Welcome

Leader Perspective is a blog by and for leaders (of course, students are welcome as well). The blog does NOT represent an organization or church, it is just a perspective from those of us who lead students in the context of a church or ministry. I hope it is helpful, insightful, and one of those places you come for encouragement. –Vernon

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5 Interesting Facts about Porn Addiction

Viewing pornography is actually nothing new. People have been doing it for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. But it’s only today that we’re beginning to see pornography being distributed on such a widespread and easily accessible scale. This is thanks to the internet. With some people claiming that porn takes up a huge percentage of total web content. Because porn’s widespread accessibility is so new, Psychologists are still trying to find out what effect it could have on the human brain. It’s all very new and unexplored territory for researchers, but people are already coming to some pretty interesting conclusions. Here are five psychological facts about porn addiction.

1. You can develop a tolerance just like drug addiction.

In the context of addiction, tolerance refers to a situation where someone becomes more and more acclimatized to the addictive behavior to the point where they need more and more of whatever it is they’re addicted to in order to receive the same effects.

According to an article published in “The journal Behavioral Sciences”, porn as an addiction may function in a similar way to a drug addiction. What this translates to is the addict needing to seek out porn more often and viewing more extreme or illicit types of porn to receive the same effect. Interestingly, a 2016 study published in the journal “Neuroimage” actually examined people’s brains with the FMRI – “Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging” while they were watching porn. What they found was that while watching porn, there was elevated activity in the ventral striatum, which suggests that the brains pleasure centers were releasing dopamine. There’s still a lot of research left to do on this subject!

2. Some studies have suggested that porn addiction does not affect sexual health and function.

One of the most repeated facts about porn addiction and porn use in general is that it can negatively impact healthy sexual health and function, but is this really true? More recent studies have challenged this, and one published in 2015 really stands out published in the “Journal of Sexual Medicine”. The researchers studied men in three different countries and came up to the inclusion that porn had no effect on male sex disturbances; they also stated that linking porn to sexual dysfunction is probably wrong, and it’s more likely due to stress and other factors. This is only one study, but there are others to back this up as well. [From my perspective, sexual health and function are not the issue].

3. Porn addiction could be fueled by the Coolidge effect.

The Coolidge effect is an interesting phenomenon that could have a substantial role in porn addiction. Simply put, the Coolidge effect is seen when males seem to become more aroused whenever a new female partner is introduced. Some surmise it could be caused by male evolutionary programming to fertilize as many females as possible. How does this affect porn? Think about it. Almost endless new females are available to view on the internet and viewing one female after another can actually fuel arousal for prolonged periods due to the Coolidge effect. This could be one reason as to why porn addiction could occur. Do you believe the Coolidge effect has anything to do with porn addiction?

4. Porn addiction can impact the way we behave in relationships and intimate situations.

This is probably one of the most important things about porn addiction. How does it impact our relationships? An article published by the American psychology Association tries to tackle this important issue. They cited various studies that suggested men experienced lower levels of intimacy with their real partners after using porn. These studies also suggested that porn use in men resulted in lower sexual quality and even depression, on the other hand, those same studies also touched on some very interesting things about women in porn. According to these studies, women watching porn resulted in increased intimacy and improved sexual quality in the relationships they were engaged in. [From a Christian perspective, this does not validate watching porn for women, but it may suggest emotional, relational and other differences between men and women].

5. Neuroplasticity and porn.

We’ll end things with a very interesting concept, Neuroplasticity. This is the ability of a person’s brain to change, and refers to increases in gray matter, rerouting of synapses, and other interesting changes that can happen in the brain. These changes can result in different types of behavior in the individual and even different types of emotion. Obviously, the younger a person is, the more neuroplasticity they have as young people are constantly learning and changing. But what does this have to do with porn? Because teen brains have higher degrees of neuroplasticity, some have suggested that their brains are more vulnerable to being rewired by porn. This could make it harder to resist addictive things in general and form lasting compulsive habits such as viewing porn regularly. Like many parts of porn addiction, this is an area which still needs tons of research as these are all very new concepts. Does this theory make sense to you? Are teen brains really more vulnerable to porn addiction due to neuroplasticity? [For me, it sounds extremely likely].

