Browsing Tag

habits

3 Reasons To Not Make Goals

Posted on November 13, 2013

Do you ever get tired of people asking you what your goals or plans are after high school? Do you feel like you’re not sure how to respond? Or maybe you’re not even sure why or if you should make goals for the future. With that thinking in mind, here are three reasons that you should not make goals.

You like where you’re at in life. If you’re pretty happy with where you’re at in life, if you don’t feel like you need to challenge yourself to become better, then there is no reason for you to make goals. Making goals for your life helps challenge you to move forward, so if you’re content with where you are, setting life goals isn’t for you.
You don’t like growth. Goals will help challenge you to do more and be more in life. If you don’t desire to challenge yourself to grow, then setting goals is not for you.
You don’t want to inspire others. When you set goals, it inspires other people around you. People will see that you’re striving to become more than ordinary and be inspired to set goals in their own lives. So, if you’re not into inspiring the people around you, then setting goals is not for you.

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (NKJV)

Setting goals is vital to success in your life. Without goals, you don’t have a benchmark to measure success or a goal to aim for. Goal setting isn’t always easy, but its a great way to ensure you accomplish more in your life. In fact, in the Bible, Paul even talked about having a goal in Philippians 3:14. Goals are important to God and to your future success. Don’t put off making goals but decide today to take action. Set some goals today to help launch you into future success.

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Your Bad Day Checklist

Posted on October 23, 2013

Bad days happen to all of us. Unfortunately, life isn’t perfect and sometimes it just doesn’t go as you wanted it to. With that in mind, we’ve put together an awesome checklist to help you beat the bad day blues.

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Don’t blame God – Bad things are bound to happen to you. This doesn’t mean that God is trying to teach you a lesson or is punishing you. So when hard times come, don’t place the blame on God. God is a good God and He wants the best for your life. James 1:17
You Are in Control of Your Attitude – You might not be able to control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude in tough times. You can choose to stay positive and have a good attitude when a bad day happens. Philippians 4:8
Do something for yourself – Sometimes when having a bad day, it helps to do something special for yourself. It might be something simple like buying yourself a candy bar or taking a long walk. Whatever it is, find something that you can do for yourself to help you unwind.
Recognize that tomorrow is coming – Your day might be bad today, but tomorrow is on its way. Sometimes, things seem better in a day or two. Time really does help in lots of different situations. Philippians 3:13

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Unfortunately, bad days happen to everyone. When you’re having a bad day choose to put things into perspective and realize that your life isn’t over. You may have had a bad day, but the good news is that you’ve got God on your side. God will help see you through when you’re having a bad day.

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How to Have an Epic Summer

Posted on August 5, 2013

Summer break is in full swing for most students. With all that free time, it can be easy to get bored really fast. So, here’s some ways to to make your summer vacation epically awesome!

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Do something crazy – This doesn’t mean jumping off a bridge or risking your life. It means grab a few of your friends and do something out of the ordinary. Fill up a ton of water balloons with pudding and have a really sticky crazy water balloon fight. Or maybe create a scavenger hunt for your friends. Be creative and find something really fun and different you can do this summer with your friends.
Read a Book – This might seem totally lame, but you can use this summer to read some great books. Find a book on leadership or read to learn something new about God. There’s tons of books out there that can challenge you to learn and grow. Here’s a few we really like:
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Learn something new – Take your extra time this summer and invest in learning something new. YouTube how to play drums. Ask your grandma to teach you how to sew. Read a self-help book on how to create a website. Find something that you’ve always wanted to be able to do and learn how to do it this summer.
Get to know God better – Invest some time this summer into prayer and Bible study. Find a great private place where you can plug your headphones in and worship God to an awesome worship CD. Really invest into getting to know God. Time spent getting to know God is never wasted!
Overcome a Fear – What’s something you’re afraid of? Can you overcome it this summer? Can you force yourself to talk to someone you don’t know? Can you ride that roller coaster that you’ve been avoiding because it just looks too scary? Find a fear and decide to overcome it this summer.
Give Back – Don’t make this summer just about you. Find a way to give back. Offer to cut the grass for an older neighbor. Volunteer to help clean at your church. Go on a missions trip this summer. Find a need somewhere and meet it. Give back to those around you. Decide to help others this summer.

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These are just a few suggestions to making your summer one to remember. If you set your mind to it, you can kick the summer boredom blues and make your summer one that is truly epic!

Lessons on Growth from Stinky Shoes

Posted on July 26, 2013

There’s not many things that smell worse than stinky shoes. I’m sure you’ve come across a pair that has that odor with the extra kick. Maybe its your brother’s basketball shoes. You know the ones that make you gag a little when you pick them up?

It seems like shoes can get stinky pretty easily. Its just the nature of them. You put them on, run around in them for a few days, and they start to accumulate that funky stinky feet odor. But many times, because you wear the shoes all the time, you don’t notice the odor. Its easy to become accustomed to the foot odor and not realize…your feet stink.

