Summer is coming

If you haven’t been counting the days till it arrives, it’s about time. As youth, we should be looking forward to this time, not as a time when we get to go about and do whatever springs on our minds. Summer ought not to be a time that we take advantage of to follow our whims. We ought to go into summer with the intention of getting something out of it. We ought to be deliberate about how we use our summer.

Last summer, I looked with a bit of dread at the boredom I knew was going to come from another meaningless summer. I’d let too many summers go by and I had nothing to show for the extra time I had except for a bit more money than usual. So last summer I began something that I hope will be a tradition for me throughout the rest of my years in school. I looked for a specific area of spiritual relevance and dedicated several quiet times and extra times of study to learning about it. Last summer I decided to do prayer. I read several books on the issue and prayed in my quiet times that God would give me a heart that communicates with Him 24/7. Admittedly, I am not near as close as I would like to be in this area. But the growth I made last summer in that area really inspired me to continue this practice of focusing on one spiritual area. (You can find some of my memoirs on that summer here.)

This practice is one that I would heartily recommend to anyone. It was so helpful for me to use the liberty of summer’s schedule to look at just one area of my life and seek to grow in it. Because I was not so occupied by the stresses of school and had a clear direction in which I would like to grow, I was blessed to be able to learn a lot and grow significantly.

Now this year, I have a mind to focus on growing in humility, specifically learning to think of myself humbly. I have set out a plan for myself that I hope will last throughout the summer.

• Read Humility by C.J. Mahaney and go through it with a pencil in hand*.
• Read through and meditate on Romans during quiet times.
• After finishing Romans, read through Philippians and memorize key passages.
• Read The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul and go through it with a pencil.
• Talk with my dad regularly about the temptations and struggles in my growth.
• Ask my close friends regularly if they see any area in need of growth.

I’m not telling you this plan so you could learn from my example, though I hope you guys will see the value of planning through your summer. A large reason why I’m sharing this with you guys is so you can give me recommendations of other books or steps that you would see relevant for me to incorporate into my plan. So please feel free to recommend something that you would say is helpful. I’m open to all suggestions.

So that’s something I’m planning for the summer. I heartily encourage you guys to do something similar. I exhort you to take a hold of this summer and seek to find a way that you can get the most out of it. It’s not too soon to be planning for it.

Now don’t get me wrong, planning your summer will not make it fruitful. God makes our lives fruitful. Don’t fall into the trap of legalism and thinking that you are somehow going to make yourself better by planning how you will grow. But understand that there is wisdom in looking and planning how you would like to meet God. So go and plan your summer with the understanding that it is God who ultimately gets the glory for our growth. Remain humble throughout the process so that we can pursue our sanctification to the greater glory of God.

*I personally find that I get so much more out of what I read when I go through it with a pencil in hand. It causes me to interact with the text more and causes me to be intentional to look for key phrases and important passages. This is another practice I would recommend.

In case you haven’t noticed…

I don’t always have time to devote to consistently blogging and posting well-written, edifying posts. While you wait for me to post something worth reading, may I suggest that you spend your time on some material much more worth reading than anything I’m sure that I will ever write.

I’ve compiled a catalogue of my favorite books that I’ve read and have given some short personal reviews on them. This catalogue is available at this link. All of the books on there are well worth reading in my opinion. I highy recommend all of them.

If any of you have some material that you would recommend reading, drop a comment here or on the page I’ve linked to above.

Youth ministering to younger youth

One thing that I’ve realized as I am ending my senior year is how important those Christians who are just a few years older than me are and have been in my walk with the Lord. I thank God for their example that they set for me. But more than that, I have a burden that this generation of youth will take an interest in those who are younger than them.

I think it is a temptation for people, especially youth, to think that since someone is younger than them by a few years, that it’s uncool to be with them. I know it’s a temptation for me at times. But I thank God that so many teens, who are now adults, overlooked the age difference and took time to invest in me.

I think generally youth look up to the youth who are older than them to determine what is cool and what is valued. This can have such a powerful effect on the lives of a youth.

