Posted on by Amanda Joy Beguerie

Dear Christian Teens: You Were Made for More (+ EXCITING NEWS!)

Dear Christian Teens_ You Were Made for More (+ EXCITING NEWS!)

 

Dear Christian Teens,

 

You were made for more. You were made to do great things. And it all starts right here.

 

I understand what it’s like to be stressed out over school and work and life in general. I understand the pressures we face from all sides – the pressure to be perfect, the pressure to give into temptation, the pressure to be consumed with busyness – it’s rough.

 

But we don’t have to give into the pressure.

 

People are going to tell us (if they haven’t already) that the teen years are all about fun. Partying. Living it up. Chilling out, messing around.

 

And then after we turn eighteen, get shipped off to college, and come out somewhat alive, we’ll be ready for a fantastic life. Get a good job, get engaged, and hopefully find something fulfilling in our lives. Maybe add a little religion to our busyness. Can’t hurt, right?

 

But that’s not the right message in my estimation.

 

Because if the time we turn thirteen until the last day of being nineteen is used to just get by, what will the rest of our lives look like?

 

If we don’t learn how we should live now, how will we know how to live when we’re adults?

 

If we don’t invest in our faith now, how do we expect to be mature Christians later?

 

If we don’t love others now, how do we expect to love our future families?

 

If we don’t practice serving God now, how do we think we’ll be effective in the future?

 

But this shouldn’t be discouraging. No, now is a great time to make the most of our lives.

 

Today I turned sixteen. I’m finally starting to grasp what it means to be a teenager, though not by the standard of the culture.

 

I’m learning what it means to prepare myself for my life instead of just getting away with the bare minimum. And to be honest, it’s a difficult lesson to learn.

 

But I’m investing in my faith by studying the Bible regularly. I’m learning how to be discerning. I’m learning how to use my personality to serve God the most effectively. I’m finding the roots of my faith.

 

And you know what? These are some of the most fulfilling things I have ever done.

 

Working hard is scary, I know. It’s easy to watch Netflix all summer instead of getting a job. It’s easy to be lazy (which is different from rest, by the way). It’s easy to disrespect our parents, and it’s easy to think that we always know best.

 

Taking cues from authority figures will truly lead us in the right direction. Learning how to work hard now will help us develop a good work ethic for our adult lives. Knowing why we believe what we believe is so important in having a strong faith.

 

But it doesn’t have to be painful.

 

It doesn’t have to stress us out.

 

No, in our stress from everyday life, we can grow our faith and strengthen our relationship with God. We can find comfort and peace, instead of anxiety. Instead of freaking out over not knowing how to be productive, we can pursue efficiency while there’s less pressure.

 

We can surprise the people around us who expect us to rebel by being kind, loving, and patient.

 

Dear Christian Teens, you really were made for more. More than just scraping by.

 

And instead of being crushed by the pressures, we can live with hope. Hope that we are never alone. Hope that God will always lead us. And hope that this isn’t the end.

 

Oh, guess what! I have exciting news. Gabriela and Nadine persuaded me to participate in Camp NaNoWriMo this month. Which means…I AM WRITING A BOOK!

 

Crazy, right? When you all took my survey, I got lots of people begging me to please write a book. That made me happy, and motivated me to actually pursue writing more than just 700-word blog posts. And I’ve actually gotten most of my book outlined, but here is where you guys come in.

 

If you want a certain topic to be addressed in more detail than I would be able to on this blog, TELL ME. Even if I’ve addressed the topic on the blog before, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE BOOK. Comment on a post of mine, shoot me an email, tweet me, or whatever floats your boat.

 

I WANT YOUR INPUT!

 

Hopefully, by the end of April, I will have written 25,000 words. Who knows if that will actually happen, but I am going to try. Pray for me, peeps! Thank you all!

 

*aj

35 Replies to “Dear Christian Teens: You Were Made for More (+ EXCITING NEWS!)”

  1. I’d love to read the book, on whatever topic it may be! What’s it about? 🙂 I really like your posts because though I’m not Christian, it’s really uplifting to see you just writing to teens of your faith, and giving advice.

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  2. Thank you, Amanda, for this encouraging post. You are so inspiring and blessed – the way you spread the good news through your blog is amazing and so wonderful.

    I can’t wait to hear more about the book! It sounds super exciting! I think you should write about being a Christian pre-teenager/teenager and how we can live like Jesus and spread God’s love, wherever we go as well as the struggles we can face. I think that because you have a great talent in encouragement and inspiring others, you should write something that will show those talents of yours.

    Also, happy birthday and I hope you are having a lovely time!

