Recently I went on a trip with some friends I like to hang out with. We were all sitting around one night and I asked my buddies, “What do you think it takes to grow in your relationship with Christ?”

Now I asked the question to stir up some conversation, but I have to admit I was very surprised at their answers. When I say “surprised,” I’m not referring to the good kind of “surprised.” I was saddened how they responded. My heart was hurt and I felt so discouraged. Their answers focused on church attendance on Sundays and “being a good person” the rest of the week. No one mentioned pursuing the love that God gives or becoming more aware of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. The best word I can find in the Bible to describe the type of growing I was talking about is “seeking.”

I discovered that the word “seek” appears in the Bible more than 150 times. In order to grow in our relationship with Christ we must pursue that growth, and want it.

I am 17-years-old, as are the majority of my friends who I was with when I asked that question. I knew they knew what it meant to pursue because I see them pursue all the time. Girls are always on a seventeen-year-old guy’s mind. I have seen my friends pursue girls since we were in the seventh grade, so I knew they knew what it meant to pursue. I asked one of my closest friends what happens when he gets a crush on a beautiful lady. Would he just walk by when he saw her, or would he stop and try to have a conversation with her? He admitted he would attempt to talk to her. I asked him if he would get her phone number and then call her. Once again he said yes. I asked if he would go out of his way to see her at her locker, or if he would stand by his own locker and hope she would happen to pass by. He said he would go out of his way to see her.

I have learned that seeking God is “more than a Sunday drive.” It’s part of our journey and we are all in pursuit together. Matthew 6:33 reads: “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” I love how in verse 34, Christ says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.” I am learning if I wait to seek God I might miss him or not seek Him at all. The worst place to be is away from Christ!

My prayer has been “Daddy, you are so mind-blowing! You’ve blessed me with so much and I thank you for it all. Thank you for loving me so much more than I can even imagine! I love you, and I pray that my thirst to see your glory and be filled with your righteousness will never end!

I spend a lot of my free time working out and training. Lately, I’ve been putting a lot of energy into training for bouldering (rock climbing without a harness, up boulders). Having strong muscles helps, but the secret to being a good climber is having a strong core. I was trying to climb a competition route when I found this out. After falling from the top several times, and finally giving up, an onlooker suggested I spend some time on specific muscles in my training. The next week I finished the route my first try! When I started focusing on what mattered, I got stronger.

When I trained my core, I got stronger. Your core is mostly identified by your abdomen, but includes your whole torso. A developed core brings unity to the whole body, and allows the muscles in the body to work at their best. Without a core, muscles work individually and rely less on help from other parts of your body. The daily activities we do all include full body strength that rely on our core. Just as I trained my physical core, I need to work on my spiritual core even more because it’s the one that counts.

“For the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). This verse showed me what I have been missing and what’s important. I need to be focusing on the things that really matter—the things that are for the kingdom of God!

The traits of my spiritual core are the same as my physical core. If either is weak, I crumble: if either is strong, everything in me is stronger. I can’t train my spiritual core by doing crunches. To train my spiritual core I must train in godliness. There are problems in my spiritual life that will easily be solved with a stronger core. By focusing on becoming a stronger man of God, I will benefit in this “present life and also for the life to come”!

Father, I pray that my training will show great results, and I will begin to focus more on the things that matter eternally! Amen.

I started running cross-country the spring of my freshman year. By the time summer came around, I was running 50 miles a week! When school started back and our team began running together, I found I was in great shape! Because of the time and effort I had put into training, I was able to run varsity!

Yet, in all my training, I neglected one very important thing: good nutrition. My shins began hurting when I ran, and after many tests and doctor visits, I was told my shins had developed tiny holes throughout them. This was awful news; it meant I had to stop running.

Running 50 miles a week will get you skinny—for me, too skinny. After I was injured, I decided to gain weight. I read that to gain weight you needed to eat more, so I doubled my calorie intake, protein intake, as well as fat intake!

After about three weeks of no change, I started doing research. I came across a line that I’ve heard my entire life, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” This simple truth echoed in my head, and I realized what I had done wrong all along. Once I started eating breakfast, my body adjusted to the weight I was seeking!

The same thing happened in my relationship with Christ. I discovered that I can “train” by attending worship services, reading books, and listening to preaching, but until I get the nutrition my soul needs, I’m vulnerable to a weak spot breaking!

