Proud Momma

I have to brag on my eGroup girls for a moment. I am so proud of each and every one of them. They are asking God to script their love story, inviting friends to church, volunteering in their sweet spot, and seeking time with God on a daily basis despite basketball, cheerleading and homework.

Once a month, I like to brag on one girl who is going above and beyond in eGroup. I pick out someone who comes to eGroup prepared, seeks out opportunities to spread God's word, and is making time for God even though they have a busy schedule. This monthly series is titled Proud Momma.

Katelyn has gone above and beyond week after in every avenue of her life. She plays volleyball, swims, and volunteers in eKidz. Katelyn joined our eGroup in February. We were already several chapters into when God writes your love story but that didn't stop her. She made time to catch up to where we were. She always comes to eGroup prepared.

Recently, the eGroup went through "Followers of God: Hunger Games". Hunger as in hungry for God's word. A little play on words for the Hunger Games fanatics in my eGroup. It was a 21 day Bible reading plan that I got from Newspring Church. Katelyn, as well as two other girls, didn't miss a day! They read each chapter, answered all of the questions and reached out to me every day to let me know their thoughts on the reading.

The discussions Katelyn and I had each day are why I had to write about her in this edition of Proud Momma. Her thoughts were always deep. Often, she thought of things that I didn't think of. Talking to her about the Bible was so inspiring.

Katelyn is thirteen and gets it. She understands the importance of making time for God and responding to His Word. I know many adults who may understand these things, but don't follow it up with action. Katelyn follows her understanding and beliefs up with action.

I can't put into words how proud I am of Katelyn. She is going to do great things for God's Kingdom and I am blessed to have a front row seat to her life. Katelyn, keep up the amazing work and never lose the passion you have for doing God's work. You are an amazing young lady!

Sun Stand Still Prayer

I have been reading through John with my middle school eGroup.  We are reading one chapter a day.  It has been great to devote time to one chapter of John a day.  I am learning so much from it.  I am taking pages of notes on what is standing out to me.

John 6 has the popular story of Jesus walking on water.  This story is always interesting to me. 

A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.  When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.

John 6:18-19

Reading this sparked a thought... how often do we see Jesus and are still frightened?  I spent some time the morning I read John 6 to think about this question.  As I was driving to work, I got a figurative slap in the face.  I had been doing it for over a year!

In September of 2009, I walked into Elevation Church's first permanent campus in Matthews.  Upon walking in the doors, I had an overwhelming sense that God was going to do something great in my life there.  I felt Him make a huge promise to me, that made no sense at the time.

Months went by where I processed the promise.  A year later, Pastor Steven Furtick released a book called Sun Stand Still.  The book is about having audacious faith and believing God for the impossible.  I read this book and my life was changed.  I made a Sun Stand Still prayer based on the promise I felt God give me a year earlier.

Although I made the prayer, I was frightened to actually trust God with the prayer and refused to pray it.  What if He doesn't do it? and What if He doesn't come through? were thoughts that went through my head regularly.  A few months later, I began to get frustrated that my unprayed prayer wasn't coming true.  Isn't He an all-knowing God?  Doesn't He know about this?  Why doesn't He just answer my prayer?

I may be alone here.  I hope you can respect my honesty with you.  I was frustrated that God wasn't answering a prayer that I was afraid to trust Him with. 

But he said to them, "It is I; don't be afraid."

John 6:20

About a month ago, I was reevaluating the prayer and where I was with it.  God wasn't answering the prayer, because I was too frightened to actually trust Him to do it.  I needed to have the audacious faith to believe that He could do what seemed impossible to me.  For the first time, I prayed the prayer with belief that He could and would do it. 

Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

John 6:21

No lie, the next day, I got some unexpected amazing news related to the prayer.  All I needed to do was trust that He could do it.  He knew it was a desire of my heart, but He needed me to trust Him.  The moment that I showed my trust, He honored it by showing me the first step in the prayer coming to life.

I am sharing this with you today in hopes that you will begin to trust God with something that seems impossible and a little scary.  He can do it!  He made the sun stand still for Joshua.  He can do it in your life, you just have to be willing to ask and walk in faith.  

