Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to the last Friday of October! It's hard to believe October is almost over! But let's end the month and start your Friday off right, with all the news of the strange you can handle.

And, as always, if today's silly news isn't enough for you, check out page 38 in this month (and every month's) issue of ec. You won't be sorry! (At least we hope not. . . .)

Run for the prize
We here at ec think marathon runners are amazing—and a little bit crazy. But what happened at the Des Moines marathon really makes us think marathons are just a little crazy themselves. Kenyan Simon Sawe was in the lead of the race when he made a turn in the course and had to stop for a train. That's right: a train. When Sawe turned onto the final stretch he was leading his closest competitor by 10 seconds, but had to stop and wait for a train. During that time, his competitor caught up with him and after the train finally got across the crossing, the two competed in a 400-meter sprint for the finish. Sawe did win, but said he couldn't believe the roadblock the train caused. The train was operated by Iowa Interstate Railroad which had been informed of the date of the race and its course well in advance. The company did admit the mistake and issue an apology. To learn more about this story, go here. To learn more about preparing to run a marathon, go here.

Go away, please
Police officers in some Columbus, Ohio, neighborhoods have been handing out advice lately that's infuriated a few of the residents. That's because the police officers are advising the people to move out of the neighborhood. Before you get all upset, the officers aren't just picking the people they dislike the most and advising them to get out of Dodge. The response has come most often when residents of the neighborhoods have complained about the crime levels in their neighborhoods. At least two city council members have heard the complaints from residents, one saying she'd received some 20 calls about the remarks. Another council member deemed the advice unhelpful and inappropriate. The police department said they'd investigate the officers in question if they were given names. One police official wondered if the officers callous statements come out of their frustration with the endless battle against crime in those neighborhoods. "It's like the OK Corral out there," he said. Read more here.

Do you have anything to declare?
If you've traveled to another country (or watched movies about it), you're familiar with the idea of Customs. Basically, customs is an agency of a country's government that controls the flow of goods (including animals, personal effects, and other materials) into the country. Recently, a man was stopped by Norwegian customs agents for trying to smuggle 14 royal pythons and 10 albino leopard geckos into the country. But wait, there's more. He had taped the amphibians to his body! And upon further investigation, officials discovered he'd hidden a tarantula in his bag. Apparently, reptile smuggling isn't all that uncommon in Norway, which prohibits people holding many reptile species as pets. To learn more about this off-beat story, go here. To learn more about U.S. customs, go here.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Music Minute!

Hey music fans, it's Jen once again and I'm here to tell you about what's new and happening in Christian music this week. There's so much stuff to talk about I don't know where to start. Albums are dropping like falling leaves, y'all! Try to keep up.

Jadon Lavik has a new disc called The Road. It's acoustic, but please don't think acoustic means boring! After his career ambition to play baseball in the big leagues didn't work out, he turned to being a worship leader...and making records. Three albums later, we're really glad he's cutting hits instead of sliding into second. Check out "Come to Me."



Kutless has a new album called "It Is Well." You'll find a mixture of covers and original tunes on this worship album, which you can preview all week for free at New Release Tuesdays. We like "God of Wonders."



Nate Fowler's got a cool hat and a new album called "Wherever You Go." If you like Kutless, you'll like Nate's brand of guitar-fueled worship that's both stripped-down and soaring. Check out "On My Way" for a tasty audio treat.



You've no doubt heard the song "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." That's a Charlie Daniels Band classic. Well, this year Charlie Daniels has put together a bluegrass Christmas album with an all-star cast of musicians that we can't help but mention. Bluegrass might not be your thing, but the Irish-roots music is actually the forerunner of both country and rock music...so check it out! Try something new. With a ten-gallon hat and a belt buckle the size of Texas, Daniels—along with Jewel, Aaron Tippin, Kathy Mattea and other country-music stars—have recorded bluegrass versions of "Silent Night," "Blue Christmas," and "Joy to the World." The album is called Joy to the World: A Bluegrass Christmas, and we particularly like his take on "Hallelujah."



Speaking of Christmas, Family Force 5 is also in on the action with a new album full of holiday tunes. According to the band, Family Force 5's Christmas Pageant was inspired by cinnamon spray and pumpkin-spiced lattes. We think it seeks the true spirit of Christmas in FF5's artfully noisy style, and we don't think you'll ever hear a catchier version of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."



