Where are you going? How are you "driving" there?

Okay today we are going to talk about two different ways to drive. I want you to answer these next two questions and decide which type of driver you lean towards being the most. When you get in the car, do you always know exactly where you are going? < OR > Sometimes do you decide that you just want to jump in the car and drive around?  There are postive and negatives to both types of drives. If you are always knowing where you are going and how you are going to get there, some people might think that they are missing out on adventure. While if you just jump into the car and drive around you might be seeing some great things here and there, but you might not be accomplishing something in the end.

I'm going to take these types of driving and try to look at them in a spiritual aspect. I think that the first way to drive would represent a Christian's life. A Christian knows where they are going (Heaven) and they know what are they doing (sharing Jesus). A Christian has a purpose in life and has a set out course, and we have the tools (the Bible) to drive down the right path. We have things to do, and we are focused on what is right ahead on the road. As a Christian your road might curve and twist, but in the end for Christians all the different roads end up at the same place.

For somebody who doesn't know Christ, everyday might seem like a drive that has no everlasting goal. People in general have short time goals, but nothing is ever set in stone. Things change and not everybody will end up at same place at the end of their road. Everyone will have accomplished different things because they had different goals, and they weren't united by a Savior.

My point is what type of drive are you taking? Are you just driving and making it to the end of the day? Or are you driving towards Christ, and the life He has for you! Be different, identify where you are today and make sure your destination is set in stone.

What will be Remembered?

"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." - Carl Buechner

      I absolutely love this quote! This is so true, because I can remember the way people have made me feel (good or bad) a lot longer than I am able to remember the exact words that they spoke. As people we really need to consider this daily, because if you simply give a stranger a dirty look it could hurt their feelings. My grandma taught me to smile at someone, and that it could possibly make a difference in their day. I know that I feel really good after a stranger performs a random act of kindness towards me. God wants us to love others and when we love relatives, friends, and strangers what we did is something that could stick with them for the rest of their lives. I love to recall all the nice things that people have done for me, because it reminds me of how loved I am. This quote reminds me of a story in the bible. “The Feeding of the Five Thousand” is about how a little boy gave up his lunch, Jesus prayed over it, and the food multiplied to feed five thousand people. In the bible it doesn't say what the boy said, but it did mention his act of kindness. Although we don't know his name he will always be remembered for what he sacrificed. Without that act of service, we wouldn't have the story "The Feeding of the Five Thousand." See God will use your actions! Let God be your focus of life and maybe you will be remembered for your acts of love.

Family

I am so blessed to have the family that God gave me. I love my family so much and I have enjoyed facing the ups and downs of my life with these special people. Family is very important and many people in this day and age don't understand that. I know some people have hard family lives and this may be more difficult for you, but with Christ we can love all people who have done us wrong.

Some teens believe that being a teenager means becoming rebellious and violent, but that's not what needs to be expected of a child of the King. I want people to know that you can rely on your family (this applies to most families but not all, sadly) and you should because God knows you, completely and wholly. God placed your parents in your life for a reason, and if they're Christians they are there to encourage and lead you to Christ. Some kids have parents that aren't Christians but God still has put them in your life for a reason, maybe so that you (as a child) can minister and lead them to Christ by your example.

Try to draw closer to your family, because they are the people that you have been blessed to be stuck with for the rest of your life! Your family will stick with you through thick and thin. My mom is seriously my best friend and we have an awesome relationship. There have been times in my life where we haven't understood each other or even gotten along but that was just part of the growing process. Your parents and siblings are going to make mistakes and hurt your feelings (just like you do theirs), but you have to know that you need to forgive them like Christ forgave us and died on Calvary. I hope this encourages you to draw closer to your family. May God bless you, and help you to draw closer to your family!

