Yesterday was my birthday so I took a quick break from writing newsletters to just sleep! That was the one birthday gift that I really wanted--a chance to take a nap.

Waking up from my nap, I was so thankful for being able to find some rest. Did you know that resting is one of the 10 commandments? We often remember the ones that say we shouldn't lie, steal, or murder, but what about the ones about keeping the Sabbath holy? That commandment is actually about rest! The word "Sabbath" can actually be translated back to the word for "rest." Most people think Sabbath only refers to a certain day that we are not supposed to do anything or the day that we go to church, but it's more than that. It's about RESTING. Resting doesn't just mean sleeping or taking a nap like I did for my birthday. It also doesn't mean being lazy and doing nothing. Instead it is a greater sense of rest, a type of rest that only comes from Jesus Christ.

 Matthew 11:28 says "Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Having complete rest physically, mentally, and emotionally means that we sleep enough to have physical strength, we do not worry about anything because we know that God has a plan for us, and we are not bothered by difficult situations that are happening in our lives because we know that God is sovereign (in control). Sabbath means finding rest for every part of our lives. 

For me, sometimes I take walks without looking at my cell phone or bringing anything that will distract me just so that I can sit and be with God. That is a form of my Sabbath. It doesn't have to happen on a certain day and it doesn't even have to happen for a whole day. Instead, it is a time that I intentionally set aside to be with God and ask him for rest in my whole life.

Think about ways that you can carve out time to put down your video games, your IPad, your ITouch, and just talk with God.

 Until next time,

Tomorrow is the first day of summer! It's a changing of the seasons

a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and  a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mind,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;
yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

God created time, and God controls what happens and when it will happen in the course of time.
Whatever season you are in, praise God, for He has a  purpose.

Until next time,

Summer is upon us, and it might seem like the perfect time to sit back, relax, and just do nothing! Like I've mentioned in another newsletter before, during breaks, it becomes easy to be idle and not want to do anything because we no longer have school. 

However, last Sunday, my pastor talked about one of the seven deadly sins: sloth. Now, when I say sloth, I'm not talking about this (picture). I'm not even talking about being lazy. I'm talking about a life without passion. That  means a life without passion for food, friends, family, fun, or frisbees! Just a general apathetic nature towards everything. But even further, as a Christian, I am talking about a life without a passion for God, for Christ's work on the cross.

That means that someone who is running around, doing a bunch of religious, Christian-like things (going to church, giving offering, singing in the choir, memorizing verses, etc.) may still be someone who is slothful if that person is not doing it with a passion for Christ. To have a passion for Christ means that you daily, momentarily decide that every thought and action is going to glorify God in some way. That you are going to choose to do the hard things of life instead of taking the easy way out to glorify God.

This may mean that instead of watching your favorite TV show, you sit and pray to God. This may mean that instead of staying at home, you go and visit with some of your non-Christian friends to tell them about God. This may mean that instead of buying that new app, you are spending the money to give to your local church or a missionary.

As my pastor mentioned, the opposite of being slothful isn't to do a bunch of things, but to find something worth dying for. And the only thing glorious, magnificent, and worthy enough for anyone to die for is Someone who has already chosen to die for us: Jesus Christ. He chose to be passionate and not slothful, and did the hardest thing anyone could have done by dying on the cross, experiencing infinite pain and suffering so that we could be passionate for the Kingdom of Christ.

Think about these things during the rest of the week and share with someone steps you are going to take to be less slothful.

Until next time,

Last week when I was at church, I was able to have a great discussion with the older students about what they believe, why they should believe things, how they can apply the Gospel to everyday situations, etc. It was a true blessing and encouragement because it's good to know that you kids know a lot of great things!

I hope that in this newsletter, I can encourage you to continue learning more about what the Bible says because it is a gift from God. God reveals Himself through this handy little gift. When I was younger, I imagined the Bible to be the "book of all answers." That meant, in any situation, whatever question I had, I could open it up and find it. Once I started reading the Bible, I realized that I didn't understand anything that was in it! It was a bit confusing and hard to understand so I started to give up. This wasn't a book filled with answers. It was a book filled with more questions!

It wasn't until I got a little bit older that I tried to read through the Bible again. The passages and the words began to make more sense! I could apply what I was reading to situations that I was going through, and the Word became a real blessing. I was efven able to remember things that I had read in the past, which took on new meaning when I read them again.

Now, I'm not saying you have to be an adult or an older kid to read the Bible. What I'm saying is that sometimes God reveals things to us in His own timing. Things we read may not make sense at the present time, but in His time, we begin to understand. But if we stop reading and stop going into His Word, He never has the chance to teach us things! So even while you are discouraged about reading the Bible or it seems confusing and tedious, take heart and know that God wants you to know Him and will use the Bible to show Himself to you.

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord."

Until next time,