Dear Younger Self,

What do you think you’re doing??!! Did I just see you say no to soccer tryouts because you thought you didn’t have enough time for video games? And what was that last biology test grade, again? Yeah, I thought so. Look, I’m twenty-two now, and graduating isn’t going to come easy, thanks to you. Those big dreams you had fell through. Your laziness has put me on the shelf forever. You just didn’t want to do the work. Sincerely, Your Future Self

If you have been a student, you will have

thought at some point in life “homework is stupid.” And maybe you banished this idea from your head right away, but it’s still there. You complained.

Homework, believe it or not, has a purpose. So do science fairs, basket weaving, and washing dishes. Life’s projects and chores are designed to keep you healthy and force you to grow. Hard as it is to hear, no one can get very far without work.

“But,” you say, “I’m a teenager! Can’t I wait to do all the hard stuff for when I’m an adult? School years are a time to have fun!” And then when you are an adult, you’ll be regretting that you left all the character-building until later in life.

In their popular book, Do Hard Things, teenage twins Alex and Brett Harris challenge adolescents

all over the world to fight the two big bombers that go hand in hand: complacency and laziness.

The concept of the “teen,” along with teen attitudes, the brothers argue, didn’t come around until the 20th century. Before then, kids worked to become adults, and they received responsibility at an early age. But now, countless authors agree that the new adolescent stage has teen kids stuck in an all-play-no-future zone. Lack of challenges, as adults give them free passes in life, make them lazy and irresponsible. Then, when no one else around them does their best, they start to slack off, too. Who cares about real life, anyway?

Do Hard Things authors see that teens and tweens have way more potential than most people say they do—potential to be mature, lead in big ways, and ultimately, to change the world.

But all the adults telling you your plan won’t work and all the failures you’ve witnessed have built up such a fear in your heart that you probably walk away as soon as you hear anything about “changing the world.” It’s the phobia of hard work that students and teens all over the world need to fight.

You can change the world, you just need to work at it. You can have an impact, but it won’t happen if you don’t challenge yourself. You can live the super-future you want, but it’s not going to come easy.

1. Motive. The first question you need to ask is why. Why are you trying to free slaves in Southeast Asia or make a new plan for cleaning your room? Whatever the challenge, you need to make sure your idea is based on good motives. You may be pushed by Biblical principles (hint: found all over the gospels) or you may just want to grow your character personally. Whatever the reason is, think it through.

2. Means. No one completes anything big from scratch. Try and choose a challenge that you think is impossible for you to succeed in. Make a plan of what you want to do and how you want to accomplish it. Use your strengths and talents in the plan, and build up a team of people you know can help you achieve your goal. Then pray Pray PRAY!

3. Opportunity. Most failures happen when the doer decides to quit. Carry through with your plan and be satisfied with knowing that you could do it—with God’s help.

1. Something that by its nature or character serves

as a call to battle, contest, special effort 2. Difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one

exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something, productive

engaged in it

activity

Jesus  Christ  caught  me   as  I  was  1lailing   through  the   air,  dropping   rapidly,  stomach  in   throat,   to  a   death  caused  by  sin.   He  

snatched  me   from  utter  darkness   and   showed   me  marvelous   light.   And,   for   this   I  am   completely   in   awe   and   in1initely  

grateful!  The  Maker  of  the  universe  chose  me  -­‐  one  grain  of  sand  in  a  number  with  as  many  zeros  behind  it  as  letters  in  this  

post.  So,  in  response,  I  yearn  to  please  Him,  I  strive  to  know  Him,  and  I  love  to  be  close  to  Him.  I  want  my  life  to  be  a  “living  

sacri1ice,  holy  and  pleasing”  to  Him  (Rom  12:1).

But,  not  only  have  I  been  so  mercifully  caught  within  the  hands  of  the  Almighty,  I  am  also  currently  caught.  I  am  caught  in-­‐

between.   In  between  heaven  and  earth,   life  and  death,   holiness  and  my  1leshly  desires.  My  citizenship  is   in  heaven  (Phil  

3:20)  but  my  heart  is  still  beating  here  on  this  earth.  As  one  of  my  favorite  bands,  Tenth  Avenue  North,  puts  it,  “I’m  caught  

in  the  in  between,  of  who  I  already  am  and  who  I’m  yet  to  be.”  My  soul  feels  the  need  to  be  in  Heaven  at  the   feet  of  my  

Maker,  but  my  mind  understands  the  necessity  of  remaining  here.  I  want  to  pursue  holiness  with  every  1iber  of  my  being,  

but  my  being  is  human:  fallen  and  sinful.

