I don’t do church webpages for other churches. That’s it. I would have problems promoting church webpages which contained doctrine that I didn’t agree with. I’m not out here trying to go through some type of manifesto for doctrines. I am just doing stuff that I feel comfortable doing. And if I see doctrine I don’t agree with, it would be hypocritical for me to promote my church’s doctrine in my Bible class, but promote a different doctrine within my web work. It’s just something I have to do. I have principles, even though many people might not understand it.
I had to turn a friend down on his webpage the other day. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it, but I would have been even more uncomfortable doing it in a prolonged type way. I’m not sure if he understood. After all, he’s probably thinking Christianity is Christianity. Or is it?

In Survivor Amazon, one of the survivors, a middle school principal, brought his school’s banner as his luxury item. On it, it said “Believe in Yourself.”
I received a comment tonight from a parent of one of my Wednesday night Bible class students. She said that her son had really enjoyed the class and that he was getting alot out of it. This is coming from someone who I don’t even know. So it makes me feel good that kids are getting something out of the class. Sometimes I prepare and prepare and I’m not sure the kids are listening. But the part that I don’t know is that they are listening. And they are getting something out of the class.
That same family placed membership at church tonight.
Believe in yourself. Even if others don’t believe in you. Believe in yourself.

I need this right now:

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Matthew 6:33-34

What exactly happens when one does go forward to confess sin and pray for forgiveness? I had seen it done countless times before. Never from a first person perspective. Its always good to have a note prewritten just in case you can’t get the words out. And it helps the preacher to understand your concerns. During the prayer your mind is wondering. Your emotions are shot. Then comes the encouragement. People are always happy to give you that. There are some who will always hug respondents. I call them perpetual huggers. Then there are those who are your friends who you know are up there hugging you because they care about you.
And it was easy. I didn’t cry. It was just something I had to do.

First of all, I’d like to thank Bill Speight for jumpstarting my spiritual life during the formidable teen years. (Bill was my youth minister) Those years could have made a difference over whether or not I’d be a Sunday-morning-only type person or what I am today. There is no doubt that I am heavily involved in church activities. And that heavy involvment came from those youth years. For a while me and half a dozen other friends made up the core group of young people at my church. Sadly I am one of the few from my class who are left at church. I don’t know why that is.
It’s almost as if the kids in my youth group went away to college and forgot to go to church. No one was there to wake them up on Sunday mornings and get them to church. Eventually they dropped out. Or married someone from another religion and ended up somewhere else. Doh! What were they thinking? I mean everyone thought we’d still stay together. Nope. Things change. It’s starting to sound like that Offspring song “The Kids Aren’t Alright” but not as harsh. But ultimately eternally it could be harsh.
What a wonderful gift this is. To be able to serve God to the best of my ability. To be given the opportunity to be a Sunday School teacher or to lead youth devotionals. Wow. Heavy stuff. Good stuff. But heavy.

I’ve got alot on my plate this weekend. All church related.
1. Do this slideshow for the senior grads luncheon. 4 seniors. Approximately 60 pictures. Scanning.
2. Work up my youth devotional on the sower. I’m looking forward to this one. I always enjoy being given the chance to speak to the young people. There are so many things that I want to say to them when I am up in front of them, but I always get some sort of stage fright and end up flubbing it up.
The parable of the sower is an easy one. Easy to understand. Easy to convey to the young people. I’ve giving the devo to 4th through 6th graders. They really should know it, because we already went over it in class a few weeks ago. So they should be able to teach themselves.
3. Work up my Wednesday night lesson on cursing. A few weeks ago, I told the kids I’d do a lesson on cursing. They’ve been asking for one. So I guess they might be listening to my lessons. Who knows? I never really thought they picked up on things. I guess I’ve learned my lesson because many times I figure they’re staring off into space or talking to their neighbor. Nope. They’re really listening.
Cursing. It’s something that some up us deal with every day. The kids that I’ll be teaching have probably just recently learned to experience it. And either they are shunning it; tolerating it; or doing it themselves. I do know people who once they get away from their family and church…and are with their friends…they choose to curse. I hope this isn’t the case with the kids in my class.
I remember when I was in 6th grade at the elementary school. Rarely did you ever hear a curse word. Bathroom topics were usually around. But people rarely became vulgar. Then we moved into the Junior high in 7th grade. It was like night and day with people cursing. More and more seemingly. I say all that to tell you I know what these kids are thinking, and perhaps why it is such a big deal to them. Am I to convince them that cursing is always wrong?
I’ve already been put on the spot by the kids when they asked if I’ve ever cussed. I told them I’ve said some things that I’ve regretted….and left it at that. Maybe they’re trying to justify cussing. I don’t know.
I’ll probably spend some time on the verses about taking the Lord’s name in vain. There are probably plenty of more verses about that one.
The problem is that I think the kids are going to ask why a certain word is considered vulgar while another word is considered so tame. I am not sure if I’ll be able to explain that one without totally confusing them. Something about Anglo-Saxon usage verses Norman (proper) usage. I can’t even understand it myself.
On a side note….we had a Norweigian exchange student in our high school marching band. Somehow he told us a vulgar Norweigian word. So they’d yell out the word in the middle of marching band practice, just to get him to laugh.

