Being Born Again: What I've Learned from Here to the Cross

Being a teenager in this world isn’t easy, and being a girl doesn’t seem to help much. But to be a teenage Christian girl, in a world full of sin and temptation is nearly impossible. I try to remain pure, but still I fail and I fall. I am human after all. And even after all those falls, Jesus still forgives and He still loves. But, it doesn’t make the journey easy. You see, I don’t want to fail Him, I just want to make Him proud of my good deeds. But even at my best, if you compile a list of all the best good things that I have done, things done with the right intention, It would still be as a filthy rag to Him. Even if it stretched the sun and back 99 billion times.

You see, when you compare the best of me to God’s standards, I wouldn’t even be worthy enough to see the gates. And that’s not even considering the worst of me. I do bad things all the time. I fail Jesus at least a thousand times a day, and that is when I am checking and rechecking myself asking myself, was that what God would’ve done, was that Godly, was that done in the right intention? What would God think of that thought? Is He smiling at your actions? As a cursed human, I have to check everything I do, and still, I’m not good enough, and sometimes, it’s all I can do to not give in to some of my temptations.

And after hearing this, you might ask, well what is the point? Why not just throw in the towel now? Let me tell you why I continue on. Because of His forgiveness. Because of His mercy. I continue on because about 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ continued on for me. Even though His cross was heavy. Even though it was a burden. Even though He was broken. And because even though He could have stopped there, because His shed blood was all that was required, He didn’t. He continued on and gave me the following things.

He is my Ultimate Comforter. When I am lonely and broken, He is near, offering kind words and love. He is my Lighthouse when I am lost at sea. He is the still whisper when I fret. He is small enough to calm my fears, yet big enough to fight the thief at the door. He is sympathetic enough to listen to my problems, yet just stern enough to spank my rear end if needed.

He is my strength, my joy, my hope, my strong tower, and He is my Freefall. Every day He fights to rewin my heart, so I have to say that He is my hero. He is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. And instead of just paying the price to let me into His Father’s kingdom, instead of just preparing me a place, instead of just penning my name in the Book of Life, Jesus also gave me His own clothes to wear into His Father’s house so that I would be appropriately dressed for the occasion.

When I have to sum all this up, the good outweighs the bad each time. Each time I realize how much harder I want to try for Him. And I hope you will too.

Dwell in the love of your Freefall.

 Emily.

NEW POSITIONS AVAILABLE.

Hi girls (:

We are very excited to announce that we are accepting applications for people feeling that they are lead to be a part of the Dancing with Jesus website and blog. (:

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The Health Benifits of Chocolate!

Okay girls, so who here loves chocolate? I bet if we were all in a room together, every single one of you would raise your hand. I’m sure someone, somewhere does not like chocolate, and actually some of you girls out there could actually not be too fond of it as well. That’s okay though. Not everyone has to love chocolate. But weather you love chocolate, hate it, or are allergic to it, chocolate actually has many different health benefits.

Now, when I said that you more then likely did one of two things. You either already knew this so it was not much of a shock to you at all, or you had no idea and think I’m a little crazy right now. One way or the other, Chocolate is actually proven to have many different health benefits that I wanted you girls to be aware of. Plus, it gives you a great excuse to eat some chocolate!

Chocolate...

• Lowers Cholesterol
• Reduces Risk of Stroke
• Reduces Risk of Cancer
• Helps With Math
• Can help concentration
• It can act as an anti-depressant
• Improves Mood

You might be sitting here wondering why you did not grab a chocolate bar sooner! Although chocolate can have the potential to help improve moods, help concentration, and even act as an anti-depressant, you have to remember that all things can become bad for you if you eat too much. Be careful not to eat chocolate too often. Although there is lots of reasons why chocolate is good for you, too much of anything is bad.

So if you go to grab for the nearest chocolate bar, remember not to take too much or it can have negative effects on you as well. Believe it or not, dark chocolate is actually better for you then milk chocolate, so if you have a craving, try dark chocolate first. (: 

Note: Dancing With Jesus staff are not trained doctors or professionals. Thanks! (: 

Reality Check: What's Getting In The Way?

Hey girls!

