Little Boy Lost ~ Movie Review

                                                                           Source: swagbucks.com via Eyebright on Pinterest

Just this morning I finished watching an adorable movie, that I would love to own some day. It's not a movie that's outrageously fantastic. It's not showy, it's not flashy, and it's not loud. It does have a charm of it's own, however.

Bill Wainwright (Bing Crosby) is a war correspondent in Paris during WWII. He falls in love with a beautiful singer, and their life promises to be very happy together, especially after the birth of their son. At that exact moment when joy is abounding, Bill is separated from his family, due to his job, and winds up caught outside of France.

Circumstances don't allow him to return, and although he frantically tries to get his wife and child back, it is to no avail. Finally, he get's word that his wife was murdered by the Nazi's because she was assisting the underground.

When the war is over, Bill starts searching for his son. He searches for years without success, until finally he and his faithful friend Pierre Verdier find a lead.

This lead takes him on many trips down memory lane, and through many emotions as he wavers between deciding whether or not the boy that they have found is really his son.

In the end, of course, everything turns out well.  Bill has finally managed to lay down the past, and respectfully turn towards the future.

Once scene that I enjoyed was when Bill is first shown to the orphanage where the lead has taken him. He is shown the boys, and the one he is interested in is not pointed out, until after he has assumed that the brightest, most intelligent looking boy must be his own son. Afterwards he is told rather obviously that it is normal for seeking parents to be conceited enough to assume that the best looking child is his. Bill realizes with chagrin that this is exactly what he had done.

Little Boy Lost features at least two songs sung by Bing Crosby, which is always fun for his fans to hear.

It is a movie that I would definitely recommend. Don't look forward to an evening filled with action and adventure, but do look forward to a quiet evening that warms and feeds you will good-will and kindness.

Blogoversary Giveaway Winners

Wow! I was fairly impressed by how many people entered, and I loved reading the responses to the survey. I thought it was fun way to do a giveaway and learn something at the same time.

It seemed like everyone mostly agreed that the things they like to read on my blog are book reviews, posts that make them think, and see pictures and quotes.

Also, the people who opted to share their age range were all in the 16-20 category. That's good to know! I know that not everybody is in that age range, but I'm guessing that most of you are.

It's time to announce the four winners of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Blogoversary Giveaway! 

The first winner is:

Emily Grace!

The second winner is:

Simply Vintagegirl!

The third winner is:

Elizabeth!

The fourth winner is:

Lauren Nicole!

Congratulations on winning everyone! I will be contacting you shortly so that I can get your books sent out!

Thank you to everyone who participated and made this a successful giveaway for me. Thank you for your great answers in the survey, and thank you for reading my blog! 

Blessings!

You Had Me at Page One

After reading Jenny's post about first sentences in books, I thought it would be fun to go through some of the books I've been reading lately and see what their first sentences are. The following first sentences are taken strictly from fiction that I have read in this last year, and it does not mean that these are favorite books, by any means, although many of them are good.

                          Source: lady-endy.tumblr.com via Eyebright on Pinterest

Listen!
~Chris Walley, in The Shadow and Night


Nekonkh, captain of the Nile boat Silver Beetle, paused for the fiftieth time beside his vessel's high beaked prow and shaded his eyes to peer anxiously across the wharfs. 
~ Eloise Jarvis McGraw, in Mara, Daughter of the Nile

"Galwyn's feeding the fishes again," the mate called as I emptied the odorous bucket overboard. 
~ Anne McCaffrey, in Black Horses for the King

"Well, if there be any truth in the old adage, young Herman Brudenell will have a prosperous life; for really this is a lovely day for the middle of April - the sky is just as sunny and the air as warm as if it were June," said Hannah Worth, looking out from the door of her hut upon a scene as beautiful as ever shone beneath the splendid radiance of an early spring morning. 
~ E.D.E.N. Southworth, in Ishmael

Awful as the anguish of his parting with Claudia had been, it was not likely that Ishmael, with his strength of intellect and will, would long succumb to despair. 
~ E.D.E.N. Southworth, in Self-Raised (Ishmael's sequel)

The dreary March evening is rapidly passing from murky gloom to obscurity. 
~ Edward P. Roe, He Fell in Love with His Wife

Peter Blood, bachelor of medicine and several other things besides, smoked a pipe and tended the geraniums boxed on the sill of his window above Water Lane in the town of Bridgewater. 
~ Rafael Sabatini, in Captain Blood

Taran wanted to make a sword; but Coll, charged with the practical side of his education, decided on horseshoes.
 ~ Lloyd Alexander, in The Book of Three

Rose sat all alone in the big best parlor, with her little handkerchief laid ready to catch the first tear, for she was thinking of her troubles, and a shower was expected. 
~ Louisa May Alcott, in Eight Cousins

Abbot Bernard folded his paws deep into the wide sleeves of his garb. 
~ Brian Jacques, in Mariel of Redwall

Tor raised his eyes toward the very top of the high hill where the Castle of Camelot stood. 
~ Eugenia Stone, in Page Boy of Camelot

Now, if you read all of those (double points if you did!), tell me in the comments which ones you liked, or ones that made you want to know more, or ones that you thought were exceptionally good first sentences, and tell me why!

