Oh Joy! Quotes and Notes!

~~Little Paragraphs and Deep Thoughts, Big Facts and Scrawly Notes That Churn ’Round In My Noggin~~

“Legalism is merely the futile attempt to do in our own strength what the Spirit of God means to accomplish on our own behalf.” ~ Leslie Ludy Set Apart Femininity

The form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be. (The MEDIUM is the METAPHOR) ~ Neil Postman Amusing Ourselves To Death

If you asked 2o good men today what they though was the highest of the virtues, 19 of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you had asked almost any of the great Christains of old, he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philosophical importance. The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not of primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian view of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself.  ~ CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory

It is a sin to be dumb! ~ John Stonestreet- Summit lecture

A real woman is a woman who recognizes that she has been exquisitely and perfectly created by a loving God for a unique purpose. Out of geniune gratitude, awe and a desire to please her Maker, a real woman joyfully embraces her femininity and submits every aspect of her identy to God’s original and unique design for her…Unlike feminists, we know God’s design for women. This gives us the upper hand. Will we use it? ~ Elizabeth Botkin So Much More

America is like a healthy body and its resistance is threefold: its patriotism, its morality, and its spiritual life. If we can undermine these three areas, America will collapse from within. ~ Josef Stalin (from the opening of the documentary, Agenda) And what’s happening in our world???

The flood of rampant homosexuality will not ruin a nation. Why? Because rampant homosexuality is a sign that the nation is already ruined! ~ John Stonstreet Summit lecture

Godly womanhood, the very plance sounds strange in our ears. We never hear it now. We hear about every other type of woman: beautiful women, smart women, sophisticated women, career women, talented women, divorced women. But seldom do we hear of godly women- or of a godly man either, for that matter. We believe women come nearer to fulfilling their God-given funtion in the home than anywhere else. It is a much nobler thing to be a good wife, than to be Miss America. It is a greater acheivement to establish a Christian home than it is to produce a second rate novel filled with filth. It is a far, far better thing in the realms of morals to be old fashioned, than to be ultra modern, The world has enough womee who know how to be smart. It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave. The world has enough women who are popular. It needs women who are pure. We need women, and men too, who would rather be morally right than socially correct. ~ Peter Marshall

When God’s Spirit is given His rightful place in a young woman’s life, He transforms her personality to reflect His beauty… He can overtake any kind of personality. . .You decrease, so that He might increase…~  Leslie Ludy The Lost Art of True Beauty      (This book was a great book for me. I tend towards shy, and for the first time, I realized I could go outside of myself- types are just types… but I recently went to http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp to take a personality test anyway. The test revealed my weaknesses and strengths. I am an INTJ – Which type are you?)

The Baha’i faith believes in one God, but there are many ways to seek/experience God. Minimize theological differences and work together for harmony of faiths, freeing slaves and seeking justice. Affirmative action. Socail Justice. Service to humanity is highest goal. Baha’i believes in one God in one person- unitarian theism- it’s roots are in Islam, but they also accept YAH, Jesus, and Brahma as the same person- these are just other names. ~Len Woods      (Is the new Zach Hunter “Be the Change” movement founded in Baha’i? Whether he knows it or not, unknowingly, yes. The affirmative action movement is combining various religions to do things in God’s name. Is there a way to do hard things the wrong way? Yes! Baha’i followers will be among those to whom God will say “Depart… I never knew you…” Pluralism is one of the worst of the false worldviews).

To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward event. The best informed man is not necessarily the wisest. The wise man will seek to acquire the best knowledge- to recognize the significance in the factual is wisdom. ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (He is a good writer, and I like his “Cost of Discipleship”, though his theology on salvation was messed up…)

“We live in a dictatorship of relativism… what people say and do becomes normal, but not right.” ~Scott Klusendorf.

