Getting a Mentor

I know that this is not something that college students struggle with, but having a mentor will help you with the struggles that I have been talking about this semester. I have gone through many of these struggles and continue to go through these. The advice that I have given you is from my friends and from personal experience. With a mentor, they have dealt with these things and have gotten through them. Having a mentor will help you get through the tough things in life that you may not be able to tell your friends or family. Having an older person in your life to support you in your relationship with God while in college is so important. They can keep you accountable in the toughest situations, they will always be there for you and they are like your mother or father away from home.

You can find mentors anywhere but the best place to find one is with your church home or in an organization that you are in. I am currently in YoungLife and we have adult leaders who are there for us when we need them. They do not judge us or look down on us for things that we have done. They too have gone through the things that most of us have gone through. We look up to them and respect them. They walk through life with you and help you grow in your relationship with God.

Here are some things that your mentor should possess,
1. should respect you and you should respect them
2. strong in their faith with God
3. not judgemental
4. trust them with anything
5. knowledgeable with the word

Waiting for God

This is something that I do not struggle with but some of my friends struggle with this. The problem that they struggle with is knowing that God has a plan for them so they just wait and do nothing. It's true that God does have a plan for you and your life is in God's hands, but He gave us free will to decide what we want to do. We have to help Him out some.

For example, you can't not study and rely on God to help you get an A, you have to pull your weight and study for that test. Now don't get me wrong, God is powerful and almighty and He can make miracles happen but He does not call us to be lazy and wait for Him. We have to be proactive in our life and in our relationship with God. If we are lazy in one part of our life, we will probably get lazy in our relationship with God.

This is a short blog but the main point is to not be lazy and wait for God to make things happen in your life. You have to do your part and God will take care of the rest.

Desiring a Relationship for Marriage

This blog is mainly for girls feeling the pressure to have a relationship heading for marriage.

It seems like in college that every girl is engaged or seriously dating someone that they will eventually marry. College is like a breading ground for marriage. With all the engagements and soon to be engagements, it is hard to not feel the pressure to be in a serious relationship. Its ok to want a relationship with someone one but when it consumes your life is when it becomes a problem.

I am in the same boat as the majority of students, I am not in a serious relationship but I have a lot of friends who are in a serious relationship or are engaged. When I hear or see how happy they are with each other, it is hard to not get wrapped up in wanting that same thing. God designed us to have relationships with the opposite sex. I get through each day knowing that God has a perfect man for me and that when the right time comes, this man will enter into my life and I will feel the same happiness that a lot of my friends are feeling. Another way that distracts me is being involved in school and organizations.

If you are having trouble not being consumed by the pressure to get engaged in college, I would spend some serious time with God. Knowing that God has your life in His hands is very comforting and stress-relieving. Its not healthy to consume your life with the ideas of having or wanting a serious relationship. So trust in God and be patient, your prince will come.

Honoring God with Thinking About Future Jobs

You've heard me talk about the stress of figuring out what you want to do in life and what you feel like God has planned for your future. Most Christians who go to college, feel like they are supposed to get a job that is related to religion, whether it is being a YoungLife leader, a pastor/preacher, or some other leadership role in the church. God did not design for all of us to be involved in a church related job. His main goal for us is that we show His glory and love to all through the way we live our lives. Don't think that because you won't have a job in the ministry, that you are in someway disobeying God.

I am wanting to be a dentist and the last time I checked, that doesn't have anything to do with the church. What I want to do is when I become an established dentist, I would like to go on mission trips with Doctors Without Borders, or with something called the Mercy Ship. Through these actions, I will glorify God and show His love to others.

If your future job doesn't deal with the church directly, there are other ways to spread His love, you could go on mission trips or get involved with your church home. Your workplace is another opportunity to share your faith with your patients. I guess what I am trying to tell you is that you do not have to have a job in a leadership position in church to be effective at sharing God's love and glory to others. God has a plan for you, so trust in Him and you will glorify Him in your future job.

