"We cannot love too much" and more quotes

~Saturday Stories~

"He said "Love...as I have loved you." We cannot love too much."- Amy Carmichael

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." - John Piper

"Faith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them." -Elisabeth Elliot

"The church is not a dormitory for sleepers, it is an institution for workers; it is not a rest camp, it is a front line trench." - Billy Sunday

How about you? Which quote do you like best? What topic is nearer to your heart? What quotes can you share?

Doing good

~Friday for Friends~

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." Galatians 6:9-10(NIV)

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." John Wesley (disputed)

Good works do not save; we are saved by grace. However, when we know Christ and are filled with His love it should be natural for us to love and help others. Sometimes it will be hard; sometimes it will seem totally crazy. But it's worth it.

How about you? How can you share God's love today?

Slowly but surely

~Tuesday Thoughts~

January 6th I decided to learn to play on the synthesizer. By my schedule, I have half an hour devoted to it five days a week (although it doesn't always work out at all and sometimes I do more). Thirty minutes isn't much, right? But, by and by, they add up and become hours. And hours of learning make a surer hand and a brain that's faster to read those notes.

Sometimes we don't have a lot of time in our lives where we can just relax and talk with God and tell Him of all our troubles and worries. Or maybe we just don't feel like doing it.

But spending just 20-30 minutes studying  His Word and talking with Him and listening to Him every day are worth it. They add up and, before we know it, they can blossom into a relationship more beautiful than we could have ever imagined.

God will always have time for us. The question is... do we make time for Him?

All this time

~Monday Movies & Music~ 

"All This Time" is a song by Britt Nicole. Here are the lyrics.

God will always be with us. What an amazing truth!!!

How about you? What are some times when you treasure this truth? Do you know any more songs on the topic?

Escape into the Night by Lois Walfrid Johnson

~Saturday Stories~

At the shore of the river, Libby stepped down, expecting to find ice. Instead, cold water rose around her feet. Suddenly she yelped. “Hush!” came the quick warning from above. Libby leaped from the water to a foothold in the bank. Just then a voice cried out. “Over here!” a man shouted. “Get him!” called another. The slave catchers!  Like the cold water, terror washed over Libby.

Twelve-year-old Libby Norstad lives on a steamboat, where her father is the captain. There is only one other kid her age: Caleb, the cabin boy. As much as Libby wants to be friends, Caleb always seems to be hiding something. When a fugitive slave comes aboard, Libby starts guessing what Caleb is keeping back. Should she tell on him? Should she help him?

Genre: historical, adventure. For those 14 and under. Issues dealt with: slavery, equal treatment, helping others.

Escape into the Night mentions God only about 3-5 times. The characters say that they do what they do because of what they believe. This story will certainly not help strengthen your relationship with God, although it will entertain. This is book 1 of The Freedom Seekers series. The other books are Race for Freedom, Midnight Rescue, The Swindler's Treasure, Mysterious Signal, and The Fiddler's Secret.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." James 1:22 (NIV)

For more on Lois Walfrid Johnson visit her website and Facebook page. 

He's always there

~Friday for Friends~

No matter how much we love our friends or our friends love us we just can't be with each other 100% of the time. Sometimes we can't even be in the same city, state or even country. And that can be so hard because -big suprise!- emailing and skyping, etc. just isn't the same as hugging and chatting.

But there's a Friend who's with us everywhere we go, One that will not leave us. We can turn to Him whenever with whatever problem we have. Amen!!!

"'Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.'" Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

How about you? Do you have friends who are far away? Do you forget sometimes that God is the Friend who will always be there? Who can you remind of this truth today?

Living for Him

~Tuesday Thoughts~

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 (NIV)

We should live for Christ not for ourselves.

Instead of waking up, spending the day, and going to bed with "what should I do for me?" we should think about what we can do for Him.

What can we teens do? How about...

1) Sharing the good news with family, friends, and the people that all around us;

2) Helping those who have less than we do;

3) Doing little deeds of love and speaking love - mentioning why we're doing it;

4) Just doin' and sayin' things we feel He's calling us to do and say. So it can be hard to know for sure that it's Him and it can be scary, but we're living for Him, right?

How about you? Do you want to live for Christ? What are some other ways you can do this?