Intimidation....

As young people, we are often intimidated by somethings in our lives. But of course being the tough teens as we are, we aren't going to admit to it. Sometimes we get intimidated by a teacher or someone in authority, but we aren't going to admit it, we are just going to disrespect them to make us look tougher than they are. Come on now...just admit to it. We have all done it. In order to say that people don't scare us, we are willing to make fun of them and be disrespectful to them. But that is definitely not the right thing to do. Instead we should allow God to use the authority figures in our lives to mold us and make us into who HE wants us to be. Now I'm not saying to let them run all over you and they make all the decisions for you. But still look to them for guidance and leadership. They are who GOD has placed there for you. So don't be intimidated by them. Respect them in a way that would give honor and glory to GOD!

Countdown!

Three more days until the big 2010! For me it is a very big year. It is the year that I (Kristin) graduate and the year that I head off to college. SCARY!! 2010 might be a scary year for you too. You might be graduating as well or facing some other obstacle in this new year. But the only thing we can do is put this new year in the hands of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the one who spun the whole universe into motion and has control over all aspects of our everyday lives. He wants us to put our faith and trust in Him and realize that we cannot face this new year on our own. So as the new year swiftly approaches, make sure that you place this new year in the hands of our Savior that were nailed to a old rugged tree for you and me.

Post-Season

Now Christmas is over. What are we going to do?!? We are going to go back to our everyday lives and continue on just like we do every year. We will go back to work and school the same as we do every year after our Christmas break. But as we dive back into life once again, we must never forget the reason for every season. The reason we wake up every morning and take a new breath and the reason we can lay our head on our pillows in peace every night. Jesus Christ is the only reason we do what we do every day! Let's not forget that as we jump back into life once again!!

Keeping Christ in Christmas

Merry Christmas! Today is a very special day..not only because we get to spend time with our families, and open presents, but because we get to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world! As I think about what it must have been like for Jesus', God's only Son to hear His Father say, "It's time.", I can only stand in awe. If it would have been me, I would have protested. "Not me. No Father, You can't send me to that terrible, terrible earth. Everyone is so evil and cruel, they will hate me, and eventually kill me!!!" But not Jesus! He willingly came to earth to live a life of humility and sacrifice. On Christmas, I think about Jesus' humble birth, and also the reason He came to earth, to die on the cross so He we could live in Heaven with HIm forever if we accept Him into our hearts. Merry Christmas! :)

EXAMS!!!

As we are nearing the Christmas break, we all have the dreaded exams. For myself, the week ahead is packed full of tests. Our teachers give us test to see how much we have learned throughout the course of the year. If we do good on the test, we get a good grade, and pass the class. In our lives, the Lord gives us test to see if we remember what He has taught us. Unlike our teachers He gives us mercy every time we fail. Over and over again, He gives us another chance to do better. In the end, the Lord will reward those who pass His test. The next time you face a trial remember that the Lord is there and doing this for a reason. One day you will look back and see how the tests made you a stronger Christian.

Thanks to Him!!

With the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season swiftly approaching, many times we often lose sight of the real reason we celebrate. Maybe you are caught up with plays at school or shopping for family and friends or maybe spending time with those you love. None of those things are bad things at all! But sometime we get lost in the hustle and the bustle of the season and forget the true reason. Thanksgiving is a day set aside to give thanks specifically to God for all the things He has done for us. Here's a challenge: sit down and make a list of all the things you are thankful to God for. I bet that you will not be able to stop yourself from writing!! The list will keep going and going!! Just remember that in this life we do will have so much to thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! He has given us the very breath that we breath, a way to Heaven, and an eternal life to spend with him! This Thanksgiving season, stop and say a quick thanks to the ONE who gave you so much more than you could ever dream!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

"People Get Ready"

Do you ever look up into heaven, wondering when Jesus will return? Honestly, sometimes I try to avoid thinking about heaven, and I believe it's because I love the world way too much! The more I think about it, the crazier I think I am; because why wouldn't I want to go to the only place that is completely perfect? And most importantly, where my Savior lives?!

After I thought about heaven for a while, I remembered a song I had heard a few weeks ago called, "People Get Ready." It's a song talking about the eminance of the Lord's return, and we all need to get ready by telling others and being a witness for Christ. So, as I listen to it as I write, I can't help but get extremely excited! Not just because I will be with my Jesus soon, but I can be a part of helping get others ready for Jesus' return! What an honor. God has chosen me, Riley Morgan, and every one of His children to share His love with the world!

