Music Minute

We've got new stuff fresh from Norway today, which makes me happy because my grandmother on my mom's side was Norwegian, and these fellas are from Stavanger, where my gran was born. (Ya.)

Dreampilots were a big hit at GMA week here in Nashville this year, and they've released an album called Comedown that is full of rockin' 70s-style guitar tunes. They're part Switchfoot, part U2, and part Radiohead, but keep listening and you'll hear a lot of pop influence, too. Check out the title track...just don't ask me how to say their names. Karl, Oddi, and Inge I can do, but I've absolutely no idea how to say "Gulliev." The band's name comes from their desire to "pilot people to the Lord." We like that!





And maybe you know by now that Hawk Nelson released a new album last week called Live Life Loud. (To the best of my knowledge, they are not Norwegian.) If you've never listened to Hawk Nelson, you should! We love their philosophy (which is not about volume), their sense of humor, and their name. These fellas give 110% all the time. Bring your 3D glasses to their site and have a little fun previewing their tracks. Then skip on over to iTunes and pick up some tunes for your very own. (Yes, I said "skip." Don't be a hater.) Here's a link to the title track.

Manic Drive Video

Have you been looking for the Manic Drive video we promised in the September issue?
Your wait is over!
Enjoy!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It’s our final “Snippets and Soundbites” for September. That’s hard to believe! September has really flown by, at least for us!

And if this isn’t enough strange, slightly offbeat news for you, be sure to check out “Snippets and Soundbites” on page 38 of the September (and every issue) of ec. You know you wanna!

Ready for this week’s snippets? Let’s go!

And you thought Starbucks was expensive . . .
A college in St. Louis will have to pay $200,000 for a cup of coffee. And they are NOT happy about it. Apparently, back in July, a coffee maker that was rigged to a water line and left on resulted in a ruptured water line. Gallons upon gallons of water poured over four floors, damaging walls, ceilings, computers, and files. The college’s Board of Trustees will be asked to approve cleanup costs this week. Those costs are expected to include a $143,494 contract with a disaster-recovery company. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that school officials hope the campus will only have to pay the insurance deductible ($25,000) plus some other expenses ($54,000). Is a cup of coffee really worth all that expense? We’re not sure . . . but we’re just saying. To learn more about the coffee disaster, go here.

Shirt and tie
Maybe you hate wearing ties, but a British shirt company has a plan to make it a little more fun. Yep, they’re making a tie with a hidden iPod storage pocket. The pocket is just the right size for an iPod Nano. The company, Thomas Pink, is calling the invention/accessory “The Commuter Tie” and plans to release it this fall. You’ll be happy to know that there are also fabric loops that keep the wires hidden and close to your body. To learn more about the tie, go here. If you haven’t heard about all of Apple’s updates to the iPod Nano go here.

You ate what?!
You have to know that we on the ec team love us some burritos. Like a lot of burritos. But not as much as “Humble Bob” Shoudt who ate 33 burritos in 10 minutes last Friday. Let that sink in: 33 burritos! Shoudt won the 2009 World Burrito eating championship at the New Mexico State Fair. It is important to note that the 33 burritos Bob ate each weighed in at about a quarter of a pound and included tasty ingredients like beef, beans and green chile. Shoudt said his next stop was Louisiana for a grits-eating competition. There, he expected to compete against Joey Chestnut, a professional eater we’ve often featured in “Snippets and Soundbites.” Shoudt recently defeated Chestnut, the world champion professional eater, at a chili-eating contest. If you want to read more about Shoudt’s burrito-eating feat, go here. We’re just going to lie down for awhile and hope the stomach ache this story caused goes away soon. :)

Have a happy Friday and a great weekend, ec readers!

ec's first photography contest!

Maybe writing’s not your thing. That’s why we’re introducing the first ever ec photography contest. We can’t wait to see your skills and display them in ec and on our blog!

The Rules:
• The ec magazine photography contest will include two categories: faces (people, pets, etc.) and scenic shots (places, architecture, things). You can only submit one photo in the contest and must choose which category it best fits.

