megannicoleallison

If you had the chance to change one thing in you’re life, ANYTHING, what would it be? The usual New Years resolution usually consists of “lose weight” or “quit smoking”, but what if you decided to do something HUGE this new year? Glorify Christ.

1 Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the LORD and his  strength;  seek his presence continually!”

How long do you spend during the day using technology or caught up wasting time? The answer for the average person is “practically every waking minute — except for the time in school/work.” Is this true about you? Are you using a phone, computer, television, mp3 player, ipod, or other electronic device for the vast majority of your free time? If so, how do you think such heavy media use is affecting you and your relationship with Christ? Recently, I realized that too much of my time is wasted on technology. I have recently deleted my twitter, tumblr, and flikr. I decided to keep my Facebook in order to keep in touch with family/friends, but I have also realized how many hours a day I waste on it, which is being changed immedietly. When it all comes down to the end, I don’t want to be the one to have wasted my whole life online and not living my actual life the way Christ wants me to. Although it will be hard to give up my time on Facebook and on my cell phone, I know that I am doing it for the better. When things get tough, I know that my God will not fail me.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God gave us a spirit not of fear, but of power and love and self-control.”

Another thing I want to change personally is the way I am expressing myself as an individual. I recently had a friend of mine tell me “You only get to be a teenager once, why not be young, wild, and free while you can? All teenagers get drunk, high, cuss, and party. You’re not the only one that will be disobeying God.” This struck me really hard. I thought about it for quite some time. All though it IS true that you only get to be a teenager for 7 years of your life, that doesn’t mean that you have to ruin yourself throughout those years. I’ve learned that just because you’re a teenager doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun without getting “wasted” on Friday nights. Instead, I spend this past Friday night with my YouthGroup and had more fun than I’ve had in a while, simply because I knew that I was having fun while pleasing God at the same time. I’m re-evaluating who my “friends” are and am leading more towards the ones that encourage me rather than peer-pressure me.

Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,  but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

Lastly, I’m trying to change the type of music I am “inspired” by. Instead of jamming Mac Miller when I want some music, I’m alternating to listening to Chris Tomlin instead. Hillsong > Lil Wayne. Chris August > Rihanna. David Crowder Band > Lady GaGa. The list goes on and on. Listening to rap and other music that brings “realism” into your life isn’t always the “ideal” music you need. Encouragement is what you need when your down, and who better to go to than to Christ your savior? Needless to say, there’s many things in my life that need to be changed, but reguardless, I’m willing to change them if it means growing closer daily to my Lord, Jesus Christ.

“Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a  good fire?” -C.S. Lewis

Happy New Year; may the Lord grant you the strength necessary to LIVE OUT LOUD for Christ!

I come from a family of  “over-thinkers” and of  “over-stressers”. I don’t know how many of you might have noticed, but it’s been over a month since my last post. Why? It’s not because I’ve forgotten,  but rather because there’s just not enough time in the day! Being a teenage perfectionist, I have a lot of stress on me all the time. Whether it’s sports, music, schoolwork, spending time with friends/family, or spending time with Christ, It seems like I am always booked up!

How do we find peace in times of continuous stress? We need to be aware of our own limitations and strengths. People can only bend so far before they break, so we need to rely to on Him to provide us with the grace and peace that we need in order to handle our hectic lives. The following things have helped me out tremendously in the past few days and are what motivated me to create a new post.

• Realize that you’re not alone. You’re not the only person that comes home from work, is expected to provide dinner for the family, clean the house, AND get the kids ready for bed. There are people out there to help, and if ever there’s a time when there’s not, He is there through it all with us.
• Re-evaluate your priorities. Sometimes, Christ throws stress our way whenever he wants us to rethink the way we are spending our time. Maybe you don’t spend enough time with Him, or maybe you spend time with him, but you don’t live it out. Either way, He is with you through it all.

“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he brought them out of their distress. He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed. The were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.”  ~Psalm 107:28-30

“We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.” ~2 Corinthians 1:8-10

“In God, whose word I praise – in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ~Psalm 56:4

How many people do you encounter throughout your daily life? Do you go to school/work and see over 500 people? After that, do you go to the gym and see 20 people? Then do you go to a restaurant and see 40 people? Do you go see a movie and see 100 people? Do you drive down the highway and drive past 200 people? The main point is that we come in contact with atleast 700 people EVERY DAY.

What do we do when we come in contact with these people? Most people might give a head nod followed by a “hey, how ya doin’?” and continue on with their day. But when was the last time you really asked somebody how they were doing and cared? The last time the reply you got wasn’t simply “good, you?”

