Sincere Christians

Many nonbelievers have a horribly inaccurate view of us sincere Christians. They think we are out to tell them that they are living their life wrong, they need to give their riches to the church, and that we will tell them to cut out what some of them consider to be fun in their lives.
I truly hope one day that as a body of Christians, we are able to rise up as one voice and tell the nonbelievers what we really believe: that we truly care about them and we want to share the love of Christ and kingdom of Heaven with them someday!

To be brothers and sisters with one another in Christ is such a glorious thing - there are no words to describe it. You share a bond with that person that cannot be broken. You are able to encourage one another and share life's ups and downs with a new sense of purpose and being.

Being a Christian brings such joy and purpose to my life; I pray that I can help others find that, too. I see the beauty all around me and thank God that I am blessed enough to see these daily miracles. It saddens me to see people so stubborn when it comes to believing in God that they can't see what's right in front of them. So many people have had experiences in their lives with "Christians" and other life events that turns them away from God for whatever reasoning.

I put "Christians" in quotation marks because these are the Christians we all hope we're not: those that tell other people they are living their life all wrong and then are hypocritical with their actions. I think we have all been that "Christian" at some point - I know I sure have been. But I pray that some other Christian will come into that person's life and fix whatever damage I may have caused. And I hope that I can fix the damage that someone else may have caused in the lives of those around me.

I used to think that you had to talk to people and reason God with them so that they could see my logic was undeniable. That may work for some people, but I have since realized that it doesn't work for me. It is our actions every second of every day that show other people our faith. I want people to look at me and see Christ's love. I want them to see what He has done in my life and what He can do in theirs. I never want to be hypocritical because, let's face it, people don't remember the random little good things we do - they remember the times when we faltered, when we screwed up.

I'm not saying that we can never let other people see that we screw up - I'm saying glorify God when you do! Being a Christian does not mean your life will be easy. For some, it's quite the opposite. But our faith shows through in those rough times when we do screw up or have bad things happen to us. When we still glorify God that sends such a powerful message to other people. Even when you falter, let His light shine through you. Your life may be the only Bible that some people may read. I know I sure want my life to show the best version of the Bible that it can.

Be gentle when helping others on their road with Christ. Show them that you truly care and that you're not just racking up tallys to show God how great you are. He knows.

God Bless!
ChristianKid

Godly Craziness

So, yes, God is amazing (giant smiley face!); but sometimes God has some totally crazy stuff planned for us in our life!

First of all, my schedule is finally figuring itself out - time for the nuttiness to begin! I have my Oasis youth group, a supplemental Bible study, another Navigators Bible study plus church! I love it :) so many people, so much fun! (and so many procrastination excuses, haha)

This past weekend, I was selected to go to a leadership convention. It was such an honor! We went to a beautiful lake here in South Dakota and I met so many wonderful people. I found out my strengths as a person, and I cannot wait to apply them in my walk with Christ!

One of my strengths that surprised me but it nailed me on the head was that of individuality. This means that I care about the individual story of each person - I don't try to group people into types and I certainly do not like stereotypes. And I'm just like that! I know that every person has their own story, and only God knows that story exactly. We just try to catch a glimpse of what makes that person who they are. But what makes their walk with God unique is exactly what makes them unique. I could probably write an entire blog on this, but I won't bore you with that.

Anyways, after I got home, I was so inspired! Crazy how God can do that sometimes. I decided that I wanted to share my story with others. Yes, I know I already do this blog, but I wanted to do a more one-on-one gig. So I emailed my Pastor from back home and asked if I could come talk to the high school youth group that I was a part of back when. He forwarded my message to the youth group leaders and they loved the idea!

I'm going to do it kind of like my Oasis group: darkly lit, lots of music and fun, and a short but convicting message. Praying I can pull this off and God's message and name are glorified! I am so excited about this, even though it won't happen until Christmas time. We are even looking at an outreach night where we would invite youth groups from surrounding towns!!!! AHHHH!!! So unbelieveably nervous but OMGOSH so excited :DD

Praying this finds you well, and even if your life seems crazy - God knows what He's doing! Trust in Him :)

God Bless!
ChristianKid


This blog is linked to Spiritual Sundays at http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/

Brothers and Sisters in Christ

I have heard many times that in our walk with God, we should be led by someone we trust, and leading someone who trusts in us. I knew what they meant, but I never understood what it meant to some one's soul to do something like that. I have many, many people who help me and guide me in my walk with Christ, but I have never really led anyone else. I always felt bad, but I'm a new believer myself, so I just figured I wasn't mature enough to do that.

