“Oh no … what have I gotten myself into?” Macy wailed. “Is it too late to change to Truth?”
“Of course it is.” Sam laughed.
Kelly explained Macy’s dare to her. “You have to go over to the phone right now and dial Tyler Turner’s house. When someone answers or if the answering machine picks up, you have to read what’s on this piece of paper. But you can’t look at it until it’s time to read it.”
Macy slumped to the floor in desperation. Having had a crush on Tyler for so long, the thought of embarrassing herself in front of him just made her stomach queasy. “Okay, I’ll do it.” She crept to the phone and picked up the receiver. As slowly as possible, she dialed the phone and waited for someone to pick up. The answering machine picked up, and Kelly handed her the slip of paper right before the beep.
“Hi, this is Macy calling. I was wondering if Tyler would like to”—Macy gulped and paused before she continued reading—”go on a date with me.” She hastily hung up the phone almost in tears from embarrassment. “How am I ever going to face him?” Macy wailed at the girls who couldn’t hear her over their own laughter.
When they had finally stopped laughing and Macy had time to think about what she had just done, she complained to the girls. “You guys! I asked you to leave it alone for a while and just wait to see what happens. He’s going to think I’m asking him out on a date. And what if he responds that he wants to go out with me? What do I do then?”
“Just take it one thing at a time. It’ll be okay, Macy. We just did you a favor. You’ll see,” Sam promised. After that dare, they admitted that they were tired but had one more Truth or Dare to administer. It was Kelly’s turn. “I’m going to pick Truth this time.”
Lindsay, Macy, and Sam conferred for a quick minute about what to ask Kelly. Nothing seemed to faze Kelly, so it was tough to come up with a question that would be difficult for her to answer. At Lindsay’s prodding, they agreed to go another route on her behalf.
“Kelly,” Lindsay began, “you must answer the following question truthfully. Do you already know what dare you will give to me next time, and will it be something horrible?”
Kelly shook her head and laughed. “Okay, you guys took the tired and easy way out, but that’s fine. Um … yeah … I already know what I’ll recommend. And, yeah, it will be horrible for you, Linds, but oh so much fun for us.” Kelly grinned wickedly at the thought, while Lindsay wondered yet again what she had gotten herself into.
Chapter 7
YOUTH GROUP
Flames were visible through the trees as Lindsay and her dad pulled into the church parking lot just before the start of the first youth group session after the summer break. Knowing that there would be a bonfire that night, Lindsay had planned ahead by bringing a blanket to sit on, a jacket in case it got cool, and some snacks to share with the group. She wore her favorite designer jeans—she only owned one pair of true designer jeans, unlike many of her friends who had several, if not many, pairs—and her best cropped sweater over a white satin cami. Getting out of the car, she felt like a fashionista as she grabbed her things and, as an afterthought, reached into the back to get her Bible just in case she needed it.
“Bye, Dad! I’ll see you at nine.”
As her dad backed out of the parking lot, Lindsay took off for the tree line, toward the flames that rose higher and higher as the youth leaders fed more wood into the fire, getting it to roar.
“Hey, guys, need some help?” Lindsay called over to the guys working on the fire as she approached the clearing.
“Whooo-hoooo!” One of them whistled as she approached. “Summer was good to you, Linds.”
Lindsay saw that it was Rob calling out to her. He was one of her church buddies whom she’d known since she was four. “Ha, ha, funny, Rob.” Lindsay assumed he was teasing her.
“I’m serious, Linds. You look great,” Rob continued.
“Well, thanks,” Lindsay replied, her cheeks reddening from sudden embarrassment caused by the attention, half wishing she had worn a different outfit but secretly pleased with herself for her choice. She jumped in to help with the setup and got the firewood stacked up and ready to be added to the fire as needed, hoping to avoid any further comments or attention about her appearance.
