August is over.

So here it is. The last day of the longest month of the year (at least it seems the longest month to me). You’re most likely two weeks into school. How’s it going? Are you staying true to those goals you set for yourself this school year? (If you haven’t set any, you may want to flip to pages 24-25 of the August issue of ec.) True, the school year is still new and you may not have had much of a chance to meet some of your goals yet, but the key to meeting goals is to re-examine them often and see how you’re doing.

Case in point: I set a goal back in January to go to bed on time. Turns out, not getting enough sleep was making the mornings extremely tough (especially the getting out of bed part). On top of that, my energy level was low, my face was breaking out, and I was pretty grouchy at times. Because I started preparing for an April half marathon in January, I knew that sleep would be vital to my training.

While there were lots of reasons for me to go to bed early, I still wanted to stay up late. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. Some rerun is on, a friend keeps texting you, or you’re not ready to put down that book just yet. Whatever the distraction is, it seems much more appealing than sleep. But when morning comes, you’re regretting your decision to not go to bed, right?

It’s easy to see why getting enough sleep is an important goal to set. If you don’t get enough, you don’t function well. (I hope it’s one of your goals this year to get enough sleep; most teens don’t.) But what about some other goals that you might have set with less tangible or immediate results? Like being a better friend, respecting your teachers, or getting closer to God this school year? All goals take time and commitment. And most are easier to achieve with a little accountability. For me and my sleep goal, my boyfriend took it upon himself to make sure that he took me home or called before my bedtime so that I would be able to get enough sleep. Having him hold me accountable about getting to bed on time has been a bigger help than he even knows.

Maybe getting enough sleep is a silly example. But it’s a good goal. I hope you’ve set some good goals for yourself this year. If you have, revisit them now to see how you’re doing. If you haven’t, take some time to set some. And know that ec is here for you if you need any help with those goals. Just check out pages 24-26 and 51 of the August issue for more on this topic.

See you in September! :)

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Ready for this week’s dose of weird news? Yep, so are we. And you can get even more on page 38 of this month’s issue of ec!

To the moon!
This week, the Dutch national museum (better known as the Rijksmuseum) announced that one of its prized possessions, a moon rock, actually isn’t from the moon. Instead, it’s simply a piece of petrified wood. Former Dutch Prime Minister Willem Drees gave the rock to the museum in 1988. He had received it as a gift from then-U.S. ambassador J. William Middendorf in 1969. While the U.S. gave many rocks to foreign countries following the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, most weren’t from that initial mission. A space expert saw the stone on display (which isn’t generally the case) in 2006 and informed the museum that it probably wasn’t a moon rock. Tests showed it to be a piece of petrified wood that’s worth no more than $70. It’s unclear why Drees was given the stone (he’d been out of office for 11 years in 1969) or why he thought it to be a moon rock. To read all about the fake moon rock, go here.

Miracles really do happen.
A Phoenix woman was recently surprised when the cab driver who had been driving her back and forth to dialysis appointments offered to donate his kidney to her. Rita Van Loenen had been diagnosed with kidney disease last year and was facing kidney failure when none of her friends or family proved to be a match. A cousin had previously donated a kidney to her, but that transplant had failed. Loenen told her taxi driver, Thomas Chappell, that her son was getting tested, too. That’s when Chappell decided to get tested, too. Their blood types matched. Chappell told Loenen that they’d have to be siblings to be any closer of a match. Chappell describes himself as a man of faith and that he felt God’s leading to give Loenen a kidney. To read all about the story and how God worked through circumstances to bring these two together, go here.


We’ve heard of glass-bottomed boats . . .
But not glass-bottomed elevators. Sure, we’ve all ridden in glass elevators, but there are some elevators that are taking it to another level—you know, as they take you to another level. For example, the glass-floored elevators in the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, and the Sky Tower in Aukland, New Zealand. Only a portion of the elevators’ floors are glass, but it’s enough to give guests quite a view of where they’ve come from—and how very far away it is. Learn more about both elevators here. Be sure to watch the videos!

Happy weekend, readers!

