Wednesday, September 3, 2008 - Happy Birthday Emma Dearest!!!!
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Today is my friend Emma's 16 birthday!!!!! :)
Emma, you have no idea what a great friend you are. Through the last year-and-a-half, we've gone through a lot together...as individuals and as friends. Thanks for sticking with me, girl! You have no idea how you've blessed me in so many ways...I don't know what I did before we became friends. You're always there to listen to me complain, sigh, cry (wow, that rhymed) and just be happy. Thanks for being there.
So, for your birthday....we're going to burn pancakes! :P It's the best I could do, dearie, even though we're not 62 yet. Or, you're not anyways. :) Sorry guys, inside joke.
What else can we do? We could finish our book...um, no. Let's go to a ball! (ish)
But, of course, since we're Baptist...dancing isn't exactly..well...anyways, moving on. Here's your BEAUTIFUL dress:
Isn't it just beautiful? And here's your wondermus tiara:
Oh that'd be SO beautiful in your hair, Emy dearest.
And, in honor of your birthday, the guest of honor (you'll find out who that is in just a second) will present you with this:
At your very formal (and very elegant) formal dinner hosted in your honor:
And your guests? Well, apart from your family, some friends (yes, Meggy and Toria included), here's the rest of your extended guest list:
:P And now the cake!!!
Isn't it lovely? It tastes good too...but, I bet it'd taste better with one of these:
Ahh...the wonders of sweets. :) But, where exactly is the party at, anyways?
Ah, just lovely, isn't it? So peaceful....
Well, I wish we could do all that...but, in reality, all I can say is "Happy Birthday, Emma!" and give you your present later on. :)
Love you much lots, girl!
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008 - See the Scars, Part 2
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
*Note*: This is a LONG post. ;) It was almost 6 pages on a word document, so be forewarned.
God, I pray that You would be honored in this post. I pray that You would receive glory. God, you’ve given me a passion for those without hope. Help me, God, to say what you would have me say through this post. Prepare the hearts of those who will read it. Thank You. I love you, Jesus. Amen.
"Hope stepped forward uncertaintly. She wasn’t sure whether she belonged in this room or not. It was dark and musty, with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and deep shadows beckoning her to hide in them. Even though the room was full of people, a heavy sense of dread seemed to hang in Hope’s heart, and make her feel alone. She quietly slipped into a seat in the corner, only to be scruntinized by a small group near her. She tenatively offered a smile, but only received a giggle in return...She squirmed in her seat, fighting the loose sense of panic that shot through her body. Focusing her eyes on the floor, and keeping her stinging eyes dry, she ran her fingers over the scars again. Why not do it again?"
Why not, indeed? Yes, cutting isn’t right. I believe that. But, most of the people I know that have cut know that. But, when you feel pain that deep, you don’t care. To a person that’s struggling with intense depression...it seems like it’s a way out. It "seems" like it would help. For those that have never cut, you might not understand this. One of the comments on my original post expressed it great. "Do you know how it feels to be so agitated you want to make your outside look like your soul feels? do you know what it feels like to cut yourself and see the scarlet liquid oozing out of your skin and think "what have I done, why did I do that?" Do you understand that feeling, that desire to hurt yourself?" I believe I do. No, I can’t fully understand how you might feel, since I’ve never technically cut myself, but I have a story of my own.
So, my story? I’m 14. I’m a PK (Pastor’s Kid), have four brothers and a sister-in-law...lead a pretty normal life. When I was 12, my best friend left our church. It might not seem like a big deal to you...but, church was almost the only place we saw each other. I mean, I saw her twice a week..and she was pretty much my only friend, even there. When she told me they wouldn’t be coming again (through some painful circumstances that aren’t that relevant), I went home and cried myself to sleep. I moved up to the youth that summer, and went to church camp. It was a great week, but I missed my friend. I missed out on one of the greatest worship services I’ve ever seen. Why? One, I was letting this eat me up. I literally cried myself to sleep every night for almost two months. I remember thinking that I hadn’t cried myself to sleep for two nights in a row one time. I suffered intense depression. I thought it was my fault (it had nothing to do with me), I missed her, wished she was still at church (church didn’t actually have much to do with it). No, I didn’t think about cutting myself then. But, I struggled with depression so intense...I don’t really like to remember that time. It wasn’t pretty, to be sure. So, this goes on. Eventually, I meet other people, and make new friends. One was Tara, who’s a great friend, and then a year or so later, Emma, who’s truly amazing. Off and on, though, I still struggled with depression. One night this spring, I thought about cutting myself. I knew I wouldn’t do it...I knew I didn’t have the mental power to actually do it..I was too scared of being found out. But, I thought about it...what it would feel like...if it would help. I wondered if anyone would miss me if I died. I wondered why I was here at all. Granted, I was going through a TON emotionally at the time. But, I didn’t cut myself that night. I haven’t ever cut myself. And, as you can see, I didn’t kill myself either. :) Why? It wasn’t like the problems I had in my life could be resolved in an instant. They hurt. Bad.