These encounters are the perfect oprotunities to share God’s word.

“How are you?”

“I’m alright, lots of things going on in my life right now.”

“Well just remember, you’re not alone. God’s with you in this struggle.”

If somebody told you that totally unexpectedly, wouldn’t it make your day so much better?  If you noticed somebody is in an angered mood, you might want to encourage them by reminding them that..

“You must put them all away; anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”  ~Colossians 3:8

These are just a few examples, because honestly, you don’t even need to have a verse memorized to share or a song verse to remind somebody; you simply need kindness. How many times do you walk into the cafeteria at school and see a kid sitting by him/her self? Imagine how much you could change that kid’s world JUST by simply introducing yourself.

It’s not always easy to be the one that speaks up first, it can sometimes even be embarrassing. But time is ticking, we only have a limited amount of time lift on this Earth and we need to spend it the way Christ tells us to….

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.” ~Matthew 28:19

Everyone is created in God’s image, which means that if we are worthy of love, so is everyone else because of who made them. However, because of sin, we’re all really unlovable. But Christ changed the rules by offering love, grace and forgiveness.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for.”  ~Romans 5:8

Even though the Bible tells us to strive to be like Christ, it’s hard to always love people as God would. But we have to remember that if God can love us, surely we can love those around us.

But how do we do it?

Recently, I started studying the book of John. After reading John 13, it changed how I view treating the hard-to-like people around me. At the Last Supper, Jesus was in the same room with a bunch of people about to betray him, deny him and desert him. And he knew it. Talk about hard-to like people. But what does Jesus do?

“He got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him” ~John 13:4-5

Right here, Jesus shows how to love the unlovables. It’s not to just barely tolerating them, making fun of them, or even pretending to love them. Instead, we should serve them. Serving gives us an easy way to see how we should love.  Serving someone has a way of changing the way we see them. If you are continually looking out for a way to help someone, it’s very hard to think they’re worthless. It’s very hard to stay mad at them. Everybody has their own story and background. I bet that if somebody were to take a step back and look into YOUR life right now, they wouldn’t see perfection, in fact, Christ states that everyone born is born a sinner.

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”  ~Psalm 51:5

Of course, it’d be weird to whip out a towel and lather up a bully’s feet, but serving them starts with praying for them. After that, the best you can do is look for opportunities. Maybe it’s holding a door open when someone is carrying his band instrument. Or offering someone a quarter when they’re a few cents short for a soda.

“It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want … Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love”  ~Galatians 5:13

• Think about who you might consider “unlovable.” Why are they hard to love? What could you do this week to serve them?

The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?

~Psalm 27: 1

Being human, we all have our fears. Some might be spiders, heights, even death. But when you sit back and think about it, what in the world is there to fear other than God himself? Spiders are a part of God’s creation. Heights are a natural “daredevil” fear in which I always tell myself    ‘if this is the way God wants me to die, then so be it.’   and that always tends to give me the courage I need. Lastly, why fear death when you have an eternal life awaiting you above? One of my good friends said something to me a couple of days ago that I won’t soon forget… “on this Earth, we are going through our days and getting closer to our death. After death, we live each and every day through and through eternal life.”

The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?

~Psalm 27:1

Being afraid of people is another issue. Who do you fear? Boss, parents, or teachers? Why? What power do they have over you? The people around us do have the potential to do us harm more than other creatures or natural disasters. People can kill, they can steal, they can hurt our feelings, and even make us to do bad things if we let them. From God’s perspective, we should not let fear overwhelm us whether the threat comes from people or anything else. It is God that we should trust and not our imagination. God is all powerful and nobody can measure close to the love that He has for you.

When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.

~Psalm 27:2-3

Every human being in the world has enemies, it’s not a secret. They live to tear you down and to ruin you. But in God’s word, he states that any man who talks down upon others yet not himself is a selfish fool and the Lord will bring him to his senses.  No matter how many enemies you have, you must trust in the Lord at all times to bring you through without fear. When your enemies strike, confidence should strike harder.

Let’s face it, we all have that one sin that we always feel tempted to do. For some people it might be a little lie, while others might feel tempted to do more serious things (murder, adultery, etc.). However, no matter what sin you commit, God looks down upon them equally.

The human society today has definitely changed the views of sin. Most people look towards murder as a much larger sin than lying, however, God doesn’t sense a difference. Sin is sin.

