Sorry for the long interval between posts.  But I'm back! :-) I want to talk a little bit about being used by God.  As teenagers we're in this weird stage where we have finally started to take our faith and relationship with God seriously.  We've started to develop real and lasting relationships with people too.  But we're not sure if we're really at the stage where God can significantly use us.  Well I stand before you today telling you that He can!  A common thing we find is that we're too young to be used by God.  That is so untrue!  You are never to young to be used by God.  Daniel in the Bible was most likely a teenager when He started working in Nebuchadnezzar's court.  Mary, Jesus' mother, was also a teenager.  Joseph was a teenager when he was sold to Potiphar.  There are so many instances in Scripture where God used teenagers to carry out His will.  You are never too young to be used by God.
  You are also never to inadequate to be used by God either.  Each of us have been given gifts that God will use.  These gifts are important, and each one of you has them.  Don't make the mistake of thinking that you aren't important within God's kingdom.  He has given you gifts and abilities that are very important within His overall scheme of things.  And you're never too young to start using them.  So I encourage you to pray and ask God to reveal these gifts that He's given you.  I furthermore encourage you to ask God to put you in situations where you can use them for His glory and the benefit of others.  You've been given great gifts--I hope you realize that.  You are not just some nobody within the kingdom of God.  You are very important.  So I encourage you to seek to discover your gifts and use them.  Let me give you an example to help illustrate what I'm talking about.  Let's say you really enjoy helping people.  Then seek opportunities where you can really help people who are in need.  Whether that be babysitting for a couple who really need a break from the hassles of life.  Or cleaning gutters for a elderly couple.  There are so many things you can do with the gifts you have to show God's love to other people.  I hope you have a  good Christmas, as you reflect upon the greatest gift God has given you--His Son, Jesus. 

Happy Thanksgiving! There are many things I want to talk about in light of what today is about.  First, I just want to thank God for choosing to save me from the kingdom of darkness and an eternity without Him.  If it weren't for Him, I would be totally lost in this world.  Second I want to thank God for continually pulling me back on the right path when I stray.  He has made me who I am and it is only because of His grace that I am close to Him right now.  I also want to really thank Him for my family.  I LOVE FAMILY.  Mom, Dad, brothers, cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.  If you are not thankful for your family, sincerely ask God to change your perspective.  Contentedness and thankfulness are so important, especially contentedness about family.  They are such a blessing and such a gift.  Gifts are meant to be enjoyed and treasured, so enjoy you family and treasure them dearly.  Thank God everyday for the family He has placed you in.  This Thanksgiving (or even after Thanksgiving) I have a challenge for you.  Think of two things that you are specifically thankful for of each immediate family member (and don't be vague!).  Just two things, it shouldn't be very hard.  And, think of at least five things that you appreciate about each parent.  They sacrifice so much for you, thank them, and acknowledge the things that they do for you.  You have no idea how much it will bless your family members if you tell them some things that you a  And, as an added bonus, you may want to tell some of your friends the things you appreciate about them  Anyway, I hope that your Thanksgiving is/was good, and I hope you remain thankful the other 364 days out of the year!  Thank you for reading my blog! :-)

I want to talk for a second about the creation story.  In the beginning, God began an act of creation.  For six days He created everything you see here on earth, along with the rest of the universe.  Then, after He had created all of those things, He said, "Let us make man in our own image."  He then proceeded to form Adam out of the dust of the earth, and later He created Eve.  They were set apart from the rest of creation because they had something special.  They bore the image of God upon them.  God looked at them differently from the rest of creation.  He loved them specially, and interacted with them on a higher level.  He made humans his greatest creation.  After the fall, God's image that we share may have been tainted, but He still loves us more than any other creation.  He still interacts with us differently.  We are still His greatest creation. 