From the Psych2go YouTube Channel.

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5 Signs of Teenage Depression

Do you think you just can’t be happy? Are you finding you’re pulling away from friends? Do you sometimes sit in your room, in the dark, unaware of how many hours actually passed? Depression can affect anyone, especially teenagers. About 20% of all teenagers experienced depression before adulthood. That’s a scary statistic. When singer Willow Smith, daughter of Will Smith, said she was depressed, the comments at the end of many posts were attacking her, they commented, “Why should you be depressed?” Many people do not understand that mental illness does not discriminate against anyone based on age or circumstances.

Speaking directly to students, depression is all the more difficult to recognize in your age group than in adults, because as a teenager you experience so many changes at this stage of your life. But the longer you feel like this, the more likely it is to disrupt your life and turn into a long-term problem. So here are 5 ways to recognize depression. First, prolonged bad mood or sadness. Do you often feel sad or in a bad mood for longer than usual? If yes, things that usually lifted your spirits no longer bring the same fun and happiness. You may feel sad or start crying for no apparent reason. At a time like this, it’s good to talk to someone about it. Second, simply irritated or intolerant of others. As a student, irritation can often be missed as a symptom of depression because you are often stereotyped with mood swings and irritability anyway! But it is also a common sign of depression. You may be irritable and explode on people you love for no apparent reason. If you experience changes in your normal mood, it might be best to discuss it with someone like a parent, small group leader, school psychologist, doctor or friend. Even if you feel it’s not depression, just challenging times at school, talking it out with someone can still make a difference.

Third, feelings of helplessness. If you suffer from depression, you feel like you’re in unknown waters, as if you were losing control of your life. You may feel completely helpless and confused. Although these feelings are normal as your body changes during adolescence, if the feelings of sadness, anxiety or guilt, fear, helplessness, hopelessness or loneliness last more than a few weeks, it could indicate that something is seriously wrong. Fourth, social isolation. Do you want everyone to leave you alone? When you’re not feeling like yourself and perhaps feeling that you are all alone, it can lead to even more voluntary isolation from others. It’s hard to be around people at this point because you feel like you have to behave the way you normally would, the way others expect. This emotional strain can force you to give up any socialization. If you’ve noticed that you’re starting to move away from people, make a decision to talk with someone. Even if you don’t think it is depression, dealing with it now can prevent it from becoming something worse. Fifth, a slight to complete loss of love for things you used to like. Have you lost interest in sports, after-school activities, music practice, or hobbies? Perhaps you really don’t want to participate in those things you used to love but would rather cancel. Even your favorite Netflix or TV series just doesn’t have the same appeal. Not enjoying the things you liked can be a sign that you are depressed. Depression may feel like the end, but it is not, and most important, you are not alone. Have you ever experienced depression? What have you done to address it?

As a small group leader, we can look for these indicators and make ourselves available. And the best thing we can do is listen. We will be tempted to offer solutions, and there may be a place for that at some point in time, but you just can’t go wrong by listening, affirming, and walking along with your students.

Adapted from Psyc2go.

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Reconciliation – a message of hope for students

What an exciting opportunity we have as leaders to minister God’s grace and reconciliation to these students! Recently some students have told me they believe God is mad or disappointed with them when they screw up or don’t live up to certain expectations. We can be an example of God’s grace by accepting each student where they are and encouraging them to pursue the One who loves them most. God is NOT disappointed with you or them, He simply desires for all of us to share in the GRACE, POWER, AND LIFE through Jesus Christ. As God leads, let your students know that by receiving the forgiveness and life found only in Christ, they can establish a connection with God and experience His peace, love, and rest. And if they already have a relationship with Christ, they can step off the performance treadmill, Jesus did all the performing on their behalf. Our job as leaders is NOT to add to their list of things to do, our job is to encourage them to discover who they are in Christ and all that He has already done in them and what He is ready to do through them. Now that’s an exciting journey!

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. -2 Corinthians 5:18–19

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You are brand new – Take off the mask

Although created a couple of years ago, this video is an excellent reminder of who we are in Christ. As leaders, let’s remind our students that a relationship with Jesus Christ is more than just a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card,

it is a brand new life, a brand new identity, a brand new YOU. Help each student under your care (and let me encourage you as well) to take off your mask and be YOU. Be free. In Christ.

