Truly Experiencing Faith

I grew up in church. I grew up knowing all the songs. I grew up memorizing verses. At age eight I could answer any adults questions about salvation perfectly. But I was not saved. When I was 13 I finally understood God's love for me in a real way. And I accepted him as my savior. However, I still didn't connect His words and His songs to my daily life.

I was thinking about that today. For so long I would listen to worship music as just words. As words that praise God, but just good things to say. Kind of like this. If you mis-stepped and almost fell off of a cliff or tall building but someone reached out at the last second, your thank you would have a lot more meaning than saying thank you because your date paid for your dinner. Well for so long whenever I would praise God it was like I was thanking Him for my dinner. It was something that he didn't have to do but He was supposed to do. It was nice, but didn't really consume my heart as life changing.

And it is SO easy to do that! We sing the same words every week. We know them by heart. We honestly are thanking God but kind of half heartily. Like we thank our parents for giving us a place to live. Like God is somehow obligated to save us. I think of a couple of songs playing on the christian radio circuit as an example of what I experienced in my own life. They are "What Faith Can Do" by Kutless and "One Thing Remains" by Jesus Culture.

The Kutless song goes like this, and I know most of you have probably sang it at one time.
I've seen dreams that move the mountains

Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do

That's what faith can do. But what are you thinking about when you sing this song. Do you really believe it? Have you really seen it? It took quite an experience in my life to really see it. I can honestly say that I have seen a hope that doesn't end even when the sky is falling. I've seen miracles just happen. I've see silent prayers get answered. And I am SO blessed to have seen that! But this blog isn't about focusing on God more during songs, it's about truly experiencing faith. Have you truly experienced faith? Have you experienced that hope that doesn't ever end even when the sky is falling? My favorite line in this song is also one of my favorite verses. "If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old has passed away, behold, the new has come" - 2 Corinthians 5:17. I have seen broken hearts become brand new countless times, but I want to share the story of one of these amazing times. So maybe you can see it for yourself.

Most of you know my story. If not here is a link. http://www.mercyministries.org/news/54/2012/01-31/six-more-mercy-graduates-celebrate-freedom so I am going to tell the story of my dear friend, one of the most amazing people I have ever known. And also a Mercy sister.

I met her in the fall of 2011. I was taking care of myself at a rehabilitation/discipleship facility in CA and she was just coming in. I had already been there for a few months and had already seen amazing changes in my own life. This girl walked through the doors angry and hopeless. She was the definition of a broken heart. She had gone through a life of all kinds of terrible abuse from her own father and her mom was as deadbeat as well. She tried her best to raise her younger brother. Eventually things got so unbearable that she turned to eating disorders and drugs to try and get control of her life. But it just ran her into the dirt. She was hopeless. She had nothing. She had been hospitalized for suicide attempts. I knew God could reach her but I never dreamed He would reach her in such a big way that He did.

She put up a HUGE fight but God got to her heart. They wrestled for a long time but God won, and gently loved on her. It hasn't been an easy road but God did not give up on her. He is a part of her soul and mind and walks with her. Today this girl is a beautiful woman of God. Her heart is brand new! She can trust people. She can love people. Silent prayers were answered. Her heart is beautiful and new.

This same thing happened to me. When was the last time you truly experienced God? When was the last time you trusted Him with everything you had? I am a very stubborn person and it took me quite a long time to recognize that God was worth my trust and I had to go through hell and back to realize that He is ALL I have and ALL I need. When was the last time you put everything else aside and trusted Him? Jerimiah 29:12-13 says " Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

God will be there for you. When was the last time you sought after Him with your whole heart? It's not easy. And it's not going to happen everyday. But it is so worth it. And I don't mean seek after Him as in just reading your Bible and praying (even though those are GREAT places to start), I mean to seek after Him in EVERYTHING you do. If it's sitting out in the yard and yelling, do that! If it's writing a song do that. Just connect. Reach out, truly, with your heart. I want to end with a few words of encouragement as you start on this journey. From a song:


Your love never fails it never gives up it never runs out on me

God's love never fails. It will never run out on you. If you reach out to Him, He will come to you. His love will never run dry for you. He loves you.

What are you worth?

