Gone are the days when simply “inviting people to church” was enough to get the salvation ball rolling, so to speak. Today's average Joe (or Jane) doesn't care much for getting up early on a day off work, dressing up (to some measure), and taking his/her family to a church service. And with the bad rap that health/wealth preacher-thieves, priestly pedophiles, and the terminally unfaithful have given the church…most viewers of the nightly news think that houses of worship are disdainful. Heck - due to technological advances, even many so-called Christians prefer "streaming" services online to an in-the-flesh gathering of believers these days. So, how can we expect to non-believers to get all hopped-up about attending church?
Anybody remember the ole' tried-n-true power band? You know, that bracelet made with six colors that represent the Gospel story? Well I recall making those way back in the '90s...and apparently, they haven't fallen out of style with the younger set. But we're talking really young - like lower elementary grades - and I work with middle/high schoolers. So what's a girl to do?
Lest a good way to "wear our witness" lose steam, I googled more teen-friendly ways to use the colors and landed on the idea of Gospel Nails. All you need are the correct six colors of nail polish: black, red, white, blue, green, yellow. This is where order comes into play. These colors must be painted on the nails in exactly that order. Why? Think back to the Power Band:
Many of my friends have been writing about their "one word" for the new year. I have hesitated to do likewise because I really wanted to think this one through. I also have a steady stream of perfectionism running through my veins, so I wanted to wait a bit beyond January 1st in order to shock my system out of it's bent toward obsessively on-time compliance.
If you are not familiar with the "one word" concept, there are two fairly prominent Christian websites charging their readers to pick one word of inspiration for the new year. [FYI: those websites are located here and here.] The idea is that you encapsulate any new year's resolutions or goals for the year into one word that either motivates you for what lies ahead or describes what you envision the year to hold.
Have you ever gotten that gnawing feeling in the pit of your stomach that you are in a certain place at a certain time for a certain God-given purpose? For me, it usually means that I have stumbled upon someone I am to reach out to in Christ's love. Many Christians refer to these chance meetings as "divine appointments" (due to the fact that the meetings are not really "by chance" at all!). One of the most dramatic divine appointments in my life occurred while I was a junior in college.



