AO Teens

     1. Get your work done early. This is something that although it doesn’t seem necessary, is a really good way to make sure that your school gets finished. If you wait until later in the day to get your school done, you’ll be less focused and more prone to distraction.     2. A second vital thing is to find a place to do your school where you can be free from distractions. This can be accomplished many ways, but one good way to do it is negotiate with your siblings and work out an arrangement that lets them make noise and you do your school without much trouble     3. Sleeping well is an excellent way to make sure you are able to do your schoolwork well and efficiently. In order to accomplish this you’ll want to make a firm, solid, sleep schedule so that you can have a plan to sleep. If you can do this, you’ll find that you have a much easier time doing your work     4. On top of getting all your work done early, you’ll als...

    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...

Hello, friends! Like Lily said a while back, a few of us decided to share our testimonies, and how COVID-19 has impacted them. One thing that I love about hearing other people’s testimonies is that God’s handiwork is laid out in front of you. You can clearly see his sovereignty, and his control. Sanctification is a powerful tool, friends! So my hope is that when you read this, you won’t just see an average story of a girl who follows Jesus, but that you will see my Creator, and the work that He has done in my life. I grew up in a Christian home, going to church every Sunday. During my early years, I didn’t really have an interest or desire for the Bible. I’m sure my parents realized this, but they continued to present it to me anyways. Around the time I turned six, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the truth. Suddenly, I wanted to do what God said was right. I wanted to know Him. And even though I was young, even though I was incapable of so much, I was saved. I distinctly remember a...

Hello, reader! Before I get started, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this blog and especially my post. I hope I can encourage you and make this worth your time.  Contrary to popular belief, not everyone is hugely affected by this pandemic, in the sense that their daily routine is thrown completely off. My daily life didn’t change much, other than many things getting canceled. The only major difference right now is that my dad is working from home, which is a blessing.  But daily routines aren’t the only things that can be affected, especially by something as huge as this pandemic. During this time, I’ve seen friends much less than I would like to have done. I had a weekend retreat and a camp canceled, both of which I wish I’d been able to attend.  My youth group stopped meeting in person. My church stopped meeting in person. My friends and I would likely have gotten together multiple times during the months of quarantine.  And I hated it. And I do hat...

     Hi guys!       We just wanted to let you know that we are up for answering any questions, or receiving ideas for future posts! Our creativity is not running out by any means; but we do have three new blog contributors, so it might be nice to give them ideas as well. We are so thankful to be able to write what we have been, and to be able to share it all with you guys! Thanks so much for reading our posts. We hope you are enjoying them, but what is more, learning more about Christ through what we write, because that is what we strive for!      So please, leave questions or comments in the comment section below, and let us know what you think! Thank you!  In Christ,  Alayna, Bella, Bibba, Caleb, Charity, Clarissa, Dom, Hannah, Kessa, Layla, Lily, Mara, Margaret, Micah, Nate, and Sophia 

This post was a collaborative effort featuring Isabella and Layla.  Hello everyone! We hope you’re doing well, and staying safe and healthy.  But let’s be honest for a moment: Things out there don’t look amazing at the moment. We’re not going to lie. Today, it really sunk in: I've been doing this social distancing thing for two months! That's a really long time! Some of you may be feeling pretty anxious and stressed right now. But, it doesn’t have to stay that way. While we know that God and His peace are the only things that really removes those anxious feelings, (Psalm 94:19, Philippians 4:7,) we’ve found a few things that have helped us during this time, and thought we’d share them with you.  1. Be a Prayer Warrior  Lots of you might be feeling somewhat helpless at the moment. Finding and keeping a sense  of purpose is hard enough in normal life, but now, some of those purposes are taken away. If you are feeling helpless, I encourage you to b...