Saying good-bye

Today is a hard day for me.

Because when I look at today's date, I remember standing in a small country church in Missouri at my grandmother's funeral. Because I was sad that day, overcome with a grief I didn't think I could handle or survive. I wanted to be strong for my mom and make my brother smile and take comfort in the familiar hymns my dad led the congregation in at that funeral. But it hurt. I missed her. I didn't want to say good-bye.

Let me tell you a little about my grandma and me. My Grandma Polly had only four grandchildren and of those four, I was the only granddaughter. And my grandma, for all the flaws that she had, loved me, believed in me, was one of my biggest fans, and was intensely proud of me. She thought I was beautiful and told me so—often and again and again, even when I didn't believe her. I had watched her stay strong and faithful through my grandfather's battle with cancer and fight back to live in her own home without assistance after a massive stroke. I loved her, and when she died in August 2007, I was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of my grief.

But God used that time in my life to teach me about His unfailing love and to remind me of the hope we have in Christ alone. I remember standing at the graveside listening to the pastor read from 1 Thessalonians 4, reminding me of Paul's words that we do not grieve like the rest of the world does, with no hope. It was as if God was wrapping His arms around me and saying: "Remember me. I am here. Put your hope in me. I will not leave you, and one day, I'll bring you home to be with me." The pain was still there, but the hope that had dwindled had been restored. My grandma was with the Savior she had loved so long, and someday, I would be, too.

To be honest with you, I still miss my grandma. I missed her last fall when my brother and his wife had their first child. I miss sitting beside her at Christmas and helping her open her gifts. I miss her handwritten cards and phone calls. Sometimes, I run across an old card, letter, or recipe in her handwriting and hold it close to my heart. I wear the ring my grandfather brought to her from Germany after World War II when I'm feeling especially lonely for her.

I miss her, but I'm not paralyzed by grief anymore. I know where my grandmother is. And some days, I'm overwhelmed by my desire to be home. To be in heaven. To be with the God who has loved me for all eternity and died for me. Sometimes, I sing songs in church and have the deep understanding that as I sing those words, I am joining with the angels and the saints in worship of God. And that's a good thing—because somehow, God has used my grief to draw me closer to Him and help me recognize that He knows my deepest needs, cares, and wants to walk through them with me.

He wants to do the same for you.

What's your dream job?

If you're a loyal ec reader, you may have already read Randy William's article, "Dream Jobs," on page 6 of the August issue. Randy found some interesting jobs—some of which we didn't even know existed. (I mean, come on, have you ever thought about who designs the clothes for Barbie?) Anyway, check out Randy's list:

MUSIC SUPERVISOR.
Basically, this person picks out the songs that you hear in movies or television shows. Yeah, for real. They listen to music and put together the songs for particular scenes. Next time you go to a movie, watch the credits roll, and you’ll always see this job listed. Cool, huh?

ANIMAL TRAINER.
When these ­people come home from work and say, “I work with a bunch of monkeys,” they literally mean actual monkeys.

CONSULTANT.
In a nutshell, consultants get paid a lot of money to simply tell other people their opinions. It’s almost like walking up to someone and saying, “If you pay me $100, I’ll tell you what I think about the way you’re doing that and how I would do it better.”

INTERIOR DECORATOR.
Rich people pay you to spend their money to decorate their homes and offices. Awesome!

CRUISE SHIP ENTERTAINER.
This is a dream job for single people. You live on a boat, see the world, and get paid to sing and dance. These jobs aren’t easy to come by, but when they work out, you’re set.

VIDEO GAME TESTER.
Video game companies have entire divisions dedicated to the testing, analyzing, and retesting of new video games. You get paid to play video games and report to your boss what you think about them.

COLOR NAMER.
OK, so we don’t really know an official title for this job, but have you ever shopped for paint? How many names for “dark blue” even exist? Yet, someone has to name the thousands of shades and hues. (ec editor Mandy secretly would like to be the person in charge of naming the colors of clothing in catalogs. Who would buy a blue shirt when you could have "ocean"?)

