Speaking Life

We walk on this solid ground called earth participating in daily challenges whether we fully understand our concept or not. Time on this earth never waits for anyone, and we need to use every second we have to make a difference, for time is highly limited. We choose how to use our gifted time on this soil in various ways. My contribution to this earth is not one of selfishness; rather it is greater known as Love. The four letter word, love, is taken lightly by many souls. It is said too often from many hearts that don’t truly know the real meaning. This Mission of love that I set out to achieve is a true gift given to only the true, faithful believers. The people that surrender everything they have for one man, as he gave his life for us. These are the people that will not look back no matter how narrow or steep the path ahead looks. They stand for what they know, and abolish what others are saying behind them. This is because they know what is truly in store when eternity chimes in.
This is where I stand. I am just one of the many cells stuck to the hands and feet of this movement. A particular movement cast by the real king. Along this ragged journey I have come and questioned myself, however the real truth speaks. When the truth speaks I answer, therefore giving me no future stop sign until the day my body rests under the moist soil on this planet. As long as my heart beats my life song, I still stand. With this I stand high and tall spreading the truth like an ocean wave never letting up. I will capsize others from their terrors, and give them a new reason to live. That is when they too surrender all they have and get washed away clean of all their wrong doings. They then too will use their gifts to power the weak, as I continue on my path to eternity. I am up for any challenge that comes my way because in my life I walk with love, and love never fails.

~Devon B.

I listened to the thread message a little over a month ago. immediately afterwards, I prayed about the colors I should wear, if any at all. I ended up with Blue —-{growing.deeper}—-, Yellow —-{staying.strong.in.walk.with.God}—-, and white —-{purity.of.mind}—-. Once the threads were on my wrist I prayed about them even more, knowing that I had just made a serious deal with God. I prayed more specifically over the white thread because as a teen, Satan likes to target us with impure thoughts and motives, which can affect how we react to things. Our bodies are also physically maturing, so that doesn’t help much in the mental department of our brain of pure thoughts. I prayed that if it was truly God’s will for me to break that pattern, then I would want that thread to stay white for as long as I wear it. I do a lot of gardening (weird thing for a teen right? ha, that’s okay, we all have our perks) and I knew that would have a hard time staying white. 

While I was at work today, I had finished up all of my tasks and had a break to rest a bit from table waiting. I was playing with the threads when I realized the white one was still as white as it was when I first put it one. This brought me to the realization that my thought patterns have improved from when I first heard the Thread message. I do admit that I still struggle with unpure thoughts, but what human being doesn’t? We are not perfect. Long ago, in Edan, was the last time humanity was perfect; before sin. Now, we are sinful beings that still strive for that perfection. Truth is that God is the only thing that is capable of being perfect. Perfection is the wanting of power of trying to be in control of what we know we can’t control. This is when we need to trust God. I learned that the more I tried to be in “the perfect mind” I failed. Once I gave up perfection and gave my mind to the author of my mind, I got what was promised. 

Romans 12:2 (NIV84): 

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.

In everything you do, trust God, even in the little things. He always has a plan for His people. We can’t just pray for the will of God to be done, we need to carry it out. The outcome? His perfect plan worked into your being.

Love is not a feeling

It is not

something given to you by a girl or a boy

It is not

those butterflies fluttering in your stomach

It is not

something you fall into

So what is love then?

Love, is a man

A man not of this world

A man with pure and true intent

His name is Jesus

He is love

He came to save

And He did

He came to make a way

And He did

He came to tear that veil

And he did

This man gave His life

For you, and for me

Selfless, Shameless, Innocent

On a cross

For us all

So that we may know God

Serve God

Love God

Jesus is love.

- Danielle Stein

This last week at the Element (April 27th) was the most amazing nights of worship I have ever had. God really spoke to me about a few things that I would really like to share with you guys.

The first, I remembered something from the book I’m reading right now called “Captivating” by John and Stasi Eldredge that says “We come to God in worship not to get but to give.” As we’re singing I think about how true that is. We should come to the Lord and give Him everything we have. We should not expect Him to give us something because He already gave us EVERYTHING. I thought about how I wanted to give God all I had and expect nothing back. I gave Him my full attention and was overwhelmed with an indescribable joy and love. We should worship God simply because of who He is and what He has done for us.

