Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to your Friday edition of Snippets and Soundbites! Be sure to check out the monthly print edition on page 38 of each issue of ec.


• It appears more and more workplaces are allowing employees to bring their pets to work. Check out the story in USA Today here. Supporters say pets in the workplace reduce stress among owners who worry about home-alone dogs, are a calming presence for even the non-owners, and help employees form relationships. What do you guys think? Should ec's editor be able to bring her dog, Muffin, to work some day? We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!

• Staff at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in Santa Monica, CA, recently had to deal with a little flood. In their offices. And it was sea water. From the aquarium . The culprit seems to be a tiny, two-spotted octopus who lives in the aquarium. Staff say the octopus is friendly and "gregarious" creature loves visitors to the aquarium. Apparently, the eight-armed curious creature tugged on a valve in the aquarium and that allowed hundreds of gallons of water to overflow the tank. Officials say no sea life was harmed by the flood, but the brand new floors just installed in the offices might be another story. Want to see the octopus in question? Read more here.

• Billy Wilkins, a former member of the CCM supergroup Third Day is apparently finding success after the band . . . with a sleep program, of all things! Wilkins developed something called the Wesley Sleep program after suffering from insomnia and even taking anxiety meds. While he was taking a popular sleep medication regularly, he came to the conclusion there had to be a better way to relax that didn't involve drugs. So, Wilkins began searching Scripture. He found so many verses that answered and supported him in his quest that he came to the conclusion that God wants all His children to feel His peace. He chronicled his findings and used his love for music and research into music therapy to develop the Wesley Sleep Program. The audio book/CD released in December 2008. The first portion of the CD helps to equip the listener for real rest and combat four common sleep hindrances. The remaining musical portion leads to even deeper levels of relaxation and calm sleep. For more info on the sleep program, visit www.wesleysleepprogram.com. For a funny picture of Third Day in the early days, go here.

• And finally, a little news to look forward to: House of Heroes will release their latest album on Tuesday, March 3. It's called The End Is Not the End and we can't wait to hear it in its entirety. Learn more about the band here.

2009 Fiction Contest winners revealed!

We're happy to announce the winners of the second annual ec fiction writing contest.
The overall winner is Taylor Clemons of Florida. Taylor's story, "It was just a simple box" was very well written. You'll get to read all about Taylor, and of course, check out her winning submission in the September 2009 issue of ec.

Our two finalists are Caitlin Greer and Ashlie Bowman. Caitlin is from Georgia , while Ashlie hails from Alabama. You'll get to find out more about both writers right here on ec's blog in September. We'll post both of their stories on this site and include info about the authors here and in the September print issue.

Congratulations, winners!

And a big thank you to all of you who shared your stories with us. We enjoyed every minute of reading and hope that you'll hone your skills and share them with us next year. Look for info on the third annual ec fiction writing contest in the October 2009 issue.

This Really Happened

In light of the “Guy Talk for Girls” and “Girl Talk for Guys” article on pages 29 and 30 of this month’s issue of ec, I thought that a little more insight into some typical actions of girls might be helpful. And coming from someone who’s been there and done that, I hope you’ll take the following to heart:

Girls: don’t call boys. And don’t continue to call them if you call them and they say they are going to call you back but never do. I say this because I’ve been there. I’ve been the 15-year-old girl in the long-distance “relationship” who probably pestered the guy and his family with my weekly phone calls. I still didn’t get the point when the guy rarely called me back (and then, it was usually late at night, which made my dad really mad!).

I bring this up because recently, I was minding my own business, doing some work in my office, when my phone rang. My phone rarely rings, and when I didn’t recognize the number, I answered it in my most professional voice: “LifeWay, this is Emily.” On the other end, the unmistakable voice of a 14-year-old girl said “May I speak to Bill?” When I assured her there was no one in my office or even my department by that name, she decided she must have had the wrong number and hung up.

Thinking that was that, I tried to get back to work. When my phone rang a few seconds later, I wasn’t that surprised to see the same number on the caller ID. I answered, and the girl was surprised that I answered instead of her precious Bill. I tried to explain my phone number to her, and she tried to tell me the number she was trying to dial. In frustration, she hung up.