• The theme of the ec photo contest is “hometowns.” We want to know what makes your hometown special, quirky, unique, and interesting. Think about the personality of your town and try to capture a shot that showcases it.

• All submissions should be e-mailed to godlifefun@gmail.com and must be in a digital format. If necessary, you will work with the ec team to get the photo in a correct format for printing.

• The deadline for submissions is midnight on October 15, 2009. The winning photo and those of two finalists will be printed in the April 2010 issue of ec.

Tips from a photographer: Scott Greenwalt, one of ec’s favorite photographers (he often shoots our cover and cover story photos) offered a few tips for making your photo spectacular:

• Don’t be afraid to get closer to your subject. Fill up the screen or view finder, but not too much. Include some of the environment and use it to help communicate something about your subject.
• Take lots of pictures to get one great one.
• The best light is in the morning and in the evening. Direct midday sun is harsh and leaves dark shadows on peoples faces. Cloudy days are great for portraits, just wait until the sun goes behind a cloud and snap away.
• The most overshot photo subjects are babies, pets, sunsets, balloon races, and flowers with drops of water on them. If you do shoot any of these subjects, they need to be from a unique perspective.
• The thing that interests people the most is other people. Even if you’re shooting a picture of a landscape or a cool old building, a person in the photo can make it more interesting.

Operation SYATP

See You at the Pole is TOMORROW. Will you be there?

If you're an avid ec reader, you probably noticed our SYATP challenge to you on page 41 of the September issue. If not, here are the details:

Operation SYATP

Date: September 23, 2009
Time: 7 a.m.
Where: Your school’s flag pole
Who: YOU!

2008 Stats:
The theme was CONNECT: Speak, for your servant is listening, taken from 1 Samuel 3:10. Students met in all 50 states of the U.S., at the North Pole, and in Australia (though on May 22 to coincide with the start of the school year). In Accra, Ghana, students were not allowed religious expression on campus and had to meet at a church near their school. It’s estimated more than 3 million students on junior high, high school, and college campuses participated in the worldwide day of prayer. (FYI: this year's theme is ENGAGE.)

Your Assignment:
We want to know what happens on your campuses during SYATP this year. We want to hear about how you prepared for the event, how it changed your life or school, what you prayed for, and why you think SYATP is important. Your assignment is to take notice of what happens this year at SYATP and report back to us.

We’re not just asking because we’re nosy. We want to hear your stories so we can share them with our readers on our blog and in next year’s article on SYATP. So, pay attention!

E-mail your stories, experiences, and prayers to godlifefun@gmail.com with the subject line: SYATP.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

It's Friday—and that means it's time for "Snippets and Soundbites!” If this bit of the news of the weird isn't enough for you, be sure to check out page 38 of the September (and every) issue of ec for more!


Live Life Loud
Hawk Nelson released their new video "Live Life Loud"on MySpace yesterday. The band is preparing to release its 4th studio album, Live Life Loud, on September 22. The guys will also be touring the U.S. extensively this fall as part of the “Awake & Alive" tour. Hawk Nelson is also partnering with TOMS shoes to provide shoes to children in Haiti as part of TOMS “One for One” initiative. For the band’s effort, every pair of shoes purchased via Hawk Nelson’s Web site equals a pair of shoes that TOMS donates to a child in Haiti towards the band’s ongoing involvement with the Hands & Feet Orphanage. Hawk Nelson has also partnered with TOMS to release a shoe designed by the band in the fall of 2009. For more on Hawk Nelson, go here or follow them on Twitter (@HawkNelsonfans).

Last Letters
The last letter written by Mary, Queen of Scots, will be on display in the National Library of Scotland through September 21. The letter, which is more than 400 years old, isn't often displayed, but the library has a new visitor's center and wanted to celebrate by opening the vaults and bring out some of the treasures they often keep there. After this, it's unlikely the letter will emerge from the vaults again for a long time. Mary penned the letter in 1587 at 2 a.m. as she sat in Fotheringhay Castle awaiting execution. The letter is written to her brother-in-law, the king of France, and in it, she writes to tell him of the sentence that has been handed down to her: execution at 8 a.m. the next morning. Mary had briefly been queen of France and had been ousted from the Scottish throne. She fled to England and threw herself on the mercy of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Many Catholics saw Mary as having more right to the throne than Elizabeth. Mary was confined in various English castles and prisons and convicted of plotting against Elizabeth. She was condemned to death for treason (which she denied) and was executed on February 8, 1587. To read more about the letter, go here. To learn more about Mary and the circumstances of her death, click here.

