The 180 Blog

Contents
1. 180 News
2. Something for Your Heart
3. Surf Report
4. Video of The Week
5. Forgettable Fact
6. Potent Quotables
7. Uh, That's Funny?

1. 180 NEWS

Letter From Jonathan

We received a rather sad letter from our sponsored child this last week. Please pray that he and his family will continue to see God's hand at work in their lives.

Here's the letter...

Hi! 180 Student Ministries. I hope when you get this letter you are in good health. Jonathan thanks you very much for all the support that you were giving to him and his parents during this time. Thanks to your help he got school supplies, uniform, and school shoes. But also he will not continue attending because his parents cannot bring him because their jobs. I hope you always have wonderful days. Take care and may God bless you and brighten you every moment of your lives. Sandra Luz Hernandez, Correspondence Coordinator for Jonathan Lopez Toledo

Vacation Bible School

We need you!

Want to be a part of something BIG this summer? We are looking for workers for this year's Vacation Bible School, happening June 30-July 4. This year's theme is SonWorld Adventure Park, and adventure it will be!

If you would like to be a part of this year's VBS please contact either Keli Pierce (keli@gracepointfamily.com) or Luanne Jaramillo (luanne@gracepointfamily.com) to find out what opportunities are available and how you might plug in!


2. SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

AND THE WINNER IS...

In the opening scene of the film Little Miss Sunshine, we see a little girl, Olive, watching a beauty pageant on TV. She rewinds and watches her tape of the final moments of the Miss America pageant over and over, focusing on the response of the newly crowned queen. As Olive watches, she mimics the queen's motions, imagining herself walking down the runway with the crowd cheering and tears pouring down her cheeks. "I want to be that girl," her actions seem to say.

I still get totally wrapped up in watching such pageants and contests on television. One recent show that played on the "pageant" idea was America's Next Top Model. The show was on Wednesday nights, and each week before our senior-high Bible study the girls in my youth group would sit crouched in front of the TV, watching intently as another wannabe model was cut from the competition. Each of us had a different opinion about who should win. Every week I would find the girls arriving for Bible study early so they could watch the end of the show. It's so easy to be tranquilized by the quest for beauty, for personality, and for perfection. I must admit that I'm intrigued by Tyra Banks and her entourage. In fact, I have to confess that I even checked the rules of the show last year to see what the age limit was for entering the contest. I am in a different stage of my life than most of the girls competing, yet there was still that small longing to be that model, to be Tyra's model.

That quest for beauty and confidence, for something that gives us meaning beyond what our parents have told us, never really leaves us. We look for affirmation from multiple places. Olive reminds me of the little girl in each of us, no matter how pretty or awkward we might be. She represents a beauty that is more than charm and a great figure. It's a beauty that springs from the self-confidence she had because her grandpa told her how beautiful and great she was.

We also have this kind of relationship. God, our Creator, has made each of us with great worth and beauty. It's up to us to hold onto that truth with everything we have in us. This knowledge of a God who created us with beauty and grace can give us confidence when the world tells us we aren't beautiful, valuable, or special. Jesus once said, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world" (John 15:19).

God has made you beautiful, with unique gifts and abilities. And Jesus has chosen you as his own. The apostle Paul says it a little differently, describing each of us as "a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such confidence we have through Christ before God" (2 Corinthians 3:3-4).

A unique child of God, created with worth and beauty. A person chosen by Christ, and belonging to him. A love letter from God's own Spirit. That's who you are.

YOUR CONFESSIONS

- Have you ever been addicted to a reality TV show that glamorized outer perfection?

- What's the difference between inner and outer beauty? Is it the same for everyone?

- Think of the time you spend getting ready for school or to go out with your friends. What things could change if we spent as much time preparing the inside (spiritually, emotionally, mentally) as we did preparing the outside?

- What's your biggest hang-up about your appearance?

- How can you keep God at the center of your self-understanding? At the center of your dreaming?

**

Taken from "Confessions of a Not-So-Supermodel" by Brooklyn Lindsey, copyright 2008 Youth Specialties/Zondervan. Used by permission. Order the book here.

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

**

3. SURF REPORT

~ NeoPets: For those of you with allergies, or who just aren't responsible enough for a real pet!

~ Safety at Work: Tips for teens to keep you safe on the job

4. VIDEO OF THE WEEK

Trevor McCracken and Lucas Munger know how to have fun! Check out this video sent to us by Carrie Ann McCracken. Nice wipe out Lucas!




5. FORGETTABLE FACT

Americans eat nearly 100 acres of pizza every day - that's approximately 350 slices per second!


6. POTENT QUOTABLES

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go."
~ Dr. Seuss

"All that stands between the graduate and the top of the ladder is the ladder."
~ Author Unknown

===========our|sponsor===========

LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

The Carter House residents of high school aged girls arrive shortly before school starts. With a crazy mix of personalities, pocketbooks, and problems, the girls get acquainted, sharing secrets and shoes and a variety of squabbles.

Learn more about "Mixed Bags" here.

Also available in your local Christian bookstore.

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7. UH, THAT'S FUNNY?

Life is not a struggle. It's a wiggle. (Taken from an actual fortune cookie)