Heartbreak Doesn’t Last Forever

Crystal Hathcock, iBe SHEgat, IBegat Trouble, iBegat U

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV)

Every day, for 605 days, I prayed for God to send me a Christian friend. I felt alone and isolated at school due in part to the efforts of a group of mean girls. Their constant harassment and belittlement had made my life so miserable it was hard to come to school a lot of days. However, I believed God would make a way for me if I would trust Him. I continued to place my trust in Him no matter what I faced day after day.

One day a tall, skinny girl, with long brown hair and a smile that went from ear to ear, walked into my class. Mrs. Greene, my teacher introduced her. “Class, I’d like your attention. I’d like for you to meet Dianne Miles. She’s just moved into the area and she’ll be joining our class. I know that you all will make her feel welcomed.”

I could already hear the mean girls giggling at Dianne because she was so skinny. I wasn’t sure if we’d be friends, but I felt it was important to introduce myself and make sure she felt accepted. I knew what it felt like to walk in her shoes.

God gave me the words and the courage I needed to speak to Dianne. “Hi, my name is Crystal and it’s nice to have you here. I’ll be glad to show you around if you’re interested.” To my surprise, within no time, we had become best friends.

Dianne became a target for the mean girls, too, but we were able to face the bullies together. God had heard every prayer I’d prayed and today, four decades later, Dianne and I are still BFF.

CRYSTAL Y. HATHCOCK

Crystal Y. Hathcock and her husband Tony, live in Liberty, South Carolina and have been married for thirty-two years. They have two puppies, Hankie and Calvin. Crystal is a freelance writer; a student with the Christian Writer’s Guild and writes religious articles for the area’s local newspaper. She enjoys cooking for family and friends, couponing, jewelry making and singing. (read more…)

Relationships and the Glycemic Index?

iBe HEgat, iBe SHEgat, iBegat HOME, iBegat the Begotten

“Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, ‘I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.’ . . . So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.” (Genesis 29:18,20 NIV)

“So what does what I eat have to do with my relationships?”

Going into a relationship can be as fulfilling as a Big Mac or as scanty as devouring a Snickers bar. Let’s use a formula called the glycemic index to see why! (glycemic what?)

Everything we eat goes through a digestive process. After so many breakdowns, every choice bite is used to provide us with the calories we need to function. Each waking moment and every blink of the eye requires energy. But not all of the foods we eat are digested the same—not all foods are what they appear to be!

The glycemic index is a measurement used to track how fast or how slow foods are utilized. Proteins and fats have an evenly based glycemic index. The digestive process uses the calories from these foods in a steady way. So a Big Mac and fries allows a stable up flow of energy.

Breads, sweet drinks, and all sugary foods … are complex carbohydrates, digested quicker. The result is fast energy, but it’s used up as quickly as it appears. The instant gratification of a Snickers bar; the sweet, smooth chocolate enhanced by the salted peanuts, intermingled in a layer of caramel goes down fast and boosts your mood. But after the high, you’re left deflated, let down and outright stripped of ambition.

Moving slower in a relationship than your heart and hormones want, will allow for an incubation period. But love can strike you blind so you go for the instant satisfaction.

The Snickers bar relationship will peak and then fall, leaving you with a sudden void. A more thought out, well rounded relationship will go a long way, not letting you down in a tumult.

When you meet that perfect one, when the sensations of the right chemistry are upon you, make the right choice. Don’t throw away the opportunity of a lasting relationship for the quick fix of a Snickers bar!

Cindy Scinto, Editor, iBeGat.com

True Maturity

iBe SHEgat, iBegat HOME, iBegat Trends, IBegat Trouble, Tessa Hall

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God… Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.” (Romans 12:2 MSG)

If you’ve seen the movie “Grease,” then you probably remember Sandy—the quiet girl who’s made fun of by her friends for being a “goody-goody.” Eventually she decides to grow up and asks her friends to help her to become more like them. When this is accomplished, she feels accepted by her peers and is suddenly viewed as cool. Unfortunately, she didn’t grow up. She just stooped even lower.

Being mature doesn’t mean getting a car for your 15^th birthday, having a baby at sixteen, or even being able to carry on a mature conversation with an adult. Romans 12:2 states that true maturity is developed when we are able to stay close to God. It isn’t based on popularity or knowledge … only wisdom.

This scripture also says to “fix your attention on God… unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to it’s level of immaturity.” Doing this won’t be easy. You will have to fight hard against the high school lifestyle, which may result in rejection from your friends. But so what? Wouldn’t you rather please God and allow him to bless you eternally than try to earn worldly acceptance from your so-called friends?

So would I.

