blogging

Giving Thanks/Taking Away

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:47:05 +0100

So its Thanksgiving day, right? You are going to eat turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and all the food you love...as you gather around the dinner table with your parents, siblings, cousins, granparents, aunt and uncles you realize how thankful you are for them. You realize that they are a gift from God that He is given to you...I want to take this blogs to the first 2 questions in our Questions for Thought page. What are you thankful for? I am personally thankful for my family and that my dad has a job...that God has provided for my family so much in these hard times. But what if God all the sudden took that away...my house, my dads job. I would ask myslef this question over and over again but God does this to make us stronger in Him. He puts us through hard times to make us stronger than as we were before so we can look to Him for help. I know it is very tuff, sometimes when God puts me through trials I freak out and get scared, but that's part of growing stronger in God. Ashley and I hope that this thanksgiving you feel the love of Jesus Christ in your home and give thanks to Him. Thank the people around you this time of year! Give your teachers a hug or do the dishes for once for you mom and dad, there are plenty of ways to show that you are thankful. But remember, love anc cherish the things that you have now, because God could take them away any moment to put you to the test to see if you are truely thankful for Him.

Love Like God

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:47:31 +0100

"Love your neighbor as yourslef" which can also be translated into treat other people the way you want to be treated. This verse is found in Matthew 22:39. You may be thinking, "Oh this is something I can do! It's easy!" But when drama comes up at school or you're in a fight with your dad, are you going to remember this verse? In John 15:13, it says "Greater love has no one that this, that He lay down His life for His friends" Wow, God's love is greater than the whole worlds put together! We need to love one another! Look over these verses...you know sometimes if your mean to a friend or a family member, it will come back to you...it's happened to me before and to you, we might just not realize it. But Matthew 22:39 really tells us how to behave! Love you neighbor as yourself, love your neighbor as yourself..if you think about it, those are kinda like instuctions to life! And John 15:13 sums it all up! Gods love is greater than everybody's, God love is the greatest! We can still treat people that are mean to us nicely but God's love will always rule. The people that maybe we don't like or are mean to, need God's love. His love can heal but the we can just love them as well. In every way, you are being a witness when you love someone who may be mean to you. You are showing them God's love and what God can do and how He can change your life! Next time your friend is being mean to you or you sister is mad at you, just love them, even if it's hard...it's what the Bible tells us to do, and we should try as had as we can to follow it! Love like God!

Twilight

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:47:50 +0100

Alright, so I bet you and all your friends are obsessed with Twilight right? You love Edward but are torn by Jacob's good looks! You are all planning to go see New Moon, the midnight premire! Wrong! Don't go see the new movie! It's not of God girls! Don't you realize that? Vampries sucking blood and a girl choosing her love over life...does that sound like a Godly thing to read? I (Ellie), must admit that I wanted to read the book when it became popular...I wanted to do things of the world, not the things of God. Ashley on the other hand didn't really care! It's your choice whether you think that it's the right thing to read as a Christian...The idea of a girl willing to give up her life for a guy, over Heaven, over life? How do you think that sounds? Satan is just trying to drag you into things of his world...he is trying to bring you down by this book that has teens wrapped up in. I know that yo may say "But my parents said that I can read it and they are Christians!" Well, you know what, it's YOUR choice as a Christian to do what's right...your parents don't that to make those desicions for you. When your friends invite you to go see New Moon, I hope that you make the right choice, as a Christian and not someone that is wrapped up in things of the world...maybe you can even tell your friends why it's wrong to be so obsessed with this series. It's your choice to make.

Looking in the Midst of the Crowd

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:48:07 +0100

Are you looking for a new friend? A new friend that you would like to find. Well sometimes, God can bless you with someone that is quiet. The shy girl that sits at lunch all by herself. During your break or lunch, take your friends over to her and sit and talk...get her going about things she likes to do! This year, my friends and I had a new girl at our school that people didn't really hang out with...one day we sat down next to her at lunch and she was super nice! She loved the Lord and was an amazing photographer! It's kind of like the saying ''good things come in small packages'' sometimes you want to be friends with the popular girl that has all the money and fashion, but most of the times...you can find the greatest friends just sitting in the corner of the classroom, shy and reserved! I triple dare you to hang out with a new "shy'' friend at school! Tell us what you think about her and what she's like!? Email in your response if you read this and try this out! God always has plans for friendship! Sometimes all you need is a little faith and a big push!
Look in the midst of the crowd!