I didn’t even try to get back to work but just waited for the phone to ring again. Sure enough, it did. SURPRISE—same number on the caller ID. At this point, I am resolved to help this girl figure out how to call this guy. So I answer the phone, and she is still a little surprised that dialing the same phone number still makes my phone ring. (What’s the definition of insanity again?) I asked her where this guy lives. Mobile, Alabama, she says. OK . . . that helps. So with a simple Google search, I find that Mobile’s area code is 251. The same as my prefix.

When I tried explaining (over and over and over) that since she was in Nashville and she wasn’t dialing 1 first, the phone was just taking the first seven digits of the ten digit phone number she was trying to dial. And those first seven digits happened to be my number. So after explaining that she would have to dial 1 first, then the area code and the number, she thanked me and hung up.

Thinking the matter was resolved, I got back to work. A few minutes later, I got another call. Yep. Same number. I answered, and she said: “Oh. Huh? You again? Well, You were right! I dialed 1 first and got him. So he said he’d call me right back, and he hasn’t done it yet. So I’m calling him.”

“So how come you’re talking to me?,” I asked.
“Oh whoops. I guess I forgot to dial 1 first,” she said.

The moral of this story is: to make a long distance phone call, dial 1 first, then the area code. And second, girls shouldn’t call boys. It annoys them. They want to be the ones pursuing you, girls. Don’t try to force a guy to talk to you. Wait for the one who can’t wait to talk to you. Except for the occasional homework question or maybe if you need a date to a Sadie Hawkins dance, let the boys do the dialing!

Guys, sound off! Am I right? What’s your take on girls calling or texting you? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Me, me, me!

The Dove Award nominations were announced on Friday and the Oscars were presented last night. And so many of those actors and actresses, producers, singers, songwriters, directors, and screenwriters deserved the accolades. The work these people have done over the past year have been amazing, whether it's a good movie, a perfect lyric, or a well designed CD package.

Good work deserves attention. When someone does a job well, whether writing a song or mopping the floor, it's something to celebrate and honor. The problem often comes in with how those of us who have done the good work often accept those accolades.

Awards are nice. Good, even. They encourage. They recognize that we've done something important. But the honors we receive shouldn't be the things that define us. You are not just an award-winning track star, queen of the foreign language festival, or the guy with the highest grade point average in your high school's history. Those things are great and important, but they're not what make up your worth.

All of those award-winning things are things that God has allowed you to do and given you the talents and skills to accomplish. They're all part of who He made you to be, but your true worth comes only from your relationship with Him. You have worth; you are important; your life has purpose and meaning because you are His child.

Not because you have the best three point percentage in the tri-state area, won the state science competition, or date the hottest guy or girl in school.

But in a world that loves to hand out awards, it's easy to get caught up in all the notoriety and awards and think that those things give your life meaning.

So, in this season of award shows and trophies, don't forget who you are. Don't forget who made you the truly amazing person you are. Don't forget that when all the publicity and popularity dies away, your true treasure lies in heaven with God—the One who has given you the talents, skills, and opportunities to win the world's acclaim.

You are His. You have worth whether the world thinks so or not.

So get out there and live an award-winning life today.

Dove Award Nominations are in!

Some of your favorite bands and musicians are among those nominated for a Dove Award this year. Newcomer Francesca Battistelli, ec's editor's fave Remedy Drive, Tenth Avenue North, and Addison Road are all on the list of nominees released by the Gospel Music Association today.

Winners will be announced at the 40th annual Dove Awards on April 23 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. It will be broadcast live on the Gospel Music Channel from 8-10 p.m. on that night. Tickets are available at TicketMaster.

This year will mark a first for fans who will have the opportunity to vote for the winners in the Artist of the Year and New Artist of the Year categories. Fan voting will be conducted through the Gospel Music Channel Web site and at www.doveawards.com. Voting opens on February 26 and will continue through the live broadcast. The fan vote will account for one-third of the total vote in those two categories.

Reigning Male Vocalist of the Year Chris Tomlin leads the pack with seven total nominations, among them, Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Song of the Year. Natalie Grant and Francesca Battistelli aren't too far behind, each garnering five nominations. Casting Crowns is up for Group of the Year and received four other nominations, including Christmas Album of the Year and Short Form Video.

Other notable nominees: Steven Curtis Chapman, Fireflight, TobyMac, Brandon Heath, Laura Story, and Michael W. Smith.

For the entire list of nominees, go here.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to your Friday edition of Snippets and Soundbites! Be sure to check out the monthly print edition on page 38 of each issue of ec.