Creepers! Jeepers!
Sure, you've seen grasshoppers. But have you ever seen a pink grasshopper? An 11-year-old boy in England recently discovered a hot pink grasshopper at a wildlife event he was attending. The boy noticed something pink and thought it was a flower. Then, the pink thing jumped! Knowing that flowers don't generally jump, the boy went to investigate and discovered the pink grasshopper. The experts aren't sure what caused the mutation, but apparently, grasshoppers often come in colors other than green. This find was rare because of the intensity of the shade. To learn more about the pink grasshopper and see her picture, go here.

Music Minute!

Hey y'all, it's Jen here with another round of new Christian music to check out and fall in love with. By now your school year is in full swing and we hope you're working hard, enjoying yourself, and can finally remember your locker combination.

In music news, last week Apple announced the arrival of iTunes LP, a much-heralded throwback to physical albums. When you buy the LP version of an album, you'll also get a digital booklet that includes the cover, lyrics, thank yous, extra pictures and more. Music industry executives hope this goes a long way toward patching up falling record sales. We'd like to know what you think of this—awesome, or a big waste? (PS, you need iTunes 9 for it to work, available as a free download.)

Also, maybe you saw or heard about the big dustup this week on the MTV Video Music Awards, when Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech for Video of the Year. The whole thing kind of got out of hand in the days following the event, but we'd just like to say we appreciate that Kanye apologized, and we think Taylor Swift handled the whole thing with grace.

Now for the music. First up is a new album from the David Crowder Band called Church Music. It doesn't actually come out until September 22, but you can preview it online here. DCB's sound is worship-centered electronic rock, and you'll get 17 new songs on this album. Check it out!

The new album from Thrice might be of interest to the White Stripes / Dead Weather fans out there. It's called Beggars, and it's full of beautifully sonic alternative rock. Fair warning that while lead singer Dustin Kensrue is a Christian, Thrice don't consider themselves a "Christian band." The lyrics are more poetic than theological, but it isn't hard to see that Kensrue penned these tunes with more in mind than just pretty words. An excerpt from "In Exile":

I am an exile - a sojourner; A citizen of some other place.
All I’ve seen is just a glimmer in a shadowy mirror,
But I know one day I’ll see face to face.

Now, why is a Christian magazine mentioning an album that isn't part of the genre of Christian music? Well, we think you should use a measure of discretion when you're choosing what you listen to. Our aim at ec is to tell you what's out there, not tell you what to listen to or like. Back when we were teens ourselves, there was a fair measure of debate about whether Christians should listen to secular music. While it's occasionally very clear if something is okay or not, sometimes the choice is simply left to you. We hope you choose with a measure of wisdom.

Switching gears over to something that is completely non-controversial, Avalon also has a new album out this week called Reborn. With a new lineup and a new producer, Avalon's 14th album really does manage to sound new and different. The sound is kind of a more modern version of the Avalon you know and love. We like "Arise."



Happy listening! And remember to do your homework. (Sorry.)

ec fiction contest finalist: Ashlie Bowman

With no further ado, we present to you the winning stories in the ec fiction contest. After reviewing all the stories you sent us at the end of last year, we picked an overall winner and two finalists. The winner was Taylor Clemons and her story, "It was just a simple box" is printed on page 6 of the September issue of ec. On September 1, we published Caitlin Greer's story. Caitlin and Ashlie Bowman were the two finalists in our contest.