You will never guess what I was doing tonight. I was in bed reading Paperdoll by Natalie Lloyd. Okay, so maybe it is not that odd of an idea to catch me reading at night. But, I had finished the first chapter a few days ago and was just starting to read the second chapter. As I was reading, I came across a few lines in the book that said this,

 "The well was about to become a symbol for all the places she's gone (unsuccessfully) looking for perfect love. And the man waiting there is going to offer her a deep, beautiful life that she probably didn't even feel she deserved. She had looked for love in some empty places, but that day love was waiting to show her what she'd been missing." (pg. 41 of Paperdoll)

You might be sitting here wondering, "Okay, that is an awesome passage in the book, but what does this have to do with anything?" Well you see, this explains exactly what I have been doing for so long. Looking for love in all the wrong and empty places. Over and over and over again. But do you know what keeps happening? God keeps calling me back to him. He is whispering to me letting me know that everything is going to be okay, he is here. The funny thing is I am currently stuck in the middle of all of this right now. Right in the middle. In fact, I would be sleeping right now if it was not for the fact I felt like I should pick up the book. And would you look at what God did. But the funny thing is it was not just reading that part of the book that made me realize that was exactly what I was doing. God connected it with something that had happened a few weeks ago. I was participating in a small group for the youth and while we were all praying, one of the young ladies there had stopped to tell me that she had a picture of a well in her mind. She had felt lead to encourage me that God has so much in store for me. I had gone home giddy and happy that God has so much in store for me, but had never thought that maybe that simple night, God was trying to call me back to him.

As we see in this passage here in the book, Natalie is trying to explain how the well is a symbol of looking for love in all the wrong places. So now you can see how I connected these two together with a sudden understanding of this. God is trying to call me back to him to stop looking for love in all the wrong places. I think I am finally ready to take him up on that offer.

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8: 38-39

"But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." - Luke 12:7

Both of these Bible verses are amazing, but out of these two the second one really hits home. This Bible verse here is actually reality. When it says that the "very hairs of your head are numbered" this is 100% true. Can you do something with me? Take a section of your hair and start counting. No, really. Try it with me. (: 1....2.....3.....4.....5....6.....7...8...9... Okay. I think you get the point here. I stopped at 9 only because I lost count! (: Out hairs are all together and intertwined, which makes them even harder to count. But I want you to think about something for a second. ALL of the hairs on your head have been counted, and God knows an exact number. Every thought that goes through your head, every word you speak, and where you are right now... God knows. But it is one thing to know that God knows all these things, and another to realize that he cares about all these things. Every one of these little things about you, God loves. Amazing huh? (:

Apparently I am in a writing mood tonight, so I better stop before I write a book. =) But girls there is one thing that I want to make so clear tonight. God, the creator of the universe, cares about you. He is calling you back home to him. Stop looking for love in all the wrong places and going after guys, money, looks, or whatever it might be. You see, we have to remember here that God created you. Let me try to put this in a little bit of a perspective for you for a second. =)

Let's pretend for a moment that you really wanted this brand new dress in the mall. It was an amazing dress. It was pink, sparkly, bright and colorful, and was even 50% off it's original price! In fact, it just might be that perfect dress to wear to prom! After almost a half an hour of begging your mom to buy you that dress, she finally gives in and gets you the dress. You are thrilled to be able to have that beautiful dress to call your own. After thanking your mom a million times you finally try on the dress when you are back at your house. It makes you look beautiful and attractive. Days go by, and you decide to wear the dress to prom. It seemed perfect. (: While you were at prom you spilled some punch on the dress creating a huge stain down the front of the dress. Although this might be really sad and disappointing, your mom bought you the dress and she can always get you another one. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined was not as strong in any way because you were not the one that made, or paid for the dress.

Okay so obviously, you would not be so rude as to not care that the dress was ruined after your mom kindly paid for it. Not to mention there are many things that could take the stain out of the dress now a-days. But, forgetting those little details, I hope you get my point. Because you did not pay for the dress, or make the dress, the pain caused by the dress getting ruined would not be as great. But on the other hand, imagine you had made the dress by hand. It had taken many days and days to put that dress together. Then you had taken it out to prom and ruined it. The pain caused by the dress getting ruined would be a lot worse now that you had actually taken the time yourself to put the dress together.