CRITIC.
These people watch movies, read books, listen to music, or eat food. Then they write an article telling people what they thought. Critics are similar to consultants in that they get paid to give their opinion, but they rarely make as much. However, critics get tons of free stuff.

BARBIE CLOTHING DESIGNER.
Yes, this job exists. We know someone in Los Angeles who actually does this for Mattel. And guess what? She loves her job.

So, what's your dream job? If you could do anything in the world, what would it be? Tell us in the comments section. We'd love to hear what you have to say!

© 2009 LifeWay Christian Resources
Randy Williams, "Dream Jobs," ec magazine, August 2009, LifeWay Christian Resources: Nashville, 2009, pp. 6-7.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's Friday and that means "Snippets and Soundbites"! If today's edition isn't enough news of the weird for you, check out page 38 in the August (and every month) issue of ec.

Now, on with the show!

• Chester Arthur born in Canada? What?!
Have you heard about the so-called “birthers” who have been questioning the citizenship of President Obama? Well, apparently that isn’t a new trend. Because nearly 123 years after President Chester A. Arthur’s death, questions about his citizenship still linger. There’s a historical site in Fairfield, Vt., that’s reported to be the site of the cottage where Arthur was born, but the issue has been under scrutiny since the 1880 presidential campaign, when Arthur was James A. Garfield’s running mate. Back then, Arthur’s own party wanted him to provide proof of his birthplace and Democrats went as far to hire a lawyer to investigate Arthur’s background. That lawyer eventually concluded Arthur had been born in Canada, then appropriated the birth records of a baby brother who was born in Fairfield, Vt., but passed away shortly after birth. Officially, it’s believed Arthur was born in Vermont in 1829, though later in life, he lied about his age and said his birth year was 1830. He was the son of a Baptist minister and spent a lot of his growing up years in New York. To read more about the controversy, go here. Maybe you can solve the mystery!

• We hope you have a big appetite!
At least you would have needed one in Manchester, N.H., last weekend. That’s because the town revealed a 1,224-pound cupcake last weekend as part of a local car show. The triple vanilla cupcake with pink frosting set a world record for the biggest cupcake. The massive cupcake, made by Gourmetgiftbaskets.com, was more than eight times bigger than the previous record holder. It tipped the scales at an estimated 2 million calories and took 12 hours to bake. Residents and car show enthusiasts bought slices of the cupcake in exchange for donations to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure breast cancer organization. Read all about it (and see a picture) here.

• You have a story.
There’s still time (though it’s not very much, to be honest) for you to share your favorite Christmas memory or story with us. We’re looking for funny stories, but also heartwarming ones. You can submit it here or here. Many of the submissions we receive will end up on the December 2009 issue! Don’t you want to see your story in print?

Oh, yeah—have a good weekend! Rest up. School’s back in session. Don’t let it overwhelm you yet!

Music Minute, Manic Math Edition

Uh, that kind of came out wrong. What I really meant to say is that Manic Drive and Mute Math have a new album out this week. But "Manic Math" sounded kind of like a back-to-school nightmare (hey, I'm an artist!) so I thought, um...OK, never mind. On to the music!

First, I'd like to comment on their cool, shiny suits and ever-so-perfect hair. Canada's own Cavallo brothers (otherwise known as Manic Drive) look a little bit like they just wandered over from the set of Gossip Girl to play music. However. Don't let appearances deceive you—these fellas know how to rock. If you're partial to P.O.D. or Linkin Park, this is an album for you.

Blue is the first major-distribution release from MD and includes several new tracks plus 8 songs that originally appeared on their album Reset & Rewind. You'll find all kinds of musical influences here, including funk, rock, hip-hop, and a touch of Latin music. Also, we'd like to mention they're playing about 50 tour dates between now and December! Click here to preview the album online...we like the song "Music" best.



Next up, a new release from Mute Math. Alternative Press calls them the "#1 band you need to see live before you die," (cheery, guys!) and you might remember their song "Spotlight" if you went to see the movie Twilight—but we kind of hope you didn't. (Just kidding!)