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Lead Your Group Well – a perspective with Heather Zempel

What does it mean to practice hospitality in a practical way? A lot of times we think of hospitality as having the chairs set up or having a clean house, but there is an element to hospitality that creates an open and free environment for change and growth to happen. So how do you practice hospitality in the context of small group leadership? I think a lot of times we think about hospitality in terms of tea cups, doilies, and well set tables, and maybe that comes from my southern upbringing, but one of things that I’ve seen biblically is that has very little to do with biblical hospitality.

In scripture, hospitality is really about creating a safe place to hear a dangerous message. So that’s what we are trying to do every week as people come into our homes or in our workplaces or wherever we are. It’s about creating a safe environment for a dangerous message to be heard. So there are certainly environmental factors involved, like making sure you got chairs set up in a way that is comfortable for people to sit or making sure the temperature is right. Food is probably going to be a part of that, but there are other factors that help us create community that is life giving and transformational. And actually food would be one of the big ones. Do you have to have food to have a good discussion about 1 Corinthians 12? Maybe not, but it certainly can’t hurt!

What I’ve found is that sometimes having food makes the content of the group a lot more palatable, and this doesn’t have to be a difficult thing. You can have different people assigned to be in charge of the food component. You can theme it and have different people bring different things on different nights. There is something about food that brings people together and creates community.

I think another thing that helps to build community in a group is to play together. I’ve found that one hour of play often helps me get to know somebody than 12 weeks of conversation. And so finding a way to make sure that your group life incorporates some time where you are just playing together and having fun together and sharing life together. I think serving together serves a very similar purpose. When you’re in the trenches with another person and you are kind of shoulder-to-shoulder with them, then there’s a type of community that gets built by that. It’s different from but complimentary to when you do the face-to-face thing. And so I would say to build community in your group, find a way to serve together, because I think groups that serve together are going to live in community together better. And then the final thing I would say to build community is to pray together. And I would just encourage groups not to make prayer the add-on to the group – or this is how we cap off the night. We read that the early church was in unity or they were in one accord as one translation reads. It’s interesting that usually precedes or follows times of prayer. So prayer can really bring your group together. Find creative ways to make prayer a central component of group life. Sometimes that might mean bringing prayer to the front-end of your group time, incorporating it into the middle, or just making sure that prayer saturates the every day “walking around”, Monday to Friday of your group experience and pulling people together in that way. So there are a lot of ways to build community, and it is something I think the leader has to set the tone for and be proactive about. It’s doing life together. Eating together, praying together, playing together, and serving together.

But what about the times you find yourself reacting to things like the mess that happens in someone’s life, and you find yourself in a “pastoral role” and think to yourself, “I’m a small group leader. I didn’t necessarily sign up to be a mini-pastor?” It can sound a bit scarey, that word “pastor”? But the truth is, when we step into a role of small group leadership, we are basically taking on a pastoral role, so I think we need to have a better understanding of what that means, and I think the word care is the really key word there. The word pastor actually comes from the idea of shepherding. Your role is to shepherd the group, not to have all the right answers. It’s not to fix things, or make things better, or make things right, or have the perfect profound thing to say. At the right moment, it’s just caring for people. And I think one of the ways we do that is by watching for the defining moments to happen, and those defining moments happen in the lives of all of our group members at different times. It can be a change in circumstances, major life decisions, those moments that become very raw in a person’s life, and often it’s related to mess. I mean, if we are honest, community just gets very messy, and sometimes that mess happens in the context of the small group. Sometimes it happens because life is messy, and our role in that moment is to care and be present; to be present and prayerful.

I think a lot of times when we navigate mess and when people are facing those defining moments, our presence is most important. It’s not about having the right thing to say at the right time or having all the answers or being able to give good counsel, it’s just being present and bringing the presence of Christ into that situation. Being prayerful is another key component. Are you praying for people in your group? When God entrusts a group of people to you, He will give you discernment and wisdom and knowledge that goes beyond your human ability and capacities about the people that you are leading. As you pray for them, you are able to love them in a new way and love them the way Christ loves them, and you are able to kind of capture a piece of God’s heart for the person and for that situation.

