RBC Students

The Senior Recognition Sunday information survey thingy has been posted. If you’re graduating this year, please click on over to “Senior Recognition Sunday.”

 Julie

So Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. I know this because I went to Wal-Mart yesterday and discovered a plethora of pink and red greeting cards screaming their love at me. Though I don’t have a fine-looking fella of my own, I enjoy Feb. 14. I don’t think it’s a day just for lovers. Rather, I think it’s a moment that encourages us to stop and love. Hold up on the busyness of life. And love.

However, for this particular post and survey, I am writing in reference to the sort of love that causes us to smile for no apparent reason. Awhile ago, I read a comment in some print piece that said a guy likes a girl with confidence. Period. We all have what we think are quirks about our looks (though, if God created each one of us in His image, none of our perceived notions are accurate), but what a guy really likes is confidence.

A few years ago, there was a guy. Two things made me take notice. 1) His relationship with Christ and 2) The way he made me laugh from across the room. Though I haven’t talked to said man in quite some time, those two characteristics are non-budge traits for anyone who wishes to pursue me.

Sooo … how about you? What’s something you’ve noticed about someone before you met him/her? When you list must-have bf/gf characteristics, what’s #1, #2, #3?

I just finished watching the video for “Shine On,” one of Needtobreathe’s earliest pieces and one they performed when they were at Remington’s in November. It got me to thinking.

Have you ever thought about the number of people you influence in a day? How about the number of people who were influenced by someone who was influenced by you? What’s your influence like? Do you encourage people to shine on? Or do their lights glow a bit dimmer because of what you say or what you do?

I don’t make New Year’s resolutions. I’m not sure why. It might have to do with my mom’s adamant stance on the correlation between black-eyed peas on Jan. 1 and financial prowess throughout the year and my not wanting to have anything to do with New Year’s traditions. Regardless, I read an article on cnn.com that highlighted a website that works to help people accomplish goals through the use of payment. See, if you don’t reach a goal by a certain date, the money you contracted goes to a charity of your choosing (the owners of the website encourage you to sign up for a charity that you don’t want to send your hard-earned money to).

Despite my lack of New Year’s resolutions, I think it’s important to have goals. And I think the goals we set for ourselves have an impact on others, whether or not we intend for that to happen. SO …

What goals/resolutions do YOU have right now??? Post them below.

I have new shoes. I’m wearing them now. No one has noticed. In kindergarten, when someone would get new shoes or get a haircut, my teacher would make the class sing. She had a song for each. And actions to go with the musical numbers. Also in kindergarten, I made my acting debut. We performed the play “The Pancake Man.” My mom, sister and nephew came to see me say, “I want my pancake!” and run off the stage. It was quite the performance.

 iLife is tomorrow from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Center. Jessica asked me what my favorite float is. Seems I may be on a menu. 

JH & SH | MIX is Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. Meet at Backyard Burgers. Your movie choices are “Fireproof” and “Igor,” both of which should be very good. I watched “Facing the Giants” again the other night. I needed it.

Pasta Express Night is Oct. 2. Invite your friends. And pick up your coupon!

Julie

At the Leadership Summit in August, I wasn’t able to see much of the final session. What I heard, though, has stayed with me. Bill Hybels read part of Mother Theresa’s biography. In it, she talks about how she yearned inside to be noticed by God and how she felt she wasn’t. Mother Theresa. Seriously? This morning, I wonder how many of us feel the same way.

Fall Retreat has been canceled.

JH and SH | MIX is Sept. 27. Meet at Backyard Burgers at 6 p.m. Movies will be announced Sept. 21.

iLife is tonight! 6-7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Center.

I hope your day is muy bien. And I hope you feel noticed by God.

Julie

I ate my lunch outside today. In the courtyard. It was soooo very nice. The sun was shining and it was warm when I first went out there. And that was exactly what I needed because I was chilly. Then, as I warmed up, the sun went under some clouds, and the breeze picked up. Ahhh … But then my lunch bag blew away. And when I stood up to retrieve it, I walked right through a spider’s web.

ttfn,

Julie

Last call! CAMP 08 begins Friday. Registration starts at 9 a.m. Buses leave at 10 a.m. We’ll be back around 5 p.m. Monday.

In case you haven’t heard, CAMP is gonna rock. We are staying at Hannibal-LaGrange College, where we’ll have good Bible studies, eat college food and participate in wonders a-plenty. Cost is $169 (scholarships are available). And our parents meeting is Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. Call Julie at 885.5232 with questions.

“Entertainment Tonight” broke the news the other night: Angelina Jolie had given birth in France to twin girls. One was named after her mom; the other was named after Brad Pitt’s mom. Having watched “Entertainment Tonight” before, I’m quite certain the host called Angelina “Ange” or “Angie.” Afterall, ET and Ms. Jolie are tight like that.

