True Maturity

God of Second Chances

iBegat HOME, iBegat the Begotten, IBegat Trouble, iBegat U, Shannon Meiers

“Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.” (Psalm 119:175 NIV)

Our God is a God of second chances and that fact was never more real to me than one summer afternoon.

In a single moment, I decided carelessly to jump in a pool. My swimming skills were lacking. A nanosecond after I hit the water, I knew something was wrong. I should have floated right back up. The water was only four feet deep. If only I could stand up! But buoyancy was working against me, and the shimmery floor below was evading my efforts to plant my feet firmly on the surface. During this harrowing experience, I went from a confident, bubbly teenager giggling on the sidelines to a scared, terrified little girl fighting for her life.

Panic set in. So this was it. This is how I would go home. I was about to die.

Immediately following my thoughts came an absurd sense of peace. I knew where I was going if I died. When I put my faith in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I was assured an eternity in heaven. And that fact, in what I thought to be the last few seconds of my life, was immensely comforting.

But I knew if God wanted me on earth, he would bring me out of this. I had swallowed some water and was choking, so I prayed fervently to God for clarity of mind, something I could do, or some way out of this nightmare. My arms and legs were still flailing all over the place. Spots swam in front of my eyes, and for a couple seconds it went black. I knew I didn’t have long. Only a miracle could save me now.

And a miracle is exactly what I got. Somehow, God gave me the sense to stick my hand out of the water and wave it frantically to get someone’s attention. Then, I heard a voice whisper across my heart, “Calm down, my daughter. Everything will be all right. Calm down and plant your feet.”

Suddenly, my head was out of the water, and I was gulping in glorious, wonderful air. I was clinging to the side of the pool with a fellow teen bobbing beside me. I’m not sure how he got me out, but I know that God is definitely active in my life, and as the pool incident proves, I’m here and have a purpose. I keep thanking God for giving me another chance at life.

Since then, I’ve found that I am able to laugh more, love better, and share more. During those horrifying seconds under water, I decided I would live my life for God and make every second count

“The LORD will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life, the LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.” (Psalm 121:7-8)

SHANNON MEIERS

Shannon Meiers is a 16 year old home-schooled sophomore in high-school. Shes an aspiring writer, and is currently working with the special needs ministries at her church. Shannon, or Shan as her friends know her, is constantly learning… (read more…)

A New Year 2012

iBegat HOME, iBegat U

res·o·lu·tion:

1. a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
2. the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
3. the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose. Read more…

real devo: Christmas Cliches

iBegat HOME, iBegat Trends, iBegat U

…and other things I’m sick of hearing.

So, confession time with Abbie. (And don’t get excited – no stories of coffee shop humiliation today.)

Ready? Here goes…

I am a scrooge.

But not the kind of scrooge you might think.

I’m a scrooge in a way that is probably largely frowned upon in Christian circles. A scrooge with a bad church-girl secret: I hate stuff Christians say at Christmas time.

It’s true. There are a lot of cliches being thrown around this time of year. And umm… they sorta get on my nerves.

You know the ones I’m talking about? It’s not about the presents. Jesus is the reason for the season. Keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas. Wise men still seek Him. Santa is bad. Santa is just another way to spell Satan. Christmas traditions have pagan roots. Real Christians don’t get caught up in the glitter and commercialism of Christmas.

Okay, so maybe those last few aren’t exactly well-known cliches. But you definitely hear them this time of year. People can get a tad preachy and overbearing with their Super-Christian Christmas spirit. Christmas shopping, lights, trees, decorations, and that jolly man in the red suit are given an all around bashing in an attempt to put the focus back on Jesus. Which, in a roundabout way, brings me to another confession:

… I like presents, y’all. Just needed to get that off my chest.

Here’s the deal: I don’t want anyone to succeed in making you feel guilty for enjoying the trappings and trimmings of Christmas. Decorate. Celebrate. Go out to the mall and battle the crazy hordes of last minute shoppers, if that’s your style. (*Raises hand guiltily.) Listen to Jingle Bell Rock and Santa Baby if you like. (I won’t judge.) Watch Elf eight hundred times. Then watch it again if you want to.

But do yourself a favor this Christmas season: sneak away by yourself. Sit down, and take a while to let the authentic Christmas message seep into your very soul. Don’t do it because I’m telling you to. Or anyone else is telling you to. Do it because you want to. Do it because one day, approximately 2,012-ish years ago on a date that probably wasn’t December 25, a baby was born with one purpose.

