dad.