Mute Math see themselves as a bunch of Christian guys in a band (not necessarily Christian music). This album was born of creative differences; it happened because the guys in the band were having trouble getting along. A stalemate over which of their songs to record led them to interview some producers for an outside opinion, and one of them said "write new songs." After a few days of discussion, they threw out everything they'd written so far and started over. The result is fresh and inventive. You'll find rocking guitars, soaring vocals, and punishing drums (we do kind of wonder how the drummer keeps up). The band says this record is about "the experience of knowing when to stop fighting for the sake of progress."

They're also playing a lot of shows this fall. The album is called Armistice; click here for a preview, and check out the song "Backfire," which is a kind of tribute to Murphy's Law. (PS, an "armistice" is a situation where warring parties stop fighting. Pretty sweet.)

Who you say you are

Are you who you say you are? If you’re a Christian, it should be obvious. But is it? If someone overheard you talking to your friend in the mall, would your language help them know what you believe? Would someone looking at your Facebook page know that you love Jesus? Or would they be convinced that you’re more interested in worshiping yourself? If you’ve got lots of pictures and videos of just yourself (especially pictures you’ve taken yourself), this might be the case. And what about the kind of language you use on your friends’ walls? Or even the negativity you give off in your status updates? (I’m definitely guilty of this one!)

Instead, why don’t you try posting positive things, like the Scripture you studied that day or something you love or admire in a friend or family member? You never know who might see it and be encouraged or reminded to also make a stand for Christ in his or her online world.

The school year’s new. Show your classmates who you really are this year. Be a shining light for Christ!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's Friday and that means "Snippets and Soundbites"! If today's edition leaves you wanting more, check out page 38 in the August (and every month) issue of ec. You won't be sorry!

Ready for some fun? Yeah, us too! Let's go!

• Mandy (ec's editor) has a dog who can dance, but Nora the cat has that beat. She plays the piano. Yep, you read that right! She's a 5-year-old shelter rescue cat owned by a couple in Philadelphia and apparently took up piano playing all on her own. One of her owners is a piano teacher who teaches students in the home, which features two pianos side-by-side. Nora sometimes accompanies students on the other piano during their lessons. A feline expert says that Nora probably started playing the piano as a way to get attention and probably learned her musical prowess from watching her owner give piano lessons. Read all about it here. And see videos of Nora playing here.

• Oh, it's August. Which means it's hot and many of you are headed back to school. It's also one of the only months without a holiday. We'd love to know what holiday you would start if you had the chance. Let us know on our poll.

• Speaking of dogs, a researcher in Canada says that the newest research method used to discover how intelligent dogs are is to use test meant for very young children. Stanley Coren, a professor at the University of British Columbia, said these tests will help determine whether dogs have certain thinking skills and help place those skills in comparison to those of humans. Coren has previously speculated that the mental ability of dogs is close to that of two- to two-and-a-half-year-olds. At his presentation last week, he said that dogs can learn about 165 words, including signals; they can count up to four or five and have a basic understanding of arithmetic. So, beware! Your dog may know more than you think! If you'd like to read more about Coren's research and find out what he says are the smartest breeds of dogs, go here.

That's it for today! Have a wonderful day, especially if you're going back to school! :)

Back-to-school tips you can use

Yes, we know. You've been flooded with back-to-school tips and suggestions. You're tired of hearing about getting your priorities in order, studying, and getting enough sleep. You know that stuff—or at least you've heard it so many times before that you should know it. And we know that you realize that most of it is vitally important and useful information. So, we don't want to bore you with the same stuff everyone else has told you. Check out our tips for back-to-school below.

Start your school year with purpose.
We're not talking about starting with plans to rock all of your classes, get all A's, and get into an Ivy League college with early admission, even though those things are great goals and good things to strive for. We're talking about living on purpose spiritually. Check out the story on page 24 of the August issue of ec, then read Chansin Bird's personal account on page 26 of the same issue. The fact that you're a Christian doesn't fade when you're at school, though we all sometimes act like it does. Live with purpose this year.