I really believe that our role as group leaders is pastoral. It’s about caring for people, it’s about being present, and being prayerful in the midst of the mess.

What about discipleship in general when it comes to the group environment? The ultimate goal of any group is to make disciples. We want to have fun together, we want to grow in community, we need to care for people in those defining moments, but the ultimate goal is to make disciples. And not just make disciples, but make disciples who disciple. The only way we know if we’ve been successful in disciple making is if we are reproducing ourselves. So I think the first step is making sure the people in your group don’t view themselves as group participants but group owners, that they have a role that is unique to them that they play in the group. It could be anything from somebody that’s in charge of the food, or in charge of the prayer time, or someone that can help figure out how we are going to create community, or how we are going to play and have fun together, or how we are going to serve together. It’s not about you delegating away things you don’t want to do, but finding people that have gifts, abilities, and passions in those areas that cannot only help build community, provide care, and make disciples within the group, but also feel like they have a role to play and own the group vision and what’s happening in the group. Ultimately, you would find people that you begin to put into place to do what you do…lead. Eventually, you want someone from your group to step up within the group and/or to lead their own group. Often when we lead groups, we think it’s about going through the material or accomplishing an agenda, but really it’s more about focusing and creating community. It’s about caring for people in difficult situations, and it’s about discipleship. In 1 Corinthians Paul tells us follow him as he follows Christ, and that’s really what we are trying to do in small groups.

Taken from TheTheaterChurch YouTube Video HERE

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10 Signs of Hidden Anxiety

According to the American Psychological Association, People with anxiety have a future-oriented fear which leads them to avoiding anything that could potentially trigger a stress response. In 2017, the National Institute of Mental Health reported that approximately forty million people worldwide suffer from anxiety. Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, but recent surveys show that only 36.9% of those suffering from it seek treatment. This might be because most people with anxiety worry about the judgment of others and how the stigma against mental illness might negatively affect their lives. Does this sound familiar to you? Do you worry you might be suffering from anxiety and just don’t realize it? Here are 10 telltale signs of hidden anxiety to look out for.

  1. You don’t like talking to people face to face. You can easily keep a conversation going for hours when you’re texting or chatting online with a friend, but talking to someone in person, no, that’s an entirely different story. Even if you already know them well or have talked to them online, you still get tense and nervous talking to them in person. You have trouble making eye contact or finding the words to respond, and you want to end face-to-face conversations as soon as they begin.
  2. You’re always self-conscious. Do you walk into a room and immediately feel like everyone is staring at you, listening to you and judging your every move? Or perhaps you’re overly conscious of the way you walk, the way you eat, the way you sit, the sound of your voice when you talk, and so on. This could be a sign that you have hidden anxiety.
  3. You’re easily upset or irritated. Has anyone ever told you you’re too sensitive? Do you find your feelings getting hurt easily? Are you quick to get angry or upset with others over the littlest things? This kind of emotional volatility may be a sign that you have high functioning anxiety, as anxiety can often make us easily overwhelmed and emotionally imbalanced. Frequent mood swings. Temper tantrums and irritability can be expected when you’re overly anxious.
  4. You’re panicky and easily startled. Anxiety makes you want to be as in control and vigilant as possible. An unexpected phone call, a random knock on the door, an email with no subject, or a forgotten task you can easily finish. Anything is enough to send you reeling with panic. You go into a tailspin whenever something catches you off-guard and you find it hard to relax. Even when the smallest things don’t go exactly as planned.
  5. You’re indecisive. Do you have trouble making even the simplest of choices? Are you afraid of making up your mind about something because you’re so sure that whatever decision you make is gonna be the wrong one? Oftentimes anxiety can manifest as perfectionist tendencies, fear of failure, or distrust in oneself. If you can’t make your own choices without thinking about it for hours and hours first or consulting with all your friends and family, you might be harboring some hidden anxiety.
  6. You overthink past conversations. You have a tendency to get hung up on past conversations, no matter how much time has passed since then. You analyze the other person’s body language, facial expressions, choices of words, and even the tone of their voice. You can’t help but think about what you should have done or said instead, and it drives you crazy and keeps you on edge every time you remember it.
  7. You’re always making yourself busy. It’s common for people with anxiety to have a strong need to keep themselves busy. They’d like to occupy themselves with simple tasks and do as many things as possible in a day, because sitting still and doing nothing for a long time can make them feel restless and on edge.
  8. You talk yourself down all the time. Life isn’t always kind to us, and self-love and a balanced lifestyle don’t come easily. Living with anxiety, especially if it’s hidden or suppressed, can make it hard for us to feel good about ourselves and let ourselves feel happy. It makes us believe that we don’t deserve it and traps us in a vicious cycle of negative self-talk and constant pressure to be perfect.
  9. You have a lot of negative thoughts. Are you a pessimist whose quick to find the downsides in every situation? You find yourself getting upset or stressing out over. Even the most minor inconveniences is every day a constant battle with yourself against the spiral of panicked and rational thoughts. In 1997, famed psychologist and cognitive therapist Aaron Beck termed this kind of thought pattern as catastrophic thinking, which he often observed in his patients who suffered from anxiety.
  10. You experience physical symptoms. Sometimes anxiety can be entirely physical, because while your conscious mind may not always be aware of your anxiety, it will definitely make itself known to your body. Things like erratic heartbeats, chest palpitations, muscle tension, a clenched jaw, shaky hands, and profuse sweating are all indicative of anxiety. Your body may be trying to let your mind know that you’re feeling anxious and stop it before it gets any worse. Do you relate to any of the problems listed here, or do you do your best to seem ok and hide your symptoms because you feel embarrassed about your anxiety? The truth is, you’re not alone, and having mental health issues is nothing to be ashamed of. What do you plan to do next?

