AO Teens

                I feel that most of us take friendship for granted. We just assume that everyone has friends, and our lives are nice when we’re with friends. Have you ever stopped to appreciate your friends and how much they do for you? Let me tell you a story.                 May 3 rd, 2021, my best friend and her family moved to Wyoming. Ever since she had told me they were moving back in January I started to realize that I had never shown her how much she meant to me. So, I immediately got to work, I got together with some of her friends and made her a journal where all of us showed her how much she meant to us.   When she moved all I could think about was how I had never told her how amazing she was until she was taken away. It really made me realize how much I had taken her, and my other friends, for granted. Then not too lon...

 The Puzzle of Life By Hannah R. You know that moment when a piece of a puzzle that looks right, that you're certain is right, just won't fit where you want it to? You know that frustration? That anger that comes out? The throwing of the piece down, or that exasperated sigh of despair as you sit despondently back to stare at the unfinished puzzle? Remember how we need to stop, sit back, take a breather, and then come back to it with a renewed vigour and a fresh mind?  Maybe life is like that. Maybe those moments in life where everything seems to go wrong, or you keep trying to do what seems like the right thing is or you're certain is the right thing and it never works out are like those puzzle pieces that just don't quite fit. Maybe those moments of anger at something that just doesn't work out or that frustration at your calender not lining up so you can do everything you want to do is like that. Maybe, just maybe, mental health is like that. Maybe we're all t...

Hello! I am going to apologize for the pretty much nonexistent posts of late, I will personally try to make sure that I post more often, but I make no promises for my life tends to be busy and overwhelming as you will see in this post. A QUICK DISCLAMER- this post is not intended to be a pity party for me. I just wanted to share my feelings in a way that may help others so please understand that and don’t think I’m doing this for attention. -Kessa            I wanted to make this post because I feel that I cannot be the only one who is feeling this way. I am a planner, organizer, cleaner, leader, extrovert, etc. Mess stresses me out, disorganization stresses me out, spontaneousness is not my thing, and I always have to be busy. In case you can’t tell already, I get stressed out really easily. My planning, organizing, cleaning, extroverted, leading nature can be good, but it is often very bad. I tend to forget to go to God with all my troubles, I am stub...

  Hello, Alayna here! First of all, I’d like to apologize on the behalf of my friends and myself for the blog being so slow lately. Everyone’s schedules are picking back up again and it’s hard to find time to write together! We’re working on a new scheduling system though so there should be more activity now. This testimony is particularly tardy- I’ve been (sort of) working on it for months, but I just couldn’t seem to get it right for so long! But ahem. This isn’t supposed to be an excuse post. I’d better quit the apologies for right now. The world is a pretty depressing place. Everywhere I look I see darkness. The word “2020” is even starting to become a joke! People are scared, lonely, and depressed. They’re finding their identity in how many social media followers they have or how perfect their lives seem on the outside. It’s so easy to get swept away in the tension and petty bickering and to not fight to keep your head above water and your eyes on Jesus. Why waste time and get...

"My Battle Cry" by Isabella Cole Sometimes I look at the world, and I wish I could get away. Wars are waged in the street, even inside the people I love. Children starving, people silenced, tortured for Christ. So many ignore it, some say it’s fine, but I refuse to make myself blind. This is my song, this is my battle cry: I refuse to leave hope behind. Sometimes I look at my country, and see how far we’ve come. But I also see something else: How much further we have to go. We shout the names of some causes, while others suffer alone. So many see it, others refuse. But I won’t stand by. This is my song, this is my battle cry: I refuse to leave hope behind. Sometimes I look at my town, and I hurt inside. People divided, suffering, not even a mile from me. I see their faces every day. Some smile in passing, but I can do more. So many forget, some say it’s not there, but I refuse to let the darkness win. This is my song, this is my battle cry: I refuse to leave hope behind. Some...

    Hello everyone! During this time of distress and worry, prayer is an essential tool that we should be using daily. Prayer is not just folding our hands and closing our eyes; it’s talking with God. He is the one who is guiding you and protecting you, so he should be the one that you look to for help in your anxiety, not friends or family!  “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family on heaven and on earth derives its name.” ~Ephesians 3:14-15 Prayer is an amazing privilege that we often take for granted. When we pray, we are communicating with the God of creation who made the universe and who made us. He has given us free access to Himself and talking to Him should not be taken lightly. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:17 On the flip side, God has called us His children. We can come to Him and tell Him anything and everything- He is our daddy...

Do you ever feel incapable of following Jesus?  Unworthy of His calling?  Not good enough?  Not strong enough?  You’re not alone.  In Exodus 4:10-12 (ESV), when God appears to Moses through a burning bush, Moses protests when God calls him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses says that he “is not eloquent”, and is “slow of speech and tongue”. Moses had a stutter.  But God knew. “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?”  God knows about your struggles and imperfections, too. Yes, following Jesus and doing what He tells you is hard. Too hard, in fact. We can’t do it. Bearing the weight of this world, and getting to Heaven, is impossible.  But of course, if we could do it on our own, then what would be the point of the Gospel? We don’t have to do anything to earn His love (Ephesians 2:8), but we’re called to manifest , or display, G...

Poetry by Mara C.  Drawings by Lily W.  SEE THE LIGHT It’s another day and it all feels the same So full of sadness, once I awake Honestly I just want to give up sometimes  Because nothing feels right And it’s all I can do to see the light. But there’s a meaning When I can’t find my way And even on the ugliest days When the world is so dark I have to trust in You Even when that’s the most that I can do. I know there’s a purpose Even when I can’t see And I’m just sinking in apathy But I know one day You’ll make everything right And You can help me to see the light. I guess I have the strength for another day Because there’s a meaning When I can’t find my way.