Loving When It's Not Right

Today's post comes to you from a girl in my eGroup.  Her name is Molly.  She is thirteen years old, volunteers in the baby room in eKidz and attends Elevation - Rock Hill.  Whenever a conversation turns to the topic of love, you can see Molly's eyes light up and hear the fire in her words.  She is passionate about the subject of love.
Back in January, I began to see this passion in her.  I came to her and asked her to write a blog post, because her passion for the topic just had to get out there.  She was waiting to finish when God writes your love story before putting all of her thoughts down. 

Love? What is it? How do us teens know what it is?

I can give you an easy answer to that last question; we don’t know what it is, what it feels like, or what the meaning is.  There are teens all around us that are saying there in love when there only 13 or 14 or even 16.  The truth is teenagers will never know what it is. I don’t even know what love is.  It’s something I feel that only an adult can answer.

But I think I have an idea of what it is.  I think it’s where a guy and a girl cant breath when there apart, they can’t think straight without each other, or when they’re constantly on their mind!  It’s not where you just text and “hang out”. 

That’s the other thing -  what’s the point of being in a relationship when you’re a teen?  Makes no sense they might can take you places but, there on a budget , their parents give them money and drive them everywhere.  What’s the point?  Maybe to walk to classes at school together?  It’s confusing to me why people want to date at this age?

I know I can go without a boyfriend for a long time.  It’s been over a year since my last “boyfriend”. All we did was go bowling which our parents paid for and we barley talked at school what was the point?  Why can’t everyone just be friends?  There are so many questions that we all know that everyone can answer right?

I once read a book called “when God writes your love story” it talked about emotional and physical purity.  I’ve always known that you can't be in love now but, when I read that book it just spoke to me.  I loved how it talked about how you shouldn’t put everything you have into one person.  You should save it for someone “special”.  That doesn’t mean your ninth grade boyfriend it means your future husband.

Girls, they fall easily, think there in love and, constantly are lied to by guys that’s why they fall so easily. They think there first “boyfriend” loves them on the first date.

Boys, they are manipulative, gross pigs, and liars wrapped in one.

I know I'm probably saying some offensive things but, if you pray and ask God to give you the right man or woman, he’ll make sure you have the perfect husband/wife.


----

I am beyond proud of Molly for speaking boldly about what she believes.  She is waiting out for the real thing.  This is a hard decision to make at thirteen.  There are so many girls in middle school that find their identity in the boys that are with them, and not in Christ.  There is something wrong with that, and it is our responsibility as Christian leaders to speak boldly about finding your identity in Christ.  

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.
Last night, there was no structure to the evening.  Last week, we finished when God writes your love story.  Last night, we just celebrated the accomplishment.  They each went home with a journal from me which included a Bible verse.  We had lots of snacks, took pictures and made matching t-shirts.

It was a wonderful evening.  I am so proud of all of them.  They've come so far. 

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: We celebrated Molly's birthday with hot dogs and fruit pizza before eGroup.  This was our icebreakers.

Discussion Highlights: This week, we discussed the last three sections of when God writes your love story. This chapter is titled "Against the Tide".

- Eric and Leslie's marriage started with a flea infestation, raccoons in the chimney, busted water pipe's and bronchitis.  If your marriage were to start like that, what would be your first instinct?  How would you handle it?

- What does dating mean to you?

- Is it okay to date?

Closing: I closed the evening in prayer.  I reminded them about the party we are having next week to celebrate the ending of the book.

During the Week: There is no assignment for the girls this week.

Next Week: We will gather for a party to celebrate finishing the book.  This is a huge milestone and we can't not celebrate it!

Personal Reflection: I was reminded this week why we moved snack to after eGroup.  The girls were not focused.  We had eight girls in attendance, but the amount of side conversations made it feel like we had fifteen.  It is hard to focus when there are girls having side conversations.

Personal Highlight: We finished the book!  We have been reading this book since November!  It may have taken us decades to finish, but we did, and the girls lives have changed because of it!  I wouldn't change the way we did it at all!

Reflection Friday

Reflection Friday on Tuesday... eh!

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: Introduce yourself and one random fact about yourself.

Discussion Highlights: This week, we discussed chapter fifteen of when God writes your love story. This chapter is titled "Against the Tide".
- How can you go against the tide and live a life for Christ?

- Daniel 6:4-23

- How will you confirm your decision to allow God to write your life story in a tangible way?

Closing: I closed the evening in prayer.  We discussed what the next two weeks of eGroup look like, and I gave out our summer calendar.

