Bekah Hamrick Martin
Abbie Miller
Knowledge or Love?
Jenn Joshua
Why should I always try to be the best?
To be the most smart – the most well-dressed
To know everything from present and past
So as to answer every question asked.
What makes me think I’m any better than you?
We’re all just humans, so we mustn’t confuse
Knowledge with love, and possessions with grace
We’re all just humans with the trials we face. (more…)
Worth Waiting For
by Jenn Joshua
Make me worth waiting for,
Lord, let me deserve my man
And whether I be rich or poor,
Give me strength of hands
I ask you for a smiling face
Pleasant as I grow old
I don’t ask for beauty outside
But for a heart of gold
Help my head be high,
And my thoughts be pure,
Give me peace of mind
And cleanliness of soul
A gentle spirit, God, that gives
When nothing’s to be found
That thinks not of itself, but lives
To wipe away a frown.
Let me believe the best of those
Who touch my life each day
And put regrets behind to know
This is the straight, the narrow way.
Though terror I may never choose
Guide me unfearful through the way
And help me see the things I lose
Are really blessings gained.
I want to be worth waiting for,
So help him patient be…
And if I’m worth it, Lord, I pray
You’ll help him know and see.
Dirty. . .
By Jenn Joshua, RT Staff Writer
Have you ever wondered how it’s possible to be “different” from the rest of the world? Well, me too! A few months ago especially, I was haunted by James 1:27 where it says, “This is pure and undefiled religion: to keep yourself unspotted from the world.”
What exactly did unspotted mean? Did the term refer to inward things, outward, or both? And once it was defined, how was it to apply to my daily life? (And what entertainment would I have to give up if it were true?!)
God tells us that He looks our hearts — we’re called to be different INSIDE — what spills from us when we’re nudged should be totally different from what spills when unbelievers are nudged. I’m not saying that what’s inside is the only thing that matters — that we can dress like whatever, live like whatever, talk like whatever — but rather that if what’s inside is “true, noble, right, and pure,” what spills from us should be just that!
As Amy Carmichael put it, “A cup brimful of sweetness cannot spill a single bitter drop. ” It’s been said that if you put a frog in a saucepan of tepid water and set it on the stove to boil, it won’t jump out because the temperature change is so gradual it doesn’t even notice — it just sits there ’til it boils to death. (By the way, this might be a good experiment for biology class, but otherwise it’s not really recommended!) I think we sometimes get so steeped in the culture that we don’t realize we’re slowly being boiled alive — that the music, the movies, the books and magazines we feed our minds are beginning to have a subtle effect on us…
For example, have you ever done the Queen Anne’s Lace flower experiment? You know, the one where you slit the stem of the flower, and put each side in a different glass of food coloring? In a matter of days, the flower is two different colors. The change is subtle at first — the color creeps up the stalk and gently fills each bud — then suddenly, with a burst of color, there you have it! Half blue, half red… plain and bold for everyone to see!If we’re feeding ourselves filthy things (or even just mildly dirty things) it’s still eventually going to show, no matter what we do.
Maybe it won’t evidence itself in flaming colors, but it’ll be there and people will see it.
“Therefore, my friend, be diligent that you may be found in peace without spot, and blameless.” Peter 3:14
Jenn is a senior in high school whose love of writing is surpassed only by her love of working with kids. After her graduation in the spring, it is her plan to work at an inner-city kid’s camp, followed by an internship at a local children’s home.
I had my own week full of new beginnings and I wish I had time to write a real article about some of the things God has been doing in my life recently! Through some confusing setbacks and circumstances, I not only saw God’s grace revealed in an amazing way in my family’s life, but we were also drawn even closer together, which goes to show that God truly does bring forth beauty from ashes!
We were on an uncomfortable, unwanted trip – bad enough – but it went from being a three-day trip to a four-day one. Being snowed in at our old house in Maryland, seven hours from home without any real food, proved to be an interesting backdrop for a family evening together. Huddled in our sleeping bags, munching on an assortment of Grandma’s cookies, we spent at least six hours in uninterrupted conversation. So sure, we were stuck hundreds of miles from home, in a cold, empty house without any real food, but what quality time! What if we’d spent the night trying to drive home? I’m not trying to be dramatic, but we could’ve been killed. For the first time in the whole year we’ve been trying to sell that house, I thanked the Lord we still owned it! (more…)
Home is Not Here
(It Never Was)
by Jenn Joshua, 16
The last bag is packed, the last zipper shut. I lean back on my heels and look at the room I’m about to leave. What was it…three, four days ago that we got here? Maybe less. It seems like just yesterday. I stand to my feet, pull the heavy backpack onto my shoulder and inch backwards towards the door. Maybe next time I should bring a piece of furniture, something to make the room look more…
“Time to leave!” a voice calls from downstairs. One fleeting glance is all I’m entitled to before I close the door behind me. (more…)