Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• Police in Flint, Mich., are replacing hundreds of missing—and presumed stole—wait for it. . . .manhole covers. Apparently nearly 400 cast iron manhole covers have disappeared from the city in the past year. Officials think they may have been sold for scrap. A cover generally fetches $20 at a scrap yard. . . but can cost the city up to $200 during the same period. The city is working on stopping the problem by outfitting the covers with a bolt that can only be turned by a specific wrench that only they have.

• Capital Lights' This Is an Outrage, an album the ec team raved about and Jen even mentioned in a "Music Minute" post, is seeing success on the charts. It landed on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart this week at number 51 and made an appearance on Billboard's Christian rock chart at number 12 and Top Christian Albums at number 34. In addition, This Is An Outrage grabbed the attention of the digital buyers on iTunes as it debuted on overall Rock Chart at number 27 during street week.

• Rocco the beagle is finally going home. Rocco wandered away from his New York City home five years ago and was reunited with them this week after being discovered 850 miles away. In Hinseville, Ga. Someone dropped the dog off at a local shelter on July 5, and employees used a microchip embedded under the dog's skin to find his family. Natalie, who was only 5 years old when Rocco disappeared, was ecstatic.

• Speaking of pets, do any of you have a cat? You'll relate to this video.

Surviving Revelation

Get ready for another "when-I-was-your-age" story! But I promise, this one has a point!

When I was in high school, I attended a small church in my hometown. It was the church I grew up in, and my parents were very active. . . meaning my brother and I were, too. At some point in high school, we started having a student-led Bible study on Wednesday or Sunday nights in the church basement.

There were three of us. Three. Seriously, this was our youth group.

Here's the deal: we were all Christians, but most of us, me included, hadn't made much of an effort to go very deep in our relationships with Christ. We knew Him; we loved Him; but we didn't pursue Him or let Him make a daily difference in our lives. So really, this Bible study was probably a good thing for us, because it was a step in the right direction. We were at least trying to put some spiritual disciplines into practice in our lives.

But here we were, three high school students who hadn't gone very deep in our relationships with God trying to study Revelation. Yes, we picked Revelation to begin our Bible study! It was sort of like the blind leading the blind.

Don't get me wrong: I think studying Revelation is important. I think studying the whole of Scripture is vital. The Bible is one of the ways God reveals Himself to us. We have to read His Word to know Him more. But if you're anything like me all those years ago in that Bible study, you know it's easy to get more caught up in the study of end times than seeking to learn and apply God's Word in your life.

As an adult, I realize that there are a lot of differing viewpoints on the various aspects and events that will lead up to and follow Christ's return. And it's all too easy for us to get caught up in trying to figure out which one is right. Here's what we do know: Jesus is coming back some day; He'll be victorious; and God has a plan for His children to spend all eternity with Him. That's the source of our hope.

The Bible doesn't spell out every last detail of what will happen at the end of time. But it does instruct us, multiple times, to love God, love others, and proclaim the gospel.

So study His Word and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand. Rest in the hope that God doesn't forget you, and, one day, Jesus is coming back. Spend your time doing things that have eternal value, like loving God, loving others, and proclaiming God's message of hope.

Friday Snippets and Soundbites

• Need a pick-me-up on a summer Friday? Try this video on for size. And once you're thinking about "the opener," why not give a listen to Randall Goodgame's song about being an opening act?


• Speaking of music, I Am Terrified, Gotee’s newest metal core band, will unveil their six-song EP next week on their launch tour. The tour begins with a July 18 hometown CD release event in Birmingham, Ala., (Life Church 1449 Court Place Pelham, AL) where fans can purchase the EP exclusively. The EP will be available for purchase at iTunes on July 29th or be pre-ordered at Zambooie.

• If you saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, you kind of know what a crystal skull might look like. The really interesting part? Crystal skulls actually exist. But this week, scientists at the Quai Branly Museum, the British Museum, and the Smithsonian all said several crystal skulls in their exhibits were revealed to be fakes, not masterpieces crafted by Aztec craftsmen a few hundred years ago. Want to know more? Go here.

