Junior Camp opened my eyes to the future of Christianity. I watched as the campers went from barely mumbling the praise and worship songs to openly singing and dancing even on the volleyball court. It showed me how even at so young an age God can melt into your heart and take control.

As they take the journey of life while holding God’s hand nothing is holding them back. Their faith is already inspiring other generations. They have given me hope. They are living examples that God is constantly making new beginnings and opening new doors, therefore I have decided to take a different approach to my faith. I am going to look at it through the eyes of a child. Even though I am still young the world has already blurred my vision. I wish to wipe the slate clean once again and look more openly. The eyes of a child often see so much more than the focused eyes of teenager or adult. As we grow older, we tend to concentrate more on our work, our wants, and our day to day routines. We miss out on the big picture. There is a world full of change, opportunity, and hope out there if we only could see it.

I ask you to please open your Bibles and read 1 John 3:1-3. See how God calls us his children, not His adults or even His teenagers, but His children. It also speaks of how we may not know exactly what the future holds, but we do not need to know when our focus is on Christ, who is pure. So this is my challenge to you and to myself; look through the eyes of children as you walk through life. This means looking at and focusing on the big picture, our God and Father, not stressig over the details and clouding our judgement with our own goals. Rejoice in the fact the we are loved and looked after by a heavenly parent and realize that once we accept that everything else seems small and insignificant.

Dear family,
I wasn’t sure how to start my next devotion until just today. But then I read a post-it note in French class that said, “La foi deplace les montagnes.”

When translated from French to English this phrase means faith moves mountains. I think this is just a beautiful saying. The best part of it is that it’s true.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” Philippians 4:13.

I believe that a lot of the time teens limit themselves. They say “I can’t do that” or “I wish I could do that.” All too often we forget to pray and ask for God’s help. He is here for us. He is with us and with Him we can accomplish anything.

We must be sure to act following His will, but if what we seek to accomplish pleases our heavenly father then we should not stop ourselves from doing it. Often we stop ourselves due to others’ opinions. We get put into boxes that we are afraid to venture from. God tells us though that we should not be afraid. He doesn’t leave us.

Why should we be worried about anyone’s opinion aside from our God’s? Deuteronomy 31:8 states, “the Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.

Do not fear or be dismayed.” So we should not be afraid to break free of our stereotypes and do great things for God because He is walking with us allowing us to achieve things that we believe to be impossible.

By Karin Krause

Dear family,

This is the first of hopefully many more devotions to come. My name is Karin and I have been going to Delanco since around fourth grade. I am now a junior in high school. My hope with these devotions is to help myself and others grow in faith. Delanco has helped me so much throughout the years, and now I hope to give back with my writing. I consider you all my family because we are all brothers and sisters through faith.

Broken hearts are something I have noticed greatly affecting my generation. I do not mean the troubles that come along with the ending of relationships. I am referring to a divided heart. It seems that is so hard for us to just stay true to who we are. High schools seem to tell us to try to fit into certain groups and go along with certain styles. We cover up our thoughts to satisfy others. I wonder why this is. How are we going to make another happy if they are also disguising their self to please us? It seems that it is an unending chain of masks. Where is God in all of this? He is one of the subjects that is commonly hidden from our peers. Many teens are even afraid to mention their religion.
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