And finally, way back on October 6th the rock-worship band Fee released a new disc called Hope Rising. The cover is space-age, but this music is down-to-earth and full of grungy sonic goodness. Check out "Glory to God Forever." We promise you won't be sorry.



Happy October, y'all! Wait, where did October go???

ec's 3rd annual fiction contest: Start writing!

Last year’s entries took us to Iraq, inside high schools, and everywhere in between. We can’t wait to read what your creative minds conjure up this year!

What we want:
• An original fiction story that uses four (4) items from the prompt we’ve detailed below. Be creative! Strive to write a story that is relevant and interesting to your peers, but also speaks to the deeper truth of what it means to live out your faith in this world. Use proper grammar and run spellcheck before submitting your story. Submissions should be no more than 750 to 1000 words long and must be typed. Your submission will not be returned to you.

• Your story must be submitted as an attachment via e-mail to godlifefun@gmail.com. In the subject line, use the phrase “3rd annual fiction contest.” We are not accepting submissions through postal mail this year.
• Submissions must be received by midnight on December 15, 2009, to be judged.
• Submissions must include the writer’s name, grade, age, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and T-shirt size.
• For the first time, we will have a middle school and high school division. Those currently in grades 7-9 should enter the middle school competition and mark their submission accordingly. Students in grades 10-12 should enter the high school competition. Writers must be between the ages of 12-19 to be eligible.
• A panel of judges will name one winner and runner-up in each category. The winning ­stories will be featured in an upcoming issue of ec or here on our blog (http://ecmagazine.blogspot.com). Winners will also receive ec T-shirts and a small prize.

Prompt:
Your submission must use at least four (4) of the following items:
• a skateboard
• a favorite song
• a book without a cover
• Twitter, Facebook, or some other social media
• a movie
• a busy airport
• a favorite verse of Scripture
• a sporting event

Snippets and Soundbites

It’s that time again. Time for your weekly update on all things random. That’s right . . . get ready for (drum roll please. . .) SNIPPETS AND SOUNDBITES!!! We know you’re excited, so let’s get right down to it. Here are the weird and wacky things that happened this week.


Smashing pumpkins—really BIG pumpkins.
The residents of Stillwater, Minn., grow some big gourds. But they don’t turn their pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns or pie. Oh, no. They strap these behemoths (which have weighed in around 1500 pounds) into a harness, lift them 100 feet in the air with a crane, and then drop them. Just to watch them splatter. We promise, the video doesn’t disappoint.

92-year-old skydiver
There are lots of ways to celebrate your birthday. When you’re 92, you’ve probably had every kind of party imaginable. So when Jane Bockstruck of Swanzey, N.H., celebrated her birthday earlier this week, she did it by jumping out of a plane. Her skydiving instructor and tandem partner said she did it with perfect form. Up until this jump, the oldest person he’d taken skydiving with was 78. Read all about it here.

Watch out for the Zonkey. It’ll bite ya.
An exotic animal center in Brooksville, Florida is home to a “zonkey,” a cross-breed between a donkey and a zebra. And this zonkey isn’t too friendly. When a man was painting a fence near the zonkey’s pen, the animal proceeded to bite the man’s legs. The man’s mother was able to help him get away from the animal, but not before he bit him several times on the lower legs. Read more here.

Don’t give up. Jesus didn’t.

Life isn’t easy. We know that. You know that. You’re up against things every day that make you feel like you can’t handle life. Tests. Mean teachers. Cancer. Tough times. But we have an example to follow. Jesus. Our Messiah was up against some crazy stuff during His life on earth: some people loved Him; others hated Him. He lived and worked and breathed on this dirty earth of ours while no doubt missing heaven. He was misunderstood, even by His closest friends. People tried to kill Him, and they succeeded because the Son of God willingly laid down His life and endured the pain and torture of lashings and crucifixion.

While what we go through may not be as bloody or as earth-shattering as what Christ went through, it is still big to us. School, relationships, what to wear, how to figure out where God’s will is going to take you . . . it all seems overwhelming, doesn’t it? Aren’t you tempted to just give up sometimes?

If you’ve read today’s devotion, then you’ve thought about parts of your life where you need to stand strong. (If you haven’t read it, take some time to and think about areas where you need to stand firm.) What are they?