When it was time to begin, the youth minister, Pastor Steve, took out his guitar to begin the worship time. As the music started, everyone grabbed a seat around the fire. Some sat on the ground; some sat on blankets they had brought from home. Lindsay perched atop a tree stump.
Pastor Steve sat on a log and began to lead the group in some of the fun, rousing choruses that they learned at camp that summer and then some deeper, more soulful choruses to lead them into worship. The music went on for almost an hour but seemed to come to an end fast because of the atmosphere and the feelings of unity and friendship they all felt.
“Let’s take this time to share some testimonies of how God blessed us or worked through us this summer,” the youth minister suggested after the worship time wound down. “Who would like to go first? How about you, Rob? Would you like to share with us about what you did this summer?”
“Sure,” Rob excitedly agreed. “I spent about six weeks traveling with a medical missions team through Mexico. It was amazing in so many ways. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything, and I can’t wait to do it again.
“In specific, I came in contact with hundreds of kids. They were all very sick and needed to be taught better hygiene, better nutrition, and how to use the medications that we provided. There were so many children and adults who needed to be seen that there was no way for the doctors to see them all, so I had to see patients as if I were a doctor. I learned about what to look for and what medication to give, and I would share it with a doctor or nurse and they would approve or change my decision. It was so empowering to be able to have that kind of impact. Life changing, really.” Rob finished his testimony, shaking his head at the memories.
“Thanks so much for sharing with us, Rob. Does anyone have questions for him?” Pastor Steve asked the group.
“How did you get involved with this missions team?” Scott asked.
“My parents’ friend is a doctor, and he was in charge of putting the teams together. I was there when he was talking to my mom and dad, so I asked if I could do it.”
“Will you get to do it again, and how do you think it will affect your future?” Lindsay asked.
“Yes, I will do it every summer that I am able until I am old enough to make a permanent decision about where I feel God is leading me to serve. My future? My future will be in service to God. I can’t say for sure that He will have me do this forever, but I would. Whatever He has for me is fine with me.”
“You know,” the minister interrupted, “this is a good time to share my brief message with you, and then we can go back to testimonies if anyone else has something to share. But Rob’s testimony and devotion to serving God is so inspiring to me, and it brings me to a point. What is your life about? What is important to you? Really think about it. Yes, you are all in middle school and high school, and you’re young. But who decides what too young is? Does God have age limits?”
He paused between each question to allow the students to consider them. “Rob did very grown-up things this summer in service to God and received untold blessings from the experience.
What was your summer about? If you could define it in one word, what would you say the theme of your summer was?” Until that point, the questions hadn’t needed an answer, but this time, the minister waited. “Let me rephrase my question. Tell me the one-word theme of your summer.”
Lindsay paused for a moment, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, knowing exactly what her answer was. “Me. The one-word theme of my summer was me.”
“Thank you for your honesty, Lindsay. Such is the truth with most of us. And it’s never just our summers. Young people, correct me if I’m wrong.” He looked around and made eye contact with the students in order t
o drive his point home. “The majority of your day, your life is spent focused on your pursuits—education, fun, experiences, material desires. Your basic needs and more are met for you. You don’t have to think about where your next meal will come from. You don’t have to wonder if you will be able to complete your education. You never wonder if you will receive medical treatment if you need it. With those things out of the way, you are left plenty of time to pursue the things that bring you pleasure. And you do it so well.
We all do.”
“Well …,” Scott interrupted with a perplexed look on his face.
“Yes, Scott, what are you thinking?”
“What are you saying? That we shouldn’t be kids, we shouldn’t be teenagers, and we shouldn’t have the care that our parents give us? Are we wrong for going after an education and saving up for a car and stuff?”
“Well, some questions can only be answered between you and God, because I don’t know your heart. But I’m certainly not saying that any of those things are absolutely wrong. But if they are propelled by an entitlement attitude—an attitude that suggests that you deserve all of those things—then yes, they become wrong because of that attitude.
