Colors of Character - Documentary Movie

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Colors of Character - This recently released documentary movie, about artist Steve Skipper, is now available on DVD or On Demand, and let me tell you - it is good! It is the inspiring, true story of a prolific sports artist who spent his teen years in a violent gang before returning to the Lord and to his natural talent for art. He was able to walk away from crime and addiction, and use his talent to become a successful and respected artist, giving glory to God.

Synopsis: 

Steve Skipper is one of the most prolific artists in the realms of sports, civil-rights, equestrian, portraiture, and Christian artwork. Skipper has shattered barriers of race and education in the art world. His works are on permanent display in some of the most hallowed halls in America, including: the Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame, International Sports Halls of Fame, the Lyndon B Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, and has been honored with unveilings at Chelsea Piers in NYC, the MGM Grand and Monte Carlo in Las Vegas, and Millennium Gate Museum in Atlanta.

With no formal training, Skipper openly gives credit to Jesus Christ for his gifts and for every opportunity that he has been given. An ex-gang member and drug addict, Skipper was transformed into an internationally respected artist.

Reviewers say:

• "Colors of Character is a remarkable, quality documentary." - Dove.org review
• "Skipper's story is nothing short of extraordinary." - CCM Magazine review
• "Artist Steve Skipper defied all the odds in his life to grow up to create paintings that have broken barriers between whites and blacks in America." - Christian Post review
• Dove.org approved for ages 12 and up

My thoughts: This was such an interesting story to watch, much of it told and narrated by Skipper himself, but with plenty of commentary from others. The background of Skipper's childhood includes his early interest in drawing and how it was encouraged by a brave schoolteacher, but not seen as a possible career by his family. As a very young teen, Skipper was a member of the Crips, involved in violence, crime, and dealing and using drugs. In his later teens, thanks to the very bold witness of a schoolmate, Skipper attended a revival service and accepted Christ as his Saviour. He was able to leave behind his gang associations and overcome his addictions. Although he was offered a football scholarship, he turned it down because God prompted him to pursue art instead. He was unable to attend college to study art, but had the assurance that God had promised to teach him everything he needed to know, so that God would receive all the glory. His testimony is a powerful story of redemption!

Skipper found success in creating portraits and artwork for Crimson Tide football players, but not without facing opposition because of his lack of formal training and his skin color. And his successes continued in other areas of sports art as well, with many prestigious commissions. Later on he was inspired to create a series of artworks commemorating the historic Civil Rights movement in America, specifically the work of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and the events in Selma. 

How to watch: Rent of buy Colors of Character on DVD or On Demand wherever you watch movies to watch from the comfort of your own home. Go to: https://colorsofcharactermovie.com/ for more info.

Hashtags: #ColorsofCharacterMIN #MomentumInfluencerNetwork

Disclosure: Many thanks to Collide Distribution for providing this product/product information for review. Opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

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Wordless Wednesday - Hershey Bears

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Saturday evening we went to Hershey, PA for the Bears hockey game with a group of friends from church, and of course our family (including the auxiliary kids!) - another Bears win, and a great family fun night too!

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life on Chickadee Lane, and at Pictoral Tuesday, hosted by Peabea Scribbles.

Pictorial Tuesday

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Recent Reads - Baseball Faith

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Baseball Faith: 52 MLB Stars Reflect on Their Faith by Rob Maadi - This book is a collection of short commentaries from Major League Baseball stars past and present. Each player shares a favorite Bible verse and some thoughts about why it means so much to them, along with a short testimony. For each player, there's a full page photo of them in action, and two pages summarizing their stats and a little biographical information.

Most of the devotional thoughts shared by the players are simple, and show these men that are so admired by many fans as being humble and very human. Some have been Christians since they were very young and others came to Christ recently. In some way, each testimony highlights the fact that these men rely on God, on prayer, and on the Word of God each day and in all situations. Many of them talk about their talent and abilities coming from God and their desire to use their gifts to bring glory to Him.