Doubt is my curse. I told the kids in my Bible class that “Anytime you worry, you are doubting the power of God.” Ironically I am the worst worriers ever. I tell the kids not to worry, but worry myself. Perhaps I am trying to reassure them as much as myself.
Self doubt may ultimately keep me from being the person who I know I should be, who I could be. Ultimately it is not anyone else who is holding me back. It is myself. I am my own worst enemy.
So what do I plan on doing about it? Probably taking steps to make myself more confident. Putting myself in situations which would make me have to step up to the plate and do something. I get that opportunity Sunday night with a youth devo. Maybe it’ll work out. I’ve been told the kids respect me, so hopefully they will listen. It’s the parable of the sower, which is very relavent to their own lives at this point.
I can’t look at the past. I can only look toward the future.

I guess I have a difficult time sharing my faith. Quite a few times lately I’ve had an opportunity to talk more about my faith, but I clamed up when given the chance. I don’t know why that is. In high school I was the typical “I’m right and you’re all going to you-know-where” type. I must have mellowed out in college and in the workforce subsequentially.
Is it that difficult? I tell my kids in my class all the time to invite their friends to church, yet I’m not doing it myself. Ugh. It is so difficult. I don’t want to be put in an alkward position of trying to explain my religion to people. Yet I don’t want to be made feel ultimately guilty on judgement day when someone starts singing “You Never Mentioned Him to Me.”
For me it is so much easier to talk to kids about Christ than my peers. Kids have a tendency to listen and to be less jaded than the older society. Many adults have had their fair share of organized religion and came away (unfortunately) with negative feelings about the whole thing. I hate that. I wish things could be better. I wish whatever turned them off of religion never happened.

I got a hold of some Mormon literature. Don’t ask me how. This particular workbook is called “I Will Make and Keep My Baptismal Covenant.” Basically a teachers’ guide for teaching baptism.
This is the interesting part:

“Why am I baptized when I am eight years old?”
“And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:27)
The Lord has set the age at eight years as the time when I begin to become accountable and can be baptized (Doctrine and Covenants 20:71; 29-47; Genesis 17:11; Primary 3, lesson 27).

Sounds almost like a Monty Python sketch:

“Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three.”

Anyways I looked up Genesis 17:11 the verse referenced in the above quote, and it has nothing to do with baptism. Since I don’t have access to the Doctrine and Covenants I won’t bother looking them up.
Who is to say that 8 is the automatic age for baptism? I have known quite a few 8 year olds who have some varying degrees of right and wrong. Some may not even know or care to know what baptism is. Hence the Mormon baptismal study guide for the younguns.
Anyways I’m not trying to use this as a means to bash one’s religions. However this part is the part that just floored me. 8 years old? That 365 day period when someone suddenly becomes accountable for their actions? We’re grasping at straws here.
I could just as easily go into my Wednesday night class and announce to the class that tonight we’re all going to get baptized because everyone in the class has reached the age of accountability. Probably many of the kids, who didn’t know any better, would probably be all for it. A chance to get wet and somehow do something pleasing to their parents. Yeah. That’s the ticket. But it’s not necessarily how God would want it.
Is anyone asking how much do these kids know about their own soul? Baptism should be a personal decision. It should be taught, but not necessarily taught of a specific age when exactly to do it. Its different for everybody.

So I’m not sure how I should take this teaching thing. After having taught non-stop for several months I let my co-teacher take over this time. He said some good things about me in front of the class. Said something to the effect that there’s a special place in heaven for Bible school teachers. I’d like to think that way. Nice. Thanks.
I really enjoy teaching. I think it has to do with my personality. If I could only get better at it. My introverted personality just isn’t made for it. Then again ISFJ’s make good teachers. Ironic.
More than anything else, as far as teaching goes, I think it would be great…even extraordinary…to be asked by one of my students to sit down and study the Bible one-on-one with them in hopes of converting them. One year ago I might have balked at the idea of this, because I felt like I wouldn’t know the first thing about doing this. But now I look forward to it. It’s really sorta easy. And even easier with a young person who doesn’t really have built up prejudices about church and stuff like that. Of course you have to be sure that they are really doing it for the right reasons and not just to look good to their parents or peers. Salvation is so much a personal thing between you and God, and shouldn’t have to do with one’s relationship with others.
Maybe I’ll get my chance to do that again in the future. If I keep doing what I’m doing, I’m sure I could have the extraordinary opportunity to do this.