The other day, we had family day at my church, to give people an alternative to Mardi Gras.

We had lots of food, games, an air jump for the kids, and Spirit Television on the big screen!

I recorded several 2-hour segments of Spirit Television on DVD, and the pastor allowed me to show them all day on the big screen in the sanctuary while all the other activities were going on.

I noticed that some people were paying attention to it, so I was able to give a little sales pitch for Sky Angel.  Hopefully, some of them will sign up.

This is an easy way to show off Sky Angel, without having to work through any technical issues!

I just saw the very inspiring story of Tony Melendez.

Tony was born with no arms.  That might have stopped some people, but not Tony.  Tony learned how to play the guitar WITH HIS FEET!  And let me tell you, he is really good.  I have played the guitar for about 43 years, and I can tell you that it takes a long time to get really good WITH YOUR FINGERS.  But Tony uses his toes!  I’m not sure exactly how he does it, but he plays a wide variety of chords, which means that he needs to use his individual toes to press individual strings.

He sings very well, too.  Not only does he have a great voice, but he stays right on pitch and right on time.

He is a very gifted guitar player AND singer.

And God has given him a beautiful, loving, and very devoted wife, as well as two adopted daughters.

Reminds me a lot of Joni Earekson Tada — she became paralyzed from the neck down, and so she taught herself to draw by holding the brush or pencil with her teeth.  And she has a loving and devoted husband.

Not only am I really happy that Tony is doing really well in life, but also, I am encouraged: if he can be successful, so can I!

After all, God is the one who is providing him with his success.

You can find The Gift of Hope in the Video on Demand section, under Sky Angel Music.

Beyond the Gates of Splendor is a documentary which fills in the details left out of the movie End of the Spear.  It is based on the book Through Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot.

This is the story of the efforts of a group of missionaries to Ecuador to reach the Auca people in the Amazon basin.  The Auca people were a very violent people and had resisted all efforts to reach them with the Gospel.  Jim Elliot and others came up with a method of breaking the ice — they would fly over in an airplane, lowering gifts to the Aucas in a bucket on a rope.  They finally landed their plane and met the Aucas face to face.  However, after some time, the Aucas decided to kill the missionaries.

One by one, the widows of the missionaries decided to go live with the tribe.  Through the efforts of the women, and the men before them, the Aucas committed their lives to Christ!  Strong evidence of their conversion is that the Aucas, who formerly continually killed each other with spears, renounced violence!

If you saw the movie End of the Spear, you will definitely want to watch Beyond the Gates of Splendor.  If you haven’t yet seen End of the Spear, I would recommend that you first watch it, and then Beyond the Gates of Splendor.  Both movies are available on Sky Angel Video on Demand.

I’ve been having a great time for the past few days watching highlight programs of past Superbowl teams.  These highlight programs can be found in the Video on Demand section under Sports / NFL Network / NFL Films.

For example, it was of great interest to see the one about the New Orleans Saints, winners of Superbowl 44 (New Orleans is my hometown).  I’ve seen it all before, but it brought back so many memories to see it all again, especially the information about the devastation of New Orleans wrought by Hurricane Katrina, the success of the Saints lifting New Orleans out of her despair, and the icing on the cake, Tracy Porter’s 4th quarter interception of Payton Manning, sealing the victory for New Orleans!

Other videos of interest:

The 1970 Colts — The Baltimore Colts used to be in the NFL, and they were the NFL team in Superbowl 3.  Then, when the leagues merged, they moved to the AFC and were the AFC team in Superbowl 5.  This program explained all of those details.

The 1967 Packers — Here’s your chance to learn about Vince Lombardi.

The 1968 Jets — when Joe Namath guaranteed victory for the AFL.

The 1969 Chiefs — when Hank Stram’s Chiefs totally dominated the Minnesota Vikings.

The 1972 Dolphins — the only undefeated NFL team in the Superbowl era.

The 1981 49ers — the beginning of the 1980s 49er dynasty.

The 1985 Bears — When the Bears were totally destroying everyone.  The Dolphins were the only team to beat them that year, preserving the Dolphins status as the only undefeated team in the Superbowl era.

The 1987 Redskins — When Washington quarterback Doug Williams had the spectacular 3rd quarter.

And so on.

Watch these videos while you can.  They are available till February 15, 2012.

I just saw some very funny programs — Thou Shalt Laugh 2, 3, 4, and 5.  You can find these programs at the following location:

Video On Demand / Movies / Comedy

I was disappointed not to be able to find Thou Shalt Laugh 1, because these shows keep you laughing from beginning to end.  Each show features several comedians who (1) are very talented and (2) keep it clean.  In fact, all of the comedians seemed to be Christians, as they all included at least a little bit of “Christian humor” in their acts.

