Fireproof

We're not exactly sure how many of you are aware of the movie that has recently come out called "Fireproof." It was produced by a church in Albany, Georgia called Sherwood Baptist. They've made three movies now (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof) that have been released to the public. The cool thing is that this is a form of ministry!
"Fireproof," which stars Kirk Cameron for anyone who's a fan of him, is a movie that focuses on the importance of marriage. That's a good thing, because in this day and age, sometimes people forget how important that relationship really is. With help and support from his parents, a coworker, and God, this volunteer fireman works hard to try and right his wrongs and bring love back between him and his wife. Besides having a good message about how love is truly the key to a long-lasting marriage, "Fireproof" is filled with other uplifting spiritual meanings, too. Plus, there's some good comic relief in there as well! Compared to the other two movies Sherwood has made, this movie doesn't let down on quality. However, it is a little bit more intense than the last two. Personally, this is one of the best films I've seen all year. I highly recommend seeing it.
If you've seen it already, feel free to post your review as a comment!

In Service to the King,
Sarah

Rain Video

Hey guys! Remember to check out the poll and post a response. :)

Our youth pastor once showed us a really cool video called "Rain." It was made by a guy named Rob Bell. The video is on YouTube so you can check it out there if you want to.
This video was a very simple yet amazing analogy about how God is our Father and will do anything to bring us through our hard times.
Rob was taking his one-year-old son out for a walk around the lake. It started out as a pretty day, but about half-way around the lake, when they were at the farthest point from their house, it started to rain. At first, it was just sprinkling, but then it began to get harder. Rob's son was starting to cry. He put his son's rain jacket hood on him to keep him dry, but the baby had pulled the hood off. It began to pour, and the trees were swaying with the wind. Rob's son began to wail and sob because he was so scared. Rob took the baby out of the back carrier and held him tightly in his arms. As he trudged along, he continuously whispered into his son's ear, "I love you, buddy. We're going to make it. Dad knows the way home. I love you, buddy." Finally, they made it back.
Rob said he wouldn't have traded that experience with his son for anything. It allowed him to show his son just how much he loved him. Think about God this way. Sometimes we go through some hard times, but God is right there holding us and carrying us through it, saying, "I love you. We're going to make it. Dad knows the way home." When we're crying, lost, and all wet, God, our Father, always knows the way home.

My Best Friend

I know it's been a while since I've posted. I've almost done it several times but every time I almost did I just couldn't. I've struggled with what to talk about, but I've decided to talk about my best friend, His name is Jesus Christ. These last few weeks have been really hard for me, I've found out that some of my best friends are really messing up their lives and well to be honest, it feels like everyone is changing. In one of my classes this year everyone cusses. I really have felt like I have absolutely no one to rely on, but someone really helped me to remember that I always have someone; His name is Jesus. While many people feel as if no one has been in their shoes, someone has. This person died on the cross for sins He DID NOT commit. He was rejected by people; people made fun of Him; this person's name is Jesus. So I guess the best thing that I can tell you is that while your world may feel like it's turning upside down you have Jesus! He is steady and unchanging; His love never fails. And even if everything in your life feels great, don't forget that you still need Him!

Love,
Lauren

O Worship the King?

Don't forget to check out the new poll guys!

I'm hoping that the title of this post gave a hint as to what the post is about. If you guessed worship, you should go get yourself a cookie because you're right. Please wait until you're done reading this to get the cookie, though.
Lately, Lauren and I have been thinking a lot about what true worship is. A good friend of mine once told me that worship is focusing your mind's attention and your heart's affection on something. Notice how I said 'something' instead of God. Not everyone worships God, but everyone worships something.
I know that the wonderful sport of football has started back up. I am a huge fan of football. I can tell you all of the signals and what they mean. I've even painted my face for some games. I just love football. But I know people who go beyond just loving the fun of the game to actually worshipping the game or maybe the players. It's all they think about, and it's the most important thing in their lives. They will put aside everything else in their life to yell at the refs on the TV screen. They worship football.
It doesn't have to be football either. It could be any sport, a band, a piece of technology, a relationship, maybe even things such as alcohol or drugs. People worship these things because they focus their mind's attention and their heart's affection on them.
God calls us to worship Him. He doesn't want us to have any other gods before Him. It's the first commandment. The next commandment tells us not to make an idol out of anything. A lot of people wonder why God is so jealous. Has it occurred to you that when someone worships a team or person they can get disappointed? When people worship a piece of technology, the technology can break. When people worship alcohol or drugs, they cause harm to themselves and the people around them. Perhaps, besides that fact that God is fully deserving of our worship, He calls us to worship Him because it's what is best for us. And that is always what God wants for us, the best.