During the Week: The girls will be reading the last three parts of when God writes your love story, the epilogue, a poem Eric wrote for Leslie and the Q & A section.

Next Week: We will discuss the end of when God writes your love story during eGroup next week.

Personal Reflection: All things considered, this week went well.  We had record attendance.  Twelve was our last record, then this past month our numbers had plateaued between eight and ten.  We had thirteen girls at eGroup last Thursday!! The side conversations were frustrating, but we worked through them.

Personal Highlight: Clearly, thirteen middle school girls coming to hear what God says about how He can write their love story never gets old!  We ran out of chairs, and were pulling up bar stools. 

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: There was no icebreaker this week, because the girls spent fifteen minutes begging me to tell them about the super amazing IMPACT event this summer for the Elevation Students.  I gave hints, but let the girls figure it out! It was fun.

Discussion Highlights: This week, we discussed chapter fourteen of when God writes your love story. This chapter is titled "Too Late?".

- What is the difference between mental, emotional and physical purity?

- Is it okay to have sex before marriage?

- What does it mean to truly repent?

Closing: I closed the evening in prayer.  I asked the Lord to give the girls courage to repent of any sins they need to be forgiven for.  I asked the Lord to give them the strength to stay pure until they are married, even if it is not what our culture says is normal. 

During the Week: We are attending a Knights game tonight.  It's pretty exciting that our eGroup has grown enough to were we can group rate for all of our events!  The girls will be reading chapter fifteen.  This is the last chapter of the book!  The girls were given a card to write to someone in the eGroup to encourage them on the road ahead of them!
 
Next Week: We will discuss chapter fifteen during eGroup next week.

Personal Reflection: This week was great!  The girls were focused, after they figured out what the eStudents summer event is.  We spent a majority of our time discussing

Personal Highlight: We had ten girls, and seeing a room full of people never gets old.  Having a steady stream of middle school girls come together once a week to hear what the Lord has put on my heart to say is an experience that I could not enjoy more and be more honored to do.  The girls have so much that they want to know about walking with Christ and it makes me so happy!  I have the opportunity to be a part of shaping their future.

Giveaway Results

*Insert Drum Roll*

The results are in.  Commenter number one is the winner. 

Congratulations Katera!

I will be emailing you this week!

PS.  Y'all make me sad.  59 page views on the giveaway post, and only eight comments?  Sigh.

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: What do we want to do this summer? Fun activities and Bible studies?

Discussion Highlights: This week, we discussed chapter thirteen of when God writes your love story. This chapter is titled "Playing for Keeps".

- Ephesians 6:1-3

- How is your relationship with your parents?  Do you feel comfortable talking to your parents about boys, dating and relationships?

- If you don't have a parent you can confide in, who do you have in your life to turn to for Christian counsel?



Closing: I closed the evening by challenging all of the girls to sit down with their parents to talk about their future husband.  They all said that this will be awkward.  I closed in prayer.  I asked God to give them each the strength to talk to their parents about their future husbands. 

During the Week: We will attend an eStudent Cook Out after the 11:15 Worship Experience at the Rock Hill campus of Elevation.  We will sit down with our parents and ask them to begin praying for our future husband.  We will be reading chapter fourteen. 

Next Week: We will discuss chapter fourteen during eGroup next week.

Personal Reflection: We had much smaller numbers this week.  Several of the girls had commitments that they could not get out of.  Smaller numbers are nice some times, though.  The discussion went great! 

 
Personal Highlight: Hearing the girls talk about how they know that they are able to go to their parents, but still feel as if it is uncomfortable or awkward to talk about religion.  (The highlight is the knowing part.)  I love that they know that they can go to their parents to talk about religion and boys and relationships, or just anything!

Reflection Friday

Reflection Friday on Monday.  Forgive me?

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: What does your family look like?

Discussion Highlights: This week, we discussed Bishop TD Jakes sermon and chapter twelve of when God writes your love story. This chapter is titled "The Secret to Winning a Heart".

- Who do you need to be forgiving?

- How can you begin to serve your family?

- How can you step into the lives of those in your family to better relate to them?

Closing: We closed by the event that we were volunteering at together on Saturday.  In prayer, we asked God to show us how to be more like Him and give us opportunities to serve our families.