     I know I said I would be answering questions but it turns out, You guys aren't asking many questions. So I am going to post something I have been recently thinking about due to a friend's Facebook post. Worth. A friend of mine posted a list of what he thought to be the 10 prettiest girls he was friends with on Facebook. Now, all of these girls were very beautiful; but it got me thinking, what makes a girl number 10 versus number 1? And what about the girls not on the list? Are those girls worth less? Should we all strive to be number 1? What determines what we are worth?

     So ask yourself this question, "What am I worth?" This is a really hard question to answer, especially as a girl. If you aren't on some list, where do you belong. I spent most of my life wrestling with this question. I learned from a very young age as many of us wrongly do, that my worth came from what people thought of me. If I sang really loud during Sunday school, or if I studied hard to get good grades people would love me. And to the best of my knowledge, their love and praise was what I was worth. After all, the people on TV were only as good as people thought of them, so I thought the same was true with me. I tried my best to earn as much approval as possible, so I would be worth more to people.

           As I got older, boys came into the equation. My worth stopped coming from what adults thought of me to what boys thought of me. Now, I have never been a particularly good looking person. I am very average. I've never been a model. So, knowing I would never be approved of by the typical group of guys in middle and high school; I would pick one to go after and do everything I could to be the perfect person for him. Sometimes that would be dressing "sexy", joining the clubs he was in, or doing anything I could that I thought he would like. As long as some guys were happy with me, I was worth something, Obviously not as much as those beautiful girls but still worth something.
         
            My senior year of high school I got my first real boyfriend. He came up to me in class and asked me out on a date, just us. We had been friends before but for the first time, someone liked me. I started trying to do anything and everything to get him to like me even more and to keep him from leaving me for someone better. Someone who had made the list of prettiest girls. I thought I was only worth something if he loved me. Well this was not a good thought to have. There were some days where we were happy and together but some days we didn't get along. So my self worth went up and down like a roller coaster ride.

            It wasn't until I got into some really bad life situations that I realized I had no self worth. I wasn't worth anything. I had pushed everyone away. But it was at this time that God was able to show up. God showed up and started to tell me what He thought about me. He told me that He made me beautiful. He told me that He had a plan for me. He told me that He loved me NO MATTER WHAT. And slowly I began to realize that my worth is the worth that my creator gave to me. Think about it like this.

             A twenty dollar bill. Who determines what that piece of paper is worth? Someone who didn't know what it was might think it was only as good as toilet paper. Someone with millions of dollars might think that it is worth nothing. Someone in a poor country might think it is worth a new house. But what really determines the worth of that dollar is the amount that the dollar's creator put on it. The same goes for you and me. Our worth comes from the mark our creator put on us. So what does God think of us. Check this out: (from restoredbyloveministries.org)

GOD ADORES YOU!You might not think you are anything special but you are more special than you can even imagine to God. God sent his Son, Jesus to die for each and every one of us (Romans 5:8). He died and rose again so that we could be free and forgiven (1 Peter 3:18) from the mistakes we make. It is so hard at times as a teen and even for some adults to acknowledge that God's love is so much greater than any love any human being(including a guy you might be dating!) can give us. Sometimes we get so tied down by what people think and we let it eat away at our hearts. But what God thinks is what matters and He thinks YOU ARE SPECIAL! He loves you with an everlasting love and it's through the understanding and acceptance of His love for us that we find freedom. Let me let you in on a secret....Even when you feel you can't go to anyone on this earth, Jesus wants to be your bestfriend, and he qualifies for the greatest bestfriend you could EVER have. He wants to sit with you when you are hurting. (Psalm 34:18) He wants you to tell him everything you are feeling. (Psalm 10:17-18) He knows it all already so you might as well tell him about it, right??? He will not turn away from you and leave you abandoned. He wants a personal relationship with you because you are His most prized possession!(1 John 4:9-10)


You are beautiful and you are worth SO MUCH!!!! 


