Month: July 2019

A to Z

The Anhinga

Diana (Fille de Dieu) πŸ›

Yay! I can finally start this new A to Z challenge! I’ve been looking forward to bringing more of God’s beautiful and marvelous creation to this blog. Today, we look at the Anhinga bird. I won’t write too much information, just what I deem interesting. πŸ˜ƒ

An Anhinga dries its wings in the early morning sun at the Venice Rookery, Florida.

🐦 The name Anhinga comes from the Tupi Indians in Brazil from a Tupi word which means “snake-bird”,Β “devil bird” or “evil spirit of the woods.”

🐦 Because of its distinctive shape, the Anhinga is sometimes called “snake bird” for its long snakelike flexible neck (this was actually the first feature I noticed in this bird) and “water turkey” for its turkeylike tail. It is also sometimes called the American darter. I’ll just call it a “snake turkey” bird.

🐦 Anhingas feast primarily on fish, but their diet can also include aquatic crustaceans and insects. 

🐦 They resemble cormorants, but they’re no match for the cormorants when it comes to swimming and hunting.

Image result for cormorant pinterest

Image: The Cormorant

🐦 Species of Anhingas can be found all over the world including the United States, Grenada, Cuba, and Trinidad & Tobago. They usually live in sheltered waters.

🐦 Additional fun fact: The Anhinga swims lower in the water than many other birds due to its reduced buoyancy-a result of wetted plumage and dense bones. (via allaboutbirds.org)

12 Fascinating Bird Behaviors From the 2018 Audubon Photography Awards | Audubon

Learn more about this fascinating bird here:

Images: Pinterest and Mark Thomas/Audubon Photography Awards

Reference/s: allaboutbirds.org; animaldiversity.org; YouTube

GIF: Google Search

Devotional Nuggets

Devotional Nugget #5: It’s not always about money.

Diana (Fille de Dieu) πŸ›

Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Okay, I’m going to talk about Tom Cruise a little bit, so bear with me. I once dubbed Tom the greatest actor to ever grace a screen, but what I loved most about him was what he did off-screen and here are a few examples:

^ Zac Efron said that Tom taught him to ride a bike. Tom has to find time to do that.

^ Tom never forgets birthdays.

^ Billy Wilder was some sort of legendary director. There’s a long story in there, but to make it short, Tom would just listen to his stories and write him notes. When Billy passed away in 2002, Tom was at the memorial and he let everyone know how much he loved Billy.Β 

^ Another boy was supposed to be the kid set to steal the show inΒ Jerry Maguire, but he eventually left and Jonathan Lipnicki replaced him. A few weeks later, the boy’s mom calls Cameron Crowe (the director) to tell him to thank Tom for helping her son transition back to his normal life by sending letters and gifts. Crowe couldn’t get over why Tom didn’t tell everyone, but there was no need to shout a good deed from the rooftop.Β 

Image result for gif tom cruise sitting

What’s the moral of some of those stories? You don’t always need money to help someone. Sometimes, all someone might need is a listening ear or a word of advice or even a little bit of your time. Your thoughtfulness. And what if it’s money? If you’re being led to help someone by giving them money, do not selfishly give to feel better about yourself for we should give without sparing (Proverbs 21:26) while delighting in the Lord (Psalm 37:4).Β 

Some of us are only willing to help someone in need when a reward is involved (Matthew 6:2), but our giving shouldn’t be advertised on a billboard (Matthew 6:4) as it’s supposed to be a thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11).

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Today’s Reflection

We do not always know what someone may need but do not assume that it’s always money. Ask God for help to give wisely.Β 

Entertainment, Trailer & Filmy Thoughts

Trailer Reaction: Maverick is back!✈✈

Diana (Fille de Dieu) πŸ›

*Ponders* That banner could’ve undergone some more work and the fonts look a little wonky. Anyways, welcome to Trailer Reaction. To be honest, I’m not into movies as before, but this one trailer is currently trending #1 on YouTube as it was a surprise for Comic-Con after Tom turned up himself to announce it last evening and many people were curious enough to view it 10 million times and counting, topping the other trailers that came out yesterday, so we gone watch it.Β 

Top Gun: Maverick ✈

0:02 – It’s official!
0:05-7 – The opening of this trailer is already visually appealing.
0:50 – *Gasps* Maverick is not a two-star admiral, but captain after all of these years?! Why hasn’t he moved up the ranks? I see where this storyline is going. He’s been through something that stopped him from getting promoted. I bet it has something to do with all those missions that were deemed impossible, but turned out possible in the end after all!
0:54 – First close-up of TC, and he looks great for 57! I aspire to age like this. He ages like a vintage bottle of ChΓ’teauneuf-du-Pape. πŸ™„ I mean, the cosmetic and makeup help too, but he is aging well. A huge plus is that he actually looks like a seasoned navy captain.
1:04 – YASSS!!
1:08 – SWEET SHOT of Maverick in the cockpit!

