"The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love." - Psalm 33:5

So I've been kind of bumming lately...about a lot of things. I would be lying if I said my life was where I thought it would be at this stage. Sometimes there are a million little irritating things that all pile up and create an overall level of "I'm going crazy." At work, I keep a "feel good folder." Inside of this folder, there are newspaper clippings, printed out e-mails, and letters written to or about me that are positive. When I'm feeling low, I just browse this folder and it makes me feel better. Last Friday night, a new addition to this folder was given to me. Working at the library, it's my job (among many others) to put on events for teens and 'tweens in the community. I hosted the second ever Youth Trivia Showdown. The event was a smash hit - I loved every minute of it. At the end of the night, one of the parents got up in front of the group and thanked me for all the work I did. It was really nice. She also gave me a small blue container. I didn't know what was in it, but it didn't matter - it was the gesture and the thankfulness that really hit home with me. Later as I was cleaning up, I opened the container and found.......money - I was blown away - and not just because I had literally just that day taken an ethics test which clearly stated what I was and wasn't allowed to accept as a gift (I was safe)! I couldn't believe the parents would do such a kind thing to reward me for simply doing my job. It really was touching. I donated the money to our teen group as I didn't feel comfortable keeping it for myself, but the thought behind the donation just blew me away. So that little blue container will be in my "Feel Good Folder" to inspire me along with the other items. I would suggest everyone for their sanity's sake keep some sort of collection of things that make them feel better. And look, I am at the end of a blog post and I didn't mention movies once!

Peace.

May the LORD repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.

- Ruth 2:12

I feel like I've been a bad blogger lately, but now that I have seen most of the movies of the 2009 season (it runs from Feb to Feb every year for us normal folk due to limited releases and slow roll outs) I wanted to let you know which ten you really shouldn't miss. I have a couple movies left to see, so these selections potentially could be altered slightly, but I doubt it.

The Best of the Year

1. Inglourious Basterds

This is the best picture of the year. For me, when I go to the movies, I want to be entertained. From the suspenseful opening "chapter" to the slam bang Tarantino finish, for my money, "Basterds" is deserving of the honor of not only my best film of the year choice, but of the Oscar come March.

2. Away We Go

3. Up

4. (500) Days of Summer

5. Broken Embraces

6. The Hangover

7. Crazy Heart

8. Up in the Air

9. The Fantastic Mr. Fox

10. Food, Inc.

But what about....(movies I didn't forget to put on my list)

Avatar - I LOVED the experience of "Avatar" and I encourage everyone to see it. I am planning on seeing it at least one more time in theaters. When I watch a movie though, I need more than just special effects...even if they are AWESOME as in the case of "Avatar". I didn't hate the story here, but it's been done before. And with all of the other great stories, this movie just didn't crack my top ten. Think about this on DVD and not in theaters and it just loses something. It is a very good movie though...just not good enough.

The Hurt Locker - This movie was gripping, intense, and had a powerful ending that I can still remember even months after seeing it. This would have made my top ten (probably 2 or 3) if not for one HORRIBLE scene in an otherwise near perfect movie. The portion of the film where our hero runs off into an Iraqi village in search of a boy who may or may not be dead lost me completely. It was insulting and ill-conceived - and while it didn't ruin the movie for me, I cannot pretend I didn't notice.

District 9 - I reviewed this earlier on my blog. Great concept. So-so execution. When I wasn't being amazed, I was bored to death.

An Education - I can understand and appreciate this movie. Personally though, I don't have to love it. Quite frankly, it was the "ick factor" that did me in.

A Serious Man - Seriously overrated.

The Blind Side - The feel good film of the year. I really enjoyed it, just not good enough or original enough to crack my top ten.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire - I really admire this movie, and it would be in the top 15 for sure. It's an important movie for some, and a hard one to watch for others.

The Worst of 2009:

Please note - I don't actively try to seek out crappy movies, so some of the dumb teen flicks and sappy rom-coms aren't on here. These are more based on how let down I was.

1. The Invention of Lying

2. The Last House on the Left

3. The Lovely Bones

4. The Ghost of Girlfriend's Past

5. The Ugly Truth (the only good thing about this movie is that Bobaloo from "I Survived a Japanese Game Show" has a cameo/extra type role in it!)

What were your favorites and least favorites? Peace!