Serve others.
We're not talking about serving your friends lunch in the cafeteria, though bringing them a special treat one day might be nice. What we're talking about is finding ways to do nice and helpful things for others with no selfish motives. Maybe you have a friend who needs a ride home from practice and you or your parents can do that. Maybe you see a student who never has anyone to sit with at lunch. Maybe you know of a teen who wants to do some extracurricular activity but doesn't have the money—and your family does and could donate it anonymously. The idea is that you stop thinking about yourself and start putting other people first. It's what Jesus did for us—and He's called us to be obedient to Him. If you're still looking for ideas about where and how to serve others, check out "Playing to Your Strengths" on page 40 of this month's issue of ec. Find the things you're good at and find a way to serve!

Make new friends.
This summer, we invited you to take a good look at your friends and evaluate those relationships. Some of them may have been good for you. Others of them may not have been. A new school year is a good place to start pursuing relationships that have meaning and value. Keep the friends you've had forever—the ones who know you best, love you always, and push you to a deeper relationship with Christ—ever close to you. But don't be afraid to reach out to new people. It is often through friendships that people come to Christ or begin to go deeper in their relationship with Him. Don't be so focused on your one group of friends that you miss out of a great friendship with someone you wouldn't expect!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's Friday and that means "Snippets and Soundbites"! If today's edition leaves you wanting more, check out page 38 in the August (and every month) issue of ec. You won't be sorry!

Ready? Here we go!

• Apparently, there's a museum for everything. Case in point: Wisconsin's Mustard Museum, currently located in Mount Horeb, Wis., but moving to Middleton this fall. The townspeople of Mount Horeb (a city of just over 6,000) are sad to see the museum go. Village administrator Larry Bierke put it this way in an interview with USA Today: "[We're] disappointed to see such a large tourist attraction leave." The museum draws in about 30,000 visitors a year, more than we even though possible. This weekend, the museum will go out with a big bang as residents and visitors gather on Mount Horeb's Main Street to celebrate the last National Mustard Day at the musuem. Hot dogs with mustard will be free. There's a $10 charge for anyone who deigns to ask for ketchup. Read all about the musuem and its move here. Read about National Mustard Day here.

• Are you a self-proclaimed "word nerd"? Do you smoke your competition at any and all Scrabble games? Well, you might want to find out more about the National Scrabble Championship. This week, an Ohio man took home $10,000 when he won the national title at the competition in Ohio. To claim the title, Dave Wiegand of Portland, Ore., a 35-year-old mortage underwriter, garnered 25 wins and six losses in the 31-game competition. Read more about Dan's big win here. Check out info on the National Scrabble Championship and Association here.

• As it turns out, Connecticut's Nurse of the Year isn't a nurse at all. Authorities say Betty Lichtenstein was pretending to be a registered nurse at a local doctor's office, and the doctor in charge believed her, especially after she received an award from the Connecticut Nursing Association as "Nurse of the Year" in 2008. The police now say no such organization exists and believe Lichtenstein spent up to $2,000 of her own money to stage the elaborate banquet honoring her as the Nurse of the Year. The Medicaid Fraud Control Unit began investigating the woman after receiving patient complaints about her. She was arrested and charged yesterday and could face up to five years in prison for reckless endangerment and criminal impersonation charges. Read more here.

• Canadian divers are saying they may have found the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force plane lost in 1942. In 1942, during World War II, the plane was based at Presqu'Ile, Maine, in the United States, and serviced an airfield in the village of Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Quebec. During the early years of the war, the U.S. constructed a series of airfields in Eastern Canada so they could ferry aircraft to Allied air forces in Northern Europe, as part of the so-called "Crimson Route." The construction of the airport in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan was to serve as an emergency airfield along the ferry route between Presque Isle and Goose Bay, Labrador. The plane, an amphibious aircraft, went down in rough weather on November 2, 1942, in the waters surrounding what is now the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve in the eastern Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Nine crew members were aboard the aircraft when it went down in 1942. Four managed to escape and were rescued by local fisherman. The remaining five people went down with the plane. The wreckage appears to be in good condition and divers hope to recover it, along with the remains of the five victims. It is important to note that the wreckage has not been confirmed as the lost plane. Read all about the finding here. Learn more about Canada's role in WWII, go here.