While I was trying to stop my “secret sin”,  I repented for the sin I was making and asked for God’s forgiveness and grace. You wouldn’t believe the difference in my lifestyle. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own and the love of God set me free.  Sinning is a decision, and I know that sometimes the temptation is so big, but if you keep choosing to say no to sin, it will become easier and easier to overcome it. You have the power to say no, the decision is in your hands. As it is written in John, You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!

If you’re right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. -Mathew 5:30

Resisting temptation can be quite difficult, but you must attempt to put a stop to it when the thought first pops into your head. You look left, right, backwards, and forwards, but do you ever look UP to make sure nobody is watching? Even when you think that nobody knows that you’re “secretly sinning”, Christ knows.

*Each day you beat this is another day you have beat the Devil!*

Why do people get cancer? Why do people get a divorce? Why do people have to work hard to get little? Why do people lie? Why do people die?

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve gone to God with my problems and asked him “Why God, why!? What did I do to deserve this?”  The answer to this question is honestly not one that I enjoy hearing. The world is the way it is because it’s the world that we are asking for.

Sound weird? I know. But think about it. Who or what could make this world different than the way that it is now? GOD COULD. But he chooses not to. If we can’t love him when things go wrong and we need him most, then how can we love him when things are perfect and we think we need him least? How can God be all-powerful and all-loving if he is putting us through this? But God doesn’t budge. He doesn’t change things because he’s giving us exactly what we’re asking for: a world where we get to treat him as if he is absent and unnecessary (we think we can do all things OUR way instead of GOD’S way whenever it’s not Sunday). Think about it; we’ve all tried to make life work without God. But why? Is there something more important in your life than the almighty God that sent his son to be pierced for our transgressions on the cross for OUR sins?!  There is nothing in life that could be more painful than what Jesus endured on our behalf, when he was deserted by his friends, ridiculed by those who would not believe him, beaten and tortured before his crucifixion, then nailed to a cross, in a shameful public display slowly dying for YOU & ME.

Imagine knowing that something that awful was going to happen to you. When you think that you’re life is complicated, imagine what Christ went through. Jesus knows what it’s like to go through pain and extreme sadness alone; that’s why he’s always there whenever you need somebody to listen and care for you.

There is no question that there is pain and suffering in this world, but God offers us himself. God gives us knowledge that he is aware of our pain and needs. He can give us peace, which is much greater than the problem before us. He is, after all, God, the Creator.

We can either go through this life with God or without him. Christ is here to listen and always will be. I don’t know about you, but having somebody this eager to listen to my problems makes me feel safe and secure in the content that I have a bestfriend that is readily there for me. Who could ask for more?!

• Christ underwent the most torturous pain for OUR sins.
• He knows pain. He’s readily awaiting to walk with you through yours.
• You can choose to follow God in your time of weakness or to walk away.
• Just because things are bad in your life doesn’t give you an excuse to live your life YOUR way. Follow Christ!!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” ~John 3:16-17

High School. A time for change, a time for motivation, a time for decisions.

Starting high school this year was a big change in my life. A new level of stress that I didn’t know existed. Now that I look back on my years of middle school, it seems as easy as 1-2-3. High school is definitely a different story.

I breezed through the eighth grade with who I thought would remain my best friends for the remainder of my life. Little did I know, as soon as high school started, I would be set out on a new hunt for friends after being abandoned. After my “friends” decided that they didn’t need me anymore, I took a step back and thought to myself “they were never really my friends. A true friend would never push me to the side like this” and I realized that I needed God’s help to put me in with the right friends rather than who I had been hanging around with the previous year. My loving savior backed me up. He was there for me when I called upon him to me help me out. Now? I have the best friends I’ve ever had and I look forward to seeing them everyday. They challenge me to be the best I can be and they are a great source of encouragement. I don’t know what I wouldn’t have done if I hadn’t had God’s help through this.

Proverbs 17:17
A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

Family was another big issue I had during my transition into high school. Being a teenage girl, my relationships with my family grew apart because I’d much rather spend more time alone than I would with my family. I felt like nothing I did ever made anyone happy, so I started spending most of my free time, alone. I realize that this isn’t right and it NEEDS to be fixed. It took a whole lot of prayers, but God helped me realize that I need to spend more time with my family. I wasn’t getting enough family time into my schedule. The transition of my whole entire family becoming Christian really helped me out a lot, but there’s still that necessary “alone time” that everyone needs that takes place quite often, but I’ll take as much family time as I can. You never know if the current conversation you are having with somebody might be your last, so live each moment like it’s your last.