When I was growing up (not yet a teen) I had thought that it simply wasn’t cool for kids who are older than me to play with me. But in came Brandon Wyzga, not just watching but playing games of tag, organizing the rules, making judgments fairly sometimes at a cost to himself. But stranger to me than the fact that he was playing the games was the fact that he seemed to be enjoying them and to love being with us. Now this was cool. I remember consciously thinking, “When I’m a teen, I want to be like Brandon. I don’t want to stop playing with 10-year olds just because I’m older.”

At the time, all Brandon had showed me was that being with teens is cool. But in hindsight, I think Brandon showed me what an effect an older youth can have on a younger youth. Now that I’m in a young church of my own, I am surrounded by kids much younger than myself. Many of these kids have thought that teens were all around mean people. When I play with these kids, I try to remember how Brandon played with me at that age so that I can follow his example and thus set an example for the kids I get to be with and play with.

When I had just entered high school, I wasn’t a Christian and I was thrown into a history co-op with some of my current best friends. Among these was Dan Calderone about one or two years older than me. I thought I was a Christian and therefore wanted to look like a Christian, but I still did not want to talk about God. But Dan made it clear that he loved to talk about God. I made it evident in my demeanor that I really wasn’t passionate about God at all. But Dan’s demeanor was ruled by a passion for God. He very often would ask me how my quiet times were, tell me about something cool he learned about God, or some way or another give glory to God with his conduct. He also demonstrated a love for his parents and his eagerness to learn from their wisdom. He so evidently displayed the work of the Holy Spirit that I started to wonder what was so different about him than me. The summer after that school year, I was saved largely as a result of his example.

In hindsight, I see that Dan Calderone emulated Christ to me. Because he was older than me, he merited a position of influence in my life and he was able to influence me toward God or away from God. I thank God that Dan took interest in my soul and that he emulated living life to the glory of God despite my spiritual dryness. I try to emulate Dan when I interact with the youth who don’t appear to be living life to God’s glory. Maybe God will use me in their lives the way He used Dan in mine.

All this to say, I believe that God has given us a portion of influence in the lives of the younger youth. And like any measure of influence comes a measure of responsibility. We can abuse it by not using it at all. We can teach those younger than us to follow the ways of the world. Or like Brandon and Dan, we can steward this influence to God’s glory and show those younger than us something about God.

Rhonda Byrne’s Secret

I had heard of this bestselling book on Al Mohler’s blog. It’s just another New Age attempt to deceive its members into a self-centered universe.

Rhonda Byrne argues for the existence of some sort of “law” of attraction(don’t be fooled, this idea is no law). This law of attraction is best summed up in Rhonda Byrne’s own words.

Thoughts are magnetic and thoughts have a frequency. As you think, those thoughts are sent out into the Universe, and they magnetically attract all like things that are on the same frequency. Everything sent out returns to its source. And the source is you.

Apparently all things have a frequency. Popularity, wealth, cars, even health all have a frequency in which they exist. One can attract these things to themselves simply by thinking thoughts.

Obviously, this is very extreme nonsense. It is so extreme that I thought I would probably never find an occasion to use my awareness of this book.

So imagine my surprise while standing in line at Target with a birthday present under my arm when a woman seemingly in her 40s walked behind me holding a copy of The Secret. No one was with me to distract me for the remainder of the time in line and my heart wanted to help that woman before the lie could harm her.

So what do I say?

First, I must begin where that book neglects to touch on. According to The Secret, “Every negative thought, feeling, or emotion is blocking your good from coming to you, and that includes money.” This book neglects to tell its readers of the real problem. Apparently, all of us are plagued by negative thoughts which prevent us from getting everything we want. We have no moral dilemma, only a material one. But the bible is clear on the true nature of mankind’s real problem. We are separated from God because of our sin and our sin prevents us from coming close to him. This book has changed the context of our plight and since it has done that, the message of the gospel is no longer relevant to the sinner.

Next, I might show to her that The Secret’s alleged road to success can’t even deliver true happiness. It promises to illuminate a secret road to happiness in material wealth but it never promises contentment. The premise of this path is easy for our pride to believe.

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret.

