For Colored Girls: A Movie Review

This Tyler Perry PG-13 rated drama centers around nine black women, ages 16 to 60-ish, and their attempts to overcome adversity. All of their lives are intertwined interestingly as most of them dwell in the same apartment building in New York. The title comes from the main poem recited at the beginning of the movie and similar poetry is weaved throughout, passing from character to character. If you want to check out trailers and clips, go to YouTube. The actresses are experienced and do a very fine job of portraying these characters honestly and as if they were real women. The all-star cast, plot lines, poetry, etc. all draw you in to make the performance that much more real and meaningful. It's been called Tyler Perry's best work yet.

Personally, as a colored girl, it was the worst movie I've seen in a long time. I say that, not because it misrepresents colored girls, it hits the nail on the head in almost every way. But I say that because of my hope and faith in Jesus Christ and my desire to glorify and submit to Him and His Word. If you are somewhat happily living, realizing the fullness of Christ more and more daily, content in your marriage to a thoughtful, servant-leading husband, who never gives you a reason why you should distrust him - then do not view this movie! All of the adversity these women face is somehow caused by abuse they suffered at the hands of black men. And the way they respond to all this adversity is by secular means, not through personal hope and faith in Christ, which is exactly what is needed for the seriousness of the issues these women faced. Now the issues:

Abortion: This act is alluded to on screen, but it not at all graphic in any way. I found myself screaming on the inside as I watched what I knew was about to happen. Again, there was nothing graphic, only the images of metal instruments. There is a redeeming quality, though. The two women who had had abortions were very regretful about their decision and worldly sorrowful about it.

Marriage: There is only one healthy marital relationship in the movie, to an honest and caring black man. But it is not glorified or exalted as an example of what should be. There is an adulterous marriage, co-habiting, and fornication.

Murder: In this movie, two young children are murdered on screen. I could not bear to watch to see how graphic it was.

Religion: One character is seen as a religious nut, very much on the cultic side. The name of her god seems to mock at the one true God in Jesus Christ. She views unborn babies as "evil" and prays in front of some shrine set up in one of her apartment corners. She runs around yelling, "Repent! Repent!"

Sexual Crimes: There is a rape committed on-screen, again not too graphic or violent, but very horrible to stomach. The only woman who is happy and always smiling, has this horrible violence committed against her and you never see her recover emotionally. There is talk of other such crimes committed in the past against other characters, and it is given as the cause for their on screen behavior.

This movie is not entertainment. I believe that Perry's motive is to give hope to black women. Unless that hope is in Christ, then it is a false hope. It asserts that to be a black woman is to experience sorrow, distrust, betrayal, and abuse by black men, and to have wrong theology.

Honestly, this movie caused me to remember sins committed against me of which I had long since forgotten, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to become suspicious of all men around me, even my wonderful husband. If anyone highly recommends that you view this movie, as a serious believer in Christ (daily Bible reading, prayer, service, church attendance, relying on grace to walk righteously, fully dependent on the atoning work of Christ alone), then give some serious consideration as to whether watching a movie such as this would alter your emotions and worldview and shift your focus away God's mighty redeeming work of replacing beauty for ashes, strength for fear, gladness for mourning, peace for despair, and the grace to forgive and even forget in love.

Feedback, Please

My children are messy eaters. They usually end up with their meals displayed all over their clothes. And so I used to end up either bathing them (almost) after every meal or taking off their clothes before eating. The meals with tomato products were especially stressful because they stain so easily. Bibs are okay, but if they're cloth, the food can seep right through and they're not long enough or wide enough. Occasionally I thought to use an adult apron on my girls, which was great, but I didn't think too much about getting more than one for all their eating times.

The thought came to me after G'Wanda bought some child sized aprons for the girls so that they would eat, fully clothed, and still be clean afterwards. It eliminated 90% of the after eating clean-up and save a lot of time. She bought some more fabric and duplicated the pattern. Then I thought, "What if they were waterproof? Then maybe they could eat spaghetti!" Spaghetti is their messiest and one of their most favorite meals. The clean up takes just as long as it does to eat, but with a waterproof apron, maybe it would be easier. So I popped a couple out and voila! They really do save me so much time cleaning them up after eating and in stain-removal on laundry days. They save me money by not buying so much Clorox 2 color-safe bleach, plus extra water and detergent. I can just tie one on each girl, let them eat, shake off the solids (when necessary) then throw it in the washing machine. It is soo much easier!