TESSA HALL

Tessa Hall is a writing and coffee obsessed seventeen-year-old. She lives for Christ only and believes that it’s not just a religion, but a relationship. Her Young Adult, Christian fiction contemporary novel, Purple Moon, is currently under contract with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She also writes a blog called “Christ is Write” where she posts teen devotions, writing tips, book reviews, author interviews, and coffee recipes.

Tessa has always enjoyed writing and has a passion to spread God’s healing, love, and comfort to her peers through the written word. Some of her other passions include acting, film, music, photography, and dance. She has big dreams and high hopes for her future, but believes that God can grant the desires of her heart as long as she puts Him first. Her favorite scripture is Ecclesiastes 11:9 (MSG): “You who are young, make the most of your youth. Relish your youthful vigor. If something looks good to you, pursue it. But know also that not just anything goes; You have to answer to God for every last bit of it.”
<<<more posts by Tessa…

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.

Love Never Gives Up

iBe SHEgat, iBegat the Begotten, iBegat U

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me first”, doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sins of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.” (1 Corinthian 13: 4-8 The Message)

Sara Bareilles, a popular singer, describes being controlled by a guy in her song Gravity: “You hold me without touch, You keep me without chains.”

When I was a senior in high school, I met a charming and funny guy who I fell head over heels in “love” with. Looking back, I have realized how unhealthy that relationship was for me. I was verbally abused, called names, and controlled for a year of my life by someone who never deserved me in the first place.

When I moved away for college, I was enlightened by 1 Corinthian 13, where God describes to us a love that is so amazing that it never fails, never gets angry, always trusts, and always perseveres. I realized that the relationship I was in wasn’t any of those things and it definitely wasn’t a Godly relationship. I broke the relationship off and by doing so I regained my self-confidence and became a girl who wasn’t going to let people push her around, especially silly boys.

It can be hard to get out of abusive and unhealthy relationships, but you must always remember that you are the most important person in the situation. If you are in a relationship that is bad for you, think about yourself and your future. Never let a guy hold you back from being everything you can be. Search for the type of love that God describes in 1 Corinthian 13 and never settle for less than you deserve.

McKenna Watts is originally from Hueytown, Alabama, but currently resides in Livingston, Alabama where she attends the University of West Alabama. McKenna works for a daycare at a Methodist church where she teaches a three-year-old daycare class. McKenna is majoring in elementary education and wants to teach kindergarten after she graduates. McKenna began writing at an early age and is now a staff member with the Southern Christian Writers Conference based out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama that her family has run and operated for the past 20 years.

Graduation: A Bittersweet Time

iBe SHEgat, iBegat U

“For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 NAB)

I had waited impatiently for my high school graduation since freshman year. As the day drew near, my excitement mounted. I was insanely excited to be done with high school. I was happy to end, what I considered, the worst four years of my life. I was delighted to be able to move on to better things. I was ready to make my escape, ready to be free.

When the actual day arrived, however, I was greatly saddened. Suddenly, I was faced with the reality of the situation: that I would probably never see my classmates again. This filled me with unexpected grief. I had shared four years of my life with these people. We had had remarkable experiences, gone on crazy adventures, and made a life time of memories together. Indeed, my classmates had helped shape me into the person I am today. I had shared the last four years of my life with them. How was I supposed to just walk away and never see them again? Faced with so many goodbyes all at once, my excitement dimmed, and sorrow sunk in.

Graduation was a bittersweet time for me. Sorrow and joy battled for dominance in my heart. My sorrow was deep, but I was determined that joy would win. In the end, joy did win. I was able to surrender my sorrows and fears to the Lord and He turned them into intense joy. I know God has great plans in store for my future. I just need to trust in Him.

CASEY DETTWYLER

Casey Dettwyler is from the beautiful sate of Oregon. She was raised in the same small town as her parents and grandparents before her. Casey loves all things summer: sunshine, swimming, flip flops, ice cream cones, sleeping under the stars. Her favorite past time is getting lost in a good book but she also loves to write. Her best friend, hero, and king is Jesus Christ and she strives to live every day to bring Him glory. In August, she is heading down to Holy Spirit College in GA where she will study education and theology. (read more…)

“Satan laughs at our toil, mocks our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”

We Were Made To Worship

iBe HEgat, iBe SHEgat, iBegat Trends, iBegat U, Tessa Hall

Notice the title says “We Were Made to Worship.”

Not “We Were Made To Worship God.”

We were made to worship, period. The way you live fills in the blank. Each of us was born with a desire inside of us to give something or someone praise. Unfortunately, many of us fill this desire by worshiping things other than the One who created us. John 4:23-24 explains:

“It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit… that’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship… those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves…” (MSG)

It’s what you say, the way you act, and your love that reflects what’s in your heart—and your heart reflects who or what you live for.