   Now, why am I telling you this?  Because, many times I think of myself as God's greatest creation (instead of humanity as a whole).  Now, have I ever really thought to myself that I'm personally God's greatest creation? No, but I live like it and think like it, and I'm not alone.  We, as fallen beings, many times get so caught up with ourselves and our problems and our image that we seldom see the importance of other people.  Being self-centered is a natural side-effect of the fall, and it can really damage our calling as Christians if self-centeredness pervades our lives. 
   The Gospel is a message to people.  Redemption though Jesus Christ is directed towards people.  And, for those of us who have been saved through His blood, people are a central part of our lives.  Just look at what the New Testament says to Christians.  It talks about two things basically: Our relationship with God, and our relationships with other people.  You can't do well in one without doing well in the other.  They are interrelated.  I'm studying the Middle Ages, which means that I read a lot about monks and escapists.  They had the idea that in order to grow in relationship with God, one must retreat from the world and go off by oneself, or in a small community of other like-minded people.  But they only experienced part of Christianity.  They didn't interact with non-Christians, so they couldn't spread the Gospel to the lost.  They only interacted with a handful of other believers, so they missed out on many opportunities to minister to others.  This isn't good. 
   There are also those who focus so much on people that they lose track of their relationship with God.  They may start to become people-pleasers, conforming themselves to the expectations of those around them.  And what starts to happen is that they lose the true meaning of love.  As they drift from God, they drift from true relationships with other people.  They lose true love of people, and people instead become instruments of their own satisfaction.  Obviously, this isn't good either.
    Neither of these produce true love of other people.  But we don't necessarily have to have one without the other.  As we foster a relationship with God, He will call us to minister to other people, and we need to be ready.  Too many times we are so caught up in ourselves that we miss out on opportunities to really bless people.  People are so important!  They are God's most important creation. 
   What are spiritual gifts?  They are Spirit-given abilities to minister to God's people.  He has placed us where we are for a reason.  He has placed us with certain people for a reason.  He expects us to love those people, befriend those people, and minister to those people.  God will use us in so many ways, if we are open to being used.  But many times we aren't, and it's sad. Truly loving others isn't in our nature.  We naturally do the opposite.  So it takes work and courage to step out and minister to others. 
   Many times God will want you to do something that seems awkward.  One time, I felt like God wanted me to talk to a random guy at the Atlanta airport.  After a few minutes of talking, I got the impression the guy wanted me to leave, so I did.  It was awkward, but maybe God used that for something.  I may never know, but at least I did it.  Sometimes an even harder thing is to spend time with someone who you don't like very much.  Maybe they get on your nerves, or maybe they are just kind of strange.  It can be hard to talk to them and may feel more like a waste of time than anything else (especially when you could be spending that time talking to your friends).  But it can be a real way to minister to that person.  I'm not saying that you should always sit next to that person and always talk to them, or whatever.  But most times it doesn't really cross out minds to do anything at all. 
   Does all this make sense?  I find that my natural tendency is to be self-centered, instead of thinking about the needs of others.  My natural tendency is to love the people who love me, instead of being loving (and showing love) to all.  My natural tendency is to talk to people who want to listen, instead of listening to those who want to talk.  Are you tracking with me?  I hope so, and I hope God will give you opportunities to love others like He loves you.  God bless!              

I want to share with you guys part of an email from a friend of mine.  This is what she said (I've left her name out so she won't be embarrassed):  "Please pray that the Lord would shine through me. I don't want people to be left with 'Oh wow, [person] is such a fun girl.' I want to leave them with the amazing Savior that saved me."  That really made me smile and thank God so much for that type of attitude expressed in a Christian teenager.  It's something that I've been struggling with ever since I can remember.  The idea that we should care more about Christ being glorified through us, rather than our own glorification.
   Self-centeredness is something that I struggle with a lot...and something that we struggle with as teenagers in general.  Many times we go into social situations with the intent to impress or get people to like us or make sure that people still like us.  We can find ourselves being people-pleasers in order to feel a sense of worth.  We find worth in our identity and too often we try to find our identity in how others feel about us.
