Sometimes we forget...

My kids are VERY creative. Being homeschooled, they usually had 2-3 hours of school work and the rest of the time they goofed off ... or entertained themselves. Creativity is the result. They write songs, write stories, read, and do video productions ... just for fun.

Also, they've recently "taken over" their youth group's drama department. This week Cory, Leslie, and Nathan are doing a skit on the theme "I am Bold." Nathan (14) has amnesia and he is very timid. The other two tell me that he's actually an accomplished and well-known person, and they enourage him to Be Bold.

The point of the message, of course, is to remind us who we are in Christ. Sometimes we forget.
Okay, most of the time we forget.

Anyway, here are a few of the illustrations the kids came up to to prove Nathan's success. I thought they were great!

Do Hard Things!

See...you don't have to be old and serious to make a difference!

ALEX AND BRETT HARRIS founded TheRebelution.com in August 2005 and today, at age 19, are among the most widely read teen writers on the Web.

The twins are frequent contributors to Focus on the Family's webzine Boundless, serve as the main speakers for The Rebelution Tour conferences, and have been featured nationally on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and The New York Times, as well as in publications like WORLD magazine, Breakaway, and Ignite Your Faith. Their first book, Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations, will be released on April 15, 2008, by Multnomah Books.

Sons of homeschool pioneers Gregg and Sono Harris and younger brothers of best-selling author Joshua Harris (I Kissed Dating Goodbye), Alex and Brett have a passion for God and for their generation. Their personal interests include politics, filmmaking, music, basketball, and soccer. And food. They like food.

When they're not traveling around doing conferences, Alex and Brett live with their parents and three younger siblings near Portland, Oregon, where they attend Household of Faith Community Church. They plan to enter college together in the fall of 2008 -- and continue to write, speak, and blog.

What is a Rebelution you ask? If this is all news to you, The Rebelution is "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." It is not just another youth ministry. Though it is not at all legalistic, it does not indulge teens in their usual laziness and consumerism. It is rooted in the Gospel itself and in God's eternal purpose in sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It speaks to teens as young adults who are expected to shoulder real responsibility for making their own family, church and nation godly and strong. It asks teens to stop living like guests in their own homes and instead take their place on the family team. It's battle cry is Do Hard Things. Think about that.

Win a copy of the book for yourself...or your parents! Leave a comment on this post!



About the book: The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."

With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today. Read an excerpt.

Buy the book here

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.

Look who won an iPod Nano!

Check out the My Life, Unscripted Video Contest for teens here! And go here for the contest rules.


Lauren
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.phpviewkey=01e7a8efd20ad9c25089

and

Ruthcel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9uzTLQMZyI

We'll be giving away one more on December 31, 2008...details to follow.

Another Video Contest Entry

My name is Ruthcel Mariño, a B.S. Nursing student from the Philippines. My friend forwarded your newsletter to me a few months ago and that's how I found out about the contest. At first I was afraid to join because I don't really know much about making videos but when I searched our area I found out I have a cousin who knows a little in video editing and agreed to help me edit the video so that's how I found the courage to have my own video. I've read your book, though I didn't actually finsih it but it was really nice. It made me think about my life and what I did to my life. You are a really good writer.

Anyhowz, I saw in the announcement that the deadline is March 31, i hope that I am not yet too late.


NAME: Ruthcel
AGE: 18
VIDEO LINK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9uzTLQMZyI

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.

I'm not ignoring you... I promise!

Hello Friends!

I found out last week that the contact page on my website does not work. Has never worked.

Yep. That's right. If you've ever left a comment on my website, it is now floating around cyberspace La La land, unread and unretrievable.

The good news is that it works NOW! So comment away...I'll be waiting. :)

Also, the blog tour for Generation NeXt Marriage began yesterday!

Here are the first few stops:

3/24
Julie at The Surrendered Scribe
http://thesurrenderedscribe.blogspot.com/
http://christianwritersforum.com/Blog/

Martha at Our Family’s Adventures
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Martha

Katrina at Callapidder Days
http://callapidderdays.blogspot.com/

3/25
Rebecca at Ripples and Reflections
http://www.rebeccabarlow.blogspot.com/

Angie at God Uses Broken Vessels
http://godusesbrokenvessels.blogspot.com/

Gina at Portrait of a Writer…Interrupted
http://portraitofawriter.ginaconroy.com/

FUN!


Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends. Last week's winner is Grateful Gramma! She left a comment on the It's Real Life blog! Congrats! Send your book choice and mailing address to my trusty assistant Amy (amy@triciagoyer.com)!

