Patti M. Hummel - This Is Now. A Girl-to-Girl Devotional for Teens

S ometimes you just need advice from someone who actually knows how it feels to be you. No parents or preachers or expertsjust someone your age who understands what youre going through.

Welcome to This Is Now, a girl-to-girl 365-day devotional for teens. Each day in the pages of this book you will find stories from girls around the world who want you to know youre not alone, whatever youre going through. They want to encourage you, help you find solutions, and share with you the one thing thats gotten them through it all: the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. Why? Because theres nothing better or more important for all eternity than knowing Jesus now.

Blessings,
Patti M. Hummel
Compiler

P SALM 112:7

F ew people make getting cancer a New Years resolution. Its presence is never by invitation, and nobody daydreams about the possibility of cancer growing inside a loved one. I had seen it distress families around me, but I never did more than say a halfhearted prayer, share a sympathetic sigh, or lend a listening ear. When the words Dad has cancer left my moms lips, they fashioned the course of my entire year, resulting in a soup of fear, dependence, and relief. I had no idea what gravity the words held until they sunk in moments later as I stumbled into my room. With every step I took toward my bed, new thoughts seared the reality. Stomp. Dad will have to take chemotherapy. Stomp. I will have to face my peers. Can I handle that? Stomp. Will I cry during my classes? Plopping onto my bed with these flooding thoughts, the big one hit me: Will Daddy die? I cried for hours as this question replayed itself. I began to call out to God, Stay with him and protect him! I was not in the mood to offer polite requests. I was screaming at God into my tear-dampened pillow; I wasnt angry at God, but I felt such passion and needed to yell. In the following months, I saw my fathers joy. He was weaker in a physical sense, but his spiritual strength inspired everyone. Seeing this helped me cope with all of my questions. I felt that I could make it through anything if I just carried a positive attitude, believed in Gods faithfulness, and trusted Him for a happier New Year.

Sonja Mindrebo, 17, Houghton Christian Academy, Houghton, NY

Lord, I want my faith to be strong enough for everyone
to seeno matter what my circumstances. Amen.

M ATTHEW 5:37

L ast year I was the student manager for our cross-country team, and I had a lot of fun managing. Coach would give me a bad time every once in a while about how I should run for the team. We laughed about it, and I never really took him seriously. As the season started this year, we were two girls short of a full team, which needs four members. I told Coach that if another girl joined the team, I would run so they could have a full team. Two days later another girl joined the team. I knew that Coach wouldnt hold me to my promise, but I had given him my word. Even in this unimportant situation, that had to mean something. I dont like to run, and I am not anywhere near being in shape, but I am now a member of the girls cross-country team. To be honest, it is painful, but there is some pride in finishing and doing my best. Also, I get to think a lot about how God uses some things that are painful that we wouldnt choose to do to make us into the people He wants us to be. God is using a simple promise that I made to teach me more about Him. Also, I have been told that some other girls admire me for going out as a senior, especially since I always finish last. I guess that there are some benefits to keeping my word. If only their Good job! would make my legs stop hurting!

Lisa A. Osier, 18, Nebraska Christian High School, Kenesaw, NE

I dont want to make promises I wont keep,
especially to You, Father.

H EBREWS 11:1

H ave you ever sat in an airplane, anxious about take-off, only to get in the sky and have your breath taken away by the most beautiful sight as you fly through the clouds? Have you ever just sat and looked at the rain and seen through the gloom the wonder of the rainbow on the other side? These are reminders of the promises from God! When I have the opportunity to just sit and see these things, my faith is strengthened. I am reminded that God is real. Birds know when to fly south, bears know when to hibernate, the ocean knows where to stop at the shore, and the night knows when to hide as each day arrives. Many times my Mom thinks I dont listen, but I do. She tells me that everything else in life knows its place, that everything else does what God wants, and that we do well when we follow God by faith. She tells me we mess up when we do only what we want to do. I want to find my place; to live for God; to walk by faith. Faith is not an old-fashion, out-of-date, out-of-style idea. Faith keeps us soaring through the clouds. Faith keeps us going through the rain until it parts to reveal the beauty of the day. Faith! It is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For us to believe that there is no God is foolish. To live for God is faith!

Candace K. Croston, 16, Kings Fork High School, Suffolk, VA

Give me enough faith to do Your will in everything,
even when Im unsure of what will happen.

A CTS 17:25

O ne thing I dont think about every day when I wake up is the fact that I am still breathing. To most people, breathing each day is taken for granted. But sometimes I wonder whether I have enough air to live one more second. I have suffered from asthma since I was two years old. It is a problem that has influenced my life repeatedly. Having a cold makes it extremely difficult for me to breathe. It feels as though a giant is standing on my chest and just wont back off. As I lay in the hospital bed, gasping for my next breath, I realize how important breathing is. I wonder, Why cant I just breathe like normal people? Why do I have to go through the pain, struggle, and fear I face each time I have an asthma attack?