In Jeremiah 31:25, God says, “For I satisfy the thirsty person, and feed all those who are weak.” I get thirsty and weak! Everyone gets thirsty and weak! I just had to realize I was weak before I was strengthened. If I don’t realize I am weak, then I think I am strong.

Once I realized I was only “training” but not getting the nutrition my soul needed, I began eating breakfast with God. Just like the holes that developed in my bones healed, my relationship with Christ gained the nutrition it needed and became more and more solid.

There is no reason for me to not stuff my face with God’s Word! I made the choice to starve myself in the past, but no more! I have found a hunger for the Lord and plan on not letting it go.

“God, I thank you that you are the Bread of Life! Increase my hunger for you and your Word!”

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. …Because you are precious in My sight and honored and I love you. Isaiah 43:1,4

“Watch me go down the slide, Mom!” “Hey Dad, watch me ride my bike!” “Look at me! Watch me! Keep your eyes on me!” Sometimes it wears you out just listening to children call for attention from their parents—especially when you are the parent, and there is only one of you and three of them. But recently, I’ve noticed that we “older kids” aren’t much different from those demanding little angels. We all want to be special to someone. It’s ingrained in who we are. We all want to belong, to be the best friend, the favorite child, the cherished one. We all need to feel loved, and we will do all kinds of crazy things to get the attention we crave.

Sometimes, when we feel isolated or rejected, we withdraw from others and build a protective cocoon around our pain. The problem with this plan is that it serves to further isolate us and to increase the loneliness we feel. Our deepening need can lead to bitterness and an “I’ll-reject-you-before-you-reject-me” kind of attitude, and we may even leave a church or a group of friends because of our clouded perception. At other times, we demand the attention we want from others. We require so much time that we push other people away rather than draw them into closer fellowship. Our needs are never met by those around us, and we rarely think of others’ needs as we move from relationship to relationship sucking the life out of them as we go. Again, we may grow bitter and seek to blame others rather than seeing the fault in our own perceptions. All we know is that we hurt, and someone must be to blame for it. And before anyone thinks I am talking about them, let me say that we’ve all been there and done at least some of that—even if we don’t have the T-shirt.

Thanks be to God that there is One who loves us with all His heart! He has engraved us in the palms of His hands (Is. 49:16). He guards us as the apple of His eye and shelters us in the shadow of His wings (Ps. 17:8). He is a father of the fatherless and a champion of widows, and He provides homes for those who are deserted (Ps. 68:5-6). Another translation says, “God sets the lonely in families” (NIV, Ps. 68:6). We are not deserted. We are protected. Cherished. The apple of His eye. He sees us. He knows us. He places us in families. And He deeply loves us. “But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!” (Rom. 5:8). How much more then should we show our love for Him by loving those around us for whom He has died? We and they are precious in His sight—equal before His throne and joint heirs with Christ. Isn’t it great to be a child of the King?

O God, please, open my eyes to see myself and others as You see us and also open my arms to welcome those You choose to place in Your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Okay, I admit it — I’m a news freak. I live for “The O’Reilly Factor,” always try to wake up in time for “The Today Show” and have literally found myself shouting at the television screen during a heated episode of FOX News’ debate show “Hannity and Colmes.” You seriously would have thought I was watching the Super Bowl or something. But I’ve always really loved “Larry King Live.” In a recent episode of this show, however, my interest quickly changed to disturbance and frustration.

The guest was a controversial comedian, who weighed in on everything from the upcoming Presidential election to other world events making headlines, to religion in America. What makes this comedian so credentialed to come on the Larry King show and talk about this, and, furthermore, why does anyone care? I don’t know — but then again I was watching too, so I digress.

What I found concerning, though, was this individual’s strong atheistic, perhaps even anti-Christian, worldview. For instance, he said in a video clip shown during the interview, “It worries me that people are running my country who believe in a talking snake.” Or he called America’s atheist population “rationalists.” The comedian went on to mock preachers and the concept of an eternity spent in Heaven, saying, “The idea that any person on earth can tell you with such specifics what happens when you die just blows my mind. … Are you kidding? What are you talking about? You’re just a person like I am. You are clueless. You have no idea what happens.”

