Time slips by my finger tips

I


just


wasted


ten


seconds


of


your


life.



And it's gone. Nothing you can do will get that time back.

So what? 10 seconds won't kill you.

But maybe it could?

Maybe you'll be in an ambulance being rushed to a hospital tomorrow after a collision with a drunk driver. Seconds tick by, and so does your last heart beats. 10 seconds could mean life or death.

So why should those 10 seconds be any more important than the 10 I just wasted?

You could have done countless things with that specific time span of 10 seconds.

You could have brushed your teeth, scratched your nose, started a prayer, texted a friend, called your parents, put in a cd, done some sit-ups, changed your sock, and so on and so on.

10 seconds gone.

What will you do with the next 10 seconds after you're finished reading this? Will you comment me? Give me words of encouragement? Words of Anger? Words of frustration?

What are you going to do with each 10 seconds of your life?

Are you going to drink? do drugs? party? procrastinate homework? What exactly are you going to do? Are those things going to be worthwhile?

Or are you going to take every 10 seconds and make them count?
Will you pray? Be a servant? Help a friend out? Give someone advice? Do some extra chores for your parents? Be a guiding light and show God's love? Praise God? Worship God?

What are you going to do with each 10 seconds? Decide.
Then ask yourself, is it worth it to waste the 10 seconds doing that?

I know I'm trying to live and breathe in a messed up world where seconds slip away too fast, and all I can do is cling to Jesus, and try to make each 10 seconds count. Every second of the day.

And I pray you'll make the right decision too.

God at Work

Amazing things are going on right now.
You may or may not see them happening around you.

People are loving one another more, and trying to be more respectful.
Other’s are stepping outside the box, and trying to become positive leaders.

I watched kid after kid walk up in front of their peers,
And give a short testimony as to what God is doing in their lives.

I see kids making drastic changes, to try to be better people.
They are just dying to be a light, and to show this world some hope.

But keep in mind, that things are always painted gold, with a silver lining.
I talked to a girl tonight who was hurting herself because she felt like she deserved it.

I watched several kids cry at the alter because they didn’t know what to do with their lives.
I listen to kids spill out their frustrations with parents on Sunday, and hate themselves for thinking so lowly of the people who care for them and provide for their needs.

I promise you, that every single person you pass in the halls, on the street, or in the store have their own hurts, and problems going on in their life. Anyone can slap a smile on their face, and say that they’re doing great.

But I just want to challenge you, to step back and think about your choices.

Are you going to let the circumstances make who you are, Or are you going to be the one to make the circumstances?

I don’t just mean, slap a smile on your face, and pretend to be okay, but really, truly, accept the circumstances, and move on trying to make the best of the situations (Hopefully with God’s help).

It’s okay to have hurts, but it’s not okay to let them rule your life. Step up, and be a leader, let your joy and your light shine in this hopeless world, and show people that even in the midst of troubles, you can still live a joyous life.

Well, that’s all the “words of wisdom” I have for you for now. Just think about it. Because I think everyone has the strength (with God’s help) to rise above their circumstances, and to be a happy person.

God Bless you in your troubles, and I pray He brings you joy.

-Amber

[At that point, I realized there's still good in this world.]

I'm a believer that people are naturally good if given the chance to do the right thing.

Today, I was standing in the check out line at woods, and I seen an older man, maybe in his late 30s possibly 40s.The thing that brought my attention to this man, was that he was pushing in a row of carts, but he wasn't wearing anything that told me he worked at woods.

I was so confused, here was an older man, in jeans, a flannel t-shirt, and a denim jacket, pushing carts in for no pay, no profit, no reward. He pushed the row of carts to their place, then pulled one out for himself. He made eye contact with me, and smiled nodding at me, then walked off into the store to do his shopping.

How amazing was it for me to see this man step out of his way to make someone else's job a little bit easier! He asked for nothing, and got nothing, but a smile from me. And he seemed perfectly content with that.

It warms my heart to see someone step out of the norm to do someone a favor. Someone they probably don't even know.

How amazing.

Called to Share God's Love

My life right now, is relatively content.
Some huge, stressful, things happened to me a few weeks ago..and really put me between a rock and a sharp place...
But somehow, I managed to turn to God first, and cling onto him for dear life.
And I've been really blessed.
Granted, like every teenager I suppose, I've been frustrated with my parents.
I've also been feeling very insignificant...almost worthless...
I just feel like I'm missing out on something....Some big secret that makes life so much fun. Or maybe that I have some courageous gift that God has bestowed upon me, but I just can't seem to figure out what it is...
But, my church has been doing things extremely different. We've captured the vision of a church service on wednesday nights, that is ran by the kids.
No more of this force feeding crap, where the youth minister tries to convince everyone to love Jesus.
The church, Calvary Chapel, Is a building. A building with tools. And Mark, is one of our wonderful Youth Ministers who is there to help us.
But it's not the church's job to force Jesus down our throats.
We as students need to step up and be a guiding light. Because no matter what Mark says, or Doug, or Brandon, or any of the adults....It doesn't matter if those of us students don't go out, show love, and bring kids to church to hear the good news....Or maybe just give them the good news our selves!
It's not until we start OWNING this ministry, that we really believe in it, and that we begin to see change, and hope in this messed up broken world.
At church, we've created a prayer wall, where kids can write one or two words, draw a picture, or just write a name, or verse that means something to them. So that others can pray.
We're doing worship different...and we're striving to make worship more intimate..none of this "going through the motions" crap.
We're challenged to stand up and speak what we believe. To show love.
To honor God with our talents whether its painting, drawing, writing, speaking, singing, playing music, writing a blog, making up a catchy metaphor, or maybe doing a little dance! All that matter is that we're doing it for God, and we're trying to show God's love and grace to others.
And that's what I've been challenged to do.
If you wanna talk to me about, send me a message! Catch me at school! I'd love to chat.
If you wanna visit the church to see what we're all about, again, ask me. It's Calvary Chapel, the phone number is 345-6418. I can give you directions or draw you a pretty map :)
You're always welcome to come.
I figure I'll leave it at that.. Just know that I love you! Who ever you are!And I'd love to share God's love, peace, joy, compassion, understanding, comfort, and grace with you!
Blessings.