From the YouTube Channel, Psych2Go.

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Mental Health Under Attack

It’s no surprise that the mental health of our students is under attack. I see more and more students struggling with anxious thoughts, depression, fear, loneliness, and more. As leaders, it is imperative that we do not minimize the struggles of our students. The “get over it” attitude or “when I was your age” advice is really not helpful. Our job is not to be a counselor (even if you are a professional counsellor). We do what we do best…LEAD our students to know Jesus Christ as their Life, and when I say LEAD, I mean “Listen”, “Encourage”, “Affirm”, and “Demonstrate”. We listen without judgment, encourage with purpose, affirm even the smallest of efforts, and demonstrate the freedom, victory and peace we have in Christ (and the grace of God we experience when we blow it). There are times, however, when you find students who are really struggling in one or more areas and professional help might be exactly what they need to get through a particular season of life. It is NOT a lack of faith for anyone to seek help! In fact, it is one more step of faith in their journey. If you believe a student could benefit from professional help, contact your church staff leadership and have that discussion. Should you and the staff decide that might a good option to present to the parents, I generally recommend talking it through with the student first. They might be thinking the very same thing! The worst thing you can do is go behind their back and contact the parents. When talking to the student, you are not seeking their permission, you are having a conversation about where they are. It is possible that you come to a different conclusion after speaking with them and you and the staff decide to wait, or perhaps you press forward, BUT no matter the student is engaged in the conversation. For many students, a leader who actually LEADs is enough to navigate the mental health attacks. Ask God for wisdom as you love on these students.

A CDC study examined mental health symptoms in four different U.S. school districts during 2014–2018. Based on teacher and parent reports, about 1 in 6 students had enough behavioral or emotional symptoms and impairment to be diagnosed with a childhood mental disorder.

Anxiety disorders were the most commonly reported mental disorders, followed by oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/features/school-aged-mental-health-in-communities.html

I created a 4×6 image “Take Action on Mental Health” (source material cited on the image) that you might want to share with your students and use for yourself as a model to mitigate some of these issues (and if you are NOT an InsideOut Leader, feel free to modify for your ministry as you see fit). The small group environment led by a leader who LEADs is a great place for a student to mitigate attacks on their mental health. I hope you find it helpful.

