Wives submit

Colossians
Although we read Colossians today, I would like to point you to the commentary from Barnes on Ephesians 5:22 (click here to go to the commentary), which is a parallel passage to Colossians 3:18.  This verse is about wives submitting to their husbands.  Sometimes, people, particularly women, like to get all up in arms about this verse, and think they have to lay aside their personality, sense of self-worth, and pretty much everything else in order to submit to a husband.  That's not what we're talking about here.  Check out Barnes' notes - he gives a variety of circumstances that apply, but he also states that, above all, women must obey God.  God is the head of all people, and submission to husbands does not trump that.  Husbands must rule in line with Christ, and so, as long as both parties live within the will of God, there shouldn't be too much trouble.  It may not always work out so easily, but never let it be said that women have to forfeit their very selves in following their husbands.  The only person we completely surrender to is God.

Connection with the Head

Colossians
 We can see in the second half of chapter 2 of Colossians that the people to whom Paul was writing had a somewhat Gnostic and very heretical view of Jesus.  They thought that they could commune with God through spiritual beings who came from Christ, and that they had to follow a very ascetic and rule-bound lifestyle.  Thankfully, Paul set them straight.  We can find our reality in Christ himself.  We'll see in the coming days in reading Colossians just how much we can rely on Christ, rather than some cheap man-made imitations.

The dead son

Luke
Have you ever seen a dead person raised to life?  I certainly haven't!  But imagine what it would have been like for the people in Nain watching Jesus raise this man to life.  And the joy of the mother, who was a widow and had no other sons.  Her last hope was being carried out in a casket in front of her.  Jesus then came along and raised him to life!  The crowds were in awe and praised God (see Luke 7:11-17 for this story).
I guess my point here is that if Jesus cared enough about this woman that he raised her son to life, I think we can trust him in work in our lives too.

Colossians
Paul had such a powerful ministry, even when he was under house arrest.  He wrote many letters, not just to the Colossians, and his letters have had a last effect on the world, far beyond his time.  Granted, Paul did a lot of stuff before he was in prison, but still, you don't have to go too far to extend God's kingdom here on earth.