Today, we're publishing Ashlie Bowman's story. Ashlie is a senior from Toney, Ala. She enjoys reading, writing, playing the drums, hiking, snowboarding, and pretty much any other extreme sport. Ashlie says she loves to write and says her writing is done in service to the Father. She'd like to thank Missy Shoemake for suggesting she enter our contest. Here's her winning submission:

Gone, but not forgotten

By Ashlie Bowman

The faded red sneakers flopped on her feet as they always did while she trudged on through the damp grass. Although they were almost two sizes too big for her, she had worn them nearly every day for the past three years, along with the red guitar pick she wore as a necklace, though she had never played a guitar in her life. Most people just chalked it up to eccentricity, and she never bothered to correct them. If they knew the real reason …

But she shook her head quickly to dispel those thoughts. She could not think of it yet, not now. She tried to focus on her surroundings, squinting through the morning haze that lingered between the tombstones. She knew immediately where she was; she was far too familiar with this cemetery than any living person should be.

She wove around the graves and trudged up the small hill that signaled her destination. She stopped at the top of the knoll and read (for perhaps the thousandth time) the epitaph on the headstone in front of her…

Sarah M. McCauley
1989-2005
Beloved daughter, sister, and friend
Gone but never forgotten

Most people would find this to be an ordinary tombstone, no different than any of the hundreds of others poking up out of the earth. But for her, this stone represented a million laughs, a thousand memories, and one best friend.

She knelt on the grass in front of her friend and closed her eyes, letting the memories have her.
Music blasted out from the speakers, far too loud for safe driving standards, but the girls didn't care. They were celebrating Sarah's sixteenth birthday, and not one of them was about to ruin the mood. The small slip of paper with Sarah's name and picture on it was perhaps the most exciting thing that any of them could imagine at the time. Not that the paper itself meant anything, but the independence and freedom that the license gave was what they celebrated now. As is normal for excited teenage girls, none of them were paying as much attention to the road as they should. They were far too busy chatting and squealing in the backseat to focus on anything serious, and so none of them noticed the truck weaving back and forth on the road. None of them noticed until it was too late. She woke up in the hospital, her left arm and leg made immobile by plaster. At first she did not understand the expression of grief on her mother's face. She was going to be OK, right? But it wasn't for her own daughter that she was crying. When her mother first told her of Sarah's death, the first thing she felt was disbelief. Nothing could ever happen to Sarah, nothing serious. But as her mother's story was confirmed over and over by doctors, nurses, and even other friends, the reality fell like a tangible weight upon her, crushing her to the overly clean hospital bed.

When she looked back now, perhaps if they had been paying attention, they would have seen the headlights of the truck swerving into their lane. Perhaps they could have warned Sarah, maybe she could have avoided the obviously intoxicated driver. But that was not God’s plan. Tears streamed down her face now and her broken sobs carried through the silence of the graveyard. She did not blame herself for her friend’s death, or at least not the death of her body. But the eternal death of Sarah’s soul was what she grieved even to this day.

Sarah had never fully understood the loving devotion that her best friend shared for God. The blind faith always baffled her. How could anyone feel that strongly about something they couldn’t see?

Of course she had dragged Sarah to church regularly enough, but the message had never hit home. She did not want to push her friend, for fear that she would be driven away, but now she regretted the nonchalance with which they had treated the subject. And now it was too late.

She remembered a Bible verse that she had learned as a child in Sunday School where Jesus charged the apostles to spread the gospel, and it haunted her now.

“Therefore go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Matthew 28:19.

She knew that it had been her responsibility to share what Jesus had done, not only with Sarah, but with everyone she met. She had always been too timid to just walk up to people and start preaching. She worried that people would think she was some Bible-carrying fanatic.

But after Sarah's death, her fears had changed. She no longer worried what strangers might think, or what her friends might think, or even what her family might think. Instead, she feared what might happen if she were to bite her tongue when she knew she should take a stand. What might happen if she let someone walk away without knowing the truth that Jesus Christ had died for them.

For the past three years since Sarah had died, she had worn her friend’s favorite sneakers and guitar pick nearly every single day as a reminder of the burden she bore and the commission she shared to fight for the souls of God’s children.

When she stood up, she felt the same sense of determination that she always felt after facing those memories. A determination to share all she could about her faith with everyone she came across so that no one would walk away without knowing the message of her God and his Son. It was her calling, the calling that we all share as believers in Christ.