• Christian rockers and Grammy® nominees DecembeRadio announced they were joining the Newsboys for the 35-city Join the Tribe Tour this week. The tour actually opens in Frederick, Md., today and will run through April. The tour also features bands VOTA and Bread of Stone, will support Global Tribe, an organization fighting physical and spiritual poverty. Lead singer and bass player Josh Reedy: ““The Join the Tribe tour is going to be a blast! It's really cool for us to be a part of a tour with a band that we grew up watching. I know it will be a night of great music, energy and ministry.”

• Heard of the 1980s band Guns ’N Roses? Yeah, ask your parents. Well, residents of South Carolina put the band's name to work last weekend, turning in guns for . . . wait for it. . . roses. In an effort to get the weapons off the streets with the "Guns for Roses" program, authorities in two central South Carolina cities set up a program where anyone who turned in a gun received a free rose and a gift card for an electronics chain store. Read all about it here.

• North Carolina had to get in on the odd news, too, it seems, though its story has nothing to do with guns or roses. It seems that in order to raise funds for the North Carolina Children's Hospital, some students had a bright idea. Run two miles to a downtown Raleigh Krispy Kreme shop, eat a dozen glazed doughnuts each and return to North Carolina State University—in less than an hour. The student-run Krispy Kreme Challenge began in 2004 as a dare among friends, then grew into the charity event. More than 5,000 runners competed in this year's event and consumed 2,400 calories and 144 grams of fat during the run. It's estimated they burned about 400 calories during the run. Read more here.

Music Minute

Hey music fans! Hope y'all are doing well. Do you know about Twitter? It's a "microblogging" service - you get to enter and publish what you're doing, but only in 140 characters or less, and you can "follow" people you're interested in hearing about - you'll see their "tweets" (or posts) show up on your page. Just like with anything on the web, you should proceed cautiously and use common sense - and remember that EVERYTHING you say is public.

You can find a lot of Christian musicians on Twitter who post little updates about what they're doing. And of course ec magazine has a Twitter feed — which we also publish right there on the left hand side in the blog sidebar. You can follow us - @ecmagazine - and you'll get a daily devotion tweet, plus a glimpse into the production process of ec magazine.

As far as I can tell, absolutely nothing came out this week in Christian music, and of the two albums that were on my list to cover, only one is actually releasing. So here's a preview of what's coming up. It's a little bit of a changeup from my regular format, but here we go!



House of Heroes is a alt-rock band made up of four guys from Columbus, Ohio who signed to Gotee Records in 2005. (Since Gotee usually deals with pop-rock, hip-hop and rap artists, they started an imprint label in 2003 called Mono Vs. Stereo to release indie music — including HOH.) Their sound is full of driving guitars, kicky drums, pretty vocals, and clever lyrics. Best of all, if you put your email address in at Free HOH, you'll get to download three of their songs for free. (Yes, free!) The End Is Not The End hits stores March 3rd. You can already buy some of their new stuff at the iTunes store, though.

"Code Name Raven" leans heavily toward power pop and is so catchy, we can't stop listening. We hope the rest of their album is as much fun to listen to as what we've heard. You can pre-order the album now and you'll get two bonus tracks and a free dog tag (according to Gotee's Twitter feed).



And if you are on Twitter, leave us a comment with your username and we'll follow you! We love you guys and we want to know what you're doing, what you're interested in, and how we can help you live out your faith. The more you talk to us, the more we can do that. So please don't be shy about leaving comments here or at our Facebook page. We really, really want to hear from you!

Conversations Starters: Taking your talks with God to a new level

by Julie Tilman for ec magazine

Conversations. Some are awkward, others strained, a few even painful. So what does conversation have to do with prayer? Well, when you get right down to it, prayer is really just talking to God. It’s a conversation, a give-and-take. Which of the following best describes your conversations with God?

The Person You Just Met
You’ve just met the guy who sits behind you in English. He’s nice to you, and you’re nice to him. You may talk to him about the English class and things that are happening at school but nothing too personal. If your relationship with God is like that, you might pray before meals, a test, and a few other times during the month. You talk to God, but you don’t get too personal with Him. If you want something more from your prayer life, keep reading.