   The problem lies in where we find our identity.  Instead of finding our identity in the image we present to people, we should find our identity in the Person who we were made in the image of.  Christ is who we should find our identity in.  Now, I know you all know this.  But, it is hard to live it out--trust me, I struggle with it every day.  You see, we naturally bend towards seeking to glorify ourselves.  We do this because we think that worth is found in other's opinions, or social significance.  When in reality, worth is found in the eyes of God!  God loves you oh so much, and He sent His Son to die for you.  And, through Christ's death, you have been transformed from death to life (and, in turn, have been given the ability to seek to glorify Him, instead of glorifying yourself).  And, because you now can find your worth in Christ, your striving to find glory among people is really quite meaningless.  You already have so much worth and significance in Christ! 
   This is why it made me so happy to read what my friend wrote.  We can now stop seeking to glorify ourselves, and start seeking Christ to be glorified through us.  We live not for the praise of man, but for the love of Christ.  This is a hard task, and one not easily accomplished (and even harder to make a lifestyle).  But never despair, because God will see your strivings to bring Him glory, and He will rejoice in them.  He will also help you grow more and more and will give you a desire more and more to glorify Christ.  I encourage you to examine your life for a second.  Pray that God would reveal to you your heart, and that He would help you to live a life that is focused on His glorification instead of your own.  He will help you.  Never be discouraged!  We live for a God who desires your all, but we also live for a God who will give you all the patience, love, mercy, and grace that He's got.  And trust me, it's never going to run out. :-)  God bless you!

I love family.  I've been coming to realize how great family is more and more.  Let's first talk about Evan.  Man, if you don't know him, you're missing out.  There were times when we got along great, and times when we didn't, but through it all he was so patient with me and loving towards me.  It's been sad to have him go away to Bryan, but it's been great that I get to see him at least once a week.  Last weekend I was up at Bryan for a visit and got to spend the night in the dorm with him.  It was really good to spend time with him (though for most of it he had to study, which was understandable).  But, I knew that I could talk to him whenever, and he would make the time to talk to me.  He's always ready to talk and always kind. 
   Then there's Benjamin.  He's just plain enjoyable to be around.  One thing I appreciate is that he is such a deep thinker and he struggles with many of the same things I do. Whenever I have a problem, I know that I can go to him and talk to him about it.  He is ready to give advice and share what's he's been dealing with if I ask him. 
  And then there's Mom and Dad who are pretty awesome.  They both really love God and have really helped me to grow spiritually.  Mom is always ready to serve me and help me, and Dad is ready to give me advice and make me think.  I can tell that they both really care about me, and it's so encouraging! 
   But let's not forget the cousins!  I had a really great hour-long talk with my cousin not too long ago.  Just catching up on things and sharing different things God is doing in our lives.  It is so great to have cousins who care about me and pray for me and are willing to talk to me.  Plus, my cousins are a ton of fun.  Some of the most fun times I have all year is family gatherings, especially at Grandmother and Granddad's house.  It's so much fun to be around these guys.  There is no need to put up an image; I can just be myself.  It's so great. 
