Making Changes

"But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:6

I’ve enjoyed watching Desk Set, starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. This classic film shows the trouble that goes with upgrading technology. It’s a romantic comedy which is funnier today than it was when it was first released in 1957. Although it’s kind of about making improvements in the workplace, it’s really about relationships.

Technology helps us communicate more effectively today than ever before. We learned in 2020 that technology isn’t all you need.

We need relationships.

Our relationship with God is a protective influence as we deal with today’s problems. God gives us guidance and wisdom if we will seek Him before making decisions.

Sometimes our goal should be to cut back on computers and phones so we can communicate more effectively without distractions. God isn’t against technology, but He expects us to use the wisdom He makes available.

Matthew 6:6 mentions praying in a room, in secret. The Old Testament shows a picture of a prayer room when we read about Daniel (chapter six) in an upstairs room where he prayed. However, he didn’t pray in secret. The windows were open. (Probably no air conditioning.)

You and I can go into a bedroom, closet, or bathroom and pray without distractions. Years ago, my husband took an upstairs room of our house and turned it into our prayer room. When we needed uninterrupted time with God, we could go there to pray and listen for God’s answers.

God wants us to communicate with Him in prayer without distractions.

Praying by yourself in a room or on a park bench or some other specific place will help you focus on what God wants to say to you. Take your Bible, a notepad, and a pen to write what God is guiding you to do. Some people have a prayer journal where they record their prayer requests, answers, and ideas they get from God.

I’ve used a few different journals to write my prayers and God’s answers. Here’s one to use for your next 31 days. I’ve just published The Prayer That Works Journal. It was designed as a companion journal for my new short nonfiction book. You can find the Prayer That Works eBook at Amazon or in other bookstores.

You can subscribe to my emails and get this free prayer journal prompt eBook.

The Swan, 1956

Grace Kelly plays Princess Alexandra, the young woman who must marry her distant cousin Prince Albert in order to help the family to maintain their royal life. Although she is unbelievably beautiful, he isn’t interested in romancing her. To add to her already challenging situation, she’s fallen in love with a local professor, Dr. Nicholas Agi, played by Louis Jourdan. 

If you’ve ever been to see the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, you’ll appreciate the views in this movie, since it was filmed there. They needed a mansion with opulence, but they didn’t have to go to Europe to find one. America happens to have one. A million tourists visit it every year.

Sir Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars original trilogy, was intriguing as Prince Albert in this film. This was his first American film.

The year this film was released, Grace Kelly really did become the wife of a prince. She married Prince Rainier of Monaco. The film release date? April 18, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. The wedding was the same date.  

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, 1954

Adam, a man with six brothers, finds a woman to his liking, marries her, and then helps his brothers find wives of their own. It’s a wonder they got any work done with all the singing and dancing going on. This popular musical showed off the talents of very energetic dancers.

Howard Keel and Jane Powell paired well together in this adventure in the wilderness. Keel plays Adam, the oldest brother and the first to marry. Powell plays Milly, the first of the wives.

Patience is required at times when the men want to have a little fun and frolic. Milly finally makes them understand that their manners must improve before a woman would want them. The men get to try out their new manners when they meet women at a barn raising. Unfortunately, the women already have boyfriends. It’s just a matter of time before the boys all get into a fight. However, they are able to romance the women enough that the women wanted the men who wanted them. 

The film was nominated in five categories at the Academy Awards. The only Oscar it won went to Adolph Deutsch and Saul Chaplin for Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture.

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 Hound of the Baskervilles, 1959

The Baskerville family is cursed. Sir Henry has inherited the estate from the last to reign in Baskerville Hall. Hugo was torn up by the hound who lives in the moor. Sherlock Holmes will uncover enough new information to find out the truth of how Hugo died and why. And hopefully will save Sir Henry’s life.

Christopher Lee, who is now 91 years old, was 37 in 1959 when he took on the role of Sir Henry Baskerville. Lee enjoyed working with his close friend Peter Cushing in this film, stating that Cushing and Vincent Price (according to Imdb.com) “were both grand masters of their art but more importantly as human beings...wonderful people, wonderful actors and I miss them very very much.”

Lee has 276 acting roles on his Imdb.com page. He’s been recognized by Guinness Book of World Records for being, at 6’ 5”, the World’s Tallest Leading Actor. His roles are mostly villains: Saruman in The Lord of the Rings, Count Dooku in Star Wars films, etc.

Peter Cushing, according to Imdb.com, wasn’t thrilled with the taste of the pipe he used as Sherlock Holmes. So it was funny to me that one of the quotes from the film was Holmes saying, “This is, I think, a two-pipe problem.”