There it is, the secret to happiness. It is everything our stupid pride wants to hear. And it is even better than a simple affirmation of your superiority, it is also a promise to get everything you want. That’s what the secret is all about: getting what you want.

Christians are presented with a much more beautiful secret. Philipians 4:12 “I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ” The secret is not that you are God and you can get everything you want if you just know how. The true secret is that God is sovereign over us and our wellbeing. Because we know this secret, we can be content with whatever God gives us.

We know that God has forgiven our sins through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross in our place. We know that because of Jesus sacrifice, we can enjoy fellowship with God for eternity. We know all this. That woman in line behind me didn’t. A brief introduction to what I know was the best thing I could do for her.

Thoughts on that whole Predestination and Free Will debate

Not that my opinion or take on certain issues carries a ton of weight or anything, but I believe my personal testimony has something to say on this issue of predestination vs. free will.

I know from scripture that I certainly would not be save had I not chosen to believe in Christ’s sacrifice. But I also know that my pride would not let me accept Christ’s sacrifice. I am a proud person and I could not freely accept Jesus simply because I was not free to do so. I was enslaved to my sin and pride and any will I had was certainly not free.

My pride would not let me accept Christ. God must first needed to humble me to accept the sacrifice cause I know I am incapable of humbling myself.

Even though my choice is imperative in my salvation, I cannot in good conscience say that it was the main step to my acceptance of Christ. I know that it was the work of God that I am saved.

So if it is ultimately up to God to save people, and if He does indeed have the power to save all people, why does He not do so? That is a deep question and one that I cannot answer. It is a mystery to me which I must accept. God’s ways are not my ways and there are things that I cannot understand but must simply accept about them.

That’s just my 2 cents.

Parents of generation Y have no one to blame but themselves

The following article is not my own but of one Kenneth Lowe originally posted here.

I’m giving the apology for peace a rest this week, since researching it takes time and there would be no point in spouting obvious generalities — a practice I call “Ann Coulter-ing.”

I’ve had occasion to think about another subject I think is pertinent to people our age. Those of us on our way out of Northern Illinois University are getting to the point in our lives when we start looking for spouses and thinking about kids.

My advice today is not to have them. At least, not yet.

If there’s one thing I need no citation or research to prove, it’s that our parents have done a pretty horrendous job bringing us up. I mean this as a whole, and not necessarily every single parent individually. And though I need no citation, I’ll do it anyway, just to rub it in to those readers who disagree. According to a Jan. 16 New York Times article, 51 percent of U.S. women now live without a spouse. The Census Bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey also found that married couples have become the minority in our country.

Since the Baby Boomer generation has gotten so much fun out of naming us hurtful and insensitive things like “Generation Me,” “Generation Why,” “Generation A.D.D.” or the “Entitlement Generation,” we should perhaps return the favor and start calling them “Generation Divorce.”

What does this mean for the children we’re going to have — and that we’re going to subject to our messy divorces? I have experienced divorce myself from the child’s point of view, and it isn’t anything I’d care to inflict on anybody else.

My prediction of the outcome for our age group and our children is not a happy one, if we repeat the misbehavior of our parents. I foresee a lot of broken, unhappy households that ultimately end in separation, with another generation of kids that are going to look at us spitefully for being dysfunctional and petty people who refuse to work things out because we can just call up a lawyer and have divorce papers served.

Our parents were so repulsed by the idea of the scrubbed-clean “Pleasantville” 1950s nuclear family that they have divorced in record numbers, and the lesson I see they’ve taught us is that compromise and fidelity are no longer in vogue. We’re seeing it with more women marrying older, couples staying in long-term relationships without committing to marriage, crippling divorce rates and the ideal family now becoming a minority in our country.

I realize I paint a bleak picture, but I’m only doing it with statistics, which don’t always tell the whole story. I earlier said not to have kids — not yet at least. That’s because I believe that while we can’t fix what’s wrong with marriage — an institution historically based on financial gain for the families and surefire misery for the betrothed — we can change how we view the definition of family. Politicians are foaming at the mouth with rage over gay people asking for marriage rights. Let them foam. They’re all past childbearing age and you and I and our whole age bracket can fix this by ourselves while they’re still talking nonsense at each other.

