Gentleman's Agreement, 1947



Gregory Peck plays Phil Green who writes articles with such style and creativity that he’s been hired to dig deeper than he ever has, and this time it's for an article on anti-Semitism. He can’t just provide facts and figures with an arm’s-length approach. He has to find out what Jewish Americans have been dealing with for a long time.

His long-time buddy, Dave Goldman, played by John Garfield, gives him encouragement and a few pointers along the way. His new girlfriend, Kathy Lacy, played by Dorothy McGuire, wants to encourage him, but has a lot to learn.

This film was addressing a hot topic. Some of the movie studio chiefs warned about stirring up problems with this film and urged producer Zanuck not to make it. However, the movie made more money for the studio than any other film that year.

Spreading Your Message



A lot of people are more connected with their friends these days because of texting and Skype and emails and other communication apps. Today’s technology puts a giant spotlight on our interests. Do you meet with friends over an online war game? Do you play word games with several friends on handheld devices? It makes me wonder what apps people would’ve used in the Bible days.

Since there are a lot of messages being sent out over phones, iPads, blogs, and many more avenues of communication, let’s take a minute to think about our message? Does it honor God? Join me at Seek God With Me for a look at how we spread our message.

Three Coins in the Fountain, 1954



Three American girls look for romance in Rome while they work as secretaries at the USDA. Clifton Webb is a famous novelist who has hired a woman to type what he’d been writing all night. This secretary knows him very well, and he loves that she’s unemotional and all business with him.

Dorothy McGuire, Jean Peters, and Maggie McNamara play the three secretaries of whom two throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, wishing to stay another year. The three men who fall for these beauties are Clifton Webb, Rossano Brazzi, and Louis Jourdan.  

One of the scenes involves a runaway truck with no brakes. Another scene is an evening at the opera. These show the amount of patience these girls have for their men. They’ll put up with a lot to get the guy they want.

The beginning of the film doesn’t start with a story, but with a gorgeous overview of Rome’s fountains. Several times during the film, the camera shows off the beauty of the setting. It was so well done that Milton R. Krasner received the Academy Award for Best Color Cinematography. The music playing during this breathtaking beginning also received an Oscar. Jule Styne (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics) received the award for Best Music for an Original Song, which was aptly named “Three Coins in the Fountain.”

The Enduring Word



If you’ve studied the Bible, you may have noticed that there are a lot of places where God said something would happen, and then later a different place in the Bible shows that it did happen. God isn’t into gambling. If he says something is going to happen, it’s truly a sure thing. So when God tells us he loves us, we don’t have to wonder if that’s true. When Jesus says he’s preparing a place for us, don’t say, “Really?” Instead, say, “What color are the walls?”

I’m sharing a Bible verse on Seek God With Me that should be very meaningful to us today. It’s a clue to why we should all pay more respect to God’s word. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1961



Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly in this film based on the novel by Truman Capote. George Peppard is Paul Varjak, a writer who hasn’t published anything in five years. His money comes from a wealthy older woman played by Patricia Neal.

Holly and Paul lean on and support each other since they’re neighbors. She buys Paul a typewriter ribbon and invites him to a party at her place. At the party, Paul meets a variety of terribly interesting people.

Directed by Blake Edwards, this film won two of the five Oscars for which it was nominated. Both wins were for the music: Best Music Original Song for the song “Moon River” (Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer) and Best Music Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Henry Mancini).

Edith Head supervised costumes for this film. Hubert de Givenchy designed Audrey Hepburn’s famous Little Black Dress.

The Word of God



What makes you a Christian? Is it more important for you to know the Word of God or the God of the words?

If you ever find yourself studying the Bible in your own intellect, not asking God for wisdom, take a step back and reconnect with God. I’ve done that. It’s easy to get distracted with all of the cool stories in the Bible. If God is trying to show me something, but I’m too distracted  by a story to listen to him, I’m missing out.

Today at Seek God With Me, I’m taking a look at how to tune in to God instead of just reading a book called the Bible. I hope you’ll join me.