The Plant

Have you ever grown a plant from seed? It's not easy. First, you have to put the seed in water and put it in the window where it can get light. Then you wait for roots to sprout from the seed. Once roots have sprouted, you take the seed and plant it in moist, nutritious soil. You have to water it every day. Even after it has pushed its way up out of the soil you still must water it. Maybe even feed it with plant food or fertilizer. Then one day, all that hard work you put into that tiny seed pays off. A blossoming flower bursts forth, and you are left in awe. How did that tiny seed become this beautiful flower?

That's exactly what God does with us. We are seeds. All of us have the potential to become something beautiful, but until we are "put in water" by God we are nothing. God gives us water to make us sprout roots. That water could be the Holy Spirit, a more mature Christian, or an opportunity for us to sprout much needed roots. Once we have sprouted, God feels we are ready for some more substance in our diet and plants us in nutritious soil. As we grow in God's soil, we are watered by Him. As the seasons change, we enter into hardships. Maybe we get an unusual, early snow. But we need to stay strong. With God's help we can weather any struggle.

Finally, the moment arrives. We shyly begin to open the bud of faith. That bud has been growing through hardships and trials. It will always continue to grow. It may wilt for a while, but God will always bring His plant back. The only difference between us and an earthly plant is that we will never die. Unlike a flower or a corn stalk, we will always live if we are planted in God's soil and His soil alone. Any other soil will cause us to wither and die like any other plant. But God's garden is everlasting. It will never fade away. He loves to watch over it, care for the plants there, spend time with His plants. He will never, ever let His garden become overgrown and dingy. We will always be cared for.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

-Peace

The Tool Box

I want you to think of a tool box. What’s in that tool box? Well, there should be tools. But there are different tools. There’s a hammer to pound nails into a wall. There’s a couple screwdrivers to twist screws into a wall. There’s a few boxes of nails and screws to go into a wall. There are wrenches and maybe a blade. My point is that every tool is different. They each have their own job, and they can't do anything but that job. A hammer can't put screws in a wall. A screwdriver couldn't push a nail into a wall. But no matter what their job is, they all work for the person who owns them. They can't do anything without him. They must be held in the owner's hands before they can accomplish their purpose.

It's the same with us. Every Christian is part of the "tool box" of God. We all have a job to do, and no one can do our job for us. But we can't even begin to accomplish our jobs until we are held in the Creator's hands. When He holds us, we can do anything. We are the tools of God. Let's act like it.

"Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker... Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?' Does your work say, 'He has no hands'?"
Isaiah 45:9

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
John 15:1

-Peace

The Trust Factor

Fog was everywhere, all around me, engulfing me in its cold, wet, cloudy whiteness. I couldn't see where I was going, and there was no way for me to pierce the veil in front of my eyes. Sometimes life can be like that; we have no way of knowing where we are going and no way of seeing what is directly in front of us. But God knows. He can see through the fog of our lives and knows exactly where we are headed. He planned for us to go the way we are going. What is our part in all of this? We have to trust Him. It is a plain and simple answer, but it is the most difficult thing to do.


Some of you may remember a game you played when you were young. It is called by many different names but the idea behind it has always been the same. Two people stand, one behind the other. The person in front has to fall back without moving his feet, and the person in back has to catch the person who is falling. The point of the game is that the person who falls must trust the other person enough to fall back. I want to challenge you to do that with God. Trust Him enough to let go and know that He will catch you. Let Him lead you through life. He knows the way better than you ever could. He will reveal to you what you need to know when you need to know it. He will show you in His time and in His time only. Just be patient and trust.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
Proverbs 3:5

-Peace

Always Protected

I noticed, as I was coming home from school the other day, the inlet of an ocean not far from my house. The water was dark and gray. It thrashed about and tossed helpless floating docks everywhere. It was beautiful and frightening all at the same time. I don't know if any of you have ever listened to the song "Sometimes He calms the Storm", but that water sure looked like a storm was about to break loose. As I looked at the water, I remembered how God has promised us that he will never leave us, no matter how hard things get. It doesn't matter if the water is trying to swallow you whole, it doesn't matter if the wind won't stop battering you to pieces, God is always there for you. All you have to do is cry out to Him.