Fiction by Teens

The Froggy Prince continued...
by Alexa Schnee

Alexa is sixteen year old homeshooled, aspiring author. She participates in tap dance and plays the violin (though badly). She loves hanging out with her animals and reading books that make her laugh.

Installment One here

Installment Two here

Installment Three here

Installment Four here

Installment Five here

Installment Six here

Installment Seven here

Installment Eight here


Last installment: Have you ever heard of the word “irony”? It could be used very often in this story. Irony means “humor based on opposites” or “when disparity seems comical”. Doesn’t that sound exactly like this story? Isn’t ironic that as soon as Amelia is about to admit her true feelings towards the frog he has left? Isn’t it ironic that as soon as Amelia is about to search for the frog the big game comes up? And isn’t it ironic that after treating our frog so badly, Amelia felt as though she was the one that had been abused?

She couldn’t concentrate on her game. In warm-up, she had accidentally hit the referee with the ball. In the first quarter, she had passed the ball to the third little pig instead of her teammate. At the end of the half, she had made an incredible shot, but it was into the other team’s basket.
Her parents were disappointed about the frog leaving. Her mother had even mentioned that he was such a nice talking animal that she would be happy if had decided to live with them forever. The king had agreed saying that he had been such a polite lad, uh, frog.

Amelia shuddered. If only she had just told the frog how she had really felt earlier! Then she wouldn’t feel like such a bad person. She would try to push the frog out of her mind and get on with the game.

When she walked out onto the court, she noticed that the crowd had lessened considerably. Obviously she wasn’t going to get that basketball scholarship. She couldn’t help but look around to see if the frog was there. She glanced over by her parents. They sat alone; Charming hadn’t even bothered to show. Her parents waved at her.

The players got ready for the toss. Amelia was just about to jump when she heard a croakish voice calling her name.

“Come on, Amelia!” the voice cried.

Amelia froze. The ball came from the referee’s hand like slow motion. She turned her head to see the frog in the bleachers. The other players whizzed by her, all she could focus on was that croakish voice…

“Time-out!” the coach called after seeing Amelia frozen in space.

She quickly ran off of the court.

“Oh, you came back, uh,” it was at that moment that Amelia realized that she didn’t know his name.

“It’s Henry,” the frog croaked. “Yes, I’m back.”

“Henry,” Amelia said, liking the sound of his name on her lips. “I am sorry for what I did. You are not just a frog, and I have known that in my heart. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you—“

“A kiss,” Henry said simply. “Once the game is over, I would like a kiss.”

BLAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

Just then, the buzzer blared loudly. Amelia nodded her head towards the frog and jogged back onto the court. As the second half officially started, Amelia began to feel rejuvenated. She could do this, she knew she could!

The game began to pick up pace. Amelia was now making three pointers and passing the ball. She kept on going, even though you could tell the whole team was getting tired. Whenever she began to feel sluggish, she would hear Henry cry out her name and it gave her new strength.
Finally, it came down to the last three seconds. If Amelia could make this shot, they would win the game, and Amelia would get her basketball scholarship.

The whistle blew.

The ball was passed to Amelia.

She took a shot…

And she missed.

The crowd that was left erupted in one loud sigh of disappointment. Amelia hung her head. How bad she had wanted to win! She looked up at her parents. They waved at her. She looked at Henry. He smiled.

It was okay that she had lost.

She walked over to him. Her face still wore a beaten look, but it grew happier when she reached him. She scooped him up gently in her cupped hands.

“Thank you, Henry,” she said, then gave him a soft kiss on the head, and…

Nothing happened.

Henry had expected to become a handsome prince, or at least, human. But he soon found that he hadn’t changed at all. He was still warty, he was still green, and he was still a frog.

Amelia saw the frown on his face.

“What’s the matter?” she asked, concerned.

“Oh, nothing,” Henry shook his head. “It’s just I thought that I might become something that I’m not.”

“Well, I like you the way you are,” Amelia smiled.

Henry couldn’t help but smile back.

Henry and Amelia lived together for a very long time. Henry’s dad was promoted to the coach for the Fairyland Hoopsters, and offered Amelia a scholarship. Although she was grateful, she declined and found that she was much more suited to being a lawyer. Henry got a job as a translator for those that needed to know how to speak frog. They lived together along with Amelia’s mother and father, who fully respected and loved the new member in the family.

I once told you that this story might not end with a “happily ever after”, it being a story with much irony, much imperfection and many choices. However, I think I can say that it is true.

Yes, indeed, they did live happily ever after.

The End

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.

Join the Rebelution

Stop Lurking! Every week I will draw names for a free Tricia Goyer book from those who comment on my blogs. Winner's choice! Tell your friends.