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 the September issue of ec!

ACT up!
We know that many of are taking the ACT tomorrow. Yes, taking a test that is that long isn’t our idea of a fun Saturday morning, either, but it is important. So, relax tonight. Maybe even go to bed a little early. And if you need some tips go here. If you’re taking the SAT next month, check out these tips.

Going to the . . .birds?
This week, a company in South Africa proved it was faster for people to transmit info using carrier pigeons than Telkom, the country’s largest Internet service provider. A local news agency reported that it took an 11-month-old pigeon, Winston, one hour and eight minutes to fly the 50 miles from Pietermaritzburg to the coastal city of Durban with a data card was strapped to his leg. In that time, only four percent of the data was transferred using the Telkom line. Apparently, Internet speed and connectivity are slow because of a bandwidth shortage in South Africa. To read more about the problem and plans to alleviate the long wait times, go here.

Can I be your neighbor?
Think your neighbors are a bit annoying? Try this one on for size: a Pennsylvania man recently fired a cannon into his neighbor’s home. Of course, it wasn’t on purpose. The man rebuilds artillery from old wars as a hobby. A few weeks ago, he fired a cannon he’d finished in his backyard. The cannonball ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away, smashing through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. No one was hurt, but the man says that was the last time he’ll fire on of his revamped weapons in his yard! To read all about it, go here.

And the beat goes on
On August 29 (which would have been Michael Jackson’s 51st birthday), thousands of Mexicans gathered to dance to Jackson’s well-known hit, “Thriller.” Their goal was to break the record for the most people dancing to “Thriller” at one time in one place. It’s still unclear if they did or not; the Guinness Book of World Records has yet to announce if they have certified the event as a record. The current record was set in May by a group of 242 College of William & Mary students who performed the routine in Williamsburg, Virginia, according to Guinness. Organizers in Mexico claim 12,937 people danced during their attempt to break the record. They were led by a Michael Jackson impersonator wearing a red-and-gold sequined jacket. "More people responded than we even imagined!" Hector Jackson (the impersonator) said. "Mexico gave the best tribute in the world to Michael Jackson." We’ll have to wait to see if Hector and his friends will indeed hold the world record. Until then, read all about it here. Read about Mexico’s attempt to break a number of world records here.

Daily Bible Readings: September

Alright, faithful readers, here's your daily Bible readings for this month. (Sorry we're a little late. Labor Day got us all excited and caused us to overlook some necessary items . . . like posting this helpful list.) We hope you learn a lot as you read these passages this month.


Week One:
Tuesday, September 1: Proverbs10–12; 1 Corinthians 2
Wednesday, September 2: Proverbs 13–15; 1 Corinthians 3
Thursday, September 3: Proverbs 16–18; 1 Corinthians 4
Friday, September 4: Proverbs 19–21; 1 Corinthians 5
Saturday, September 5: Proverbs 22-23; 1 Corinthians 6

Week Two:
Sunday, September 6: Proverbs 24–27; 1 Corinthians 7
Monday, September 7: Proverbs 28–31; 1 Corinthians 8
Tuesday, September 8: Ecclesiastes 1–4; 1 Corinthians 9
Wednesday, September 9: Ecclesiastes 5–8; 1 Corinthians 10
Thursday, September 10: Ecclesiastes 9–12; 1 Corinthians 11
Friday, September 11: Song of Songs 1–2; 1 Corinthians 12
Saturday, September 12: Song of Songs 3–4; 1 Corinthians 13

Week Three:
Sunday, September 13: Song of Songs 5–8; 1 Corinthians 14
Monday, September 14: Isaiah 1–3; 1 Corinthians 15
Tuesday, September 15: Isaiah 4–6; 1 Corinthians 16
Wednesday, September 16: Isaiah 7–9; 2 Corinthians 1
Thursday, September 17: Isaiah 10–12; 2 Corinthians 2
Friday, September 18: Isaiah 13–15; 2 Corinthians 3
Saturday, September 19: Isaiah 16–18; 2 Corinthians 4