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Going small

As part of a mega-church, we who serve or volunteer tend to rely on the large group environments to generate excitement and energy (and my church is exceptional in creating amazing environments). However, in this pandemic environment, large group environments, for the most part, are just not appropriate at this time (don’t worry, they’ll be back). In general, the adult services / ministry will adapt. Student ministry is where I see the most risk. Many students have come to expect a regular dose of large group energy, yet over this last year they lost their “fix” and have suffered from withdrawal, depression, anxiety, and apathy. And leaders are not exempt from experiencing these same emotions. This is NOT to imply that large group gatherings are bad…wrong conclusion! Large group gatherings are AWESOME, we’ve just lost the art of building engaging small group environments. As leaders in student ministry, we must realign our own expectations of the church and think small! We don’t have the luxury of large group ministry making large-scale impact, so why not ask the question, “what can I do to make multiple small impacts for one or more students”. Yes, some students are not going to respond…don’t take it personally and don’t write them off. Reach out anyway knowing that many will not respond, but trust me, there are those who are so grateful to hear from you but for whatever reason do not respond. But some do! And those who do respond, ask the Lord how best to connect with each one. It may be a coffee, perhaps some pizza for those who can make it. Some of these guys would love to know more about God in a Bible study. You might be thinking, “this is going to require additional time on my part” and you are exactly right. Don’t think of it as “time consuming”, think of it as “time investing”. Jesus leveraged both large and small groups in His earthly ministry, but the vast majority of His time focused on the few who walked with Him. He made a personal investment in each one and they changed the world. I would even go as far to say that the large group environment was more for those few that Jesus invested in than it was for the general masses that attended. Those who walked with Jesus were focused on Him and saw God work miracles through His Son in the context of the large and small group environments. As a student leader, you do NOT have to have all the answers, just find ways to walk beside your students. Let them see God work through you, through their small group, and yes, through the large group experience when those come back around. I believe God is using YOU in this uncertain time to encourage and build-up the few students who will become the foundation of an even larger movement of students to impact the next generation. The pandemic environment is not a problem, it is an incredible opportunity to go small, refocus on God loving and working in and through us, and make a bigger impact than you could ever imagine.

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40 Discussion Questions

Have you ever experienced that awkward moment when you are with a student or group of students and no one is talking? We’ve all been there! The attached list of questions may help you get the conversation started!

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God will finish His work

Have you ever felt off-track spiritually and perhaps too far gone for God to use you? I know exactly where you are. Maybe you had a dream or goal and after a few months or years, it is nowhere in sight. A distant memory…a fairy tale invented so long ago that you thought was from God but, after so long, you just don’t know anymore. Let me encourage you.

First, God is more interested in you, not what you can do for Him. His plan for you is good…He wants you to experience His life, power, and love in everything you do. Is it possible you are right where He wants you? Could it be the destination is a secondary consideration to the main purpose of simply loving others and knowing Christ in His fullness? He is working in you according to His desire and plan…learn to go with it.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

You may have made some bad decisions along the way, but don’t you think God is big enough to work through all that, or do you believe your decisions can block the sovereign God? Of course there are human consequences to every decision, but isn’t God big enough to work through all those for your good? And don’t you think He knew every decision you could possibly make in every scenario possible, even allowing you to fail and wander around while still working His plan for your good? I am not saying to thumb your nose at God and He will work it out…remember, your decisions have consequences, and I for one prefer to limit those as much as possible. Understand that GOD IS FOR YOU…on your side, working for your best interest no matter what the circumstances.

God is working in you and through you for His glory…He will accomplish His work, just not always according to how you first envisioned it. So go with it…

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Philippians 1:9-11

“blameless” – 677. ἀπρόσκοπος aproskopos; from 1 (as a neg. pref.) and 4350; not causing to stumble, not stumbling: —blameless(2), no offense(1).

God is looking to express His love through you…His desire is that your love will grow in truth and discernment so you can make good decisions with sincere motives that, in the end, do not cause you or others to stumble.

So, don’t fret about where you are, walk in His love and grace and let Him direct your path. Ask Him about your next steps, seek counsel from good friends, leaders and more and then move forward knowing He will finish His work in you. He is working in and through you right now as you are trying to figure stuff out, and that is very cool. -Vernon

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