Pencils? Backpack? Friends? Faith?

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:48:22 +0100

So school has probably already started for some of you and maybe it begins this week! Who knows, but, are you nervous to start school? Are you going to a brand new school and don't know anybody? Well God is with you. You know how the day before school, you are going through all your stuff to make sure you have it? Like, making sure your outfit for tomorrow is perfect and that you have your favorite mechanical pencil, or make sure that your friends are going to for sure be there? Well do you ever think to check your faith? It might sound kinda stupid but your faith should be at the highest top of the mountain right now. One, you need to be ready for everything that happens in the school year, whether its losing your best friend from cancer or failing math, you need to be ready for anything to happen and keep moving forward. Next, you need to be able to take a stand for God. Just like in our blog 'Leadership', you need to be able to stand up for God and what you believe in. Lastly, its for your own good. You need to continue to build your faith with God. We all do. Its important as a Christian to learn more about God and what we should be expecting from Him. But just be prepared for the school year. Remember, you have the most powerful, loving person right next to you at all time. He will protect you for anything but remember your faith.

Things of THIS World

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:48:36 +0100

So by now you should know that there are some bad things that this world can produce, drugs, alcohol, suicide, and other stuff like that. Okay, all those things come from the devil, they are not of this world, they are from Hell and you should not be following them. Maybe at school there's the cool little group and they are smoking and they invite you to come and have a smoke! Warning: Do not turn from God. That stuff is bad for your body it doesn't do you good, and most of all, it doesn't make God happy to see one of His children begin to turn away. Just like in our blog Don't Turn Away, during the summer you can be lazy and not know what to do, but keep your eyes right on Jesus not on the things this world tells you you should be doing. It's not what God wants, it may not be what you want but don't let someone force it onto to you. You know, my uncle used to smoke when I was about 10 (I'll be 13 Nov 4th!), my sisters and I would always pray to God that would keep Him safe and that He would not turn from God. We always would write little letters and send them in the mail. After a hard few months, my uncle finally stopped smoking! God was with Him all along. If you have someone in your family thats doing things of this world, pray for them, ask God to be right next to them so they can be with you in Heaven. Sometimes things may not always go as you want them to, but God knows you, and He knows that you will be ok. Maybe in a couple of years, you are down the wrong path and you have begun to take drugs and you smoke, JUST PRAY! Ask God to help you, I mean, God has the greatest power ever! He can heal you. People around you will help you too and give you a place to stay. God is there, He will never desert you. But try to not fall as a teen, and try to never fall, and don't to things of THIS world, do thing of our Heavenly world

Dating is a No No

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:04:01 +0100

Alright, so at school there are probably the popular girls or whatever and they are always dating guy's and then breaking up for the hotter one...one word, STUPID! At this time in your life, you don't need to date and you shouldn't be dating. Dating is for high school or even after, it's for looking who your're going to spend the rest of your life. You can be concentrating on more important things such as your walk with Christ. Boys don't need to fufill your needs, that's why you have God, that's for Him to do, not your boyfriend. "But what if the boy I like finds another girl!" So what! God knows exactly who you are going to marry, you don't need to try and change that, just let God's choice come to you and you may be surprised! Sure you can like a guy, but you don't need to be all flirty and weird around him, just be yourself, the way God made you, it will please God too!:) Just try to not make boys your focus, especially in Junior High. I'm in 8th grade and there is so much drama that goes on that I just think "Why do these girls get so crazy over boys" It's not what I want to be focusing on, I want to live a life for Christ. But sometimes God puts these little destractions in our lives to see it we are truely faithful to Him, to see if we really want to live with Him forever in Heaven. Pray about the desions you make this year with boys and ask God to help you control yourself and keep your eyes on Him.