Keeping God at the Center of Your Relationship With the Opposite Sex

I know you have probably heard this before but dating in college is very different than dating in high school. In high school most of us had curfews and rules in our house regarding the opposite sex. When you come to college, you don't have all the rules or supervision, there are many opportunities to fall off track and have sex with your boyfriend or girlfriend or someone you may have just met.

It is easy to get caught up in your relationship and forget about all the other important things in your life, mainly God and your relationship with Him.

When you do meet someone and decide to date or have a relationship, one of the most important things that I have learned is that if Christ isn't at the center of your relationship, the relationship is doomed to have problems and most likely end. Having God at the center of your relationship means that you rely on Him for your happiness not the opposite sex and you put God before the other person. With both of you having strong relationships with God and continuing to strengthen that relationship with Him and with each other, your relationship should not have many problems. You are going to have some disagreements but in the long run, you will understand each other better and your relationship will be glorifying God through it all.

Serving

At Texas A&M, there are many on-campus organizations to get involved in to serve in the community or to serve out of state or out of country. There are also a lot of off-campus organizations that serve the same purpose. I understand that it can get overwhelming when you have all the choices but do not know what direction to go in. First thing I would tell you is that you need to pray about it. This may seem like the "Christian"-thing to do, but really it helps.

When I heard about all these organizations, I was truly overwhelmed and did not know which to join and get involved in. I prayed about it and chose to do YoungLife. I felt led to keep going on that track. I did YoungLife in high school and was a WyldLife leader my senior year of high school. There were other organizations that were specifically catered to going on mission trips to Mexico and other countries in the world. Going on Mission Trips is what I did in high school, but when I got to college, I didn't feel led to do it anymore. There was also a Freshman leadership organization that I thought I felt led to do, but God had other plans for me and I see now that I would not have been able to do the organization, younglife and school.

I guess what I am trying to tell you is that you should not get overwhelmed by all the opportunities to serve, take it as a blessing. Pray about what organization you should join and in which way you should serve. What you think God is leading you to do may not be what He really wants you to do, but in the end, trust that He knows what He is doing and that He has a plan for you and it will all work out.

Here are some websites for mission trips:
http://www.adventures.org/
http://www.globalfrontiermissions.com/shorttermtrips/studentmissions.html
http://www.missionfinder.org/medstudents.htm
~this last one is for pre-med or medical students who are wanting to go on trips themselves when they are older.

The Future

It is thought that when you come to college, you are supposed to have a major picked and know what you want to do with your life when you graduate from college. This is not true, I have many friends who came to college as general studies students.

I came to college as a biology major wanting to go to dental school to become a dentist. I still want to do those things, but as the date to take my entrance exam to dental school, thoughts race through my head. If I do not get into dental school, I do not know what I am going to do, I have wanted to be a dentist since the 7th grade. I can not picture doing anything else than dentistry. Obviously, I am stressing about my future. One of my friends is helping me realize that my future is not in my hands, it is in God's hands and He has a plan for my life. I know deep down that it will all work out, but its the not knowing that is stressing me out.

I know many of you are in the same boat as me and the only adavice I can give you is what my friend has shared with me. Do not stress about grades, classes, and your future, God is all powerful and He has is under control. He knows what you will be doing five years from now. If you believe and pray about it, He will reveal His plan for you. Just take it one day at a time and know that something greater than us is in power over our lives.

Here are some links to verses talking about your future: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=30&chapter=29&verse=10&end_verse=12&version=31&context=context

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=22&chapter=8&verse=6&end_verse=8&version=31&context=context

Drinking

I know I already talked about some of the temptations that you will face when you come to college but I feel like underage drinking and drinking in general is a huge temptation that all college students face on a day-to-day basis.

First off, if you are underage and drinking, it is not only God who you are disappointing but you are also breaking the law and can get arrested. Don't drink if you are underage, it is stupid and irresponsible. Because of one drink, your life can change drastically.

Obviously, when you are in college there is a lot more freedom to make your own decisions and do things that you want to do. Responsibility also comes with that freedom. There are parties every weekend and sometimes during the week, with the parties comes alcohol and a lot of it. There are very few parties that do not have alcohol. I know that it is hard to be the sober one when everyone else at that party is drunk and looks like they are having a good time. You also may be pressured into drinking. Stand up for yourself and stay strong against the peer pressure, you know your beliefs so you should live up to them and not do anything you do not want to do or anything that you think God would not approve of.

