When No One Wants to Hear You...

As a teen, or young person in general, you probably know that many people factor our age into our ability to think, feel, and XPRESS ourselves.  My message to you today is this: If you are being persecuted for your age, if you are being demeaned, and not taken seriously, but you KNOW you have a stand, or opinion, on something... XPRESS yourself!  Don't be afraid to use your voice, to speak out, to be different, to rebel, and to take risks!!  If you have already done this, then I say "TAKE IT TO THE MOST HIGH IN HEAVEN!  SHOUT IT FROM THE DEPTHS OF YOUR HEART!  CALL OUT TO HIM TO BE YOUR VOICE, TO GIVE YOU VOLUME, AND TO CHANGE HEARTS THAT NEED CHANGING!"


Today I ask you to pray for our legal system, our courts, our leaders, and children who are suffering around our great nation due to the apathy, and liberal views, of those in authority.  I ask you to pray that God give these children, and all involved with their cases, a VOICE, and strength to make it through.  I also ask that you pray that He soften the hard hearts of many of our judges, and that He open the minds (and not the pocket books) of those working in representation of these children.  Also, that He reward those who's hearts are truly in this for the safety of our nation's next generation.


If you are a young person, who's life is currently in the hands of an adult who does not have your best interest in mind, PLEASE reach out to your friends, or your local pastor (or youth director), and ask them to become your voice.  I know that, for some of you, there may be no way out, but you are strong, and you are loved by your Heavenly Father, and by people like me, who know what you have(are) been going through.  DON'T lose hope!  You will become great for His name someday. :)  God bless you, precious child of God.


God bless you.

So There's This Guy.... :)

What is love, to you?  Is it a feeling?  Something that you fall into... or grow into?  Is it soft and subtle, or overbearing and clingy?  What is your love language?  Touch, words, gifts...?  How do you begin to know when your 'kiddy crush' is something more?  Do you have to be in a relationship before that 'crush' is allowed to grow into something else?.... What is love?


As Christian young women (or young men... if you're a guy who's reading), we have hopefully already begun to set goal/standards in our life for that future significant other, but where can we truly turn to for advice on love?  "Love Quotes & Sayings" on Facebook can be cute/comforting... but are those quotes really shaping our expectations into something realistic/valuable/pure?  Hopefully you too have learned by now that media is NOT your go-to place for advice on what a pure Christian relationship should be like, but seriously, WHERE can we find a role model for love/relationships??!!  


As a Christian young women, I find myself constantly battling with right/wrong influences/advice.  Asking myself, "Who do I trust?"... "What if they're wrong?"  There's no way to know for sure if your source is true, unless that source is the purest human ever to live, Jesus.  The more I search through the Bible for answers, the more I realize how creative, special, and romantic God, and His great book, are!  Lets look at some examples:


1) Jesus was one of the greatest lovers of all time! Not only did He lay down His life for those He loved(s), but He also loved with NO STRINGS ATTACHED!!  Lol!  There was certainly nothing we could give Him, that He did not already possess, so WHY DIE FOR US??  That's how awesome our God is.  So awesome that He would try to come to earth, and show our poor race how to love purely!  Pretty sweet, if you ask me. :)


2) Ruth was one of the most loyal lovers in the Bible, and she is a great example for young women today.  She submitted to her elders; stayed beside her mother in-law when things got tough; remained faithful to God (even though He wasn't of her 'people'); served for her mother in-law humbly/diligently, so that they could live; and ultimately met the man of her dreams, by remaining faithful to her Lord!  Ruth is an awesome, and faithful, young woman, who should fill thousands of young, Christian women with hope and inspiration.  :)


3) Solomon was another GREAT lover!!  I mean, Songs of Solomon is an ENTIRE book in the Bible based off of his love life!!  How cool is that!!?  For the rest of forever, his love/enchantment/pure desires for his lover will be shared with Christians all over the world!  The two lovers speak of waiting for marriage happily; of temptations that preceded their marriage/nuptials; and their free verse to one another is as if you were a friend (or a servant/maid) in the room, as they dreamily speak of him/her!!  It's like a peek into their diaries!  What an awesome book!!  Did you know the Bible has its own love chapter!?  Now, if only we could wait, as they waited, and hold marriage as sacredly as they did.  