But, really. Why do people cut? There’s a lot of reasons...families divorcing, abuse, fights, trouble with friends, emotional turmoil, feeling not good enough, feeling no one cares, rape, death, anger, or just simply feeling like the world is a gray splotch, and you aren’t exactly much better. When I asked my friend "Katie" (who was kind enough to do an interview with me) why she cut, here’s her answer. "I used to cut because I felt it would get rid of my inner pain. It was like letting out anger and sorrow. People said i should try to draw how I felt, but it never worked. I was too angry to do anything but cut."
Shattered
Depression haunts me everywhere I go.
Leaving me hopeless.
Leaving me cold.
My body is torn, bloody, and battered.
My soul is lost and forever shattered
People that cut aren’t statistics. They aren’t numbers on a page. They aren’t freaks, or weirdos. They’re normal people...who are hurting on the inside. They might look just like you, they might not...but, they still feel the pain deep inside...where it hurts so bad, you have to do something about it.
My question: Would you say that cutting solved your problems and made you feel better?
It made me feel like I had a load off of my shoulders, but I soon did it all over again, because something else happened. My mind was so clouded with cutting, it was all I could ever think about, sometimes even now I consider it.
My Question: Would you agree that having intense emotional pain made you desire physical pain?
That's a major 'yes'. being emotional is the number 1 cause of cutting. Either you've lost a loved one, or maybe a friend was spreading horrible roumers. I have a count of 293, maybe more, self inflicted scars, and they just remind you of the pain, they don't necessarily get rid of your feelings.
"...Hope chewed on her plastic spoon thoughtfully, and then spooned the last of the ice cream into her mouth...Suddenly, she realized she wasn’t wearing her wristbands...she always wore three or four...they covered up the scars. Hope wondered why her parents hadn’t figured it out yet. She talked to them about most things...they listened to her every time...but they still didn’t know she habitually cut herself. Hope just couldn’t tell them that."
My Question: Would you agree that cutting is really kinda like drugs? The high, the low...
Yes. Cutting is just a way to get rid of your problems, just like another person does drugs to make them feel better. If you say 'Cutting is no where near doing drugs! Drugs make you crazy, and cutting helps!' you are very wrong. Why do you cut? You could be doing something else to vent.. but aparently, you're crazy enough to do it...It makes you FEEL like it helps, but ask yourself,'Are my troubles gone? Or are they still here, and I'm just ignoring them?'
One of the worst ways to deal with pain is to ignore it. Trust me, I’ve tried. If you bottle up the pain, and bottle it up, and never let any of it out...that’s when you slip into even more intense depression...deeper blackness, if you will. The second worst thing? Pretend like it doesn’t exist...even when talking to God. You’re not perfect. God knows you’re not. He knows you’re sufferering, and every time you hurt...He hurts with you. Every time you cut yourself, He feels your pain. He knows exactly how you feel, even when you can’t express it even to yourself. Is there a way out? Is there ever an end to the pain?
This is a song that is actually dealing with a drug addiction. But, I believe you can get a lot from it.
This Dark Day by 12 Stones
...I've lost all my will
This has been haunting me way to long
And I can't rewind
I'm the suffering kind
I've been abusing way to long
I'm breaking
Suffocating...
Now I'm trapped in the wake
Of all my mistakes
I've been under for way too long
I sit and I shake
My heart starts to race
The poison lingers in my veins
I'm fading
Suffocating...
I'll close my eyes and I'll drift away
I'll make it through my darkest day
And I'll sing this song at the top of my lungs
Until this dark day is done...
You said I'd never change
You said I'd never had the strength
To break away
But now I've changed
It's time to turn the page
And walk away...