You know that’s a lot like personal growth. Its easy to become so accustomed to your daily activities, routines and things that we can forget to grow personally. Unless we try to do something beyond what we’ve already mastered, we won’t grow.

That principle can apply to lots of areas in our lives. If we don’t push ourselves to grow, we can easily become stinky and not realize it. The Bible says it like this:

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize- 1 Cor 9:25 (NLT)

To win, you’ve got to be disciplined in training. You’ve got to push yourself beyond where you’re comfortable in natural things and in spiritual things. So decide today that you’re not going to become stinky like your shoes sometimes get. Decide to keep pushing yourself forward in your relationship with God and in your habits and routines. The secret to your failure or your success is found in your daily routines.

Turning Up The Volume – Why Character Counts

Posted on July 24, 2013

Character is like the volume knob on a guitar amp. A guitar amp comes with tons of other knobs, dials and decals that are much flashier, making the volume knob easy to overlook. However, when you turn that volume knob up on an amp, you can really tell. It makes a big difference!
That’s exactly what character is like. It can seem like a small thing, but when its turned up in your life it can make a huge difference.

I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No SLOPPY living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself” – 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (MSG)

Here is a list of a few things that character is:

Character takes training – Character isn’t something that just happens. It is something that takes work to develop.
The best way to develop character is to start with small things. Any easy way to start is by getting up the first time your alarm rings in the morning or by helping out around the house when asked and not complaining.
Character takes time – Turning up the character in your life will take time. Many people aren’t interested in doing things if they can’t see results immediately.
Don’t become discouraged if it takes time for you to become good at being a person of character.
Character finishes well – Very few people finish well. Many people get discouraged and give up, many times right before they cross the finish line.
A person of character sticks with a decision and finishes well.

No matter where the character dial is in your life, you can turn it up. You can train and become a person of greater character. Examine your life and find an area where you can turn up the volume in character. Then decide to stick with it no matter how long it takes, and finish well!

Upgrading Your Time With God

Posted on July 20, 2013

Have you ever had to upgrade an operating system or app on your iPod or maybe your phone? When you are asked to upgrade, its usually because there have been changes made to the phone or iPod to make it better. Often new features have been added or a bug has been fixed on the app. Upgrading your phone or iPod is an important thing to do to make it work better and for you to enjoy it more.

Just like its important to upgrade your phone or iPod, its important to upgrade your time spent hanging out with God. As a teenager, its easy sometimes to not know where to begin when spending time reading your Bible or praying. Or maybe you already spend time with God, but you’d just like to upgrade what you’re already doing. This devotion for teens has you covered.

Here are our tips for upgrading your quiet time with God.

Just do it. Some times when you read the Bible, it will feel like God is really speaking to you and you’ll have goosebumps and get really excited. Other times your time with God will feel dull and you’d rather be talking to others on Facebook. The key here is not to worry about whether your quiet time with God feels inspired or not. What’s important is that you make a habit out of getting to know God and talking to Him. Just set aside some time each day to spend with God. As you make it a habit, you’ll find that you really get more out of your quiet times.
Read books other than the Bible. Sometimes picking up a book about Jesus or a Bible topic that interests you is a great way to upgrade your quiet time. There are lots of devotional books out there that are written for teenagers. Find one that looks interesting to you and start reading. You can learn a lot about God and upgrade your quiet time by reading a book geared to teens.
Use a commentary. The word commentary might sound like a foreign word to you, but finding a good commentary will help you upgrade your devotion time with God. Commentaries will help you understand the verses you’re reading in the Bible better and help you see things you might have missed. There are several apps for your phone or iPod that come with commentaries, or you can try to find one online.

These are just a few tips to help you as a teen upgrade your time with God. Spending time with God is one of the best things you can do. Start today making your time with God a priority in your life and you’ll come to know God in a fresh and new way!

Distractions – The Missing Key

Posted on June 12, 2013

The “D” key on my keyboard recently fell off. Its such a small thing, but it really makes typing on my computer hard. Its amazing that it is just one small key out of 79 keys on my keyboard, and yes, I counted them ALL. You would think that one “D” key wouldn’t make a big difference. But it really does. It makes typing really hard. Its a little thing, but it makes a big difference.

It kind of reminds me of how many times, small things in our lives can become big distractions. A distraction could be something really simple like a game you love to play like Candy Crush or Cut the Rope. These are games are not bad in themselves, but if overused, they can become a distraction.

Another form of a distraction could be a crush. While its natural to like the opposite sex, its easy to let your crush become a distraction that keeps you from your friendship with God.

Distractions are usually small things that come in and have the power, just like my missing “D” key, to slow us down.

A distraction according to the free dictionary online is something that draws someone’s attention away from something.

Simply put, many times distractions are things that draw us away from our friendship with God. They’re usually not things that are in themselves bad, they’re things like a TV show, Twitter or hanging out with friends. But these things draw us away sometimes from our main goal in life, which should be a friendship with God.