“God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” -John 4:24

Another thing that the Lord placed on my heart was the fact that we don’t need to see Him to know He’s with us; we just need to feel Him. His presence is so heavy that we don’t need any other confirmation that He is in our midst. I believe that we are moved more by feeling something than we are by seeing something. How I think of it is that we are blind and cannot see the Lord so we rely on him through feelings and of course faith. Though God does show us who He is through nature and miracles we cannot directly see Him. When a person is blind all their others senses become more prominent. They rely on their sense of touch and hearing. We are the same way with God. As we grow in our relationship with Him our senses become more attune to Him. We do not need to see Him to know He’s with us. God is so great and He will not disappoint.

“We live by faith, not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5:7

-Danielle Stein

Think ahead about 10 maybe 15 years. It’s your high school reunion and you’re talking with all your old classmates. They’re telling you about all the awesome things they’ve done since high school, where they’ve traveled, who they’ve met. Then they ask you what you’ve done, and all you can say is, “Ohh you know I went to college and then started working. You know, the usual.” Then you think to yourself, “Really? Is that all that I have to show for myself. If I would have done this or that I could say I did something great.” But you didn’t and that thought of what could have been runs through your mind and you wish you could go back and change it.

I don’t want that to happen to me. I don’t want to go through the rest of my high school career as just “another face in the yearbook”. I want to do something great. Something that will impact the people around me and let them know “Hey! I’m here!” God has really been bringing all these ideas into my heart of ways that I can impact and make a difference. I’m so ready to put these plans into action. I don’t want to wait until I’m out of high school before I do something BIG. I’m not gonna let people look down upon me because of my age and as it says in 1 Timothy 4:12 “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

I read a book called “Do Hard Things” by Alex & Brett Harris and it really opened my eyes to what unbelievable things kids our age can do. They mention how adults don’t expect much from us teenagers and how we should prove them wrong by doing things above and beyond what is expected. They call it a “Rebelution”.

The Lord has plans for all of us. He knows all we’re capable of and can bless us in doing things we never ever thought we could do. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13

So pray. Ask God to show you the plans He has for you. Ask Him to give you ideas, it might not always be what you expected but that’s okay. Pray for the courage and the strength to do big things. Don’t be afraid to make a difference and remember that it’s for God’s glory. And He totally deserves it.

You say, “I love that movie!”

I ask, “How?”


Often we invoke the most powerful of words and phrases in the silliest and most mundane of situations, and when we bring the words down to a more superficial level, we lessen the perceived value of the word. Such is the case when one invokes the will of God by praying, “God, please help me get this raise.” The power of God is not dilluted, but an observer may conclude that invoking God is a trivial matter, often used for material matters. Even if the raise is a good thing, asking for that probably isn’t necessarily right.

People might get the wrong idea, when one asks for such trivial things in prayer.

Love is the same way. We will use it in regards to the most minor of things, such as the case of someone remarking, “I love my new phone!” Love is not a synonym for “like.” To put it one way, the word “like” is at the bottom of a river, in terms of depth, and “love” is in the clouds.


In Psalm 91, it is written:

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

He will call upon me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life will I satisfy him *

and show him my salvation.”


I’m going to go out on a limb here that God doesn’t feel the same way about you as you feel about your new cell phone. Hopefully not, right? God loves us unconditionally, as true love is unconditional. We should not only accept that God loves us, but love God back. Now, here’s the tough message you probably don’t want to hear: Love isn’t an action; it’s a commitment. God invests in us and trusts us each accordingly with new weights and challenges we’ve proven that we can handle, and in order for us to invest in God, we must pursue a relationship with God and invest time into such a relationship.

Love for God, therefor, is not just reading one’s Bible or any religious text. No. Love for God is prayer in turmoil and in times of prosperity; love for God is a never ending chase for a higher level and a better you in the face of oncoming apathy; love for God is adherence to the basic teachings God has given us.

Jesus once said, when asked what the greatest Commandment is, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:36-40)

“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else?” (Matthew 5:43-47 )


Love is radical. It is the echo of “We Shall Overcome,” and the flutters in the hearts of those passionate for life, which in itself I liken to an expression of God’s love. So next time you use the word “love”, think carefully: Do you really love that phone? What does love mean to you? Don’t’ just answer these questions with words; answer these questions with your dedicated actions and commitment.