Watching this interview saddened me greatly because it brought to light an unfortunate truth that I often neglect to realize: That there exists a population of people who not only lack a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but who also would go so far as to deny His very existence. Such a notion has always been rather foreign to me, but it is tragically becoming increasingly real in our society today.

This individual whom I am speaking of isn’t alone in his perceptions about God, but I have to remember that neither am I! And I must hold tight to what I believe, regardless of what others may say. This can be a challenge indeed, but as I look back over my life thus far, I am quickly reminded that my God is just as real, just as alive as ever and is still in the business of changing hearts and changing lives.

In the gravely mistaken comedian’s defense, it sure is a far-fetched story to think that God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, would send His Son to live a perfect life and then die on the cross, bearing the cost of my sins — past, present and future — and then rise from His grave to prepare a place for me in Heaven. But perhaps that is what makes it all the more incredible, because we recognize what an extreme idea it is, but at the same time, know and believe that it is absolutely, unequivocally, so wonderfully true.

A few weeks ago while reminiscing with two college friends, I was informed that there are two types of women in the world—those who are “steady Eddie’s” and those who are not. I fall into the latter category. While “steady Eddie” was a new term for me, I’m quite familiar with labels such as hypersensitive, high maintenance, and moody. Now, I prefer descriptors such as emotionally attuned, responsive, and tender- hearted. However, in my heart, I know these adjectives all mean the same thing—I wear my feelings on my sleeve.

When I look at Scripture, I’m drawn to melancholy characters like me. I can relate to Moses striking a rock, Elijah hiding in fear, and Jonah sulking about a plant.
Of late, I’ve been challenged by the story of Cain. Cain was a man who knew strong emotions, particularly jealousy and anger when God accepted his brother’s sacrifice and rejected his own. In Genesis 4:6, God confronts Cain about his emotional state. “Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?’” Then, in verse 7, God offers both a remedy and warning to the emotionally afflicted man. “If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

When my emotions flare up, God’s words to Cain remind me:

1. Right actions lead to more positive emotions. In spite of how I feel, I have a choice about how I respond. I might need time to think about the situation at hand. However, in the moment, I can choose to “do well.” For me, “doing well” can mean reciting a memory verse (Ps. 119:50), going for a walk (I Tim. 4:8a), listing what I’m thankful for (I Thess. 5:18), or simply going to bed (Ps. 127:2b). All these responses are God honoring and countenance lifting.

2. Initial sinful reactions can lead to mastery by stronger sins. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to follow the momentum of my emotions, a catapult that often leads me straight into sin. God’s challenge is to put on the brakes. If I don’t, God warns that sinful strongholds await. Ever had your feelings hurt, chosen not to forgive, and then wondered how your heart became so hardened and bitter? Such is the nature of sin—a single indulgence can lead to a stronghold. Master sin quickly, and it will be easier to conquer. Let it linger, and it will master you.

God, today, I thank you that “…You, O Lord, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head” (Psalm 3:3). Give me the courage to do what is right even when it doesn’t feel right.

Has God created you to feel deeply? Can you think of a time you’ve responded biblically in spite of strong emotions? I’d like to hear your story.

He stared at me from across the table, his eyes cold, his face expressionless. “Your mission,” he said, “should you choose to accept it, is to help the four of us eat this entire Black Forest cake.” The challenge was made, and four sets of eyes eagerly watched for my reaction. The suspense hung in the air like a cloud. “Waitress,” I called, “would you be so kind as to bring us five forks?” Five Friends…one cake…so it begins.

At first we ate with speed, driven by an inner force awakened in every man when food is involved. A crowd gathered as the continuous action of fork-to-cake-to-mouth whirled into a blur. With grim determination we ate; each of us focused only on the bite ahead. However, as time wore on, our original dreams of glory turned into questions of survival. One friend (apparently aided by the quadrupled sugar level in his blood stream) stood to his feet and shouted, “I can’t take it anymore! I qui…” He was cut short as a hand cracked across his head. “Pull yourself together man!” urged Jeff, the oldest of the group. Finally we came within sight of our goal as one piece remained on the plate. There it sat, staring at us in disdainful mockery. The sound of Jeff’s voice rang out, “Brothers, today we are faced with a choice. We can choose to let shame rule over our lives and be left wondering what could have been. Or, we can choose this day to look disgrace in the eye and defeat it. SO WHAT WILL IT BE?!” With a great battle cry we lifted our forks into the air and plunged them into our enemy. A thunderous applause shook the restaurant as the last bite of icing disappeared behind my victorious maw.