   Your family is such a blessing.  God has given us families for a reason, and it is so important to cultivate relationships within your family.  Even if they aren't around, it's nice to know that they love you and are willing to talk to you.  And I encourage you to love your family as well, and to always be willing to talk to whatever family member that needs you.  Help them to love family too! :-)

Fall is in full swing now.  October ushered in my favorite season of the year, and November and early December will bring it to a close.  It may be short, but it sure is enjoyable.  I just love the crisp, clean air on my face.  I love the brilliant colors that the trees shout forth.  I love the cool breeze, and the early nights.  I love the apples that are now in harvest.  I love the crisp leaves that decorate the ground.  I just love fall!  God has truly created a world that is full of wonder and excitement.  I was looking at the mountains the other day, and silently prayed, "we praise an artist for painting a beautiful picture of nature, but You have done so much better."  I mean, what are the artist's trying to do anyway?  They're trying to copy what God has already made oh so beautiful.  I mean, look at those amazing colors!  Nature is beautiful when it's all green, but the changes to orange, yellow, and red make it even more breathtaking.  God has really blessed us with a great earth to live on.  He didn't have to give anything colors at all.  Or, He could have made everything one color.  But no.  He has introduced so much variety into his creation.  And He doesn't even stop at that.  Not only do we have some plants one color and some the other, we have those same plants changing colors once every year.  And not just plants, everything.  He created everything unique.  He even gave animals personalities!  If you don't believe me, spend a couple of minutes with my dog. :-)  God has truly blessed His people so much with such a wonderful creation.  Most of the time we take these things for granted, and it is sort of inevitable at some point, but how about you spend a couple of minutes (or longer!) outside, taking a look at the beauty around you and thanking God that He took the time to create this masterpiece that we can live in. 

   It's been a month since my last post, and within this past month I've earned a lot of experience.  Hence the title of my post.  For much of this past month Satan has really been attacking me.  Satan attacks in many different ways, and he tries to exploit our weaknesses.  One of my weaknesses is depression.  I don't think it's a clinical depression that I can take medicine for, but it's an emotional pit that I tend to fall into, especially when I'm alone.  I tend to have a very sensitive conscience, and Satan uses this to his advantage and my decrement.  Coupled with a tendency to become depressed, a bad mixture tends to be produced.  It's hard to explain, but Satan would continually bring me down to despair.  And you know how he would do it?  He would lie to me.  He would tell me that other people don't care.  He would tell me that God really doesn't know what's best for me.  He would tell me that I keep sinning and that God isn't pleased with me. 
    ALL LIES.  But subtle lies.  Many times, I would begin to fall for them too, leading me into more of a depressive state, but God would pull me back.  How?  By helping me to realize the truth.  I went back to scripture.  I know that everything that happens to me God will work out for the best.  I know that God is pleased with me, not because I am righteous, but because He is pleased with Christ ("behold, my Son with whom I am well pleased).  And we have been covered with His Son's blood.  God is pleased with me; He is not condemning of me.  "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ."  However, when I sin, God is not pleased with my actions.  But there is no need to despair, for:  "If we are faithful and just to confess our sin God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  THIS IS TRUTH.  I knew the truth, and it set me free.    God pulled me out of Satan's traps, helping me to see the truth.  But even though it seems so easy to resist Satan in this area, it is so hard.  We know the truth, but rarely do we apply it.  Rarely does our faith match our knowledge.  And I find myself drifting back into that condemning, depressive state time and time again.  Why?  I know the truth, but I need to hear it over and over and over again.  I realize this now.  But I also realize more the tactics that Satan is trying to use against me.  I hope and pray that God will give me the strength to withstand Satan's attacks.  Sometimes I fell like I am attacked from every side by Satan's fiery darts.  During these times I must remember that God is our Mighty Fortress and an ever-present help in times of trouble.  This is the truth.  Don't be deceived by the Deceiver.  Know the truth.  Apply the truth.  Pray that your faith will match you knowledge.  All in all, it hasn't been the easiest month in my life, but it's been a very good month for me.  I feel like I have grown a lot this past month. And I'm glad I get to share it with you guys!     

   Tomorrow will mark the year anniversary of this website.  Wow, time has really flown by, hasn't it?  This website was dedicated to keeping you informed on what God has been teaching me, in the hope that it would help you along in your spiritual journey.  And boy has my life been a journey this past year.  There are so many things that God has taught me this year, many of which never made it on this blog.  Many of which, sadly, haven't resonated in my memory.  But, I can be sure that the Holy Spirit really has been moving me and sanctifying me.  God has taught me so many things about Himself, and so many things about me.  He has shown me areas of weakness, and He has helped me overcome them.  He has helped me to be more focused in my relationship with Him (truly striving to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever).  He has shown me time and time again that I'm not perfect.  And He has shown me time and time again that He is patient.  He has shown me time and time again that I have a long way to go in my spiritual development.  And He has shown me that He will be there with me every step of the way.