The Bible tells us in James, chapter 1, that we should think of it as pure joy when we face hardships and trials because it proves that God is at work in our lives. A few verses later, we’re told that it’s the people who live humbly who should be proud of their high position and that it’s the rich who should be aware of their lowly position.
God doesn’t have the same values we do. So if you are seeking His will, you’ll be open to whatever He has for you, even if it’s not always in line with what you think you want or deserve.
“As Christians, we can’t walk through life unaware of the needs around us. We have to realize that, even when we have it so good, many people around us and around the world are suffering. Jesus came to reach those suffering people, and He asks us to partner with Him to do it. We can never be a part of that if our only focus is to drive our own agendas and get what we want all of the time. Our focus has to change from being about us and what we want, to being about Him and where He is working. With that corrected focus, it’s a lot easier to live without certain privileges and pleasures, and it’s also a lot easier to stay out of trouble. Do you think that if you have the singular focus of serving Jesus and allowing Him to serve others through you that you will make some of the dumb teenage choices you will be faced with? It’s impossible.”
“So,” Steve posed a question, keeping the dialogue flowing, “how do we do it? How do we change our focus and make our lives about everyone but ourselves? And once we know how to do it, we then have to answer the question of whether we want to. What do you think?”
The group remained quiet for a bit as the students considered Steve’s words. It was clear that some of them were truly moved by Rob’s testimony and Steve’s message. Lindsay quietly contemplated her thoughts, and feeling the gentle tug that she had come to recognize as the leading of the Holy Spirit, she opened her mouth to speak but hesitated.
“What is it, Lindsay?” Steve asked. “Go ahead—be honest.”
“Well, if I’m to be perfectly honest …” She hesitated again.
“It’s okay to share openly. Go ahead, Linds,” Steve prodded.
“Well, the thing is, I’m in eighth grade. I mean, am I not supposed to think of myself? Isn’t that how growing up is supposed to be? But when I hear you talk and I consider Rob’s words and what he did with his summer, I know in my heart that you’re right, and I realize that Rob found another way. But part of me wishes that I hadn’t heard this stuff. To be honest, it’s a lot easier to be a kid and to let my parents take care of the details. Expectations from God are the last thing I thought I would have to face right now.” Lindsay stopped talking even though she felt like she had more to say. She was conflicted.
“Thank you so much for your honesty,” Steve encouraged her. “The reason that you feel so much conflict over this is that your spirit is at war with your flesh. That means that your heart, the part that the Holy Spirit leads, is fighting a battle with the human side of you, the side that Lindsay leads. Believe it or not, it’s a good thing. We are told in Galatians, chapter 5, verse 17, ‘For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.’ Jesus knows that we fight that battle with our humanity, and He encourages us to be victorious through Him. The problem is that it’s not just a one-time victory and then it’s settled. It’s a daily struggle that we must fight. We have to surrender our wills and our desires to Him and choose each day to follow Him.”
“Yes,” Lindsay jumped in, “that battle you’re talking about, that’s exactly how I feel. But I know that I want to serve Jesus and I want to do what He asks me to, but I worry that sometimes I just won’t be good enough.”
Other students were listening intently, many of them feeling just as Lindsay did.
The youth minister got very quiet as he answered. “Lindsay, the thing is, you won’t be good enough.”
Everyone looked on in surprise. He had basically told her to give up and forget trying, right? She looked at him for a minute while she considered his words, and he waited before moving on. As soon as he saw the dawn of recognition in her eyes, he began to speak again.
“The beauty of being a Christian is that you will never be good enough. You will fail time and time again. If you could have been good enough, Lindsay, Rob, Sarah, Heather”—Steve looked around the campfire and called off each student’s name—”if you had it in you to be good enough for even one day, then you would never have needed a Savior. But thankfully our Father judges us through the blood of His Son, Jesus, if we have accepted Him as our personal Savior.