Music Minute

I've never been a fan of August, to be perfectly honest. It's 31 long, hot, sweltering days and no holidays to ease the pain. My family lives in hurricane country, and August is the month to watch out for. Growing up, I lived in a little tourist town on Lake Michigan, and August was the month all the summer people went home and we had to start thinking about school again. But I've also always been a person who tries to look for the silver lining, and some new Christian albums out this week make August look a whole lot better.

Anberlin front-man Stephen Christian has a new acoustic-rock album with side project Anchor & Braille. (It's not strictly a "Christian" album and features a cover of "Frosty the Snowman," just so you know.) Mandisa is touring like crazy with Women of Faith—try to catch her on the road. If you're a fan of Hillsong, check out their latest release Faith + Hope + Love, which features 13 new worship songs.

Aaron Shust released his third album, Take Over. Family Force 5 has a new disc called Dance or Die Vinyl, and old-school fellas Phillips, Craig and Dean have a new disc, Fearless. Stars Go Dim released an album full of worship songs called Love Gone Mad, and 1000 Generations has a kicky new album of piano-driven rock worship called Turn Off the Lesser Lights. Check out "Invocation"—it rocks.



All right y'all, load up your mp3 player with some new tunes and enjoy your August (gulp, I never thought I'd say THAT!).

Fun (and helpful) stuff for you!

Hello, all you ec fans! If you’ve made it to page 39 of this month’s issue, then you know it’s time for your monthly poll!



And in other news, we’re here with this month’s “Read Through the Bible” Scripture passages. Some of you have said that having the whole week’s worth of readings on the Journal page is confusing because you wish you knew exactly what to read each day. Your wish is our command!

Daily Bible readings this month:
Week One:
Saturday, August 1: Psalms 9–12; Acts 20:1-16
Sunday, August 2: Psalms 13–19; Acts 20:17-38
Monday, August 3: Psalms 20–25; Acts 21:1-25
Tuesday, August 4: Psalms 26–30; Acts 21:26-40
Wednesday, August 5: Psalms 31-36; Acts 22
Thursday, August 6: Psalms 37–42; Acts 23
Friday, August 7: Psalms 43–48; Acts 24
Saturday, August 8: Psalms 49-53; Acts 25

Week Two:
Sunday, August 9: Psalms 54–58; Acts 26
Monday, August 10: Psalms 59–63; Acts 27
Tuesday, August 11: Psalms 64–69; Acts 28
Wednesday, August 12: Psalms 70–73; Romans 1:1-17
Thursday, August 13: Psalms 74–78; Romans 1:18-32
Friday, August 14: Psalms 79–82; Romans 2:1-16
Saturday, August 15: Psalms 83–86; Romans 2:17-29

Week Three:
Sunday, August 16: Psalms 87–92; Romans 3
Monday, August 17: Psalms 93–98; Romans 4
Tuesday, August 18: Psalms 99–104; Romans 5
Wednesday, August 19: Psalms 105–109; Romans 6
Thursday, August 20: Psalms 110–114; Romans 7
Friday: August 21: Psalms 115–118; Romans 8:1-17
Saturday: August 22: Psalms 119:1-88; Romans 8:18-39

Week Four:
Sunday, August 23: Psalm 119:89-176; Romans 9
Monday, August 24: Psalm 120–126; Romans 10
Tuesday, August 25: Psalm 127–132; Romans 11
Wednesday, August 26: Psalm 133–138; Romans 12
Thursday, August 27: Psalm 139–143; Romans 13
Friday, August 28: Psalm 144–150; Romans 14
Saturday, August 29: Proverbs 1–3; Romans 15

Week Five:
Sunday, August 30: Proverbs 4–6; Romans 16
Monday, August 31: Proverbs 7–9; 1 Corinthians 1