If you know that you are easily pressured into doing things that you do not think are good, don't go to parties that you know will have alcohol or use the buddy system and take a friend who doesn't drink either. Having a friend there can also keep you accountable and you can leave when the party gets out of control. You can also have your own party at someone's house with friends and no alcohol. Having other friends that do not drink are important to help you stay up with your morals and they can help you find other ways to have fun without drinking.

One thing I have realized as a Christian is that it does not matter what other people think of you here on earth, the only person whose opinion matters is God's. He ultimately determines our fate in the end. If I am stuck in a sticky situation, I just think about whether or not God would approve of what I am doing or not. I also have awesome Christian friends who do not party, we have parties at each other's house and just visit, play games, and enjoy each other's company. That means more to me than going to some random party and drinking the night away with some people I do not know.

Going to Church While Being Away From Home

If you grew up in a church-going family, or if you were like me and only went to church with one parent, it was part of your routine and you knew that Sunday mornings were spent at church. When you come to college, at first you are still on that routine, but then things start getting in the way and life happens. One thing I struggled with when I came to college was to keep going to church on a regular basis. I didn't have my mom there every Sunday to get me up and take me to church, she kept me accountable and when she wasn't there I got out of my routine.

One excuse I would use was that I didn't have a car, so I couldn't get to church. I still can't believe that I used that excuse, I had many friends with cars that could drive me to church and a shuttle would come and take students to a church. There is no excuse for you to not keep going to church when you come to college. When you get here, find a church home and start going every Sunday. If one of your friends is going to the same church, go together so you can keep each other accountable and on a routine. If you are like me and you get carried away with life, it is very important that you have someone in your life that is at college with you to keep you accountable.

I am lucky to have roommates who are very strong in their relationship with God and who go to church every Sunday. They are the ones who keep me accountable and on my routine. I know that every Sunday morning two of my roommates and I will go to church so when I don't feel like going to church, I start to feel like I need to go and decide to go.

Associating with Nonchristians

There are so many different people in college that you can find someone with the same likes as you. One thing that brings a lot of students together is their religion, this can be a great thing and it can also be somewhat of a bad thing. When you only associate or befriend people that are religious like you, you shut off the rest of the world and become narrow minded. I'm not saying that you should ditch all your Christian friends, I am saying that you should branch out a little and get to know others.

When you think about it, if you go on mission trips, you are befriending nonchristians. One thing that can come out of befriending nonchristians is that you can be a witness to them and help them come to know Christ. Having nonchristian friends in college is kind of like being on a mission trip all the time. By you being their friend, you are showing God's love.

It's important to stay on track with your relationship with God so that you do not fall into temptations that you may face while being friends with others. In order to stay on track, it is vital that you stay connected with your Christian friends so that you do not fall and they can keep you accountable. You can also turn to them about some issues that may come up with your nonchristian friends and get advice about how to bring up the issue and how to deal with it.

I am friends with some nonchristians and it has not had a negative impact on my relationship with my Christian friends or on my relationship with God. If anything it has made it stronger because I want to make sure that I do not fall off track. I also want to be prepared for the time that my friend will want to change their life and have a relationship with God. I want to have the answers to their questions and to be a positive influence on them.

Losing sight of what is important

When I came to college, I was encouraged to get involved in organizations and to keep up with school. As the years go on, I get more involved in organizations and the school work load keeps multiplying and it seems to take up more of my time. Because of this, something had to be put on the back burner, the thing I picked was God. This was a big mistake, I started stressing and not really living my life like a Christian. I stopped going to church because I needed to study and exercise, I stopped going to bible study because there just wasn't enough time in the day, and I stopped being really involved in activities that the Christian organizations were doing. Slowly, God fell off my priority list.