     God has done so much in my life this past year, and I am so glad that some of that I could share with you on this blog.  I don't think our relationship with God is meant to just be private.  I think it's important to share with others the work that God has done in our lives.  It strengthens faith, to see the active work of God.  It encourages those who are struggling, to know that God sees all and will not only be patient with us, but will help us too.  It challenges those who don't take the Christian life seriously, to see how serious it really is.  And, most of all, it gives God the glory He deserves for the work that He is doing in each believer's life.  And, though God is sovereign, and though He is the one who works, He has still given us a part to play. 
   God is continually teaching His people, through His Word, through circumstances, and through other people.  God is ready to teach, but we must be willing to be taught.  I don't understand how it works, but God puts much emphasis on our listening to Him.  On a part that we play.  The Holy Spirit is continually working in our lives, but if you continue to resist His work, He will stop.  1 Thessalonians 5:19 warns us, "Do not quench the Spirit."  Please be willing to be taught and moved by God.  Have you committed your life to His service?  Have you really given your life to Him to do with as He pleases?  We use words and phrases like crucifying the flesh; committing your life to God; dying to self; giving God control of our life.  But what does that mean?  It means "not my will but Yours be done."  It means obedience.  It means being willing to accept whatever correction God gives you. 
   We are running a race, and that means a lot of work on our part, but thankfully God is there pushing us forward, and giving us the endurance we need. I hope you have been encouraged and challenged by what I've been saying, and by this blog in general.  I hope you've more and more come to realize the great love our God has for us, and the great ways He has demonstrated that in the lives of His people.  If you don't come away from this blog with anything else, please come away with this one thing: God loves you, and it is a love that will never let you go.       

As the title correctly states, I've found there is a great necessity in the repetition of religious truths.  All of you guys are so blessed to have grown up in Christian homes with a lot of Christian teaching.  We know our Bibles pretty well, and we know how we're supposed to act as Christians.  We know we're supposed to put our faith in Jesus, and we know that we're supposed to make God #1 in our lives.  We know we're not supposed to sin, and we know we'll be forgiven if we do.  We know we're supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves, and we know we need to "make disciples of all nations."  We know these things, and it's terrific!  But, there are so many times in my life when they just don't sink in. 
   Here's an example.  Since my early childhood, I knew that the catechism said, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."   But you know what?  It wasn't until this summer that I really saw the application of it for my life.  I finally realized that I need to stop trying to glorify myself, and put my focus on glorifying God.  I realized that I need to stop trying to seek satisfaction and ultimate enjoyment from created things, and start seeking it from God.  It took a long time for that one truth to sink in and start doing something in my life.  I needed that repetition.
   Have you ever noticed that Jesus seemed to repeat Himself a lot?  I think there are several reasons for this, but one reason is because He knew that it would take a lot of saying the same things for it to sink in.  We humans have very short memories. :-)  In one ear and out the other.  I've found that there are so many things that I've been taught that I forget and don't apply.  Thankfully God is really patient with me! :-)  It can be so good to continue to be taught the same truths over and over again for it to sink in.  Sometimes, I get annoyed with preachers who are really shallow and focus on the most basic principle of a text.  But, even though I already know what he's saying, I fail to follow it sometimes!  This isn't a surprise, because as humans we tend to need a lot of time to fix a problem.  But, God is ever so patient and He is continuing to work in our lives to help us.  When you find that God has revealed a problem in your life, but you continue to slip up.  Don't get discouraged.  God will help us through it all.  But remember, that when you see someone else who keeps slipping up over and over again...be patient with them.  Don't expect people to learn right away--the disciples sure didn't.  How many times did Jesus tell them He was the Christ?  And that He would die?  And they never really got it until after the crucifixion.  Be patient as Christ is patient.  I hope this gives you a better appreciation for God's patience and the importance of repetition! :-)

Okay, so we all know that we're supposed to love one another.  We're told in Scripture to love one another.  To love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  We're told that what we do to the least of people we do for Christ.  We're told to look after the interests of others (Phil. 2).  We're told to be a servant as Christ was a servant.  But what does that mean, and what does it look like?  I've talked many times on this blog about my own self-centered attitude.  And, all of us teenagers have to fight the natural tendency to think only for ourselves.  It's good to see when a teenager realizes this and strives not to be so self-centered. But, I want to see more!  We've got so many opportunities to minister to people (and be ministered to) but many times we don't take the opportunity. 
