Happy Summer!!! (Ahem, June.) We hope you’ve had an awesome month, and that this next one is better since school is out!!!!! *happy sigh* What’s your story? No, I’m serious, I do actually want to know :). Sometimes our stories feel boring, unimportant, or hard to tell. Sometimes we feel self-conscience or reluctant. But the thing is our stories -our testimonies- are very important! They hold so much power!
….but we’ll get more into that in a minute, just scroll down! You’ll also find a special interview with author C.B. Cook, and *whispers conspiratorially* her newest cover reveal!!!!! *confetti* So without further ado I present to you this month’s magazine!
tried to include me, I just didn’t fit in. At all. Ever been there? To me, they were foolish, I suppose, now that I think about it. But I didn’t realize that at the time. And the other girls just didn’t understand me. The things they talked about and stuff I either didn’t know (like their music, inside jokes, etc.), didn’t find interesting, rather time-wasting, or completely wrong. A friend of mine shared with me this quote: “I don’t want to fit in, I want to stand out for Jesus,” or something like that. Slowly God showed me why they didn’t get me or me them. John 15:18-19 (NIV) says, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” These girls didn’t openly hate me, though I know for others that is the case. I felt in no way disliked, though I know that may be the case in other groups I may meet in the future. But truly I relate to this verse: I do not belong to this world. Yes, I am human, yes I live in the world, but I am not apart of it. My citizenship is in heaven (
est. In Florida I never ever outgrew a swimsuit, it always wore through in a few months. 🙂 Then I moved to Washington. The swimsuit I have now I have had for over a year. When I go to the beach now, even though there are many, swimming isn’t the primary thing you do at them. I now feel uncomfortable and almost naked in a swimsuit! These are two very different situations. In Florida is wasn’t at all immodest to wear a swimsuit, though now I only wear it at certain places in certain situations because here it would be immodest in certain situations. We must be aware. My Dad always says, “Maturity is being aware”. Things may not be wrong for us but we need to be aware of how it will affect those around us. Will it point them to God?
that my current friends are super duper close, but God has provided the people that I need for right now and I couldn’t be happier. It takes faith to trust God and to commit to Him. I’m glad I put my friendships into God’s hands and now I get to look at the outcome and see how God was there.
Th!nk Magazine 