I made it through my darkest day
And I'll sing this song at the top of my lungs
Now that this dark day is done
I'll open my eyes and I'll stay awake
I made it through my darkest day
And I'll sing this song at the top of my lungs
Now that this dark day is done
(note: this is not the complete song.)
And, with that, it brings me to a question. Is it possible to stop cutting? How?
My Question: Is it possible to get off of cutting? Is it hard?
I started cutting, and tried to get off of it about 4 times, but I always got back on it. It is hard to get off cutting, but it is possible. You have to have a strong will, and if you can start cutting, you can most definately stop.
When "Katie" came for a visit this summer, she told me that she had gone four months without cutting. She said she had wanted to....had really wanted to. But, she knew she had to stop.
"Justin sipped his Dr. Pepper, while Hope finished her ice cream. Then his mind went back to the scars. Again. Did she realize that he could feel them, when he had helped her off the couch? He knew what they looked like...what they felt like. He stole a glance at Hope, and then stared into his coke. She didn’t seem the type...
"Ahhhh. Well, I guess we’ll figure it out..." Justin visibly relaxed in his chair again. Then his hand strayed to his own wrist, and felt his own scars."
Justin Thrash is a character in a short story I’m working on. Justin is completely fictional, but modeled on someone I’m really close to. Justin has a huge problem. He used to cut. He never told anyone, but he knows he will someday. For Justin, it all changed about two years previous to this story. His life was at it’s worst. He hated himself, he hated what he did to himself, he hated everything. One day he ended up on his floor, sobbing, while he wiped the fresh blood off his wrists. Not just physical pain...though, it was the deepest cuts he’d ever made...The emotional pain was a torment. He couldn’t stand what he was doing, but he couldn’t get out. He was trapped in every essence of the word. He’d got himself here, and he didn’t know how he’d get out. From his standpoint, life wasn’t great anyways...why stay here? Suicide seemed a viable option to him. Huddled on his floor, death, whatever that would mean afterwards, seemed wonderful. Great. Hours later, Justin walked out of his house onto his street. Walking down the street, he saw one of his friends mowing the grass. Justin decided to talk to him for a while...That night, Justin sat down on his bed. Then and there, he made a promise to himself. He didn’t know much about all this, but, if his friend was right, he could stop cutting. There was another way, a better way. Someone actually cares. The thought rocked Justin’s world for a minute. He could do this. He would do this. He’d looked for love all his life...and only now was he finding it.
Home
It’s written in your eyes
I can see the face you hide
It’s getting harder every night
To want to be alive
Thinking thoughts inside your mind
Of leaving us all behind
Leaving us all behind
But you’re not quite home yet
You’re not quite through
It’s not your time
He’s got a plan for you
There’s still a plan for you
It’s everywhere you hide
‘Cause the shadows follow you
You think you can’t escape
But you’re running anyway
And you’re thoughts all break my heart
There’s a chapter left to write
Won’t you run, fly open up your lungs tonight, breathe freedom for the first time in your life
For those who cut, or have cut, let me tell you something. God has a plan for you. He is NOT done with you yet. God wants you. He wants to be able to hold you in His arms and love you. He wants to show you that to Him you are everything...He loves you more than anyone on earth can. No matter what you do to yourself, no matter how badly you hurt yourself, no matter how much you want to die....He still loves you. He doesn’t care what you’ve done in the past. He doesn’t care what you’re doing right now. But, He DOES want you to drop it all and run to Him. Only there, only wrapped in His arms can you find peace. Only there can you ever find the strength to quit. Only in Jesus’s arms will you ever find happiness. Only there will you find the strength to smile through the pain you experience. Only there can Justin, or Hope, or Katie ever find the hope to live. Only there can they find the strength to leave behind habits that rule your life. Only there can you truly find what you’re looking for.
Yeah, you can disregard everything I’ve said. Yeah, you can throw it all out as garbage. You don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. But, please, please, please think about this one fact. You may hate what you look at in the mirror every day, you may hate everything about you...you may hate the fact that you cut, but you can’t stop. Jesus is there. He was cut. For you. There’s no point in carrying the pain when He’s standing beside you, begging you to let Him carry it for you. Let Him have your pain. Let Him have your life. Run to Him. He’ll always take you back.