During the Week: We volunteered at an event on Saturday for the Autism Foundation of the Carolinas.  We will be reading chapter thirteen during the week.

Next Week: We will discuss chapter thirteen during eGroup next week.


Personal Reflection: I could not pass up the opportunity to discuss forgiveness one more time.  I mean, only God could plan that out.  We discussed forgiveness in eGroup and Bishop Jakes preached on forgiveness all in the same week?  God needed us to talk about forgiveness!!  We had a great conversation about forgiveness and how to serve those in our family.

Personal Highlight: Last week, we had a new girl.  This week, she came back!  I love it when they come back.  I am excited to have her in our group.  It is going to be a blast.

Giveaway

As a way to get you to comment, celebrate almost 3,000 views on the blog, almost 200 twitter followers and trick you into commenting .Redeemed. is going to have it's very first...

What better giveaway to do on .Redeemed. than on the book when God writes your love story?  I blog about the book all the time, and it completely changed me. 

I first read the book about a year ago, per suggestion from a friend.  It changed my entire perspective on how to live my life while waiting for a husband, dating and marriage.  I loved the book so much, I decided to lead an eGroup based on the book.  Now, I lead a middle school girls eGroup (Elevation Church's version of a small group or community group) on the book.

The book was written by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  They are a Christian couple who gave the pen of their love story to God and reaped the benefits of that in their relationship with God and with each other. 

The book is applicable for anyone.  Single guy. Single girl. In a relationship. Engaged. Married. Divorced.  Middle School-er.  High School-er.  College Student.  Young Adult. 40's.  Everyone can gain something from this book.

What you need to know...

1. Comment the following by April 30th (That gives you one week to comment!)

      - Where you are reading from.

      - How you found . Redeemd.

 2. I will send a copy of the book when God writes your love story to anyone who lives in the United States or Canada. I will buy a kindle version of the book to anyone who lives outside of the US or Canada.

3. I will use Random.org to pick a winner.

4. The winner will be announced on May 7th.


Happy Commenting!

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup. Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them.

Icebreaker: What if... I have a bag of over twenty 'What if" questions.  This is their favorite icebreaker.  I don't do it often because we can spend over thirty minutes on this icebreaker depending on the amount of girls.

 

Discussion: This week we got back to when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  We discussed chapter eight, titled Romantic Heroism. This chapter is all about how romance can and should be heroic.

Discussion Highlights:
- What can we learn from Penelope's story of waiting for her husband to return?
- What has God done to show us that He is the Inventor of Love and Author of Romance?
- Why should God be at the center of our relationships?


Closing: We wrapped up our discussion by sharing personal prayer requests.

During the Week: The girls will be reading chapter nine in the book.  We have an outing together on Saturday and an outreach project on Sunday!  On Saturday, we will be meeting at the park to enjoy lunch, do our nails together and just having a good time!  On Sunday, we will be hosting the Children's Attention Home at Elevation - Rock Hill! 

Next Week: We will discuss chapter nine together.

Personal Reflection:  The girls were all over the place last night.  We meet for an hour and a half.  The first fifteen minutes, give or take a few, are for the girls to talk, catch up on their weeks, and wait for everyone to arrive.  The next fifteen minutes, give or take a few, are for prayer and the icebreaker.  The following forty-five minutes are for discussion.  The last fifteen minutes are for closing prayer, housekeeping and snack.  I feel like there is plenty of time for the girls to converse about unrelated topic.  I want them to enjoy coming, but at the same time, I struggle with keeping them focused during those forty-five minutes.  A topic will start appropriate and end somewhere completely different! 

Personal Highlight: We had two new girls tonight!  One of them signed up at the eGroup Push a few months ago.  She had not been able to attend yet.  She brought a friend with her.  They both enjoyed it and can't wait to come back!

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup. Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week. They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them. 

This is week two of the new style for the Reflection Friday post! I would love to transform this into a way for the girls in my eGroup to look to this as summary of what we did if they missed eGroup and make this a guide for small group leaders!

Icebreaker: Woah!  The icebreaker took nearly 30 minutes!  I asked everyone to share what their first experience at Elevation Church was like.  To my surprise, every one's reaction was basically the same - they loved it!  This made me happy!!