Thankfully, I had a good friend who called me out on what I was doing and I realized that I am able to do most of these things because God allows me to. Before grades were everything to me but now I know that grades are not going to matter when I get into heaven. The organizations I was in aren't going to matter when I get into heaven. My job and the money I earn aren't going to matter when I get into heaven. The only thing that is going to matter when I get to heaven is that I had a good, strong relationship with God.

It is important to not lose sight of God and what He thinks are the important things in life. It is so easy to get caught up in what the world sees as successful that you lose sight of God and what He wants. I have been there, I have lost sight of God and it is not pretty, my world almost came crumbling down on me. I started thinking like the rest of the world and it showed.
Some things that have helped me stay on track are having Christian friends that can keep me accountable, going to church on a regular basis, and being continuously filled with what God sees as important in life.

Quiet Time

One thing that I have struggled with since I became a Christian is having a quiet time every day. Coming to college has made it so much harder because of my busy schedule. It seems like homework never ends and organizations start piling up. If you have gone through this, you know how hard it is to keep up with being diligent about having a quiet time. After sticking to a schedule and having a quiet time most everyday, I have realized how my days seem to be better and I am not stressed all the time.

Last semester, I would get anxiety about my tests and after I took the tests, I would break down and cry from all the stress that I put myself through. Let's just say I was a nervous wreck going into the tests. This semester, I have been more committed to having a quiet time and it has made a huge difference with how I am when it comes to test taking. I am do not have anxiety, I am not nearly as stressed as I was, and I don't cry after a test, I am usually really happy that it is over.

I have realized that having a quiet time keeps you focused and in tune with what God wants you to be, not what the world wants you to be. You also form a stronger relationship with Him because you talk to Him and tell Him all your problems, it's like hanging out with a friend and dishing out all your problems and getting advice from them. You also learn more about God, Jesus and what being a Christian really means.

If you are like me and pretty much have a schedule for everything, set aside a time that you have available everyday and spend it with God. It will be hard at first, but once you get into that routine, it will be like a part of your day and when you do not have a quiet time, it will feel like something is missing from your day. If you are more of a go-with-the-flow person, have your quiet time when you have some time in your day. I think whether or not you need to schedule your quiet time or not, it is good to have it at the same time everyday just so that you are in a routine and you are less likely to forget.

I do my quiet time at night before I go to bed and it makes me sleep a lot better and have a good day the next day. For me, it's like getting wind down for the night.
There are a lot of positive things that come out of having a quiet time with God so, pick a time that works with you and be determined and committed to keeping up with it. Do not worry if you forget once in awhile, everyone does it, just make it part of your routine and your life will be less stressful and more joyful.

If you are having trouble choosing where in the Bible to start reading, here is a web site that has a path for you stay up with: http://www.dailybiblestudy.org/

Sororities and Fraternities

The stereotype you normally hear about sororities and fraternities are not usually good. They usually are seen as organizations that have parties every weekend with a whole lot of drinking. This stereotype is what usually keeps guys and girls away from rushing. Another stereotype is that they are for the preppy, blond, and ditsy girls.

I had these same stereotypes coming into college about sororities and fraternities, but it did not take long for me to change my mind. There are a lot of sororities out there that do have a lot of drinking and if you rush and get put into that sorority or fraternity, you just have to stick to your morals and ignore all the peer pressure. This is a good reason to be involved in church or in a christian organization to help keep you strong and resist the temptations. There are also a lot of "good" sororities, many girls that I have met through christian organizations are in sororities and they have stayed strong in their relationship with God. I call some sororities good because they are mostly comprised of christian girls.

My friends who are in sororities have told me that there is drinking at some of their parties and formals but they just don't drink because it is against their morals and ethics. Being in a sorority or fraternity is a personal decision and when you choose to be a sorority, you have to be able to withstand all the peer pressure that may come with it.

Fraternities are more likely to stand up to their stereotype. I have not heard of a lot of good fraternities where guys don't have parties and drink a lot. I was recently talking to someone who used to be in a fraternity and he said that is was mostly drinking and their morals were against what he stood for. It seems to me that guys are weaker when it comes to withstanding peer pressure from other guys. The ridicule they will get is much worse than what girls get from other girls. To be in a fraternity, I feel like you have to be very strong in your walk with God and are able to withstand the peer pressure and ridicule that you will most likely get from the other guys.