I’d like to say that I’m here for you. I may not know you, you may not know me. But, feel free to message me at any time if you’re dealing with something, and you want me to pray for you. I’d absolutely love to pray for you.
Next time (hopefully sooner than this post was in coming), I’ll share some of what the friend of someone who cuts can do for their friend...what it’s like, how you can help. If you have any input, I’d love to hear it!
by Building 429 by Anonymous
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Friday, August 15, 2008 - Feel the Pain
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
This is just a preview of my next post, which, if you think about it, you can pray about it. This is the hardest post I've ever tried to write...and I've started, and then re-done it so many times. But, here's a taste of one of the stories I'll be using in it. This one I actually wrote, and it's completely fictional.
"Hope stepped forward uncertaintly. She wasn’t sure whether she belonged in this room or not. It was dark and musty, with cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and deep shadows beckoning her to hide in them. Even though the room was full of people, a heavy sense of dread seemed to hang in Hope’s heart, and make her feel alone. She quietly slipped into a seat in the corner, only to be scruntinized by a small group near her. She tenatively offered a smile, but only received a giggle in return.
She sighed. She’d been to them all before. It wasn’t any use...trying to be friendly. Guys would just check her out, and girls would either laugh, or stare at her. She squirmed in her seat, fighting the loose sense of panic that shot through her body. Focusing her eyes on the floor, and keeping her stinging eyes dry, she ran her fingers over the scars again. Why not do it again? ..."
Thank you to all who have prayed, contributed, and helped me. I couldn't do it without you!
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Tuesday, August 5, 2008 - "We set out to save the Shire, Sam. And we did. But not for me..."
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Had to have a random LOTR quote. Because right now, I'm in a fairly good mood. :P
Anyways, just letting you know that I'm back from my vacation, I had a lot of fun, and hopefully I can get that post written today.
Thank you to all who have commented, PMed, and just talked to me about this. I couldn't really do all this without you all.
~Grace
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Friday, August 1, 2008 -
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Hi, this is Emma, and I'm supposed to let you all know that Grace is going to be gone for a few days but she would love for you to share your stories about cutting via comment or PM.
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Monday, July 28, 2008 - Feelin' Feminine Website!
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Miss Jocelyn emailed me a few days ago, and asked me to do a post about the Feelin' Feminine Website today, when she first posted about it on her blog.
You can go here to view the website:
Since I did the challenge a few weeks ago, but never got the oppurtunity to post about it, I thought I would now.
I actually only got to do it for a couple of days, due to some very interesting circumstances...
We had day camp that week, so for me it was a challenge to find skirts that were cool, functionable, and worked well when you were running after kids all day long. :) It was also really fun to explain to the kids why I was wearing a skirt (even though I did it over and over again). All in all, I really enjoyed the challenge, even though I had to shorten it a wee bit.
My story with being feminine...well, I have four brothers. I'm the only girl in our family, and at 14, I'm in the middle. I have an older (married) brother who's 19, another older brother who's 17, a younger brother who's 11, and another who's 7. So, I've gone back and forth. When I was little, I played cowboys and Indians, and marched in the army every day. When I got a little older I had to get on my brothers for stealing my baby dolls and hanging them from a tree. All that to say this...I didn't really grasp what femininity was until about a year ago. As far as dressing, I went for...whatever that's really simple and works for me. Which was fine. Until then, when I started to grasp what it meant...not only to dress, but to speak, to act, everything.
So, I suppose, that's my story. :) And I'm sorry it's late.
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008 - See the Scars, Part 1
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
*Note:* I'm not going to mince words about depression, or the physical pain of cutting, so the content may be slightly more mature than some of my posts. Also, when I refer to people that cut as "cutters", please don't think I am being condescending, or in any way looking down on them...it's just easier to type that way.
The young girl screams,
But slashes again,
Covered with blood,
Her arms are scarred.
She feels so cold,
She feels alone,
Without hope,
No love in sight.
In this post, I'm mostly going to talk about cutting. However, in forthcoming posts, we'll talk about food disorders, destructive habits, and burning (as well as several more posts on cutting).
I don't know about you, but several years ago, I first read the phrase "cutting." I didn't know exactly what it meant. I soon learned it meant to cut (in some way) your wrists, arms, or even your legs. I've heard of people who would cut their feet. I still didn't really understand why they'd do that....I was only 12 at the time, and depression wasn't exactly my emotional state. I'm now 14, and I'd like to think I understand cutters a little bit more. I've been through some...well, fairly intense depression. I've thought about cutting...and thought and thought and thought about it. But I never could bring myself to do it. But, more about that later.