*On the note of Psalm 91: 16, I take “long life” as meaning not just the obvious physical duration of one’s existence. Do you think God loved/loves Anne Frank less than someone who has lived over a century, or close to? I take “life” as meaning something other than mere “existence” in this case. “Life” is the reputation one has in some ways, but more so, it is the joy and the love one receives and gives out. What is life without love?

~Brandon S.

Many of us go about our daily lives always thinking about what we can do for ourselves, and how if we plan everything out right, it will go right for us.  If we make our own plan and stick to it, everything will work out just right. Most of us are people who can live fully on our own, trusting nobody but ourselves. Sounds good right? Wrong.

When we live our lives for ourselves, we are doing the thing that will end up hurting us the most:ignoring what God wants. When we live on our own without asking God for strength we are weak and powerless. When we build our lives around ourselves and this world that we live, we are building ourselves on a weak foundation. This world is a weak foundation.  We are weak on our own.

But if we build our foundation on God, that is where our strength will come from. When we trust our lives to God and listen to Him, that is when we can become strong. Once we die to ourselves and to our earthly lives, we can be consumed by God and burn with his fire. Psalm 91:9-10 says this: “Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.” It doesn’t say that some evil will get by while some is withstood, it says that NO evil shall come upon us, with God by our side and living inside of us, sin is powerless against us.  I know its cheesy to quote lyrics of a song, but I think that his line is probably one of the powerful lines of a song-“And if our God is with us, that what can stand against us?” Its so true, with God at our side, we can accomplish anything, nothing can stand in our way living for Christ, and sin has no hold on us.

~Nick H.

Thanks Pastor Terry for the assignment on Facebook! It helped me to realize that even though (as you said) the Element is amazing, if I want to connect with God I don’t have to wait until I am at church. Another thing, I learned that even though the suffering of Christ, and a concern for those without Him is important, the whole point of His suffering was so that we could know the joys of having a relationship with Him and act on that. I was so focused on what he did that I didn’t even remember what it was for. Salvation, Love, and the amazing joy of the relationship that came out of that suffering! Not to shabby for a day out of school.

~Ashlynn G.

God works in mysterious ways. Its a saying that almost every one has hear but it rings true. I found that out the other day. I was sitting at a speech meet when I got a call from my work. I was too busy to answer it and didn’t get the voicemail until the next day. My manager had called and told me that she had to talk to me and that it had to be in person. So, later on I went in and talked to her. She started to tell me how a man had come in and complemented one of the people working the night before(myself and a co-worker). She said at first she just thanked him and gave him the usual, “We have great employees” but he continued. “You don’t understand, this girl changed my life. She said three words to me and it literally changed my life. God bless you. If she hadn’t said them to me that night I don’t know what I would have done.” My manager had tears in her eyes as she told me this. The man told her that God had brought him into the store that night. Jesus uses us and our enviorment in ways that we could never imagine. If we open ourselves to him he can, and will use us,. Any where, any time, God is there.

~Ashley F.

I was born and raised in a Christan home. I was taught what was right or wrong and was saved at a really early age. Like 3 years old! Well, my family just moved to the Mandan/Bismark area and i had to start all over. I really wasn’t to into God and stuff and i just told myself to wait for that feeling. That feeling of extreme and undying love for our Saviour! Well, i started going to the Element and the first message i went to was INTENSE! I told myself that i would change. But sadly, i just couldn’t get that feeling! I have been going since November and had never gotten that feeling before. Until the Sex Series! Yes i know! I have to get one thing straight. I am still a virgin and i will be until marriage. But one thing i always HATED in church was worship. i couldn’t stand it! There was only one song i like to sing and it is hardly ever sung. I have been going through something really hard and i was praying for help with it during worship. Then i added, “God, if this next song is my favorite song i know you are with me!” I know that i should just believe but sometimes it is hard! Well anyway, the next song that came on was my favorite song! I sang it with all my might, fighting back the tears. I had finally gotten that feeling. and i will NEVER, EVER let it go.

~Micayla B.

I put on a show for everyone to see
hoping you would look at me,
and not see me for who I really am,
but what I wish I could be.
The prettiest, the smartest, the greatest of them all.
Hiding all my mistakes, you can’t see me fall.
I have to be perfect! can’t you see
look at me!
No, don’t look at me cause I am ugly,
stupid, boring, selfish, nothing to see.