The point in all of this is simple. God made you, and everything about you. Everything from the fact that you have a freckle on your nose to the fact that your hair is a beautiful brown. He created you and made every part of you beautifully unique. Don't you think you would love something that you spent time time to create? When you create something, it becomes yours and all yours. You love it a lot because it was something that you uniquely made. Same with God. He created every little part of you, and loves you more then you can ever imagine. (:

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

So girls I want to give you something to think about tonight. What is coming in the way of you and God? Where are you looking for love in all the wrong places? For me personally, I have been longing for acceptance. Acceptance from guys, and from the kids at my youth group. I get hurt so easily simply because I feel they are not "trying hard enough to be my friend" But tonight I guess something spoke to me. Something connected with the fact that I don't need these kids from youth group to feel accepted. I don't need the sweet and handsome boy from who knows where to come and sweep me off my feet. What I need, is a God that loves me and will never leave. And you know what? He is already here! (:

In His Love,
Angelica

Lazarus, COME Forth

"Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already.”
Luke 11:17

Jesus had a friend who was very near and dear to him. His name was Lazarus, and he was the brother of Mary and Martha. Lazarus was very sick, on his death bed when the sisters sent for Jesus. Their only thought was that the Lord could heal him. But when the messenger ran to Jesus, Jesus delayed where he was for two days. Lazarus’ family and Jesus were tight. Like superbly great friends, and Jesus made it a point to visit in their home often, so I can see you asking already. WHY DID HE WAIT? If it was one of our friends we’d be there in minutes, but Jesus delayed his arrival for four days.

By the time Jesus reached Bethany, Martha ran to him. And she cried LORD, If you had been here He’d still be alive. The pain is clearly written on her face. She’s broken. The grief was still fresh in her eyes. Jesus tries to explain to her that her grief will soon fade, that her brother would rise again. But Martha was missing the picture, so she ran back home and told Mary that Jesus was in town.

Mary ran to Jesus and fell at his feet. Between sobs, Mary cried, LORD, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died. And I love what the Bible says next. When Jesus saw her weeping, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. Jesus was upset about Lazarus’ death too, he was upset that Mary and Martha were upset. And then Jesus asked where Lazarus lay. Verse 35 depicts the shortest Bible verse. JESUS WEPT, and the crowd said Behold, how he loved him.

Jesus commanded Roll away the grave stone. And Martha said, BUT LORD. He’s been there four days. Jesus prayed out loud to his Holy Father. When he had finished, Jesus cried out in a loud voice. Lazarus, Come Forth! And Lazarus, the one who had been dead for four days, walked out in his grave clothes.

Imagine how exciting that moment would be. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing, but he still felt the grief that was caused by the things he had to let happen. Imagine how hard it was for him to wait those two days instead of running to Lazarus’ side.

You may be going through some rough spots right now, you may have cried out to the Lord, and he didn’t answer. But know this, when the time is right, he will come, roll away the stone and call out your name. Take comfort in knowing that even when the Perfect Healer is four days late, he’s still on time.

Surrounded by grace.
Emily.

Becoming A Hopeful Romantic- Interview!

Hey girls! (:

I recently sat down with Heather, the owner of the popular blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic. She was such a joy to interview, I decided to share the interview here with you guys. Here is an expert from her blog that will tell you guys what she is all about. =) Enjoy the interview!

"Welcome to A Hopeful Romantic! This "blog" is all about my convictions on everything from dating to marriage, and everything in between! I am very passionate to not only live out a life of purity as God calls us to, but also to help encourage others along the way. I do not and will not judge you no matter what you may have done in your past/are doing; that's between you and God, not me. However, I will challenge and encourage you to give up living your life your way, and to give it to God; the safest place to put it! I want to challenge and encourage you all--boys or girls(though I talk mainly to girls since I am one and understand where they are coming from better), to live a life sold-out for God, and to pursue a life of true purity; Purity of the body, mind, and soul."

Q. What stirred you to decide to create your blog, Becoming a Hopeful Romantic?

I created my blog, “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic”, during the time in my life when God was convicting me of my morals, where I stand on purity and how precious it is to Him.

The blog actually started off on the website for a Christian magazine (Susie Mag, whose editor is Susie Shellenberger; she use to be the editor for Brio Magazine before it was discontinued).