Leadership

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 18:34:53 +0100

This last week, I went to a leadership camp for my school. I really enjoyed it and learned alot about how you can be a leader for Christ. Being a leader doesn't mean that you have to control every situation or be bossy, it just means that you can stand up for the kid that being gossiped about or taking a stand to defend Jesus. The leadership retreat was about 'Doing Hard Things' a book by Alex and Brett Harris which can be found in Resources for You. We live in a world where you are taught to take short cuts and not take the long right way. Just like my pastor said, "The road to Hell is wide and short, and the road to Heaven is long and narrow, but you know what? It's worth it!". This world tells us that we shouldn't and are to young to do hard things, but God has a purpose and plan for us, so sometimes we have to do the hard thing to reach it. Next, I would like to talk about steping out of your comfort zone. Did you know that it is good to fail? You learn new things every time you fail. You might be scared to try new things and step out of your comfort zone, but the good thing is that God is always right there waiting for you to fall so He can catch you. Us humans have a wall, its a wall that keeps us from bad thing and only lets us see and do what we want, but if we imagine to many bad things, we will never get to see the chance God has for us. Raise the bar as a leader, do what's hard for you, not what's easy. The Christian life is not about avoiding bad things, it's also about looking for chances that God has for you. When you fail and get back up again, in God's eyes, you are being faithful and learning. If there is something that you want to do in your life and you go into it thinking that you are going to fail, you will! But if you go into it with a positive attitude thinking that you can do because you have Jesus with you, you will succeed. Lastly, I want to talk about taking a stand. Stand up for what is right and not what is wrong. Jesus is your right, not drugs, smoking and cussing and so forth. If kids around you are doing wrong, then step out of the group and just say "Hey, that's not right. What your doing is not right in the eye's of the Lord"
Just because your friends are doing this and saying these words, doesn't mean you can't take a stand. You can tell them and talk to them about what they are doing and tell them that it's not right. Take a stand for God and do hard things.

Dress Your Best?

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:39:58 +0100

Alright, we all know that sometimes us girls don't always dress appropriately, we might have some bra straps hanging out or maybe our our skinny jeans are to skinny. I know my mom is always telling to pull my shirt up because my straps are showing and I know that I need to change that! It's not a Godly thing to do, to always be wearing short shorts and having bra straps hang out. There are alot of teens that do that and I am one of them, I need to change that and ask God for help. You don't have to wear like turtle-necks all the time, you just need to look at yourslef in the mirror and say 'Is this right to wear, does it look okay and does God want me dressing like this?" Just watch what you wear. Girls always say "you have to sacrifice for fashion" and that's true, you do, but not being all hottie-tottie with your fashion. If your straps are showing and you can't find anything to do to fix it, you can go to stores and find 'strap hiders'. It's a good idea to look clean as a Chrisitian, it's represents purity and innoscence. You can dress your best but making sure your looking okay comes first!

Taming the Tongue

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 02:58:10 +0100

Sometimes we don't realize how our words can affect people. We don't think before we speak and we end up just saying something totally worng or hurtful. We really need to be careful about everything we say. Here are some great verses about how powerful the things you say can be. I got this out of James chapter 3. Verse 5-6 say...."Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small park. ........It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." There are so many ways we can use our tongue for ungodly reasons. Things like gossip, cussing, lying, and more. Something girls most often struggle with is gossip. I definitely struggle with that. But it's not something we should be doing, sure a girl can't live without gossip, but you can cut back way more! I know that we all can and it can help us become more Godly women. I remember reading somewhere in the Bible where it says we use the same mouth to curse and praise the Lord at the same time. But isn't that insane! We go and say "I hate you and never won't to speak to you again!" to our parents and then we sing "Holy is the Lord, God all mighty..." in chapel! The only thing to do is pray! The next time something comes up where you know you need to tame your tongue, ask God to help you to do the right thing! Jesus is with you every step of the way and will ALWAYS be there to help you make the right decisions.

Katelyn