So, will you help "get people ready" for the return of our wonderful, loving Savior?

Sunrise

Last night I (Riley) had the opportunity to talk to my pastor's wife. We talked about lots, but one thing in particular stood out in my mind. We were talking about how God lets us go through things that may lead us to believe that He is no longer concerned with our lives, but down the road it is so very clear that He put us through that for a purpose!
During the summer, I went through a very trivial time in my life. I won't elaborate, but let's just say that I was making very foolish decisions, and not heeding God's will for my life. During this time, I was trying desperately to escape something, but rather than relying on God, I took matters into my own hands. And needless to say, things got kind of scary! For example, I no longer had a desire to pay attention in church, or get involved in the ministry at my church. Although I had to go through alot before I realized I was headed down the wrong road, God finally intervened and brought me back into His loving arms!
His way of capturing my attention still sticks out in my head today, and gives me chills, and brings tears to my eyes! I was in Ohio with my parents visiting my grandparents, and we were at their church on a Sunday morning. The service started out normal enough, singing, and a special. Little did I know that God had that special picked out just for me! A girl named Hailey sang with her dad. Before they started singing, her dad explained that Hailey had a disorder and she couldn't stop moving around, and she had some mental problems. But he shared that Hailey loved singing to Jesus more than anything else! They sang her favorite song, a song about praising God even during difficult times. As I was sitting there, I watched Hailey beaming, and clapping her hands as she sang about God's goodness. It made me cry, and made me think that if Hailey could praise God through all of her problems, I could surely begin thanking Him for my life!
Apparently, I wasn't the only one touched by Hailey's song, the whole church began praising God! People began testifying to God's goodness, and telling the many things God had done for them in just the last week. The pastor saw how open people were being about praising God, and he decided to let the service turn into a full blown testimony service. I have never received such a blessing from a service in my life! It truly turned my life around.
From that point on, I began seeking God and praying like I never had. I begged God for a second chance, and for His forgiveness. Looking back, I can see how amazing God was, He indeed gave me a second chance and brought me to the exact place in life He wanted me to be at. I am convinced that had I not gone through that rough summer, I would not be writing this blog today. God is truly a compassionate God who works in mysterious ways!
After I got home last night, I was still thinking about what I had talked about to my pastor's wife as I got ready for bed. I don't know about you, but while I'm brushing my teeth I like to listen to music! So, I was listening to my iPod, and a song I hadn't heard in a while came on, called "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman. It was like God's way of saying, "This is exactly what you need to write about!" The lyrics explain perfectly what I wanted to express!

"Sunrise" ~Nichole Nordeman

If I had the chance
To go back again
Take a different road, bear a lighter load
Tell an easy story
I would walk away
With my yesterdays
And I would not trade what is broken for beauty only
Every valley
Every bitter chill
Made me ready to climb back up the hill
And find that . . .


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


There's a moment when
Faith caves in
There's a time when every soul is certain God is gone
But every shadow is evidence of sun
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
And every tomorrow holds out hope for us
For every one of us

You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise


You alone will shine
You alone can resurrect this heart of mine


You are sunrise
You are blue skies
How would I know the morning
If I knew not midnight?
You're my horizon
You're the light of a new dawn
So thank You, thank You
That after the long night, You are sunrise
You are sunrise


That first verse just reminds me that even though I may have made many mistakes, they brought me to where I am and I should never want to go back and change them because I might not be where I am today! And the chorus paints such a beautiful picture, of what it's like when we get to the top of our "mountain". When we "see" God for the first time after we have been running from Him, it's like seeing a gorgeous sunrise. It also makes an astonishing point, if we didn't go through hard times, how would we know God's goodness? The second verse really spoke to me. It says that for every Christian there is a moment when faith disappears. It might be because of a lack of faith, or because we think God has left us, or in my case rebelling. But even during those time, we can see evidences of Christ in our lives, and He is revealing Himself to us, trying to bring us back to Him!
Although I had heard this song a dozen times before, this time it's like it finally "clicked," and God was saying, "See I had you go through that to bring you even closer to Me!" How marvelous our God is!
So the next time you think you can't go on, and your faith is on the brink of disappearing, look for the "Sunrise!"