Marry late, and marry once, and don’t have kids until you can love them, nurture them, pay for them and teach them there is such a thing in life as two people who cannot be severed. Don’t feel pressure from your friends or your parents, and try to ignore it from yourself. We’re young and strong and college-educated — we can all wait for the right person, and I think we might even have the good sense once we find them to make sure we don’t have a reason to put an end to a good thing and leave our kids listening to us shouting in the other room.

Sobering isn’t it? This is someone who understands the pain of divorce from a child’s perspective.

Biology or choice- Does it even matter?

I am now about to jump into a muddy pool of philosophy and thus throw myself into the bizarre mayhem that politicians, clergy, and philosophers alike are incapable of coming to a proper conclusion about. For those of you who simply cannot stand arguments over what should be trivial details in scripture, you might be wise to spare yourself the frustration of me extrapolating my personal views on the issue of whether or not homosexuality is a result of biology or of choice.

In one of his recent articles on his blog, Dr. Al Mohler posted an article which acknowledged biological evidence for homosexuality.

Research into the sexual orientation of sheep and other animals, as well as human studies, points to some level of biological causation for sexual orientation in at least some individuals.

Many conservative Christians have assailed this acknowledgement of this possibility largely out of the fear that if this is in fact a biologically provoked sin that it has found ground for justification and that it would no longer be a sin which the bible clearly says that it is. They’ve claimed that the only possible way for them to protect the credibility and justice of the bible would be to place the origin of the homosexual temptation on the deliberation of the so-inclined subject.

But the more research that is done it seems that the more evidence turns up in support of the side that claims that homosexuality is rooted in one’s genetic structure.

So how do we reconcile this? On the one hand we have the credibility of scripture to adhere to. On the other hand we cannot simply ignore the discoveries made daily about the genetic structures of sexual orientation. How can the scriptures justly condemn homosexuality if it is in the very fabric of how individuals are made?

So is it choice or biology?

That is the question that most critics, evangelical and secular alike, have been trying to answer. However, I believe that the question is avoiding the larger issue. So I must defer away from answering this question in favor of giving an answer which does not rest on the answering of this question.

The fact is that each of us is biologically oriented in such a way that God has predetermined for us. And each of us is biologically oriented to sin. Sin and sinful temptations is woven into the very fabric of our creation. All of us are naturally oriented to sin.

But just because an action or behavior can be biologically motivated, does that then ethically justify it? Is everything that we do that is motivated or provoked by a natural biological function automatically good and right to do? Certainly not. If actions were justified on the basis of whether or not it was oriented in genetic traits then sins such as fornication would be completely justified which is clearly not the case. Homosexual orientation will tempt one to sin in the same way that heterosexuality will tempt one to sin.

One may be biologically oriented towards homosexuality. But I personally don’t believe that it is a sin any more than it is to be sexually oriented at all. I certainly believe that the condition is a result of the fall and is the effect of sin. It is a temptation just as any natural orientation can be. But by the grace of God human beings can face temptation without giving in to it.

Biological orientation of any kind, whether it be sexual orientation or orientation which dictates what you like to eat most, is nothing more than a temptation which can be overcome. We do not sin simply by being tempted. But we sin by lacking self-control and succumbing to the temptation.

Homosexuality will not cease to be a sin if incontravertible evidence of its genetic causes were brought up. It is not a sin because it is something that is predominately chosen. It is a sin because God declared it to be a sin and an abomination in the bible.

It would not surprise me if rock-solid evidence stating that homosexuality is a result of genetic traits was brought up. The doctrine of absolute depravity states that all things in this world are tainted by sin including genetic structure.

I leave you with a few closing thoughts.

I believe that claiming that homosexuality is a predominately chosen trait is a dangerous position to take on this issue. We put the credibility of the church at stake when we make scientific claims that are unproven as of yet. (A similar mistake was made in the Middle-ages when the church insisted that the earth was the center of the universe and it cost them dearly.)

