He wanted to show me something

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me - Phillipians 4:13"

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I could move to England and buy any house I wanted.
I don't really want to move to England anyway so I don't care if I get a dollar every time. But we have all heard this a lot.
It's a good thing to hear.
I know that there are a lot of things in our lives which we couldn't do without Christ.
For example:

• Staying content when your best friend moves away.
• Watching a family member fight an illness.
• Trying to raise money for a charity
  

• Helping someone out of depression, addiction.

Those are just a couple examples. There are things all around me everyday that I can see Christ had to be behind it.
But there are some things I do or see someone do which seem so simple.
Something anyone can do. No need for help.
Really? How many people need help getting out of the bed in the morning? Drinking water. Chewing gum?
Or standing in line at the store?
Well, apparently I do.
I was standing in line at a popular grocery store in our town. It's right across from a highschool and the school had just gotten out so the store was packed full of highschoolers.
So there I was standing in line. Minding my own business. Trying to think of a good subject for a paper I was going to be writing soon. I reached into my purse and started to rub my chapstick on my lips. That was when I noticed three guys ahead of me laughing. Pretty soon a couple girls joined in the laughter and started whispering to their friends and pointing at me. I looked down to where they were pointing and noticed to my horror that I wasn't holding chapstick. I was really rubbing a tampon my lips.
I didn't know what to do.
I shoved the tampon back into my purse and wanted to run away and never come back.
The laughing continued and I wanted to die. Right then and there.
I didn't care if people had to step over my dead body to go to the cashier.
I wanted to be gone.
But I just continued to stand in line. After what seemed like an hour, I had made my purchase and was walking outside.
"HOW THE HACK DID I DO THAT?" I thought?
"No one else seems to have a problem with standing in line"
It was a huge hit to my ego to say the least.
And it has made me realize. I am nothing. Can do nothing. Without Christ.
Once again I had let myself believe the lie that I could do anything good or right by myself.
I can't stand in line by myself. How pathetic.
What an embarrassing way to learn a lesson.
But I guess God really wanted me to learn that lesson.
I know accept that fact that I can do nothing without God.
And I think that the sooner we realize that, the more we will be able to do. With Christ.

But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride.

--Jeremiah 13:17

I hate pride. It’s a disease. Everyone has it, but some have it worse than others. It makes hypocrites of Christians. It ruins relationships. It makes ordinary people ridiculous. It robs us of the ability to be in the wrong. Or worse, we apologize because we’re not one of those people who can’t say sorry.

Pride is hard to diagnose because it can masquerade as anything. Pride can cure other illnesses, like laziness, dishonesty, and immorality; but it has lethal side effects. It drives you away from God. “A proud man is always looking down on things and people,” writes C. S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, “and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.”

The best, most beautiful angel, who was second only to Jesus, was thrown out of heaven because of pride.

It’s heartbreaking that young people, especially Christian young people, are the proudest of all. I know because I am one. At this point, you’re probably expecting me to tell you that I once was proud, but now I see! Unfortunately, that is not true. I have a severe case of pride. Now the question is, how proud are you?

One Sunday School lesson still sticks with me. We had a multiple choice “test” to fill out. I have re-created the idea behind it below to use in the context of pride.

Are you proud?
a. No, I’m trying to be humble
b. Yes
c. Very proud

Why do you go to church?
a. God says to
b. To hang out with friends, what else?
c. To act religious

Do you compete with those around you?
a. Yes, I strive to be better and better!
b. Yeah, but I never am the best.
c. No

Do you care what other people think about you?
a. No. I am a confident person and other people’s opinions don’t matter.
b. Yes, I like compliments and praise
c. Only the people who count

When you have to speak/perform in front of an audience, small or large, how nervous are you?
a. Really, really nervous.
b. Somewhat nervous.
c. Not much

Before you read on, if you want to do the test, do it now, because it doesn’t work if you know how it’s graded. “a” answers mean you are very proud. “b” means you are less proud. “c” answers would be not very proud.

The best writing on pride is by C. S. Lewis. There is a whole chapter on pride, which Lewis calls “The Great Sin”, in Mere Christianity.

If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realise that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, you are very conceited indeed.--C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I asked some friends a few questions on humility.

Abby says: The definition of humility to me is: having the attitude of Christ; setting aside my self and pouring out my life for others. That's a hard word to define because it's a balance. A quote I love is "A saint is never consciously a saint, a saint is consciously dependent on God."- Oswald Chambers. I think that's the perfect picture of humility. We cannot be "Humble and proud of it" as many people's attitudes say.

Jessica says: I think that right now the best way that I've been able to deal with [pride] is think about whatever I want to get credit for...compared to Jesus or His sacrifice for us. Like even if I do the smallest thing...and I want to be prideful about it I think about that little sacrifice compared to Jesus' sacrifice for us. It seems like nothing and it makes me want to do more for Jesus.