Maybe you need to resist the urge to cheat, even when all of your friends are doing it. Maybe you need to quit thinking that the sexual stuff you’re doing with your boyfriend or girlfriend doesn’t count because it isn’t actually sex. Or maybe you need to quit making your sport an idol in your life.

But as you get to work on all of your issues, it’s so easy to become caught up in your own life and forget that there’s a whole world out there of hurting people who need your help.

But one girl didn’t forget. Katie, who was popular at her Tennessee high school and your typical teenage girl, felt a tug on her heart to serve the people of Africa. So Katie volunteered for a short stint at an orphanage in Uganda the summer after her senior year and couldn’t get the people out of her heart. She tried coming back to the States to go to college, like her parents wanted her to, but knew that she belonged in Africa, taking care of those who couldn’t help themselves.

Today, she’s still there. And she’s adopted children and brought them into the house where she lives in Uganda. She’s 20 years old, and she has 14 young children. Yes, you read that correctly. At 20 years of age, she is mom to 14 little girls. In addition to raising 14 girls, she feeds hundreds of children every week and takes care of their medical needs. I’m amazed at what Katie has allowed the Lord to do through her.

Do you think she ever wants to give up? I’m sure there are moments when she’s so exhausted that she can’t see straight, when the number of kids who need medicine and food seems overwhelming. But she depends on Christ, who knows what it’s like to see a need so great that He was willing to give everything He had to meet it. And that must be what keeps her going.

So how will you stand strong? Whether it’s in the classroom at school, at home, at the party on Friday night, or in a country across the globe, Christ calls you to stand firm in the faith. Will you?


Read more about Katie’s amazing story and ministry here.

Communication: More important than you think

Your devotion today is about priorities—and one of Jesus’ priorities was prayer. Prayer is a form of communication that should be the foundation of your relationship with God. Actually, good communication is the foundation of any healthy relationship. So we want to know:



Communication is vital to our friendships and relationships. When was the last time you got in trouble with your parents for saying the wrong thing or speaking before thinking? What about your boyfriend or girlfriend? Ever been in a relationship where there wasn’t a lot of talking going on? How did you feel? Bored? Unsure of where things stood between you two? Or did you feel understood and in sync because you two talked about what was going on in your heads? Think of a person in your life (teacher, parent, coach, friend, etc.) where communication helped or hindered your relationship. Now, think about how you communicate with God.

Have you ever given much thought to your communication with God before? How frequent is it? What do you talk to Him about? If communication is the key to good relationships and your most important relationship is with God, then what are you doing to communicate well with Him? With whom do you currently spend most of your time communicating? Do you spend more time texting your friends than you do praying? Do you see the problem with that? (And please know that my prayer life isn’t perfect and my toes are feeling a little stepped on, too.)

Part of communicating is understanding what the other person is saying. Are you taking time to listen to God, or are your prayer times all about you and your requests? We’ll admit, it’s not easy to sit still, calm your mind, and wait for the Lord to speak. And sometimes He doesn’t speak to us when we’d like Him to. But know that the more time you spend listening, the more able you’ll be to recognize His voice and grow closer to Him.

If your prayer life could use an overhaul, try out these simple steps:

• Try to pray in the same place and the same time every day.
• Start by breathing deeply and trying to clear your mind of all the thoughts and distractions swimming around in your head.
• Read the Bible. (We recommend the Scripture passage you studied for your devotion in ec this morning.)
• Just talk. Present requests to God, pray for others, tell Him what’s going on . . . the sky’s the limit. If it involves you, He’s interested. You can do this silently, out loud, or by writing in a prayer journal.
• Consider alternate positions as you pray: kneeling, lying face down on the floor, hands folded, etc.
• Be still. Wait for Him to speak. If you can’t keep your mind focused, then move on to reading Scripture, writing to/about Him, singing to God, or drawing a picture of how you feel about Him.
• Don’t fret if you just can’t seem to carve out large chunks of time to spend in prayer. Short prayers (like “Be near to me, Jesus,” “Help me control my words,” or “Please heal my grandmother’s cancer”) are perfectly acceptable, especially when you’re taking time out of your day to stop and focus on the One who holds it all in His hands.
• Pray with others (one at a time or all together). It’s always interesting to hear how others talk to God.

We hope that you make some time today to talk to God. He’s always listening.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

October sure is going by quickly! We hope you're enjoying fall and all the fun that comes with it. And eating candy corn. Because we love candy corn!

