What are you Christmas?

by: Abi Rivera

What are you Christmas? Where did you come from? Are you the hot coacoa that I drink with the company of a fireplace? Are you the cheesy music that invades my ears singing about Santa and how he owns reindeers? Are you the snow we all wait so patiently to fall in December? Or are you the gifts that we anxiously open on the 25th of December?

The traditional Christmas is all of the above. But what we do not realize is that

Christmas time is here!!

by: Jessie Hurlbut, Jessie Arnold, Rafael

Christmas to me means to be with family and love one another and be greatful for being alive, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We shouldn't just celebrate it just on Christmas we need to celebrate it everyday all day because you wake up everyday and live and breathe because of Him. So Christmas to me means to love and live on this day. It doesn't matter how many presents or what you get that matter, it's love and life. So enjoy Christmas because that's what it means to me. -Jessie Hurlbut

The center of Christmas for my family has always been food. Not so much the eating part but the making of too much food, everybody bringing to-go boxes, and the kitchen being the one room that EVERYBODY is. If you want some quiet you go to the living room because every other room is filled with people, food, and stories from the past year. I am so happy I am finally of the age I am able to learn all of my grandma's recipes. Before I would come in to the kitchen and just walk right back out because I didn't have a reason to be in there and I had no idea what anyone was talking about. It is true that Christ is the center of Christmas but the food is a close second in my family. Always has been and always will be. - Jessie Arnold

Christmas is special to me for lots of reasons. I get to give and receive gifts, go to Christmas events, and spend time with my friends and family. But most of all, I get to celebrate Jesus' birthday! - Rafael

SKINNY Jeans and V-NECK shirts: The essence of cool.

COOL.  After 2 years of youth ministry… probably to some. After 5 years… maybe. After 10 years, I don’t know. After 15 years… probably not. After 20 years… definitely not. The essence of cool. It is something that I probably lost grasp on many years ago. I realized this summer at the Motion youth conference that I did not look like a lot of the “youth speakers” that were on the stage. Skinny jeans and v-neck shirts… hmm. Should I really be wearing those?

Separate Faith

by Charis Hope Franklin

When I was in fourth grade, I was faced with a teacher who was an evolutionist. She had us watch videos on evolution, and she put questions on the tests about evolution. I walked up to her desk after class one day, and I explained to her that I understood that she believed in evolution but that was not what I believed as a Christian.