In Service to the King,
Sarah

New Poll

Normally, we put the poll over on the right side of the page. But this is a different kind of poll we want to run this time. This will be an ongoing poll for a while so that new readers can answer to it, too. We want as many responses to this as possible. To respond, you can either leave a comment for other viewers to read or you can send us an email: peragus2@hotmail.com. Eventually, we will compile the results and leave another post sharing what we've found. So, here's the poll question:

Would it be harder for you to share Christ with a stranger or with a friend and why?

We're really interested to see what happens with this. It might help us in writing future posts as well. Thanks a lot everyone!

In Christ's Love,
Sarah & Lauren

Dollar for a Drink

Oh we forgot to tell you about a new project that is being started by a teen who wants to help provide water to people in Sudan. This project is called Dollar for a Drink. All you have to do is give one dollar to help build a well in Sudan. We have a link to the homesite for this project under our Cool Sites list. Please check it out and join in helping the cause! :)

Lauren & Sarah

The Mosaic

I'm going to continue the little artistic theme from the last post. Did you ever have to make a mosaic in an art class? It's where you take a bunch of little pieces and put them together to form one unified picture. The church is sort of like a mosaic.
When I say 'the church,' I'm not talking about that building you go to on Sunday mornings. I'm talking about the body of believers that Christians are a part of, known as 'the Church.' Each of us is a separate little masterpiece created by the Father with special abilities and gifts. However, one person can not do everything. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about our spiritual gifts. "There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord." (1 Cor. 12:4-5) Although, we serve in different ways, we're all serving the same God for the same purpose. It also says, "To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit..." (1 Cor. 12:8) The point trying to be made here is that each of us has our own individual talents that aren't the same as someone else's. But read further into 1 Corinthians 12. You'll find it starts talking about one body. This is where the mosaic analogy comes in. Alone, a believer or piece of the picture is fine, but if you unify it with the other parts, they all become one magnificent picture. An entire picture is a lot better than part of one; don't you think?
The body of Christ, or the Church, is a mosaic, and you're one of the pieces. You as a masterpiece bring something to the body that no one else can. That why it's silly to say, "Well, I just don't fit in anywhere." If you're a masterpiece of God, then you can be part of the mosaic, too.

In Service to the King,
Sarah

Paint-By-Number

Hey guys! Even though I'm the one writing this, Lauren and I conversed about it before posting, so this post actually comes from the both of us.
Do you remember when you were little the color-by-number pictures your parents would give you to keep you busy? My parents gave me a lot of those. It kept me quiet, and I was always fascinated by them. I mean, at the beginning, it didn't look like anything, but when you were done, it was some cool picture! Who wouldn't find that fun at five-years-old?
I once heard a story about a boy whose father made them his hobby, except he worked on the huge, intricate paint-by-number canvases. The boy would sit on the basement steps and quietly watch his father labor over these pictures for hours, filling in each space with its specific color. Sometimes, it would take him several days to finish just one of these elaborate paint-by-numbers. But, when the father would finish with one of the pictures, he would look at it with pride, place it in a frame, and hang it in a place of honor. Then, he would begin another. The boy would look at his father's finished paintings in awe. At first glance, they didn't always seem perfect, but the boy knew they were masterpieces. Each was a masterpiece, not because of how elaborate or beautiful it was, but because his father had put so much time, effort, patience, and love into making each one the way it was supposed to be made.
Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Our Father has created us all as masterpieces, His masterpieces. We may not always seem perfect, but God put a lot of time, effort, patience, and love into making us the way He wanted us. We are all very special masterpieces in God's eyes and in His Son's eyes, as well.

Shining for Jesus,
Sarah

Busy = Me

Busy = me, Lauren. I'm sure I'm not the only one who looks at their plans for the next month and thinks WOW how am I ever going to get this done! As much as I hate to say it I think being busy has controlled my life. Where did time go? Something very simple happened last weekend that made me really stop and think, our power went out. Yes, I know something so simple, but without power there were so many things I couldn't do. Anything that I had had planned on doing was canceled because no one had power. So there I was with what I thought was boring. Then I realized when was the last time I really sat down and talked with my family, when was the last time I really bonded with God. My life had been so hectic that I had taken the most important things in my life for granted! So it wound up that I spent some amazing time with God and my family! I was able to enjoy the simple pleasures God gives me everyday. These pleasures I've always had, but I have never taken time to really look into them. I know I'm not the best at getting points across; I always tend to ramble and people just don't understand what I'm trying to say, but if you get something from this don't take what you have for granted. Just stop and think about how amazing God truly is! Worship Him; let your heart be bound to Him!