So, what really gives ME the right to write this post? Well, nothing, other than the fact that God has really placed cutters on my heart. He's given me a burden for them. Even though I'm not, and never have been a cutter, I haven't always dealt with pain in my life the best way. But, that's another post. But, all in all, I think God has given me something to say. And, whether you are a cutter, or whether you have a friend that's a cutter, or whether you just would like to understand cutters a little more...please keep reading this. All in all, I believe that God has shown me in so many ways that He can bring people out of this. I don't want to just tell people that cut that it's wrong and not to do it. No. That's not really what God has given me to say.
So, what is cutting anyways? Cutting, as far as I've seen, read, and heard, is when someone will cut themselves with any sharp object. Razor blades, broken glass, knives...it's all been used. People generally think of cutting as only on the wrists, but oftentimes it's on the arms, legs, and thighs of the cutters too. That's a very basic definition. There are other ways of hurting yourself-burning for instance, but that will be another post in this series.
One of my friends, whom we'll call "Kate" has freely admitted to me that she used to cut. She showed me several of the scars on her arms. She'll have those scars for life. She told me that she has 294 self-inflicted scars on herself. I hugged her and we cried together for a while. How did she get this way? Why did she do this? To look at her, she's just a normal girl. She's 14, like me, and looks slightly emo. Her parents were divorced when she was little, and her Mom remarried. She moved away from where I live when she was 10 or so, and now lives a state or two away. She comes down and visits every so often...last summer she visited, and was saved at a youth service. She's normal...she attends church fairly often when she's at home...her granny is a very active member of our church, and always has been. She's fairly normal, right? So what went wrong?
Nothing. Cutting is by far a more common problem than people realize. She's not alone. Kate told me herself, "After awhile, I hurt so bad that I couldn't feel it anymore. Even when I cut, the pain wasn't enough." Her step-dad isn't exactly a Father to her...at all. She's been hurt a lot in her life. Over and over and over. So she cut.
Manytimes, emotional pain becomes so great that you have to inflict physical pain on yourself...somehow let the pain you feel become a reality to yourself. And cutting is, actually, one of the easiest ways to do it. Cutting seems like it's an escape. It seems like it's a way out. After all, it only hurts you, right?
Wrong. Cutting affects everyone around you. Cutting doesn't provide a way out...cutting is in many ways, like being addicted to drugs. Kate said one day that cutting doesn't really make you feel all that much better. It makes you feel a little better for a time...rather like a high. And then you're down again...deeper than before sometimes. Cutting is in many ways an addiction...an addiction to pain.
My next post will be much different. I'd like to explore a little bit of why people that cut do so. If you'd like to contribute in any way, email me! I'd love to have you help.
If you have a question to ask Kate, please tell me, and I'll ask her. :) She'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have!
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Monday, July 7, 2008 - The Scars Aren't Just on You...
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
I'm going to write a post on cutting soon. I was going to write it tonight, but it's just not to be. I need to get to bed soon.
But, I will say this...
1.)Have you ever cut yourself? (you may PM me if you wish...don't worry your name won't be mentioned in the post)
2.) Why or why not?
3.) Have you felt like cutting yourself?
4.)Is that related to not feeling good enough, in your opinion?
Thanks so much!!!!!! Again, PM or comment, or email me the answers....I think when I get the post done, it'll be quite interesting...
EDIT: Anonymous made an excellent point, and I'd like to say that this post (when I finish it, at least) won't be a "don't do it, it's wrong" post. I want to dive into why people cut, and how Jesus can bring you out of that, and how we can help. Thanks!
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Saturday, June 28, 2008 - Bekka Awarded Me!
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Bekka awarded me! Don't I feel special??? :) No, I really do. Thanks, Bekka!
So, I don't see any rules...So, I'll just go about it as I please. :) First, I'll award my dear brother
Luke (Warrior of the Dawn)- Not only is he a great older brother, he's a great blogger (when he blogs :P). He shares what's going on, shares stories, essays, and so much more...Love ya, Luke!