   Let me explain to you what I'm thinking about.  The teenage years are a great time of spiritual development for the Christian.  I've seen how God has really taken my life (and the lives of many of my friends) and turned it into a life that is focused on Him.  Why is this?  It's because the person we are as a teenager will most likely be the person as an adult.  These teenage years are the time that shapes us into the person we will be for the rest of our life!  Now, not to say that God will stop teaching and growing us--for He will continue to bring us to maturity--but these years are so critical to our growth as a Christian.  And the time when habits form.  Honestly, when I look around at Christian teens, I don't see a whole lot of love.  Now, what do I mean by love?  I don't just mean saying nice things and laughing at peoples jokes.  I don't just mean kindness.  I see a whole lot of kindness, and that's great!  Kindness is a great aspect of love.  But there's more to love than that.  I don't see a lot of teenagers striving to really minister to the needs of other teens.  Where are the people who will go to you when they see a problem in your life that needs fixing?  Many times what can hold us back is other's opinions of us.  Do we even pay enough attention to notice what other people are doing? 
   Where are those who will go out of their way to talk and spend time with those who aren't that socially adept?  I fail at this a lot.  Sometimes it's really awkward and hard to spend considerable time talking to those people who just aren't good at talking.  They're shy or awkward, and it's really not fun to be around them...but not many people are around them.  I'd rather be with other people!  But, think of how Jesus felt with His disciples.  These guys weren't exactly the cream of the crop.  I'm sure it was hard to be around them and talk to them (especially cause it took them forever to understand some of His teaching).  But He loved them and cherished His times with them.  He reached out to them and was patient with them.  Bu, so many times we don't want to sacrifice our time and energy to be with those type of people. 
   Where are the people who will ask their friends how they're doing and actually mean it?  Who will come along side someone when they are hurting and help them.  Who will pray for their friends who need prayer and help.  Again, it can be hard.  Especially because this is a time in our lives where we need so much help of our own, that it's hard to try to help someone else.  I mean, it's not like we have all the answers anyway, right?  But, sometimes people don't need all the answers, they just need people to come along side them and talk to them and who will pray for them.  But this also means that we need people who are willing to open up.  I realize that it's hard to do help someone when they won't actually tell you how they're doing.  I'm not saying that every teenager should open to their friends when they're hurting.  Many times it is our parents who are the best to open up to with our personal problems.  But, part of a real friendship is to bear one another's burdens, and how can we do that when we don't share them?!  So, it's important for teenagers to be willing to bear another's burden and to especially pray for them in their need.  It's also important to be willing to share your burdens if you see it appropriate to do so.  Even if it's just to ask for prayer.  Having many people praying for you is a great thing. 
   So, I know these things may have sounded a little heavy, but I think it's important.  I think that we Christian teenagers can take a whole lot more responsibility than we tend to do.  Let's stop just being nice to people, and seek to serve them and meet their needs.  It's never too early to start the habits of loving one another.  Pray about this and ask the Lord to show you ways that you can love the other teenagers around you.  May God bless you in your efforts to be vessels of God's mercy to His people.