Regretful

Dear Regretful:
You’re right. God has forgiven you! I’m so glad you truly know that. And I’m proud of you for making the decision not to end your baby’s life. You’re making some wise decisions NOW, and that’s what’s important.

Tell your parents exactly what you’ve told me. Begin by admitting what you did was wrong but that you’re refusing to add any more wrongs to your actions and you’ve sought God’s forgiveness. Your folks may struggle with what you’re sharing with them. Allow them to do that. Be patient with them. Be humble about your situation, and be brave in sharing this with them. They need to know.

There’s wisdom in the counsel or others. As you talk with your parents, the three of you may also want to bring your pastor into the discussion. He’s probably dealt with this issue before and may have beneficial advice to share. He’ll probably also want to pray with the three of you, and that will be extremely encouraging. You need that affirmation right now. He and your parents can help guide you with the decisions you’ll be making in the near future.

I realize you’re worried about what others are thinking, and that’s natural, but it’s not necessarily healthy right now as you’re taking on the responsibilities of a pregnancy. What is important is doing the right thing. And, of course, the right thing is to carry your baby to term and give this little life a chance to grow and to develop a relationship with Christ and to bring glory to His name.

Again, you have some important decisions to make in the next few weeks. Your family may want to help you raise this little one. You may also want to consider making an adoption plan. To place your baby in the arms of a Christian husband and wife who will lovingly guide that baby into a relationship with Christ is a selfless decision. But please saturate your entire decision-making process with prayer. We love you!

Dear Susie:
My friend recently told me that she’s bisexual. I don’t know if I should continue to talk to her. Every time we talk, things get a little stranger. I tried to get her to read some passages in the Bible and take a look at briomag.com, but she no longer attends church and doesn’t read her Bible. Please help.

Confused

Dear Confused:
Your friendship is growing apart not because you don’t love her anymore. You’re growing further apart because you’re having less and less in common. If you can’t talk about the most important thing in your life (your relationship with Christ), it automatically puts a huge wedge between the two of you.

Continue to love her, but you’ll probably need to accept the fact that she’s going to distance herself from you because the two of you no longer share the common bond of a growing relationship with Christ.

Lovingly explain that the Bible is very clear in stating that homosexual behavior is a sin (see Romans 1:24-32), but that like any other sin, the good news is that people can and do overcome it (see what Paul says about the early church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Also tell her that it’s not uncommon for teens to question many aspects of their lives—including sexual identity. However, just because she may have feelings of attraction toward the same sex doesn’t mean she IS how she FEELS. In other words, God doesn’t call us to define ourselves by our temptations, but to see ourselves the way He sees us—as someone made in His image, either male or female, with a call to limit any expressions of our sexuality to His plan for sex, between one man and one woman in the context of marriage.

Dear Susie:
I’m totally into cooking! I love to be in the kitchen trying new stuff, and I’ve decided I want to go to culinary school after high school graduation. But I don’t know how I can use that to serve God. I want to be doing something to glorify Him, but how can I do that with cooking?

Future Chef

Dear Future Chef:
I love your letter! God can use any talent or skill for His glory! Who knows? God may use you to treat traveling missionaries when they pass through your church, or He may use your cooking as a way to open the door to sharing your faith with someone in a restaurant who’s blown away by what you’ve prepared.

Don’t worry about how He’ll use your talent. Just know that once you’ve truly committed your talent to Him, He will use it . . . probably beyond your wildest dreams! And even if He doesn’t choose to use it to open evangelistic doors, you can find great fulfillment in simply knowing you’re using what He gave you to give glory back to Him.

Dear Susie:
I’m a senior in high school and have been putting a lot of thought into what I want to do in life. I want to be something that will allow me to spread the Word of God, and the best fit seems to be missions. What degree would I need? Any specific details I should consider?

College-Bound

Dear College-Bound:
I admire the fact that you want to serve God, but I encourage you to earnestly seek His will regarding missions. That may or may not be His plan for you. You can serve Him and spread His Word in any career! You don’t need to be in fulltime ministry to share your faith.

But if He is calling you into fulltime ministry, you can still minister on the mission field in a variety of ways. We have missionary pilots, missionary accountants, missionary teachers, doctors and nurses. You’d be wise to major in an area that you can use overseas or in your own hometown. But again, this needs to be an earnest matter of prayer and counsel with wise adults during the next few years. God will make His will clear to you.

Dear Susie:
I’m trying to figure out world religions, but very little about them makes any sense to me. I also have a hard time believing that more than half of the world is going to burn in hell for eternity because they don’t acknowledge Christ as their Savior.

Searching

Dear Searching:
I recommend you read the books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel. He’s an award-winning journalist who’s a former atheist. When his wife became a Christian, he was determined to prove Christianity was a big hoax. In his research, however, he discovered just the opposite. I encourage you to get the student versions of both books. An easy read and very easy to understand.

Dear Susie:
I’ve lived in the same town all my life, but we have to move now because my grandparents can’t take care of themselves. I don’t want to move! I’m scared that I may not make any friends at the new school I’ll attend.

Also, at the school I’m currently at, my friends are suddenly ignoring me, and I don’t know why. Help me!

Perplexed

Dear Perplexed:
I’m sorry this is tough on you, but I really admire your parents for their commitment to your grandparents in their old age. That says a lot about the depth of love your mom and dad have. You say your friends are ignoring you . . . then maybe this is God’s way of opening a brand-new door of friendship opportunities for you!

The only reason you’d want to stay around friends who aren’t treating you right is because it represents security. What if God wants to give you some terrific friends who really know how to be friends? Knowing He loves you as though you were the only one in all the world to love . . . can you trust Him with this area of your life?

Dear Frustrated:
I’m thrilled you want to work on the relationship with your mom! It’s OK to disagree with a parent as long as you do so in a gentle and respectful way. You need to let your mom know that what she’s saying is hurtful. But before you have this conversation, try to sort through what she’s yelling at you about. Could it be that she’s frustrated because she has to ask you to do the same thing over and over? Is there anything you can do on your end to ease the tension she’s expressing toward you?

Begin with writing her a note or making her a card and reminding her how much you love her and that you’ll do your part to better the relationship. Use the last part of the card or letter as an invitation to spend time together (whether it’s an evening or just 15 minutes) to share your heart.