We aren’t judged by what we do; we are judged by what He did. Our actions are always and only a response to the grace we have been shown, never a way to earn that favor. Does that help? Does it maybe take some of the pressure off?”
Lindsay chuckled. “I don’t know, maybe it adds pressure in some ways … but yes, I see what you’re saying. Our acts of service or the choices we make aren’t because we’re afraid of God and some punishment we might receive; they are because we are in awe of His grace and living for Him in response to it.”
“Yes, Lindsay, that’s it exactly. I think with that said, we can close in prayer. Is there anyone here …”
Lindsay allowed Steve’s closing words to trail off as she looked deeply into the fire and considered all that she had heard.
Chapter 8
I DARE YOU
“I don’t know if I’m going to Kelly’s sleepover tonight, Mom.” Lindsay peeked at her mom ro guage her reaction.
“What? Really? Why?” Her mom seemed confused because usually there was nothing more that Lindsay would rather do than hang out with her friends. Noticing Lindsay’s discomfort, Mrs. Martin pressed for a bit more information. “Did you girls have a fight or something?”
“No, no, nothing like that,” Lindsay assured her. “It’s just that … well … I guess it’s nothing.” Not wanting to say something she’d regret, Lindsay tried to back out of the conversation. Her mom would have no part of that, though.
“Lindsay, what’s going on? You need to be honest with me so I can help with whatever is troubling you.”
“Mom, it’s just that sometimes the girls sort of teeter on doing things or saying things that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with. Not bad, really, just enough to make me concerned about where it will all lead. I’m afraid of getting sucked into things that would cause problems.” Lindsay squirmed. She felt a lot better after she expressed how she felt, even though it made her nervous. “Mom, I don’t want you to think they’re bad,” she continued, “because they aren’t.”
“No, Lindsay, I know that they aren’t bad. I also know that you are a very good and sensitive girl. It’s a wonderful thing that y
ou are concerned about this. Most people don’t see trouble coming until it’s too late. But recognizing that it’s possible isn’t enough. You have to decide for yourself what your choices will be when faced with temptation.” Mrs. Martin paused to try to read Lindsay’s expression.
When Lindsay nodded, her mom continued. “It’s not enough to know what right and wrong mean. You have to be strong enough to say no to temptation. Temptations will come throughout all of your life. There is no avoiding them. The problem isn’t being tempted; it’s what you do when you are. Instead of hiding from it and avoiding your friends, it’s better to determine to do what is right and then to be an example of that to the people around you. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, you’re totally right,” Lindsay agreed. “It’s just hard to be the odd one when your friends are having fun. Especially if it means you get teased.”
“Yes, Linds, it is hard. That doesn’t change, even as you get older. But just remember a time when Jesus was teased and taunted by the people He thought were His friends. He didn’t waver or lose His focus, and He gave His life for those very people who were treating Him badly.”
“All right, Mom, I’ll go to the sleepover. I wouldn’t really want to miss it, anyway. I just wasn’t sure what to do.”
“You’ll be fine, Lindsay. I have faith in you.” She reached across the couch and gave her daughter a hug. Lindsay silently hoped that she would be able to live up to her mom’s faith in her.
“I’m here!” Lindsay shouted, coming through the gate in the wooden fence and letting it swing shut behind her.
Sam and Kelly were already in Kelly’s swimming pool and were having a great time splashing and trying to push each other under the water. Before they even had a chance to respond, Lindsay was already taking off her T-shirt and shorts to uncover the swimsuit she was wearing underneath. She set her bag down, laid her clothes across the back of a chair, and took off for the diving board. She walked out to the end, bounced a few times, and then jumped straight in. After a few seconds, her head popped out of the water, and she sputtered until her face cleared. As soon as she opened her eyes, she was assaulted with waves of water being splashed at her. Kelly and Sam were laughing hard as they attacked Lindsay. She fought back but to no avail. They pushed her under and then let her regain her footing.
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