One day I looked in the mirror
but I didn’t see myself.
I saw something greater, something better,
something else. Someone not me.
I saw a Man who died on a tree
to set me free.
He spoke the word beloved, but that couldn’t be.
Was He trying to say that He loved me?
I told him about all the things I had done,
but it didn’t impress Him much.
What about all the mistakes?
He said, “I love you a bunch.
More than you could ever imagine or hunch.”
I leaned a little closer, looked Him right in the eye.
All He could whisper was, “you are my prize.”
And thats when it happened: huge tears filled my eyes.
I fell to my knees; I stopped believing the lies.

No longer do I care how the world sees me.
Cause to Jesus I am lovely, by His blood I am redeemed.

And so are you.
Because He did not just die for me.
The truth is, He wants us all to be free.
And to know and experience His unfailing love.
The kind that can only come from above.
You won’t find it here
because the world’s love is cheap.
but when you fall in love with Jesus
everything else takes a back seat.
Just a taste of His presence will make your knees grow weak.
His love is that great
and now He is calling us to wait,
to wait for Him, long for Him
many can say it’s waiting we hate.
but when that moment comes and you experience His grace
you’ll get addicted I swear
you’ll need more that just a taste.
And I’ve got good news,
He has so much in store
for you and for me, He will never shut the door.
His love is so strong, the battle He won,
over sin and death through Jesus, His son

And don’t forget that He loves you.
You might be wondering what you are to do.
just accept it, it’s a gift for you to receive
and remember it’s not about you or about me.
It’s about the One who did it all so we could hear Him call,
“I love you, I want you. You are my desire.
I long to burn in you like a mighty fire.
So turn your eyes to Me so you can see
the greatest love that ever was, is, or will be.”

~Kaylee B.

God IS AMAZING. I have went through life trying just to GET BY. It doesn’t go that way. I am unfortunate, so to speak. I get picked on A LOT. I am not pretty or beautiful by any means. I had made some friends, and they all went to the Element. I wanted to fit in, so I went, too. BUT IT DOESN’T MAKE YOU FIT IN. It gives you a REASON to stand out. I am NOT supposed to be like everyone else; because I am BETTER than that. I have realized that I am not lower than others. And I also felt loved- and it was NOTHING I have EVER experienced before. I thought entering into middle school would be a brand new start; no one knows of what I am or how I am, so no one could judge me. I was right. They don’t have the right to judge me, but they do, anyways. I no longer have those titles weighing me down- “FREAK!” or “nerd.” I was a nobody- but only because I let myself be! I was always more than I thought- and never in my entire life have a felt such a joy of simply not crying at what I see in the mirror. I realized that God made me PERFECTLY; exactly how I am supposed to be. He made my life; why couldn’t I trust him with the little things? He planned out every detail of my life, and yours, and we should trust Him. Do not be angry! Do not rude! As long as I know that I am loved and wanted. I have also realized that the devil doesn’t want you to be happy- HE WANTS YOU DEAD. If I would have gave into suicide, he would have won. And I am not going to let that happen. I have formed these amazing friendships at the Element that could never be damaged- because they know ME!

~Meghan F.

God gave me this word at Youth Convention, and I was reminded of it tonight at the Element..the people are un-expecting. Un-expecting of Jesus moving. Un-expecting of God speaking to them. Some come because they’re forced. Some for friends. Some for their reputation. Whatever…just not because of Jesus Himself. It doesn’t stop there though. Anyone and everyone we encounter in a day is un-expecting. He reminded me I, too, was un-expecting at one time, but that was the start of my love relationship with Him. I was un-expecting, but that was a good thing. Perfect, actually, because if I would’ve known what was coming i would’ve built up walls. I would’ve ran. I would’ve said that i didn’t need it, or more-so, that i didn’t want it. But it came and transformed me because I was un-expecting. So what about the people we encounter everyday? They are un-expecting. They don’t expect me to tell them about a Jesus who loves them passionately, or about His hope, His truth. They don’t expect the Spirit to come and interrupt their day by completely sweeping over them like a wave, and showing them true love and healing. They don’t expect me to pray for them, or have a word of knowledge from God spoken over their lives. They don’t expect me to be bold; to be different. So they don’t necessarily build up walls or barriers or think up ways to rationalize their lives for when they come face to face with God; because they don’t expect to. They don’t have to fight something that’s not there. But that’s PERFECT. That’s why we are supposed to tell the world of Jesus and His love; because they are un-expecting. In other-words, they are waiting, without even knowing it.

~Alicia F.