“Waiting for Godot is the Humanist’s dream. It’s about two guys waiting for a friend who never comes. Notice what the friend’s name is… GODot.” John Stonestreet on Beckett plays. (Seriously, look them up. They are hopeless)

“For I seek not to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order I can understand, study, and learn. “

Ideas have history, they come from somewhere. Ideas have feet, they will go somewhere. Ideas have consequences: they will do something to you or for you. Doc Noebel

If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out it has no meaning. Just as if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would have no meaning. ~ CS Lewis

In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair. The sin that believes in nothing cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, remains for nothing, and has nothing for which it will live for or die. ~Dorothy Sayers (Sounds like Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World- a place so hedonist and so limited by… love)

This so-called tolerance is nothing but a huge indifference.  ~Alexis de Tocqueville

“We are all part of one. Intellect is error…” ~Bhagwhan Shree Rajneesh - (Haha If we are all part of ‘one’, how did we get away from that oneness into many religions? Just asking, Mr. Rajneesh)

Sloppy language makes sloppy thought possible. ~Michael Bauman

Be the first you, not the second me. Education is learning to think, indoctrination is teaching you how to think. ~Michael Bauman.

The probability of life originating from an accident is comparable to the probability of the unabridged dictionary resulting from an explosion in a print shop. ~ Edwin Conklin

He that knows nothing will believe anything.

If God wants to use you, he wants to use the real you. Not the person you want to be. God doesn’t use imaginary people. He wants you to be who He made you. Christians should not feel guilty by this… they are fogiven. What we feel is conviction.  Rowan Gillson (IPS)

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Read as many books as you can- I often wander the aisles of the library and pull of non-fiction books, take them home, and read them completely. You’ll never know how much you can know until you start to learn.

Bright Lights Report

My Bright Lights group meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, at 6:30. We meet at my home church.

A few of you (my readers) were wondering how my group is doing, so here are a few pictures and stories of how it’s going!

There are four girls in my group this year. Last year, there were five, but I’m finding it easier to teach a  slightly smaller group, and the meetings seem more cozy and one-on-one. I have two new girls (who are older) this year, and they seem to be very responsive and open to the lessons. However, I really miss the girls who are unable to come back this year!

Some topics we have covered are:

• Friends
• Pride and Humility
• Having a Clear Conscience
• Meekness
• Dealing With Crushes in a Godly Way
• Being Content
• Honesty
• Wisdom
• Accepting the Way God Created You
• Self Control

We start with a time of singing a song or two or three.   We use the Bright lights songbook, (since the girls have the CD, they know the words and are excited to sing).

The first meeting we had, I was so nervous! Everything I’d learned whilst in Cedar Rapids left me, and I had to calm myself down before I hyperventilated! I went to the bathroom and prayed. So, though a little shaky, I must’ve impressed upon the girls enough to make them want to come back! I had originally invited 15 girls, and only three came.

The first ever BL meeting. Notice how nervous I look

This is later into the first year. I still had the three girls coming!  It was getting easier to teach at this point. I was actually excited! You see, I tend towards being shy. I have to be spoken to in order to talk! Starting the whole initiation process for me is daunting… but slowly melting away…

My favorite meeting… Christmas! My mom and I planned to surpsie the girls with a surprise tea… We carefully planned out everything, from the place settings to the gifts to the food! We even used my mom’s gold silverware, which never ever gets used…

I captured the girls’ faces when they came into the room… so cute! I invited one of the girl’s little sister to the tea… isn’t she darling? (She’s the little girl in the middle) You may have to click on the picture to see it up close. You really should :-) )

And of course, a group picture. A small group picture! Many of the girls were unable to attend.

Teaching on accepting the way God made you. I did have great plans for this meeting. I had wrote a skit and invited some girls to help me with it. Well, I knew that one of the girls wasn’t the best example or role model for the girls. This girl and I had been through a long argument, and I knew she wasn’t trustworthy. I felt like this wasn’t the best thing to be doing, and maybe I should call it off. Well, God worked something out for me. This girl ended up moving over 300 miles away. Instead, I showed How Great Is Our God, a DVD from Louie Giglio’s PassionTalk series. It went remarkably well.

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I had the girls over on a Sunday afternoon, and we had to borrow the church van to hold them all and my family.

Whilst at my house, we played a lively game of charades. It seems to be a group favorite!

After the afternoon at my house, we went to sing at an assisted living home.  Cute!

Skits are favorite in our BL group. Here, the group is coming up with a skit about being honest and not stealing.

This summer, we went to Hidden Lake Gardens, which is run by a college. The gardens are beautiful and full of various plant types. Here is our group on a hill… being goofy!

This year’s Bright Lights group, with four girls. 