       

Relationships

Hello. I know I said that most of my posts would be answering your questions but tonight I feel like there is an issue I really need to address. Relationships. Like I said earlier I have been working at a camp the past couple of weeks. Most of the counselors are from 16-20 which equals a lot of drama. Everyone has crushes on each other and then there are fights which is ruining the time. So I want to talk to you guys about this. Dating is a good thing. God made us to love. But neglecting your opportunity to serve isn't a good thing. But I want to talk to you about a certain girl at camp. And I am sure that her story is so similar to yours, because I KNOW it is to mine. This girl had a crush on one of the guys for a couple of years. She liked him a lot. They flirted back and forth too. But for some unknown reason he stopped talking to her. Everything changed all of a sudden. And now she is crushed. She is sad because she spent so much of her life thinking about him. This has happened to me too. And if it hasn't happened to you I'm sure it has happened to one of your friends. Do you know someone who was "dating" someone and then they broke up. Seeing your friend go through that sadness isn't easy, and neither is going through it. But it is a part of life. I want each of you to think back to your first crush. Now think of the way you felt when he looked at you or talked to you. That feeling was so amazing. We crave that feeling. I remember that the first time a boy asked me out my face got bright red and I was so excited I could hardly answer. And soon we will do anything to make that feeling stay. But I was listening to a song by Sanctus Real earlier and it talked about that. I want you to picture God saying this to you. "Remember how you felt from across the room When you realized someone had eyes for you And the way your heart sang because you believed You were worth something So come with me I'll show you life Even better than this Come with me I'll show you love You didn't know could exist Better than your first crush Better than your first kiss I'll show you how to live Because I created your heart That makes you feel I am the love that makes it real I am the one." God created us to feel that way. That happy feeling of butterflies in our stomach is something God made for us. But God has something better in store for each of us than any guy could provide. God is the one. So as you start to date or like guys, remember that God has so much more for you. Keep Him first and you won't be disappointed. Now I know that there are some of you who have already dated someone and broken up. Or maybe you never dated, you just liked him and then he didn't like you back. You might feel like your heart is broken and there is no way you could ever love again. Well it isn't easy when your heart hurts like that. I found another song that speaks just to that. Jesus, keep my heart alive keep my heart alive Only you can save me from a world that's breaking right before my eyes Keep my heart alive Remember that God is there to heal your heart and He loves you SO much!

I feel so distant from God, How can I get closer to Him? ~ Aidyn, age 13

This week I was able to counsel at a local bible camp. I had each of my campers write down a question and this is what one of them wrote. I am so proud of her for admitting this. Admitting you are distant from God and things are not as they should be is not easy, but recognizing the problem is the first step to solving it. Sometimes we all feel far away from God. When you first accept God or maybe after a really spiritual event in your life; you feel so close. But soon you forget about that experience and go back to normal life. Well I have some news for you. GOD IS NOT AN EXPERIENCE! God is a person. God is someone, not something. God is not a feeling. Jeremiah 17:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" The first thing we have to realize if we want to grow closer with God is 1) What we feel is not always accurate. What? What about following our hearts? Well you are welcome to do that but it is going to be a crazy roller coaster ride. For those of you who still don't believe me let me put it this way. You are going to cross the street. It's a major highway actually. And you look both ways and don't see any cars. You don't feel like there are any cars coming. But that doesn't change the fact that there is a drunk man speeding towards you just out of your sight. Or on a happier note, You are in a burning building. (lol that sounds funny)You feel like you are all alone. You feel like you are going to die. But that doesn't change the fact that a firefighter is outside your door coming for you. So while our feelings are REALLY good things (God made them after all) they can sometimes lie to us. This is why sometimes we feel distant from God. We are still in His hands, but when we ignore someone our feelings lie to us and tell us that He is too far away to reach. I want to let you guys know that God is NEVER out of your reach and there are ways to feel closer and grow in a deeper relationship with God. OK. Now on to the actual question. (WOW I am long winded.) How can we have a deeper relationship with God. Well thankfully God doesn't make it that hard. It's a really simple process, but not so simple to put into action. James 4:8 actually promises us, "Come close to God, and God will come close to you". If we try, God will come near to us. God created us in His image. Which means that our relationship with Him is the example for our relationship with people we love. Alot of the ways we grow closer to Jesus are the same ways we grow closer with people. 1. You need to decide you want to be an active part of this relationship. You can't be your friend's best friend if you never talk to them and only see them maybe once a week. The same is true with God. You have to decide if He is someone you want to be with. And that comes from learning more about Him. When you first meet someone you are not immediately best friends. You have to learn more about them before you decide if you want to really be friends with them. The same is true with God. 2. Talk with God. Talk with Him just like you would talk to a close friend. No secrets. Pour out your heart. If you are angry, tell Him. If you are happy, tell Him. If you notice a cute flower just thank Him. If you can't seem to get used to this idea, think of God like a contact on your cell phone. When you see something cool or think of something fun you text your best friend. You have inside jokes and she is always the first person you want to tell. Think like that with God. When you see something talk to Him first. You don't even need a phone for it. You can write your prayers, just Keep an open relationship with Him and keep talking. 3. Listen. There are so many different ways that God speaks to us in this day and age. We just need to listen. But it is important to judge everything we think God is saying and test it against His word. The Bible. God has written all we need to know in there. You can listen to it on tape, you can read it. However you get God's word in you. That is how God will mainly speak back to you. Sometimes a worship song, dream, message, or something you see will speak to you as well which is a beautiful thing just as long as it lines up with the word of God. God is talking to you, all you have to do is listen. As you take steps to get to know God you'll learn what He has planned for your life. Serving is something we can do that when you do it out of a relationship with God, can bring you closer. But it all comes down to loving God. And letting Him love you.

