Guest Post by Mitch Miller, Youth Speaker
I just recently transitioned off staff at a church in Seattle WA called Mars Hill. I was the youth coordinator for the Ballard campus.
While I was there I got phone calls from youth leaders all over the country asking me for advice. I was more than happy to share with them what I knew but to be honest, I think I left most of them disappointed. Truth be told, they we're looking for a secret and there just isn't one.
Youth ministry strategy depends on so many things. You have to take into account your region, the demographic of your church, your local culture, the median age of your kids and so much more. It's a combination...
Guest Post By Author Misty Gatlin.
The Hush Project is a powerful ministry. It’s exactly what I wish I would have had when I was younger, and I believe we need to see more Christians talking about these “taboo” topics because they are very real. No one is immune to these issues regardless of whether they strive to walk with Jesus or not.
My book, A Princess Broken, discusses several of these taboo issues, and I thought The Hush Project would be a great place to do something different with this stop in the blog tour. Rather than answer interview questions or write a post, I want to share a piece of Sarah’s story. Maybe you can relate. Maybe you’ve been there b...
Guest post from Jeremy Donovan.
Voices from the Past
Just a few short years ago I was sitting in a room snorting another line of cocaine and I remember hearing the voices from out of my past.
“When will he ever get it right?
“Doesn’t he know how much this is hurting him?”
“Why does he always have to learn the hard way?”
In Bondage
The fact was I did know how bad it was hurting me and I didn’t want to learn the hard way. But I was in bondage. There is a world of difference between living in bondage and struggling with temptation. Looking back, I now realize this is a truth that few people grasp.
Your enemy, the devil, wants to get you so deep into b...
A PICTURE OF FAITH
The chorus goes, “I still believe in your faithfulness. I still believe in your truth. I still believe in your Holy Word. Even when I don’t see, I still believe...”
Angie stretches her five foot three inch body upward. She believes. She praises. And she lives the words to the song.
This is her true story.
DADDY I LOVE YOU
Jim, Angie’s father, lay in bed. Bags under his eyes. Pale skin. Faint breathing. A brain tumor changed the person he was - loving dad, husband, and provider.
“I don’t remember much.” TheMissourinative pauses, seemingly to cherish a mental picture. “Dad was always sick. That’s all I ever knew.”
OnFebruary 15, 1992,...
They looked at me, eyes heavy, from lack of sleep from praying all night. Tears cascaded down their cheeks. "On the suicide scale, she said she's 10 out of 10. The smallest thing can trigger her to . . ." mom said, choking up as she finished. " . . . to kill herself."
Her daughter, Caroline (name changed), has been battling depression, suicidal thoughts, anger, anxiety, and other dark emotions over the past six months. Some days we see a glimmer of hope. Other moments, we brace ourselves for a phone call in the middle of the night.
"We . . . we just don't know what to do," dad said. "That's why we're here. We just need help."
"I'm so sorry you guys have to go th...
Oh that was the plan.
But for some reason . . . I made it past the tense moments in the emergency room when mom screamed, “WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN TO MY SON. WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN TO MY SON!”
Then I made it through the next day when neighbors gossiped about “the kid who tried to kill himself.” And then I made it through the next month when everyone stared at me like I carried a radioactive turd in my hands. Now ten years later . . . I still get weird looks. That’s why I seldom let anyone know.
So why did I try to commit suicide that day?
There’s not a simple answer.
But my best is simply: I grew tired of “breadcrumbs?” They never satisfied. Never fulfilled. And i...
We dread Monday. Look forward to Hump day. Thursday is close enough to Friday. All the fun starts after that. But nothing happens on Tuesday. That’s when I decided to kill myself.
I keep this story locked in a box, buried deep in a closet, labeled, “Don’t ever open.” It’s not a feel good story leaving you warm and fuzzy, or one to reminisce on Christmas and say, “Remember that time . . .”
No one talks about suicide unless you want to suck the energy out of any three mile radius, or be labeled a “freak.” So I never told anyone, save for a select few, that I played with the idea often.
Oh don’t get me wrong. I didn’t hate the world. I had good moments too. Long con...
“We’re moving in another direction,” my pastor said. “This isn't working out . . .”
I argued. I pleaded. I held back my anger and tears. Then . . . I moved on. By the next hour I forced my chin high, and searched for another ministry role.
Within the next three months, I had multiple interviews with churches in Georgia, California, Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, New Mexico, and Florida. After all I thought, When I get another job, everything will be better!
Not quite.
Six months into my new role, my pastor asked me to resign. In hindsight, taking a new “job” soon after losing the first, turned out to be my undoing. Don’t let it be yours.
Here a...
My wife is due next Monday, January 23, 2012. If she doesn’t deliver by then, we’re scheduled for an induction at 6:30 am next Wednesday. Right now, it’s Friday evening, the 20th. I’m biting my nails.
Of course I’m excited. I can’t wait to see my son. I look forward to playing ball with him, listening to him jam out in the garage, or helping him make posters for student council. But every now and again, more and more as Monday approaches, I can’t help but think, I hope I can be a godly father, given that my father was not.
He left us when I was six. He never called. He never sent letters. He wasn’t there for any graduations. He wasn’t there for my wedding. He w...
Guest Post by Claire DeSantis
If you're going to prom, what do you need? A dress, heels, make-up, hair… the list goes on! You’re excited and want to look fabulous. Whether it’s for the guy you like or just hanging out with friends, you probably have a desire to look your best, and not just for prom, but all the time. Maybe you try to keep up with the latest trends or even start one yourself. But some Christian families don’t believe that looking stylish or having an interest in fashion is right. You might hear from your mom, “Stop being so vain. It’s what’s on the inside that counts.” Or maybe your dad says, “There are way more important things than how you look. Peopl...