The Friend
You probably have several people in your life that you would consider friends. They are the people you hang out with on the weekend. You go to the movies with them, spend time with them, and share your life with them. If you relate to God the same way you relate to your friends, you probably talk to Him about most of the things going on in your life. Sure, you pray before meals and tests, but you also pray at other times during the week. You do look for His opinion on your life by reading His Word and talking with other mature believers. You consider Him someone you talk to at least several times a week. If you want something more from your prayer life, keep reading.

The Best Friend
You don’t even have to think about who this is. You saw that person’s face the minute you read the words best friend. Your best friend is the person you talk with just about every day. If you miss a day, you wonder if you’ll ever find enough time to catch up. You tell them what’s going on in your classes, your family, and if you have one, your love life. Your best friend is someone you can be yourself with. You don’t need to pretend you have your stuff together if you don’t.
When your relationship with God is like the one you have with your best friend, you talk to Him every day. In fact, you probably talk to Him at the beginning of every day before you talk to anyone else. You read His Word to see what He wants from you and your life. You trust Him even when He asks you to do something difficult, like go on a short-term mission trip or tell your friends about Jesus’ love for them. You talk to Him about your struggles and really attempt to live life His way. But if you want even more from your prayer life, keep reading.

The Person You Can’t Live Without
When you have a friend you can’t live without, life gets more risky. You could live without that person in your life, but you just can’t imagine it. You don’t even want to think about it. That person is someone who knows all your secrets . . . every single one of them. You talk to that person about absolutely everything going on in your world. He or she knows about your pimple and that you overheard your parents talking about divorce. He or she knows what matters to you, and it’s important to him or her. When your world is crashing down, just knowing this person is there helps.

The relationship God wants with you is one that is so deep and important to your everyday life that you can’t even imagine life without Him. You pray every single day. You talk to Him while you’re getting ready in the morning, when you have a few minutes, when you just need to know Someone’s there and listening to you. You seek His Word in every need and decision you have. You long to spend as much time as you possibly can getting to know Him better. God is not a part of your life, He IS your life. If you want something more from prayer, keep praying. You’re on the right track! You don’t just want to know about God; you want to know Him.

© 2008 LifeWay Christian Resources
"Conversation Starters: Levels of conversation with God," ec magazine, February 2009, LifeWay Christian Resources: Nashville, 2008, p. 46-47.

Want to read more articles like this? Subscribe to ec magazine, the magazine for you. We offer relevant stories, info you need, daily devotions, and honestly want to guide you to a deeper relationship with Christ. For more info on subscribing, go here.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's time for a Friday the 13th edition of your favorite blog feature: Snippets and Soundbites! Can't get enough of the randomness? Check out the print version in the February issue of ec. (Hint: it's on page 38).

• As we already mentioned, today is Friday the 13th. Apparently a superstitious attitude toward the number 13 and the sixth day of the week (Friday) has existed since ancient times. So when the two happen to fall on the same day, the superstitious get antsy. Some people don't go to work, and few get married on that day. There's even a word for the morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th: paraskevidekatriaphobics, which is useful, if you can say it. Read all about the superstition (which we think is silly) here.

• In other completely non-superstitious news, you might want to know about the launch of volumMonster. The founders warn that it would be easier to simply think of the service as one more way to get digital music, but it's not. Sean Smith and Kelly Poe, the founders, say the Internet-based service is a way for fans and artists to interact. Smith, an independent artist himself, got the idea for volumMonster when he wanted to find a way to get music into the hands of his fans—for free—but also in a protected environment that would give him insight into who was listening and downloading. There are also social networking features at the site, which allow fans and artists more opportunities to interact. Learn more at www.volumMonster.com.

• The Utah woman who holds the Guinness world record for the longest fingernails recently lost her award-winning nails in a car accident. Lee Redmon of Salt Lake City, Utah, sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the accident. Redmon's nails hadn't been cut since 1979. According to the Guinness website, her nails measured a total of more than 28 feet long in 2008, with the longest nail on her right thumb at 2 feet, 11 inches. (Yes, the picture in the story kind of grosses us out, too.)

Surviving Valentine’s Day (Without setting sail on a sea of self-pity)

By ec staff and friends

Love. Love. Love.
That’s what Valentine’s Day is all about, right?
Well, yes and no. Valentine’s Day is certainly about love, but all too often we make it into this super holiday on which you prove your adoration and love for that special someone. Here at ec, though, we say Valentine’s Day has less to do with dating and more to do with celebrating the relationships in your life—dating, family, or friendship. So take time this month to just celebrate the special people in your life. Laugh, hang out, watch movies, give gifts, talk, or whatever.