This goofy story illustrates what often happens in the Christian life. When we start our spiritual journey, the excitement is so great it seems like we can never get enough of God! Our friends are there to feed our excitement and we jump in with both feet, enjoying the bounty of our faith. However, as time passes, we experience hardships that shake our foundations. We allow ourselves to be separated from God. I have seen many Christians who come to a crossroad in their faith and choose to leave it all behind. Jesus never said the Christian life would be easy, but asks that we persevere until the end. In the book of Revelation (3:7-22), there is an interesting contrast between the church of Philadelphia and the church of Laodicea. The first church stayed faithful to God through the hard times while the latter sat on the fence and became lukewarm. God promised to bless the first church and carry them through the trials, but the second He would vomit out of His mouth. I find myself asking, “What church am I?” Which church best describes you? Will you keep going until the end or choose to quit when the going gets tough? Choose today to persevere.

I’m not exactly renowned for being someone who makes “health-conscious” choices. This character flaw traces back to my childhood. As babies, my brother and sister crawled—I rolled. Perhaps this was due to my cheeks, which served as constant anchors, dragging two or three feet along the floor behind me. This globular physique carried into teenage-years due to a growing addiction. When I was cut, I bled McDonald’s grease. After surpassing yet another ‘milestone’ in weight, I knew it was time for change. It was time for Running Club Inc.

As club president and founder, I vowed the evil forces of calories would no longer run rampant throughout my body unchecked. My club’s motto was simple: Calories don’t take days of—and neither should we.

I designed the official Web site and commenced recruiting. I quickly drafted my sister Carrie and offered her the lucrative position of vice-president and special events coordinator. With my executive team in place, we invited the masses to apply for available spots on the club.

With our ambitious publicity campaign leaping into action, we intended for Running Club Inc. to be as popular a conversation topic as Britney Spear’s wardrobe (as I said, ambitious). Upon the closure of our marketing blitz, we conducted a roll call. Including Carrie and I, our prestigious Club’s membership now boasted a total of…well two.

Realizing that perhaps people were hesitant to join a club whose posterboy looked like Jabba the Hutt, I made an executive decision. The show must go on!

We made the trek to a running store, where they fit us with scientifically-designed, state-of-the-art running shoes that could make Donavan Bailey (Canadian Olympic Champion) envious, high quality running socks featuring advanced breathing technology, along with custom-fit headbands, and indestructible water bottles. With such cutting edge equipment, I began to seriously consider making a bid for the summer Olympic team.

To celebrate our progress we planned the club’s kick-off party. We’d open with ice-breaker activities, transitioning into a meet-and-greet, and end by planning an itinerary, while enjoying some low-carb snacks.

A few weeks later during dinner, my dad inquired about our club’s progress. Being the respected and esteemed president of the club, I stood and gave a detailed report, putting emphasis on the great success of our kick-off party, perfect attendance! Obviously impressed, he posed a troubling question, “That’s great. How’s the running coming along?”

“Dad, do you have any idea how much work goes into administering a club like this!? With all this paperwork, press conferences and executive duties to perform, how can you expect me to find time in to run? Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a long range planning meeting in five…”

Do Christians ever treat their relationship with God like Running Club Inc.? With so many fellowships to attend, Bible studies to organize, choir and praise band practices to attend, we can end up pretty busy with church. But merely spending time in a church building or engaging in church activities is not a substitute for a relationship with God.

Isn’t it ironic, that sometimes I’m so busy with Christian activities that I can’t find time for Christ? Has your Christianity become merely a string of activities? Are you merely a member of the Christian club, or are you a follower of Christ?

Basement cleaning day….the mere mention can send shivers down a spine. The year was 1994. The setting: a dimly lit basement. The scenario; a young boy, with his siblings, slaving away under the oppressing tyranny of their parents….I was that boy. This is my tale…

Every gloomy Saturday morning we rose at sunup, descended the long sinister steps deep into the basement which, without fail, would resemble a nuclear testing ground. Sweat dripping from our brows, we slaved away until the task was completed, then graciously accepted an entire ONE dollar reward, completely ignorant of the sick and twisted operation our parents were running.