4) The story of Jacob and Rachel is another favorite of mine, and one of the main reasons for that is that this guy works 14 YEARS for this woman!  Tricked after 7 years, and married to the wrong girl, he slaves ANOTHER 7 YEARS for the woman he truly loves. :')  How cute is that!?  How many guys even truly work too hard to impress a girl these days??  It's like we're expected to like them, or "whatev!" Lol!!... For guys it may be, how many girls truly are in it for you, versus their FB relationship status, or social standings?  Do they just expect you to fall for them, work for them, or do they work to remain an equal partner/teammate in your relationship?  Is she waiting for you?...  Jacob has a different take on things.  He lays eyes on Rachel for the first time, and knows in his heart he wants to marry her.  Then, he has to convince Rachel's father to CONSIDER him!  After that, he has to agree to a ridiculous  proposal of working 7 YEARS for a woman he probably has not even been able to hold a private convo with!  In their story, it even says that those years seemed like days, because Jacob loved Rachel SO much!!  How cool is that!?  After the 7 years, Pops pulls a fast one on Jacob, and marries him to Rachel's older sister, Leah!  Seriously??  Rude!  Despite that, Jacob STILL doesn't give up, and agrees to ANOTHER 7 YEARS!!  So 14 years later (and who knows how old this dude is by now) Jacob FINALLY gets to marry the love of his life, Rachel, who's waited for him all those 14 years!  Wow!  Now that's true love! :D


Although the Bible doesn't give you flat out advice on what to do for your current crisis, it does give you plenty Godly examples to live by, strive for, and surround yourself with. :)  So next time there's a new guy (girl) in your life, who has you daydreaming, and running into stuff, go to God with something like this...." So, God, there's this guy (girl)...." ;)  


Peace-Love-Christ,


Clay

Growing-Up??

Just realized something... When people say they've stopped 'believing' in something, or 'dreaming' for something, because they've 'grown-up', it's not actually because they've 'grown-up'... it's because they took a leap, with all their heart, failed, and never want to be hurt like that again.... Growing-up isn't always getting older, it's realizing that you really aren't invincible.  Is this a reason to give up on all those crazy-mad dreams??... I-DON'T-THINK-SO! Keep dreaming, y'all!  You are guaranteed to fail at least two thousand times between now and your last breath, but don't let that stop you from living a hopeful life! :)

And in these Trials... We are Not Alone

I had the opportunity to speak at my local community's Christian youth group gathering, Boerne Live, and once again, I am in awe of Him.  As of this morning, I was not planning on attending the concert benefit, and then, around 12pm, I received an email from my youth director, wondering if I would consider sharing my testimony at the benefit.  It was like God calling me out to this place tonight, and finding a way to get me there.  You see, no matter what we think we decide, if we stray from the path, God will find a way to call us back.  Being able to get up there, and look across rows, and rows of high school teens like me, was beyond special... it was AWESOME!  They were alive with HIM tonight!  Alive with His LOVE, and alive with His innocent BEAUTY!  It makes you feel like you are not in this alone, and that you do belong somewhere... with the people of God. :)


If you are out there tonight, wondering if you are the last man standing... I challenge you to go out and LIVE LIFE with risks of failure, risks of frustration, risks of rejection, and risks of success!  If you live your life, hidden away, how can God's awesomeness ever shine?  You are His light, His torch, His clay!  Let the Potter mold you, by loosening up, and giving yourself to Him.  There will you find peace in this Storm. :)  May God bless you, hold you, hug you, love you, and guide you... wherever you are tonight. :)