To conclude, I do not think that if you are in a sorority or fraternity, your walk with God will be broken, it might be strengthened. One important thing you need to remember though is that you just need to be plugged either in your church or in a christian organization at the school to stay committed to your walk.

Plugging Into A Bible Study

I have found that with the busy schedules of being in college, you get into a monotonous routine, for many Christians, this includes just going to church and that's it. To further strengthen your relationship and to stay strong against the temptations, it is important to get plugged into a weekly bible study. This can be within your church, organization, or just with a group of friends.
The positive aspects of being plugged into a bible study with your church is that is organized and is on the same night every week and many times it is led by older adults who have been through what you could be going through. I did a bible study with a few friends my freshmen year and it didn't go so well, we didn't meet routinely and we led it. I am not saying that you shouldn't do a bible study with friends, I am just warning you that it is harder because of each others different schedules. Currently, I am going to a bible study led by adults in an organization I am in. We have it once a week and you always know when it happens and where. We talk about things going on in life and just hang out while getting to know the Lord more intimately.

At Texas A&M, we have a campus wide bible study called Breakaway that is held every Tuesday and is open to anyone and everyone. Your school may have something similar to this. For Breakaway, we have a professional speaker you gives a lesson and a band comes to play. It is like youth group back in high school.

Going to church just isn't enough, during the week so much goes on in your life that you need to be continually poured into. It is easy to go to church on Sundays and get lost in life during the week. You also get to meet so many new friends by joining a bible study.

External Beauty

One thing that everyone struggles with is external beauty but when you get in college it seems to multiply by thousands. Everywhere you go, you see magazines with what the world sees as beautiful and perfection. In college, it is no different, there are girls and guys all around you that work out and with a rec center right at your fingertips, it is easy to get caught up in the commotion of getting that perfect body.

Everyone has heard of the freshmen 15 and being a freshman last year, I was terrified of gaining 15 pounds because I was worried about what I would look like to the world and how they would perceive me. Without your parents around you to keep you on track of your eating and exercising, a big responsibility is put on your shoulders to stay healthy. With all the stress of school and trying to keep grades up and worring about your future, it is easy to feel out of control.

I have found it easy to get caught up in the worldly views of what is perfect and beautiful. Something that has helped me stay grounded on what is truly beautiful and perfect is having good christian friends to help me stay accountable. They are also someone who I can lean on when I feel like I am struggling and they are someone who understands the struggles that I am going through. Getting plugged into a good church has also helped keep me on track too. With the routine of going to church, you are continually poured into with what Christ sees as true beauty and perfection.

Here is a passage of scripture that has definately helped me when I feel like the world is getting control of my feelings on what is beautiful;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=song%20of%20songs%206:4-9;&version=65;

Worrying About Grades

When you get to college, you will hear a lot about your grades and GPA. To be successful in the world means to get the best grades, graduate at the top of your class, and to go on to make a lot of money.

During my freshmen year, I was obsessed with my grades and spent all my time studying. The studying paid off and I made good grades. I was struggling with other parts of my life though. I realized that grades are not everything. As Christians, we realize that there is something so much greater waiting for us than what is here on earth. It is easy though, to get sucked up into what the world thinks is important.

One thing that has helped me is to read the Bible and just keep reminding myself that my life is in God's hands and that He has a plan for my life. This plan may not be what I want right now, but in the end it will all work out. Another thing that has helped me is to just be surrounded with other Christians so that I do not get so worked up about grades and lose control. They help keep me accountable, level-headed, and grounded.

One more thing is to have an adult mentor that you can turn to when life gets rough. They have gone through what we are going through right now and they have learned from their mistakes. A mentor has more knowledge about life and the obstacles that it will throw at us.

This things helped me and they should help you. The most important thing is to not get caught up with what the world thinks and to just live your life through Christ and to follow Him and trust in Him.

Making Christian Friends

Usually when you come to college many of your friends do not come with you. It is scary not having that close knit of friends with you anymore, they aren't there to keep you accountable or to do things with instead of going partying and drinking.

