Surrounding Yourself with Positive Influences.

Wow! These past few weeks have been pretty eventful! You know how they say in highschool you find out who your real friends are? Well, let me tell you, I sure have! There's so many people that LOVE creating drama, but I mean, who has time for it, really?! between the tests, quizzes, homework, and everything else school throws at you who WANTS drama?

It's just truly unbelievable to me, some people. BUT! I will walk in LOVE, and I'm not here to judge! (that kind of rhymes.. ;) )

I'm here to say, surround yourself with people who share the same beliefs and morals as you, it's really helpful, it keeps YOU on track, not straying to the highschool immaturity all around you. Or any immaturity, really! If you're at work, or grocery shopping, or whatever! For me, I've learned that surrounding yourself with positive influences is the BEST! :) I mean, you may be close with people who aren't Christian and swear, etc. and obviously, don't judge them for it, just, don't take on their bad habits. I know everyone slips, trust me, I've done it too! Just don't make it a routine, you know?

It also helps having close Christian friends, you both help each other and keep each other on track as well as encourage them! I think it helps develop your spiritual maturity, too! Spiritual maturity is a big thing, in my opinion. But it isn't your friends who help you build your spiritual maturity, really, it's GOD!

For a lot of us, we've all been building a great relationship with God and learning to live a Christian life. Here's a scripture that might encourage you:

2 Peter 1:3-9 "Evererything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received! We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you—your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

So don't lose a minute in building on what you've been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. Without these qualities you can't see what's right before you, oblivious that your old sinful life has been wiped off the books."

The thing that sticks out most to me is "don't lose a minute building on what you've been given". It's true! It's like, "don't build your sand castle so far from the water that it takes days to get wet sand for building, but don't build it right on the shore so it gets washed away at high tide." Do you know what I mean? Build a strong Faith and practice living a Christian life, but don't hide it from everyone so they don't get to see it... You know? But also don't "build it on the shore so it gets washed away" which is like, don't build up your Faith weakly so it's taken away quickly. PERSEVERANCE, is the word I think I'm looking for!

Get to know God more and more each day. When I read a scripture one time, and go back to it later I always get something new out of it. I think the phrase You Learn Something New Everyday fits perfectly, because I always am!

I encourage you all to stay faithful to God on your journey.

Love, Torch! :) <3