Taylor Mason is one of my favorite comedians, and he and his puppets were in all of the Thou Shalt Laugh programs.

One feature I liked about these shows was that in most cases, the host was a comedian himself; and in between acts, the host would keep you laughing with his / her own monologue.

If you’re bored, or if life is not too good for you these days, watch the Thou Shalt Laugh series.  You will definitely be cheered up!

One of my favorite shows on Sky Angel is Joni and Friends.  I saw it on Channel 126 (NRB) at 11:30 AM on Dec. 12th.

Joni is handicapped — she is a quadriplegic.  I remember years ago seeing the movie Joni, where I learned her story.  She was a competitive swimmer.  However, one day she dove off of a dock into shallow water and broke her neck.  From that point until now, she has been paralyzed from the neck down.

Joni stuggled with questions about why God would allow her to become totally paralyzed, until she was finally able to trust God with her life.  She went on to start the radio program, TV program, and the ministry,  called Joni and Friends.

In her TV program, Joni explores the hard questions — why does God allow someone to be handicapped?  However, her programs are always filled with hope and trust in God.  And she is always finding a way to help someone who is handicapped, or highlighting a handicapped person who has overcome doubt in their own life.

I am always inspired when I watch Joni and Friends.  And thanks to the video rewind feature of Sky Angel, and the fact that many Sky Angel channels carry Joni and Friends, you can watch the show at anytime!

Moving time has arrived for our household and I wish it was as easy as the picture!

Moving is stressful and can be overbearing at times. So many things to do and places to call to schedule the move. And the packing, yes the packing doesn’t end!

We made a wise plan to pack from 9am to 5pm and remember in between to take a break and eat. My haven in the evening is my recliner and watching Sky Angel IPTV.

The best part of having Sky Angel IPTV is I won’t have to schedule a moving installation and wait for someone to come. I just have to have the phone company turn on the DSL, turn on the TV and then plug in our Sky Angel IPTV receiver.

The last items to get packed will be the TV and the Sky Angel IPTV Receiver. It will also be the first items we unpack. We go to settlement on the 28^th and move on the 29^th so pray for us for strength!

I just saw a great movie on Sky Angel Video on Demand — Turbulent Skies.  You can find it at the following location:

• Video on Demand
• Movies
• Action / Thriller

This movie is about a new type of airplane — one which is flown completely by computer, without the need of a pilot.

Everything starts out ok, but soon things go haywire, because of a certain problem which arises.  I don’t want to spoil the surprise and tell you what it is, but let’s just say that the airplane’s computer system has some “bugs” in it.

The plane ends up flying off course, and someone must step up to the plate and rescue everyone on board.  The US Air Force actually gets involved at one point.

The acting is excellent, and the movie is very believable.

When I was young, the good guys always seemed to win in the end.  Is that what happens in this movie?  You’ll have to watch it yourself and see!

There is one occurence of the “d” word, but that’s the only part of the movie to which anyone would object.

I recommend this movie.

Family Issues & You:

TV Guide: Is TV Too Gory?

Michael Schneider from TV Guide writes on the latest TV trend, a new age of horror and thriller series that rely on graphic portrayals instead of “psychological scares.”

“Horror is a polarizing genre, which is why the networks mostly avoided it. But times have changed, content standards have loosened, and cable is able to target a niche crowd that likes a little gristle in their TV diet.

The horror genre has made a bit of a comeback in recent years, as audiences grew accustomed to more graphic thrills via the popularity of movies like Saw, Paranormal Activity and The Human Centipede (some of which have been dubbed “torture porn” because of their graphic nature). Also, dark procedurals like CSI and Criminal Minds made it safe to show brutalized corpses in prime time, paving the way for some of the gruesome images on TV’s horror explosion.”

Read the entire article here: http://www.tvguide.com/News/TV-Gory-1040220.aspx

What do you think?  If you’re glad that options like Sky Angel exist, please tell your family and friends about us!

If you’re like me, you love to hear good, annointed Christian music, ALL YEAR LONG.

For me, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas can be a depressing time, because I DON’T CARE FOR CHRISTMAS MUSIC!  I just want to hear the good old basic annointed stuff.

For this reason, I was really glad to discover Sky Angel radio channel 208, All Worship.  All Worship plays good, annointed, worship music 24/7/365!  I never have to listen to Elvis and other secular artists when I turn on the Christian station!  And as much as I like Silent Night and other Christian Christmas music, I now have an alternative.

Now if I can only figure out how to play it in my car…