Welcome to this week's edition of "Snippets and Soundbites." Remember: if this isn't enough news of the weird for you, check out page 38 of the October (and every) issue of ec.

Ready? Let's go!

Balloon Boy overloads the airwaves
Yesterday, Twitter, online news sites, and even cable news networks were all abuzz with the story of the little boy in the runaway balloon. For much of the afternoon, it was believed that 6-year-old Falcon Heene was riding on a runaway helium weather balloon that had floated away from his family's house in the morning. During the balloon's two hour, 50-mile trek through two Colorado counties, authorities were following its progress and forming plans to rescue the boy they believed to be on board. When the balloon finally landed and the boy was not on it, authorities scoured the plains of Colorado and many sites reported the child had died. But five hours after the whole ordeal began, little Falcon Heene came out of hiding; he'd been in the rafters of the family's garage the entire time. Falcon's remarks in a press conference last night have led to allegations that the family may have planned the whole thing as a publicity stunt, but what exactly happens remains unclear. To learn more about the ongoing story, go here.

Eat more veggies!
In Mexico City, the city officials there's a little bit of a weight problem among the city's police force. So, they're putting 1,300 of their officers on a diet. City officials say that at least 70 percent of the police force is overweight, but that they've focused the program—for now—on the officers with the most serious weight-related health problems. The United States is one of the world's fattest countries, but Mexico is quickly catching up, since nearly half of its population is considered to be overweight. To learn more about the city's diet plan, go here. To learn more about the obesity rates of the world's countries, check this out.

Where is Thurman?!
Before their game last Sunday, the Buffalo Bills unveiled an 8 1/2-foot statue of former Buffalo Bills running back at a parking lot across from the stadium. The statue was a half-ton chain saw carving and was made from a tree that had been toppled in a 2006 snowstorm. It was one of many statues unveiled that day as part of a fundraising effort to raise money for new trees. But sometime after the Bills' game against the Browns on Sunday, the statue mysteriously disappeared. Officials found the missing statue in Canada, where a Bills' fan said he and two friends had taken the statue after rescuing it from an angry mob after the Bills' loss on Sunday. Never fear: the statue returned to New York on Thursday. No charges are expected to be filed. To read more about the story, go here and here.

Music Minute

Not much new in the way of Christian music this week, so I just want to point you to a story I think you should read, and I'll be back in a couple weeks with more new stuff.

Some years ago, I went to church one Sunday to find it included a dedication service for three little girls a couple in the church had adopted from China. They already had kids, but they had space in their lives for more, so they invested their time and their lives into bringing these girls to the U.S., and into their home. The dedication was sweet and adorable, and the youngest girl squawked a time or two the way babies do when everything is quiet.

Last spring, I turned on the TV news to learn that this little girl had died suddenly and unexpectedly in an accident. It was Stephen Curtis Chapman's youngest daughter Maria, the same baby I'd prayed for years ago in church.

To see such a tragedy strike a family who lives part of its lives in public means that the way they choose to respond to it is public also. (I am not sure this is a good thing.) I wondered at the time how the Chapmans would handle what happened to them. Would they keep everything private, or would it become a public testimony for them of God's goodness in spite of such a sad event?

Since we've been talking about failure this month. isn't it easy to imagine that this family felt like a collective failure? They'd loved their daughter and welcomed her into their family, but they hadn't been able to protect her from this. We know they weren't failures, but we humans have a way of responding to tragedy by wondering what we could have done differently.

Yet the Chapmans are the exact polar opposite of failure. Something terrible happened to them, and they did what we all should do—they offered their lives up to God. "What would you have me do, Lord?" is probably one of the hardest questions to honestly ask God. It's difficult whether you're 15 or 50. And instead of condemnation and failure, they found God's grace.

What I want you to read today is a testimony of how God used this tragedy and their response to heal them, and bless a tremendous amount of people. Please take a few minutes to read it. And remember, no matter where you are and how dark things seem, God can find you—and He makes it His business to lead you out into the light.

God loves you. Here's the link.

Failure isn't final.

If you've read the October issue of ec, you know that failure isn't final. At least, I hope you do, since that's what the cover story on page 26 is all about.

And who hasn't felt the sting of failure? I know I have.

If you read my editor's note in "Writer's Block" on page 3 of the October issue, you know a little of that story. When I think of my greatest failure as a Christ follower, it's the story of my friend who turned his back on God that I think of.