And, you know, if you need some ideas to fuel your conversations or to help you get Valentine’s Day in perspective (having a boyfriend or girlfriend is not the
end-all-be-all!), why not try out a few of our ideas? You know you want to!

Dating Horror Story
“Once, in high school, I had struck up a relationship with a girl I met at church camp. She was from a town around an hour and a half from where I lived. Over the course of the camp, we became pretty cozy, and then continued to keep in touch through phone calls and letters (pre-e-mail! and this was like 1998). We decided that we should go on a date, so we made plans to meet halfway. I convinced a buddy to ride with me so I wasn’t driving by myself. When we got to the supposed meeting spot—she was nowhere to be found. She bailed. Completely. So I called her using a payphone at the restaurant (pre-cell phone! Again, 1998!). She said something came up, but that we were more than welcome to drive the rest of the way to her town so we could hang out. At this point my buddy and I were committed to the cause, so we thought, why not? We drove the rest of the way, and spent the evening sitting in her living room with her and her parents, talking about her ex-boyfriend whom she was going to be getting back together with. It was so terrifying and awkward and unfamiliar—and it made it worse that my buddy was enjoying every moment because of how tense the situation was. There are so many morals to this story . . . the least of which is that camp romances shouldn’t be encouraged!

Oh, and things didn’t work out with her ex-boyfriend, at which point we began calling/writing again. And it lasted about two weeks before we had a ridiculously odd argument in which she went on a tirade about how much she disliked the television show ‘Seinfeld.’ I’m a fairly passive fellow, but I found it unacceptable for her to dislike and have such a strong opinion against a show that I loved dearly. So I broke it off, telling her ‘I can never be with someone who doesn’t appreciate “Seinfeld” the way I do.’ True story.”
—Justin McCord, ec writer, Plano, Texas

Fun hang-out ideas that won’t break the bank
• Surprise your date or your best friends with a twist on the dinner-and-a-movie idea. Take your laptop (fully charged) or load your TV and DVD player into the car and go somewhere that’s not, well, expected—like a park or a marina or if it’s cold, somewhere heated. Bonus points if there are electrical outlets. The change of location will allow you to enjoy the movie away from the usual venues. Don’t forget to bring snacks!
• Unless you’re old enough to be seriously thinking about marriage, it’s probably best to do group dates. Chansin Bird, ec’s intern, says, “My friends’ favorite excuse for hanging out is to have a game night. We go to one person’s house, snack on junk food, and play games like Apples to Apples, Taboo, or Cranium.” Try it. It might be fun!
• Host a dinner on Valentine’s Day. Sure, sounds like the same old story, right? Well, not what we have in mind. This isn’t just for you and that special someone. It’s for ­everyone you love. Invite your parents, friends, family, and so forth. Make an effort to serve them and let them know how much you appreciate their presence in your life. As a good friend of ec, Buddy Norris, says, “Enjoy your friends and spend quality time with them. Don’t focus on singlehood and don’t mope. God’s got a plan and has perfect timing in your life—who comes into it and when and where. Enjoy the journey and make the most of each day!”

Dating Horror Story
“When I was a junior in high school, I had major reconstructive jaw surgery which left me wired shut for most of the school year due to a few complications. But that didn’t stop me from asking out the pretty new girl I had a crush on. I had to write it down, but I still asked her! I had an old ’69 VW Beetle, and it was the dead of winter. The night I went to pick her up was a record low-temperature night. (It was around 7 degrees.) I got to her house and mumbled to her parents through my wires. Then, we got in the car, and I wrapped her in a blanket since my car had no heat. We went to Taco Bell, and I had to slurp refried beans through a big straw while she ate real food. We saw a movie that wasn’t that good. Then, on the way home from our quiet (not a lot of talking) date, my car started acting up due to the cold, cold, coldness. It was spitting and backfiring all down her street. I was embarrassed, but we laughed a lot. To this day she still remembers it fondly as a good time.”
—Buddy Norris, Nashville, Tenn.
(The moral of this story: sometimes the things that seem mortifying at the time really aren’t quite that bad!)

