What are we seeking to give us comfort?

Jesus is all we need. All the time.

No matter our circumstances or situations we are facing, there’s nothing or no one who can make us feel better or take it away. Except Jesus. He’s it, He’s everything.

As I got into my car this morning, plugged in my AUX cord, and contemplated what I could listen to that would make me feel the slightest bit better, I realized nothing would. In a split second of hopelessness, I felt so defeated.

Evaluating my current state of mind, I realized my bad attitude and “blah” feeling weren’t rooted in anything of real measure or importance. I wasn’t facing a life-threatening or debilitating event or circumstance; I was just simply struggling with my attitude. Blame it on female hormone fluctuations, maybe. But regardless the reason and how small of an issue it looked compared to what some people are facing today, I was still enduring this struggle. As my music selection failed to be the saving source I needed this morning, I realized something… There wasn’t going to be anything I could put into that “saving source” role that would bring relief or change. It’s like trying to fit a round peg into a square opening … ever try that? It doesn’t work. EVER. Without manipulating or breaking the pieces, of course. ;)

So in that moment, God reminded me to focus on the truth in the situation. He’s been doing this with me lately in every situation I’m facing … “What’s the truth in this?” “Find the truth” “Focus on the truth” are all things I’ve been hearing lately when in the midst of a situation in which I’m questioning or wondering.

Sound familiar to anyone?

Yep. Philippians 4:8. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about those things.”

I’ve been coming across this scripture lately, not by any sort of accident. God is using this to remind me to find the truth in situations in which my emotions might be getting the best of me. And by MIGHT I mean emotions that ARE getting the best of me. Female hormones, what can I say? If you don’t understand what I’m saying girls, give it a few years and you’ll know exactly what I mean!

So, knowing that nothing in this situation would help me feel better except the presence and truth of the Lord, I had to ask myself a question. How many times have I looked out to other people or other things to provide comfort in situations in which I was hurting or struggling? Ouch. Talk about self-examination; that one hurt a little bit!

I’m well aware and fully believe that God places people in our lives to be support systems for us and He works through those people, so I’m not discrediting that in any way. BUT … what about the times I’ve looked to music, food, TV, movies, people who may not be the best support, or that “down time” that’s only been isolation, and I don’t feel a bit better afterwards? How many times have I looked to the wrong thing? Probably more than I can even count or even want to know.

Honestly this saddened me. But in that moment I thanked God for His truth and His peaceful presence that surpasses all understanding in times like this. I prayed that I would always be aware of where I’m looking for comfort and that Jesus would be the first place I’d look and turn.

I pray the same for you girls. You are a princess and a daughter of the Most High — take hold of that and claim it, own it. It’s your identity and He longs for you to turn to Him and allow Him to comfort you. His love and peace are infinite. No problem or situation we encounter is too small, he wants us to look to Him and allow Him to help us in everything we do! Let Him be that “saving source” in those times of need; He’s the only one that fits the role, girls! You have a loving Father that longs for you; let Him love on you. You are HIS precious girl!

The Greatest Love

    by morgan wells

As I was reading Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love, I stumbled upon a couple sentences that were pretty convicting. 

     One of them read, “Most of us, to some degree, have a difficult time understanding, believing, or accepting God’s absolute and unlimited love for us.”  

     Are you guilty of this? 

     Do you ever have a hard time understanding God’s love for you or someone else in your life? 

     Do you find yourself questioning His love when things go wrong or not as planned? 

     I’m not going to lie; I’m guilty of this when certain things aren’t going as I had originally hoped. But… that’s why I’m writing this blog… to show girls how powerful God is and how unconditional His love is for us.

      It’s been quite some time since I’ve blogged, and I could make up some excuse about how busy I’ve been with other things, but the truth is that I have kept my distance from God. 

     At first, it was unknowingly because comfort is my weakness but then it became noticeable. 

     Before you read any further, I want you to think of a few of the many times that God has given you hope through a tough situation… or maybe it wasn’t a tough situation… maybe it was a situation that was a blessing. 

     Looking back, do you see God’s hand in that situation?

     The word love appears in the Bible 551 times. What does love really mean? 

     According to Wikipedia, love is a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes and it can also be a virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is a word that’s confusing for some. We hear people say they love their kids, spouses, and friends all the time. It’s a word that’s thrown around a lot in our culture…sometimes good and others times bad. 

     We can “love” all we want, but it really doesn’t make sense unless we fully understand that God IS love. He does represent human kindness, compassion, and affection when we let Him.

      When we are younger, our parents tell us they love us. When we become teenagers, a boy will tell us he loves us, and when we become adults, our spouses will tell us they love us. 

     No, I’m not saying love is a bad thing, and we should always run away. I’m telling you that our parents, our friends, and our spouses (someday) can’t love us the right way until they love God the most.

      I’ll give an example of this Great Love. 

     Before I came to Christ, I was a mess. I found myself hanging out with people who didn’t really lead me in any direction (which is just as bad as them leading me in a bad direction). I was happy where I was, doing the things I was doing. 

     But… out of God’s great, great love, He found me when I was lost, sent someone to invite me to a Christ in Youth camp, and saved me. THAT is Great Love.

