Bless the Lord, O My Soul

In light of the Thanksgiving holiday, I thought I would post a message that I recently gave at my church about the blessings of God from Psalm 103. May you be encouraged by this passage. (If the Flash Player doesn't work for you, click here.)

Happy Anniversary...

...to ME!

It has been one year this month since I first opened this site and made my debut as a blogger.

Looking back at the last year of blogging, I have learned a handful of lessons. However, one thing in particular stands out as the #1 thing I have learned--Blogging consistently is a LOT harder than I thought it would be!


The time and discipline required to make a blog worth reading is probably more than I have right now. Hence, the low number of hits this blog has received since it started. But that's okay. My reason for blogging isn't necessarily to impact a mass populace, but to fine tune my thinking and writing skills and to have an outlet for editorializing. I have enjoyed blogging so far, and look forward to future years of writing in the Blogosphere.

Happy Anniversary, A Fruitful Life.

I Have Returned

I know, I know...it's now officially been over a month since my last blog post. Sad, but true. I could run off a list of excuses, but that would be both time consuming and pointless.

Instead, I can more easily summarize my absence in a word:

life.

But now I am back and am recommitting to blog at least twice a week (at least through the end of the year.)

Moving On Up

Sorry I have been out of the game lately, but I believe I have had good reason: Paige and I have just closed on the purchase of our first house!!

We are praising the Lord for His goodness to us through the entire process. It is quite the improvement from the apartment which we were rapidly outgrowing with our continual accumulation of "stuff" (books, furniture, decorative pieces, books, and more books). We are completely excited to be proud homeowners as we near the 2-year mark of marriage (7/16).

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lam. 3:22-23

We look forward to many joyful years in this home. Our hope is that this home may be a place where we grow closer together in our marriage, raise obedient children who come to know Christ, and serve and show hospitality to others, all to the glory of our great God.

Best Movies of 2006

Relatively speaking, I saw fewer movies in 2006 than I typically do in a year. (I'm still debating whether or not that fact is positive or negative.)

Nevertheless, I figured I would do a limited recap on the previous year's movies...or at least those movies which I did see!

These are my favorites in a few different categories from the movies that I saw in '06:

Overall Best Picture: United 93 (An extremely factual story about one of the fatal flights on 9/11/2001. This film by its very nature is bound to deeply impact every single viewer! I walked into the theater knowing that I would shed a few tears. When the credits rolled, there wasn't a dry eye or untouched heart in the room. It's a good reminder as to why America as a nation should be adamant about doing everything possible to find terrorists and kill them!)

Best Action: Casino Royale (Craig is definitely a tough guy!...the opening chase scene was the best Bond chase scene EVER!)

Best Comedy: Night at the Museum (Clean, laugh-out loud humor! Fun for any age!)

The following list represents some of the films that I saw and enjoyed in 2006 (some, I'll admit, don't rank very high on the asthetics scale; however, for whatever crazy reason, I was entertained or intrigued by them!). This list is not exhaustive of all the movies I saw in 2006, but just a sample of those 2006 films that I think are worth the time to watch.

Notables:
World Trade Center (A naturally moving story. I cried.)
The Prestige (Unsurprisingly magical!)
The Da Vinci Code (Not as good as the book. Despite most critics' reviews, I still enjoyed it.)
Inside Man (Twists, turns, and a clever surprise ending.)
Cars (Another good one from Pixar.)
Over the Hedge (The squirrel made me laugh out loud!)
Glory Road (Not quite Remember the Titans, but still good!)
The Break-Up (Finally! A movie with a realistic ending!)
Superman Returns (fun, though kinda cheesy at parts)
Click (I think almost every guy has wanted a remote control like that at some point or another!)
Deja Vu (Denzel in a cool, sci-fi/action flick. (Isn't that Jesus playing the part of the bad guy?))
Scoop (Woody Allen, Hugh Jackman, & Scarlett Johansson in a fun, murderous comedy)
Flyboys (clean & entertaining portrayal of WWI pilots)
Tristan and Isolde (Knights, swordfights, and a lovestory.)
X-Men: The Last Stand (Colossus was cool! Wolverine is still my idol.)

I welcome your comments on this list......even better, add your own "Best of '06."

Christmas in Baxter Springs

My wife and I flew into Tulsa last night from Phoenix and drove up to see Paige's family for the holidays. They live in Baxter Springs, Kansas, which is about an hour and a half north of Tulsa and an hour west of Springfield, Missouri. There's a lot of history here in Baxter Springs. There was a Civil War battle (or skirmish) fought here; the former Route 66 passed through the town; and baseball legend Mickey Mantle was first spotted by a Yankees scout as he hit 3 homeruns for the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids at a ball field in the tiny town.

It's beautiful here in the Ozarks; so green compared to Phoenix! We're hoping for a white Christmas; not too sure why, though, because snow usually doesn't make life easier.

Anyway, I hope you all have a very blessed Christmas. From what I hear, "it's the most wonderful time of the year." I'll let each individual be the judge of that! But one thing is for sure: it is the perfect time to meditate on Jesus Christ--the baby that was born to die for the purpose of saving sinners like me. What wonder and mystery are wrapped up in the thought of His virgin birth and the fact that God took on the nature of man in order to save men from His wrath and their sin. As I think about Christmas this year, I see it as the beginning of the story. It's the Introduction and first chapters of the story of Christ's life, a life which was lived and given entirely for others. He was born and lived 33 years in the shadow of the cross. He was the greatest example of true service, humility, and love. And most importantly, in the thankful words of Philip Bliss, "Hallelujah, what a Savior!"

“The Noblest King”

The noblest King was born in a stable;
A blessed baby boy would later die for His people.
Raised in Nazareth, He was the Savior.
Though killed and abused, He was Creator!

We sing of Jesus Christ
Born that glorious night!
From Bethlehem God brought us
The world’s only Light.
O Prince of Peace, the Mighty God,
The King from David’s line;
Emmanuel, our true Messiah—
We sing of Jesus Christ.

“Glory to God!” sang the angels from heaven.
Incarnate Deity from Mary, God’s servant.
From shepherds to sages, the start guided many
To the place where he lay: the holy baby.

We sing of Jesus Christ
Born that glorious night!
From Bethlehem God brought us
The world’s only Light.
O Prince of Peace, the Mighty God,
The King from David’s line;
Emmanuel, our true Messiah—
We sing of Jesus Christ.

Unimaginable love that hung on a cross!
He gave us His life by giving His own.
From a crying little baby to Redeemer of many,
The noblest King died to win victory!

We sing of Jesus Christ
Born that glorious night!
From Bethlehem God brought us
The world’s only Light.
O Prince of Peace, the Mighty God,
The King from David’s line;
Emmanuel, our true Messiah—
We sing of Jesus Christ.

© David J. Giarrizzo, 2002

WELCOME!

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG, "FRUITFUL LIFE." My name is David, and I am the publisher of this here weblog.

There will be a variety of posts on this blog on a variety of topics, but in everything, I want to encourage a spirit of love and respect in all that I post; and I would request the same from anyone who comments. As Paul said in Ephesians 4:29, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."

I hope you enjoy your visit to my simple little site and take advantage of some of the helpful links. May you grow in the grace of knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Thanks for stopping by!

-DG