5 Quotes About Joy

I've been researching quotes that have to do with joy, for a special project. They are so inspiring! I thought I would share a few with my friends.

People are just as happy as they make up

their minds to be. 

Abraham Lincoln

The power of finding beauty in the humblest things

makes home happy and life lovely.

Louisa May Alcott

Many people lose the small joys in the hope

for the big happiness.  

Pearl S. Buck

I don’t think of all the misery, but of the beauty

that still remains.

Anne Frank

And the true realism, always and everywhere,

is that of the poets: to find out where joy resides,

and give it a voice far beyond singing. For to miss the

joy is to miss it all. 

Robert Louis Stevenson

Quotes about Strength

We recently went to the Sequim Olympic Game Farm in Washington, where we saw lions, and tigers, and...oh, I won't go into all of that.

I took more pictures than the ones here, but these are the ones that I liked best. I chose these quotes about strength, because both of these animals, the bison and the bear, seem to have that quality in abundance. While their strength may chiefly lie in their physical abilities, we can work to become strong in many areas of our Christian walk such as prayer, controlling our tongues, serving others, and seeking to glorify the Lord in all that we do.

Is it not He who gives the bison and the bear their strength? It is fitting that we, too, should draw our strength from Him.

"Do not think that love in order to be genuine has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

~Mother Theresa~

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."

~Corrie Ten Boom~

Read more about our adventure at the Olympic Game Park at Sagerats Scribbles!

Blogoversary Giveaway!

Just today I realized that I have been blogging on Blogger for three whole years. My Blogger blogging anniversary was last week on the 7th, and so this is a perfect excuse to hold a giveaway that I was saving for a rainy day!

I thought I would do a survey and ask a few interesting questions that might  help me with making this blog more reader friendly.

I always like filling out forms, so I assume you do too!  I'm sure you're also curious as to what you can win in this giveaway.

It's a book. Let me tell you about it!


During the Reign of Terror, there were many things that were strange or unusual. One of these oddities was the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel.  This seeming phantom of a man rescued the French nobility from the horror of the guillotine and smuggled them to England where they would be safe.


The story centers on a young French woman know as "the cleverest woman in Europe", and her husband, one of the wealthiest men in England. She does not have the married life she had hoped for, yet in the midst of her personal turmoil comes a betrayal that ends with a shocking turn of events. Who is the Scarlet Pimpernel, and what happens to the young French woman, Margurite Blakeney? 

~

I first read The Scarlet Pimpernel after I received it as a gift for my 16th birthday, and ever since then it has been a favorite with me and my sister! I have even read a few of the sequels which are just as exciting as the first. If you have read the first book, definitely try to look up some of the sequels.

As an exciting gift to you, I have four used, paperback copies of The Scarlet Pimpernel to giveaway! They are in excellent condition, with only a black mark through the bar code on the back. 

Yes, four copies! That means four readers get to win this wonderful adventure for their own libraries!

Mandatory Entry


Fill out the Blogoversary Survey! Make sure to leave a comment on this post after you finish, otherwise it doesn't count.


Optional Entries
Leave a comment for each additional entry.

1. Follow Defective Compositions.
2. Tweet about the giveaway, and include @Eyebright17 in the tweet.
3. Post about the giveaway on Facebook.
4. Put the giveaway button in your sidebar.

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The Giveaway will be open until September 21st.

FASD Awareness Day

I know that there are a million different causes and missions that one can support, but I would like to offer up to you one that is little known, and 100% avoidable.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) happens when a mother drinks alcohol during her pregnancy, and it can affect the child in so many ways; physical, mental, behavioral, and learning.

This is a cause that is a little closer to me than many others, because my youngest brother has FAS. We adopted him when he was a baby, and he has faced many challenges, many of which he will have to deal with for the rest of his life.

There are things we can do to help my brother, and we are! Along with that, though, I want to tell you that FASD is a cause that is fairly easy to support! You don't have to donate money for a cure, you don't have to do fundraisers, and you don't have to make products to make even more money for your cure. Instead, all you have to do is help the others around you be aware of what can happen when they drink while they are pregnant, and urge them to abstain from alcohol during those nine months.

This is a cause that will be exciting to spread to your community, as well! Unfortunately for our family this year, we didn't realize that until it was too late, and we already had things planned.

Perhaps the best way for you to learn more would be to pop over to the FAS Families of Faith blog!

Sharing the Blessings ~ One

I recently started following this adorable and quaint blog, written by Kellie Falconer, and I am so excited to learn more about her and read her posts!

She recently started a meme which is similar to many others, but one that I couldn't resist, seeing as how it had such a lovely button.  Sharing the Blessings is exactly what it sounds like, and so I'd love to begin!

This week, I am extremely excited and thankful that my beloved, special-needs brother is learning to read! It hasn't just been this week, and it has been an extremely long and unusual process, but he just read to me several Dick and Jane stories, yesterday.

