Authority

Romans 13: 1-2:  "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.  The authorities that exist have been established by God.  Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God had instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement to themselves."

Many teens around the world struggle to obey adults who are in charge of them.  Most of the time, teens want to be in control of their own lives and not listen to their parents or guardians or their teachers.  It is natural for us to think we know more than we do.  The thing is, the Bible says we need to obey the people in charge of us as long as they are asking us to do Godly things.  Anyone who is in authority over you is put there by God, for a reason.  If you rebel against your parents, then you are rebelling against God.  If you are asked to do your chores, or put your clothes away, or clean your room, and you don't, then you are rebelling against God.  There is a difference if we rebel because we don't want to do something and rebelling against someone who is asking you to do something God doesn't approve of.  I believe most adults are asking you to do something that God approves of.  He wants you to learn to take responsibility, to learn and be educated so you can better yourself.  The last time I checked, cleaning your room wasn't against what God thinks is right.  Now we are humans, so we do mess up now and then, but if we can change our attitudes when it comes to obeying those in authority over us, then we can learn and improve ourselves as people.  As you go through life, you will always have someone in authority over you whether it's your boss at a job, a professor at college or the President of the United States.  We need to work at obtaining good habits, obeying authorities and doing so with grace and respect.  All this will help you in the long run to experience lives well lived.

Sources:

True Images Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Print

Prayer

Prayer is very important is a relationship with God.  It is a time for just you and God to communicate. But what are you saying when you pray?  Are you finding yourself praying for the same things over and over, or being selfish?  Prayer is about something bigger than yourself.  You can pray for a friend's grade, or for the kids in Africa, or that your favorite singer's album is a big success.  Prayer is where you can tell God anything and He is always listening.

Have you ever prayed and you feel like there was no one is listening?  Or have you ever just started to pray and you don't know what to say?  Prayer is just a conversation between you and God. You can tell Him anything and He is always there.  He is with you on the good days and the days that are so difficult, they never seem to end.  There are two scriptures below that express His love for prayer:

Deuteronomy 4: 7 "What other nation is so great as to have their gods near to them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him."

Romans 8: 26-27 "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

I also like "Pray" by Justin Bieber because it touches on the meaning of prayer.  Click the link below to  enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9tJW9MDs2M

Sources:

True Images Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Print
"Justin Bieber- Pray." Youtube. JustinBieberVEVO, 30 Nov. 2010. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9tJW9MDs2M>.

Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Social media is a big part of life these days.  It is how we spread news around to family and friends or to a mass audience.  Two of the biggest social medians are Facebook and Twitter, (which I have neither of at this point in life).

I decided I would look at all the pros and cons about this from a "non-partakers" point of view:

The Good:  Social media can be a good thing.  You can talk to relatives or friends all across the nation and the world.  You can let them know about important events that have happened or you can send them your wishes in hard times.  It is also good for keeping celebrities close to their fans.  It gives them a way to communicate to their fans, something celebrities in the past couldn't do.  It can also quickly spread good news.  There are many Facebook and Twitter pages for Christians.  One that some friends of mine started is, "Teens Writing For Him."  It is a Facebook page for teens writing about Christ.

The Bad:  The bad is how much time social media takes up in people's lives.  If you look around the hallways at school during class changes, lunch or the end of the day, it seems that many students are on a social media page, whether it's on a computer or a mobile (the use during school is a main reason why I don't have an account).  This can cause relationships with family and peers to crumble if all you do is look at a computer screen or a cell phone and never speak face to face where people see your expressions and body language.

The Ugly:  The ugly side of social media is the rumors and the bullying that can happen.  People will create fake accounts just to cause someone else harm.  People will go online to bully a person, which exposes the person even more than bullying face to face.  You also get rumors about things a celebrity did or didn't do.  It is hard to know who a celebrity really is anyway, but this can make it even more confusing.  I think school would often be a safer place for some people if they were not online where people are judged by what is heard about them on the internet rather than something someone saw or by people who do not know them for who they are.

Overall, social media can be an amazing tool when used for good if doesn't take over your life.  But with all the bullying and rumors going on, I think it is questionable if social media is such a good thing to have in our society. All this leads to me just asking, please, think twice before you post something that might hurt someone else.

Please Don't Go

Have you ever been at a point in your life when it is hard to see the light?  Perhaps you wonder if God is even there?  I have gone through those experiences more then once.  And every time, I have wanted to turn away from Him. One time, while I was crying, these lyrics came to mind.  I scribbled them down, and when I looked at them later, I saw that they were original and sent to me from God. I hope that if you are going through a hard time, reading these lyrics as if God is speaking to you through my blog will bring you peace.

