Letter to Justin Bieber

Justin,

I decided recently that I’m going to stop reading celebrity gossip, not that I read a lot of it, but it’s disappointing more often than not. I’d rather like who I like because I like them and not be swayed by their private lives. Although I guess they’re not all that private. I think that would be the worst part about fame, not having any privacy. Anyways, I think to be where you are it would be really easy to feel entitled. You worked hard to get where you are today, no one can deny that. But if we’re honest, no one deserves to be put in a position of fame, leadership, good fortune. Why do you get that huge platform while there are so many hurting and hopeless? You have God-given talent and it’s on you to decide what you do with it.

There are kids all over the world who love you and look up to you. That’s a heck of a lot of responsibility. It’s not rare for me to have days when I look at the expectations people have of me and want nothing more than to quit, to give up and run the other way. It’s so tempting; particularly on the days I don’t want to do all the work involved in fulfilling those expectations. And how do I know that who I am is who I want to be and not just who others want me to be? I have lots of inner-arguments about what I should and shouldn’t do and why. What stops me is this: I have the potential to change the world. I can change lives. I can help people through my gifting and my abilities. And every second I waste walking in a different direction I lose time I could be making a difference.

You are in a position to affect thousands of lives with every tweet, every word, every song. That’s huge! The responsibility can be, and probably should be a little overwhelming. No one can handle that weight on their own. But with the right support system, you could be one of the few young stars that survives their teenage years with your credibility intact. And yeah, you’ll make mistakes, say/do stupid things, everyone does. The character lies in how you respond. They say can change the world. I plan on being one of them. And you are in the prime position to blow everyone away and change lives. So many would give anything to be in your position, but they’re not. And you are. You’ve been given a gift, and there’s a large amount of responsibility that comes with it. Don’t squander it on petty, shallow things. Leave a legacy. Change the world!

Rebel

If I could choose one word to describe myself it'd be 'rebel' not in the sense that when i'm given instructions I do just the opposite, but in what the world tells me I should be. I don't like people to tell me who i'm supposed to be or how i'm supposed to act. I don't like to follow the crowd or conform to be like everyone else. I am not one to choose one style and swear by it. I don't like just one type of music or one crowd of ppl. I see the stereotypes, and i live to prove them wrong.I don't want people to be able to look at me and figure me out, but at the same time I don't want to hide behind a mask. I don't want to be the center of attention, but neither do I want to blend in with the crowd. I live somewhere in the middle.

I don't like labels. If there's one thing I can't stand it's the idea of being normal. Maybe it's not so much the 'normal' as it is 'average' or 'mediocre.' I don't want to live that kind of life. I don't want to be just average. I don't want to judge everyone who is different than me. I don't want to be so close-minded that anyone would be foolish to argue with me. I don't want to be so self-righteous and degrading that I turn away people who are looking for answers. I don't want to be that girl.

What do I want? I want to be unique, to have my life mean something, to change lives. I want to dream big and achieve goals that seem impossible. I want to be on fire for God every day of my life, to be a catalyst in my environment. I want to change the world. I want to feed the homeless and clothe the naked, love the unloved and touch the untouchable. I want to question everything and wrestle with the mysteries of life. I want to poke and prod every area of my life, to test the very ground I stand on and see what holds firm and true. I want to be so full of God's love that it overflows into everything i do. I want each day to be filled with awestruck wonder and the God I serve and his creation, and to hunger for truth and justice, and to grow each and every day a little closer and a little more like Jesus.

Too big of dreams? Not at all: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" ~Phillipians 4:13

Post-Camp Trama

Ever had that experience that was just too good to be true? You go on a mission trip and realize God is calling you to be a missionary or work with the homeless. Or you go to camp and meet Jesus and realize your life has been incomplete up until that point and you suddenly have huge dreams for your life and you can't wait to share them with the world. And then you get home... and suddenly you don't know if you imagined the whole thing. You still feel whatever that goodness was inside of you, but it seems to lose its power as the environment around it changes.
It happens to me every time! I get in a mood where I am irritated at everything, and I try so hard to keep that camp-high but it so quickly becomes a post-camp-low. It's like you're at camp and it's so easy to believe that everything is right with the world and then you leave and suddenly there's pain and sin and evil again, and it can be seriously depressing. I was talking to my mom about it earlier and she pointed out that just about every time you're on a mountain top like camp or mission trips there is almost always going to be a valley following. And you know what? Satan knows it too. It's like he sits there waiting for us to falter just a slight bit and then shoves us down the mountain.

