Strange story

In a bit of strange and unusual news, my middle school made national news. Apparently a girl from Memorial Boulevard Middle School in Bristol, CT was attacked by a hawk at Fenway park in Boston while they were on a field trip there. If you want to check out the story, you can see a video here. Anyway, just the mention of my middle school brought back a flood of old memories, mostly good. I had a blast in middle school. I had great friends, and most of my teachers were really fun. So today, I'm thankful that I had a wonderful middle school experience.
By the way, this is the only picture I could find. I'm sure it didn't look nearly this romantic in real life!

Watch out! It's very contagious!

Blogging that is. =) Recently several of my bffs from college have started their own blogs. I think it's great. It's hard to keep in touch now that we're all older and have kids. So I love being able to sit down when I have a few minutes and catch up with what's going on in their lives and hear their thoughts. So watch out. The blogging bug might bite you next.

To dye or not to dye

I can't believe Jaime blogged about gray hair! Just on Tuesday night I was looking at that exact same scripture about gray hair, Proverbs 16:31 "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life." I was trying to think of how that verse applies in our American culture today and to me personally.

It seems that, according to the Bible, I should be proud of my gray hair. I should see it as a reward for living a long (is 29 years considered long??), Godly life.

What message am I getting from the media and Hollywood? Are they proud of gray hair? No. The message I get from them is that the way to look beautiful is to look young. Actors even go to extremes like repeated plastic surgeries, botox, etc., to maintain a youthful look.

What message am I getting from the older women in my life? Not many of them have gray hair, because they have chosen to color their hair. I guess that means that they don't see gray hair as something to be proud of. Are they influenced by the media? Or should it just be a personal decision?

So does the whole gray hair thing matter? Is it one of those cultural things that doesn't apply now, like how women in the New Testament weren't supposed to wear braids and jewelry? I don't know. I can't figure it out. But it won't be long until I have to make a decision for myself.

Through different eyes

I've gone to church all my life and tend to accept many things about the church without thinking about them. But lately God has given me the ability to see things as an unchurched person might see them. Two examples:

1) On Sunday we sang a song that said about God: "be magnified." What. With a magnifying glass? =) You have to admit that it sounds kind of weird. I mean, we used 'magnify' to mean 'glorify' etc. But try to see it through the eyes of an unchurched person. Here's another one:

2) God wants to 'use you.' We think, "Great! Awesome! God can use me!" An unchurched person might think it's not such a great thing to 'be used.' When your friends use you, it's not such a great thing. People can use you for financial gain, to climb the corporate ladder, or to make friends with someone else. In general, it has a negative connotation. Now, I was thinking, if someone feels they have no purpose in their life, the thought of them being able to be used by God could be well received.

So, those are just some thoughts I wanted to share, especially for those in ministry or those talking to unsaved friends.

Not surprising...

On Sunday we had a guest speaker named Rev. Jim Ailes. He is just a great guy who loves God. I knew the title of his message and his scripture passage the week before. So I just went from that when I was planning the music for Sunday. We sang this song called "The Love of God," which is an old song which has been redone to sound more updated. Anyway, the words to the song are just so profound, and come as close to expressing the vastness of God's love for us as I think our human minds can comprehend. When Pastor Jim got up to speak, he said that that song was one of his favorites, and it also went right along with the point of his message. We hadn't planned it, but God did. =) Now, I'm not blogging about this because it surprised me. I'm actually blogging about this because it didn't surprise me.

When I was teaching at Eden, I led worship for two chapels per week, and I usually didn't know the speaker or what he/she would be talking about. The first time the speaker got up and said, "Wow. You read the exact scripture that I'll be speaking about," I was surprised and amazed. Over time, I grew to expect God to work like that.

Anyway, here are the words to the song.

The love of God is greater far

Than tongue or pen can ever tell

It goes beyond the highest star

And reaches to the lowest hell

The guilty pair bowed down with care

God gave His Son to win

His erring child He reconciled

And pardoned from his sin

O love of God how rich and pure

How measureless and strong

It shall forevermore endure -

The saints' and angels' song

Could we with ink the ocean fill

And were the skies of parchment made

Were ev'ry stalk on earth a quill

And ev'ry man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry

Nor could the scroll contain the whole

Tho' stretched from sky to sky

O love of God how rich and pure

How measureless and strong

It shall forevermore endure -

The saints' and angels' song