      Telling numerous stories isn’t my intention for this blog… my main intention for this blog is to prove to girls like you that you ARE God’s princess. God loves you more than your parents, friends, or any boy ever could. 

     Some of you girls have been saved by the Lord's unconditional and perfect love. And others haven’t quite yet made the jump. For those who haven’t… fall. Allow God to catch you. Allow God to use you to love others because of Him. 

     And if any of you get the chance, read Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love. It provides biblical examples, and it challenges you to love God and love others despite our imperfections.    

     “Even though we could die at any moment and generally think our puny lives are pretty sweet compared to loving Him, He persists in loving us with unending, outrageous love.” 

     Go and do. 

     Be a blessing for someone today, tomorrow, and forever. God wants to show you His Greatest Love…will you allow Him?  

Live a TRUTH contrary to the messages you hear!

    by Sarah Reynolds

 So, one day we’ll all grow up and move on from here… right? I mean, it’s not like how we act in the here and now is going to have any major effect on what happens afterward. This place is just a stepping stone, we’re still young, and so we deserve to have as much fun as possible, and if anything isn’t fun we should just quit… right?

     Wrong.  

     This is the view that society has placed into the hearts and minds of this rising generation. My generation. We are expected to behave and think in ways that would make innocents cringe, but hey, we’re just teens right? Kids will be kids, after all.

     I’m here to tell you that’s not the case. We are worth so much more, and capable of so much more than this culture gives us credit for as young people.

      We can write, draw, sculpt, sing, research, perform science experiments, build anything from robots to bookshelves, dance to the beat of our own drums; we can move, speak, encourage, work, save, invest, learn, and form our own opinions.  But that’s not what we hear from the media.

      “Embrace your fear of commitment”

      “Live for Now”

      These are from two different ad campaigns, both angling toward the teens and 20's crowd. Just two of the thousands of advertisements we see each day.  This isn’t even going into all the ones angled at girls telling them how they need to change their bodies to look better, or the ones angled at guys telling them they need to do this or that to be successful.

      It seems like everything in this culture focuses on looking good, being powerful, making it big… and yet things that can get you there (hard work, direction, focus, good priorities) are mocked and belittled, while things that can get in the way of you going far (drugs, alcohol, careless sex, laziness) are overly glorified and quite frankly overrated. 

     We are expected to party because “kids will be kids” but what does that ever really do for us?  When was the last time someone who made something of themselves said, “I got to where I am today because of all those drunken nights in college” or “I am successful because I dated every girl in junior high”?  Can you show me even one example?

     The truth is, those things don’t fulfill us, and they never will. They aren’t what makes us strong, and they won’t create beauty or power in us. However, they will have an effect on our future, despite what the culture we live in may say.

     We live in the age of social media. People could, at any time, take a picture or video of you doing all these things and post it anywhere they’d like. They can find you years later and cause a nightmare. Words out of your mouth can go so quickly, and reach the people you’d hoped they’d never reach, before you can stop or even begin to control it.      Everything you have ever done is at your future employers fingertips should they know how to get it (and generally they do).

     So, this all makes me call into question the original assumption at the beginning of this whole thing: why is this society so insistent that things like drugs, alcohol, and partying the years away don’t matter at all?

      What truth is being hidden? If it really doesn’t matter or have a negative effect, why do we live in a society where suicide is the third leading cause of death in teens? Why are people in their 20's and 30's, who appear to have it all, still feeling empty and deeply craving something more than what they have?  

      What are we missing?

Learning to use God as her safety net

by Katie Basso

A lot happened at CIY this year. Like, a lot.

First off, for those of you who don't know. CIY stands for Christ in Youth. They have different camps for different age groups. The one I am specially talking about is CIY MOVE, which is for high schoolers. I have been blessed to have attended four CIY MOVE camps in my lifetime. Well, more like three and a half, but that is a story for a different time.

This year was big for me. I was pushed outside of my comfort zone by going with my new church and knowing almost no one. It was hard, and at some points it made listening to God more difficult.

But He made something very clear to me. I'm still holding onto my addictions. I haven't let them go yet. I'm like a little kid with their blanky. It's like a sense of protection for them. That's how my addictions are for me. I know that if something happens, I will have these things to fall back on. They will always be here.

But God doesn't want me to use them as a safety net. He was me to use Him as a safety net.

At the beginning of the week everyone was given a red piece of yarn. Later on we were told that this piece of yarn represents a sin that's holding us back, or something that we need to let go of. There was a big metal circle placed in the front of the theater we were in, and in the circle was a heart. We were challenged to come up and tie our yarn to the circle which represented us, and then to the heart which represented Jesus.

My string represented my addictions.

And I couldn't do it. I couldn't tie the string. I wanted to so badly, but I felt that if I did I would be lying to myself and to God. So I didn't do it. I still have the red piece of yarn with me. I haven't let it go.

Addictions are just symptoms though. I still haven't figured out what mine are symptoms of, but I am praying that God reveals that to me. I trust He will when the time is right. Until then, I'm leaning on Him instead of my addictions. They are still there in the back of my mind, but I'm slowly getting better at going to God first.