However, now I believe I have a mentee! She goes to my church, and over the summer we've gotten to be really good friends. It's a different kind of mentor/mentee relationship, though. She's had a way better relationship with God than me throughout her life, so actually she's still like my mentor. However, she's six years younger than me and just now entering high school. So even though she helps me know God personally, I help her with living out her faith in things like high school and practices and whatnot since I've already lived through it.

High school is scary! And sometimes, being outgoing about your faith can be ten times scarier. People will judge you and make fun of you - and that can really get to a fourteen year old girl (heck, it stills gets to this nineteen year old girl). But, she is an amazing kid and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her!

I'm an only child, and my whole life - all I ever wanted - was a brother or sister. I didn't care about the sex, older or younger, adopted or biologically related even. Just ask my mom: pretty much all I ever asked for when my birthday and Christmas came around was a brother or sister. Now that I'm nineteen, the hope of getting a sibling is dwindling (I still ask though, teehee). But, I still have hope!

However, now I just pray that I can have whatever the next best thing might be. I think this is the next best thing. Sure, we didn't grow up together or even share the same family. We didn't fight and make up, or have to share each other's clothes, or have a lifetime of memories together. But there is something that she and I share that my friends and I don't have. I don't know what that is yet - maybe I'll never know.

For years, my friends have been my siblings. Unfortunately for me, they have siblings of their own and don't want any more - so I'm just a friend to them. Which is totally fine by me! I'm perfectly happy with that. And since we're the same age, we have the same maturity level...for the most part. We're able to share all those awesome and fun times together and lean on each other when we're down. We can relate to each other in what we're going through because we're all going through it at the same time.

But my freshie friend is six years younger! At this stage in life, that's a pretty big maturity difference, although she is very mature for her age. She can't understand what I'm going through, but I've been where she's been. She can help me know God, and I can help her know people (and all the stupid naive people she'll have to deal with).

I pray that God can help me guide her properly and that we can grow as sisters in Christ together! I'm so happy to have found a relationship such as this - I hope all of you find something similar someday. It's never too late (or too early)!

God Bless!
ChristianKid

Vacation Bible School!

So, I have been so crazy busy in the last couple of weeks! College is coming up, our house sold (yay!), and I now work full time while trying to fit in time to visit friends before they all head off in the opposite direction.

But, a couple weeks ago, I volunteered for Vacation Bible School with my church. I have never really worked with kids before at all, and tend to talk to them like I would anyone else my age (basically I use words too humongous for them to understand). However, God put it on my heart to work with younger kids, so work with younger kids I did! Our VBS is the most popular one in our town of about 4,000 with I think four or so churches doing VBS. We have a themed VBS, which is probably why ours is so popular. For instance, the year's theme was the gold rush of 1849. They learned all about the "rock of ages" being Jesus, not gold, and that they should put as much effort into their search for Jesus as those miners did for their gold. We had games, dances, songs, crafts, and even food to go along with the messages of the day, and the kids got candy for memorizing scripture. They even had a skit they did each night that was a continual story throughout the week which I was pretty impressed by! They had costumes and props and accents and everything!

It was so much fun! I was a leader for the 6-9 age group, which had twice as much as the other two groups. We had over 100 kids there every night! It was crazy, but it was fun. A lot of them got into it, but I took more of a liking to the kids who didn't know hardly anything because that was me up until a couple years ago. It broke my heart to know that many of these kids did not come from good homes, and one in particular took a liking to me and I could tell she was from a very broken home. She was angry all the time and even hit one of the leaders. She had triples every night at snack time. But she was brilliant! She had all her verses memorized the first night, even though she was too shy to say them to anyone else but me. It just broke my heart to have to see her go home every night. So pray for that little girl with me along with the MILLIONS just like her.

So, I highly encourage you all to do something for God that you think you can't do. He will be with you through it and helping you even though you have no clue what you're doing! I had a blast even though it was stressful at times, and I cannot wait to work with kids even more in the future :)

God Bless!
ChristianKid

God has other plans

So the total excitement over singing in church was totally diminished thanks to an annoying bout of laryngitis. I was very unhappy with this predicament, and felt bad to leave our music coordinator just one day to replace me in both praise team and choir. Plus, I couldn't even sing regularly from my pew in church. Needless to say, I was wondering, "God...what the heck are ya doin'?!"

