a continuous filling

Hello friends. I have just returned from 3 and a half days at the Montana Youth Conference (MTYC) in Eureka Montana.  This is their 4^th year putting this on but the first time I have attended.  I wanted to write about my experience before it left me. I am so thankful for what God has allowed me to see this year. I’ve attended two excellent programs in the past 6 months and it has helped me to remain focused. As you may know, it can be hard to stay focused on Jesus and His work if we are not fully engaged and filled with The Holy Spirit.

Speaking of being filled, that was the theme of this years’ MTYC. 

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they SHALL be FILLED! Matthew 5:6

A promise from Heaven. If we hunger and thirst after Jesus we will be filled.

This past week was just what I needed to get back on track. I was living day to day and not focusing on Jesus. I was cramming in my Sabbath School lessons on Friday nights and Saturday mornings instead of working on them throughout the week. Granted I’ve been very busy. I’ve spent this past month moving and packing up and entire house with my mom and other family. But that is an excuse and it’s not even a very good one. God should always be first in my life.

So I went to MTYC. If you know me at all you know that I’m a “slow friend maker”. Everyone there either already knew a bunch of people or they came with someone. For the first few days I felt out of place socially but still enjoyed the daily presentations. I forgot to ask God to help me socialize with everyone. I just kept expecting everyone else to do the work. Well by the time Sabbath rolled around I decided that it was going to be a special Sabbath. I asked God to help me and fill me and work in me. And of course he did. I started being more social and opening up a little.

They even did outreach that day and it was the very first time I’d done anything like that. Wow. It was truly a blessing. Nothing obvious to the human eye came of it but it did something for me. We knocked on people’s doors and talked to them… SCARY! But I did it and I praise God for that.

And not only that… I had another triumph. The day I left I had some extra Glow booklets. I stopped at a gas station about 3 minutes after leaving the church. After spending 4 days in the church and with other MTYC youth, walking into a gas station felt like another world. I felt like I was a foreigner in another land. But I had decided that it was going to be the first time I gave out a Glow booklet on my own. I was so scared but God gave me the courage and I did it. I gave it to the clerk… and then ran out of the gas station!!! But I felt so good!

All the way home I prayed. I’d listen to music and talk to God. The whole 4 hour drive home God prompted me every hour to speak with Him. It was amazing. And since returning home He has reminded me to stay connected with Him. I have had my shortcomings as I always do, but I am determined to walk in faith with God and increase my walk daily. Some days have been more difficult than others.

I have also discovered www.audioverse.org. It’s been a blessing. I’m a brain person and I love to learn. I love filling my brain with God’s teachings. The Bible is SO FULL of information! It’s so deep and intricate and I love it! Somehow there is always more to learn.

Well that is all I can write for now. My aim is to continue learning and I hope that I may share some of my thoughts. Thank you for allowing me to share this little story. I’ve been blessed. May God also bless you in your life with what He knows best you need. 

NPR's Anatomy of a Tantrum

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently.
Friedrich Nietzsche

This is interesting.

It seems that people have said this before... that when a child is having a tantrum the best thing to do is to leave them alone. But now scientists have been researching the sounds a child makes when they're having a tantrum. They say that all tantrums follow the same pattern and caution parents against falling into the "anger trap". This includes asking questions during a tantrum; it prolongs it and therefore you have to deal with the tantrum longer.

NPR has a video, audio and written version of this story. If you are curious or have young children I highly suggest checking it out.

I go to school the youth to learn the future.
Robert Frost

I've also been watching a PESI training on dealing with tantrums and out of control behaviors in youth by Dr. Nancy S. Buck. It's very interesting. She says that the best part of the training is the beginning and I have to agree because that first part is the part that's stuck with me the most. She refers to Bruce Lipton's description of a cell and that a cell can either be open to change, or closed in protection. It's the same with a child....

A YOUTH CAN EITHER BE OPEN TO CHANGE OR CLOSED IN PROTECTION.

While googling Dr. Buck I came across a few of her websites: Peaceful Parenting ... and here's another!
Again, if you're a parent or work with youth I suggest checking her out.

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Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. ( 1 Timothy 4:12 )