Discussion: Our eGroup's focus is when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  We finished our discussion on chapter six and discussed chapter seven.  The chapters all blend together, so most of our conversations start with the same questions, but turn into something different through the conversations 

Discussion Highlights:
- What do your friendships with boys look like now?
- How could you change those friendships to guard your heart more?
- What can you do now to be a one-man women?

Closing: I closed our meeting by asking the girls to spend some time this week writing what kind of wife they want to be.  One of the girls closed us in prayer.

During the Week: The girls are going to begin thinking of the kind of wife they want to be.  Each girl went home with five verses that they are going to look up through the week and begin to think of how they can relate it to conflict.

Next Week:  God put it on my heart for us to discuss conflict next week.  The girls each have four verses that they are going to teach to the group next week and explain how it relates to conflict.


Personal Reflection:  As the eGroup grows, I am having to grow as a leader.  I realized tonight that I need to learn how to get those who talk too much to talk less, and those who talk too little to talk more, without shutting anyone up or making anyone feel uncomfortable.  Oh the joys of being a leader.  eGroup was a bit crazy last night.  We had a hard time staying on topic.  There is a fine line between having appropriate conversation and inappropriate conversations.  The girls only see each other once a week, so I want them to have time to talk to each other about their weeks.  But, I want us to be able to discuss our book, as well.  This week, I read something that said, Small group discussions should stay in the three B's - Brief, Biblical, and Beneficial.  That is how our conversations need to be!


Personal Highlight:  For the first time ever, we actually got ALL THE WAY THROUGH my outline for the night.  We stopped and had a round of applause!!

Reflection Friday

If you are new to .Redeemed., I lead a middle school girls eGroup.  Thursday evenings with the girls is one of my favorite parts of the week.  They are an amazing group of girls and they teach me as much as I teach them. 

Bare with me today, as I try something new for the Reflection Friday post!  I would love to transform this into a way for the girls in my eGroup to look to this as summary of what we did if they missed eGroup and make this a guide for small group leaders!

Icebreaker: We have a few girls who have been coming for less than a month, so we are focusing more on ice breakers right now.  The girls paired up and interviewed one another.  Then, introduced the person they intereviewed to the group and shared three unknown facts about their interviewee.  I think this went very well.  We all found out at least one thing that no one knew about everyone.

Discussion: Our eGroup's focus is when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  We tried something different this week.  We read attempted to read the chapter together.  Each girl took one page.  We would stop at the end of each section and discuss the important parts. 

Discussion Highlights:
- What are some keys to building a strong foundation in a relationship?  Honesty and communication were the most common answers the girls gave.
- Physical purity can't be seperated from our emotions.
- Have you ever thought of your heart as a treasure as important as your physical purity?  This blew the girls minds!
- The heart break most of us experience at the end of a relationship is a kind of pain that God never meant for us to experience.

Closing: We wrapped it up with going through the highlights and discussing an upcoming event.  We enjoyed some delicious cookies as the girls were being picked up!

During the Week: The girls are going to finish reading chapter six on their own and read chapter seven!

Next Week: Wrap up discussion on chapter six and discuss chapter seven. 

Personal Highlight: At least once during each eGroup meeting, I say something along the lines of, if you build your relationship around God, your world won't be over at the end of the relationship.  This week, this statement clicked with one of the girls!  She got it!  She admitted to not understanding what I had meant previously, but this chapter made it make sense!!  Seeing that light bulb turn on was fabulous!!

Reflection Friday

Another amazing eGroup meeting last night!  I can't believe that I get to be a part of shaping these girls lives.  I get to pour into them each week, encourage them, help them and speak life into them.  It is such a blessing to me.

Last night, we had two new girls join us and the three from last week return!  All together there was ten girls there! That was the most that we've ever had!  A full room looked amazing!

We discussed chapter five in when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy.  This chapter goes into looking beyond physical purity and saving yourself emotionally and mentally for your future husband.  It may be hard to imagine, but your soul mate is alive.  And, you should be honoring him with your thoughts and actions right now!  Yes, before you even know who he is!!

Imagine your future spouse was able to watch your ever move and see your every thought.  Move past the creepiness of that statement.  Would he be happy with the way you were acting or thinking?  What if your future spouse was acting and thinking the same way you are... would you be happy?  Once I was able to wrap my head around that thought, the way I thought, talked and acted changed.  I wouldn't have wanted my spouse behaving like I was.  It wasn't like I was sleeping with random people, but I was having impure thoughts about every attractive man I saw.  I don't want my future husband lusting over every cute girl that walks by him, so I won't lust after every cute guy I see.  I am honoring my relationship with my future spouse NOW before we ever meet.

