Sunday 20 July 2014

Why do you give us candy?



You asked a very important Apple Box questions, “Why do you give us candy?”

Well, we give you a huge Hershey’s candy bar once a year to celebrate your birthday.

And we give you a regular-sized candy bar if you bring a visitor just to treat you and your visitor.

And, as you leave TRACK each Sunday, each student receives a bite-sized “We love you” candy, only for that reason!

That’s why!

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Where is God in heaven?



Since we learned that God is really everywhere (see our recent post "Where is God?"), we can say, “Yes, God is in heaven

The Bible teaches that heaven is the place where all the people who have accepted Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as their Lord and Savior will spend eternity. In your new Bible, please read John 3:16, John 1:12, John 14:6 and Romans 10:9! Though heaven is a place, it is a spiritual place, not a physical place. Just like God is spirit and we can’t see, smell, touch, taste or hear him, we also can’t use our senses to see, smell, touch, taste or hear heaven. Although our human minds cannot truly know exactly what heaven will be like, the Bible describes heaven as an unimaginably wonderful place, where we are always in the presence of God! You can read about this in Revelation 21:3-4!

Sunday 6 July 2014

I have a lot of stress. What can I do?



You asked a great Apple Box question: “I seem to be having a lot of stress. What can I do?” It is a big and important question and I hope this Apple Box answer begins to address it. Remember, you can ALWAYS ask follow-up questions!

A friend once told me, “If you don’t feel stress, you just fall down!” He was right, you know, because some stress is just plain necessary in life. No stress in my muscles and I fall to the floor in a puddle; no stress in my conscience and I make poor moral choices; no stress during a math test means I am not using my brain – you get the picture … we have to decide whether the stress we are experiencing is “good” stress – like the stuff above – or “bad” stress – like the stress caused when you are bullied or the stress that causes you to feel super mad, sad, scared or shamed.

Since I don’t know exactly what kind of stress you are dealing with, here is some general & biblical advice for dealing with “bad” stress. 

After you read this, I encourage you to speak to someone you trust about your stress. It is a good first step to ask the Apple Box. Next, actually SPEAK with someone. For example, perhaps choose your dad or your mom. You could ask to speak with them. 

Then you choose a comfortable place (maybe the dinner table after dinner, or in your room before bed, or under your favorite tree in your yard – someplace you like). My daughter and I always went to the same comfortable place to talk about difficulties, problems and stresses, and it made it easier to chat.

Then ask them to listen but without giving you advice. (This helps you explain everything you want to explain. And you have to ask them just to listen because people who love you naturally want to help you and give advice – and that’s ok, but they first have to completely listen so they know your whole story. Does that make sense?)

Finally, ask them to share an experience from their own life. This will help you to know that they understand a little bit better what you are experiencing (even though what you feel is still different) and also that you are not alone in feeling stressed (in fact, I’m pretty sure every human being feels super stressed at one point or another.

When I have been stressed I have gone to Scripture for help. There are certainly many verses which can offer you comfort, but truly my favorite is Psalm 23 (the whole thing!) I would also encourage you to read Jeremiah 29:11-13. I have found comfort from stress in both of these verses many times. They help me understand that I am loved, and valued, that I belong and am important, and that I am not alone.

I hope this answers your question. Let me know how it goes, ok? God bless you!

Sunday 29 June 2014

Where is God?



This is a super fantastic question, "Where is God?"

Since God is Spirit and not physical, we can’t use our physical senses to see, hear, smell, taste or touch him. So how do we know where he is?

Let’s go to the Bible and see what it says …

In the book of Jeremiah God said, “Am I only a God nearby, and not a God far away? Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him? Do I not fill heaven and earth?” (Jeremiah 23:23, 24)

In Psalm 139 King David wrote, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night – but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.” (Psalm 139:7-12a)

In Matthew 28:20 Jesus told us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Bottom line, there is no place where God is not. I have to admit, this kind of thinking is waaaaayyyy beyond my brain capacity but we must try to understand that God is able to be present everywhere because he is Spirit. He is not confined to a physical existence. God is not limited by human categories, human experience, or human reason.

But – and this is the best part – knowing that God is present everywhere not only means that you don’t need to feel alone, it means you don’t need to feel afraid. No matter what you are facing, you face it with God at your side!