Marvelous Happy Things

The Jonas Brothers 2019- "Burnin' Up," "Year 3000," "When You Look Me in the Eyes," "Lovebug" Here's a confession: When the original JB were first around, I didn't really like them. I grew to like Lines, Vines, and Trying Times  and appreciated their earlier stuff nostalgically. When "Pom Poms" came out, I remember thinking, "What are you doing?" I don't like that song. Some would say I'm not a "true fan" since I wasn't there from the beginning. I'm definitely ready for this comeback. We're all older, and it will be fun to see how they view the world through music this time around. I was disappointed that they only sang part of "Burnin' Up" on Carpool Karaoke . It would have been fun to hear Nick's "red dress" lyric live. The lyrics to "Year 3000" are silly. I wasn't as familiar with "When You Look Me in the Eyes" before this vid...

This fan meets a famous actor on an airplane.  We feel like we know them, but we really don't. Singer and actor (only one movie, but I'm listing it anyway) Harry Styles has been in my life since 2012. I've never met him, and I probably never will, but some people can inspire you from afar. His philosophy to "treat people with kindness" and his personality are attractive and winsome. Unlike the way that some fans (see the recent news of Kelsy Karter using a fake tattoo of his face to get attention and then writing a song with his name) relate to artists, some of us are quite sane. (No hate to her; the song is quite catchy.) But I digress. I've been a fan of Harry since his One Direction days. Their music was a wonderful distraction in high school and college. They are around the same age as I am, and it was fun to see their lives on the road, living the dream. Sometimes fans take personal speculation too far, like insinuating romantic relationships betwe...

Trigger warning: abuse, sexual immorality, violence It started to hit me when I saw the headline "Hundreds Accuse Independent Baptist Pastors of Abuse" (Christianity Today 2018). #MeToo and #ChurchToo were not new to me at this point, but I grew up in a Baptist church. Not an independent fundamental church, but still Baptist. I didn't know these women who survived abuse from their leaders, but I very well could have. Accountability for church leaders is necessary and valuable. Many Baptists prefer their leaders to have a lot of control and that their church exists independently from other churches, but these reports should cause them to consider a different structure. How does the Bible address sexual abuse? I used  OpenBible.info  to find most of these verses. 1 Cor. 6:18 ESV "Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body." Matt. 5:28 ESV "But I say to ...

Happy New Year! This week, I'm sharing movies that come out this year and what excites me about them. Disclaimer: I'm only using movies that have had a trailer released. Some upcoming films (like the next Spider-Man) I am looking forward to; however, they have no trailers online. In order of release date . . . Five Feet Apart (March 29): Everyone is most likely going to compare this romantic drama to previous films like The Fault in Our Stars , but one part that makes this story unique is the characters have cystic fibrosis. I don't know anything about this condition, which means I'll get to learn about it while enjoying the story. Also, it is Cole Sprouse's first theatrical release in years, which makes fans eager to see it. Avengers: Endgame (April 26): Oh, boy. The Avengers characters made me a Marvel fan. Side note: I'm honestly okay with the removal of Cap's beard for this one. He looks more classic that way. The way that the actors have become clo...

This week, I'm going to reflect on why I watch the below YouTubers, movies, and television. In no particular order . . . 1) Jake Paul (YouTube): He reminds me of young men who attended the same high school as me. His energy level reminds me of their's, and he shows not only the good parts of his life but the bad parts as well. I don't know yet what I think of his new series Uncut, but I hope he uses it to encourage and help people. I think he's grown since "The Mind of Jake Paul." 2) 2000's romcoms: I like happy endings. But seriously, modern takes on fairy tales (and original stories) can be very fun and encouraging. Take this quote from A Cinderella Story , for example: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” They can take me back mentally to a simpler time. Also, the characters can be hilarious (ex. most of the adults in Mean Girls ). 3) The Bachelor: You may lose some respect for me right now. I understand, it's n...

Here are some side characters or minor characters (as some are series regulars) from TV shows that caught my eye. I'll explain what each character brings to the show. These aren't my favorite shows necessarily, but these are the characters I came up with. Some minor plot spoilers may occur in the next section . 1) Janice ( Friends ): She may be one of the most annoying characters (that laugh is incredible), but whenever Janice enters or leaves, she gets my attention. Whether it's her affection for Chandler (and later, Ross) or her excitement whenever she sees the group, Janice is not a character I can easily forget. Here's to being a memorable side character! 2) Sophia ( The Golden Girls ): She is one of the wittiest characters. I think the writers created some of the most ridiculous lines for her, knowing that as an older woman, she can get away with it. Sophia can even be downright cruel, but it is still entertaining. Her relationship with her daughter is also ful...

If you are not often on the internet, then you may have no clue who Jake Paul or Shane Dawson are. However, Shane recently created an 8 part YouTube series centered around Jake. Creators paid attention because both are popular YouTubers and the series was long (each episode was over 30 min). This is all free content. Why should you care? Shane and Jake discussed some pretty deep topics, but the one that stuck out the most to me was the love triangle of Jake, his brother Logan Paul, and his friend (girlfriend?) Alissa Violet. I won't go into details here (plenty of articles cover what happened), but it ended with cheating allegations and Jake making Alissa leave the house they lived in together. Jake admitted in the video with Shane that he had never before spoken of this incident. Both men struggled to show emotion during the segment. Jake said that he thought he was over it, but Shane pointed out that he probably is not. From the series, Jake admits that he was raised in a house...