One of the girls wanted to know how a person who is meant to be single forever is suppose to act.  If you feel as if you are destined to be single and not meant to get married, I strongly believe that you should behave in a Christ-like away.  You should still behave as if you were waiting for someone!

I closed the discussion out by reminding the girls know that they are more than welcome to talk to me about anything they are struggling with.  That is what being in an eGroup, small group or community group is about.  The people you share that time with, are the people you lean on in tough times.  They are there to encourage and support you.  If you are in a church, I plead that you get involved in your churches form of small groups.  You will grow so much from it!!

We ended the night with a belated Valentines celebration.  I made cupcakes and pink lemonade.  Another girl brought heart shaped cookies that said "I love Jesus" on them!  I made a goodie bag for each girl to take home.  Each bag had a personal card with prayer that I am praying for them and some candy!

Call to Action

Last week, I wrote about attending a Christian concert and the behavior that was far from Christ-like that I observed.  I, also, wrote about my thoughts on why this is happening – relativism.  Truth has become relative. 

Society says we can decide what is true and what isn’t true now.  Society says we can decide what is okay to do and what isn’t okay!

Today, I am going to write about our call to action.  As a part of the body of Christ, we have a call to action.  I have a call to action as a middle school eGroup leader.  I have a call to action as a nanny of two young children.  I have a call to action as a leader in my church campus.  I have to do something about the way standards have changed.  If you are a member of your church, lead a small group for anyone between the ages of 13 and 30, if you have children, you have a call to action, too.  You must stand up and do something about what is happening to the younger generation.

What are we expected to do?

We must elevate our expectations.  You expect your children to do well in school, right?  You expect that they come home with A’s and B’s and will ask how they could improve a C or a D, right?  Some of you expect your children to excel in sports or a musical avenue.  They are signed up for a sport a season or attend piano lessons once a week.  You expect them to do well in those areas.  Why don’t we expect them to know more than the Sunday school basics?  We are able to articulate well in areas that we are effectively educated (p. 51). 

We must ground truth in reality.  We need to be sure that the youth is confident that our religious and moral claims are more than just opinion.  God exists is an objective claim.  Does your youth believe that? 

We must ask “Why” before they do.  We need to be more willing to ask questions.  We need to be ready to answer their questions.  How would you answer your youth if one came to you with a question you did not know the answer to?  It is okay to tell them that you don’t know.  Offer to find the answer with them.  This will open up tools to them to find answers on their own.  Honesty is refreshing.  They will be more willing to come to you again if you have answered them with such honesty the first time.  Doubts that are answered and overturned will strengthen your student’s trust in the truth and will fortify confidence in their convictions.

We must integrate character with truth.  After you have accepted Christ into your heart, the people around you are more likely to notice the change in your demeanor first.  If you tell your friends you are a Christian in the same breath that you tell them you are cheating on your husband, they are likely to not believe anything you say about Christianity.  Integrate character with truth.  Show your youth how to behave in a Christ-like manner.

We must create opportunities to engage in the Word with Truth.  Are you willing to bring in people from other religious backgrounds to your youth?  This will help them have more of a world view on religion.  They will have more of an understanding on Christianity and the differences in other religions.

Are you ready to go out and be a part of raising a generation in Christ?  Are you willing to be a part of changing the way the new generation thinks about Christianity?  Are you ready to go out and be the Christ-like example that your youth needs to see?  I know I am!

The majority of the content above is from Apologetics for a New Generation by Sean McDowell.

Relativism

Earlier this week, I posted about my experience at Winter Jam 2012.  A one sentence summary of the post would be that I observed a lot of behavior that you would not expect from Christians at a Christian event. 

I promised you a post on Thursday about what I am reading about that explains why this is happening.  I apologize for not getting this post to you until now.  Please forgive me! 

I am reading a book called Apologetics for a New Generation by Sean McDowell. This book looks at being biblically and culturally relevant in our approach to talking about God. I think it is very obvious that our times have changed. This book takes a look at how we can bring biblical truth into the changing times.