    Prayers for you,
    Truuty xx

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      1. You are always welcome, Amanda. 🙂 Awwh, thanks for saying I’m ‘the sweetest’, hehe. 🙂 I’m happy to hear that that is what you are aiming for. Lots of love from Truuty xx

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  4. Happy birthday, Amanda!!! 😀

    Yes, I’ll be praying for you this month! NaNo is stressful, but it also is tremendously fun and you have a since of accomplishment at the end, whether you doubled your word goal, barely got by, or only got in a thousand words! I wish you the best!

    I really liked the posts that you did about having a purpose and there’s more to life and stuff like that, because that’s what I’m having a hard time with, and those posts (well, all of your posts) encourage me so much!!

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  7. Thank you for such an encouraging post Amanda! I think our teen years should be the COMPLETE opposite of what the world thinks they should be.

    Ooh! That’s so exciting that you’re writing a book!!!!! What is it about? Devotional, fiction, historical etc.? I would most definitely read it! 😀 I will be praying it goes well! My sister actually just finished writing a novel. 🙂
    Again, I hope you have a wonderful birthday! God bless you!

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    1. Absolutely! I think that the teen years, years that are wasted by some, can be so productive and wonderful for us that make the most of them!
      My book is going to be a Christian nonfiction book – sort of like my blog, but more book-like and comprehensive. 😀
      Ooh, good for your sister!
      Thank you, thank you, thank you! 😀

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  8. Incredible Amanda! Such a great post, I agree with absolutely every word of it. I have had a few conversations with some friends about this topic a while ago and this is basically what I said. Weird.

    I think it’s great that you are writing a book, I’m writing a book as well, it’s a lot of work!!

    Write a book on a topic that is calling out to you, it can be whatever you want. For me I finished watching a series on Netflix (it didn’t take all summer) and I really liked the story line and loved the area of history, the characters and the plain awesomeness. Medieval England was just calling out to me, I created a world and story line in just a few moments. So just go with what you want to write about. If you want to write about your teen years with God, write about it. If you want to write about a story based in a certain time in history, write about it. Xxx

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    1. Thank you, Amber!
      Haha, wow! That’s cool that we’re thinking so alike. 😀
      That’s so cool! (I hope it didn’t come off as that I was condemning Netflix – I enjoy it myself! XD) Medieval England! Historical fiction is awesome, good for you!
      Thank you for the encouragement! 🙂

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  9. Love this post!! I completely agree with what you’re saying. I think as teenagers it’s important to learn to become mature and work hard, and not waste all the time we have but learn to become productive. Happy birthday! Oh and good luck on Camp NaNoWriMo. 🙂

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  10. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Amanda! I love your post, as always. In fact, I may even print this one out and hang it on my wall. I love this!

    And writing a book is SO MUCH FUN. I can’t wait to see how it turns out, and hear all your updates. 🙂 You can do this!

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  11. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMANDA! Wow, sixteen. o.o

    This was an excellent post; a wonderful reminder. I love all of your posts SO MUCH, and whenever I need advice or words of encouragement, I read your blog. 🙂

    YAY, you are writing a book! If I may ask, what genre will it be?

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    1. Thanks so much, Emily! That’s so lovely and uplifting of you to say! Wow, I am so flattered.
      I AM WRITING A BOOK! You can look through the above comments to see what I’ve said to a few others, but it’ll basically be my blog in the form of a book, but new writing and topics. 😀

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      1. It would be so wonderful for you to write a book like that. I would definitely beta-read it or buy it when it’s published, if that’s your goal. 😀 And you would probably be able to make an awesome cover for it; you’re so great at design! 🙂

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  13. First… HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ~I’m late, but ok~ God bless you! And continue being this cool person you are 😀

    Second… Wow! A book? I’m very happy for you! I hope I can buy it, if they send to Brazil… You asked suggestions, right? You can write something about to be a christian teen challenge, or things like this.

    And lastly, the post. Yes, God selected us for a big work, and we can’t wait our eighten years old. While we wait by our driver’s license, our passport and our job, we can grow up in our relationship with God. It’s so hard, but it’s worth it. Each pain is a history, each “no” is a lesson. We must to use our energy and our qualities to please God! I accepted this challenge, sometimes I am tired, sometimes I want stop. But I remeber: He don’t stopped. His love was so big that He continued by me! Then I must love him even my last second.

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  14. I’m so excited for you! Structuring non-fiction into a book is quite a bear, but I’m sure you’ll tackle it with enthusiasm. If you ever need to talk through a rough patch or brainstorm or anything, you know where to find me. 😉

    Also, this blog post says everything so practically and succinctly. (Well, there’s an SAT word, haha.) As always, thank you for sharing!

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    1. Thanks so much, Amanda! 😀 I appreciate that. It’s actually mostly structured now, surprisingly. I’m so enjoying writing it.
      (I love the word succinct. #nerd) Thanks for reading! ❤

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  15. Pingback: Sneak Peek of My Book! | Scattered Journal Pages

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