Teen and Parent Relationship

Today I was confronted by my parents about the grades that I have been getting. And they were not the best of grades from my parents perspective of me. At first I was really mad at them to dare tell me how to have my grades be. It is my life, as I thought, so why must they control what I do with it. I was insolent and angry and could not see their side of it at all. As a 16 year old junior in high school I want more independence and not to be so under my parents wing anymore. While I am getting older and do have a job it is important that I am given more freedom and responsibility it is also important that I do not abuse any of my rights. It is also important for the parents of a growing teen to look back when they used to be a teen and remember what they felt like in result to their parents. There will always be a sort of tension and that is because the teen (or I, in this case) is growing into an adult. They are very liable to mistakes and fall outs but getting after them and secluding them even more is not always the answer. While there are some aspects that a teen could get involved it that do need a harsh reprimanding and loving guidance there are also things that should be left up to the child. The more restraints and rules a parent puts on a child, the more the child wants to rebel and fight and they also lose the feeling of being trusted and loved by their parent. Often times, a lessor hold on your child, along with showing them the love of Christ and his forgiveness and guidance, they will be more willing to turn back to you, finding more of safety instead of judgement. Remember that your teen is going to be out on their own and will need a freedom to find out themselves without you. And for the teens, remember that your parents do love you and are scared of losing you and so they do have rules and "sit down meetings" so as to help you. The greatest threat to a parent and teen relationship is the loss of understanding one another. Listen and love each other, and there will be a much better bond between the two.

Music of the Heart

Music of the Heart

Make me, oh Lord, the music to your ears

Make me a flute, the greatest treasure

With sweet notes wiping out my fears

And a perfect melody for your pleasure

With all the sweetness of a trilling bird

And the soft beauty ever heard

Make me a tuba, a glowing sound

With deep brass notes

To waken all the ground

And to fill the people’s throats

With a great cry for all to hear

Of you great glory they will come to fear

Sing then of this to all above

And to all of those below

Let it rise with all the love

And shout from high and low

Praise to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

The One and all that we love the most

Losing Faith

Falling away from God has become too easy. It is simple to become caught up in every day life, like sports, music, school, jobs, friends, and we forget to spend time with our Lord. Why do we do that? Why are we so quick to leave Him? At some points we say that He is our all and that we would not be here in our lives without His help. Then by the next day we forget what we had said about God and move on with our "lives." It is a constant struggle for us to stay with God, and it should not be. Praying to God and living for Him should be natural to us. The only way to do that is to practice it every day. Put a reminder in your phone to read your Bible, pray during the school when they give you a moment of silence. If you make it a daily habit then soon instead of saying that God is your all, He will be your everything. It will be harder for you to fall away because it would be become impossible to live without God. This seems easy in concept yet it can be extremely hard. Know that I am praying for you and pray for others as well.

God's Power

Thunderstorms always remind me of God's might and power. When I hear one I take a moment to reflect on how amazing God is and all that He accomplished for us. I also find myself singing the song "Amazing Grace." He is so mighty and strong and powerful, he doesnt even need us yet he choose to make us in his very own image and even when we turned away from us he still love us and sent us his only son to die for us. He could have been done with us, could have wiped us all out. Istead of saving Noah and his family in the great flood, God could have just wiped out the whole of the human race. Yet he did not. To me, that is amazing. We do not deserve anything he has done for us, yet he gives anyways. Jesus (God's son) died the worst death on a cross when he was absolutly blameless from anything. 2 Corinthians 13:4 says it the best. "For he [Jesus] was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. for we are also weak in him, but in dealing with you we live by him in the power of God." How amazing to think of, because of that death that he died he took all of our weaknesses to the cross with him and by raising from the dead with God's power it gave us a hope that we may live forever in the power of God through Christ.

Missions Trip

So lately I have been thinking about my recent trip to Europe to help out at two different camps at a church there. The time I spent there changed my perceptive of many things, more than I ever thought I ever thought I would. The most amazing part about the kids in Europe was their openness to Christ. They all seemed to yearn for what us Christians had. We all say that Europe is a falling country when it comes to religion, and that may be true, and there are few churches left to be had. I even know of some accounts where the kids at the younger kids camp were not allowed to get saved, only there to learn a few morals. At the teen camp there were a few teens that had to lie to their parents to come and learn about God. So maybe there is still hope, just because the older generation is failing in going to church and just because we have given up on reaching out to them, does not mean we should give up on the kids. They want more, and need some kind of faith. We can give it to them, so why don't we?

Mark 10:27

"Everything is possible with God" Mark 10:27
It was a verse that I learned while helping at an English Speaking Day Camp in Berlin, Germany. That week it seemed like it was just for the kid's problems and to help them better see God and how He was real in their life. Lately I have been seeing how real it is for me. I have had a lot on my plate and have been struggling with stress and wanting to give up. Yet God promises that with faith as big as a mustard seed we can move a mountain. He tells us that He is always there for us. So through everything that I have going on in my life, I can remember that it is all possible through Him to get through all of (in my case) the stress. What do you have in your life that you tried to handle on your own and thought it would be impossible to get through?