My question to you, reader, is (1.) do you think that waterproof aprons are a good idea as an entrepreneurial enterprise? Lots of stay at home moms do things for home-based businesses: cloth diapering, bath & body products, baby gifts, etc. Would making children's waterproof aprons for eating, crafting, painting and cooking be a good idea? And (2.) Would people buy it?

Jeramy and I have thought of several other accessories and products we could offer, like dining seat covers (for under booster seats) and carrying bags (to and from restaurants, etc.). We would make them more professional looking than the quick job pictured above.

What do you think? Any comments, no matter how brief, positive or negative are appreciated.

Thanks.

Lily Lu'sday: Early Morning Quiet Time with Moriah

Moriah Monday: Nursing Her Baby

By the way, totally un-related to breastfeeding, Moriah completed her first pass in the Children's Catechism questions one through four! Yay!

Shiphrah Saturday: 6 Months!

She is 6 months old already! I can't believe it! She's growing up too fast!! Her personality has really come out now. She finds ways to entertain herself by playing with her lips or her tongue. Everything within reach must be tested via mouth. She notices everything new. We're working on rolling over both ways and sitting up. She has been eating rice cereal and this week we started eating carrots, yay! She's still nursing and sleep is still not quite predictable.

Valentine's Day

The girls and I did a very low budget and very high effort and meaning to express our love to family this Valentine's Day. We made Daddy and G'Wanda cards out of cardstock, crayons, glue, markers, and tissue paper. For Jeramy I made banana pudding for about $5 and for G'Wanda I bought a single rose for $2.50. Note to self: if you ever need to put a message in whipped cream for a fruity dessert use raisins.

G'Wanda's cards

Jeramy's cards

And banana pudding with a special message in red sprinkles.

Turning 30

Last Saturday I turned 30 years old. Jeramy went to great lengths to make sure that I felt special on my birthday. He bought me 30 tulips. He asked G'Wanda to take the girls to sleep over Friday night. Then Saturday he cooked me a special "30" themed lunch with 30 chicken wings, 30 pieces of boiled carrots, and 15 pieces of banana + 15 m&m's = 30 for dessert each one in the shape of the number 30. He also wrote me "30 Reasons Why I Love My Wife, Meggan":

1. She is made in the image of God.
2. She supports me through peaks and valleys.
3. She trust my financial decision making.
4. She is intelligent.
5. She desires wisdom from God through His Word.
6. She reads His Word.
7. She loves God in Christ.
8. She nurtures our children.
9. She disciplines our children when it is difficult.
10. She is beautiful.
11. She exercises regularly.
12. She watches her diet.
13. She is open to having many children.
14. She opens our home for fellowship.
15. She prepares tasty meals for our home and those in need.
16. She lets me monologue.
17. She is a gifted musician.
18. She is willing to stay home with our children.
19. She home schools.
20. She enjoys reading.
21. She engages in intellectually stimulating conversations.
22. She is faithful.
23. She respects my authority.
24. She is gentle to the touch.
25. She helps me learn piano and to read music.
26. She prays with me.
27. She is sympathetic to others with small children.
28. She delights in my remodeling skills.
29. She strives to be more like Christ.
30. She loves me.

That's better than any card Hallmark could put out! Yeah, I was all warm and fuzzy inside. :-)

After lunch I went shopping, alone, to use my gift cards I got as Christmas presents and bought some more workout gear and a new dress. :-) (By the way I've lost all of Shiphrah's baby weight and now I'm working on losing the left over 10 pounds from Moriah and Lily's pregnancies. I only have another 15 lbs. until I reach my final goal.)

Then we went to my Mom's house for a special dinner: BBQ ribs, corn pudding, stewed tomatoes, and rolls. For dessert, she made a cream cheese poundcake with homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries! Ooh, so good!

Do I feel older? No not much. But I do realize that, given my Dad's family history, this could be the mid-point of my life. Not any of my Dad's siblings have celebrated their 60th birthdays, all died in their 50's. I figure that if I make it to 60 (with or without major issues like cancer), then I'm doing really good.

Shiphrah Saturday

This is such a sweet picture!

Updated pictures from January are in the right sidebar. If you double click on the moving slideshow it will take you to Picasa where you can see them larger, order prints, etc.

Sticker Sisters

Jeramy has asked that I make a more concerted effort in our homeschool education. Lily is learning to recognize the written letters and numbers. Moriah is learning Pre-primer sight words, U.S. and world geography, and some history. Soon we will start teaching them the catechism. We spend between 5 and 15 minutes a day learning new material and/or reviewing previously covered material. Throughout the teaching time they get lots of high fives and if they do really well in memory and attitude, they get a sticker. :-)