By Brandon Jubar, Faithteen Issue #19

The hardest person to satisfy is you. It’s safe to say that we tend to be our own worst critics. Most of us don’t think we are talented enough, or gifted enough, or that our abilities are worth anything to anyone. But all our abilities are gifts from God, and they are meant to be shared.

Most of us would agree that, except for certain extreme situations, taking something that doesn’t belong to you is wrong. But what about not sharing something that we are supposed to share? Should we be concerned about violating God’s command, “You shall not steal?”

But I don’t have any gifts!

Everyone has a gift, because we reflect God’s goodness. In fact, most people have more than one gift that they can share. (read rest of this article and check out Faithteen Ezine)

Sometimes being popular isn’t everything…

Skylar is a high school senior who has found a new group of friends. She’s ready for a new life — if the old one would just get out of the way. Some consider her beautiful. Her old friends just want her to be herself. Her family is in crisis, and then there’s the whole romance issue.

Stephanie Morrill debuts her first novel, Me, Just Different, Book 1 in The Reinvention of Skylar Hoyt series.

It’s fun to read. The charactes are compelling and deal with real issues, like friendship, sexuality, and pressure to fit in.

Sound good?

Leave a comment and one lucky teen will win a copy of Me, Just Different!

Do you wish you knew what it meant to be “called”?

Do you feel that God is leading you into ministry, but have no clue how to take the next step?

Do you want a mentor, but don’t know where to find one?

Check out Explore the Call, a site that offers podcasts where mentors share what it means to be called, how they started, and they answer questions from teens who want to make a difference.

It also offers links to sites that offer even more information, as well as interactive elements like a blog. It’s a great spiritual mentor site that is new and growing, and filled with content that will answer the big questions you’ve been asking about changing the world.

 

Can I climb up in Your lap
I don’t wanna leave
Jesus sing over me
I gotta keep singing
Oh You’re everything I need
And I gotta keep singing

~Mercy Me

Recently, I was reminded of a little girl I worked with at summer camp. Sarah* had been terribly abused, and she wouldn’t let anyone touch her. When all the kids crowded around me at night and begged for hugs, she stayed in the corner with her arms crossed. It wasn’t OK for her to come close. It wasn’t safe.

That’s how I’ve felt with Jesus for a long time now. I’ve had this incredible desire to let Him hold me, to comfort me — but He wasn’t safe. He let bad things happen to me, and even though I wanted to forgive Him… even though I knew it wasn’t His fault… I couldn’t seem to get close to Him. (more…)

by Judi Weiss

Has someone ever told you that they cared about you but you guys couldn’t be friends because of (fill in the blank)? Or have you ever been told by your girlfriend/boyfriend that you guys would never work out? It hurts, like a crushing kind of pain. Kind of makes you wonder if you’ll ever find someone who loves you unconditionally.

But when stuff like that happens, it reminds me of God’s words to Moses on Mount Sinai: “You must worship no other gods, but only the Lord, for he is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you.” –Exodus 34:14

That verse made me think. God, who built this earth, who made a man out of dust from the ground, who strung the stars up in the sky, wants to have a relationship with me.

There are things that go on, that make you think you’ll have to go through it alone, but you don’t. God is there, and he always will be. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Psalm 18. After the Lord delivers him from his enemies, David wrote words that everyone can relate to.

“I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” –Psalm 18:1-2

No matter how much this life throws at you, cling to the Lord. He wants that relationship with you. He’s so passionate about you. He’ll never leave you, forsake you, or abandon you. He’s the one who can love you unconditionally. All you have to do is let him in.

If you parent made a mistake that hurt you and they later said they are sorry, would you want to forgive them?

One lucky commentor will win a copy of Making It Real: Whose Faith Is it Anyway?

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

I was watching a Marathon, sitting with friends, one of them a runner. A guy ran by. He was bent over crooked. It looked like a rubber band pulled him forward.

“What’s up with that guy,” I asked.

“He’s dehydrated,” my friend said. “He’s in danger and doesn’t even know it. His body has taken all the fluids and now it’s drawing from his muscles.”

A bystander ran to the man and handed him a Gatorade and the runner swigged it down.

I hope it’s not too little, too late, I thought.  

Marathon runners train for months to get in shape. They have to wear the right shoes. They eat lots of carbs and the right amount of protein. They work to stay dehydrated, not just during the race, but before and after.

They train on similar terrain to the marathon course. It’s a lot different running a straight 26. 2 miles than it is running hills or into the wind or by water.

They have to know how to partner with others. There’s a point in a marathon that every runner wants to give up. Their body is screaming in pain. Their feet are bleeding or their toenails are turning black. Every time they pound the pavement it jolts their hips or knees.

A good partner might be a running buddy who comes alongside in those times and helps them keep the pace. Not too fast. Not too slow. Just one step in front of the other.

It might be a group of friends who hold signs with your name on it, or who scream out your name as you pass by, and then drive to the next major point so they can do it all over again.

Following Christ is also a marathon. It’s not a sprint. It’s discouraging at times, and ecstatic at others. Paul warns believers to stay focused and not to get tripped up. Your daily prayer life (just talking to God) is your nourishment. It’s something that doesn’t go away. You can dig down deep and find what you need when you’re discouraged.

Your roadmap is your relationship with Christ. It helps you remember who you are and where you’re going. When you follow Him, it won’t always be the easiest routes, or that of the least resistance, but it’s in his footsteps so you’ll grow in the process.

It will be important who you allow to encourage you as you navigate life. Are they taking you down, or are you showing them how to run the race?

What about when you fall or get injured in the race? Get back up. Athletes often fall and are bruised. They gain strength by getting up and learning from their mistakes.

At the end of the race, there is a prize. But there are also prizes along the way: knowing God, discovering your destiny, getting to know the Creator of the Universe.

Are you running the race?

Red Lights of an Unhealthy Relationship

Does someone you care about?

• Put you down? Criticize you?
• Get extremely jealous or possessive?
• Constantly check up on you?
• Tell you how to dress? What to think? What to say?
• Try to control what you do and who you see?
• Make you feel nervous (like you are walking on eggshells)?
• Threaten to hurt you physically (push, slap, pinch, shove)?
• Threaten to hurt you emotionally (manipulation, threaten, embarrass you, tell secrets, withdraw affection)?
• Ask you to do things that you normally wouldn’t do?
• Ask you to do things that are not in your best interest?

If one or more of these warning signs exist in your relationship, your relationship is not as healthy as you deserve.

Real Advice: My boyfriend hits me