If you’re a teenager, then you’ve probably caught yourself drooling over another teen of the opposite sex and craving to give into peer pressure. Or maybe you’ve caught yourself raising your hands at a concert or a football game.

We live for what we love.

Are there any desires in your heart you’ve subconsciously put before your Heavenly Father? If so, ask him to remove those and replace them with the desire to worship him only.

“The secret things in their hearts will be made known. So they will bow down and worship God…” (John 4:23-24 MSG)

You were made by God. You were made for God. But are you living for him?

TESSA HALL

The Sky is the Limit

iBe HEgat, iBe SHEgat, iBegat Buddies, iBegat U

Ya know, being a kid in high school and at the same time being a Christian in high school, is not easy. So what are Christian students supposed to do? Remain a Christian and pretend it’s not a serious thing? Just act natural? Or should we stick to our little youth group in church and forget the lost sinners who wander the high school hallways? They deserve what they get anyway, right?

No.

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations. Sometimes I have to wonder if we, as teenage kids, take this to heart. When Jesus said go and make disciples of all nations he really meant everybody. And, yes, that includes the geek next door and your mean math teacher. The problem with kids in high school (and most people, now that I think about it) is we’re not always sure how to approach someone who could easily look down on us.

Nobody wants to be dismissed as a silly kid.

So what can you do? Start with the Bible. Read daily. Set a schedule. Even ten minutes a day is better than none at all.

Excuse: I’m not a very good reader–I don’t like to read.

Answer: Bible on CD. A kid in my youth group downloaded the Bible on to his iPod so that he could get through Genesis. It’s out there, I promise. =)

Once you’re comfortable with talking to someone about the Bible, talk to friends. Tell them that Jesus will save even the worst sinners. You don’t have to be a theological scholar to talk to your friends. Once your friend has accepted Christ as their Savior, bring them to church. Another good place for you to start if you haven’t already.

Get with your youth group. Set something up. A canned food drive. Do a car wash and donate the money. (That’s very effective where I’m from.) Or, if you’re really ambitious, dinners are also a good thing to do for the local residents or your church. (We usually make enchiladas, but not everyone lives in New Mexico.) A problem I had for a while was not having a youth group. I eventually convinced a few of the leaders in our church to start one. We have exactly three regular members and two that come off and on. But even that’s not bad compared to absolutely nothing at all.

Did you know there are organizations in school you can join that are specifically for Christian students? (Or better yet–students who are not Christians.) The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a popular one. I’ve joined it and our group currently consists of five kids. And none of us do sports. (I know. Ha-ha.) Or if you don’t have school organizations, make one. You’re the boss! Whatever comes to mind would be a good idea. Even if it’s small.

The sky is the limit.

BLAKE MOON

Son to a farmer, 16 year old Blake lives in rural New Mexico with his parents, two sisters and a brother where they raise cattle, wheat and 4H livestock. He can drive a combine, pull a plow and milk a goat! Blake is a veracious reader: Done with homework? Read a book. Free class time? Read a book. Road trip? Read a book! When he’s not reading, Blake is a very active leader in his school and community where he is President of his 4H club, a member of FFA, BPA, FCA, Student Council, FCCLA (in which he competed at a national level) and, his favorite–journalism. (read more…)

Guarding Your Heart

iBe SHEgat, iBegat Trends, iBegat U

“… Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” (Song of Songs 2:7 NIV)

I’ve always gotten a thrill out of wearing a pretty dress. The local spring formal for home schooled high school students presented the perfect situation for doing so. While considering if I should go or not, I remembered my commitment to guard my heart and decided to explore my motivation for going. Dress aside, I realized I mainly wanted to be noticed by guys.

Don’t get me wrong–social events are not bad, and God has a plan for young people to be in community together in healthy ways. But for me, going to the dance with that beautiful dress would mean compromising what I knew about guarding my heart. Any attention I would receive at the dance may have flattered for a moment, but afterward my decision to save dating until I am old enough to consider marriage would seem so much harder. My longing for affection would be awakened.

God delights in a pure heart. Are we willing to protect ours? What steps can you take to guard yourself? Stopping to examine your motivation might be a good place to start. Ask God to guard your purity and glorify Him.

——————————————————

MARY CATHERINE LEWIS

Mary Catherine is a 16-year-old home schooled high school student living in Lexington, KY. Among other things, she enjoys playing piano and violin, watching movies, singing along with her iPod, going to Disney World, and writing. She has been writing since age 8, and has spent the past few years honing the art of fiction and is working on her first novel. God has given her the desire to teach and encourage teenagers to purity.

Heartbreak Doesn’t Last Forever

Relationships and the Glycemic Index?

True Maturity

Passion for Writing

Love Never Gives Up

Graduation: A Bittersweet Time

We Were Made To Worship

Guarding Your Heart

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