A Light on a Hill
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14, 16 NKJV)
Stormie is a beautiful young lady with a smile that lights up a room. She’s friends with everyone because she’s the kind of person you enjoy hanging out with. Stormie has aspirations to be a model and loves country music. At the age of 14, her Christian strength and character allows her to be a strong witness to anyone no matter what the circumstances.
Recently, Stormie shared with me about the pressure she and other girls were getting from guys at her high school for sexting. She said there was a particular sophomore who relentlessly pursued her under the guise of wanting to be her friend. What he really wanted was a nude photo of her for his phone.
Stormie told him repeatedly she would be glad to be his friend, but he would never get a picture of her without her clothes. His motives became very clear—he dumped her.
Many young people have yielded to different pressures and exposed themselves to sexting. They live with regret and shame everyday because of their decision. Stormie wants her fellow comrades to know with God’s great love you can start over. No matter what you’ve done the screen can be erased and you can be free from the quilt.
In a world where everything can be really confusing and full of pressure, here are some of the principles that Stormie uses to keep her light shining on a hill for Christ.
- Surround yourself with Christian friends that share the same standards as you
- Get involved with your church youth group and attend church regularly
- Talk to your parents about everything in your life
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…)
Never Alone
“Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.” (I Samuel 17:47 NIV)
One warm spring afternoon, I found myself standing alone outside of the gym facing a mountain of anger from five very mean girls. As usual, this attack came without warning, but this time I felt like I was fighting for my life. I was so tired from the endless months of horrible insults the gang had been hurling my way.
The situation reminded me of David and Goliath. I was the new girl in town with no friends or power to draw from. My tormentors, Jean, Debbie, Terri, Teresa, and Shelby were hometown girls who were cheerleaders, band members, good students, and yet they made it a sport to terrorize anyone that didn’t fit into a certain mold. No one would go up against them. No one would be friends with me even though everyone in school knew about my encounters with them.
It was obvious that it was time I stopped running and have a face to face confrontation with these girls. At first I was shaking I was so scared, but God gave me the courage I needed to tell them I was tired of their games and it was time for them to leave me alone. When I was through talking to the gang of girls, I walked away from the situation with more confidence in myself. The Lord had stood by me just like He’d promised. On that day I committed the girls in His hands, thankful the battle is the Lord’s.
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…)
Killing Fear
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim. 1:7 NIV)
“If I brought a gun to school you’d be the first one I’d kill.” Seth leered at me from behind, sending a chill down my spine.
It was my first year in public school and to say I wasn’t exactly socially accepted would be an understatement. I was in fifth grade and already I had someone who wanted to kill me – great.
Fresh from private school and home schooling I had no idea how to handle such a threat. Much less my ruined notebooks or the insults, threats, and curses bled into my desk with permanent, black marker that showed up in the following weeks. I didn’t know how to tell my parents that my glasses were broken because a boy had hit me or that the day before I’d found the body of a dead mouse in my desk with the message “you’re next” noosed around its neck on notebook paper.
So I ignored it, hoping that Seth and the other kids in my class would grow tired of trying to scare me. The next day I cut out hearts from red construction paper and wrote out verses that spoke of God’s love for them and taped them to the desks of all my classmates. And the next day, and the next day, and the day after that until the bullying stopped. Within a month the bullying came to a dead halt.
The best way to combat hate? With God’s furious love.
CHRISTINE WESSELIUS
Christine grew up in the windowless basement of her grandparent’s house and has thus been fondly nicknamed “The vampire in a box” by her friends. She has a strong affinity for sarcasm, shiny purple things, and random, useless information that “normal people probably wouldn’t care about.” She likes to sing, act, draw, write, read, and make fun of Prince Charming in her spare time. Some of her epic skills include: surviving a piano being dropped on her, carrying on a five hour conversation with a wall, and making a grilled cheese sandwich spontaneously explode. (read more…)
<<<more posts by Christine…
Bullies All Around
“They repay me evil for good, and hatred for my friendship.” (Psalms 109:5 NIV)
My family moved when I was in junior high so that my dad could find a job. I’d hoped the change would bring a new start for me. When you’re overweight, school can be a tough place to be. I learned quickly that a group of girls at my new school had made it their mission to make my life miserable. They didn’t like the way I looked.
Even though their snickers and rude comments in class were embarrassing and hurtful, I tried to overlook them. I wanted to be friends, but just when I thought I was gaining ground, they would turn on me. They’d twist something I’d say and then the whole group would gang up on me when I was alone.
“Who do you think you are—trying to hang around us?” said Jean, the leader of the gang.
“You’ll never be good enough for us,” Debbie said. “By the way, when are ya gonna lose some weight?”
‘Yeah, you’ve gotten bigger since you invaded on us,” Jean said. Then she looked at Debbie with delight in her eyes and they busted out laughing. Their friends joined in making more jokes about the fat girl—me.
I wanted to run and hide because their words were so hurtful. After a while, I didn’t want to go to school. But through prayer, God gave me grace to survive and thrive.
Bullying Tip – Be aware of cyber-bullying for yourself and your friends. Intimidation can start off with seemingly innocent comments that will increase overtime to aggressive, intentional, hurtful behavior, all done with a few key strokes and the click of a mouse. Don’t take it—tell it.
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…)
Facebook
Twitter