We're at a point where what constitutes truth is a question on a lot of people's minds, and truth has become up for grabs." (p.43)

We have entered a time of relativism. Relativism can be defined as the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration. Basically, what used to be set in stone truth is no longer set in stone truth.

Abortion used to not be an option.  Cussing out your parents used to not be an option.  Laying a hand on your wife used to not be an option.  Those used to all be objective truths.  Those things just didn't happen.  They weren't an option!!

Society says it is okay to claim yourself to be a Christian on your religious views on facebook and post pictures of yourself half naked.  Society says it is okay to live with your boyfriend because you’ll eventually get married.  Society tells us it is okay to lie to our parents about where we are going.

The problem is none of the things above are okay.  The relativistic changing of times says that there is no objective truth.  This states that we get to decide what is true and what is not true. 

The national argument right now is one, who's got the truth and, two, who's got the facts. Until we can manage to get the two of them back together again, we're not going to make much progress. (p. 52)

Here are three powerful points from the book that bring this whole post together.

· Relativism diminishes sin - If right and wrong are simply matters of taste, sin evaporates, neutering the Gospel.

· Relativism erodes moral conviction - Relativism says that it is okay to have sex before marriage. It tells you that everyone is doing it and erodes your moral conviction.

· Relativism makes religion irrelevant - Religion is not considered an objective truth to which we submit, but only a matter of personal taste which we chose.

I believe that the kids at this Christian event acted in a manner that did not represent Christianity well because of the three points above. They get to decide what is right and what is wrong now. They can justify poor actions with, "everyone is doing it." And, God seems irrelevant to them or it is only a private part of their lives.

Come back on Monday for a post about our call to action.  We must bring these currently subjective truths back to objective truths.  We can and must raise the bar for the younger generation.  Don't worry, I have already written the post and is scheduled for Monday at 8:00am. 

Winter Jam 2012

I am one week into blogging in 2012, and I am off track already.  I didn't post Sermon Sunday yesterday, and I won't be bringing that to you today either.  I went to Winter Jam 2012 last night.  I observed some interesting behavior there.  I'd love to tell you about what I found most interesting about the night.

To the left, you can see a picture from the inside of the arena of the line.

So, Winter Jam is a Christian concert that costs $10 at the door.  You can pay more to have tickets before hand, but the majority of the people who attend wait in line for several hours and pay $10 at the door.  Winter Jam has ten Christian artists perform.  The concert was over five hours long!  Isn't that an amazing deal?

Wondering what the interesting thing I observed was?? 

I don't know about you, but when I think about a group of Christians gathering, I imagine a group of pumped up kids ready to worship Jesus.  I don't see people trying to cut people in line, devising plans to distract the Event Staff so they could break the line.  I see clean conversations and everyone having fun.

Sadly, I saw little Christ-like behavior.  There were people smoking in line, dropping their cigarette butts on the ground and cutting people in line.  There was a lot of, "Oh, I'm with someone over there." and, "Yeah, I have a party of 32, so we should be up front." 

It breaks my heart that the younger generation is losing sight on how to act like Christ.  Where did this concept get lost?  I am reading a great book that goes into detail about what is changing.  Come back on Thursday for a post about why the younger generation doesn't know how to act like Christ.

What startles or worries you about the younger gerneation?

Six Things to be Thankful for... Day Four

20. A keepsake:  I am a pack rat.  I save everything!  I still have journals from when I was in middle school talking about a different boy every day.  I still have a few calendars from high school.  A keepsake that I am thankful for this year is some teddy bears.  I have a teddy bear that was my Nana's and one that was Philips.  These teddy bears have gotten me through many tear filled nights this year.



21. A disappointment or fear:  A disappointment or fear that I am thankful for???  I am the only one who this doesn't make such to?  If I had to be thankful for a disappointment or fear it would be my fear of failure.  I always give my best (and then some) to everything that I do.  I never give less than my best at anything.  This can be great, but it can also be bad.  For now, I'll be thankful that I have gotten very far by having a fear of failure.

22. A book:  when God writes your love story by Eric and Leslie Ludy is a book that I have to be thankful for this year.  Victoria showed this book first to me when I came to her about this crazy idea a friend told me about.  Victoria said, "No, read the book! It's in the book!!"  So, I read the book.  This book has changed my world for the better.  I am no longer bitter about being single, lonely or wasting my time on pointless relationships.  Also, this is the book I am walking through with my middle school eGroup girls!!!  I can't wait to see how this one book redirects their entire future. 