We must not place our credibility in the world on the line to defend a moot point. Homosexual behavior is a sin. We need no long discourse to discern that God clearly views it as such regardless of whether or not it bears its roots in genetic structure.

We must also not sin against homosexuals by refusing to understand that their temptation could very well be a result of their biological structure. We pass judgment on them by saying that their sinful behavior and desires are freely chosen. I believe that as of now we must be gracious and grant the benefit of the doubt to their arguments. Our refusal to give ear to their arguments can severely detract from our ability to help them see the sinfulness of homosexuality and prevent us from helping them to overcome their temptation.

 

In closing, I leave you with some of Al Mohler’s words.

Christians must be very careful not to claim that science can never prove a biological basis for sexual orientation. We can and must insist that no scientific finding can change the basic sinfulness of all homosexual behavior. The general trend of the research points to at least some biological factors behind sexual attraction, gender identity, and sexual orientation. This does not alter God’s moral verdict on homosexual sin (or heterosexual sin, for that matter), but it does hold some promise that a deeper knowledge of homosexuality and its cause will allow for more effective ministries to those who struggle with this particular pattern of temptation. If such knowledge should ever be discovered, we should embrace it and use it for the greater good of humanity and for the greater glory of God.

All quotes taken from the aforementioned article by Al Mohler available here.

What about the parents?

I’ve had the blessing of growing up in a context in which parents were an integral part of the raising of youth as God designed that it should be. As I grow older, I begin to see how lucky I was to be raised apart from our culture’s ideal model of child raising.

I have gotten to experience the blessing of being raised my whole life by Mom and Dad both of whom have cared for me beyond my imagination. I can’t imagine how hard it must be to discipline or withhold a blessing from a child whom you love, yet my parents have both loved me this way on repeated occasions.

But while I am reaping the eternal rewards of having godly parents, I see that many of the post-modern youth culture have built themselves a society of deliberate orphans*.

I have recently looked at the various titles of media that is uniquely focused to the youth culture and I have found a common trait. So many of them (and I mean a lot) portray young adults or young teens as protagonists who have some way or another been separated from their parents and must now endeavor to fulfill their destiny whatever it may be. Parents are no longer part of a youth’s plan to succeed. Now it seems that parents are obstacles to fulfilling the youth’s dreams (I am speaking from experience).

Indeed, it is sad that we live in a culture that not only accepts adolescent rebellion; it seems that our culture has grown to expect rebellion. Disrespectful children do not seem to be the exceptions any more.

It is a sad reality that the sinful attitude that leads to this rebellion is not unfamiliar even to us as Christians and causes us to distort God’s image in us.

* * *

Exo 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.”

When I was younger, I might have heard this verse and thought “This verse means that I need to obey Mom and Dad ‘happy way, right away, and all the way.’” I’m not sure I gave this gut interpretation of the verse a second thought until somewhat recently.

This is not to say that this was an incorrect interpretation of the scripture. The problem with that interpretation is that is an incomplete interpretation of that scripture. The command does not say you shall not disobey Mom and Dad nor does it say you shall not dishonor Mom and Dad. The command is not instructing the God’s people to abstain from a certain behavior but it instructs them to pursue a certain behavior (it is one of only two out of the Ten Commandments that does so). It clearly says that you are to “honor your father and your mother.”

Why is this so important to God? God instituted the family to show us something about Himself. God calls Himself our Father and whether we like it or not our perception and reverence of our parents is a good indication of, if not directly related to, our reverence of God as our Heavenly Father.

God takes on a similar role as our parents do. Or is it better said our parents take on a similar as God does in shaping their children. They love them and love to bless them. They teach them in the way of wisdom. And, when need arises, they discipline their children. Our response to this authority that our parents exercise over us will affect our response to God’s authority over us.

Granted, our parents are sinners, are imperfect, and will make mistakes. But though they are imperfect human beings , we, as children, still have our fifth commandment to obey. This is a non-conditional commandment. This is not a commandment that is ever to be broken. No matter how my parents act and treat me, God has charged me to honor them. (I thank God that my parents are not hard at all for me to honor and characteristically show God’s grace to me)

We (assuming a Christian audience raised by Christian parents) are especially responsible to obey this commandment. Because our parents are uniquely equipped to take on their God-given role, we are uniquely responsible not to abuse this blessing and in addition I believe, uniquely guilty when we do abuse it.