Peace-Love-Christ


Clay

Target Practice

Have you ever felt that, the moment you try to do things right, you become this huge target for strife and failure?  Do you know why?  The devil is fine as long as your roots are shallow and you say you're a Christian, but don't really walk the talk.  When you start to grow, spread your roots and think for yourself, he has a problem!  You become bombarded with all sorts of setbacks, failures and discouragements, but what can you do?  Keep pushing on, keep keeping on, and NEVER give up!  Jesus said that 'for the sake of my name you will be persecuted, ridiculed and even killed... but your treasure is in Heaven."  So where does that leave us?  When we're down, discouraged and ready to throw in the towel, remember what Christ said and persevere.  For His sake, you will live forever in paradise.  As hard as that is to wrap your mind around when you are 'in the moment', it is true and encouraging.  I'm facing a few of those speed bumps right now.  I know the devil wants me to cave, and I know that that would be the easy way out, but because of prayer, supportive friends and a plan, I'm trying to fight that fight Jesus talked about.  So much of my materialistic life has been sacrificed for Him... but there's something else that I can't lay my finger on.  You see, although I've given all this up for Him, it feels like I'm still holding on to one last thing... what that is I haven't discovered, but I pray I do soon.  Imagine this... You have the keys of your life in your hand.  You're griping them tight and you don't want to let go.  All of a sudden, this hand, bigger than yours, reaches out and gestures for the keys.  You resist, not wanting to lose control, but the hand persists.  Finally, you dump some keys into its hand, yet the hand remains.  You look down into the palm of your hand and there, to your surprise, lies one last key.  Not all the keys were willingly given to the hand because you felt you still needed to control this one last key... the Father asks that you give ALL of your life's keys to him, but sometimes, we don't.  That's me.  Although I've given so many life keys to Him, there are still a few I'm griping in my hand.  Why I have no idea!  What they are is somewhat a mystery as well, but I pray that He open my heart and eyes to realize what that last key is.  If you're in the same boat, you can pray this as well.  He wants to help, but He is not a forceful Father.  He will always be there, waiting until we're ready to place that last key in His hand. :)  "Let go, let God."

Peace-<3-Let Go

-Clay-

Thankful?

     As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, what are you thankful for this year?  Family, food, friends, indoor plumbing, toys...?   How do our lists compare to those from other countries?
     I visited an orphanage just outside of Port-au-Prince, Haiti last May, and as this holiday season approaches, I can't help but think of them.  These kids that sleep three or four to a bed, trade clothes constantly just to try to find something that fits them, who have no mom or dad there to hold and protect them, who have had to grow up WAY too fast because of their circumstances... What are they thankful for this season?  For many of the children who have been placed with a family, they're thankful that there's a hope for tomorrow!  They're thankful for the chance to one day go home to the safe and loving arms of a family that can't wait to hold them.  So many are thankful for the love and protection of Jesus Christ.  They sing their joy and praises for Him every day... "Jump, jump, jump, jump, jump for Jesus!"  Their voices carry through the thin walls of their three story orphanage and they are thankful!  Thankful to be alive when so many of their families were killed; Thankful to have friends so close to them; Thankful for their jump ropes and marbles; Thankful to have each other.  Funny how the things that we pass up as we go through our thankful lists are some of the first things that appear on theirs.  This Thanksgiving, don't forget the simple things, but rejoice and be glad for all that you have!  Try to look a little deeper, to the silent blessings... family, love, hope, forgiveness, sacrifice... and discover something you haven't given much thought to in awhile.  What would our world be like without hope and opportunity?  Without freedom and the ability to speak our minds?  Without the freedom to ask "Why?"?  Without the love and compassion we have for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ?  Where would we be?  Or more importantly... WHO would we be without these simple things?  They are our foundation, and they are all gifts from our Heavenly Father.  So... what are you thankful for?