History hinged on that one squalling infant because He came to do something incredibly, magnificently, mind-blowingly heroic.

He came to save us.

To save me. I know I need a savior, deep in the recesses of my grinch-like heart. (You know – two sizes too small?) I know it, and that is why I like to sneak away and soak in the hope.

The freedom.

I’m not here to preach y’all a sermon today. Those are easy to come by. I’m here to share a smidgen of honesty.

Don’t forgo the festivities in favor of sackcloth, ashes, and solemn remembrance – unless of course, you feel you should do so. Deck those halls. Put on that hideous reindeer sweater with the antler headband your Aunt Penelope gave you four years ago.

Be merry, and be out in the world. Just remember… you have a whole deeper reason for rejoicing.

Merry Christmas

~Abbie

Check out our friends at Real Teen Faith!

By RTF Editor Abbie Miller

Bad Santa or Crime Doesn’t Really Pay?

iBegat HOME, IBegat Trouble

STOCKTON, Calif – A California teenager has learned the hard way that he’s no Santa Claus.

The Stockton Record reports 18-year-old George Herrera got stuck in a chimney while trying to sneak into his house Thursday. Art Ray of the Stockton Fire Department says the teen was breaking curfew and trying to get inside his home.

Ray says Herrera was trapped near the chimney bottom for about 90 minutes before emergency crews were called around 10:15 a.m. When they arrived, they could see his feet sticking out of the fireplace.

Rays says rescuers secured ropes around the teenager’s wrists and pulled him up about 8 feet with the help of a firetruck ladder. Officials say Herrera wasn’t hurt and was allowed to return home after the rescue, which took about 15 minutes.

Quoted from: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/12/17/curfew-breaking-teen-gets-stuck-in-calif-chimney/#ixzz1gq4aNEGY

Merry Christmas

iBegat HOME, Sticky

Merry Christmas

From the writers and editors at iBeGat.com, may you days be merry and bright, may your nights be warm and peaceful. And may Jesus light your hearts.

Passion for Writing

iBe SHEgat, iBegat Books, iBegat Buddies, iBegat HOME, iBegat U

People milled about the room, almost everyone looking like they’d stepped out of a book. Actually, they had. I guessed that people costumes were dressed as a character from their book. Now why hadn’t I worn my costume? Ah well, at least I wasn’t the only one in normal clothes. Even though I wasn’t feeling like I was completely part of the crowd, I was ecstatic to be there at the One Year Adventure Novel summer workshop.

The One Year Adventure Novel (OYAN) workshop was absolutely the most awesome thing I experienced summer 2011. OYAN students are very excited about writing and really fall in love with their characters. That first day at the camp was an exciting way to start with all the people dressed up, talking, laughing, and having fun before the classes even started!

I made several new friends and learned more skills about writing. I’m now better prepared to go out and write good stories and I know whom I want to write for and why.

One of the biggest things that hit me at camp though, was that most of the speakers mentioned the need for more teen Christian fiction. They talked about how most of teen fiction nowadays has fallen far away from God. Most teen fiction is now full of violence and darkness.

After I listened to the speakers, I was so ready to go out and write! I wanted to write something amazing, be published right away, and change lives in the world. I realized that my calling from God is to write for teens; to write stories with God-inspired themes. I realized the amazing gift of story that God has given me.

Story is an amazing way to get our point across. There’s an example of this in the Old Testament of the Bible. After David took Bathsheba as his wife and sent Uriah out to die, Nathan came to David. He didn’t blatantly tell David what he’d done wrong. Instead, Nathan told David an allegorical story about the rich man who took the poor man’s lamb. The story made an impression on David and revealed his sin more clearly than a blatant reprimand would have.

Story has the ability to change lives. Teens need changed lives. They need to hear of the Good News and of Jesus. But, most fiction for teens has become dark and depressing.

God has given me a passion for writing, for story, for fiction, for Him. I want to use the gifts he’s given me in my writing to serve Him.

The camp in itself was not the best part of my summer; consolidating the fact that I’m a writer for God and cultivating my passion for writing were the discoveries that made my summer awesome!

I’m trusting God to use me in the ways He wants. He’s put writing on my heart and I’m going to use it to glorify Him.

