Hope Generation

Teen Thoughts

Fearless Faith

9 Mar 2010 at 11:00pm

Photo: Emiliano Spada

Peladophobia: fear of baldness and bald people.

Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.

Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.

Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings.

Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple.

Graphophobia: fear of writing in public.

Phobophobia: fear of being afraid.

So what’s your phobia? According to a report I once read, our greatest fear is speaking in public. Our second biggest fear? Death. This strikes me as odd. I think about this when I’m preaching at a funeral; it seems peculiar that most people would rather be resting in the casket than standing with me behind the pulpit!

Study not!

Sadly, many of us allow fear to paralyze our lives. I once suffered from a severe case of Kirbackophobia—fear of Mrs. Kirback. Other students agreed: Mrs. Kirback was a pitbull. Just thinking about her made my fingernails sweat. I was so worried about taking her class the following year I crammed all summer in preparation. I stuck to Wilson’s Illustrated World History Book like bubble gum to Reeboks.

The first day in class I parked myself in prime real estate—centered in the front row. Mrs. Kirback waddled into the classroom. I feverishly captured her every word in my notebook.

“Good morning, class.”

“Good morning, class, I wrote.

“Just a few announcements before we begin”—her words duly noted. “First, I’ve decided to change textbooks.”

“What?” I gasped out loud. “You can’t do that!”

“I beg your pardon,” she puffed.

“I mean, um some of us studied, um…never mind.”

As it turned out, it didn’t matter. Mrs. Kirback was quite pleasant. My months of worry proved senseless. I did, however, learn one valuable lesson from her:  Wait until the night before to study—in case the teacher changes the textbook!

Fear not!

It was never God’s design for us to worry. This is helpful to remember as you make daily decisions and navigate through the potholes of life. God’s desire is that you approach life with a heart of faith, rather than fear. He wants us to live in peace, not panic.

Harry Emerson Fosdick once said, “Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable—and, most of all, fear puts hopelessness at the heart of life, while faith rejoices in its God.”1

Isaiah 41:10 puts it this way (my translation, you understand):  “So do not fear flunking chemistry or leading a university, for I am with you; do not be dismayed about the bully that humiliates you in P.E. or the antagonist that opposes you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you when life slaps you around. I will help you when you face a tough decision. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  

1 As quoted at http://www.achristiancounselor.com/fear.html.

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By Karl Haffner. Portions reprinted with persmission from the North Pacific Union Conference Gleaner, January 2007. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Long-Tailed Weasel

2 Mar 2010 at 11:00pm

Photo: MorgueFile

“The LORD will rise up…to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task” (Isaiah 28:21).

I’ll never forget the day my Chihuahua dog, Mindy, encountered the Long-Tailed Weasel. We were strolling around the chicken coop when suddenly the weasel appeared at the doorway. In a split second, it made a break for it and began rapidly climbing the front wall of the building.

Mindy, a much fiercer hunter than she looked, sprang with the speed of lightening and grabbed the weasel halfway up the wall. Though it was at least as long as she was, Mindy quickly subdued the foe. Even though this was likely the very predator that had been killing chickens and stealing eggs, I was sad to see the weasel come to such a sudden and terrible end.

Think About It.

Although the weasel was guilty of terrible crimes against our chickens and deserved what it got, witnessing Mindy’s act of final judgment upon the vicious creature was not a happy moment for me. Nevertheless, the weasel’s death was the only sure way to protect the chickens. Likewise, God (who is love) will not be pleased when He destroys the wicked in His final act of judgment. But the final disposal of sin and unrepentant sinners is our only guarantee for eternal safety from the effects of sin.

Do It.

Make a list of family and friends that you will pray for daily. Make a habit of praying for the salvation of those on your list throughout the day and during your devotional time.

  
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By Tammie Burak. Reprinted with permission from the Canadian Adventist Messenger, January 2007. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Got Word?

23 Feb 2010 at 11:00pm

Photo: Hemera

When I was growing up in the 50s and 60s, getting enough milk into America’s youth became a high priority. The importance of calcium for bone development was increasingly recognized as essential, and milk became the conduit through which this mineral element was distributed.

I loved milk a lot, and my mother bought the special non-fat version just for me because I was a little chubby back then. I thought the “blue water” was a little strange but I drank it anyway because I wanted to please my mom.

Two rather quirky milk-related products that came out then were concentrated milk and flavored straws. I don’t know how they did it, but to save room in the frig, you could buy this black carton of concentrated milk to which you would then add three parts water. I think it was called three-in-one milk.
 
The other product was flavored straws. Millions of moms packed these strawberry or chocolate flavored straws in their kid’s lunches. As the milk would go through the straw it would pickup the flavor. The straws were not very efficient and sometimes you would get a lot of flavor and other times you wouldn’t get any.