Meggy T- Meggy's a great friend, and her blog is excellent-truly deserving this award. Her post on starting a blog revival was....inspiriing, to say the least, and it inspired my post on a similar strain. :)
Jesusfreakteens- Man. Emma started this blog a little while back, and I've greatly enjoyed the discussions I've been able to be a part of. I'd highly encourage visiting this blog, and joining in...we'd love to have you!
Stories4Him- Messenger is a girl whom I'm proud to call my friend. This is her writing blog...one that I've intensely enjoyed over the last few months. She's an excellent writer, and a highly imaginative and creative one.
Kate (formerly ElvishMaiden14)- I've had the privelege of being Kate's SSA for the last two sessions, and I've really enjoyed it! Kate's an excellent writer, as well, and I've really enjoyed reading her posts.
Oh, and on a side-note...This is my 80th post on HSB. :)
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Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - Youth Groups
Soli Deo Gloria-It's all for HIS glory.
Let me say this first. I'm in a youth group. I've been in a youth group since the end of 6th grade (I just finished 8th). My Dad is a pastor. My big brother Luke is a youth leader. My older brother Daniel leads worship with Luke....we're extremely involved in our youth group. If they're doing anything, we're there, and we're in the middle of it. And I love it. :)
Youth groups. I'm involved in one, quite heavily. My youth group runs about thirty every week. We're closely knit, and we're all friends with one another. It might sound like boasting, but honestly, there aren't any cliques in our youth group. Certaintly, groups of friends get together during dinner, but everyone feels free to sit wherever and with whomever they like. On an average Wednesday night, we gather about 4:30. We play ping-pong, basketball, football sometimes, and the girls help cook and talk and ride the waves. (the skateboardy things) We eat dinner about 5:15. After that, we hang out until the guys go back and pray, and then we clean up dinner, and set up the chairs and stuff for the service. That starts at 6:30. We sing three or four songs, sometimes have a skit or two-minute warning, and then we have a message brought by one of our youth leaders. Really, we just have a regular service. We finish up about 8:15, usually.
Whenever we get together just to hang out as a group, we have some sort of devo, and an oppurtunity to share the gospel. We don't really do much together. Well, besides just hanging out. We don't go to water parks, go bowling, really, anything. We go to church camp in the summer, and host a youth event for teens in our area in August. That's our youth group. I suppose we're kinda strange. Our leaders are really good about reminding us that youth groups aren't for meeting that guy or that girl. That's not the reason we go to church...or it shouldn't be anyways.
Recently, Miss Jocelyn wrote a post about your family being your best friends. I agreed with almost everything she said...it was an excellent article. My family are some of my best firends. My 16yo brother is absolutely one of my very best friends. I tell him everything...he tells me most everything. We listen to music together, he takes me where I need to go, we spend a lot of time together. I'm right in the middle of four boys. I don't have a sister....well, I do have a sister-in-law, but they don't actually live with us. :) So, I have some very close girl friends...from church. From the youth group.
I've gotten pretty close to these girls. Emma and I have only been friends for a year or so, but we're really close. We tell each other almost everything, and it's really great to have someone to pray for you, even when you can't tell them why yet. Tara, otherwise known as Jazzy, is a great friend. Not to mention that she and my 16yo brother are....well, very good friends. But, Tara's been there for me. She's quick to slap me back to reality, crush the sappy moment, tease me when I need it, and laugh at some of my bad puns. (the others didn't deserve it) Stuphy is another friend....she and I are accountability partners right now in several areas of my life. I told her that if she saw me going too far, to tell me. It's great.
I have a lot of great guy friends too...many of them are almost like my brothers. But, my point isn't that I have great friends. Though...I do, and I love them all. But, my point is that my youth group is like an extension of my family. My spiritual family. They're there to hold me up, encourage me, tell me when I'm living in blatant sin....they're part of the body of Christ. I do the same for them. To me, the Church is vitally important. I need my church family. I need my blood family more, but I still need my youth group.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say is this: our youth group isn't the average group. Our service isn't a "hookup time", but rather a time of worship and truly praising God. Our sermons aren't about not doing drugs...that's expected of us. One example of one a couple of months ago, was when Dusty preached about making (and keeping) vows to God. Or we talked about being a dreamer for God. And so much more. It's amazing to get to fellowship with people my age that also have a strong walk with God.
With this post...share your opinion. Do you go to a youth group? Why, or why not? Please remember to be respectful. :) Thank you!
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