LAST BLOG!

Imagine you got (accepted) to go on a game show. You heard the grand prize was thirty million dollars. You decided you would give it a try. You were on the last question in the game and took the option of risking it all to double your money. Now imagine you got the question correct and got thirty million dollars. What would you do with all (your) money? If you asked almost anyone, they would reply," I would give some of it to the poor and buy a nice house." (Seldom) people would answer any other way (then) that. If you had thirty million dollars you could buy a house and give money away, but what would you do with the rest of the money? I would think that after buying a new house and a nice new car, you still wouldn't feel satisfied. The (majority) of people think that once they win a large amount of money, they will suddenly be happy. I believe that the (kind of) people that believe that more money will make them happy are discontent. It is fun to think of what you would do with (a lot) of money. It usually leaves you empty feeling like you need that money to make you happier and healthier. Working for your money can usually leave you with a feeling that you accomplished something, rather then the money given to you for doing little to no work for it. The lottery and game shows can be entertaining but they will, most likely, lead to discontentment and ruin.

Life isn't all about getting an A

I have recently been worrying about my grades non stop. After stressing about my grades all year I have come to the conclusion that if all you do in life is worry about how good you are it will all be in vain because you won't enjoy what you are doing. I have learned that I should do everything to the best of my ability and give the rest to God. Colossians 3:23 says,"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters." Anything you do for the praise of the world is all worthless. Finding pleasure in Gods blessings is such a lasting feeling that has eternal benefits. Every night is a constant struggle of not wanting to do my homework but wanting to have good grades. Knowing that I'm doing everything for God motivates me to work my hardest. It also helps me know that if I try my hardest and fail, God still loves me. My treasure is not on this earth. The world promises happiness and prosperity if you succeed but never comes through. Trying to please the world and God at the same time is impossible. Rather than trying to please your parents or teachers by getting good grades you should do everything for Gods glory and then give all the glory to Him. If God hasn't given you a great mind you can still glorify Him in other ways. You just always have to remember that you have to try your hardest in everything you do for the glory of God.

Poverty

Imagine you had the same job for twenty years and you were an amazing employe but you decided you needed more money to help support your family. You took the job offer your friend had given to you a while back. Your friend was starting a new business so you quit your other job and decided to take a chance on this new company. You invest all of your savings in this business hoping you will earn twice as much as you put in. For a few months it seems promising but after a while you notice you have not made any money. You and your friend decide to shut down the business before it puts you in any more debt. Your world around starts crashing down and you try to look for a another job but no one is accepting you. After a year of looking for a job your family ends up on the street with nothing but the clothes they have on their backs and a couple blankets. That seems like a horrible story, right? This story or many others quite similar happen to more people then you could imagine. According to the U.S. Census bureau one out of every six Americans are in poverty. The MAGNITUDE of that statistic is crazy. I grew up in a rich community going to a private school. I often forget how many people don't have as many pleasures as I do. I think one thing I could work on is remembering how much I have and remembering that things on this earth are temporary and could be taken away from me at any moment.

Brothers

Brothers are the most valuable blessing God has given me. My brothers understand me. Even though they seem like they're being mean when they're telling me what to do, I always know they have the best in mind for me. My brothers and I have gone though EVERYTHING together! Brothers are like Gods way of giving me two friends that give me advice and are always there for me. God must have known I needed brothers. Even though boys aren't that dramatic it's a good thing for me. It gives me a different perspective on life. My brothers help me to look at the big picture instead of thinking my life is over. They help me choose to AFFILIATE with at school. Both of my brothers have qualities in them that I look up to. They're both so different and so unique but still so similar. I have learned to reply on my brothers so much for everything. I look to them for advice in every aspect of my life. I feel like I can talk to them about anything and they won't judge me, but understand what it's like to be me. They show me skills and have have patience with me to pick up the skills. Even though I might be annoying to them sometimes or they might be annoying to me, they will always be family. With one of my brothers away at college, I have been learning not take any time I have with my other brother for advantage. Without my brothers I would not be who I am today.

Finding your identity

Have you ever heard anyone say "Your teenage years are all about finding your true identity." Well I know I sure have! Being a teenager is when you first begin to make decisions and have opinions of your own. Creating your own identity is so difficult when you know so little about the world. People try to identify themselves by the amount of things they have, or the kinds of friends they have. Your identity shouldn't be found in other people or things. We often are tempted to become (incognito) and disguise ourselves as someone else. Having the latest IPhone or the newest car can make you a "cool" person for a little while, but after a while the thrill wears away. Identifying yourself with things can make you a very discontented person. If you find your value in the newest thing, you will always be searching for the best thing to make you a better person. Finding your worth in God is one of the most important things to do in a Christians life. Once you can be pleased in what God has given you and how He has made you, you can become content. Contentment is something people search for their whole lives for, and never find it. Once you stop looking for contentment and face your eyes upon Jesus, you will thirst no more for the things of this world.