Freedom

Night 3 Freedom I know that over the past couple days many of you have come to know that you can choose life because of God’s love. I am overjoyed to know that some of you have made this decision at some point in life and are in a joyous relationship with God. But the Christian life does not end at salvation. Salvation is rebirth. You still have to grow. Now this is where a lot of the problems I had you write down on your cards the first day come in. Life isn’t easy. Who here has problems in there life? We all have problems and most of them can come back down to sin. Do you ever feel like you wish you could live for God and not mess up but you just can’t? I want to read to you guys Romans 7:14-24 “The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. 15 I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. 16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. 17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[d] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. 19 I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. 20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 21 I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God’s law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. 24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” Paul from the Bible had the exact same problem we do. He wanted to do good, but He couldn’t. I love when he says “who will set me free?” Being set free, sounds good doesn’t it ladies? The word used there for free is the word Rhoumai (who am I) It means “to draw to one's self, to rescue, to deliver” Who will set us free? Who will rescue us? You see, Jesus doesn’t just rescue us from hell, but from sin. We have freedom over sin and death. Troubles will come in life. There is no way around that. But Jesus gives those of us with trouble in our lives hope in John 16. “"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage ; I have overcome the world." But what about that one sin that you can’t seem to quite get over. That one sin that is like a huge wall right in front of you and God. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe it’s looking at things you shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s lying. Whatever it is I have hope for you as well. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But God doesn’t leave things at that. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.” That is God’s promise to each of you. No matter what you are struggling with God will always be there to help you through it. Now this does not give you permission to continue in your sins. Sin is still a terrible thing. There is no real way to justify sin. Sin hurts you, and it hurts God. One of my favorite verses is Galatians 5:1. It says “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Do you remember the story of the slave girl from our first night? The King set her free not so she could keep being beaten every day, but so that she could be free and live in the palace with Him. Romans 6:1-2 describes this perfectly. “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?” I want each of you to realize that you have victory over sin in your life. This is a promise Jesus gives to us. So lets end this night with a promise from God. James 4:7-10 says, “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet. “

Assurance

Night 2 Assurance Who can tell me about last night’s devo? Awesome, I hope that each of you have been thinking about that choice. But I know that there are some of you who are thinking that it can’t be that simple. What if you mess up? What if you do something really terrible? What if you forget to pray? How can I really be sure that I am going to heaven and am going to be accepted by God? Well that’s what we are going to be talking about tonight. And I have another story for you guys tonight. I learn a lot better with stories so I hope this will help you guys to understand as well. This story is found in Luke 15 The Story of the Lost Son 11-12Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' 12-16"So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any. Have you ever been desperate? Do you ever feel like you have wasted all your chances and there is no way God could ever accept you? Well the boy in this story sure did. 17-20"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father. This boy had made a very brave decision. He was afraid of what his father would do. His father could send him right back on his way. But he made the choice to at least try going back. Let’s see how the father reacted. 20-21"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.' 22-24"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time. The father welcomed the son home. This is what God will do with you. If you come to him you are welcomed home. God promises this so many times in scripture. Romans 8:1 says “Therefore there is NO condemnation in Christ Jesus.” John 10: 28-29 says “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” Romans 8:28 says “I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” God makes it very clear that there is nothing you can do to lose God’s love. Once you accept Christ, that gift of salvation cannot be taken away from you. That choice of life or death, of your way or God’s way, of heaven or hell is still open to you. But once you make the choice of life it never goes away. Romans 10:9 says, “This is the core of our preaching. Say the welcoming word to God—"Jesus is my Master"—embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" That is the simple message of salvation. Once you make that choice and call out to God there is nothing that can take you out of His hands. Let’s close with a word of prayer that God will make each of you know this deep inside your heart.