Another skit! The girl on the far right is reading a story from her BL Notebook. It’s about a family who went on a trip to Hong Kong and were approached by two ladies asking if they’d like a trip in a boat.  The boat ride was awful, and the family had to pay the ladies a lot of money to get off! The theme was being content and laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth. So, as the story was read, the two girls acted it out. They all did an excellent  and hilarious job!

Last night, our topic was on pride and humility. Here, we are filling in a worksheet that will hopefully be helpful to the girls in the future. It talks of many verses in the Bible that speak against pride, exampls of kings who were prideful (and the consequences), and common sense questions that really caused us to think. It was a wonderful discussion time!

Well, there you go! That is what happens on every other Tuesday around here…

Do you have a BL group? Please share about it! We’d all love to hear about it!

Hay You! (and other random thoughts)

I’ve had a few friends tell me to make a post out of a spectacular hayride we went on, and really, it was a random ride. So, here’s the story, and I hope you get a few laughs out of it!

Last Friday night, our homeschool group had a teen bonfire. It started out typically, with people sitting around the fire and chatting, staring at the fire, and complaining about the cold. After about an hour of this, (which was fine…), things became a little more exciting. The “F” family, who hosted the gathering, decided we needed a hay ride. Mr. F pulled up a decent size tractor and a rather large hay wagon hitched to it. Some of us made a mad dash for it and leaped into the wagon- which was, by the way, 6 1/2, 7-ish feet off the ground! Once everyone was loaded on we were off, going down back roads…

and more back roads…

                                         …your typical hayride…

…complete with annoying guys throwing straw at your face and the faces of your friends!

We discussed a wide variety of topics (including why these things were called hayrides when you really sat on straw bales) and sat shivering, looking at the stars, the full moon, the faint Milky Way… aaahh! It was nice!

 After cutting  I mean wildly weaving through a bumpy fallow field, we took a turn away from homebase towards Blissfield, a town of about three thousand. Sure enough, we entered the city limits! I assumed we would just make a left and head back… but I was wrong. Oh boy was I wrong.

We turned right! Now, can you picture this for me? A slowpoke tractor entering into a sort of busy town, a giant haywagon packed with 20-some teens, most of them waving  and shouting at  traffic, passing under orange street lights on a dark Friday night! It was fun to tour a familiar town in the dark, in a haywagon, going 20 miles an hour. We took a turn for the the main donwtown area, going by Coney Island restaurant. Can you imagine being an old couple sitting by the window, enjoying your typical Friday night out… then seeing a stray tractor go by with a truckload of teens waving at you? We just made their year!

Oh, my sides ache from laughing at the thought!

It gets better!

After wanderin’ about side streets, Mr. F. headed further east… turning into…

MCDONALDS!

  We pulled up by the drive thru order box and stopped. I wish I had gotten pictures! After saying hello we pulled away, probably disappointing the workers inside. After all, which MickeyD’s employee can say they’ve filled an order of 20 people in a haywagon?!

Next stop on the grand tour: Subway! The Subway in Blissfield is located in a parking lot next to a trailer park. After toodling around that parking lot, we ended up in the trailer park. After waving at older people eating their dinners inside the double-wides and saying hello to one girl’s grandma, we left for home.

On the way home, we had the distinct pleasure of starting straw wars. Stealthily gathering handfuls of hay, we singled out a person and showered them with  bombs handfuls of straw. It got a little out of hand as the people towards the rear tore apart two of their hay bales and threw them around. Eventually the whole wagon was just filled with loose hay straw.

What a night.

To top off the evening, we played Capture the Flag by moonlight. Not fun when you forget there’s clotheslines in the yard and you don’t see them. Yup, I ran into them and about hung myself. Not funny.

What a story!

Now, I’m not allergic to hay, but when I arrived home, my eyes were very itchy, my hair was full of hay- er – straw, and I had to stand outside on the back steps and shake myself clean before I went inside. It was irritating! How do you respond to irritants? Do you complain and make a huge deal? Or do you suffer quietly? Sometimes you’ll need medical attention for an irritant, but do you really need to get mad at your little brother for stomping on your artwork? Respond wisely! These kinds of irritants are tests from God! Irritants can be: siblings, weird friends, rules, a least favorite food at dinner, someone telling lies about you, or a crazy driver going 15 miles per hour in a 55 zone. (like the guy we followed today…) You get the idea.      Be slow to anger.

