My Childhood Crush

 Yesterday, I was so sad to learn that Davy Jones had died.

I have a somewhat hazy memory of a childhood conversation I had with my best friend, Heather. We were eight years old, and we were sitting at the top of the stairs at my house.  We were discussing my new crush.  I told her that I no longer liked Ricky Schroeder from the TV show, Silver Spoons.  Instead, I was now in love with Davy Jones of The Monkees.

And, although Heather was hesitant at first, she quickly joined me in my newfound passion.  In the beginning, we watched the tv show regularly.  Heather's parents had a vinyl record of The Monkees, and it became a treasure to us.  And, we had our magazines.  Apparently, we weren't the only ones in love with them because The Monkees graced the covers of all the teen celebrity magazines... 16, Bop, Tiger Beat etc.  In the magazines, we could even find pull out posters to hang on the wall.

I will never forget the day that my dad told me that he was taking me to a Monkees concert. My amazing mom had given me her ticket.  I can still feel the excitement as we headed towards the 1987 Indiana State Fair.  And, I can still remember the shock when I looked at the stage and realized that I had a crush on a forty-year-old.  

When I got home, I rushed to tell Heather, "He doesn't look like he does on TV.  He's old, but he's still cute!"

Our crushes continued through the purchase of many cassette tapes, lots of Tiger Beat magazines, and even an unforgettable Monkees Convention in Chicago.  We had a collection of "Davy stuff." We loved the Davy Brady Bunch episode, and I even had a VHS recording of a My Two Dads episode with a special appearance by Davy Jones.  

It was a crush that endured for years...until The New Kids on the Block began their memorable climb up the charts.  And, it was a crush that helped forge a wonderful friendship that endures to this day.  I will forever be grateful to The Monkees for that. 

Thank you, Davy Jones, for being such a memorable part of my childhood.

p.s.  I am so glad God says no to our prayers sometimes...as much as I asked him to let me marry a certain English pop star.

Linking up with Emily

Faith and Hope in Tragedy: My Favorite Example

Eleven years ago yesterday, an event occurred that changed my life forever.

It was a Friday night.  I was in my last semester at Purdue University, and I had just finished my third week of student teaching.  After a long day at school and a commute to which I was still adjusting, I was exhausted.  A lot of friends of mine were getting together, and I decided to join them...in spite of the strong inclination to head home for bed.

As we were hanging out, a friend came in from outside with a horrific announcement.  There had been a tragic car accident.  Three of our friends had driving home for a birthday party when the car hit ice and collided with a semi.  One of them, Matt Cahill, had been killed instantly.  The others, Matt and Jake Cushman (brothers), had been critically injured and were being transported to a hospital in a city.

Shock set in immediately.  There aren't words to express the pain that engulfed us as we cried together and sought to comfort one another...as well as try to grasp the ramifications of what we had just learned.  Though we were all eager to make the trip immediately, the snowstorm that had caused the accident prevented us from driving across the state of Indiana to the hospital.  So, we waited until morning to set out.

I don't remember who was in my car as we were driving.  I don't remember how we received the news.  All I remember is that I had to pull over once we received word of Jake's death that morning.  The tears were falling so hard that it made driving impossible.

Two of our good friends had just died, and one was still in critical condition.

We arrived at the hospital broken and sad...heartbroken over the loss of such good friends and deeply concerned about Matt's condition.  I will never forget what happened next.  Matt and Jake's father, Tom, gathered us together in a circle to pray.  The words that came out of his mouth as he began to pray have impacted me in such a way that they have burned in my memory these eleven years: 

"Though He slay me,

yet will I hope in Him (Job 13:15)." 

How could he pray that?  How could he declare that he would continue to trust God when one son had died just hours before and the other son remained in critical condition with a traumatic brain injury?  This man's life and family had just been changed forever.  Yet, he was choosing to believe that God was still good.  And, in doing so, God was showing a group of young college students what faith looks like.

Eleven years later, the example of my friends' father challenges me still.  When the storm surrounds me and the circumstances of my life seem too painful to bear, I know that the One in whom Job hoped...the One in whom my friends' father hoped...is the only One in whom I can place my hope.  He alone is my firm foundation...and He is so worthy of my trust.  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28)."

In the wake of the accident, we saw His goodness and His faithfulness.  The Lord answered our prayers as Matt slowly recovered from his brain injury. And, in the midst of our mourning, we watched as God moved in countless lives on campus as only He can.

Three months earlier in the fall of that year, these three young men had been leaders in an innovative outreach that touched every single person on the campus of Purdue University: the Do You Agree With Matt? campaign. There was not a student in our school of 40,000 people who had not at least heard of Matt Cahill.  So, when news broke on campus three months later of his death, the story he had shared so often during that campaign became campus, city, and even statewide news.  And, people who had three months earlier declared they did NOT agree with Matt began to be impacted by the hope that he had so courageously and publicly shared three months earlier...a hope in Jesus Christ.

And, that hope was no longer necessary.  Faith had become sight.

Thank You, Jesus.

To read more about the Do You Agree With Matt? campaign, read this article and this article. 

Remember this?

Brandon and I were watching this the other night when we should have been going to bed.  I have no idea what made us look it up, but it was in my head for a while.  So, I thought I would pass it along to you.  

What is sad is that the students we work with here in Cru weren't even born yet when this came out.  A strange phenomenon occurs when you work with college students.  While we keep getting older, students stay the same age.  Crazy.