I was lucky enough to have five of my closest friends go to the same college as me. They kept me accountable and we still did things together. One thing I promised myself was that even though my best friends were coming to college with me, I would make new Christian friends.
At the University I go to, there are over 300 student run organizations to become involved in. The first thing I did was go to open house, which is a day when all the organizations gather together and advertise so you will join their organization. I encourage you to do that too if your school has a time like this. Obviously, in order to make new Christian friends, I would advise you to join some Christian-based organizations. There are others ways to meet Christians, become involved in your church, join non-Christian based organizations because there is bound to be some Christians in them. I have also realized that you can meet Christians in your classes. At first this might seem intimidating to just go up to someone in your class and start talking to them about religion. I wouldn't say to do that but I am saying that you should get to know them first and then maybe start talking about religion and church.

During the second semester of my freshmen year, I was sitting by this girl in my math class and we got along great. Almost three-fourths the way through the semester, I realized that she was a Christian.

So in short, I would recommend that you would get involved in Christian and non-Christian organizations, start talking to your classmates, and get involved in your church.

Lust and Pride

While writing this blog, I was thinking that I should put up a blog about an issue that the individual sexes face. I asked one of my good guy friends what an issue was that guys face when they come to college regarding them being a Christian. He told me that pride and lust were the big things that guys face.

When guys come to college, there aren't any dress codes or rules about what to wear and where you have to sleep. This means that girls can be dressed or not dressed in whatever they want. You see girls walking around on campus in shorts, skirts, and dressed that barely cover their butt. Its hard for guys to not think about what is under there and to want to "hit that". Because of what girls wear or do not wear, guys are tempted every day when they to go class. When guys see girls dressed scandaly, thoughts just pop into their heads.

Girls, we can help this problem by covering up and by not showing so much skin. There a lot of ways to look cute and catch a guy's attention without trying to catch a guy's attention.

Now for being prideful. I know the world sees guys as being tough and able to get through anything that life throws at them. The truth is guys are as vulnerable as girls its just that they do not show it. Here is a little advice for the guys, it is ok to ask for help when you are in a situation that you do not know how to get out of or if you are struggling with something. To me, it means more that a man can admit when he is over his head than if he tries to get through it by himself and just keeps sinking. It also means a lot to girls and other people when you admit when you did something wrong. It doesn't mean that you couldn't do it, it just means that you might have made a mistake. By admiting that you made a mistake, it makes you seem more human and more honest. Also, when something amazing happens to you or when you accomplish something, give it up to God. Yes, it was some of your doing, but you would not have been able to do it without God. He was there through it all with you.

Having A Professor With Different Beliefs

One thing about going to a secular university is that some of your professors will have very different beliefs than you and some will be on the same track as you. I have noticed that being a biology major, you run into a lot of professors that are pro-evolution, which is not something I believe in. This case doesn't just come up with science majors, you will run into professors like this in every class and in every major.

This semester, I have to take a evolution class to graduate with my major. It is very difficult for me to go to class and listen to the professor talk about how evolution is the only correct belief and that the Bible has been disproven many times. Many classes, I end up falling asleep or just getting real mad and end up not paying attention. For me, it is hard to study for something that I am not really that interested in so I have to make myself study for this class because in the long run, it can either hurt or help me with my future plans. I realized it was only a semester I had to learn about this but I didn't have to start believing in evolution.

As you go on with your college careers, you will run into more and more professors who do not share your same beliefs and they will be very blunt about it and tell you what they think about the Bible and other people's beliefs. If you do encounter a professor like this, I can tell you that getting mad every class and not paying attention is not the right thing to do. Instead, just remind yourself that you just have to learn or hear about the subject for about a semester and that you do not have to start believing in it.

One thing that has helped me is to talk to other christians about what you are going through and just fill yourself up with God's word and His spirit.

