Teens with Faith!

Oof, that's a tough one! It's probably safe to say that all of us at one point have, "Been there, done that." But seriously, it's rough to obey when He says no. Especially when our way seems better! However, as it is written in Isaiah 55:8-9, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord, 'As the heavens are higher than the earth , so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" (KJV) In that verse we see that God's plan for us and our lives is far greater than anything we can image. Our ways, cannot possibly compare with His! So why do we keep wasting our time trying to do things our way, when His is so much better to begin with? Think of it this way!  It's like a little kid in a candy store. He wants one specific candy on the display. To the kiddo, it seems like the best, brightest, most yummy candy not only in the store but probably the whole world! The lit...

In many ways, we're much like a sponge. This sounds crazy, I know, but hear me out! Us humans absorb a lot of our characteristics and traits based on the things, places, and people we surround ourselves with. Much like a sponge, if we absorb clean water, what's going to come out of us? That's right, clean water. But what happens if we absorb dirty water? You know the answer to that one. A sponge can only give one type of water, either clean or dirty, but it can't do both. This reminds me of a verse in James 3: 11-12 which reads, "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water." (NIV)  You might see where this is going. We are like the sponge, the spring (fountain), or the tree. You see, we can't live as Christians when we're constantly dirtying ourselves up with the world. We can't pretend to speak eloq...

Sometimes life throws us a curveball and we find ourselves staring blankly at what's to come ahead. We grow anxious, we grow weary, we grow tired and we lack that peace that only God can bring. I can speak from personal experience when I say that sometimes things happen and the only thing you can do is pray, but even so you still wish you could do more and it breaks your heart that you can’t. In one particular occasion, not too long ago actually, I was praying for someone but felt this terrible uneasiness about the situation I was praying for. After a while, decided to open my Bible and look for verses that speak about peace, because only God and His Word could bring me the peace I needed in that moment. Interestingly enough, I stumbled across a verse in Philippians that reads, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 That's when it hit me, through this verse, G...

It's that time of the year again! We're saying goodbye to 2018 and looking expectantly at what looms ahead in 2019. By God's grace, I can testify that 2018 has been a wonderful year, with its trying moments, as well as its wonderful victories. This year I have laughed until my sides hurt, and wept sadly, I've felt anger and fear strike through me, but through all of this the Lord never left my side. Like many others I can tell you that God has been working on me through the years and I am very excited to see what He has planned in this coming year (even if I don't like it at first!) This Christmas and holiday season I've had the great pleasure of being able to spend quality time with friends and family, and I hope that you've had that joy as well! The beginning of a brand new year is a wonderful time, with the opportunity to look back at how wonderful the Lord has been, and to remember all those resolutions from the past year which may or may not be the...

In all honesty, only you can answer that question. I'll go straight to the point,  I've already made my choice (no, thanks) , but in the end, it's up to you. Let's go! The first thing we're going to do is look at the history behind Halloween. Before we do, I want you to be aware that the reason why we're looking at the history is not to bore you or creep you out! It's to see what events inspired the 'holiday' many celebrate. The word "Halloween" is a shortened version of "All Hallows Eve." Many rituals from "All Hallows Eve" come from the a Celtic celebration known as the Samhain. In a nutshell, the Celts believed that during this time the evil spirits would come out into the world along with the souls of the dead. As Christians we know that once people die, they either go to Heaven or Hell after the judgement. We can rest assured knowing that Jesus is protecting us every step of the way, but unfortunately the Cel...

Something that's really been hitting me recently is the necessity we have to pray and read the Bible everyday. Soon after we become new Christians we have this longing feeling to find out more. Surely there's more to this, isn't there? The answer to that question is yes, there is so much more. The thing is, to have a personal relationship with Jesus, you need to get to know him just as you would with any other person. Prayer and Bible reading go together like shampoo and conditioner. You can't have one without having the other. What happens if you only put shampoo on your hair? It cleans it, but it leaves it feeling dry and brittle. And if you only put conditioner on your hair, it leaves it feeling soft and smooth but it isn't truly clean. The same thing happens with Bible reading and prayer, like I stated before, "You can't have one without having the other." 📖  "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being ...