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If you enjoy this free email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of teenagers everywhere! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, you can join Heart4Teens.com readers around the world by visiting: http://www.Heart4Teens.com/Heart4Teens
Be sure to let us know who you would like it autographed for and then allow about two weeks for us to sign it and send it on its way to you.Credit card, PayPal, Checks, and Money orders accepted! The book is also available through Amazon.com, Borders.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Booklocker.com Is Love Your Drug... Or Your Message? Why Kesha's video for "Your Love is My Drug" of course! And after watching it and reading the lyrics multiple times...actually just once...I think I've stumbled upon the deeper meaning behind this multilayered production: The love from Kesha's video-dude is just like a drug addiction ! See how I put that together??? And here's how she rolls these concepts together- I don't care what people say I guess on some level she is correct. There is definitely a type of altered state feeling you can get from the chemical reactions caused by being around someone you *dig*...but I would hardly call that love. An obsession? Yes. A codependent addiction? Yes again. And unfortunately it is the way many teenagers try to classify one of the most difficult concepts in the universe: Love Think about all the ways we use this simple word- I love cheese. I loved that movie! I love my dog. Don't you just love an Iced Single Vente, 7 pump Peppermint, Caramel Sauce Top and Bottom, Light Ice, No whip, Mocha? Your love is my drug. See what I mean? So no wonder we're often confused and more often than not making poor and self-destructive choices in our relationships. If only there was a clear and concise definition of love that could be our foundation and filter for all of life. I have great news for you...there is! And it is not the work of a mere human; it is from the very mind of God and penned in His Word: Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7;13). I'm sure you can see the contrast between this beautiful description of love and a song about being a 'love-sick crackhead' - right? This is the kind of love that is the very opposite of a self-seeking desire to get relationally high, rather it is a focus and determination to seek out the best for everyone God brings into our world. It doesn't seek to 'get,' rather it is always on the lookout to 'give' to others. Can you imagine how different the world would be if everyone made this passage their game plan for life? So if you are confused about love, join the club. But trust me, if you internalize God's definition and live it out in your day-to-day life, love will go from being a drug to an opportunity to experience life in its fullest and most fulfilling way. And remember that God didn't just give us this definition of love...He actually demonstrated it: God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God (Romans 5:8, 11). The truest love in the universe was lived out when Jesus Christ gave up His own life so we could have a relationship with our heavenly Father. Now it is our turn to pay that love forward by not only seeking out the best for others, but sharing the message of John 3:16: For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. Sure I get why Kesha wanted to have some fun making money a video about obsessive affection, but as Christians we need to remember that the world is dying to see the love of God shine through us and hear the message of the gospel spoken by us. Is love your drug...or your message? Think through how you have treated your family and friends this past week, then compare it with the list of characteristics in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Pick out a few areas to work on, and pray for God to give you an opportunity to share how God showed His love to the world by sending His Son Jesus to die. He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (Luke 10:27). By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:35). Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Source: Dare2Share.org (Used by Permission) ______________________________________
Q: Do women have more ribs than men?
______________________________________ Thought For The Day
You see things and you say, "Why?" But I dream things that never were and I say, "Why not?" --George Bernard Shaw Verse for the Day "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Hebrews 11:6 Teen's Thought For The Day "You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list. The longer your list, the smaller your God." Parent's Thought For The Day "There's a time when you have to explain to your children why they're born, and it's a marvelous thing if you know the reason by then." --Hazel Scott Coach's Thought For The Day "It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit!" Writer's Thought For The Day "If I don't have anything to say for three or four months, I just don't write. When I read a book, I can always tell if the writer has written through a block. If he or she had just waited, it would have been better or different, or a little more natural. You can see the seams." --Toni Morrison Deep Thought For The Day "I locked my coat-hanger in the car. Good thing I had a key."
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--The Youth Church of Faith Community Church in Janesville, WI This Week: October 3 High School -- 6:00 - 8:00 pm - "What is the Purpose of Life" Part 1
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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