• Want to see what the ec team has been up to? Well, don't try this one at home. Here's a little prank we played on a coworker who was out of the office for awhile.

Poor Karen!

Attention, campers!

Camp is on my mind this week. Many of you have already been to camp this summer and some of you are sure to go before August comes to a close. But this week, my brother (who is a volunteer youth leader in the church we grew up in) and his wife are taking their fledgling youth group to FUGE. It's the first time many of these students have been that far away from home. It's definitely the first time they've taken part in a church camp that's, well, that big.

Yesterday, I left him a message to let him know I was praying for him and the crew. I just felt the need to pray pressing on me, so I did. He called in the afternoon, saying they were on their way. Later that night, he called to say things weren't going so well. Kids were homesick; the pool wasn't open; this camp was "too different," and they didn't know anyone. "I don't know what to do," he said, his wife echoing the sentiment in the background. "Their attitudes have to change."

He called me back around 10:45 p.m. Things were going better, he said. It was only the first day of camp and things will hit full force today—and hopefully, his students won't have time for complaining and homesickness.

Here's the point: your attitude at camp makes a difference. If you arrive ready to find fault and dislike the experience, you probably will. And you'll have squandered an opportunity to grow in your faith and get to know God on a deeper level. If you spend all your time complaining to your leaders, you not only ruin the experience for them, but you also make it very clear that you think you're the most important person there. Sometimes camp is the experience that God uses to separate us from all the stuff going on in our lives so that He can work in our lives and speak to our hearts. It would be a shame to miss out on that because you were too caught up in complaining about the heat, the pool, the distance from camp to home.

Your camp experience will be what you make it. Your attitude matters. Check out Kyle Cravens' story on page 50 of the July issue of ec for ideas on how to get the most out of camp. Regard it as an opportunity to grow in faith, deepen your relationships with others in your youth group, and just enjoy the fellowship of other believers.

God is at work. Don't miss it!

Friday Snippets and Soundbites—A day late

• Happy July 4, ec fans! Need a little info about the holiday to wow your family and friends with? Independence Day commemorates the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted. The Continental Congress declared independence on July 2, 1776, adopted the final draft on July 4, 1776, and started signing the document in August of 1776.

• Check out this video about a guy who gave up his day job to become a full-time fire-eating magician. His hairstyle also deserves an honorable mention!

• Popular reality show "American Idol," a fave of ec editor Mandy, recently announced the audition cities and dates for the next season. They are: San Francisco: July 17,; Louisville, Ky.: July 21; Phoenix: July 25 ; Salt Lake City: July 29; San Juan, Puerto Rico: Aug. 2 ; Kansas City, Mo.: Aug. 8; Jacksonville, Fla.: Aug. 13; and East Rutherford, N.J.: Aug. 19. The show will audition outside the U.S. for the first time this year with the stop in San Juan. Auditions are open to singers ages 16-18. Need more info? Go here.

• And the ugliest dog title goes to. . . Gus! The Chinese crested with three legs, one eye, and not a lot of hair claimed the title last week at a fair in northern California. Gus is actually a pedigree dog, meaning he's pure-blooded Chinese crested. He won $500 for his "beauty," and celebrated with a much needed nap.

Welcome to July!

That's right, it's already July! Summer's in full swing and a great holiday weekend is just around the corner. (For those in the United States, that is!)

We hope that you've gotten your July issue of ec at church. Be sure to check out the lead article on end times and our guide to the Summer Olympics, which are just around the corner. And if you'll be going to camp this summer, be sure to check out veteran camp staffer Kyle Cravens' article about how to get the most out of that week on page 50. And of course, there are also music reviews in the July issue, including Hawk Nelson, Skillet, the Afters, and Stellar Kart.

And while you're here, why don't you give us some of your thoughts on the magazine? We love comments. Or answer the Question of the Month. We want to hear from you!
(Yes, you, right there at the keyboard.)