We need God’s Word

I really wish as much time and effort could be put into making products which deliver the Word of God into our lives. Just as we need our daily calcium, we need that daily Word.  

Three-in-one milk, flavored straws were designed to get milk into life. I challenge you today to do whatever it takes to get the precious life nourishing, life changing Word of God into your life and into the lives of others. Got Word?

  
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By Jim Park. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

Football Folly

16 Feb 2010 at 11:00pm

Photo: Brett Meliti

I wanted a football uniform more than anything I had ever wanted before. At the age of ten it was all I could think about. As I watched my favorite football team in action on Sunday afternoons, I imagined myself playing all the positions on the team. I was the quarterback, agile and accurate. I was the running back, flexible and fast. I would play for hours in our back yard with nothing more than a football and my vivid imagination. There was only one item that I needed to make my fantasy a reality; a football uniform, fully equipped with a helmet, shoulder pads, and a numbered jersey.

I had given my request to my parents on numerous occasions, but it seemed a long shot that I would ever have the opportunity to “suit up” and play the game with a reasonable semblance of reality that a uniform could provide. Then one day I was given an option that would test my ability to choose wisely.

Every year on Labor Day a village nearby hosted an all day carnival that I loved to attend. “The Labor Day Fair” was an event the entire town took part in, complete with amusement rides, game booths, and wonderful food creations. To say that I wanted to go would be an understatement!

A Tough Choice

My dad was not nearly as enthusiastic about taking me as I was in attending, and so he gave me an option that still brings a pang of remorseful thoughts of what could have been. I could choose only one option; a fair today, or a football uniform on Friday. It was an agonizing decision for me, but it only took about an hour to come to the conclusion that a good time on Monday would be better than a football uniform on Friday.

I did not have nearly as much fun as I had anticipated and it was over all too soon.  On the way home that evening I had time to reflect on the hasty decision I had made.  I felt sick to my stomach to think that I had thrown away such an opportunity. It taught me a lesson in patience, and I have tried to make decisions more carefully since that disappointing day. That lesson in choosing when I was ten reminds me of the options that each one of us must face in life’s journey. The book of Job presents it best.

“The good times of the wicked are short-lived; the godless joy is only momentary” (Job 20:5).

Life doesn’t last long, and we are given the option of a short-lived “good time” here without any real happiness, or a life of peace and contentment for eternity. The choices that we make will determine our destiny. We are challenged by God to give considerable thought to both options and choose wisely.

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By Michael Temple. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines. Scripture taken from the THE MESSAGE / REMIX ®

Sticks and Stones

9 Feb 2010 at 11:00pm

Photo: MorgueFile

When Emily came to school this morning she was greeted with a barrage of derogatory names. Why? The night before she had gone to a party with a boy one of the name-callers had a crush on. The name-calling continued for a few weeks, then escalated into physical violence. Emily was kicked and punched until she could take the bullying no more and started to believe death was her only option.

Emily survived, but many kids don’t. “Bullying is increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide. Case studies of the shooting at Colombine High School and other U.S. schools suggested bullying was a factor in many of the incidents,” states a report on bullying.

Bullying can have deadly consequences for perpetrators as well as victims. According to the Bureau of Justice, teenagers say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings. Eighty-seven percent said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.” Eighty-six percent said “other kids picking on them, making fun of them, or bullying them causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools.”

Forms of Bullying Behavior

Physical bullying, such as slapping, is the behavior we frequently associate with bullying. However, it is only one form of bullying behavior.

Slapping
 
Punching
 
Obscene or unwanted sexual gestures or jokes
 
Teasing about sexual orientation
 
Brushing up or grabbing someone in a sexual way
 
Date rape

According to Dr. Ellen W. deLara, Syracuse University School of Social Work, there are several things you can do if you feel you’re being bullied.

Walk away. This sends the message that the bullying is not having the desired impact on you. If you don’t show any reaction, bullies get tired of trying to get a rise out of you and will move on to the next target after a while.
 
Hang out with kids who seem to not get bullied and not be bullies either. See if you can join clubs or other activities where these kids are present and form friendships there.|
 
If you are continually bullied, you need to tell a parent, a teacher, and a school administrator and keep telling until someone does something on your behalf.

Being bullied can be lonely and frightening. If you are being bullied and would prefer talking with a counselor over the phone rather than face-to-face, you can call your local hotline 24/7. Check this Web site for a number of a hotline close to you:  http/suicidehotlines.com.

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By Barb Chandler. Reprinted with permission from Listen, November 2006. Copyright © 2010 by GraceNotes. All rights reserved. Use of this material is subject to usage guidelines.

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