Now, for some photos of the night:

Throwing hay… wheeee! Aah! Whee! NOOO! Aaah! It’s in my eyes!

Discussing “important” topics. Like “I wish I had a Milky Way.”  “On the count of three, we’re all going to jump off.”

As you can tell, we were sitting up to our chests in hay… grabbing armfuls and whipping it at each other, the road, and cars. (oops)

Happy Fall!

Flirtatious…or Friendly?

Today, I am happy to introduce Kelly, a friend and fellow blogger. She writes to guys about relationships on her blog- writing to them about how they might understand us better in relationships with them. Some of her articles even helped me understand guys a bit better!

  I love people and I write a blog called Unaverage Relationships. Click on the link  to go to it and find out more about it! In a nutshell, I write to guys about girls, friendships, and relationships. I have to say that it’s really different addressing girls instead of guys. My whole approach is different because now I’m talking to someone I actually understand! I am NOT an expert on guys! Normally I write to guys- not about them. I feel like this is a little out of my territory but I will do the best I can

Girls, do we act in a way that helps our guy friends? I don’t think we do a lot of times. We tend to be touchy, we give confusing “hints”, and sometimes we are a little flirty. One of my guy friends told me that sometimes even hugging a guy can make him think that there is something more than there really is. I’m not saying that giving hugs to guys is bad! I give hugs to my guy friends, but I tend to be picky on which ones I give hugs to. Maybe that’s mean? I don’t know. But I only hug the guys who I know won’t think anything of it. This is just an example I was given by a friend of mine on how girls can be confusing. A hug means nothing to us, but can mean everything to a guy if we aren’t careful. Of course there are always guys out there who don’t think anything of it, but we have to know which guys those are. A confused boy is never a good thing :-P So maybe instead of a full hug, give a side hug. Make it awkward if you have to! It’s for their benefit.

What’s with these hints we give? We try to give hints saying that we like him. Or if we get the feeling that he is starting to like us and we don’t feel the same way, we try to give hints that say we aren’t interested. But why do we feel the need to do that? I think guys are right when they call us confusing! (haha- because we are!) We need to learn to just say it. The reason we don’t is because we don’t want to be shut down if he doesn’t like us, or we don’t want to hurt him by telling him we don’t like him. But when I’ve talked to guys, one of the top 5 things guys wish we would do is to just say it straight up. They can’t figure us out, let alone our guessing games! So when you have a guy ask if you like him or not, tell him yes or no. Don’t confuse him by making him guess what your answer is.

Flirting for somebody who is not dating and not married, is to play with someone’s emotions. If you want the actual definition of “flirt” it’s “playful behavior intended to arouse sexual interest” Whichever definition you look at I would say that I don’t think flirting is right. Now is it bad? (haha well if a husband and wife are flirting..they have every right to “arouse sexual interest” Go FOR IT!) But then one girl I was talking to said that there are girls who, “just have an outgoing and bubbly personality” and are perceived as flirts when they really aren’t. This is tough because I feel like a lot of girls say that argument as a cover up for their flirtatious attitude. But then there are the girls who really are just friendly and nice, but I also feel like you can tell the difference.  I used to get told that I was a flirt all the time when I was younger, around the 13-15ish age and I used to get mad because people would call me a flirt. But then I realized that I did need to back off some.

Now, I’m not saying that being good friends with guys, giving hugs, teasing, and talking to guys is bad, it is TOTALLY not! Some of my best friends are guys, and I tend to hang out with guys more than girls. But it’s how you come across when being bubbly and friendly. Do you approach them with a flirtatious attitude? Or with a friendly attitude? Granted, there are a lot of people that don’t think there is a difference, but I found that there is a HUGE difference. Ever since I figured this out I have become the friendly girl, not the flirty girl. It’s a hard line to draw and figure out, and I know that there are probably some people who think I am still a flirt just because they don’t know me, but for the most part I think people know that I just have an outgoing personality. It’s been awhile since somebody has called me a flirt. They all know that I can be friends with the guys. So, on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being never flirting and 10 being always flirting, where would you rank yourself?

-Kelly

{Note: Please leave all comments to Kelly about this post on her blog.}

Is it Right To…?

Two guy-related questions asked by my friends, girls in bible studies, and Bright Lights girls in the group I had. These are not rules to follow, simply guidelines and thoughts I’ve learned from my Bible studies. They have come up again and again in the last year, so I thought I would share them.