If you want to hear the song "Sunrise" by Nichole Nordeman click on this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev9LRiTxgfA&feature=related

Family

I (Kristin) have the most amazing family in the entire world. If I did not have my family, I would not be who I am today. My dad is a preacher and my mom is the most Godly woman I know. I thank God everyday for family like mine. Both of my parents are involved in church and set Godly examples for me to follow. God has blessed me with so much. I have a brother and a sister-in-law who are awesome examples for me!! I have a two nieces and a nephew who I love with my whole heart. God has blessed me so much and I could not ask for anything more! This blog is kinda out of the ordinary, but I just feel completely overwhelmed and decided to express it through the blog! Thanks for listening! And if you ever feel discouraged with your family, just remember that God gave you your family for a reason! Do not ever forget it!

Please Pray!

Please be in prayer for the Howeth Family. The youngest son Ethan was involved in an hunting accident and was shot in the shin area of his leg. The doctors say it is not life threatening, but there maybe a chance he could lose the lower half of his leg. Please keep this family and this very strong young man in your prayers!

Love Like There's No Tomorrow

Most of the time, I (Kristin) do not like the phrase "Live like there's no tomorrow." But recently, I heard the phrase "Love like there's no tomorrow." I think Christians would do what we were supposed to do if we loved like there were no tomorrow. The Bible says to boast not about tomorrow because we do not know what tomorrow will bring forth. The Bible also says to go out and preach the gospel to every creature. So if we love Christ the way we should, then we would tell others about him like we should. Since we do not know what tomorrow holds, we should share our love for Christ to every creature as if there were no tomorrow!! The next time you feel like you should witness to someone, remember that you do not know what tomorrow holds, so love Christ and love that lost soul like there is no tomorrow!

Welcome to Our Blog!

Recipe for Cheerfulness

Ever have one of those days where it's just hard to be cheerful? I sure have! There doesn't have to be a specific reason for that feeling, but it just seems harder to be cheery than sad. Or maybe you do have a reason, maybe you are extra sleepy, or someone said something to upset you, or you found out you did bad on a test, there are thousands of possibilities!

Today when I felt like there was no reason to be cheerful, I remembered that I DID have a reason to be cheerful! Jesus loves ME!!!!! While it seems simple, to know that the Lord of All loves little me, is pretty spectacular! Once I had remembered this simple truth, it made me realize that God is so much bigger than anything that I could be going through, and He will keep me safe and protect me! After I thought about this, I decided to keep my eyes and ears open for something that would cheer me up. (See, I do this thing where I ask God to show me things to show His love for me! And you know what? He ALWAYS shows me something! I just have to keep my eyes open!) So, on my way to my next class something happened that made me smile, and then someone said something that made me laugh. God is so good! And even when we feel like there is no reason to be cheerful, if we keep our eyes and ears open, God can point out something little that can turn our day into a day full of cheerfulness!

LIfe and Music

Today, I was asked the question: What if all songs were sung to the same tune? Well I think that music would be very useless! I mean, imagine singing Jingle Bells to the tune of Amazing Grace. It just doesn't fit!! After that question, I began to think. Human beings are kind of like songs. We are all different! Our Creator definitely made us with some of the same features, but we are all unique! We are especially designed for one purpose: to honor and glorify God! He made us and deserves all the glory!! We should give honor to whom honor is due!! Remember that the next time you feel like you do not have a purpose. Christ made you for a specific reason!!

One Day @ a Time

God's Will. It's a beautiful thing. As Christians, we have the amazing opportunity to follow God, and complete His will for our lives. But sometimes it can be very overwhelming. The sheer thought of serving a God who created the entire universe is rather daunting. I mean, me, a simple, little person trying to glorify the Almighty Creator! Wow! Then if you take it to the next level of following God's will for your life, it gets even scarier! To me, the scariest part of fullfilling God's will is the fact that God doesn't speak to us in an audible voice, so we never really know what God's exact will is!

As a senior this year, I have had the opportunity to visit several Bible colleges that I am considering attending. If I am completely truthful, I don't think I'm ready for college! But it is such a wonderful opportunity to continue my education, I am looking forward to the new challenge. But before I can take that next big step, I have to make a decision on which Bible college I attend. And I can say that I am totally scared to death to make that choice! What if I think one college is God's will, but it's really just my top choice?