Thank you Jessica and Abby for your time and thoughts!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

"God is faithful". We hear it all the time. We sing "Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, there is no shadow of turning with Thee, Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not, as Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be". When someone is going through a rough time, we assure them that God "will be faithful".

However, it never ceases to amaze me when I truly sit and think about the concept of God being faithful to us--as if we deserve His faithfulness! God should be the one worrying about us not being faithful. We have never given Him a shred of a reason to stay by our sides--but like Hosea with Gomer, dispite all our whorings, He always welcomes us back. This concept blows my mind sometimes...

In His Word, Christ constantly goes out of His way to assure us that He will never leave us or forsake us. I suppose He knew just how often we would need to hear that when He said it... And every time I remember it, I am comforted to know that, just as unfaithful as I am all the time, God is abundantly that many times more faithful, and willing to forgive.

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, he will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end.

All I have need of His Hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me.

So I'm going to College

Everyone asks me if I'm excited to begin my freshman year at Covenant College. That must be the emotion one is supposed to have when one leaves home. It doesn't begin to describe what I feel, though. Disorganized, nervous, frightened, unprepared, eager. It is easy to forget what the point of it all is. This video, besides being strangely comforting, points us back to the purpose of life.

Dream Big

FREEZE! OK, now that I have your complete attention I want you to take five minutes and get a piece of paper. On one side of the piece of paper I want you to write a dream of yours that you think will never come true, such as becoming a rock star. Whatever the dream, no matter how ridiculous, write it down. On the other side of the paper write something that you want to do in the future, such as a dream. For some it may be becoming a lawyer or doctor. This dream is the realistic dream that you are planning on making come true. Alright, I'll share with you what I wrote down.

Side 1- Rock Star

Side 2- Run a teenage home for girls, be the youngest person to preach at my youth group, be the youngest small group leader at my youth group, be the youngest speaker at Generation Conference, become a wife and mother.

What you wrote on one side of the piece of paper is pretty much just for fun. Like being a rock star--if God has called you to that, it's not a bad thing! It's just not what God wants me to do. God wants me to do all those things that I wrote down. And everything I wrote on the other side of the piece of paper, besides the first goal, is a testimony that it doesn't matter what age you are, you can do great things for Christ, if it's in God's will. Oh, and except the last one. Being a wife and mother you don't want to rush at all! Again, all of these things that are goals in my life are God-given and reasonable goals. We can't do everything and we don't have to. Let God show you what He wants you to do for your life specifically. Don't try to complete someone else's goals or reach theirs. The only thing you have to do is what God has called you to do.

As you can see I wrote down five things I want to do in the future. My dreams. My goals. My ambitions. My main dream is to run a teenage home for girls. That would include being able to preach sermons and work with teenage girls well. Think, again, about your dream. Your realistic one that you wrote down. My big question for you is, what are you doing now to achieve those goals later? Let me elaborate. I'm not just going to wake up one day and be married to Prince Charming, just as much as I'm not going to to wake up one day pregnant, or with a baby. Obviously. I'm going have to protect my heart, date or court, and finally, in God's perfect will, get engaged. And then I have to plan a wedding and get married. It takes work and time. To further elaborate, I want to be a good wife and mother. I can build strong friendships with the other guys in my youth group now and volunteer to help with Sunday school to become that good wife and mother later. I'm preparing now for what God has for me later.

On another note, are you dreaming high enough? Generation Conference is a big, let me say that again, BIG conference. Thousands of teens from all over the northeast region come for this conference. Plus, they already had a 17-year-old preach last year. I'm 14, so I have about 3 years to prove myself able to preach at this conference. That's a big goal. I can't do it by myself. But, I can do it with God. If you're aiming to just get by in school then you're not aiming high enough. Aim to get a scholarship or become valedictorian of your class!

Just a tip: sometimes even if you aim big, pray a lot, and work hard you still might fail. Your efforts might fall short. But one thing you need to keep in mind is just because you fail does not mean that you are a failure! In the Bible it says that we should forgive others not just 7 times but 70 times 7. That's 490 times! What would happen, how could we change the world, if we applied that same principle here? How many times have you guys tried something again if you failed? Did you try again 490 times? Or on that note, did you even try again 7 times? Even once? Keep trying! Keep getting up and keep going! Dream big! Aim big! Do Big things! But another note, in the words of a very wise woman “Don't get so caught up the future that you miss out what God has for you today!” - Donna Lasit.

Guest Post by Jessica O.

False or True?

Though the arrogant smear me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. --Psalm 119:69

Every day we are flooded with lies from everywhere. The media, people, TV, movies, everywhere! How is a christian to deal with the constant false messages and lies we are being told everyday? Well, I have a pretty good action plan on how to deal with it all.