Is it right for me to relate to guys better than girls?

I think being able to communicate with guys easily is a gift. Some girls totally shun the opposite sex when they are teenagers, making it seem like they are snobby. Others go overboard and throw themselves at young men. It’s all about finding balance. I don’t think it’s wrong for a girl to be good at communicating with guys, provided what she shares with him is not too deep or personal. She should not manipulate in any situation. I don’t think it’s right that a girl “relates” to a guy more than she does her gender. Maybe that’s their term for communicating, but relating really means they get along with and understand guys more than girls. I’ve been learning more about feminine mystique, and how a girl should not be extremely close with young men. It asks for trouble, especially if the girl is not the reserved type. There should always be an air of mystery about us: it’s what makes the young man fall in love with us, pursue us, and eventually ask us to marry them. Without mystery, all the info about a girl is out in the open, nothing is a secret, and it’s easier for a guy to use her in the wrong way. It’s not fleeing temptation: it’s diving head first into the sin pool.

Relating to young men is fine, but we should try to understand and hang out with girls before guys.

A young girl asked me this very good question (below) that made stop and think. I actually had to give her an answer a few days later: it’s a toughy.

Is it okay to wear guy’s clothes- even sweatshirts?

I have been seen wearing my brother’s old, outgrown shorts, t-shirts, and hoodies on occasion. They are so comfy! Something about guy hoodies is magical: they’re roomy, soft, floppy and cuddly, and usually have a winning sports team’s name plastered on the front. Why do girls’ hoodies have to say Aero or AE and only Aero and AE and be stiff and formfitting?

Now onto the real answer:

I guess the answer to this question is by conviction. You should also ask yourself why you’re wearing the clothes. Is it because of rebellion against your feminine design? Are you just trying to keep warm? Are you wearing a boy (spacebar, spacebar) friend’s hoodie as a form of flirtation (manipulation)? There is a verse in the Bible that warns against men dressing like women and vice versa. It’s found in Deuteronomy 22:5-

The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

Some people think pants are men’s clothing, and should wear dresses all the time. I think if that’s a lady’s conviction, then she should obey it and wear skirts. But, if a rule of skirts is forced on a girl, that’s not obedience to the Holy Spirit. It’s obedience to man.

And think about this: in the Bible time, everyone wore robes. In traditional China,  ladies wear pants and guys wear skirts. Culture may have a lot to do with what we wear. In parts of South America, the mode of dress are  gauchos. Plain pants and skirts are non-existent. So, you can’t say that culture is not an issue with the skirt-wearing issue. It is! Skirts are the very feminine dress in our culture. If it’s your conviction to wear them, that’s great!

There is nothing ‘Biblical’ about wearing skirts. They are modest and usually do not show off our legs and backsides.

That’s why I personally believe it’s by conviction.

Is it right to ride with a guy or vice versa- even if it’s a short distance?

If you know that this young man is completely and firmly trustworthy and responsible (and a great driver), then it should be okay.

But most of the time, guys aren’t the honorable, mature people we want them to be. In that situation, it’s best to have his sister or a friend to ride with you. This works well, there is accountabilty, and you get from point a to point b.

As for giving guys a ride, it’s best to see what your parents think. Every guy is different- and your parents know them better than I do.

Egypt File VBS: A Great Week in Review

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We had an amazing week with 60 kids in attendance.  The theme was Egypt File: Decoding the Mystery of Life. We talked about how life is precious to God, and how whatever’s precious to God should be precious to us.

The penny wars that happen every year were in full swing again! The boys and the girls are challenged to bring in as many pennies as possible; and they are weighed every day. Whoever’s bucketful weighs the most on Friday, wins. The final score: 70 lbs for the girls, 71 pounds for the boys. (Thanks to Ryan [my brother] and Jay M. , who brought in 12 and 25 pounds, respectively). The pennies will be exchanged for paper money and given to a local crisis pregnancy center. (The same one I visited earlier)

During the closing each day, the teens put on a drama relating to the Egypt theme. That was a lot of fun to be a part of: I LOVE ACTING! There were some goofy and cheesy parts, which made it enjoyable for the kids and for us! My mom took movies, and I saved some frames: if these are little grainy, sorry

 

This scene was the best! Since we were opening a museum, there were plenty of boxes to unload. This one had fossilized dinosaur … uh… you-know-what in it. One of us had to say “This looks like chocolate. I wonder if it tastes like chocolate…” and lick it! I bet you can imagine what the kids thought of that! (It was actually a dog biscuit painted brown).