Jokes popped into my mind like God is just really sick of hearing my talk and hearing my naive ways of how He should be running things - but this is obviously not true. It's just not what God stands for. So, I was back to square one. I then decided that God just had other plans for me, and singing in church that day.

Needless to say, God is always right. Sometimes I love this, and other times it irritates me. Let's be honest, I'm human, I am prideful, and I have an innate nature to always want to be right. But on days when I sing in church, I am often times much more nervous about how I'll sound rather than focusing on the main purpose of church: the fellowship and the message. God knew that the message we got yesterday was going to impact me, and He knew that I really needed to hear it. My singing in church would have gotten in the way of that.

God wanted me to know that there are other ways to serve in His home rather than just sing. He put it on my heart to help with VBS (Vacation Bible School), and so in a week I will be dealing with energized little kids and trying to help them know God. Now, I have no siblings and have really never babysat kids. I have pretty much had no experience with children. I love children dearly, but I just don't know how to talk to them! God knows this and He wants me to become broken of that hindrance. So it's "hi ho, hi ho, it's off to VBS I go..."

There have been so many other times in my life that I have wanted something that God has denied me because He knows I either cannot handle it or there is something better coming. Another example of this is something that happened to me at college. I have wanted to be an Admissions Ambassador at my college since I visited my sophomore year in high school. I applying, and I thought I rocked it. But I wasn't accepted! Other people whom I thought were not well qualified got it, but I did not. I was CRUSHED. But then, two weeks later, I was nominated to be a part of a leadership team! It was a huge honor, but had I become an AA, I would have had to turn down that leadership opportunity which works so much better for me and my hectic schedule.

God knows what He's doing, and you just have to trust that! "God opposes the proud but favors the humble." James 4:6 However, 'God time' is much, much, much longer than our pitifully short clock, so His plan may unravel in a much longer time frame than we acknowledge. You just have to trust Him.

God Bless!
ChristianKid

My Everyday Life

So, I have been at a loss for what to write about lately. Hence, the lack of recent posts. But I have an idea! Whether you like it or not, prepare to read about my boring, everyday life as it relates to God. Woo!

Lately, all I ever do is school and work. Blech. Not fun. And I hang out with my boyfriend every chance I get :)

But, sometimes during the day, I really take a moment and think about God. Which is nice for me because I'm a go-go-go kinda gal. Three weeks ago was the fourth of July. I think. Anyway, that Sunday I was asked to do Special Music for my church which I always thoroughly enjoy doing. However, I was asked to play patriotic songs on my trumpet. Not cool! I haven't done a full-blown solo on my trumpet since the sixth grade! But I girded up my loins (also a phrase I learned in church, ironically enough) and decided that I could do it, come what may. Well come what may, it did!

While I was waiting to practice at church, the praise team (group that leads the congregation in song) was  practicing some of my favorite songs EVER. Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone by Chris Tomlin and one other one whose name escapes me - I think it was a hymn. Anyway, they were short one female vocalist - and guess who they asked to do it?! ME!!! AHAHAHA I was sooooo excited! Plus, it helped take the edge of playing my trumpet, which is usually hit or miss with me. It all went fantastically and I had a blast.

Well, now guess what? I got asked to do praise team again! Woohoo! I'm so pumped. I am the only female vocalist this time and have only heard of one out of the four songs we're doing but I am so incredibly pumped :) Plus, I am doing choir this week which means I get to rip out high notes that I wouldn't normally do during a solo or praise team which always makes me happy :) yay being a soprano!

Unfortunately, this is my last summer doing all of the fun things I love to do with my church. Onto a new church! Go BWC! Brookings, SD will become my new permanent home next summer and I'm really excited. I'll miss the old 'burg, but it's time to start my future. My youth group at my new church just got a new pastor, whom my boyfriend and I are really excited to get to know. I might look into doing vocals there, if my school schedule isn't too crazy.

