Q. I would really appreciate it if there was an article about finding balance between spending time with God, your friends, your boyfriend, and school work or something of the sort. I know it’s all about prioritizing and time management, but how do you tell when you are spending too much time in one place, and not enough in another?
– Amberly
A. This is a pretty common problem for the modern woman. How are we supposed to go to school, go to practice for sports or band, attend club meetings, go to church services and other church activities, study the Bible, do homework, and still have time for family and friends?
As you already mentioned, time management is important. Prioritize according to the importance of the activity to you. Of course, God is hopefully your first priority and you should devote the most time and effort to Him. Matthew 6:33 advises, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(NASB). If you trust God and pray to Him daily, the other things in your life should fall into place. He will strengthen you to deal with stress and manage your time well.
As far as determining whether you are spending too much time in one place, see if one of the areas in your life is suffering. For example, if your grades begin to drop, it might be time to spend less time with your friends, and hit the books. Or if you and a friend are having a hard time, set aside some time that weekend to do something you both enjoy so that you can reconnect. It can be difficult as a busy young woman to fit everything into your schedule, especially if you’re involved in a club or sport. I recommend that you buy a planner or a dry erase board calendar to keep track of everything you have going on.
Organization is a key to time management. I know it can be tough to actually put these things into practice. It takes time for them to become habits. Hopefully, with a little perseverance, you’ll soon find a balance that works for you to make your life much more stress free.
– Rachel Conley
As you begin a summer job, an internship, or a career, it is easy to find yourself eating convenient meals at fast food restaurants or vending machines. You’re going to need to eat homemade meals, or you’ll end up spending a good portion of your income on eating out, and you probably won’t be very fond of the pounds you’ll gain as a result. Plus, the time you would have spent going to a restaurant and ordering food can now be spent doing what breaks are meant for: taking a break.
We’re told in Luke 6:45 that “the good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:16
Finally, if all else is taken care of, volunteer to do what everyone else will certainly want to avoid––cleanup. Sometimes these forgotten, mundane tasks are the ones that leave the biggest impressions on others. Offer to clean up after VBS is over. Gather trash, clean up the kitchen, vacuum crumbs and glitter. Even if no one else gives you credit, remember that you are doing it to glorify God 
Since we’re talking about careers this month, I thought it’d be appropriate to mention a girl who wrote an entire book when she was sixteen! Whether or not this girl decides to pursue writing throughout her adult life, she still used her talents to glorify God at a young age 
Where to buy
Feeling stressed out seems inevitable at times. There are so many factors in any one person’s life that what stresses one person out, may not stress another. And since this month’s focus is on careers, I thought this would be the perfect time to talk about stress. For most, the two seem to go hand in hand.
There are many things we can do to “disconnect” from stress no matter what the stress is.
Having explained to our friends God’s plan of salvation, soon the subject of “the church” will, and should, come up. We need to be able to explain to our friends the uniqueness of Christ’s church; His plea and purpose.
Contrary to popular opinion that “the church” is unimportant, the Bible not only teaches that the church Jesus built is important, but that it is essential!
A recent Ask A Guy 
Sometimes girls aren’t touchy with guys, and they dress modestly, but they lead guys on by the things they say. Basically, if you don’t mean it, don’t say it (and, sometimes, if you do mean it, still don’t say it)! Even if you think you’re just friends with a guy, he may have more feelings for you, and saying flirtatious things could be leading him on. Girls often think this is innocent fun, when really, it can severely bruise a guy’s feelings, and once he realizes you have no intentions of a relationship with him, it could also harm your friendship.
Choosing a career path is among the toughest decisions we’ll ever make. A lot of thought goes into it…or not. If you just go where the wind blows, you’ll probably end up in a job that you don’t like, that you aren’t really suited for, and that doesn’t enhance your talents.
That statement is often heard from us teenagers, is it not? We all say it from time to time, at least––most commonly, when we don’t really mean it. Someone forgets our birthday? I don’t care! We fail a test? I don’t care! A relationship ends? I don’t care! But often, we do care!
You ask to leave work early to go with the youth group to a singing? Your boss says he will cut your pay that day. (Well, you might not want to say, “I don’t care,” out loud…but think it.) Tell him you will take the consequences, because God comes first in your life no matter what!
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