This question really got me thinking about God. So many times, I tend to think that God's will for my life will be boring, and terrible. Which is crazy isn't it? Because God wants the best for us! I mean, He died on the cross to free us from everlasting punishment in the lake of fire! So why do I believe He would choose something for me that I would hate? After thinking about this for a while I decided that it was because I'm leery of the fact that I wouldn't be in control. And I really, really like being in control! Control is a funny thing though, it seems like any time I think I'm gaining more control I lose it.

Then the thought came into my head that the God who holds the universe in His hands wants to control my life! Not only does He want to control it, He wants to walk beside me and be my Best Friend through it all! How amazing is that? So really, who am I to think that He is trying to destroy my plans? All He wants is the best for me. And we don't have to try to figure out God's plans for the rest of our lives at this very second. We don't even have to know what His will is for us for tomorrow! If we just commit ourselves to doing His will for us today, then He will lead us to the places where He will reveal to us His will!

Pollyanna Challenge

Has anyone ever seen the movie Pollyanna starring Hailey Mills? If you have you probably remember the game that Pollyanna played. She called it the "Glad Game", and to play she would think of all the good things possible when she was tempted to think of the bad. When she first tells others of her game they laugh at her, but eventually they realize that a positive outlook is so beneficial in having a pleasant outlook.

Sometimes it's very hard to be positive as opposed to being pessimistic. I (Riley) know I tend to go back and forth between my views. But as I was thinking about it, I came to the realization that when I'm thinking positively I tend to accomplish more, and have a better attitude, and even be friendlier.

So, this gave me the idea to have a challenge! It's called the "Pollyanna Challenge", and for one week you agree to have a positive outlook, and when you're tempted to think of negative things, replace those thoughts with positive thoughts. Here's an example: When you're at school/work and you're tempted to complain about how much work you have to do, think of how the work will benefit you, and that the sooner you get it done, the sooner you can move on to something you enjoy!

As Christians we have so many reasons to play the "Glad Game"! Just think, we have a Heavenly Father who is always by our side, who loves us and provides everything for us. That in and of itself is enough reason for us to be happy! So who is going to step up and take the "Pollyana Challenge"?

What a Day! Praise the Lord!

Today was a great day! Praise the Lord! In case you don't know, I (Kristin) work in the bus ministry at our church along with Riley. We have a family that have 3 adorable children and 1 on the way! The mom and dad ride the bus with the children which is a rarity and a huge blessing! But the only problem is that the mom and dad aren't married. It has been a prayer of mine for a few months now that they would take the next step and get married. Well today we spoke with the dad and he told us that he was going today to get her engagment ring!! Praise the Lord for all His marvelous works! They are taking a step in the right direction and they need all the prayers they can get! Please keep this family in your prayers!! What a day!!

Friends

Friends. They can make or break you. As a teenage girl, I've learned this through experience. Some friends, I still keep in contact with while others...not so much. As hard as it may be to watch a friendship come to an end, sometimes it is the only way to keep on being a Chic 4 Christ! In my experience, friends are a major part of life! Without friends, who would make us laugh? Whose shoulder would we lean on during the dark days? Who would pick us up when we've fallen? Friends are truly a gift from God, and I believe that friendship is something that should be based around God. As Christians, everything we do should be for God's honor and glory. So, in evaluating your friendships, do your friends help bring you closer to God, or are they pulling you farther away from him? Life is too short to pulled away from God by not having the right friends. So how do your friends measure up?

The Little Things

Have you ever been bothered with the little things? Like a string or a hair on the back of someone's shirt and you really really want to pick it off? Well I know I am definitely that way. If someone is sitting in front of me at school and they have a hair on their back, I reach up and get it off of them! So I began to apply that silly little principle to my relationship with Christ. Sometimes we think that God is only concerned with the BIG problems that we face, which he definitly is. But sometimes what we as Christian chics don't realize is that He is ever so concerned with the little details. To me, that is SO amazing! To think that the almighty God who created this vast universe would be concerned with the little details of my life. So if you ever think that something you have done doesn't matter, just remember that God always will care about even the little things that we do for Him in our everyday lives!

Welcome!

First of all, we would like to say welcome to our blog! This blog is intended for chics who want to live for God, and learn more about our great and awesome God! We will be writing about every day experiences we go through that help us grow closer to our Savior, and writing about controversial issues, such as abortion, and anything you might have a question about! We look forward to getting to know you and hearing from you! It is our prayer that this blog will help you realize how awesome Jesus Christ is, and how much He longs to have a close relationship with you. He truly is an awesome God!