Temptations

When you come to college, there are a lot of temptations that you will face. For example, sex, alcohol, and drugs. These are not necessarily new temptations but they are more prevalent in college and with all the new freedom you now have, you will be tested. One thing I struggled with was all the freedom and having the power to choose what to do and when to do it. When you get to college, your parents aren't there to tell you when you can go out and who you can go out with. There is no curfew, rules, or guidelines to follow. You are your own guardian and you have to decide for yourself what is right or wrong.

If you decide to join a sorority or fraternity, the temptations will be much stronger than if you did not join. There are parties every weekend which have a lot of alcohol and everyone will be drinking most likely. I am not trying to deter you away from sororities or fraternities, I have a lot of good, christian friends who are in sororities. You just need to be aware of what temptations you are facing and have a plan of how you will stay away from them.

Some things that helped me not give into the temptations, were that I had good friends who helped me stay on track, I went to church regularly, and I joined some christian organizations. In order for me to not fall into temptations, I had to be poured into constantly by the word of God and to surround myself with people who had the same beliefs and morals as me.

So, to end this on a positive note, you can keep away from temptations and stay strong in college, you just have to put some effort into it and make it happen for yourself, not for anyone else.

Finding A Church Home

One of the first things that you hear upon entering into your first year of college is to find a church home and to get involved. Well, as a sophomore I can say that I just found my church home this semester. During my freshman year I went to the church closest to campus because I didn't have a car and it was on the bus route. It was a good church but it wasn't what I was looking for in that particular place in my walk. I first went to the college service but that was more for staying on track than for expanding and strengthening your walk with Christ. I then went to the family service and that was a little better but it just wasn't what I was looking for. I found my church home after going to it once and it just felt like home. It was the church I was looking for all along and it is just five minutes away from my house. This was only the third church I visited and was lucky enough to find it so quickly.

When you come to college, there are an overwhelming number of churches in such a area it is easy for someone to feel overwhelmed and not know where to start. My suggestion is that you pick a church and try it out for a few weeks and see if you like it, if you don't, repeat the process with a different church. Don't settle for a church because you don't want to go looking for the right church for you, or because one of your friends goes to a specific church. We are each different people and we are in different spots in our relationship with God and we need different things, so find the church that is right for you. The first church I went to I settled because it was the closest one to campus and because it was on the bus route. I had plenty of friends trying out different churches that I could get a ride from.

One of my friends has tried pretty much every church in College Station, TX because she wanted to feel and receive certain things from the sermons and from the church body. She did not settle and has now found a church home that she is happy with and one that fits her wants and needs in her relationship with God.

It is easier if you are a specific denomination, the number of churches narrows, but just because you were raised baptist or catholic, don't give up on the idea of going to a non-denominational church. There are a number of non-denominational churches out there that preach just as well as the denominational churches do. All churches are preaching pretty much the same idea, that Christ came down and gave His life up for us and paid the ultimate price for our sins by dying on the cross.

I am not saying that you should go out and find a church that fits everything you are looking for, no church out there is perfect and you have to be somewhat flexible when you are looking for churches. What I am saying is that you should not settle for less than what you are looking for in a church and to not take the easy road out because you do not want to take the time to find the right church. There is a church out there for you so go out and find it. Don't get frustrated if you don't find it right away. Be patient and persistent. God Bless.

Here is a website that you can use to help you look for a church in your area, http://www.forministry.com/profile/ChurchSearch.cfm

Getting Started

At first, I had trouble thinking of a topic to write a blog about, but when I asked my roommates about topics, they said to talk about something you are passionate about. There are two things in my life that I am passionate about : God and college. I decided to put the two togther and talk about the different struggles that christians in college go through and I will give some advice on how to overcome those struggles based on my own personal experience.
Some of the topics I will talk about are:
1. Finding a church home
2. Finding good christian friends to keep you on track
3. Staying away from the different temptations you might encounter
and many others.

I am a sophmore in college and I love the Lord but I struggle with staying on track in school and in my walk with Christ but my friends have kept me on track and I have made time for Him, for school and for friends. I know when many of you come to college, its like a whole new world and you are faced with many temptations, new friends, and a new life. Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to fit it all in and do well. I am writing this to help you get through the rest of this semester of college and hopefully to renew or strengthen your relationship with God.