 

Percy, one of the characters, was always pulling pranks and slacking off. Here he is terrorizing the maid, who ran off the stage with the shriek “The museum is closed right now!”

There was a little sand rat who was mentioned all in the play all during the week. Claire, another character, wasn’t to thrilled about it; so she jumped on the table.

The play escalated to a mystery- trying to find who stole the money box. There was also mention of hidden treasure. But, my character, Mackenzie, was afraid to talk about it out loud- the man who last searched for it disappeared. So, Mackenzie whispered about it…

Of course, the week had it’s down moments, but all in all, it went smoothly as possible. Praise the Lord for His goodness!

:: Friends ::

Tuesday was the final meeting at the bible study group I lead before we break for the summer. I decided to talk about friends, as many young ladies are not careful with their choice of friends. Here are some of the points from the lesson:

What makes a good friend?

Proverbs 17:17 ~ A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

A friend will love you when you’re having a “grouchy day” or aren’t feeling well. They will stick with you through anything and will remain loyal. If they simply walk off when you’re having trouble, they aren’t the right type of friends.

Proverbs 27:10a~Do not forsake your friend.

Some choices to make when making friends:

Choose to grow spiritually together. It’s great to have Christian friends! We have an extra special bond with them: we share more than this world in common! I have a friend who shares prayer requests with me, and I share some of my requests with her. Then, we’ll update each other in the weeks following. When you have a friend who shares a passion for God, it edifies both of you.  

Proverbs 27:17~ As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

When iron is whetted against iron, sparks fly as both are turned from blunt to sharp. We should try to keep our friends sharp both spiritually and physically.

Choose to be yourself. Don’t be one person with your first friend, another way with the second, then yet another way with your third friend.  Who you are at home is who you should be with your friends. Life is so easy when you just be yourself.

Choose to be loyal. Don’t flip back and forth between friends. If you can’t make up your mind on who’s your best friend, then make all of your friends equal. Never ignore your friend- especially if you are in a place where you have many friends. Invite all of your friends to sit with you at a dinner, stand with you when you talk to others, and walk around with you. If some of your friends are jealous of you hanging with one person at church, try not to sit your friends. Sit with your parents to avoid showing favorites.

With all kinds of relationships, including friendship, there are going to be minor and major problems, fights, and a time of saying goodbye.  Trouble usually starts with a disagreement about what to do, where to go, how to do it, or something you or she did and the other doesn’t like.

Don’t act as if nothing happened. You must acknowledge the fact that one of your erred. If you know it’s you who was wrong, admit it humbly. Ask forgiveness and make it a point to do right. However, if your friend accuses you of something and you know what you did was Biblically right, ask your parents for direction. If it’s just a petty disagreement about silly things like what to eat, it’s better just defer and don’t be petty along with her. Always be careful with friends who disagree with you. They may end up disagreeing later about bigger issues. Sometimes they are small, and you can live with that. But bigger things, like smoking and partying may be a sign that your friend is the wrong type of friend.

If there’s been a misunderstanding, try as best as possible to keep it between you and her. If others notice a problem and ask what’s happening, say something to the effect of: “There’s been a problem, and we’re working on it.” If they press for details, it would be wise to tell them some details in a way that doesn’t detract from your friend’s testimony. Simply explain things in a polite way and that you’re working things through as best to your abilities. Don’t point out her bad points in the issue. (“She told me that I was a loser!”) That only shows how immature you really are.

Don’t just ‘fall’ into friendships. Pick your friends wisely: after getting acquainted, pray about it and ask your parents for direction. Your friends should have many good qualities – not lots of bad qualities. Don’t be too particular, though, because nobody is perfect. Just be aware that some people are out to tear you down, and ruin your testimony. It’s hard to deal with these kinds of people. Because I don’t know your situation, if you are having problems with these friends whose life goal seems to be to ruin your life, you need to talk to your parents. They are your no. 1 resource for advice and encouragement (after the Bible )

Some facts about friends:

It is better to have an acquaintance who is the right type of friend than a best friend who is the wrong type.