So how in the world are we supposed to deal with it? I've been wondering that myself. And the only thing I can come up with is that we don't have to. And I don't mean just let it go and wait for it to calm down. I mean My God conquered death. My God beat Satan. He beat the grave. My Jesus got up there on the cross and he died for every sin I ever commited and ever will commit. So why should I lay on the ground and let Satan trample me? Why should I put up with the lies he tells me? Why should I allow him to beat me down like i'm nothing. I am Megan Stevens, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ and I am a part of the Family of GOD! You just try to get me down!

Do you feel the weight of this? I'm not saying it's easy, believe me, it's a challenge. But when the same God that conquered death and the grave is on our side, we have no reason to fear. We have no reason to shy away. If we will lean on Him, who was and is and is to come, He will walk with us through the days when it seems like too much. He will hold us up when our strength is gone, and be with us through every hill, mountain and valley of our lives, and all we have to do is ask! I still struggle with 'post-camp trama' as I like to call it. But all I have to do is remind myself whose team I'm on. There is a God who loves me and sent His only son to die for me, and this may be tough, but My God? He's tougher.


"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." ~Matthew 7:7

I am, You are, We are the Kingdom!

This past week I got the most incredible chance to be a counselor at camp with Granger Student Ministries at Spring Hill! And what an amazing time it was. There was a lot of freaking out on my part as we were heading up there and even the first couple of days. What if my campers don't like me? What if I don't get along well with my co-counselor? What if I get in the way of my girls walks with God instead of leading them in the right direction? Those were just a few of the questions that nearly overwhelmed me leading up to camp. Looking back I realize I didn't need to worry as none of them panned out. But it was harder than it should have been for me to trust that God put me there for a reason and He had a plan in all of it.

Once my girls got there on Monday morning everything changed. I wasn't really sure how to lead these girls or get them to trust me, but somehow it worked out. It's amazing to see how God takes your weaknesses and strengths and uses then for His glory. If there was something I had no idea how to do or what to say, He'd either give me the words or bring someone else, typically Brandon Ellsworth my co-counselor, to take the lead on it. Some of my girls knew eachother to begin with, but it was such an awesome experience to see how He knitted us together throughout the week. At the beginning it was a group of girls who were maybe a litttle anxious and unsure but excited to see what would happen through the week. By the end, we were a little family, brought together by the life and death of Jesus Christ, who loved eachother like I wouldn't have believed possible in a weeks time. God really can take our brokeness and use it for His glory. He can take the things we don't believe ourselves capable of and strengthen us so that it's clear, no one but Him could do it. I believe that happened again and again this past week, for me as much as anyone.

My Co-counselor this week was another of the many ways God showed Himself to me this week.

Brandon is one of the coolest people I know. He's an incredible man of God whom I learned to respect very highly as the week went on. Brandon lead worship at GSM for a good part of the last year, so I already knew him from that. But I had no idea how the week would go since we didn't by any means know eachother well. It was such a great experience though. He happens to be a very talented musician which helped since I kinda like music. Seriously though, It was an honor to serve with him and get to know him and I would not have changed it for the world. Where I was unsure of what to do, Brandon took the lead and he did it like a pro. It was a blessing to have him as a co-counselor and to learn from in the places I was unsure.

Our group was incredible too. I had no way of knowing how amazing it would be to see a group of people so different and unique come together over the course of a week. I can only pray that the relationships formed this week will continue to grow and that these beautiful creations of God will learn to love and walk through life as Christ did. They may not know how special they are but I pray they never forget that they are loved. God did huge things in the lives of so many this past week, I ask that you pray that whatever seeds were planted continue to be watered and grow so that they may be a Kingdom Catalyst to all who come across them. God Bless!