I met my friend at church. I went on mission trips with him. I'd prayed with him, hung out with him and his family, and we'd even worked at the same place for awhile. So when he declared he no longer believed in God, I was shocked, hurt, and disappointed. I tried to talk to him about it, but he only wanted to argue. He flat out told me I would never convince him to see "my side," as he called my faith. I found myself wondering if I could have done more as a friend. If there was some moment when I could have lived out my faith in front of him and let him see God's power displayed and hadn't. Somehow, I came to believe that his refusal to believe was my fault.

I believed I was a failure in God's eyes. That was compounded by some sin I had recently been convicted of in my life—some choices and actions I had chosen to take, knowing they were not the right choices and not a part of God's plan for my life. I confessed and repented of that sin, honestly, absolutely sorrowful for it and knew I had been forgiven. But I couldn't let go of it. I couldn't forgive myself and let God's power be displayed in my life. I had been a failure when my friend turned his back on God and now I was an even bigger failure who had sinned against the God who loved me so completely with a love I couldn't comprehend and didn't really believe I felt. How could God use me? How could God want me? I had chosen to live in opposition to His standard and I couldn't even live a life that convinced my friend He existed.

All of that spiraled down into a dark place for me, the darkest, lowest place of my Christian walk. I accepted Christ when I was 11 years old and really began growing in relationship with Him when I was a about 20, but nothing had ever felt like this before. I felt lost, broken, bruised, hurt, tired, distraught.

I was a failure. And I was convinced that even God didn't want me.

But He did. Somewhere in the depths of my sorrow and hurt, God showed up. I know now that He had been there all along, that it was His hand that held me up, but I didn't see it in the middle of my dark time. One morning, I woke up with the words of Jesus ringing in my ears: Take heart! I have overcome the world. One day I began to sense that it was God who had refused to let my sadness and depression spiral out of control. And I knew at my very core, that the words of Scripture are true; there is a Friend who stays closer than a brother. There is a God who will never leave you, never forsake you, never, never, never withdraw His love from you.

I had lost weight and the joy in my life had been ebbing away, but God restored me. As the psalmist once wrote, He set my feet on solid ground. And for the first time in a long time, I saw things clearly from God's point of view. Yes, there were things I could have done differently with my friend, but it was not my burden or my fault that he walked away from God. Yes, I had sinned. But I had also chosen to confess it to God and walk away from it, which is what true repentance is. And while that sin was a failure, when I confessed it to God and let His forgiveness flow over me and chose to live in His strength rather than mine, I had become a success story in God's eyes. Because He is a God who uses the broken to display His glory. Because He is a God who wants to forgive and bring us into an ever-growing, ever-deepening relationship with Him.

My point is this: no matter what it is or how big a failure you think you are, God can handle it. More than that, He can forgive and restore you. And then after He's done that, He can use you for His glory. I am not proud of that time in my life, but I'm willing to let God use it and talk about it so that I can testify about the God who saved me, loves me, and has never left me.

Yes, you've messed up. Scripture says we all have (Rom. 3:23). But then there's Jesus. And He can overcome all of that. Let Him. Then, let God use you for His glory.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Welcome to the second Friday of October! "Snippets and Soundbites" is the perfect way to kick your weekend off. At least, we think so!

And, of course, if this post isn't enough strange news and happenings, check out “Snippets and Soundbites” on page 38 of the October (and every issue) of ec. You won’t be sorry!

Ready? Let’s go!

Good Luck Road wasn't so lucky
It happened on Good Luck Road, but we really doubt that Robert Scribner would think so. That's because Scribner, who lives in an apartment off Good Luck Road in Landham, Md., was simply lying in bed one moment and watching a mini-van crash through his bedroom wall the next, landing on top of the bed he'd been lying on. He was OK, except for an injured leg caused by flying debris. Police investigating the incident say that it was all part of a driving lesson gone wrong. A man was teaching his friend to drive that night on Good Luck Road and the lesson ended in Scribner's apartment. Neither man in the vehicle had a driver's license. To learn more about the story, go here. For more safe driving tips, go here.

This is not a robbery!
In the clerks' defense, the convenience store had been robbed—not once, but twice—in recent months. But last week, the attempted robbery was all a big misunderstanding. Apparently, the clerks at Five Star Snacks and More in Waterloo, Iowa, was dealing with a rambling customer who kept his hand in his pocket. Based on past experience and the man's strange behavior, the clerks put money in a bag and threw it at the man. He simply walked away. Without the money. The police say the man was drunk and the whole robbery thing was a mistake. To read the whole story, go here. To learn more about slighty stupid crimes, go here.