Image result for gif top gun maverick1:16 – The jacket!
1:17 – The shades!
1:18 – The bike! A beautiful Ninja H2R!!
1:20 – Highway tooo the daanggeerr zooneeee!!! No, wait, take my breath awaaaayyyy!🎀

1:31 – Some random female pilot with the call sign ‘Phoenix’. Whose ashes is she rising from? Goose’s? TC’s? Is she the new top gun?
1:34 –Β Is that a funeral for Iceman? πŸ€”
1:37 – Because we don’t know who TC is!
1:43 – SWEET! I bet TC flew all 3 jets at the same time, too! Great shot, though! πŸ‘
2:01 – Not today, Satan! Maverick’s kind (fighter pilot and because machines are taking over) is heading for extinction but not today! I feel as if this particular line is a jab at Hollywood. If you look at the new movies coming out, the men are being replaced by the women. TC is a man’s man and women want to be one, too.Β Right, Brie? I am actually surprised that Maverick was not turned into a woman of color. Don’t @ me.
2:09 – The F-14 Tomcat is only the most iconic jet!! Also, civilians are not allowed to fly military aircraft and the last time I checked, Tom was a civilian. Also, also, the F-14 is used in the Iranian Air Force today so is Iran going to be an enemy?

Image result for gif top gun maverick

After 33 years, the sequel to Top Gun that no one asked for is here. I certainly didn’t ask for it, butΒ I give this trailer a solid 5. It’s visually appealing, masterfully shot, and no CGI (If I missed it, too bad, for I’m not going back to look at it). I find no fault in this first trailer so kudos to the team.Β 

I know many fans prefer the ‘Danger Zone’ soundtrack, but ‘Take My Breath Away’ for me is one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time. Also, I noticed that the Taiwanese and Japanese flags on Maverick’s jacket have been replaced with China. Where China and Iran are concerned, this brings to mind the 200-million-man army that will counterattack the Beast power (Revelation 9:13-21).

This movie will be out in cinemas in the summer of 2020 be it God’s willing. I’ve had my fair share of movies and TC over the years, so I’ll be skipping it. This movie is also sponsored by the US Navy and had production say “no real aircraft are being used in the filming of this movie” Tom was not doing it. When it comes to military propaganda films, nothing beats Top Gun. Tom looks fantastic in uniform and is a walking commercial for the US military. After the first movie came out, the number of young men who joined the US Navy wanting to be Naval Aviators went up by 500 percent. Can you hear the patriotic chants of “USA! USA!” in 2020?

“The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is heading for extinction”.

“Maybe so sir… but not today.”

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After this trailer, I am pretty much afraid to watch the other trailers YouTube recommended which include Cats so I’ll leave those for next time for I don’t think I’m going to watch a better trailer than this for the rest of the year… and that’s putting it nicely. After all, there is literally nothing new under the sun. 🌞

*** GIFs and photos via Google Search

Passion for Praise πŸ›

Praising Him no matter what!

Diana (Fille de Dieu) πŸ›

Despite yes or no,
the ups and downs,
the easy times, the tough times,
the times when I don’t hear Your voice,
the times when I hear it clear as day skies,
the darkest hour,
in ALL circumstances,
I will continue to praise YOU!

Image result for gif lifting hands in praise

No matter what, I’ll ALWAYS direct praise to God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. All blessings, honor, and glory belong to Him.

Peu importe ce que, je vais fΓ©licitez toujours directement Γ  Dieu, le CrΓ©ateur du Ciel et de la Terre. Toutes les bΓ©nΓ©dictions, l’honneur et la gloire appartiennent Γ  Lui.

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Yes, This Is Our World. πŸ—Ί

LOOK at the world in which we live in!

Diana (Fille de Dieu) πŸ›

Take a look.

Take a good HARD look at the wicked world in which we live.

Lawlessness: A young woman decided to have some fun by licking a tub of ice cream and placing the Blue Bell container back on the shelf. She was identified by police and would’ve faced up to 20 years in jail and a $10,000 fine for tampering with food had she not been seventeen. She is not the only one. A 36-year-old man in Louisiana was also charged for licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream and putting it back on the shelf. When the police came to arrest him, he said that he only wanted to be “famous”.

I have no idea why ice cream, but this so-call #IceCreamChallenge is getting out of hand.Β 

As if one health hazard is not enough, this decent human being decided to go to Walmart, gargle Listerine, spit it back into the bottle and return it to the shelf!Β 

I am not okay with this disgusting challenge. You cannot just walk into a store and pick up a product, tamper with it and place it back on the shelf for unsuspecting consumers to purchase. Even if this challenge is staged, it is disgusting behavior. This selfish entitled generation is so starved for attention that they’ll do anything to be the center of it. This is what happens when we live in a godless do what thou wilt society.

And if that’s not enough, last year, a YouTuber from Barcelona pranked a homeless man by giving him toothpaste-fill Oreos. This same YouTuber (Kanghua Ren aka ReSet) is also accused of filling sandwiches with cat feces and offering them to children and the elderly. He has since been sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $22,300.

Image result for gif spencer reid sarcastic

We’re living in the days of Noah and Revelation. All that God said will come to pass has/is coming to pass before our very eyes every day. Please keep this corrupted world in your prayers for there are many souls yet to come to repentance.Β 

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

2 Timothy 3:1-5

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