Your friend in Christ,
Lauren

Timothy

Hey guys. We apologize for not having posted in over a week. We've been crazy busy with things, but hopefully, we'll stay on a somewhat regular posting schedule. I'm gonna wrap this short little series up with a post about Timothy.
If you know your books of the Bible, you know that Timothy has two books in the New Testament. In 1 Timothy, there's a verse that really inspired this series in the first place. You'll find that verse over on the side of the page with a few other memory verses, but I'll also write it in here. 1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Do not let others 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." This one verse is telling all the kids, teens, and young adults out there that just because you're not as old as some other Christians, doesn't mean you can't make a difference. Timothy was a sort of apprentice to Paul, one of the greatest missionaries to ever live. If you read Timothy's story, you'll find out ever since Timothy was a boy, he studied the Scriptures and was very knowledgeable. He accompanied Paul to several places to help spread the Gospel.
God used a young man to spread His Word. And guess what! God is still using young people to spread His Word. That's what we're doing here. That's what is being done through student mission trips all over the world. Our generation is making a big impact. Let's make sure that the world knows that this generation of Christians is ready to go out and make a difference for Christ.

In Christ's love,
Sarah

Daniel

Hi! I hope all of you are doing well! We're continuing our series about young people in the Bible with a post about Daniel. I'm sure a lot of you have heard the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den. Some of you may be thinking, wasn't Daniel an older person then? You would be correct. But did you know that when Daniel was younger, he was still being a leader for God?
The book of Daniel starts off by telling about how the king of Babylon, King Necuchadnezzar (say that five times fast!), had taken over Judah. He sent out people to gather the fittest, most handsome, all around best young men and teenage boys from Jerusalem. Among the boys captured were Daniel and some of his friends. They were brought to the palace for training to be new additions to the king's officials. While they were there, they were served ribs and wine and other foods that had been offered to idols. Daniel knew that God did not want his friends and him to eat these things. Daniel asked to be served fresh vegetables and water instead. This seems like an easy task, but it could have gotten Daniel and his friends into a LOT of trouble! But Daniel obeyed the laws God had given him.
Do you know how the story ends? After ten days, Daniel and his friends were tested against those who had eaten the king's food. The ones who had eaten vegetables looked and performed much better than the others. This caused the officials to give everyone vegetables and water! God blessed Daniel and his friends with special gifts, too, because of their obedience.
When it was tough, Daniel spoke up for his faith in God. It could have ended badly for Daniel, but God blessed him in the end. We can do this, too! Don't be afraid to stand up for what you know is right when you're faced with these tough situations. And always eat your vegetables (just kidding). :)

In Service to the King,
Sarah

David

The story of David and Goliath is amazing to me! This story is so encouraging; it shows us a great example of how teens can really stand up for God in terrifying times! You can find the story in 1 Samuel 17. I will give you a summary, but I really recommend reading it if you can. There is nothing like reading our love letter from God. The story starts with the Philistine army gathered for war against Israel. A champion named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. Goliath was over NINE feet tall, now that's big!! His armour was very big and extremely heavy! Goliath came out each day for forty days mocking and challenging the Israelites to fight and kill him. Everyone was terrified of Goliath. Wouldn't you be? One day young David was sent to the battle lines to get news of his brothers. While he was there, David heard Goliath shouting off his usual nonsense. David shouted to Goliath, "Who is this who should defy the armies of the living God?" David challenged Goliath. Keep in mind that David was our size. When the fight began, Goliath shouted horrible words at him and unbelievable threats. David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied...this day, I will strike you down...the world will know there is a God." When the giant moved closer to him, David took out a stone and threw it at the giant. The stone hit him in the head. Without a sword, David killed this big giant.
We all have giants in our lives. With school starting for many of us, never forget that God is on your side. You can face these giants because He is with you. David was just an ordinary boy who did extraordinary things. Let's allow God to use us as ordinary people to do extraordinary things!!!

with love through the LIVING king,

Lauren

Update

Hey everyone! I promise that the new series will start soon. Summer is winding down, and both of us are getting ready for school to start next week. Lauren isn't feeling well at the moment (so if you think about it, say a little prayer that she'll get better), and I've been trying to get a few last hours in at my summer job. I believe that the start date for the new series will be Monday, August 4th. That'll give us time to get everything together for school AND for the site. After school starts, we'll try to get a post up every two or three days. It kind of depends on our work loads. Thanks for understanding! Have a great week. :)

In Service to the King,
Sarah

New Series

Hey there! School is starting in less than two weeks now, so we thought we'd start a new series of blogs about teens or young people from the Bible who faced tough situations. We decided on this because when you go back to school, you will probably face some peer pressure or some hard decision. We know we will! Our first post will be about David stepping up and challenging Goliath. Keep checking up with us.

