Marvelous Happy Things

Author's Note: Learning about the Bible and discipleship did take place in my youth group, though this post is not focused on these topics. Our leaders guided discussions as they should. To my friends: I hope this post brings back good memories and you laugh a little as I try to explain our friendships and romantic experiences. Was it normal for this much romantic activity to happen in one youth group? Feel free to comment with your thoughts.  My high school youth group had an interesting phenomenon. Our group had a lot of “lovesick” teens. Meaning that plenty of my friends dated people in our church or people from school and would bring them to church. We had a player in the group who flirted with several girls. Friends would see a pair who spent a lot of time together (whether it was on a retreat or a mission trip) and speculate on their relationship. None of our leaders encouraged the dating relationships, probably because most of them did not last. I remember a conversation b...

Here are four movies featuring songs or themes about summer. 1) High School Musical 2: "What Time is It?" The movie takes place during summer, but the first song is a celebration of a school year ending and summer beginning. This song popped into my head often during high school summers. 2) Disney Channel's Starstruck: "Something about the Sunshine" This mention could be a surprise for you. The movie also takes place during a summer vacation, but during this song the characters connect over outdoor fun and get to know each other better. 3) Disney Channel's Teen Beach Movie: "Surf's Up" This song reflects the joyful fun of a summer spent on the coast. (I'm not sure if it was an end credits song or not, but it mentions summer more than "Surf Crazy." I included it because of that.) 4) Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension: "Summer (Where Do We Begin?)" Since the series is centered around summer day...