As long as you get along well and have similar beliefs, just about anybody could your friend. (Don’t scratch off those older folks. They are so wise!)

You’re actually about 5 to 10 people away from being friends with everybody. (You know someone, who knows someone else, etc, after you repeat this five to ten times, the last “known someone” should know you. Make sense? It’s true)

The best secret to have is the secret of keeping no secrets.

When I lead the study, I try to include an activity, and this meeting’s activity was ‘friendship duos.’ I made a list of some famous pairs (Adam/Eve; Currier/Ives, Bert/Ernie, etc)  When you stick around a girl for a while, you become recognized as their friend. You both become associated with one another, like when you hear the name Beauty, you think of the Beast. Their reputation becomes your reputation. You need to pay attention and make sure the association you have with a girl is a good one. They think of your name and then think of your friend’s.  Are you a good reflection of her?

 

:: Blessings Come In Small Packages ::

Children are so special. They are always bringing a smile to my face with their cute words, innocent giggles, and chubby legs attempting to match their parent’s strides. Even though they don’t quite understand the adult world and thinking- what they say can often be so relevant.

Last Sunday, as I sat in church, I noticed a little 5 year old girl sitting in front of us. She was listening very intently to pastor and nodded in agreement with his words. She is the cutest young lady in church- and to see her desire to listen to Pastor instead of going to Jr. Church is a blessing.

Our neighbors (mentioned in my barking dog post ) may be annoying sometimes, but one of their kids is just downright CUTE! He has some developmental issues, but his smile is worth a million bucks! Another one of those blessings you don’t expect . His smile can brighten anybody’s day.

There is one little girl named Nicole who has a very imaginative brain. She has boldly stated that she is going to be a woman farmer- and plant baked beans (I’m not sure where you get those seeds- let me know if you have any, though). Her husband, for some odd reason, is going to live in another house across the field. She insists I come to help her paint her Disney Princess barn. She is learning to spell and write words- with a touch of humor. The other day she gave me a folded paper with a stick girl drawn neatly on the front. I opened it to see the words and the oh-so-cute-yet-misplaced-punctuation scribbled on the inside: ” I, am a boy.!” Oh the blessing to laugh at a child’s humor!

A young lady in my Bright Lights group has begun writing letters to me. It is such a blessing to her how her life has been going along, and what she has learned recently. It’s surprising to know really how much she has learned!

Sadly, most of us teen girls often do not stop to give the little ones attention or answer their questions. We simply give them a little nervous smile and keep walking. We are afraid to get involved and ask them questions for fear they do not undestand. Many girls at my church tell me they don’t even know what to say to a 10 year old! Say what you would to your best friend (using discretion, of course). Just because someone is shorter, younger, and less educated doesn’t make them totally clueless. A few even pat the tops of little ones heads as if they were a little cat or dog! They want to romp with you! Be tickled! Chase you! They look up to you and long for the day they will be old as you.

Children are a blessing- not only to their parents, but to those around them. You may be surprised at how many blessings you miss out on if you don’t interact with the young!

“Youth is such a wonderful gift. Too bad it’s bestowed upon the young.”

~In the spirit of I Timothy 4 12~

Winter Boredom

Winter Boredom

We all know that feeling. The feeling that comes in the colder, snowier, and most dreary time of year. Winter Boredom sets in once all the Christmas decorations and New Year’s parties are over, and it stays until the first robin returns. Not everyone gets Winter Boredom, but most people I know are a lot less cheerful this time of year.

Here are some fun things to do when you think you are catching W.B.

- Take advantage of the weather. Okay, snow may not be as fun to roll in as sand, but building a snowman family is cool too. Go sledding, or maybe take a walk around town to see if anybody else would like to play with you. One year, we built a snow fort, two blockade walls and made tons of snowballs. My brother Ryan and I had a short war.

- Have gathering at your house. Invite some older couples, widows, or families with smaller kids over for a night of food, fellowship, and games. Watch a good family movie and pop popcorn.

If you lead a Bright Lights group, have your girls over between the two Sunday services for a movie and a Bible Study.

-Start a Christian fellowship or ministry time. I think Christians should meet together- not just on Sundays, but as often as they can! Some ladies at my church gather one or two times a month to make cards for people. This could be a fun ministry if you are a crafty type.