Salvation

Night 1 Salvation Hi girls. I just wanted to start of the night by getting to know you a little bit. What did you all think of the message? (allow time for answers) Well I have some cards for you guys to fill out during our devo tonight. They are all confident so don’t worry about someone finding out what you have to say. Camp is a safe place, free of judgment. On the top line of the card I want you to write your name, age, and grade that you are going into. Underneath write a fun fact about yourself. Maybe you have a pet squirrel or have never cut your hair. Now underneath that is our real fun question. Basically it is a chance for you to put your question. Maybe it’s a question about God, like “How do I know for sure that I am going to heaven?” or maybe it’s a question about life, like “Should I date this guy?” Either way I’ll try my best to answer. Once everyone is finished with that I’d like you each to answer this question “If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven and why?” I’ll give you guys a little while to fill out the cards and I’ll collect them at the end of the devo which is a short one tonight because I know I’ve already taken up a lot of time. I want to tell you girls of a love story. Imagine a girl. She is very poor and has been living on the streets all her life. Her clothes are ragged and torn. She is an orphan and had just barely survived. She is covered in dirt, smells terrible, and looks even worse. She has no one and nothing. She is a slave to a very cruel master. This girl is you. Now imagine a wonderful King. Everyone loves him. He is not a mean king but one who loves his people and would do anything for them. He has riches beyond belief and is looking for someone to love and share them with. He is looking for a daughter. This King is God. The best part of this story is that God looked right at your broken little heart and decided that He wanted you. Though you had nothing to offer God wanted to save you from your destiny. But you came with a high price. You were a slave to a very cruel master who placed a very large price on you, your life. The king paid for this with his own life. God died for you. He set you free. He has paid your punishment. You are free. And God did not stay dead. He rose from the dead because he was holy. Your price has been paid. But this is not the end of the story. The end is your choice, and there are two different endings. The first is our happy ending. When you hear that the King has paid your debt and that you are now free you run out of your slavery. You thank him for paying such a large price. And when you find he is alive again you run to him and He welcomes you home. He has a place prepared for you and makes you into a princess. You are no longer a slave girl but a daughter of the king. However ending two isn’t quite as happy. When you hear that the King of all people had paid your dept and set you free you can’t believe it. You don’t believe that you can just walk out of your slavery. So you continue to serve your cruel master. You continue to serve him. You are free but you don’t believe it. This is the choice each of you have tonight. You have been set free. You have been slaves to sin all of your lives. You have nothing to offer. But yet the King of Kings has come to pay for you. He has set you free. However it is your choice to accept it. It is your choice to walk in your freedom. So which choice are you going to make? The choice is yours. Deuteronomy 30:19 says “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” We’ll close with a word of prayer tonight but I want each of you to think about this choice. Have you already chosen or is it time to choose? The door is always open, it is simply your choice if you walk in.

Welcome

Welcome everyone :) This isn't just a blog. It's a devotional. It's a devotional you create. I made this site specifically for teen and tween girls. I know life isn't easy. Living your faith isn't either, but it is definatley worth it. So each week I will be posting a new devotional (atleast one a week but possibly more) in response to one of your questions. Ask me questions about life or about God. There is freedom here, no judegement. I have all comments set on approve only so just comment on any of the posts to submit a question. I just ask that you put your first name and age in the comment. The first devotional will be a three part series about salvation I wrote for a middle school camp I am counseling this week. And the first questions will come from them as well. I hope you enjoy this blog and begin to learn about you VICTORY in JESUS!