The Translation of the Dream I Had Last Night

     There was a race taking taking place. It was a pair race and the course was very long. There were 4 different groups running this long race. The groups started the race at different times, and they were let out slowest to fastest. The slowest group of runners were let out at the first shot. They started to run, run, and run some more. After the first mile they started to jog and when they hit the second mile they decided to sit down and rest for awhile. The second group dashed off when the second shot hit the air like an arrow piercing a target. They began to run hard but grew tired at the mile and a half point, so they decided to stop at the two mile point and play the game soccer with the other team that was ahead of them. The second team thought ,"Well these were the only people ahead of us and they stopped, so we might as well play a game with them because when we see the other team coming we will be able to outrun them." Team 1 and 2 began to play and they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Team 3 were able to start the race at the sound of the third shot. They sprinted down the road and they soon found themselves feeling exhausted. They passed team 1 and 2 quite quickly because they had been sprinting but not soon after they passed the other two teams they sat down to take a break and play cards. They thought that since they had passed the other teams and that they were resting instead of playing they would be able to beat the fourth team when they saw them coming up the road. After awhile the fourth gun shot was heard and that let team number 4 know that it was their turn to start running. They started out with a good pace, something in between a sprint and a jog. They ran and did not stop, and soon they were able to pass the first and second team who were playing a soccer game. They were starting to feel the strain on their legs but they had both agreed beforehand that they would not give up no matter what obstacles they had to face. They began to come upon the third team, who was playing a game of cards. The third team started to run as fast as they could but they were no match for the fourth team, even though they had even rested. They fourth team was humble and did not scream taunts at the slower team, although they were starting to outrun them. The fourth team were the ones who ran strong and hard throughout the whole race and in the end they were the ones who won the race!

      The point of the story/dream is that you can be succesful in a race when you continue to run. God has given us the Bible as a tool to help us throughout life. When you trust in God and follow His footsteps and become fully dependable on Him, He will help you to finish the race. We all have our different ideas on what a race looks like in our lives. When we depend on ourselves we will want to give up and play a game instead of finishing the task at hand. The fourth team that won, did not win just because they were the fastest runners but because they relied on the promise they had made to each other to not stop. When we accept God into our lives, we promise Him that He can reign in us. When we make this promise to God we need to follow our word and allow Him to live in us. When you make a promise you need to keep it. When you trust in God you need to trust Him even when you can't see what is at the end of the road in your race. Allow God to help you run the race that is at hand.

Growing Up and Down

     As kids and teenagers, we always say, "I can't wait until I'm older." We focus on when we can change our age and people will look at us differently. We hope that this year, maybe just maybe we have gotten to the age that people won't hear our age and say, "You're that young!!" We want people to hear our ideas and our opinions and accept them. We want to feel like we belong and that people enjoy being around us. When we are a kid we think life will be so perfect when I'm older because I will be free and independent.

     When you become an adult, all you want is for someone to say that you look younger than you really are. In becoming an adult, you have gotten older (obviously) and been placed in multiple situations that you have to overcome. Adults dread becoming 70 or above because that is the age where your voice really starts to become lower. Your voice become lower because often times the younger generation thinks that older people don't know what they are talking about because they weren't even born in the current generation. Adults sometimes just want to go back to the times that they were kids because they feel that life was so simple and easy because they just got handed everything and there were no bills to pay.

     When you are a kid/teenager you can't fully comprehend what adult life is like because you haven't been able to experience it yet. Also when adults wish they could become younger they tend to push away all the memories of all the hard things they had to overcome or they make the trials they went through seem simple compared to the ones they are dealing with right now.

     The fact is we all need to understand that God wants us right where we are at the exact age that we are right now. God has made you a child to minister to your friends by playing with them and sharing and maybe you can show them Jesus' love through your acts of kindness. God has made you a teenager to be humble but yet bold. Be bold in your faith don't be ashamed of Jesus Christ. Examples speak louder than Words is my motto. Show your friends that you are a true follower of Christ by not becoming involved in sinful acts. Stand up against the crowd and people will notice you and want to know what makes you stand against the flow. Some people will mock you for going against what they are doing but others will admire you for standing up even when you are ridiculed.

