Yay Monday

Today wasn't too bad actually. I worked and then napped. I worked all weekend so I was pretty tired. I was supposed to have dinner at Verlina's house but that didn't work out so I ate dinner with Pete. I always love talking to Pete. He likes talking about Scripture and discussing. Tonight we talked about Revelations. It was fun.

I'm awaiting tonight the arrival of the last book in the series that I'm reading right now. It's a teen book called the Fall of Five. It's not a review book but it's one I picked up from the library. Those have been audiobooks, so I could probably finish it in a day. It's also the last book in the series so it won't leave me on end.

A lot of people have asked me if I am doing okay here. The answer is yes I am. I feel like this is where God wants me to be right now. Some of my friends have criticized some things here but that's okay. I don't think those things are wrong. We all have shortcomings. Even a ministry can have shortcomings.

I feel like God still has more things to show me about myself. I can't wait for the classes to start back up again.

Five Minute Friday - Last

I'm joining in on Lisa-Jo baker's Five Minute Friday The rules are pretty simple. One word. Five minutes of writing. No editing.

The Prompt this week is "Last"

GO!

Last time I told you I wouldn't go I told you I would stay I told you I would be here for you to wipe your tears away.

I told you my love for you would always last I felt your love and cares I didn't feel like I needed anyone else I didn't even feel any concern for world affairs.

But I was last in your mind I held out my hand but you slapped it away my love you wouldn't stand

STOP

Well I didn't get to finish this poem about Last but I hope you enjoy it.

One Thing Remains...and Southern Differences

"

" So today was a pretty good day. Actually I didn't do very much. I went to a wedding, a "virtual wedding." If Tim heard this then he would be saying "You kids and your technologies these days." I was really happy to attend the union, to see the wedding. It was very pretty. I actually knew the bride and groom. Gary worked phones at night so I would see him when I came to work in the morning. Karen is a sweet sweet lady. Such a good couple. I went to my friend's "house", or here in the community, their room and we hooked up to the HDMI

" I had to work phones tonight. On my way from doing phones...I ran into the youth group. They were going to hand out Bibles at the shelter. I asked why they returned so soon, with the Bibles in hand. They said the shelter said they preferred the group not give out the Bibles. I felt so bad for them after they wanted to evangelize and give back to the community. I got to talk to the lady, it bummed me out that they weren't able to witness.

" So I did some research. I remember in the South the shelters around there are mostly church run too. They get federal funding but are very upfront about having Christ in the center of their message. I know several homeless shelters where homeless people are "forced" to listen to the church messages before they get their dinner or go to bed. I know some of the homeless I've talked to said they hate that.

" The North, it is very different. Well I don't know many shelters around here except the one that is run by the community that I live in, but it seems totally different. I thought and thought and talked to someone about that and came to this conclusion.

" I think it is sadly about the difference between being in the "bible belt" (Florida, Alaabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina). It seems there the instutions, like homeless shelters and other aide organizations, are allowed to, for example, hand out a track or say Jesus loves you. But still if people don't want to hear the Gospel, they won't hear the Gospel, until God opens their hearts.

" It saddened my heart that the youth group didn't get to pass out Bibles. But then again, if the Bibles weren't going to get used, then maybe they would be used as scrap paper, and that would not be a good thing.

" Sorry to rant. The youtube video is a song I have in my Spirit tonight. Your love never fails never gives up never runs out on me.....so true....so true.

"

" Goodnight all

" Chrissy

My Review of the One Year Devo for Teen Girls

I just finished reading a complimentary book sent to me by Tyndale House in return for an honest review. The name of the book is The One Year Devos for Teen Girls. I found that these short devotionals were very intriguing. The authors tackled subjects that I know from when I was a teen (not too many years ago), that do come up in middle school as well as high school. (Even college)


Issues such as Should I eat meat? Bullying, discipleship, social media, future marriage and what it means when you actually say "I do", even pirating music and sex trafficking. These issues do come up as a teen. But I would encourage the mom and teen daughter to read this book together because of some of the tough subjects.


Some of the passages are really short and some are really long. This is what the typical devotion in this book is like....


Title

Scripture verse


The main devotional (2-4 paragraphs long) This is sometimes written from the author's own experience, a close friend or family member of the author, or sometimes from the lives of "famous" Christians such as Pastor Francis Chan, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien.


Action step (I've never seen this in a devotional before. Usually I'm used to reading devotionals that include a simple prayer i.e Father please help me be more compassionate today, but these passages include an action step. Which I think is really awesome. When I was a teen, I was more of a person who would say let me do something about the issue and not stand back and do nothing.)


A few days actually included a HUGE Action Step.


Also for those days where you or your teen are dealing with a particular issue, there is an index in the back that tells you where to turn.


The devotionals are sometimes long. While, the long days have great information. It might be a bit too much for some teens. I know from experience if a page was too long or too lengthy in words, I would lose interest.


Overall, this is the best teen devotional I have ever read. I really appreciate the author's sincerity to tackle the tough issues in a teenager's life.