 On the online portion of the website, they had forums where teenage girls could ask each other questions.  Some of the most common and popular questions dealt with purity; “When is it okay to date?”, Should I save my first kiss?”, “How far is too far?”, etc. It was through these girls’ questions that I started “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” through means of the websites blog application, and then I also moved it to blogger.com. I would pick a topic that I saw had a lot of confusion, and I would write about what God has personally convicted me of in that area, and shared it with them. I wanted to encourage girls to live out a complete lifestyle of purity for God, and to take the questions seriously and deeply to Him in prayer, and be willing to do what He convicted them of.

I wanted to be a tool used by God; He was changing me so dramatically in this area, and I found myself becoming so passion for true purity, that I decided to share with others what God was laying on my own heart. I wanted to help girls realize that purity is so much more then simply not having sex until marriage. This is how “Becoming a Hopeful Romantic” took off.
Q. What made you decide to live a life in purity?

When I was 15 years old, God started to really hit me hard and heavy on the topic of purity. I found it laying so heavy on my heart that I thirsted for real, challenging, God-convicting answers. I had known of purity rings, and that they represented a girl saving sex for marriage, yet it all seemed a little off to me. I knew God commanded us to save sex for marriage, and I told Him I knew that, but I still felt unsatisfied; I felt like I was missing the big picture or the whole key to real purity. I received a devotional book as a gift called “Pure: Body, Mind, and Soul” by Rebecca St. James. The title captured me—purity? It goes beyond your body? I devoured the book. It was meant to be a 90 day devotional, but that didn’t happen. I couldn’t get enough of it. I had never once heard anyone talk about purity applying to so much more then just being a virgin on your wedding day. This was the beginning of my passion for purity; this was what I had been searching for, longing for. The true, real, complete, God called lifestyle of purity. I then began reading a variety of different books such as “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” by Joshua Harris and “Wait for Me” by Rebecca St. James. I felt God teaching me and talking to me through these books—I did not simply accept what the books were talking about; I took all areas to God, and really felt myself being convicted by God to apply what I was learning to my life. I learned that God calls us to live out a complete lifestyle of purity—body, mind, and soul—and not simply wait for marriage. I became so passion for purity, and I found myself exploring more books, Bible verses, and then deep conversations and thoughts with God. It was a truly life changing time in my life, and I have been passionately striving to live out a lifestyle of purity ever since.

Q. What would you say to Christian teens that are striving to live life in purity but feel bogged down by the weight of the world?

I would tell you to run to God, and allow Him to help you each and every step of the way. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” God will help you—He wants to help you! Pray and pour everything out to Him, and then have faith and the willingness to do what He calls you to do!

Living a lifestyle of true, God called purity is not always easy, but it is always worth it! I would also encourage you to find an accountability partner who is older and wiser then you—that way, even when you are feeling the pressure of the world, you can go to this person and talk to them, get advice, have them pray for/with you, and encourage you to continue on your path of purity! James 5:16 encourages Christians to do this when it says “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

Q. Can you tell us the story of how you came to know Christ as your Lord and Savior?

I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was 7 years old.

It was after my family had gone to a Carman concert that I over heard my two older sisters worrying about how none of us kids had gone forward during the alter call at the concert. It was then that I realized that I had never asked Jesus into my life, and that therefore my life was missing Someone very important. I decided to ask my brother how to go about asking Jesus into my life. He told me that I had to pray to Jesus, admit to Him that I was a sinner, repent from my sin and believe that He not only died on the cross for my sins, but also rose again the third day from the dead.

So that same day, I crawled into my bed alone, and asked Jesus to come into my life.

Since then, I have been learning more and more about Him, and falling more and more in love with Him every day! I have learned that it is not just some religion, but a relationship with the King of Kings!

I pray that I will never be ignorant enough to believe that I will ever reach a point in my life where I am done growing in Him’ not until I close my eyes for the last time and awake in Heaven!

 

Q. What is your biggest temptation or struggle when striving to live a pure life for God?

My biggest temptation or struggle in striving to live a pure life for God is to guard, monitor and purify my thoughts. A thought can happen so quickly, and can sometimes seemingly come out of nowhere, that I find it the hardest aspect for me personally when it comes to purity. However, God has been teaching me to closely monitor what I take in (movies, books, television, people’s opinions, etc) and to see if it matches up to Philippians 4:8. I remember praying to God, and literally asking Him to help install a “filter” in my mind, that would help propel anything bad or inappropriate out, and not allow me to dwell on it. It worked!