     God has made you an adult because He has an awesome plan for you that could not have been accomplished if you were a child or even a teenager. God wants you adults to be ultimate examples for Christ. Children and teens pay attention to adults. They pay attention to what you wear, how you act, and how you love others. They watch adults all the time and once they find an adult they think is a good remodel for them, they begin studying their actions and place themselves in your shoes and try and consider what they would do in your situation. Teenagers and kids do not want to be you but they want to be like you if you're following Christ. If you are following Christ wholeheartedly there is no better remodel to follow than you. When life hits you hard don't throw in the towel, but be an example for your brothers and sisters in Christ. When you hit a point in your life where you are suffering, that's when you are handed a megaphone. You can either curse God with your megaphone and discourage people from doing the right thing or you can say I know I have troubles right now but through these troubles God is preparing me for something else. God has a plan for you! Trust Him and when you have your megaphone make sure you are speaking the right message!

The Parking Spot

     One day when we were in the McKinney area, mom and I decided that we would go get our favorite drink from Quick Trip. When we first pulled up, I looked over to the right and there was this HUGE truck shading us from the sun. We went in to get our black cherry smoothie drink (it is one of the best drinks ever), but that is beside the point. When I walked back to the car and went to sit down, I felt the heat beating down upon me. I looked over to the right and I noticed that there was a tiny car there. It looked like a bug in comparison to the huge truck that was in the same parking spot a couple of minutes ago.

     I know you’re probably thinking, “Okay, the car changed so what?” Well let’s try to relate this to our lives, friendship wise. We parked in our life parking spot, and the people on either side of us are our close “friends”. The fact is when you mature and get older your friends are going to change. Also some friends that you have may be good Christian influences and strengthen you in your faith. They might help protect and support you, just like the huge truck blocked me from the sun. Your Christian friend might have to move away and you become close to another person who is not a good influence on you, and they allow the sun to hit you with its full force. Whenever you allow people to be your friend make sure that if they are not a Christian that you are the one influencing them, and not allowing them to influence you.

     The point is God allows different kinds of people to be a part of our lives. We might have friends who are awesome and block the sun for us, and yet we need to understand that we might have to step up and be a good Christian role model and block the sun for someone else. Don’t be discouraged if friendships don’t work out or you draw apart from each other because that might be God saying, “I need you to focus on this person who needs a friend at this moment, someone who needs you to block the sun.”

Romans 8:28 “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.”

     God will use you to be a witness, and He wants the best for you. Trust Him to give you the friends that you need to have at this moment.  

Matthew 6: 25-27 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

     Don’t worry about who your friends are or who they are going to be. God wants you to trust Him and don’t worry, because when you worry Satan is distracting you from the awesome plan that God has for you! Trust in God and He will provide for you!

 

Love Part 2

      In today's culture we say things like: "I love my new phone!" The term "love" has been stripped of its true meaning and purpose. Would you die for your phone? Love is not just an emotion, or a joy ride. Love is sacrifice. Love is work. Love is not simply gained. Love is serious. Love is important.
      God allowed his son Jesus to die for all of the sins that you and I have committed. That is the upmost example of love and sacrifice. Love is a lifestyle. My mother loves me and cares for me, but at times she hasn't always liked me. She doesn't just give up on me because I haven't been obedient or respectful, at times. She sticks through it, and loves me with the love of Jesus. If she followed the world's definition of love - she would have said," Well my child's being a brat so I don't want her anymore." She loves me the way Jesus loves the world. She sticks beside me through thick and thin, and I don't always deserve her love but she has never stopped loving me.
      Often in marriages, one of the partners gets upset with the other and begins to doubt how they had ever begun to love their spouse. In those relationships, often times the outcome is divorce. Divorce is not something that needs to be sugar coated and accepted in our culture. Divorce is terrible and it hurts everyone involved. Most people (not all people) involved in divorce don't see "love" as being a lifestyle. They see love as: someone making them happy, giving them things, or making them feel good about themselves. Love is so much more than that.
      Strive to love others with not the world's love but Jesus’ love!

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 - Talks about how we cannot fully serve God or be successful in life, if we don't have love.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a - Talks about the awesome characteristics of love.

Look up these two verses and LOVE with Jesus’ love!! God bless you. God loves you and wants you to accept His awesome love!