The greatest love story ever told
While it’s really easy to get wrapped up in all the fuss the world makes about Valentine’s Day. It’s easy to start finding your identity in that special someone or being entirely consumed by the fact that you aren’t dating anyone. But here’s the truth: the greatest love you’ll ever know is the love that God has for you. He knows everything about you and still loves you. And there are a few things you need to understand about God's love. Ready? Here we go:
• God's love is the only kind that will make you whole. We're all made with a longing for something more, and we try to fill that with other people, activities, interests, relationships—but the only thing that lasts is God . You can't find wholeness in someone else; only the everlasting love of the living God makes you whole and fills that hole in your life.
• Don't confuse the world's kind of love with God's. Think about the way you love God. Sure, it seems boundless, but when you think about it, we all sometimes dole out our love with qualifications and limitations. We expect something back. We give love and take it away as we please. God isn't that way. His love is constant and unchanging, just like He is. His love is patient and kind and waits for us, yearns for us, changes us. When we truly recognize that kind of love, it changes the way we love other people. Focus on that kind of love this year and make an effort to share it with the people you love!

© 2008 LifeWay Christian Resources
"Surviving Valentine's Day," ec magazine, LifeWay Christian Resources: Nashville, 2008, p. 6-7.

Want to shock your parents?

Dear Readers,

Emily here. As I was reading my trusty copy of February's ec, I came across the article "What I Wish You Knew: A parent's prayer." If you haven't read those two letters yet (on pages 16-18), you should! And that article got me thinking . . .

I know that some of you may not speak much at all with your parents. And when you do, it's probably more about what time you have to be at practice, how much homework you have, who was a jerk to you that day, and what you want for supper. Even for those of you who do communicate well and frequently with your parents, I believe the permanence of what I'm about to suggest will be appreciated by your mom and dad. So here goes.

Write your parents a letter. Take some time to share your feelings. You can write one letter to each parent or write one to them both. We'll even give you permission to rip off the name of our article and title your letter "What I Wish You Knew." Tell them why you're thankful for them, ask them for forgiveness for something you've done, explain your actions in a situation that they misunderstood, tell them you love them and why—all those things that you wish you were better at/more frequent in saying. You don't have to mail it or hand-write it with a fountain pen. You should just leave it where they can find it (like on their bed, on top of their Bible(s), propped up against the coffee pot, etc.).

If you're like me, you get your feelings and thoughts out better when you write (or type) them. (And if you're not a word person, then your letter will be all-the-more appreciated by your parents!) But here's a tip from a person who writes and edits for a living: once you've written your letter, leave it alone for a few hours (I call this "letting it 'marinate.'") Then come back to it and edit it if necessary.

This is an opportunity for you to say those things you need to say in a form that your parents can keep and pull out when they need reminding of what a good son or daughter you are and how blessed they are to be your parents. And we think you just might enjoy the new level of understanding between you and your parents that could result from you taking the time to write them a letter.

Let us know how it goes by leaving a comment!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to our weekly edition of “Snippets and Soundbites”! If this little dose of all things weird isn't enough for you, be sure to check out our page 38 of the February issue for more!

• Have you filled out your 25 things and tagged all your friends? Well, everyone else in the world apparently is. The list that's taking over Facebook even became a story on Time's Web site, was covered by the New York Times, and reportedly, was the topic of a poll on CNN this week! Talk about random! Apparently, an estimated 5 million 25 Things about Me notes have appeared on Facebook in the last week. These kind of lists (or memes as they're called in the blogosphere) are the next generation of the chain letter, which used to come via the postal mail. (Ask your parents. They'll remember chain letters from childhood. Read more here.)

• President Obama's daughters, Malia and Sasha, got an unexpected day off this week because of 2 inches of snow and freezing rain that hit Washington, D.C. The president was apparently a little taken aback by the snow day. But the Obamas moved to Washington, D.C. from Chicago, where snow and ice are common occurrences, school is rarely canceled, and students play in the snow during recess. We admit it, Chicago. You're tough. Those of us in the South, not so much!

• USA Swimming has suspended Beijing gold medalist Michael Phelps for three months and revoked his training stipend, some of the continuing fallout after pictures of Phelps inhaling marijuana surfaced last week. He also lost a lucrative sponsorship deal with Kellogg Co. Phelps accepted the reprimand and officials say he is committed to earning back people's trust. Read more here.

