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I pray that you all will trust in Jesus as your Savior and grow in your relationship with God! God bless you!

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Please, everyone, be careful not to assume you know or understand what someone is going through when you haven't gone through or studied what they're going through. It's one thing to say that you know that they're going through times of hardship or say you understand that they are going through a lot, but do not downplay what they're going through or assume it based on someone else's experience. This doesn't support them. It shows them the opposite of what you're trying to convey: that you don't know or understand. And here's the thing: you may not know or understand. Pray over them every day, and trust that God will bring about positive change in their life. After all, there is only one who can understand anything anyone's going through, and that is the almighty Lord. You can still help them by talking to them and trying to reach them, but, to do so, you must accept the possibility that you truly don't understand and prevent hurting them.

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Our words mean more than we realize. Sometimes, they seem to have no effect on anyone at all, so we're used to being able to say whatever, but other times they have major effects on people. We have to be careful what we say and remember that our words can hurt or uplift others. Knowing this, we should choose to uplift people with our words rather than hurting them. We can also use our words to bring people closer to Jesus and spread the Gospel. Remember, just a few words is all it takes for some people to go terribly wrong, and just a few words is all it takes for some people to feel even just a little bit happier.

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There are characters in media who are mean, yet we don't dislike them because it's amusing to us. However, please remember that it's only amusing because it's fictional and exaggerated. Being mean in real life does not give the same effect and hurts real people. Don't try so hard to seek the approval of others this way. Think more about the approval of God. Do what is right and uplift others instead of bringing them down, showing love to them.

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We shouldn't be too dependant on a human being. Of course, when we are young, we're expected to depend on others, our parents, our siblings, our friends, and, even as we grow, we're still not expected to be able to carry everything on our own. However, no one should be so dependant that their entire life revolves around someone else, that they are constantly driven by the thought of this person, that they need for this person to be around, to be satisfied so much, they'd give up their own comfort and happiness for them every single time. Codependency is scary and unhealthy. Please, don't build your life and identity around someone else. Instead, build it around doing what's right, living your best life, and, of course, God.

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James 1:19-20 says: "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires."

I believe this verse is asking us to hear God's words and to listen to them, understand them, and accept them, but I also believe this could be seen from a social angle, too. Do you ever hear something along the lines of "don't just listen to argue"? We may get into an argument or debate and neglect to truly listen and consider the other's side. Sometimes, we merely listen so that they can finish speaking and we can argue back. We should be willing to listen and attempt to understand each other, not easily angered at what doesn't agree with us.

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I want to talk about praying over food. It may feel like quite a random topic, but it is something I don't think I've posted about and something I just thought I'd talk about on here. When we pray over our food, we don't just want it to be filling and delicious. We also want it to be safe and nutritious. I'm sure you've heard things online about what some people are unfortunate enough to find in their food. With that being said, stay safe, and pray to stay safe!

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Don't be a hypocrite. The Bible says that you should treat others how you want to be treated. Obviously, God is saying you should treat others with love and respect, doing what's right. I believe, if we are treating people with love, respect, and guidance, we should treat ourselves the same. Why should you be allowed to do something you tell others isn't okay to do? Why should you be allowed to say things you let others know isn't okay to say? This applies to the respect part, too. If you respect and love others, you should also respect and love yourself. Be fair to others, and be fair to yourself.

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Our God is our Lord, and we can agree on that, I'm sure. But do we treat Him as our Lord? Oftentimes, we'll say He is our Lord without treating Him as such. As our Lord, He is to be obeyed, and as His followers, we are to heed his Word and keep it in our hearts, but, sometimes, we ignore Him. Sometimes, we listen only to what we want to hear. Sometimes, we go against Him. If God is our Lord, we should be more careful to follow the path He set for us, obey, listen, and have faith.