Proverbs 11:29

He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise.

In middle school (especially eighth grade), I felt like I was being overwhelmed with work & projects. Little did I know, once high school began, I’d be up until 11 PM every night doing homework in YES, every subject. Stressed out doesn’t even begin to describe how I’ve been feeling lately. I’ve been gaining wait because I’m so stressed and no matter what I do to try to work it off, IT DOESN’T COME OFF -_- (that was so off topic). Having so much more responsibility is much harder on me than it was set off to be, but with responsibility comes freedom. I love not having to be in perfectly straight lines and walking directly down the right side of the hall, silently. It makes me feel like for once, the teachers don’t control my life. God controls my life. How I decide to use this newly found freedom isn’t up to me. It’s up to God.

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Being a Christian in a public high school isn’t easy. The temptations are plentiful. Cussing? Stealing? Lying? Pornography? Smoking? Drinking? Having sex? All temptations that are unfortunately bountiful at my school. Is this really what we want Indian Land High to be remembered as? Every high schooler (including myself) is guilty of at least one of these sins. Don’t sugar coat it. You know that no matter when or where, you have done it. How does doing things like these make you feel? Fulfilled? Successful? Joyful? Pleasured? How do you thing it makes God feel? Depressed? Upset? Disappointed? How are you going to fix the way God is currently looking at your life and what are your next steps you need to take to get there?

John 8:12

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Honestly, I could go on for hours about this topic (but to save us both some time, I’ll stop myself from doing that). For me, high school was a huge adjustment. But with the help of Christ, I’m confident that I’ll make it through.

Keep in mind: If today was your last day, what would people currently remember you as? Don’t like it? Do something to fix it.
“Nails couldn’t keep you down. The grave couldn’t keep you in. Hell couldn’t keep you out. You reign, you reign!”

Okay, we all know that being a Christ follower isn’t always easy.  But easy’s for chumps! Even though it’s not always easy, there’s no other thing more important in this world than having a strong relationship with Christ.

• In becoming a Christ follower, you are accepting the fact that Jesus Christ was sent to die on a cross for you. Who wouldn’t worship him? Would you risk your life for the sins of everyone on this Earth?
• I’m naturally happier because I know that I’m loved. I’m pretty sure that none of you would enjoy being pierced completely through your body multiple times and hung for 6 hours. Believe it or not, Jesus did that for ME and YOU and everyone we see around us, whether they recognize it or not.
• I find myself encouraging others much more. Even through what I believe is going to be the impossible, I never talk down upon somebody’s dreams. Who knows? Maybe your one little bit of encouragement could give them that ‘extra push’ that they need.
• I sin much less. After accepting Christ into my heart, I realize that Jesus weeps. We’re not going though our sin alone. He is our Father. If you’re a father reading this, how does it feel when you see your children upset because of their sin? With the acceptance of Christ as our Father, we must also give him the authority that he deserves.
• I don’t listen to as much “garbage” music. I spend my mornings getting ready to the Christian station rather than the hip-hop/rap stations.
• I dedicate Sunday to church. In whatever I’m planning, I make sure to plan it around church time.
• I volunteer more. I realize that some people aren’t as fortunate as I am and by volunteering to things such as Joy Prom (an annual prom held in honor of the mentally disabled), I’m giving other people the opportunity to feel great about themselves.
• I spend more time with my family.  The 5th commandment orders you to obey your mother and father. In honoring them, you are not only making your relationship with Christ stronger, but your relationship with your family.
• I spend more time reading my Bible than I do watching Jersey Shore like most teenagers.
• I pray continuously throughout the day, not only for myself, but mostly for the safety and protection of others.
• I realize that my bad times are not always directed towards my unhappiness. Usually, the times when I’m down are the times that I’m farthest from Christ. (such as when sinning and/or pulling away from God) God can use our suffering for good! Even when you don’t understand “why”, God has a plan (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
• I don’t measure God’s love for me through my current circumstances. God can take your broken pieces and create a masterpiece out of your life!

Jesus suffered more than anybody EVER will, yet he did the greatest good. Is it time for you to take your next step with Christ? What’s holding you back from it? Sin? There are no good people in the world, we all choose sin at some time. But God is STRONG and COMPASSIONATE towards you! He will never leave you nor forsake you Your pain is momentary, joy is in the future!!

Becoming a Christ follower is the BEST feeling in the world. What’s the next step YOU need to take to become a Christ follower? TAKE IT.