But best news ever: I'm getting baptized! Sometime, lol. I wanted to do it here before I left because that was the church that brought me to Christ, but they require membership. And I feel bad being a member of a church that I no longer go to and contribute money to one church when I go to a different one. And baptism is about renewal in Christ and publicly professing faith, so my new church seems a great place to do that.

I want to wait until I get to know this new pastor there more, though. I don't know why, I just want someone I know and someone who knows me to baptize me. Just seems more meaningful to me that way.

I'm also becoming quite frustrated with my healing prayer list becoming bigger and none of those things moving to my praise prayer list. But, God has a plan and I just have to trust him. I also get irritated that I don't put aside enough time in each day to deeply pray about everything on my list (which doesn't even begin to cover my mental prayer list). Usually I do two or three things well and then scan through the rest...which I do not approve of myself doing. Mental check: do what I want to do how I want to do it, not just breezing through and calling it good enough.

I hope this finds you all well and I would love to hear stories about the little things God is doing in your life now!

God Bless!
ChristianKid

To God be the Glory

At my church, we often do Special Music performances from members of the church before the sermon begins to set the mood for the sermon. I usually sing touching songs or play a number on my trumpet when I perform for this. However, one thing I always found weird about our special music was that no one claps afterwards. At first it was strange, but I began to get used to it and like it. Clapping shows you appreciate it, but saying "amen" afterwards shows you truly touched someone. And clapping puts the focus on you.
I love my God-given talent of singing. It's one of my favorite things to do and I cannot think of a better way to glorify God than to use that talent to touch other people. Because we don't clap and say "amen" instead, it shows that we acknowledge God as the source of such beautiful music and we thank Him for granting someone with such a wonderful gift. We have other members who perform amazing acapella numbers, group harmonies, and other instrumentalists such as flutists and pianists.

When we show other people what wonderful gifts God has blessed us with, we need to make sure we understand where those gifts come from and that those you are performing for understand this as well. In one of my favorite movies, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Shia LaBeouf's character, Francis, comments on an opera singer's voice having produced music sounding like it came from somewhere else and that's how he wants his golf game to be.

Now I play golf and sing, so this really hits home for me. Every once in a while, I will be singing in choir or just in my car and can all of the sudden start singing better than I ever could have imagined. And it sounds like it's coming from somewhere else - not my voice! It's one of the coolest things I have ever had happen to me. And it's happened during golf, too. When I hit that perfect drive or nail that forty foot putt, I know that sort of shot is expertise far beyond my years so it must come from something else. Some people may attribute this to luck, but luck has to come from somewhere too! And coincidences must be attributed to something as well.

These examples illustrate the need to rely on God, as well. We cannot do anything without God. We are not to rely on ourselves. As Matthew 19:26 states: With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. There is nothing in this world you cannot accomplish with God on your side. Whether it is singing with a Godly voice, or making a difficult putt, or David defeating Goliath, as long as we trust in God, we can accomplish anything.

Now let me give you an example from the other side of the spectrum: at my college, we read the book Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It was a touching story of how a broke mountain climber whose sister died of epilepsy wanted to climb K2 to place her necklace on the mountain as a symbolic thing to him. But he got caught in a storm and almost died but was nursed back to health by village-men and he swore to repay them via their education system. And he set out and built all these schools in the Middle East/K2 region and helping them overcome their constant oppression and lack of education.

It was truly inspirational! While reading this, I felt I could do something like this to. The author, Greg Mortenson, even came to our school to talk about his experiences and what we could do to help. The basketball arena was packed to the brim and then some. I remember thinking, "how awesome would it be if all these 2,000+ people in this stadium saw this great role model and then heard he attributed his success and gifts to God. What a wonderful testimony that would be! Alas, Mortenson was an atheist.

But as if God Himself agreed with me that Mortenson should give God the glory for his successes, Mortenson was discredited on national television! 60 minutes found out that he was a scam who didn't do half of what he said he did. He just took credit for it. He was also found to have been with Al Qaeda, having taken pictures holding machine guns and wearing a turban with them. It pretty much destroyed all Mortenson had made himself to be.

God wants us to be successful in our endeavors, but He does not want us to forget who gave us the ability to be successful. He just wants credit for what He's done. Wouldn't you if you put in all that hard work?

1 Corinthians 10:31 says that "so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." Do it ALL for the GLORY of God.

Just love God and glorify Him and His name...He is most certainly worth it.

God Bless!
ChristianKid