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Sometimes, it feels like we're praying with the assumption that what we're praying for will not happen, that it would be nice if these prayers were answered, but they likely won't be. You need to put your faith in God. Despite every time it felt like it didn't work, God hears your prayers, and He acts on them in His own way, at His own time. If you don't have faith that your prayers will be answered, you're simply praying because you feel you should. Even if it feels redundant to pray for the same things over and over, you need to remember to have faith.

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Matthew 6:25 says: "'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"

I believe this verse is about spending less time worrying so much about the little things, things like how many followers you'll get from a post or how many compliments you can get for your hair, what you will eat or drink or what you will wear. At the end of the day, these are all temporary, and, while you can of course think about these things, put work into a post, do your hair the way you like it, have a meal that's tasty and satisfying, or dress in such a way that you can express yourself, there's no need to worry so much about it. You have a future, peers, and a loving God to spend more time thinking on. While the little things matter to, make sure they don't take up all your time.

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People may insult you and belittle you, but remember that God made you with a purpose, beautifully and wonderfully in His image. For them to insult you simply means that they are low enough to be making other people feel bad about themselves. Don't feel like you're lesser just because someone else tells you you are. Be kind to yourself and know your own worth. God loves you no matter what, and you are a beautiful creation of His.

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People get judged so often for things that are completely harmless, not concerning in the slightest. They get called nerds or weirdos, people assume how they act just because of what they do or what they like. It's not that it's unhealthy or harmful, it's just that these people won't just let others be for certain things. It could be simple things, like rewatching a kids' show as an adult, or even things that are horrible to judge people about, like their skin tone or good behavior. This could make people feel like they have to keep everything behind closed doors. Maybe a Christian out there is too afraid to spread the Gospel because of it. Maybe Christians that judge in such ways are why some people may turn away from the good news we're supposed to spread. Yes, this is judgement is present towards Christianity, too, and it's present in the churches, which, in my opinion, is quite hypocritical. Please don't let these people discourage you, and please don't be one of these people. Everyone would be happier if we could do these harmless things and enjoy these harmless things in peace without worrying about what someone will think.

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Don't ever feel like anything is too small to go to God about. Nothing is too big for God, and nothing is too small. Don't ever feel like it's too small for God or even other human beings. Your burdens, your pain, are still real, and they shouldn't be treated as meaningless just because someone else has it worse. You still have the right to cry, to get therapy, and to go to God with all your troubles. He is not just your God, not just your Lord, but, on top of that, he is your Father in Heaven.

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If you ever feel like you aren't growing any more than you have, don't be anxious about it. God knows you and all you need. Remember to seek His wisdom. We aren't always going to be constantly growing. Sometimes, there are pauses in our growth, and that's okay. It doesn't mean you aren't capable of more or that you've reached a point of perfection. It simply means that's as far as you've gotten for now. As long as you can find somewhere to improve, there is always room to grow!

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Oftentimes, we allow desperation to make us do things we typically wouldn't. In order to control ourselves, we must be able to control our emotions ad well. We shouldn't let desperation cause us to do what is wrong. Keep relying on God to give you all you need in life and to give you understanding and strength to covercome whatever challenge may face you.

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We, of course, know that, not just as Christians but as people, we should be kind and loving, just overall good people. However, some people act a lot better face-to-face than they do online, all because they're acting from behind a screen when they're online. Be kind and loving online as well because you never know what opportunities online could be taken from you due to bad acting, and, at the end of the day, God knows who's behind that screen and would much prefer you treat others nicely. Remember, just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't still people.

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Peer pressure, the weighing feeling that one must do something to appease their peers. It may be actively done by those around. It may be something internal those around didn't intend. Regardless, it's important we know how to refuse this peer pressure. It can get us into pretty bad things, and if you're trying to be convinced to do bad things, you should be able to put your foot down and say "no." Maybe you'll get ridiculed a bit or people will get a little salty about it, but don't you think it pleases the Lord that, despite all that, you refuse to do bad?