"Please Don't Go"
I've created you,
And sent my Son for you.
So why do you run away?
I have saved you,
I have broken your fall.
So why don't you run to my arms?
I'm calling you,
But you don't hear.
I'm just saying

Please don't go.
You don't know how much it hurts me.
Don't you know,
I have known you from the start
Please don't go.

I'm your Father,
You're my child
Yet you don't know me
I have saved you from your sin,
Yet you don't thank me.
You think you know me,
But I know your future.
I'm just saying

Please don't go.
You don't know how much it hurts me.
Don't you know,
I have known you from the start
Please don't go

I'm here for you
Just turn to me.
I'm here for you.
Just please don't go.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is a day of love.  Well, it is if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, fiance or you're married.  For all the single people, including me, this can be just another day, with the exception of all they gifts and love we see others get.  Sometimes, I feel left out.  So to help myself feel better, I came up with some ideas on how you can celebrate Valentines day if you are single:

1) Celebrate Valentine's Day with your friends.  Even if you are not dating, you can still give your friends a gift to show how much you appreciate them.

2) Write a Valentine's Day card for yourself.  I think many teenagers struggle with self confidence, and writing a card about everything that is good about yourself can help you feel better and remind you of who you really are.

3) Write a Valentine's Day card for the Lord.  He is always there for you and you can always talk to Him and depend on Him.  Write Him a card about all that you love about Him.

Even though you may be single this Valentine's Day, there are still many ways you can celebrate this time of year.  Love is not just something couples experience.

30 Day Challenge

The 30 Day Challenge is an amazing challenge.I first heard of it on K-love. It is where you listen to nothing but christian music for 30-days. There are some limitations to this, for example music is on any TV show or movie, and you can't really control the music in public places. So for me, the challenge was to listen to christian music whenever I'm alone. So that meant when I was listening to my Mp3 player, online, and in the car. For many years I have wanted to take the challenge, but to me it seemed impossible to complete. I listen to so much music that isn't christian music that it is hard to give them up for a whole month. (especially Jonas Brothers) I finally decided to give it a try. I started on January 1, 2013, and went to January 30th. Let me tell you, the first few days was hard. I so badly wanted to listen to my other music. It also didn't help that my main Mp3 player has only a few christian songs, and I lost my Mp3 player with only christian music. But I some how made it through. A big part of that was listening to K-love. They were so encouraging, because other people were taking the challenge too. Also, through the month, my attitude improved, and I became more positive. I found more peace in my life. On top of that I didn't fight with my parents as much. I also found strength that God had gave me that I never knew I had before. I did go back to listening to my other music January 31st, but I would never forget this experience. So if you are looking for a challenge, then take the 30 day challenge. It will change your life.

Friends

Friends are people who stick with you through the good times and the bad. They are happy for you when you achieve something that you want. They also make sure you don't fall. But I feel that in today's society, many people make friends for their popularity or money. People also hide behind a mask, just to be friends with the most popular, or the richest person. I remember in fifth grade, everyone wanted to be my friend. Many of them figured that if they were my friend then if they did anything bad to me, I won't tell my mom. My mom back then was really strict and most everyone one was scared of her. It took me to get in a fight with some of them to find out the real reason they were my friends. Then in eighth grade, people became my friend because they wanted me to do their homework. Only my true friends help me when I need it.
I find it annoying that as soon as you don't match up their needs, most people ditch you for something bigger and better. Only a true friend will accept you for you. This is also true for boyfriends or girlfriends. You don't have to change yourself to fit into their mold. If they really love you, then they will accept you, including your flaws. You shouldn't have to put on a mask to impress anyone, because then those relationships aren't a true relationship. It is a relationship of lies and those fall and break easily. So I ask you to examine your friends and see if they are truly your friends or a bunch of phonies.

Hooked

I bet many of us have heard the term "One time and your hooked." This can mean from getting hooked on a TV show to getting hooked on drugs, and everything in between.  Now getting hooked on a TV show has it consequences.  You end up like me and that is all you do on your weekends.  But getting hooked on drugs is much worse and life changing.  Many people will just say they are doing it only once, and once turns into a couple more times, which turns into an addiction.  And once your addicted, it is really hard to break that addiction.  Many teens are doing drugs all across the country, and they are unaware of how much damage they are causing.  They are causing health problems to themselves, they can cause pain to their family and friends and they can affect a community by the waste they leave, or the death they cause.  Drugs aren't a thing that any one should be involved in.  So please think about what you are doing before you do drugs.

A song that really touches on this topic is "Slow Fade" by Casting Crowns. It shows how getting hooked on one thing can change a persons life.  Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASREBVDsLk

Source:
 "Casting Crowns- Slow Fade." Youtube. CastingCrownsVEVO, 14 Nov. 2009. Web. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QASREBVDsLk>.