I  am  currently  experiencing  this  tension  of  being  “caught”  in  a  more  tangible  way  like  I  never  

have   before,   as   I   am   living   Florence,   Italy.   All   of   my   ideas   about   life   in   general,   cultural  

norms,   speaking,   eating,  dressing,  etc,   have  been   completely  forgotten.  I   feel   as  though  my  

“American-­‐ness”  is   stuck  in   a   rip  tide,   being  dragged  further  and   further  from  what  I  once  

knew.   I   am   no   longer   where   I   once   was,   but   I   am   nowhere   close   to   the   waters   that  

encompass  the   people   with  which   I   am   surrounded.   I   am   in   no  man’s   land.   This   place   is  

lonely,  but  it  is  the  best  position  to  observe  both  sides  and  gain  perspective.  I  don't  feel  like  I  

belong,  but  I  am   learning   over  and  over  that  my  God  is  the  only  thing  that  can  satisfy.  I  am  

not  supposed  to  feel  comfortable  here,  but  cling  to  the  one  thing  that  sustains  me.

I  thank  God  for  the  various  opportunities  He  has  given  me  to  be  caught  in  the  in-­‐between.  He  

is  challenging  and  re1ining  me.  He  is  showing  me  that  I  am  not  of  this  world  anymore,  so  no  

matter  where  my  place  of   residence  happens  to  be,  I  should  never  feel  completely  at  home  

here  on  earth,  "where  moths  and  rust  destroy,  and  thieves  break  in  and  steal,"  (Matt.  6:19).  

taken with permission from: em-caughtinbetween.blogspot.com

You Know You’re an MK When...

...9 hour trips don't seem that long anymore

...you get back to the states and you can drink tap water

...you go into the grocery store and are amazed at how there could be so many different types of

cereal that it takes up a whole aisle!

...when people ask you if you ride a camel to school

...people in the US keep assuming that the US is your "home"

...you and your family use the language of the country where you live as a code when you're in the States

provided by Catherine C. and her classmates from NorthStar

Heart of Worship by Michaela F.

We all know this was one of Jesus’ most important commands, to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39 and 8 other places in the Bible).Yet most of us who have tried this know that it is probably one of the hardest of Jesus’ commands to live out. How are we supposed to love other people, even our enemies (Luke 6:35), as we love ourselves? How are we supposed to show love to the people in our lives?

The lesson of learning to love is one of the most important lessons in the Christian life since God is love, so if we want to become more like Him, we have to learn how to love. 1 John 4 even goes as far to say that if someone does not love, they do not know God because He is love, so by knowing Him one would know His love and show it to others. Now of course this doesn’t mean that if you don’t love everyone perfectly, you don’t know God. Everyone needs to grow in their ability to love until the day they die.

It has been said that living life by loving is the best way to live, which I believe is true. It feels really nice to know that you loved someone through your words or actions. But, what is love? How can we love others? What does it look like when you love someone as you love yourself? The answers to these questions can give us a deeper understanding of God’s love for us and how we are supposed to show love to the people He created.

There are so many verses that define love in the Bible. From these verses we can learn what true love is.

Love is…• Sacrifice- 1 John 3:16 says, “This is how we

know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (NIV). Imagine laying down your life for someone else, not necessarily dying for them but giving them all you have. That is powerful love.

• Patience- (1 Corinthians 13:4) When you choose not to yell at someone, or you choose not to tell someone to hurry up because you have a busy schedule, that is showing love.

• Kindness- (1 Corinthians 13:4) This is a big part of love, being kind and considerate of others.

• Humility- (1 Corinthians 13:4) Boasting about how great of a person you are or treating yourself like you are better than others is NOT an act of love! Choosing to put others above yourself IS!

• Forgiveness- (1 Corinthians 13:5) God gave us the best example of this when He made a way for us to be forgiven by sending His Son to die for us. The least we can do is genuinely forgive others when they hurts us and choose not to keep a record of the sins people commit against us.

• Truth- (1 Corinthians 13:6) Evil is the opposite of love and evil’s best weapon is feeding us lies about ourselves and about others. True love gets rid of the lies and replaces it with complete truth.