It is not much, and there is still a long road ahead of us, but I think that my little brother is well on his way to learning a skill that so many of us take for granted. Hip, hip, hooray!

George Washington and the Cherry Tree ~ Despite the Myth

I'm quite certain that all of us have grown up hearing the inspiring story of our first President, George Washington, when he was a boy. He chops down his father's prized cherry tree, and upon being questioned, admits to his guilt, using the thereafter famous words, "I cannot tell a lie".

It's a story that always made a slight impression on me, although I never really acted upon that impression and tried to excuse myself out of bad behavior. Still it's a good story.

I was helping my younger brother to read it the other day, when my other  brother piped up and announced, "By the way, they found out that the cherry tree story is just a myth."  At first I was quite indignant about this, but as I got to thinking about it, I realized that I had probably heard that bit of news before, and just forgotten about it.




Source: google.com via Tim on Pinterest

Thinking it would be interesting to research the matter a little, I did a quick online search, and on the couple of links that I clicked on, it did seem to be true. [1]

Now, I'm not saying that I did extensive research, or that I believe these people to know what they are talking about, but I was given the general impression that the tale is either highly exaggerated or false. This is apparently because of a man called Parson Weems who was Washington's first biographer. [2]

Again, from the extremely brief reading that I did on the matter, I seemed to discover that Weems was a man who liked to exaggerate things, and color the facts to suit his purposes. If that was the case, it's rather ironic that in this way he decides to create a tale that promotes honesty.

Now, I have not found this to be proven, and although Washington is not a personal hero of mine, I am certainly not questioning his integrity. No, the whole reason I'm writing this is because of a matter that I have encountered before.

"It's too good to be true. It's not real"


Not only with the story of the Cherry Tree, but also with G.A. Henty books, one or two Louisa May Alcott books, E.D.E.N. Southworth, and I'm sure there are others, I have actually thought myself, or been told that they aren't worth reading because the characters are too good, too well-behaved, or too innocent.

I now disagree. These books are totally worth reading and enjoying! It is blindness on the part of our culture that refuses to see merit in goodness, especially what appears as over-the-top virtue. I do see merit, however. Every time I read a book like that I feel motivated and inspired to become better! I want to overcome my faults, do good to others, and strive longer and harder to be all that God wants me to be!

So despite it's debatable origins, I still like the story of the Cherry Tree. Despite the author's exaggeration or creation, it is still a story that we can embrace because of it's obvious portrayal of truth and honesty. Although the Henty characters are almost perfect in every way (not to mention almost identical in personality), I still love a good Henty adventure not just for a exciting setting, but also for a hero that I can look up to and admire. Jack and Jill, by Louisa May Alcott still happens to be one of my favorite books, despite the fact that children don't behave that way (at least not now!), because it describes good morals without being preachy and patronizing.

Yes, I love them, and will continue to do so. I love being inspired to be more than "good enough", and I enjoy putting my mind on sweeter and better things than what one usually finds in todays society.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things." ~ Philippians 4:8

These books and stories may all be fictional, but the qualities that make them worthwhile are true.

[1]Washington's Cherry Tree: Legend or Fact?, George Washington: Cherry Tree (Wikipedia)
[2]Parson Weems )Wikipedia

A Fun Feature on Pintrest

Wow. Just last week I discovered a new feature on one of my new favorite websites, Pintrest. In case you're unfamiliar with this site, Pintrest is a kind of a bookmarking/catch-all for inspiring photos, tutorials, or just about anything else that has pictures on the web. When you see something amazing, you pin it in it's proper category, and then it can be seen by all of your friends who can then "repin" it.

Perhaps the description doesn't sound any different than any other social networking, or bookmarking tool that you can find on the web, but for some reason, when I see many of the pictures on Pintrest, I get completely and instantly inspired.

Anyway, the new feature that I was talking about is that now you can kind of subcategorize your boards, but not only that, you can have multiple people pinning to the same board!

Wow! Just new features on the website inspire me! I'm coming up with all kinds of crazy ideas on a collaborative pin boards for a million different subjects. You could have a group of your friends get together, and share a board dedicated to knitting patterns, DIY home decor, inspirational messages such as the one below, or missions related articles, websites, and shops.

                                                                            Source: etsy.com via Eyebright on Pinterest

You could even start a supportive photography group this way, and have members pin articles, tutorials, and tips to help improve your skill!

All in all, I think it's an awesome new feature, and I encourage you to test it out and let me know what you think! What kind of group board will you create? Who did you invite? And by the way, you can find me on Pintrest by searching for Eyebright!

The Piano Guys

I follow very few channels on Youtube, the biggest reason being that I don't care for the majority of what they post. The Piano Guys are different. Even if I really don't care for the theme they choose to play (Harry Potter), I can still totally admire the skill that took to play it, plus the awesome job they do on the actual video.

Here are a couple of my favorite Piano Guys videos.




 This one is not a piano, but it's still pretty amazing!