Monthly Archives: November 2011

I may not be around much longer……  I made a deal with God, I asked him to let me live long enough to see Kentucky beat Tennessee in football, on Saturday the Wildcats broke a 26 year string of consecutive losses to the Vols!  What Now????  Now I wonder how long I’ve got!!  Just kidding, but it does bring up a very interesting question for all of us.  How seriously do you take sports?  I know, in the past, I’ve been way too serious.  One night when Kentucky lost to Duke in the NCAA Tournament when Christian Lattner hit a last second shot, I went into the driveway and smashed a water bottle from our water cooler to smithereens. When I returned to the house my wife said, “Can I ask you a question?”  I said sure, she said, “Who won the NCAA tournament three years ago?”  I said I didn’t know, she said, “Point made…..”   A lot has changed since then, I promise…..

My wife is a sharp lady and she had made a very good point indeed, I was acting like a child about something that in a few weeks wouldn’t matter.  Sports can be very enjoyable as long as you don’t make it more serious than it is.  It’s a game, it’s fun to watch, but when it’s over it’s another day.  It’s a fault many of us share, we make more of things in life than we should.  We put a value on things that should not receive that much value.  We shouldn’t, but, we do.   Maybe one of the most important things we do in life is figure out what is worth valuing and what is not.  Let’s work on a list together, but instead of me telling you what you should value and what you should not, Why don’t I make a list and let you decide.  Assign the following terms tho the list below, Critical, Important, Mildly Important, Not Very Important, Irrelevant.  Good luck, I know you will do well!  I have confidence in you!

Who will win the Super Bowl.

Who will be the next President of the United States.

Are you going to be at your son’s soccer game this evening?

Are you going to trade for a new car?

Should you buy a new camera?

Will you get that raise you are hoping for?

Have you told your wife you love her today?

How good of a photographer are you?

Can you figure out what’s important and what’s not?

Do you believe in God?

Have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?

Starting to get the hang of this.  It’s really very simple, figure out what truly matters and spend your life doing something about that!!

Love you in Christ,

the pilgrim

“Life is a journey, not a destination.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson.  I’ve actually found that quote attributed to many people including the late Steve Jobs,  Whoever said it, said a mouthful!  It’s easy to see our lives as leading somewhere, and they are, but to forget the moment to moment joy of this life is criminal.  When you make it to your mid 60’s you may have only one advantage over younger folks, you’ve already been there!  As a photographer you get a pleasure that few enjoy in life, you edit your work.  You look at what you shot, and you remember where you were, who you were with, and the joy of those fantastic experiences.

Your life is an opportunity to experience all you can, touch all the lives you can, share the Good News with everyone you come in contact with, through your words and deeds.  When I found this luggage tag I had to place it on one of my bags.  As a reminder to take full advantage of the privilede and honor of being able to be on this journey.  The destination is already arranged for, all there is to do for now, is live out the journey!

the pilgrim

Well it’s officially the Christmas season and I have another suggtestion for you!  It’s not like you really need my suggestions, but humor me, and if you take the time to watch some of these films they will brighten your holidays.  I love Christmas movies and I have a pretty vast collection, but these are the dozen plus one that  I have to watch every year.  I’ve broken them down into several categories, so here goes:

Just for fun, laughs, and enjoyment;

1.  Christmas Vacation –  This classic with Chevy Chase is all about the ups and downs of Christmas, and family.  No matter how many times I watch it, it always brings great laughter.  The opening car/truck chase sequence always cracks me up!

2.  A Christmas Story – This great tale takes us back to the 50’s when I was this same age as the main character.  The great book by Jean Shepherd, “In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.”  is wonderfully adapted!  Darren McGaven was wonderful as the dad!   Peter Billingsley was perfect for Ralphie.

3. & 4.  Home Alone & Home Alone 2 –  Rarely does a great movie have a great sequel but this time it worked.  Both are great films that the kids always love.  They also have wonderful messages of Christmas love.

5.  The Santa Clause –  Tim Allen’s classic Christmas movies has spawned several sequels but none are as good as the first!

6. Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas –  A family favorite at the Fortney house has always been this great film.  My daughter Catherine cans still recite every line while watching the film before it’s spoken!

7.  Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 original) –  This is a great film best viewed in the original black and white version.  This is a wonderful film was made one year after I was born!

8.  Holiday Inn – This classic Christmas movie with the great music of Irving Berlin stars Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, and Marjorie Reynolds.  A film that is an entertaining the 50th time you watch it, as the first!

Christmas films about redemption and values:

9.  A Christmas Carol –  Many wonderful adaptation have been done to  this classic Charles Dicken’s story.  this version made int he 1951 with Alastair Sim is on e of the most faithful to the original story and most touching, though I own every version I am aware of.  this is a great story of redemption and change.  I watch it several times a year to remind me of what God wants my heart o see and embrace.

10.  Scrooge – A modern adaptation fo A Christmas Carol with Bill Murray.  Filled with good laughs and a great ending of change.

11.  It’s A Wonderful Life – Frank Capra’s great film about a man and his life and what a man’s actions lead to in the end.  One of the greatest films ever made.  Jimmy Stewart;;’s best film and a must see,  once every year!!!!  What would life have been like if you never existed?  This film will give you a peak!

12.  The Bishop’s Wife  (1947)- A lovely story of God’s intervention into the  lives of His servants.  A classic not to be missed.  It stars Carey Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven.

13.  Mr Krueger’s Christmas – This storty adapted into film for the Seventh Day Adventist starrying Jimmy Stewart is worth watching if only for the scene where Mr. Krueger (Stewart’s character), show up at the stable and encounters the baby Jesus.  A very  powerful moment, for all of us!

Merry Christmas,

the pilgrim

Let me challenge you to do something really important!  I was sorting through our Christmas movies on DVD over this weekend and found a copy of Christmas Vacation.  It’s a really funny film, but my favorite scene is when Chevy Chase is locked up in attic and he find the box of old 8mm films and starts watching his times at Christmas when he was a young boy.   The last time I had all my family together at home back in late July we planned an evening of looking at old slides and videos from when they were all young.  My oldest son Scott is 41, my middle son Wesley is 38 and my youngest, Catherine is 35, and  we have six grandchildren ranging form 14 to 3.  Everyone loved that evening, everyone laughing at how we all used to look in years past.  It may have been one of the most enjoyable evenings we’ve had as a family!

As you gather with your family this Christmas season, dig out the old films, pictures and videos and spend a little time remembering together the history of your family.  I will be privileged again this Christmas to have everyone home again for the holidays.  We will plan a lot of activities that will have us all down in the floor, around the fire, celebrating the other great gift, each other.

I will also take time to read the Christmas story to my grandchildren and we will attend the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our church.  I plan to take every individual aside during that week and thank them for all that I appreciate about them.  Some day I will not be here to do that, so I will do it while I can.

Here’s my suggestion; take time this Christmas to share your love with everyone you come in contact with, because in sharing your love, you are sharing His love!

Sherelene and I have been getting our Christmas decorations up over this weekend and with every wreath we hang and when we lit the Christmas tree last night, I’m more filled with that warmth and excitement that I’ve had ever since childhood about this wonderful magical season.  Share that magic with others.  When shopping, open a door for some one wish people a Merry Christmas, find countless ways to share the love that He brought into the world!

My friend, Scott Diussa, introduced me to a great Christmas song a couple of years ago, let me share the words with you now.

“I Celebrate The Day” by Relient K

My first Merry Christmas wish for you!

the pilgrim