So now that we understand love a little bit better, how do we put that love into practice? Here are some ways to love family, other

people and enemies.

Do one of your sibling’s chores for them without them asking you toAlways respond with a willing “Yes” when asked to complete an unpleasant taskDon’t argue with your parents even if what they are saying doesn’t make senseIf your sibling is taking forever to do something, help them or do it yourself instead of hurrying them Don’t bring up past offenses when talking about a present conflictConsider your family members as children of God and treat them with respect

Take time to listen to someone even if you are having a hard or busy dayAlways be looking for ways to give of yourself sacrificially for the benefit of others and try to do it anonymously so you don’t bring attention to yourselfTelling the truth to peers is important, even if they will never knowChoose your words carefully because once they are out they can never go back in

When they give you a mean look, smile genuinely backLeave an anonymous note somewhere where they will find it that says “Have a good day!” If they say something mean to you, respond kindly

What’s God up to? read how God is working in MKs’ lives around the

globe!

Recently God has been teaching me how much I need him and how much I keep needing to come back to Him over and over again. In the busyness of life, school, after school activities, and friends, God is faithful, even if I am not totally faithful to Him. He keeps on showing me how much I need Him and how important spending time with Him in prayer and in His word really is. I have learned over and over again that He is the only thing that can fulfill my life.

-Catherine C. Slovakia

One of my good Italian friends is VERY far from the Lord. But still we are good friends and one of the things we love doing together is having lots of sleepovers. At our last one I spent Saturday night at her house. The next morning as I was getting ready for church I pulled my Bible out of my backpack. A moment later when I came back in the room I found her looking through my bible and she started asking me questions

like if I would get punished if I did not read it, or if I understood, liked and learned from what I read. She seemed really interested and would like to know more. Please pray for me to know what to say to her and that she and other Italians like her would grow close to God.

-Ragan K. ItalyHave you ever felt like you just could hear your own heart cracking? I know I have! This week my heart has been broken into a million of little white and shiny porcelain pieces! I don't remember feeling that empty, sad and broken in the matter of just a little week. I've cried and asked why. I’ve been so emotionally tired and thought through every little piece of me that has been shattered and came to a powerful revelation: It's when you're broken that God shines the brightest!

Here are a few quotes from various writings that has encouraged me in a beautiful way:"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." (Psalm 34:18) and "And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us/ And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?" from the song, Our God by Chris Tomlin. God can be the fixer of broken, fragile hearts if we let Him be! I'm still learning to place mine in His loving hands. I hope you'll join me on my journey to discovering beauty from pain!

-Rebecca M. France

Bible Verses on....Compassion

“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done.” -Proverbs 19:17

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender

heart, and a humble mind.” -1 Peter 3:8

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

-Matthew 9:36

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,

compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience...” -Colossians 3:12

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” -Psalm 86:15

My parents have always had very clear boundaries on dating and guys: no dating, but you can court when you’re

ready to get married. I’ve always respected them for that and agreed with it. I think that’s been one of the

defining things in my life. Because I’ve known that I can’t date, I don’t look at guys as someone who can satisfy

the loneliness in my heart.

So many girls don’t realize that they don’t need a guy in their lives; that they will never need a guy. One of my

youth pastor’s recently said about his fiance, “She decided that she didn’t need me, she only needs Jesus, and

that’s one of the reasons I love her so much. She stands out everywhere she goes because she doesn’t need

people. Jesus is enough.”

Hearing that, I wanted to be like her. It never bothers me that I don’t have a boyfriend, but I’ve ever thought of

not needing someone. I’ve always thought that at some point in my life, the right guy would ride into the

picture, sweep me off my feet, and we would live happily ever after. He would be my everything.

That’s not biblical, and neither is it healthy. I have a friend who’s very wrapped up in her boyfriend - in fact,

she used to be one of my closest friends before he came into the picture. When they started going out, she

pushed me away, wanting to spend all her time with him.

That’s not healthy.

I think that’s so crucial among girls my age. Many girls don’t know how to just be friends with a boy, and they

assume that there’s something wrong with them if they don’t have a boyfriend. That is completely untrue.

At the risk of sounding cliché, Jesus should be enough. Yes, we all want a guy to tell us that we’re beautiful; we

all want to be wanted.

E-mail all your comments to:

notofthisworld.r2@gmail.com

"Around me when I

look, His handiwork I

see; This world is like

a picture book to

teach His love to

me."

-Jane E. Leeson