S3 Stories of Strength

Our Missing Piece of Peace.

If we constantly search for our missing piece in perfection we will be without peace.

I often times find myself blaming friendships, social media, and circumstances for my lack of peace in life. When I feel alone in a friendship I accuse that person. When I look at social media and log off feeling less than enough, I blame social media as a whole. I become anxious about my circumstances because, instead of trying to see the hope in them, I see similar past situations that didn’t meet my personal expectations.

I’ve spent so long trying to shape my life to meet unreasonable expectations of perfection that I crave, that I’ve missed the true issue. God revealed that my need for perfection was my battle. I think because God created Adam and Eve without knowing sin, part of us longs to be that perfect version of a human again. We long for our missing piece.

As human beings we will always fall short, but when we look to God we can find that missing piece that we had been searching for in the wrong places. In the areas that are uncomfortable and full of confusion, is where we grow the most and find peace because we learn to lean on God.

I will never find peace in striving for perfection. God has shown me that the way to leave my expectations of perfection behind is to embrace vulnerability. Vulnerability is messy, and even scary sometimes, but in the end, that is where freedom is found. We can stop running and blaming everything and everyone else in our lives for our unhappiness, and realize that the problem is in the refusal to accept imperfection.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says, “My power is made perfect in your weakness.” So why run from the thing that brings us and God together? Our weakness plus God’s strength makes the dream team, so let’s embrace it!

Prayer: God, I know that I will always fall short of perfection; show me how to embrace my imperfections. Free me from my exhausting cycle of searching for peace in anything other than you Lord. Open my eyes, God, to see the beauty in being uncomfortable because that is where I will truly grow. Father take my weakness and use it for your greater good. I love you! In your name I pray. Amen.

Sincerely, Belle

Blanca – S3 Adult Coordinator, Morenci, AZ

About 4 years ago, my family and I moved to a very small town in Arizona. We were grateful for our little church and our new family in Christ, but my heart ached for Christian young ones to come to church for our children’s sake.

Knowing our Lord Jesus is so good and believing our prayers were heard, an idea came: Instead of just praying for more young ones to come to church, what if we started looking throughout the community? In the schools? What possibilities are out there? How can we do it?  All these questions were clearly answered by the first option that appeared online for “Youth ministries in Middle School”: Students Standing Strong (S3) Club!

At the time, no other Christian Student-led Clubs like S3 existed in our town or state. It required the Lord’s intervention to open up the doors. Guess what? He did it! Three months later, in October 2018 we started our first club meeting in Middle School!  By God’s grace our kids were able to open a second Club last year in the High School, with an average of 20 to 25 kids per week.

There are many blessings our Lord Jesus has given us through Students Standing Strong Club:

1. Answered prayers!
2. Our role as parents has changed with our son (now 15 yrs. old) and our daughter (now 12,) from actively teaching them about God’s Word, to “coaching” them over how to share the Gospel with others and become leaders in their faith!
3. Our kids have learned how to communicate with the school staff and with other students while standing firm in their faith.
4. Connections have been made with students that don’t go to church but are open to the Gospel.
5. New friendships have formed.
6. During the pandemic, through zoom meetings we have been able to connect with other clubs across the country, which has been a great encouragement for our family, especially our kids.
7. Through S3 Club we were able to connect with “Claim your Campus” and pray on Instagram nationally.

And the list of praises and blessings goes on.We are very grateful to our Lord Jesus for Students Standing Strong and rejoice as He is working through so many faithful students across the country!

But if not…

Have you ever wanted something to go right so badly in life, but it takes a turn for the worse and you’re left devastated?

Right now is the perfect example of a devastating time in life: COVID-19. Many people had plans for the school year, going on trips, seeing family, and just socializing. Unfortunately, those plans were canceled because of shelter in place. I know for me it was really devastating because it was my senior year of high school. It was supposed to be one of the best years of my life. I was looking forward to hanging out with friends, going to prom, having a graduation party, and walking the stage with all of my family in the audience. It was a huge disappointment when I realized that the day before we left for spring break was the last normal day of school, and yes I bawled my eyes out.

However, there are examples in the Bible of people who have gone through worse. In the book of Job, Job had everything taken from him: his family, his herds, his land, and his health. He got to a point where he would rather die than continue to live. BUT along the way HE NEVER LOST FAITH in God, he continued to believe that God is more powerful than anything he could go through. This is a perfect example of how we should act when life abandons us.

If during our hard times everything is stripped away from us and our plans are ruined, we must trust, have faith, and praise God for the things he has given us, even if it doesn’t get better. God knows the plans he has for you; you may not understand them right now but just wait.

How will you choose to respond to things not going as planned? I challenge you to make a list of all the difficult circumstances you’ve gone through and think about how you handled them. Did you let them destroy you?

If something brought you down, how did you get back up? Remember God will provide to those who remain in their faith, Proverbs 3:3-4, James 1:12.

-Hope

At Palombi Middle School, we meet for S3 meetings every Monday. We get together and learn about God’s good news for all of us! I have been a leader for multiple years now, and leading my friends and peers in the Word is one of my favorite things to do. “The teaching of your word gives light, so even the simple can understand.” Psalm ‭119:130.‬

By telling others about God, we are helping people understand all that God has done for us! I think it’s amazing to have the opportunity to connect with my classmates through the love of Christ, on our school campus. Leading has taught me both patience and self-control, two of the fruits of the Spirit. Telling people about the love of God is now something I feel very comfortable doing.

I challenge you to start a conversation about Christ with someone you know today. You’ll never know what will happen until you try!

Blessings,

Emily, S3 student at Palombi Middle School

A Look at Love

Hi! My name is Katherine, and I am a junior at Grapevine High School. I’ve been a part of S3 since 8th grade, and the organization means so much to me!

In the midst of troubling times or prosperous times, when we are surrounded by others, or when we are alone, people are always seeking to find love. It’s natural to seek love and validation, anything that makes us feel happy to be alive, and feeling like we mean something. Unfortunately though, in today’s modern society, oftentimes, “love” isn’t all it’s chalked up to be. Instead of finding value in ourselves, we settle for less than what we deserve from other people and complain that we can’t find true love. We forget what love truly looks like.

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, and it does not boast; it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, and it’s not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

If we truly understand this definition of love, we can better accept ourselves, love others, and strengthen our relationship with God. Replace the word “love” with “God” in every instance in the scripture. It’s still true. God is and does all of those things. He is the epitome of love, and we should find comfort in HIM. He is the one true example of perfect love, and before we can even hope to find love elsewhere, we must first find it in Him.

We should strive to model our relationships on Earth based on what love is. Both in loving ourselves and our neighbors we can all take a page out of the book of our Lord. Don’t buy into the notion many seem to have today that love doesn’t exist, or isn’t worth it. Rather show the world what real love looks like, and allow yourself to feel it from the Lord. The love and relationships we find ourselves in on Earth cannot compare to the unconditional love God gives us, and in those times that we seek love we should turn to Him.

I have found myself seeking Earthly love, and in turn ignored or weakened my relationship with God. I challenge myself, and those reading this, to accept the amazing love we receive from God, and use it to model our life around.

-Katherine, Grapevine High School S3 Student