The search for water
NASA successfully blasted a rocket into space—and into a crater on the moon—today. Don't worry, the rocket was supposed to slam into the crater near the moon's south pole. The launch is part of an attempt to discover water on the moon. NASA wants to find out if there is water below the moon's surface that astronauts could use on future missions. Four minutes after the rocket made contact, another spacecraft was projected to fly through any dust and debris the impact caused, testing it all for signs of water ice. Scientists in charge of the mission say that it could be awhile before they have a definitive answer. "We're dealing with good scientists," said Greg Schmidt, a research scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center, which managed the mission, in a news story in the Los Angeles Times. "They don't want to make a premature announcement." To read all about the mission, go here. If you want to see video from the mission, check this out.

Deep Fried Recipes: Fried Pickles and Fried Jellybeans

On Monday, we told you how to make fried Coca-Cola should you ever be so inclined. After all, we talked so much about it on page 25 of the October issue of ec.

But are you more interested in the other fried food items on that page? Well, never fear! If you want to make fried pickles or attempt fried jellybeans, this is just the post for you!

Fried Pickles
Yes, fried pickles sound weird. And they're definitely a Southern dish. But don't count them out until you try them. Ec's editor (who grew up in Missouri) thought they would be gross, but loved them when she tried them!

You'll need:
Oil to fry the pickles in
1 quart dill pickles. Use dill chips or slices since they're already bite-sized.
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups plain cornmeal
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more, if desired

Directions:
Place enough oil in a 4 to 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven to come halfway up the side of the pot. Place over medium-high heat and bring to 390 to 400 degrees F. Remove pickles from the jars, lay them on a sheet pan lined with paper towels and pat them dry. Place the buttermilk in a shallow dish. Mix together the cornmeal and salt in a separate dish. Dip each pickle, 1 at a time, first into the buttermilk, then into the cornmeal and then repeat. Carefully place each spear into the hot oil and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 minutes. You can fry 3 to 4 pickles in the pot at a time. Adjust the heat, if necessary, in order to maintain a constant temperature of 390 to 400 degrees F. Transfer the pickles to a cooling rack set You can add spices to zest up cornmeal coating mixture. We'd suggest things like pepper, cajun spices, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, and so forth.

(This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for fried pickles. We want to give him all the credit he deserves.)

Deep-fried jelly beans
This recipe is a whole other batch of craziness. The directions are simple:
Get jelly beans.
Make a funnel cake batter.
Dip jelly beans in batter and deep fry in hot oil.

Daily Bible Readings for October

You asked for 'em, and here they are! Let us know what you learn as you dig into the daily Bible readings this month:

Thursday, October 1: Isaiah 55–57; Galatians 3
Friday, October 2: Isaiah 58–60; Galatians 4
Saturday, October 3: Isaiah 61–63; Galatians 5

Sunday, October 4: Isaiah 64–65; Galatians 6
Monday, October 5: Isaiah 66; Ephesians 1
Tuesday, October 6: Jeremiah 1–2; Ephesians 2
Wednesday, October 7: Jeremiah 3–4; Ephesians 3
Thursday, October 8: Jeremiah 5–6; Ephesians 4
Friday, October 9: Jeremiah 7–8; Ephesians 5
Saturday, October 10: Jeremiah 9–10; Ephesians 6

Sunday, October 11: Jeremiah 11–12; Philippians 1
Monday, October 12: Jeremiah 13–14; Philippians 2
Tuesday, October 13: Jeremiah 15–16; Philippians 3
Wednesday, October 14: Jeremiah 17–18; Philippians 4
Thursday, October 15: Jeremiah 19–21; Colossians 1
Friday, October 16: Jeremiah 22–23; Colossians 2
Saturday, October 17: Jeremiah 24–26; Colossians 3–4

Sunday, October 18: Jeremiah 27; 1 Thessalonians 1
Monday, October 19: Jeremiah 28–29; 1 Thessalonians 2
Tuesday, October 20: Jeremiah 30–31; 1 Thessalonians 3
Wednesday, October 21: Jeremiah 32; 1 Thessalonians 4
Thursday, October 22: Jeremiah 33–34; 1 Thessalonians 5
Friday, October 23: Jeremiah 35–36; 2 Thessalonians 1
Saturday, October 24: Jeremiah 37–38; 2 Thessalonians 2