• Officials have apparently tracked down the cause of a strange maple syrup smell that has plagued New York City several times in recent years. Yes, we said maple syrup. And—sorry, New Jersey, you get blamed for everything—they think the problem came from a facility processing fenugreek seeds. Fenugreek is a common ingredient in curry powders, and its extract is also used in artificial vanilla, caramel, butterscotch and maple flavorings. The mayor of NYC had enlisted environmental protection, health department and emergency management workers to uncover the cause for the mystery smell in early January. Read all about how they solved the mystery here.

Music Minute

What's new: Dock me a point for being tardy this week, will you? I've been rushing around trying to finish a project, and...well, first the cat ate my homework, then I got stuck in traffic, and I washed it in the laundry, and I couldn't—

(crash)
(thud)

Ahem. Um, don't make excuses for being late. Most of the time, it doesn't matter why you were late (note: there are times in your life when it WILL matter, and part of your job is figuring out when it does and when it doesn't). It's important to ME to figure out why I was late so I don't do it again, but it's probably not really important to you. Make sense?

(And also, I just remembered that this morning when I left my apartment, I left the dryer door open and I REALLY hope the cats are not asleep in there on my laundry. Maybe I need to get it together this week, huh?)

New stuff this time from Salvador and Julian Drive.

What we like: Julian Drive released My Coming Day last month, and you should check it out. If you like Coldplay, JD's lovely mix of power pop, guitar, and vocals will make you happy. There's a lot to like on this album (last time we mentioned "Cry"). A standout is "The Reason" - yes, that's a cover of Hoobastank's hit! These guys add emotional depth, sparkle and power to an already-cool song. Check it out.



Nashville-based jam band Salvador released Aware on February 3. (A jam band is a band who doesn't really have a set list for playing live - they just "jam" or improvise, and it's different for every show. Even the band doesn't know what's next. One classic example is The Grateful Dead.) Salvador's pop-worship sound will stay with you long after the record stops spinning. We like the title track.



PS: you can follow them on Twitter, too - just look for @salvadormusic.

What's coming up: New stuff from Decyfer Down is due out next week. Fans of Skillet, POD, and U2 will like their sound - it's big, heavy rock music with substance. We've listened to a little at their MySpace page and what we've heard, we like. Check out "Crash," the title song from their upcoming album.



What we don't like: Valentine's Day jewelry ads on TV, meatloaf (SORRY MOM), and uh, forgetting things.

The Name Game Poll

As promised on page 38 of this month's issue of ec, we have a poll for you!

Hate it or love it, you're stuck with your name. Or are you?
Did your parents momentarily lose their minds when they named you? Would you ever change your name?

A. Yes, I'd change it. I already have a name picked out!
B. I like my name. I wouldn't change it ever!
C. I'm not sure. My name is OK, I guess.

Please leave your response in a comment. And have a GREAT day!

Speaking His Peace

When you open up the February 2009 issue of ec, you'll see that it has a lot to do with relationships. Relationships with others, your relationship with God, your relationship with your parents. There are articles on developing godly relationships and learning to talk to God on a deeper level, to converse, to listen, to seek Him in an everyday, living, breathing relationship.

God and I have been having a lot of conversations this past week. My family and hometown was hard hit by the ice storm that blasted in to Arkansas, southeast Missouri, and western Kentucky last week. My family members lost power last Tuesday (and water for a short period of time). Power was restored to my brother's house last night during the halftime show of the Super Bowl, but my parents, who live outside the city limits, are still waiting. And may be waiting for awhile yet as crews struggle to put up new poles and restore broken power lines.

It's hard to be almost 300 miles away from your family and know that they are suffering. It's hard to sit still and enjoy your comfortably warm living room when your parents are at home cooking their food on a barbecue grill and sitting around a gas fireplace. It's hard not to worry when your nephew (who turns 3 months old this week) doesn't have power at his house. Or when your grandmother's nursing home has a generator, but not enough diesel to run it.

So God and I had some honest talks in which I implored Him to take care of my family. To keep them safe on icy roads. To give them patience with one another in the middle f a stressful situation. To know how I could help, what I could do. I didn't pray that they get the power restored, that the work crews would put my family first on the list, or anything like that. I just prayed for God's hand and continued presence to be with my family. I prayed that He would take care of them, knowing He already was. I sat in silence and listened, desperately seeking God when I couldn't even form the words.

And God's peace flowed over me. I knew He had this under control, and for one of the first times in my life, the worrier in me wasn't worried. Whatever happened, God had it covered. I was reminded once again that God is a God who knows, who hears, who acts.

That's the power of prayer in action.