Finding Contentment

                                                             

The world is trying to tell us that you need to be "beautiful" and wealthy to "fit in". When in fact, God made everyone perfect. Have you ever noticed that when you are watching tv or reading magazines it seems as though all of the commercials are telling you how to look or how to be succesful if you buy their product? When was the last time an advertisment promised that you would be happier and more successful, and they actually delivered? The people who are most raised up in our society are the beautiful, wealthy people. You can live in the biggest house and have a lot much money and still be empty inside. The biggest problem in America is finding contentment in God and not in things. Things of this world loose their shine and beauty but God is never changing. John Piper once said, "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him." Finding contentment in God alone is such an important part of the Christian life. When you try to run after things you begin to lose hope. Once you start chasing after God, you begin to find meaning and value in your life. You become more of a vivacious person. The world offers contentment but always leaves us empty, God offers love and peace with what you have and always delivers. Learning where to seach for contentment is something most people spend there whole lives doing. God shows us that we can look to him and he will satisfy our every need.

Get out of Your Comfort Zone

Imagine the only person you have ever talked to is your best friend outside of your family. That may not be exactly precise for most of us but it is pretty close. In our society we tend to stick to our group of close friends and not talk to anyone else. We might be Facebook friends with hundreds of people but that does not mean we have a meaningful relationship with each one of them. It is amazing how saying hello to one person can really change their day or maybe even their life. Think about the last time you asked someone how they were. You can probably think of many times. Now think about the last time you asked someone how they were, and actually listened and cared about their response. It is probably not that often that you actually want to nor have the time to listen to what people say. Think about what our world would be like if we actually cared about everyone we came across, even if they were strangers. We would be able to get out of our comfort zones by asking the simple question of, how are you, and then actually caring about the response. When you begin to care about other people then yourself the world becomes such a bigger and brighter place. If everything in your life is perfectly organized and you always stay on your comfort zone and never talk to anyone but your closest friends and family, you are usually doing something wrong. God calls us to be light of the world, and to do that we have to talk to non- Christians and go out of our comfort zone.

The only Jesus some People Will See

Did you know that you have a huge influence on every single person you come across! You may think the things you do or words you speak may be inconsequential. But we live in a world where people begin to judge you immediately after meeting you. The first thing people usually notice is your appearance, but more importantly they notice your actions and your words. Lately I have been around a lot of non-Christians. It has been a blessing in many ways but it has also put a lot of pressure on me to imitate Christ in a way that is pleasing to Him. It is so easy to be around non- Christians and try to blend in by following in their wicked ways. Sometimes I feel like the people I come in contact with are trying to test me to see if my actions back up my words. One thing I have realized is that I have to be a follower of Christ and obey His commands especially when I am around non- Christians. It is so easy to follow Christ going to a Christian school because I am around Christians all day. The hard thing is being around people who don't believe in God. God has begun to show me that every action I do and every word I speak reflects Him because I say that I am a Christian. Following Christ is a huge privilege, but like many other privileges it has a lot of responsibility. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says "11 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." Paul was urging the Corinthians to follow Christ just as we should today. Just think, you may be the only kind of Jesus some people may ever see!

The Importance of a Best Friend

Best Friends

 

 

Friends are great to have, but those friends that you call your best friends are so hard to come by. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”  Best friends can be your accountability partner and make sure if you ever fall they will pick you up. God put friends in our lives for a purpose. My good friends, although they are few, have many desirable qualities you would want a friend to have. My friends are always there to alleviate my pain when I am hurt from someone’s words. They are loving, they don’t judge me, and they trust in God. Whenever I am in a situation where I need encouragement, my best friends are always there for me. They are always beside me in times of struggle and sadness.

                Being blessed with such great friends has also come with a responsibility of being a friend to them. Being a friend to anyone is hard. It requires a lot of emotional, physical, and spiritual stress on you. But it also comes with a lot of blessings, like the ability to serve, joy, peace, comfort, and love. Having the responsibility of being a friend has some struggles. In my opinion though it has more ups then downs. In my life I have learned how to be a good friend and how to choose good friends. Friends are the people you are constantly around, so you will most likely become like them. That means you have to choose them wisely.  Loving, although it may be hard, is such an important aspect of life.

First blog

Last week during break I learned how to be independent. Both of my parents went out of town so my brother and I were on our own. My brother, Devin, is sixteen. Devin has his license so it was fun for him to have independence and live on his own. I don't have my license so I had to find a place to stay and rides everyday. Last week I learned that I am not ready to be independent. I always think that I want to be able to make my own decisions but it is not as easy as it looks.  My parents being out of town was a blessing for me. I realized how much I need my parents to drive me around and make me food. Although I enjoyed my freedom, it came with a lot of responiblities. One of my responsibilities was paying for my own food. My mom gave me twenty dolars, but in a world like ours twenty dolars for food is not going to get you very far. I learned I need to manage my money. I learned the impotance of making the desions on how often I should go out to eat and how to order for a good price. All together living on my own for a week was a good experience but made me realize I am for sure not ready to have my independence from my parents.