Teenage Dream

So a good friend of mine had Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" lyrics as his status today and as I started singing it in my head, I remembered a verse I found while I was at camp that I absolutely love.

"Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.  Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgement."  ~ Ecclesiastes 11:9

Isn't that AWESOME??  This is God being the best parent imaginable.  He's saying, "You're young.  Go have fun.  Follow your heart.  Do what you please."  But since He's our Dad, of course there's a "but."  Don't take this the wrong way, but it's a really big but.  What we do, even when we are young, matters in the bigger picture.  When we get to heaven, it's going to matter.  Big time.  Since He's our Father, He wants us to follow His rules.  And if we break them, there's going to be a punishment (eternal, that is).

The good thing is, we can ask for forgiveness.  He will ALWAYS love us.  Nothing we do can change that.  So if we totally screw up, we can approach Him humbly and ask for His forgiveness, and He will grant it.

When I was at Camp Piankatank this past year, at the dockside service the camp pastor told us a story about a woman who could talk directly to God.  He told us that the priest told her to ask God what was the last sin he had confessed to Him.  When she returned to the priest she took his hand and said, "He said He couldn't remember."  That brings tears to my eyes everytime I see/hear/say that.  When you confess your sins to Him... wow... He is the MASTER of forgiving and forgetting :D.

So go live the teenage dream... but always remember that God is with you and would be crushed if you did something against His wishes.  He WANTS you to have fun and life your life with excitement, love, passion, and joy.  Don't let Him down.

<3, Warrior