Week Four:
Sunday, September 20: Isaiah 19–22; 2 Corinthians 5
Monday, September 21: Isaiah 23–25; 2 Corinthians 6
Tuesday, September 22: Isaiah 26–29; 2 Corinthians 7
Wednesday, September 23: Isaiah 30–32; 2 Corinthians 8
Thursday, September 24: Isaiah 33–35; 2 Corinthians 9
Friday, September 25: Isaiah 36–38; 2 Corinthians 10
Saturday, September 26: Isaiah 39–41; 2 Corinthians 11

Week Five:
Sunday, September 27: Isaiah 42–45; 2 Corinthians 12
Monday, September 28: Isaiah 46–48; 2 Corinthians 13
Tuesday, September 29: Isaiah 49–51; Galatians 1
Wednesday, September 30: Isaiah 52–54; Galatians 2

Music Minute! Wash Your Hands Edition

Hello, music fans! School's back in session for most of you and TV news keeps saying that H1N1 is out there and making the rounds, so here's a friendly reminder from ec to be diligent about washing your hands. Here's our favorite hand-washing tip:

You remember the alphabet song from being a kid? Turns out that if you wash your hands as long as it takes to sing it through to the end (including the "now I know" part), you'll have washed for about 20 seconds—enough time to get your hands actually clean. (You can also sing "Happy Birthday" through twice.) Scary thought: 20 seconds feels really long, so obviously we haven't been washing our hands enough. So sing while you wash!

For more tips on hand-washing, go here.

Now, for the music. First off, let's talk about an album you're going to hear about. Everybody's been talking this week about the new album from Derek Webb, Stockholm Syndrome. (Stockholm syndrome happens when a kidnapping or hostage victim begins to sympathize with his or her abductors.) You probably know Webb as one of the original members of Caedmon's Call. These songs are all about confronting the realities of the world around us, and how the Church should be making a difference. And he's right, we really ought to be. (Read more about living as a disciple of Jesus in our September cover story.)

Webb's new hip-hop sound, with tasty beats and a pop feel, is a departure from his folk-rock roots. The result is catchy, dreamy, and haunting. The controversial part comes in on Webb's use of "salty" language and topics in some of the songs, particularly "What Matters More," which is meant to encourage believers to examine their attitude toward gay people.

We want to be clear: we are not endorsing this album. But we're not condemning Webb or his work, either. We simply don't want to ignore the album and its controversy because it's uncomfortable to talk about. Webb has strong opinions about issues of injustice and takes them on with his usual brash style in this album. But we're not sure using foul language was the way to go about it. The uncensored version of the album was released via the Internet in July; the censored version (which does not include "What Matters More") was released in stores yesterday.

In other Christian music news, two albums with less controversy that we're really digging are Matt Papa's Your Kingdom Come and Jason Gray's Everything Sad Is Coming Untrue. Like Webb, Matt Papa is a man with things to say to the church. He says the goal of this album is to challenge himself and other believers to leave a lasting impression of God's goodness and faithfulness wherever they may be. Give a listen to "Open Hands.” Jason Gray's album is all about renewal, hope, worship, and sacrifice. Let songs like "More Like Falling in Love" and “For the First Time, Again” challenge and change you.


Next week, Bethany Dillon releases a new album called Stop & Listen. We love Bethany's music and we're excited to pass along this full-album preview from New Release Tuesday. Listen to the whole thing here (signup is free but required) and catch it on iTunes next week.

Thanks for reading, and keep your hands clean. Seriously!

ec Fiction contest finalist: Caitlin Greer

With no further ado, we present to you the winning stories in the ec fiction contest. After reviewing all the stories you sent us at the end of last year, we picked an overall winner and two finalists. The winner was Taylor Clemons and her story, "It was just a simple box" is printed on page 6 of the September issue of ec. In the next couple of weeks, we'll be publishing the other two finalists' stories here on the ec blog.