A day or two later, I caught a glimpse of a news headline regarding the birth. I clicked on it because something caught my eye. Apparently, there was some uncertainty regarding the facts. Another piece of media said the twins had NOT been born and that ET had bought into a woman who was pretending to be affiliated with Jolie (a faux personal assistant, I believe). The said piece of media also made the statement based on what could be referred to by some as good, common sense: The grandparents hadn’t flown into town. And flowers hadn’t been delivered. Later, I saw another headline claiming ET knew exactly what it was doing when it relied on the would-be assistant. Oh, the drama! 

I was thinking about this while I prepared myself to come to work this morning. I don’t know why.

But instead of spending time wondering who’s right/who’s wrong and how the story will unfold, I thought about my own life. And my relationship with God. Pitt and Jolie have money. And they have enough money to fly the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins, the neighbors, the water meter reader, etc. to France to see the new babies. Or so I assume. And A + B  = C, right? Babies are born + Money is available = Grandparents will fly in. Period. Babies are born + Flowers are what people do = Flowers will be delivered. Period. And, yes, it does make sense. And, yes, others would draw similar conclusions. But no.

I don’t know when Jolie or Pitt will announce the birth of their twins. The babies might be 16 before we hear anything. And for fans of the actress and actor, patience might wear really very thin. But A + B does not always = C. And God isn’t always about signs.

So this is what I thought about while I readied myself for work this morning. How often do I look for God to build the equation A + B = C? How many times have I pouted or thrown a fit because A + B so did not equal C but, instead, it equalled W? And how many times, because I’ve thrown a fit and threw in the towel, have I not been able to see that God really intended the W to be a C to the power of 100? Or to a M, which would have been oogles better than what I could dream. 

Flowers and grandparents are pretty good indicators that something amazing happened. But maybe Jolie wanted flower money to be given to orphans in Ethiopia so they’d have food for a month. And maybe the grandparents are waiting for a time to come when it’s better for Jolie and Pitt. And, maybe, had the media waited for word from the parents, we’d have pictures rather than rumors. And, perhaps, if we’d wait more often on God, we’d have our hearts’ deepest desires rather than something else.    

That’s what it says on page 020 of “SEX GOD.” It does something to a person’s soul.

A friend of mine and I were talking the other day. She said, “And that’s why I think I’m so skinny. It’s because of how my dad treated my mom.” My friend is 32 years old. She’s beautiful. Yet, she’s afraid to gain a pound or two because she doesn’t want to disappoint her dad. Or any other guy.

Did you know there are websites that encourage people to rate the hotness level of others? Of girls. Hot or Not. Facebook advertises applications that do the same thing. Friends rating friends. Then there’s Maxim. And its 50 Most Beautiful Women. Or something like that. Last night, I watched about five minutes of the countdown on cable. Somewhere between Ashanti and Molly Sims, I found myself thinking, “I’ll never look like that.” And, really, that comment came at a great time. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about someone I used to know. In the church we attended, there was a painted Scripture above the stage. I believe it was “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Yet, at the time, I couldn’t quite shake the understanding that I didn’t look like the girls he could have had. I don’t know if he agreed. And the story is much more than that. But I allowed that statement to be an issue.

On page 020, Rob Bell writes:

“And it’s everywhere. The problem is that ‘that’ is actually a ’she.’ A person. A woman. With a name, a history, with feelings. It seems harmless until you’re that girl — and then it hurts. It’s degrading. It’s violating. It does something to a person’s soul.”  He continues, “Jesus had much to say about what happens when a woman, an image-bearer, a carrier of the divine spark, becomes a ‘that.’ … Jesus teaches that ‘anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’ He connects our eyes and our intentions and our thoughts with the state of our hearts.”

Unless things change drastically, I’ll never be on Maxim’s Top 50. Or 1,000. I’m not Ashanti or Molly Sims or Cameron Diaz or Halle Berry or America’s Next Top Model. But I do believe God created me.

Sugar & Spice — it’s what girls are made of, eh? So we’re celebrating it. Monday begins our second season of Girls Bible Study. We’re meeting in the Fellowship Center at 7 p.m. The evening will be over at 8:30 p.m.

On June 2, we’re having finger foods.

 What’s more, our 7th & 8th grade girls are reading “Do You Think I’m Beautiful?” by Angela Thomas. And our 9th-12th grade girls are reading “SEX GOD: Exploring the endless connections between sexuality and spirituality” by Rob Bell. I’m planning on giving you little updates about what I read in each book. Just so you know.

 Julie