So I want you to take a look at your life, and see if there is something that has been taking away from your realionship with God. It might be a crush, it could be video games, or a new TV show. No matter what it is, determine to not let it become a distraction. Choose to make your friendship with God your number one priority and not let any distractions slow you down.

Feeling Overwhelmed?

Posted on June 10, 2013

As a teenager, your life is busy. You have many things that are begging for your attention. You’ve got things like a mountain of homework, your friends, family and job responsibility all asking for your time and attention.

As a doctor in a Washington Post article put it,

“Our teenagers are becoming more over-scheduled and over-stressed” – Anisha Abraham (Georgetown University Hospital) “

With so many responsibilites and things begging for your time, how should you decide your priorities and deal with all the stress that faces you daily?

Here’s a few things I found helpful when going through a stressful time in my life.

Make time for God – Always make sure that no matter how busy you are, that you’re allowing time in your life for God. Your time reading the Bible or listening to a good teaching mp3 is key to your success for the day. Its kind of like trying to drive a car without the tank full of gas. You can go for a bit on fumes, but you won’t go far if you don’t fill up with gas. Making time for God will fill up your spiritual gas tank so to speak. It helps you have the peace and gives you a foundation to stand on when things get tough in your life.
Learn to be ok with what you’re able to do – This isn’t an excuse to be lazy, but sometimes you have to learn to be okay with what you can do. You might not have the award winning science project and also be able to get first place in choir competition. That’s okay. Just do your best, but realize there are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes not everything will be perfect or get done exactly the way you would like it to be.
Pick what’s important – There are so many things calling for your attention. You have friends that want you to hang out. You’ve got homework to do for school and you need to practice your instrument for band tryouts. With so many things calling for your time you’ll probably have to say no to something. You’ll have to decide what things are the most important and then you may have to say no to some things that aren’t as important. If you don’t learn to say no to some things, you’ll find out you’re really stressed in life.

Its important to remember that when things get busy and stressful in life you can always go to God and ask for his help. Many times He can show you a plan or a creative way to get the things done that you need to do so that you don’t have as much stress in your life.

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“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” -Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)

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Always be sure that in times of stress you don’t let your friendship with God slip. Its easy to leave God out when you get busy and feel the stress of everyday life. Your relationship with God is key to getting through stressful situations, so decide to not put it to the side.

Pray: God I come to you in the name of Jesus and I thank you for your help that is always there for me. You said that I could come to you to get grace and mercy in my time of need. I ask for your grace, I ask for your help now in my time of need and I believe that you are giving me the wisdom and strength I need to live today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Listen: I’m Good by Trip Lee

3 Reasons Not To Go To Church

Posted on June 4, 2013

Why does everyone make a big deal about going to church? Whether you go to church or not doesn’t really matter does it? Plus, there’s lots of great preachers on TV and online, so you can learn about God that way, right?

Here’s three reasons why you shouldn’t go to church.

You’re okay living an average life for God – God built the church to challenge you to grow. Going to church puts you in contact with people who can point out weak spots in your life. They will mentor you and challenge you to grow. If you want to live an average boring life without being challenged to grow church isn’t for you.
You don’t like giving back to others – Church gives you a great opportunity to give to others. Whether you give money or your time, church is built to give you opportunities to give back to others. If you’re not into giving back, church is not for you.
You don’t like meeting new friends – Church gives you lots of opportunities to meet new people. You can find some awesome friends and build lasting relationships. Plus church usually offers fun hang out times which you can’t get anywhere else. If you don’t really like meeting new people church is probably not for you.

Going to church is actually very important to you growing spiritually. Church brings you into contact with people that can help challenge you, encourage you, and hold you accountable. Church is also a place where you can learn more about God and His word. Plus, the Bible talks about us getting together to worship God in this verse in Hebrews 10:25 – “not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on” (Message)

It might be easier to stay home or to not get involved in church, but church is really important. If you want to have a thriving relationship with God and meet some great like-minded friends along the way, church is for you!

Followable – Becoming a Person Others Want to Follow

Posted on May 11, 2013

Are you a person that others want to follow? That can be a pretty sobering question to ask yourself. Its an important question to take note of. Are you a person that is followable?

Here’s a few things that you can do to become more followable.

Care For Others – Jesus is such a great example of this. Everywhere He went, He healed the sick, cast out demons and took care of those around Him. He even fed the crowds that followed Him. Jesus is a great example of caring for others. If you want to be followable, caring for those around you should be one of your top priorities.
Lead By Example – What you say is important, but it is what you do that really matters. What are you actions saying? Do you say one thing and do another? Part of being followable is being a person who’s actions match what they say.
Check Your Attitude – Your attitude is key. Learning to have a good attitude will propel you toward success. Make sure in everything you do, you’re keeping a good attitude. A good attitude will help you become a person others want to follow.

Developing habits that cause you to be followable take time. However, if you invest in growing your leadership skills, you can become a person that others will want to follow.

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