First up, is Caitlin Greer. Caitlin is a ninth grader from Milan, Ga. Caitlin likes to play softball, spend time with her family and friends, and listen to music. She lists working out, baseball, basketball, and studying among her interests. Here's her winning submission:

Does anybody hear her?
By Caitlin Greer
Melanie Oliver sat alone in her bedroom thinking about where she should have been. It was her birthday and the night of homecoming. Melanie didn’t feel any older. In fact, she felt as if she had already lived her life. She should have been the homecoming queen, but instead she chose to have one night of poor judgment that would impact the rest of her life forever. Melanie looked over at her baby of six months, and ran out the door.

The field was quiet that day. Crying, Melanie ran to kneel in her favorite spot, the place where she had spent many painful hours just thinking. She put her head in her hands and thought about what to do next. She was turning eighteen, and all she wanted to do was run.

Her dream of getting away was soon to come. The next morning, she awoke and grabbed some clothes and extra cash. She got her baby, Mary Kate, and strapped her in the car seat. They set out for what Melanie thought to be her greatest adventure ever. Melanie threw her clothes in the trunk of her car, not thinking about her mother and father she was leaving behind. Never looking back, she floored the gas pedal.

**********

How long have we been driving? Melanie thought to herself. She pulled the car over to a motel that looked as if it were run-down. Melanie walked in to see if they had a room. To her luck, she found an accompanied front desk where she paid for a room and got a key. There was a table where she could make herself a cup of coffee. A nice mocha latte sounds good right about now, thought Melanie. Even though she knew it could not taste anything like Starbucks, she made herself a cup and went to her car to start bringing in all her things.

Once they were settled, Melanie sat down to rock and feed Mary Kate. Mary Kate was soon fast asleep so Melanie laid her down on the bed. Melanie sat back down hoping to get some sleep. She closed her eyes and laid her head back, but try as she might she could not get to sleep. She sat remembering what got her into this mess in the first place, all the pain she had gone through. Not wanting to wake Mary Kate by the sound of the television, she started rummaging through the drawers in the motel room. Melanie opened the last of the drawers to find an old Bible with a worn out and torn cover. Melanie’s mom and dad had always tried to get her into church, but Melanie never quite understood it all. For some reason, tonight felt different.

So Melanie started reading. She read and read getting more into every page and the stories it told. To her surprise, she understood it all. She felt a fire and a passion that had never been there before.

**********

Months passed and Melanie finally found a cheap, one bedroom apartment just for the time being. Mary Kate was dropped off at a day care every morning, and Melanie went to her job as a waitress. The job didn’t pay much, so they were running tight on money, but still Melanie kept her bible with her. When she needed help, she would read. When she couldn’t sleep, she would read. She found truth in the words written in red and yearned for more.

One night while she was reading, a light flickered outside so she looked up. When she did, she noticed something glimmering on the windowsill. She walked over to find a beautiful cross necklace. She picked it up and thought about its meaning, about the stories she had read about the cross. She kneeled down and prayed for God to show her the right path. The adventure had been just what she needed, but now she felt as if God were trying to lead her elsewhere.

Melanie went to bed that night trying to figure out where to go and what to do. Should she keep going on her journey, or should she turn around and go back home? After hours of hard thinking, she made her decision. She was going back home. She knew this was no way to make Mary Kate live. She kissed her beautiful baby good night then laid down herself. Her dreams quickly over took her thoughts, and she was fast asleep.

Melanie woke up the next morning and quickly got her things together. She called the owner of the apartment and told him she wouldn’t need to rent anymore. She knew this was the right decision. She had never been so happy about anything in her life. She had so much to tell her parents. All the stories of her journey and how she had met God on the way were so amazing to her. For a little while, she was in doubt that a God so great and powerful could ever forgive a girl like her. But in her heart, she knew if she honestly admitted she was a sinner, confessed her sins, and believed in God with all her might that God would truly forgive and bless her for all the days of her life.

In the car Melanie turned up the radio. A song by Casting Crowns was playing. The words described her past perfectly. Does anybody hear her? Does anybody see? Oh, does anybody even know she’s going down today? But Melanie knew that she had changed for the better now. She knew she was heard because she knew God as her personal Savior and Friend. Melanie glanced back at her beautiful sleeping beauty and smiled to herself. For once in her life, Melanie knew that everything was going to be alright.

She was finally going home.