Danielle Dodge is thirteen years old. Her top favorite activities are reading and writing although she does enjoy riding horses, ballet, and playing the violin. She’s placed in three contests and written two novellas.

Writer’s Block and Procrastination

iBegat HOME, iBegat U

The other day, my friend, Gracia, asked for tips on overcoming writer’s block and procrastination. I thought I’d share here what I told her.

Writer’s block is a tough subject. I experience it quite frequently and it’s hard to get rid of. Sometimes, the best thing is to put the project aside for a few days and not think about it. Then, come back, reread what you’ve written and the “rhythm” of the story (or paper, essay, whatever) will return.

And procrastination … ? I can offer pretty good advice on how to procrastinate. Bestselling author, Brandilyn Collins, has a sure-fire twelve-step strategy (reference: http://forensicsandfaith.blogspot.com/2010/02/sure-fire-twelve-point-strategy-to.html) on this form of art, but how to overcome it is another story. What usually helps me is making a schedule and taping it on the wall by my desk so I’ll see it every time I sit there. Then I have a visual reminder of what I need to get done each day.

These things happen to all writers and we all have our own methods. The best thing to do is figure out what works best for you.

ESTHER LOPRESTO

I am first and foremost a Scribe of the King. It is my desire to serve God through the written word. I have been creating stories since age three. I would tell them to entertain my family, but didn’t start writing them down until age eight or nine.

Since then, the need to write has been insatiable. At age nineteen, I had my first book, Where’s My Other Sock?, published by Tate Publishing. Then, I graduated from community college with a degree; not in anything writing related, but in accounting. Currently, I’m hunting for a bookkeeping job and working on several books or story ideas. In my stories, I challenge the reader’s imagination with adventures into the fantasy realm. Some stories lean towards mystery/suspense or general fiction, and I try to write for all ages. I find my inspiration from JRR Tolkien’s works and from the Randomness of everyday life.
SDG. (read more…)

Oh Where, Oh Where Has Our Editor Gone?

iBegat HOME

Monday
9-12-2011

I am here and alive and kicking. Kicking my way about through appointments with doctors, labs, nurses, insurance reps, x-ray technicians, and bla bla bla. Next week I fly 1,800 miles to Chicago again just to say “hello” to the transplant team who performed a pancreas on me four months ago.

I owe iBeGat.com writers and readers an apology and a plea for mercy, grace, patience, and prayer. Some of you know, most of you don’t, that I survived an unhoped for heart transplant six years ago, then cancer that is in remission, and recently the pancreas transplant. All the while the doctor’s informing my husband, my son, and me that, “You’re not going to live through the year.” But it’s almost 2012 and I plan on living way longer than they expect.

And one of the miracles out of the countless ones I’ve experienced is that there have only been seven other people in the United States and possibly the entire world that have gone through a heart transplant and lived long enough to endure a rare pancreas transplant. Most only lived a year and there are only four of us alive here in the US. So I am in an elite club. (Man. but where are the presents, gifts, cars, and hoopla?) 8^)

It’s said you trade one set of problems for another after any transplant, but at least you’re alive. I’ve learned to live with much or little as Paul said to the church at Phillippi:

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” (Philippians 4:10-12 NIV1984)

The New Me!

A few months after I accepted the privilege of editor for iBeGat.com, my health slowly descended into the life-threatening need for a pancreas transplant. No one I saw would perform this dangerous surgery, considering the outcome was grim. But God provided a miracle and I received my pancreas on May 12, 2011 in Chicago. The most difficult part for me–my donor was a 13 year old girl from the Dallas, Texas area. A teenager. A young girl with family and her life ahead to dream and reach for the stars. I’m going to write her family, and have to do so anonymously due to privacy law, but I hope to one day be in touch with them as I am with my heart donor’s family.

If you want to read about the crazy times during this pancreas transplant process, click on the link to my blog: http://cindyscinto.blogspot.com/2011/04/cindy-in-chicago-day-one.html This starts you on a list of entries from the “Cindy City.”

I’m finally recovered most of the way, and when I sent out schedules for publication my intentions were sincere. But, alas, things have fallen behind a bit. I can say that this week was a turning point for me and I am much more full of the kick I usually have. 8^)

So, dear iBeGat.com writers and readers, pray for my time to be free, health to be great, and mind to be clear, so I can get back on track and keep plugging forward with this amazing sight for teens by teens!

Thank you, really.

Cindy Scinto