Archive for June, 2006

June 29, 2006

~Real Word~

1Then GOD ordered me, “Start all over: Love your wife again, your wife who’s in bed with her latest boyfriend, your cheating wife.Love her the way I, GOD, love the Israelite people,even as they flirt and party with every god that takes their fancy.” 2I did it. I paid good money to get her back.It cost me the price of a slave. 3Then I told her, “From now on you’re living with me.No more whoring, no more sleeping around.You’re living with me and I’m living with you.”
4The people of Israel are going to live a long timestripped of security and protection,without religion and comfort,godless and prayerless. 5But in time they’ll come back, these Israelites,come back looking for their GOD and their David-King.They’ll come back chastened to reverencebefore GOD and his good gifts, ready for the End of the story of his love.

RT: Hosea paints a powerful picture in these scriptures as he shares his own painful story of an unfaithful wife. God shows Hosea how to love his wife in the same way that he loves his unfaithful children.

I don’t want to be unfaithful. I don’t want God to be anything but the most important presence in my life. And yet the truth is that things distract and pull at me. Things get more important than my time with God. Things trip me up when all I really want is to know him.

Today I went out and got alone with God. I unplugged and ditched the distractions so I could hang with him alone. I didn’t ask him for anything. I just talked to him and let him know how powerful it was to have him in and over my life.

What about you? Is he the only One in your life? If not, invite him to a one-on-one where you and God can connect all over again.

Read the scriptures again. Hear the longing in God’s voice as he speaks to and through Hosea. That’s his heartbeat.

Filed under: real word

June 28, 2006

GO
by B.J. Hamrick

Go”.

It seems like a simple command. All a person has to do is pick up one foot and put it in front the other. As a child, I promised God I would do this. That my life was His. That whatever He wanted me to do — wherever He wanted me to go — I would follow.

I didn’t know that would involve staying in bed.

Just after my 10th birthday, I awoke with a sore throat. I thought after a few days I’d get better, but a week went by and I still felt like I had the flu. (On a funny note: my dad once called one of his friends on the telephone, and an exchange student answered. “Hello?” my dad asked, “Can I talk with Bob?” “I am sorry,” the exchange student said, “but he is in bed with the fly and he cannot get up.”)So basically, I was “in bed with the fly” for the better part of 11 years. (more…)

Filed under: Guest Writers, real devos

June 27, 2006

~Real Question~

Hi,

I am going into my senior year. I just started dating this boy a few months ago. The other night I felt the need to share my past junk with him. My freshman year I cut, only twice, and that was it. I had been struggling socially, acidemically, and my family situation has never been wonderful. I was playing basketball at the time and my coach did a good job of lowering my self-esteem. I had also gotten out of a very short term relationship with a boy that used me.

I have not cut since and I don’t want to be revisiting this place (the one that even talks about cutting). But my boyfriend feels that I still should seek help. I have not let it define me, and I feel that God has forgiven me and healed me.

(more…)

Filed under: self-injury, real advice

June 25, 2006

Do you ever feel anxious?

Anxiety usually comes from three sources:

You feel insecure — something bad is going to/might happen
You feel helpless — there is nothing you can do
You feel isolated — there is no one to help

What does the Bible say about anxiety? In one verse it says, “cast your cares upon God for he cares for you”.

That’s awesome. You don’t have to carry your fears or cares alone.

Let’s look at another verse. This is what it says in Proverbs 3:21-26 (more…)

Filed under: real word

June 19, 2006

School girls forced to take off chasity rings or be removed from class

Schoolgirls are forced to take off chastity rings - or be ordered out of lessons
Gaby Hinsliff, political editor
Sunday, June 18, 2006
The Observer

It is only a band of silver, imprinted with a Bible verse, worn by a schoolgirl.

But the decision by one of the country’s top state schools to ban American-style ‘purity rings’ - increasingly worn by Christian teenagers to symbolise a pledge not to have sex before marriage - has prompted not just a standoff with local parents, but a debate over religious expression and sex education.

Read rest of article. . . (more…)

Filed under: teens making a difference, real articles

June 13, 2006

Looking for a Father by Ashley P., Guest Writer 

By the time I was three my parents were divorced and my dad was already remarried. It’s hard when your parents separate, but harder when your three and one of them tells you that it’s all your fault.

Growing up, I wanted what everyone else seemed to have. A Father. Someone who would look out for me, hold me on bad days, and tell me I was his little princess.

(more…)

Filed under: real story, Guest Writers, abuse

June 5, 2006

Campus Life, June/July 2006
Taking Light Into Dark Places
How P.O.D. shocked a shock jock
by Mark Moring

No Nonsense: P.O.D. was live on the radio with controversial talk-show host Howard Stern when they completely shocked the notorious shock jock. Stern couldn’t believe his ears. The guys in the band had just said, no, they don’t sleep around with groupies.

Click here for rest of article

~Real Quote~

We go into each album on our knees, and pray that God would do something awesome with it,” Sonny says. “It’s just the P.O.D. way to always intertwine our music with the hope we have in Christ. We encourage people to scream their faith from the rooftops. Whatever you’re going through in your own life, God is the same, regardless. That’s what we’re testifying about. God is good always.”

Filed under: music, real review