Some other ideas:

• Meet with other girls your age and pick a topic to study, or teach younger girls something you know how to do well.
• Have a once or twice a month ladies potluck prayer breakfast, lunch or supper. (depending on how early you want to get up!).
• If you know others who play various instruments, meet once a week and practice a song for special music.
• Plan a baby shower for an expectant mother,
• Organize a food shower for a needy family in the community.
• Volunteer to organize a kid’s program for Easter Sunday.
• Plan a cooking day either at your house or the church (whichever has the bigger kitchen!)
• Bake cookies and send them to newlyweds, moms with new babies, or a meal to a struggling family.
• Make a quilt for a missionary

These ideas are just to get you started… more may come to you as you read.

 

Church Fellowship Ideas

Does your church only have Sunday and Wednesday services? Meeting together is important, and we should not only learn and grow together, but fellowship often, too. I’ve heard some people say that their church only has a Sunday morning service and a mid-week service. I asked them if they met to just eat and get to know each other better, and they said “Nope.” Try asking your pastor if you can start doing one of these below. You might notice a difference in your church family’s relationships with one another.

Our church has many fellowships throughout the year. (After reading about these, you’ll probably come to the conclusion that our church loves food and fellowship!)

Soup and Sandwich night- everyone brings their favorite soup and some sandwiches to pass, play board games and talk. The men break out their Carom boards and have a noisy battle for top dog.

Pizza and Game Night- our church orders pizza and we play games all evening.

International Dinner – bring your favorite foreign food! There’s been everything from Sauerkraut to Kimchee. We decorate tables to a certain culture or country.

Pancake Supper- involves many helpers to make pancakes ahead of time!

Hobo Dinner – every fall the adults go to a farmer’s house and eat stew made in a cauldron over an open fire. They sing hymns around a campfire, go for a hayride, and dress in old, ratty clothes. Everyone brings some ingredients for the stew.

Harvest Home dinner- a few weeks before Thanksgiving, our church has big potluck dinner after our Sunday morning service. We have Swiss steak and mashed potatoes. This is the biggest fellowship we have. That morning, we take an offering for our missionaries.

4th of July Picnic- This is my favorite church gathering! After the morning service, we share summer foods (lots of Jell-o and salads), cook hot dogs, burgers, or chicken on the many grills people bring (I think we had 8 or 9 going last year!). After that, the men play an extremely serious tournament of horseshoes, and the rest sit around and talk, play softball, or relax in random spots around the church property. Often, some of our musical people make a circle of chairs and play guitars and sing fast hymns. (Think Gaither Homecoming). We fellowship usually until 4, sometimes 5 in the evening.

 Old-fashioned Sunday- This is another great summer gathering, we meet under a tent like an old revival service! Some people dress up in various old fashioned clothing (anything from the 40’s to the 1800’s) There is a great sermon every year, then we eat fried chicken and other foods. A family brings their horses to ride in the afternoon hours, and there is usually singing, too. The late afternoon service is full of special music, then afterwards there is an ice-cream social.

New Year’s Eve fellowship- We watch a Christian movie projected on our fellowship hall’s wall, and play board games. This year’s food theme was tacos. (Funny, everyone starts leaving around 11).

 OCC Packing Party and Dinner- Our Sunday School kids meet the Saturday before the national collection week to pack shoeboxes. We ask for people in our church to donate boxes, fillers, and money. We start by packing with what has been donated, then we go to the local Dollar General. We spend about 4 to 6 hours packing and praying for the boxes. Once we are all done, we have tacos and cookies. (Tacos work well because you can cook the meat ahead of time and let it warm up in a big crockpot while you’re packing. We usually buy nine pounds of meat to feed everyone). It’s a great time.

Mother-Daughter Luncheon- On a Saturday shortly before Mother’s Day, host a high tea, or nice lunch and have an older lady speak about a relevant topic.

 Father-Son Outing- This varies each year, but sometimes they go to Comerica park in Detroit and watch a Tiger Game at the annual Home Plate (for Christian athletes on the Tiger team). They have also gone fishing.

Teen Groups-

Corn Maze- There was an enormous one last year- it took about two hours to get through it.

 Singspirations- Have anybody from your group volunteer to host a time of singing after the evening service. We sing for awhile and then we eat or play games.

Wii Night

If you have any interesting fellowships that you’d like to share, leave a comment.