Finally, I do not think this would be complete if I did not seek to explicitly obey this commandment and honor my mom and my dad.

Mom and Dad, you are simply and sincerely the best parents. Your faithfulness to love me when I even hated your authority, your teaching when I was stupid and foolish, your blessing me when I was undeserving, and your patience with me when I was rebellious are things that I am truly grateful for. You have taken up the daunting task of emulating God’s character in my life very nobly. I can honestly say that it is not at all hard for me to think of God’s love for His children and relate it to your love for me. Because you have emulated God in your training of me, I am truly grateful to you. I love you.

*Phrase coined by Dr. Albert Mohler in his message on the 5^th Commandment available for download here. It’s a great message and is worth a listening.

Faith in God

Joshua 23:14 “…and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the LORD your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed.”

I recall one history class in my first year one. Mrs. Somerville was covering the basics of every human religion and asked the question, “How can we have faith in something?” We were all perplexed by this question and our poor answers called for clarification. “How can we have faith that the sun will rise tomorrow morning? We don’t know the future so how do we know that the sun will rise tomorrow?”

One of the students in a moment of simple-minded brilliance answered, “Because it usually does.” *bingo*

Mrs. Somerville followed up with the question, “So then how do we know that God will be faithful to his promises to us?” Because he always has been faithful to them.

This discussion worked to secure what my idea of faith was. Faith in God was not an irrational trust in him. I had always thought that I was really putting myself on the line to have faith in God (a faith I now doubt that I had at the time).

So often when I look at one of the great martyrs or apologetics of our age, I am tempted to think “I can never have faith like that.” As if the essence of faith depended on the volume I’ve attained. The truth is, the amount I have is completely unimportant. The important thing in faith is not its volume. The important thing is its object.

When we focus on our own faith, it always seems we are lacking in it. When we focus on our God, we will never be better off.

So who is this God that we have faith in?

Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Exodus 6:6-8 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.’”

Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Isaiah 43:11 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

Isaiah 44:24 Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,

Psalms 81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

This is the God we have faith in. It’s some wonder that we take any credit at all for the faith that we have. Our faith and trust in God is not in the least bit about us. Our trust in God is an impulse we have when God in his mercy reveals himself to us. We have faith because we have seen what God has done and have seen who God is.

So since we have seen God’s faithfulness on display time and time again and most clearly on display at the cross, how can we not trust Him completely? If only our remembrance of God’s faithfulness would be a permanent state of ours would it be so hard to trust Him?

The possibility of enlisting

If you guys didn’t know, I’d been thinking about joining the army for a while now. At first it was whimsical musings. Then it was more serious longing to actually join. I really wanted to but I didn’t think I actually would. Later I really wanted to join but was almost certain that I wouldn’t. After a while of dealing with the depression that comes with unfulfilled longing, I realized that the ROTC was something that was realistically possible for me and I was almost certain that I would join.

And now I’m here with my final decision.

But first a testimony to God’s goodness to me as I’d considered this option. It was previously a real struggle in my heart as I longed to go into the army but thought I almost certainly would not. I found it hard to trust God when it seemed that I could not do what I longed to do. I had trouble being content with where I was and I couldn’t see how I could make a real positive difference in the world if I didn’t.

Then came that period when I thought I almost certainly would go into ROTC. I was elated with the possibilities. I understood that it wasn’t definite but I was still determined to see how it would work.

So I talked with my parents about it. I can’t pinpoint what they said or when they said it, but sometime in that conversation I accepted an attitude of contentment with whatever ended up happening. God very clearly gave me a peace in my heart with whatever He had for me. This attitude in itself was precious to me as I began to make a decision.

So I, with the counsel of my parents, decided not to go into the army. I trust God that He will work everything to His glory and that He will be with me and cause me to grow in godliness through this decision.

To all of you who prayed for me, thank you! Your prayers were very encouraging and precious to me and God answered them.