Q. How do you keep coming up with fresh content for your blog?

Anything that I blog about comes from something I had recently gone through, something I felt laid on my heart, something God recently taught me, or something that a reader asks me about, that I feel may apply to more girls out there.

This is the reason why my blog posts aren’t all that often like a typical blog tends to be; I only write when one of the above occur. I suppose you could say it’s like an open journal, because I am sharing what God has convicted me of, with other girls, and I encourage and challenge them to talk it over deeply with God, and listen to what He is telling them. For some topics—such as whether to save your first kiss for your wedding day or not—it is especially important for girls to talk to God, and look to Him for an answer, because it will not be the same for every girl. He convicted me to save my first kiss for my wedding day, yet for other girls, He may call them to wait for engagement, or for someone extremely special. In these such cases, it is so important to look to God, and not to me, to find out what He wants for you. For other topics, such as having a pure mind, body, and guarding your heart, God does make it clear what He wants us to strive for, and in that case, I encourage and challenge girls to strive to live it out in their daily lives, yet I always want them to walk away from what they read, and to turn to God, and simply talk it over with Him. This is the key to absolute purity—allowing God to mold you, convict you, and to lead you!

Q. If you could tell other teens who are also striving to live a life of purity one thing, what would that be?

I would encourage them to make sure that they are completely sold out to God and His will, and that they are fully living out the pure lifestyle He is calling them to live. So many girls who sport “True Love Waits” rings are only saving themselves sexually for marriage, but God calls us to live out true purity; purity of the body, mind, and soul! God is with you, He loves you, and you aren’t walking this road of purity alone!

Despite the lies you may hear from your peers or the media, it does pay off beyond your wildest imagination to allow God to take not only the pen of your love story, but also the pen of your life story!

 If you guys want to check out her blog, follow this link. (: Becoming a Hopeful Romantic Blog

Searching

Are you looking for something? Are you wanting proof of God’s existence or maybe love? Are you searching for more than this life has to offer? Maybe you’re searching for a solution to your pain and depression….


Let’s go with this first… everyone is searching for more than what this life has to offer, we was fashioned that way. Usually we look for someone to accept us and love us. Then the question of God comes in with that. Christians claim that God has all the answers and everything that we need. This is true. For Matthew 6:33 says: But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Also in Psalms 37:4 says: Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 


Now let’s go with this next…. Does God exist? A lot of people will argue that he doesn’t and wants proof. Proof is all around you. I mean think about it. Who else could design such a world that it all works together. How do you know God’s there? You can’t see him true, but if you talk to him and trust in your heart that he’s there, you will feel him and hear him. Remember you can’t see the wind, but you can feel and hear it as well as see the effects of it. Just like God you can see the effects of him. In fact you’re fashioned in his likeness. For in Genesis 1:26 says: And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:

Now another subject to deal with…. What do I do about my depression and longing for love and acceptance among people? Ok, first of all God is love. For 1 John 4:8 says: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. You accept God you will have love not only love but peace and help through those depressing times. God has given you the authority over those feelings, for those feelings come from God’s enemy as well as our enemy, the devil. For Luke 10:19 says: Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Also in James chapter 4 verses 7 and 8 says: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh unto you…. Fear is another emotion that you may be dealing with. That’s also of the devil resist him for God also gave you authority of this, but you say how do you know that is from the devil? Well 2 Timothy 1:7 says: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of sound mind.

Just surrender it all to God, you will find peace in hard times, and you will have love. No he never did promise that the cross wouldn’t get heavy or that the hill wouldn’t be hard to climb, but he did promise to be there for you, for he said he’d stick closer to you than a brother. For the joy of the Lord will be your strength. Remember this in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says: Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, love never faileth. Remember God is love so if you replace love in this it says: God suffereth long, and is kind; God envieth not; God vaunteth not his self, is not puffed up, doth not behave his self unseemly, seeketh not his own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things, God never faileth. 

Remember these things in your daily life and when you get down and out, and if doubt enters your mind. Doubt your doubt.