Thanks guys,
Lauren & Sarah

Theme Verse

If you haven't noticed by now, in our sub-heading we have the reference to a Bible verse. This is our theme verse. I thought I'd share with you why we chose it. Mark 10:45 says, " For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Now, we can't very well give our lives as a ransom for many because we are not Jesus Christ, the perfect sinless sacrifice. But we can decide to serve and not to be served. If you have the choice this week between doing something for someone else and having someone else do something for you, choose to serve the other person. Jesus showed this attitude of servanthood by washing his disciples' feet and in many other ways. We don't have to go around washing our best friends' feet, but we can serve others to make their lives a little easier. So just take the time to step up and do something nice to help another person this week.

In Service to the King,
Sarah

Sand Story

Hey, just a quick note from the two of us. You guys might want to go to either YouTube and type in Sand Story and click on the one from JoeCastillo or go to sandstory.com. What he does is really cool. He recreates stories just by drawing pictures with sand. We know it doesn't sound exciting, but trust us, it's worth it!

Hope you guys like it,
Sarah & Lauren

Stepping Up to the Heights

Hi! This has been the catchphrase around our youth group for the past few days, and I thought it would be really awesome for our blog. "Praying for deer feet." Now, some of you are probably going... "why would you pray for deer feet? that's weird." But let me tell you.

Last week, our youth group went to a camp where Louie Giglio was the speaker. For those of you who don't know who that is, go to YouTube and look him up because he's awesome. One night, he was teaching us about being totally for Jesus. And he told us to pray for deer feet. All 6,500 people in that room were totally silent and just stared at him. Then he pointed us to Habakkuk 3:19. It says "The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights." - NIV.

Do you see what this is saying to us? We must pray to God to give us deer feet. Now for those of you who are hoping to wake up tomorrow morning and find your feet have been turned into hooves, I don't think that's gonna happen. But praying for deer feet means praying that God will give us the strength, endurance, courage, and ability to reach the heights. When we do reach the heights, we can make His name famous throughout the world. But remember, reaching the heights won't be just simply "okay I'm ready to be at the top of the mountain now." It'll take some work, and it won't always be easy. Also, we don't have to wait till we're at the very top to start spreading His good news. Tell everyone on your way!

So, next time you say your prayers, simply pray for deer feet. Pray for deer feet, and step up.

In Service to the King,
Sarah

Love Letters

Alrighty, I'm pretty sure this will be the last post for the day. Bare with us as we get into a good rhythm for posting.

Anyway, I just thought this was a pretty cool way to think about reading the Bible. My grandparents came over this evening and were just talking with my family. My grandfather told us about how he had been reading some love letters that my grandmother had written to him when they were engaged. He said it was nice to be able to go back and read all the sweet and loving things she had written. He also said that it was a good reminder of how much they really do love each other. Is this not exactly what the Bible is to us from God? Basically, it is a big book of love letters from God to His children reminding us each and every day how much He loves us. But, we have to take the initiative to go back and read it, or else we don't always remember all the sweet and loving things He's written to us.

So my challenge to you is to go back and read your love letter from God. Make it into a habit so you never forget how much He loves you. I have to work on this myself.

In Service to the King,
Sarah

What is Life

Hey everyone it's Lauren! I wanted to share something with you that I have found to be really interesting! For the past few days I have really been thinking about the question, what is life? So I began wondering what do other people think life is? I began to ask this question to many people. About half of them said Life is fulfilling God's plan for you, some said life is what can breathe, and others told me that life for them right now was unfair. I really began to dig deep into what life really is ,and to me this is what i found. Life is what is true. What is true is Jesus. No one can give a definition of what life really is without leading back to WHO Jesus is. Jesus Christ was, is, and will always be life. What each person said was so true. You may be wondering how God is life for someone who thinks life is unfair,well sometimes God allows us to go through pain to bring us closer to him, or it allows his fame to shine through all the earth. To get my point across Jesus is life. I think we can do so much to show the world who he is!

God bless,

Lauren

First Post & Welcome

Hey guys! Welcome to Step Up. Lauren and I are really excited about this blog, and we hope you will be, too. So, what's gonna happen is, we'll post stuff about what's going on with any ministries we might be doing or programs we get involved in. If we find out about something REALLY cool, we'll write it here and let y'all know about it. We'll also write commentaries about any Scripture passages we read so it'll kind of be like a Bible study, too. If you guys have any ideas for our blog or any certain passages you'd like us to read and then write about, we'd be happy to hear them. Just remember, this blog is going to be Christ-centered so try and help us keep it that way. Thanks bunches!

In service to the King,
Sarah :)