Sunday, October 25: Jeremiah 39–40; 2 Thessalonians 3
Monday, October 26: Jeremiah 41–42; 1 Timothy 1
Tuesday, October 27: Jeremiah 43–44; 1 Timothy 2
Wednesday, October 28: Jeremiah 45–46; 1 Timothy 3
Thursday, October 29: Jeremiah 47; 1 Timothy 4
Friday, October 30: Jeremiah 48–49; 1 Timothy 5
Saturday, October 31: Jeremiah 50; 1 Timothy 6

Food for Thought: Deep Fried Coke

Yes, we were as taken aback by the idea of fried Coca-Cola as you were. But leave it to the folks at the State Fair of Texas where there seems to be a contest of sorts to create the most outlandish fried foods possible.

You read about Abel Gonzalez Jr.'s 2006 offering (deep fried Coke) on page 25 of the October issue of ec. Now, if you want to try it on your own, here's the recipe. (Note: we haven't tried it ourselves, so we're not sure it's even edible. But it could be a fun experience!)

Deep-Fried Coca Cola
Number of Servings: 6
Prep Time: 45 mins
Skill Level: Easy

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups Coca Cola
Oil for deep frying

Topping:
1 cup Coca Cola syrup
whipped cream
maraschino cherries

Instructions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder.
2. Mix in eggs and Coca Cola and stir until a smooth batter forms.
3. Preheat oil in a skillet or deep fryer.
4. Pour 1/3 cup of batter into a funnel or turkey baster and in a circular motion pour batter into the hot oil.
5. Fry up for about a minute on each side and drain on paper towels.
6. Serve while still warm and top with Coca Cola syrup, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

We thought the perfect way to kick off October was with a new edition of “Snippets and Soundbites.” We didn’t think you’d mind, either!

And, of course, if you’d like more news of the weird, check out “Snippets and Soundbites” on page 38 of the October (and every issue) of ec. You won’t be sorry!

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

Big Baby
How much did you weigh when you were born? 7 pounds? 9 pounds? Maybe, like ec’s editor, you were a preemie and weighed in at less than 5 pounds. Whatever your weight, we’re willing to bet most of you tipped the scales at less than 20 pounds. And so did Akbar Risuddin, a baby boy born this week in Indonesia, if only by a few ounces. Akbar, which means “the Great” in Arabic, weighed in at 19.2 pounds and was two feet long at birth. Akbar’s birth weight holds the record for a newborn in Indonesia, but falls short of the world record (23 pounds set in 1879). Doctors think Akbar’s substantial size was caused by his mother’s gestational diabetes, which often causes mother and baby to gain significant weight during the pregnancy. Both mother and child are reportedly in good health. To read more about Akbar and to see his picture, go here.

In a yellow submarine
Women make up about 15 percent of the membership of the U.S. Navy and can no serve on surface ships, but historically, submarines have been off-limits for women sailors. That may be changing in the near future, since Admiral Mike Mullen (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and top U.S. military officer) advocated that change in his congressional testimony. Critics of such ideas have generally argued that submarines are a different kind of service, with the cramped quarters and the fact that some crews sleep in shifts in the same set of bunks. Navy officials say the problems accomodating male and female sailors on submarines are not inpossible to overcome. There are 71 submarines in the U.S. fleet. To learn more about this story, go here. To learn more about the U.S. Navy, go here.

Say what?
A California man will face a federal magistrate soon on charges of abandoning property, littering and feeding wildlife in Joshua Tree National Park and could face fines or jail time, be barred from entering the park or assigned to complete some other kind of restitution. Doesn’t sound very interesting, does it? Well, just wait until you heard what he littered the national park with: golf balls. Apparently, Douglas Jones had been coming in to the park and just throwing golf balls out of his vehicle. He also left cans of fruit and vegetables along the park roads and scattered park literature and permit forms. Rangers were bothered by Jones’ actions and tired of cleaning up after him. Park officials estimate rangers spent more than 370 hours looking for and cleaning up after Jones, who they say scattered as many as 3,000 golf balls throughout the park. When rangers caught Jones, he confessed, saying he threw the golf balls to honor deceased golfers and left the food for stranded hikers. To learn more, go here.

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