Step One: Decide what sources of media and entertainment attack you the most. For guys it might be watching a TV show on a certain channel that they know will have bad commercials on it. For girls, it might be avoiding those cosmetic or skin care commercials that say, "Sure, you're beautiful, but you could be even more beautiful for $19.95!" It's different for everyone. Figure out what lies you are being told that are attacking your relationship with the Lord.

Step Two: Choose to avoid those big things you just thought of altogether. Taking these things out of your mind, ears, eyes, and heart will make your relationship with God better and stronger. Who knows, it might just make your life easier.

Step Three: Sadly, in the world we live in today, we can't avoid all media and entertainment that are bad for us, but there is hope! Thus, step three is keep your eyes focused on Jesus, you're less susceptible to lies when you're thinking about Jesus' truth. It doesn't mean that you are going to think about Jesus all day every day, but try thinking about meaningful things instead of the normal "teenage stuff" like cell phones and prom. Precepts is another word for laws. So when you see those commercials or advertisements think about it through Jesus' eyes and what His Word says about it. Plus, this will help you to defend your faith on this topic. When you know what God's Word says about the things of the world and live by it then you will have favor with God!

Step Four: Just in case some of you feel super overwhelmed or messed up with this sort of stuff and are tired of hearing all the lies, I would suggest getting some accountability from an older, wiser person in your life such as a parent or youth leader.

I hope these tips help. I'm still struggling myself about these sorts of things but it's a great character quality to be able to distinguish truth from lies and I know you all can do it!

Guest Post by Jessica O.

The Louisville Conference--My Pictures

Since I live in Kentucky, I went to the first Rebelution conference with some friends last week. It was definitely worth waking up at 4:30, the three hour car trip, and painfully eating a sandwich with a mouth recently deprived of wisdom teeth that no longer opens wide enough to eat a sandwich. I will spare you the gory details. Better things: I took pictures!

A Life to Die For

I read Do Hard Things for the first time one year ago. I thought "This is great! This is what was missing in my life! This will give me the passion and purpose I want! Life is going to be different from now on." What I thought was wrong.

It did not give me the kind of life that I longed for.

It did not give me an all-consuming passion.

I was focused on the wrong things. Even though Alex and Brett say that the point of doing hard things is to glorify God, I was really a Rebelutionary because it brought glory to me. And that was wrong, and that is why it did not give me purpose. I thought that we were created to do hard things, but that is an error. We are created to glorify God, which might involve doing hard things.

What was missing was a passion for God. No amount of doing very hard things can replace a passion for the living God.

Q: What is the chief end [purpose] of Man?
A: To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

This is the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. It is memorized by tots who just learned to talk. I have known the words for years, but I didn't really understand what it meant to glorify God, or what the word actually means. It sounds like something only angels can do, doesn't it? John Piper explained this in his book Don't Waste Your Life. I am so thankful that my church gave this book to me as a graduation gift last week. Piper writes that:

"Enjoying God supremely is one way to glorify him. Enjoying God makes him look supremely valuable."

"God's purpose for my life was that I have a passion for God's glory and that I have a passion for my joy in that glory, and that these two are one passion. "

"The world [or even DHT] is no longer our treasure. It's not the source of our life or our satisfaction or our joy. Christ is."

Furthermore:

"God created me--and you--to live with a single, all-transforming passion--namely a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life."

Piper explains that to glorify God is like to magnify God, but not like a microscope making something small look big, but like a telescope making something huge and beautiful look the way it really is.

Read Don't Waste Your Life. It is possible to be a Rebelutionary and still waste your life, no matter how many hard things you do. It is meaningless to be focused on what we can do for Christ. It is fully satisfying to be so focused on the cross and passionate about God that that love and passion transforms everything we do. Then, God is glorified. That is a life to die for.

"... If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it." Mark 8, 34-35

I am only one, but I am one.

I am only one, but I am one.
I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
And what I can do I ought to do.
And what I ought to do, by the grace of God,
I shall do.

-E. E. Hale

Bloom!: When Bigger Isn't Better

Isn't it great how sometimes you're thinking or praying about something, and you find someone else who is going through the exact same thing? I found an excellent post from Bloom! blog. The first two paragraphs almost exactly describe my life and the way I feel right now; small, useless, wanting "big things" instead of "little things." Megan points out that, for the first thirty years of His life, Jesus did not do big things. So who am I to be impatient and discontent with my lot?

Bloom!'s purpose is to "encourage, inspire, and support girls on their journey towards a radical, gospel-centered, world-altering, Biblical womanhood." These Rebelutionaries publish an excellent magazine besides their blog, which I love reading. If you aren't already reading Bloom!, I highly recommend subscribing.