Being a rather lazy six-year-old, however, I put my mind to other things to pass the time. Such as tying my younger sister to the doorknob with rope, and watching her panic when she heard my father’s approaching footsteps, or tormenting my brother repeatedly.

My father, suspecting the hours worked didn’t quite match the progress, began inspecting every so often, with the vicious threat of withholding our hard-earned dollar should ever we be discovered not working. The solution was simple; fool around until the sound of footsteps cued me to return to work. Problem solved!

One morning, too lazy to clean, I decided to duel my brother to the death! Grabbing a plastic sword I yelled, “Have at thee, yonder coward! Or dost thou be chicken!” Turning to face me, he grabbed a sword of his own. I smirked, “Ha! So thou art brave indeed! I grant ye that. But death shall flowith quickly from thy blade!” But then, for some reason (perhaps the way my sword danced like Patrick Swayze through the air), Mike’s eyes bulged and he collapsed to his knees. Realizing that victory was within grasp, I leaped onto our toy table. “Ah! Ye whimpering pup! Eat blade!”…then I heard a deep cough.

I turned to face to see my dad standing in the door with a rather unpleasant disposition. The scam was up. Gulping, I mustered up one last bit of courage…,”Dad…you may take my dollar…but you can never take…my FREEDOM!”

Oh man, what a spanking…

I realize now that my little game was pretty foolish. As silly as it may be in basement cleaning, I’ve discovered that I’ve sometimes carried that same attitude into my relationship with God as well. Is the way you act ever affected by who you’re with? Or by who’s watching? I’ve been guilty of sometimes being the ‘super-Christian’ at my church, but then my actions and talk are often different when I’m around my peers at work or school. I’ve realized that I can’t do both.

God is gazing down from Heaven watching our actions, both with Christians and with non-Christians, and He will hold us accountable for them. I once heard this quote: “Your true character is determined by how you act when no one else is around.” What is your true character? Could God walk into our lives at anytime and be pleased to find us hard at work, or would He be disappointed to find us just fooling around?

I’ve decided to break up the story of my journey in search of God into a few parts. Being a writer, it seems like the right thing to do since my life has worked itself into some semblance of a novel—broken up chapter-by-chapter.

Hopefully, my story will inspire you to seek God and know that not all stories are perfect—but are pieced together like a patchwork quilt with various God experiences, wrong moves, right moves, hits and misses, and incredible blessings spotted all along the way.

I grew up in a solid Christian home, the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher, but I often think my religious perception was a little one-sided as I began my spiritual journey. I was sheltered from much of the world’s evils yet fully aware that I lived under a magnifying glass—under the watchful eagle eye of church congregants 24/7 just waiting for me to make a wrong move so they could snatch me up and swallow me whole.

Because I developed this perception growing up, I viewed the church that way as a whole. And because I viewed the church that way, I viewed God that way for a long time.

Back then, in my heart and head, God had two personalities: 1) He was a caring, loving Father some of the time who wanted to forgive, protect, and love me unconditionally, and 2) the rest of the time he was an old grandfather-looking man sitting in his heavenly rocking chair with a wooden paddle in his right hand (with my name stamped on one side) who constantly gave me “the look” and was ready to punish me when I even neared the appearance of sin.

You know “the look”—the one your mother gave you when you started to act up in church. My mother would look me square in the eyes like she was giving me the spanking of my life in her mind. And when “the look” didn’t work, she would either grab the tender flesh on the back of my arm and pinch it until I cried out or growl at me through gritted teeth, “Stop. It. Right. Now.”

From the time I came into a personal relationship with God when I was six years old to the time I entered high school, seeking God was a difficult task for me. I wrongly misjudged him for many years because of my skewed perception. Still, I knew that I could find the Father that I loved in the Word and through prayer—even if it was full of too many “thees” and “thous.”

There were the moments when I saw him in my parents love for me and each other and through the biblical lessons they taught me, in the small ways He comforted me amidst friends who were ruthless in their mockery against my faith, and the few church members who surrounded my family and supported them faithfully.

My spiritual journey during childhood and adolescence was rocky and full of discovery. But, let’s not stop here. My journey in search of God continued after this point down a different path. Stay tuned for “Part 2.”