This book would make an excellent gift for a boy that loves baseball and needs to be encouraged in his faith. Because the testimonies are relatively short, even younger boys or reluctant readers should be able to read and understand the importance of faith in their heroes' lives.

From the publisher:

Winning the World Series may be the ultimate prize for most MLB players, but a relationship with Jesus Christ is No. 1 for many diamond stars, including:

• 2016 World Series MVP Ben Zobrist
• Hall of Famers John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez
• Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw
• MVPs Albert Pujols and Andrew McCutcheon
• Thirteen-time All-Star Mariano Rivera
• And dozens more

Baseball Faith will inspire you in your faith journey as 52 MLB players -- past and present -- share their stories and how they are chasing the success that only comes from being God's man and following His plan. These men are committed to living their lives with eternity in mind. Empowered by God, they are looking beyond the competition to a larger goal: following God's game plan for their lives as team players, as husbands, fathers, sons, and then using their influence to point others toward Him.

Visit Barbour Publishing for more info on where to buy.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

©2008-2017 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday - The Summer of Landon, A Baseball PhotoJournal

Last week we were on vacation. And not just any vacation, but the long anticipated The Summer of Landon vacation! When our kids graduate high school, we like to let them have a big say in choosing our summer vacation. Landon wanted to see some Major League Baseball in other cities, and to visit Cedar Point. After checking schedules (ours and those of the teams!) and figuring out a route and budget, we decided on a road trip that took us to Columbus to visit our oldest son, to Cleveland and Pittsburgh for baseball games, to Cedar Point, and to southern Ontario to visit family and to see a baseball game in Toronto. This collection of photos relates to the baseball part of our trip.

Huntington Park, Columbus Clippers (minor league) hosting the Toledo Mud-Hens

Progressive Field, the Cleveland Indians hosting the Toronto Blue Jays

PNC Park, Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Houston Astros

Rogers Centre, the Toronto Blue Jays hosting the Minnesota Twins

This post is linked at Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Life at Rossmont, and the original (more wordy!) version of this post is on Homeschool Coffee Break and is linked at Sometimes Wordless Wednesday, hosted by Tots and Me . . . Growing Up Together!

©2008-2016 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/

Recent Reads {Open Ice}

I have already fallen behind in the 52 Books challenge. I actually did finish this book about a week ago, so that was close to being on schedule, but I neglected to blog about it so I'm behind on the link-up. And I'm in the middle of reading the second book in the Outlander series. If you're at all familiar with the series, you'll know that those are pretty thick books, and take awhile to read when you've just got the "before I fall asleep at bedtime" minutes to work on it!

Open Ice by Jack Falla - The mini-challenge was to read something with a 'cold' word in the title, something like 'ice' or 'snow' or 'winter'. I found this book near the bottom of my to-read pile, and realized that it fit the bill perfectly. It's one that someone loaned to my husband, and he passed it to me after he'd finished it. That was a long time ago, so now that I'm finished with it, I just hope my hubby remembers who loaned it to him so he can return it!

The book is a collection of essays from veteran sportswriter Jack Falla. Falla reflects on some of the great players from the early days of hockey (Hobey Baker, Jean Belliveau, Maurice Richard, etc), and on the great old buildings of the Original Six teams, and even on the work and reward involved in youth hockey and backyard rinks. The stories and reflections are both nostalgic and humorous, and many brought a smile as I remembered related experiences of my own, even though I have never played organized hockey. When I was growing up, we skated on outdoor rinks all winter long, and my dad usually maintained a backyard rink. My husband has played hockey all his life, and we are big hockey fans, so the lessons Falla learns and shares from his own hockey experiences resonated with me, as I'm sure they did with my husband when he read the book.

(#3 for the Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge)

©2008-2014 Just A Second. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://justasecondblog.blogspot.com/