Life's Disappointments

It's easy as we go through each day, to allow the little things disappoint us. To be let down by the people we love or look up to, or the things we were counting on to make us happy, really isn't an easy thing to deal with. So many people live their lives searching, from one thing to another, looking for something that will finally satisfy them, that will fill that empty feeling inside of them, whether they acknowledge its existence or not. I, too, often find myself disappointed by little things, although they seem big at the time. It's such a struggle for me not let myself be pulled down by life's day to day disappointments. I've always been emotional, and it can be both a strength and a weakness, but too often I let myself be affected by the little things that don't necessarily matter. It's a good reminder for me, in those moments, to realize that those things should not be holding me up. It is not up to those things, or those people, to keep me satisfied. And I should not put them in a position where I depend on them.

Today, Good Friday, we pause in remembrance of a sacrifice so great it often brings tears to my eyes. God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, sent his only son, one who was Him, who was perfect, to become man and walk with us on Earth. And at only 33, he went willingly to His death on the cross, mocked and beaten like a criminal. He went to that cross for us, for you and me. My Jesus, died on that cross, for my sins. "It was my sins that held him there, until it was accomplished, but this i know with all my heart, His death has paid my ransom" ~How Deep The Father's Love For Us. Those lyrics say it all. How could we be anything but greatful for a love so unconditional that God would come to earth to live and die for me, a sinner? And how could we depend on anything else to hold us up? If we place our hope in anything of this world, we will be disappointed, time and time again. But if we place our hope in Jesus Christ, the savior of the world, who died so that we might live, we will NEVER be let down.

Today we thank you Father, for the sacrifice you made for each and every one of us. We place our hope and trust in your love, so deep that nothing we do, or don't do may pull us away from it. We thank you for the pain and disappointments we face here, that remind us that this is not where we belong. And we thank you for your peace through our pain.

The Power of the Mouth

The power to speak
and to sing
the power to laugh
and to cry
the power to lift up
and tear down
the power to love
and spew hate
the power to lead
and trip up
the power to forgive
and ignore
the power to believe
and to doubt

Oh the many powers of the mouth!


As you go through these next couple of days, look for ways to be intentional about bringing people up. It's amazing what a few words of encouragement can do to a person's day, and vice versa. We so often go through life assuming people know how much we love them. But it's incredible how much doubt can creep in when the words are not put out into the open. Don't hold in your words for fear of rejection, open up your heart and let the world know how much love flows through you, with the power of your words :)


Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing~ Proverbs 12:18

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger~ Proverbs 15:1

Confidence of a Child

In my experience, if you give just about any kid, under the age of about 10, a compliment, chances are they are gonna respond with an "I know" or something along those lines. As we grow up though, we tend to lose that. You tell a middle or high schooler and though they may say thank you, very few will believe it. What is it that makes us lose that confidence we had in ourselves at that young age? If someone is confident as they get older people often write it off as arrogance. But it's not arrogance. Everyone has the right to believe in themselves and not be looked down on for it. What if we all walked around really truly believing in our God-given abilities and not always doubting our level of competence. When we doubt our skills or our ability to do the things God made us for, we inadvertently doubt God and his decision to grant us that gift. No one intentionally looks down on themselves, but we live in this world that constantly beats us down and makes us feel like we're worth nothing. And that's where people begin to turn to relationships and drugs to find security and assurance that they're worth something. And it's an easy trap to fall into. Everyone gets lonely, everyone has those moments where it seems like there's no hope for them or their circumstance and it's easy to fall into that belief that we'll only be worth something if everyone else thinks so, and it becomes this constant battle to get to the top so that finally we can be worth something. But the whole thing is a lie. The truth is that God made us each to be special and beautiful. Each and every person was made for a reason and has a specific purpose for their life, whether they follow it or not. And our worth does not depend on other's opinions and feelings. "Are not 5 sparrows sold for 2 pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed the very hairs on your head are all numbered. Do not be afraid; You are worth more than many sparrows" (Luke 12:6-7) Our worth is dependent on God alone and He tells us we are worth the death of His son. So let us live like we believe it! We are worth much! We are wonderfully and beautifully made! We are LOVED unconditionally!!! In the coming days, try to live with the confidence of a child, with humility, YES! But confident humility in the knowledge that God made you in his image, and for his purpose, and he loves you enough to send his own son to die for you. You are a magnificent creature!