23. A feeling:  This year, I am thankful for the feeling of happiness.  I have had the opportunity to experience this feeling a lot this year.  There are many people who do not experience happiness on a daily basis.  I laugh daily.  I love my job.  I love my church.  I love my friends.  I love my family.  I love my life.  I am so thankful that I can be happy every day!!!

24. A photograph:  The picture to the left is a picture that I will be thankful for forever.  That is me in the baptism tank.  John Bishop is baptizing me, and I am coming up after being dunked.  This was such a powerful moment.  Baptism did not save me.  Baptism was a public commitment to myself, the Lord, my family and my friends that I will live my life as a new person because Christ lives in me.  I was so thankful to have (almost) all of my family there, and some of the best friends in the world.  This picture sits on my dresser, and I look at it daily as a constant reminder of my new life.

25. A luxury:  I am thankful for the luxury of having a job.  My job brings so many other luxuries.  First and foremost, I get to influence the lives of two gorgeous children.  I get to teach one of them on a daily basis.  The kiddos parents are far greater to me than I deserve.  They bought me a gym membership, are encouraging me on my running and becoming a part of the 5k I am doing next weekend! (eek!!)  They buy me random presents for being me.  They treat me far greater than any boss has ever treated me.  Simply put though, there are millions of people without jobs right now.  I am so thankful to have a job that I love in these hard economic times!

26. A charity An organization:  I don't know of a charity that I am thankful for this year.  So, I am going to change this up a little bit to be an organization.  I am thankful for the Down Syndrome Association of Charlotte.  They do some amazing work for children with Down Syndrome and their families.  I am so thankful for the work that they do, and the opportunity to be involved in their good works!

Tomorrow, I wrap up this series by blogging about a song, a gift, something in my home and the thing that I am most thankful for!

Being Single Isn't All Bad

I would like you to be free from concern.  An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs – how he can please the Lord.  But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world – how he can please his wife – and his interests are divided.  An unmarried women or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.  But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of the world – how she can please her husband.  I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in the right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 7:32-35

This week, I have been on a roll talking about what the Lord wants for mine (and your) dating life.  I have been discussing how I gave God control of all of my times, how I will not waste time on a man who is not Mr. Right.  Today, I talk about the positive side of being single.

I am not going to lie.  I want to be in a committed relationship.  I don’t want to continue spending my nights alone with a bowl of ice cream watching Grey’s Anatomy.  I don’t want to continue having no one to call to talk to about my day.  But, this is where I am in my life right now.  God knows me better than I know myself.  I trust that He thinks that this is better for my life right now, than being with someone.  So, I do not hold any bitterness about being single right now.

As I spend more time being single, with no love interests in my life, I have began to evaluate how great this time is for me.  Here are some great things I have found about being single right now.

The most important, I have more time to spend with the Lord.  As you can read above in 1 Corinthians 7:32-35, the writer states that an unmarried person should devote themselves to the Lord in both body and spirit.  But, a married person compromises their devotion to the Lord by becoming concerned with the ways of her husband/his wife.  If I were in a dating relationship, I would find myself diving my time with the Lord and with my boyfriend.  Right now, I can devote all of myself to the ways of the Lord.

I have more time to spend with my family.  Right now, I spend Friday nights with my mom.  We go out to dinner, go shopping, and just bond.  I typically go to my parents on Saturday or Sunday to have dinner with them.  This is a great opportunity to strengthen my relationship with my parents.  If I were to be in a relationship, I would spend my weekends with that lucky man.  Right now, I get to spend time with my parents!

I have time to spend time with friends.   In my previous relationships, I spent all of my time with the boy I was with.  I spent less time with my friends.  I have been able to see Victoria more this year, than any year in the past six years.  We take day  trips to halfway points and drive to spend the weekend with one another often.  I love it!!! Right now, I get to spend time with my friends!   

Being single is great!!!  I am so grateful for this time that I have to devote all of my life to the Lord, strengthen my relationship with my family, and spend time with my amazing friends.  I will not take this time for granted. 

 Single people – What do you  have time to do now that you wouldn’t have time to do in a relationship?  Keep looking at the positives!