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Hebrews 13:5b
"As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." Joshua 1:5b

-Peace

The Great Commission

This last Saturday, I was listening to Mark from Casting Crowns talk about their mission trip with World Vision to Africa, and I was convicted that we don't share the gospel message. Sure we send money to needy families in third world countries. We give our money and our time to helping out at a homeless shelter. We send people to Europe, Asia, even the slums of our cities, but we ourselves don't witness for God. We sit back and support others and send others to do the work God has called us to do. You don't have to go to Africa or China to plant a seed. You can plant it in your own garden - in your home, your school, your neighborhood. We can make a difference, all we have to do is obey.
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
Matthew 28:19-20a

-Peace

The Broken Binder

I was looking at my binder today and I thought about how it’s covered in duct tape because it falling apart on the outside but the inside is perfectly fine. Not for long though because, it’s fraying so much that the tape can’s hold it and soon it will spread to the inside. That made me think about how we try to patch up our own live by ourselves with “duct tape” (self-help programs, clothes, money, friends, etc.) and we will continue to believe that everything fine. Only it’s not and we know it when we realize that we have been lying to ourselves. Until we bring ourselves to God we can’t find true healing. Only Jesus can truly fix us. The song for the week: Lead Me to the Cross, by Hillsong United

~Hope

Break Free

Have you ever sat cross-legged and your foot fell asleep? You probably have. What did you do about it? Did you leave it alone as your entire leg falls asleep? Did you move your foot around just a little bit? Or did you stand up and walk around? You may think it's funny I'm asking you about your leg falling asleep, but, think about it. In your life when you have a problem do you try to fix it? Or do just leave it alone to escalate? In our lives sometimes we just have to get up and fix our problem (after we've prayed and read our Bibles). When I was writing this I thought of Hillsong's song "Break Free". It's an awesome song, try googling it and then listening to it. It's pretty sweet.

~Hope

Revival

Right now I want to ask you to pray for revival. In the Church, in people hearts and in peoples minds. We(as young Christians) need to realize that now is not the time to sat back and say "Yeah, we need revival." No, we need to be the ones speaking the gospel to our friends, not some guy on TV, not your pastor, it needs to be you. We are in a spiritual battle right now. Not in a far off country that you have never heard of, but, in your country, in your town, in your neighborhood.

"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness. against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

We need to remember that people are lost and they are not the enemy. We need revival and we need it now. Why don't you pray for a friend in need right now? And then tell share about Jesus in a loving non-intimidating way. Jesus loves you. Remember that.

~Hope

Focus

Well the Hillsong United thing didn't work as expected...oh well, they are still awesome!

Tonight I wanted to tell you to stay focused on God. To not be distracted by the the little or the more big things. For those of you that drive sometimes if you focus on an object(or a person) on the side of the road to long you tend to drift that way. That can be a really bad thing! Reading your Bible, praying, going to church and talking with committed Christians are all great ways to stay focused on God. I was sitting at a camp fire enjoying it's warmth when I turned to face a noise I heard. Turns out the noise wasn't all that important but, with my face turned away from the fire, the fire didn't seem that warm anymore and I kind of had the feeling of "Hey, where did the fire go?". That lead me to think that when we turn our focus away from God we start thinking "Hey, where did God go?" All we have to do is to turn around and God is waiting for us with open arms. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Isn't that awesome?

~Hope

Mass Rad Band

Here's is a way cool thing for Hillsong United:
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It's an awesome worship band and you should check it out!

Waiting on God

Hi everyone,

Tonight I want to encourage you to pray and to listen. In any healthy relationship we have to talk and to listen. Why do we think that it's different with God? Can we really fool ourselves into thinking that if we shoot up a quick prayer like "Bless Mom, bless Dad. etc. etc" and not get our hearts into it, that we can really grow in our faith? You may have a youth leader who keeps telling you to read your Bible or a Sunday School teacher who tells you to pray all the time. Do you think that they tell you that for no reason? The reason is so you can grow in your faith, become inspired or encouraged or even hear a Word from God. You may hear this all to often but, prayer changes people. Prayer changes things because we are talking to God. Isn't amazing that the God who created everything would want to hear our prayers? Now stop, really think about it. Awesome isn't?

~Hope

First Day/New Creation

This blog is designed to encourage believers of Jesus Christ of all ages to: stay strong in their faith, worship God with everything they have and spread the gospel! Also to share Jesus with everyone I come in contact with.

Today I just want to encourage you to be a new creation in Christ, to put off your old ways. Keep reading your Bible, it is the word of God. Think about it, God's very word, that we can read anytime we want! How cool is that? As a new creation we shouldn't be_____(fill in the blank) anymore. In the Bible it talks about when we stop an bad behavior we need to start a good behavior. We need to stop lying and speak truth. That doesn't mean we can gossip about other people if the stuff we say about them is true. We should never gossip and yet we all do it. Lately I've been praying that God will change my mind so I won't want to gossip and I've had to bite my tongue quite a few times. Still I fail sometimes but, God loves me and I should apologize to the people I was gossiping with. In some situations you should also apologize to the person you were gossiping about.

~Hope