 How do you trust your friends and yourself? |  What can you do about prejudice and hatred? |  What makes you feel good about yourself? What tears you down? |
 How can we love our "enemies," those who hurt us? And why should we? |  Have you ever needed a second chance? Try mercy: be kind to others and find happiness.
|  Connecting with others creates strong and meaningful friendships. But phones and other electronic devices are getting in the way of true connection. |
 Excited by Valentine's Day? Or worried, perhaps lonely? Here's a different option. Define love in God's terms. |  What are we planting? Selfishness or service? Complaint or gratitude. We get out what we put in. |  Can we be like the sun and shine love on everyone regardless of how they act? |
 Do you wish people understood you? Be the first to see things from their perspective! |  What is the greatest gift we can give (or receive) this Christmas? |  We all strive to achieve something. However, that could be our first mistake. We don't need to achieve things to feel accomplished. Spending time with friends and love ones, and other activities that involve a less worldly outcome, should also provide us with a feeling of accomplishment. |
 When a strong wind blows, the trees that remain standing are the ones that bend. We also have to learn to be flexible when it comes to our plans. It is important we bend to meet other people in compromise. |  Jesus had an immediate bond with the people he met; they became a part of his brotherhood. We can also form brotherhoods with the people we meet by thinking of others as children of God, loving them like siblings, and respecting them. |  Many of our actions are aimed at pleasing others. The views of others shift and change, and their criteria by which they judge us also change. God's criteria are constant and ever loving. Not to mention, gaining his approval is far more important. |
 The Bible is full of stories of sibling rivalry, like Jacob and Esau. Through these stories we learn that man is an image of love and that sibling rivalry detracts from our expression of love. By loving our siblings, we might even find some blessings we had overlooked. |  Our communication with God should be a model for our daily communication with our peers. We have to say what is on our mind, but we also have to listen. By listening to others, we identify how to best respond and how to best send our message. |  We all want to belong and fit in, but what do we want to belong to? We should select the groups we associate with based on morals, not social standing. |
 Ultimately, being tempted by peer pressure is an admission of our insecurities. We think that we might not be cool enough unless we do what the others are doing. Yet, if we are good enough for God, we are certainly good enough or our peers. |  Just as it was not in Adam or Eve's nature to eat of the forbidden fruit before being beguiled by the talking serpent, it is not in our nature to give into temptation. We have both the conviction and the faith to stand strong against temptation. |  Charity is often associated with the foundational set of Christian ethics. Yet, most people, even some Christians, don't realize that charity isn't just money. Be generous with your kindness, love, and compassion to spread true charity. |
 We have the power to build a person up or lower their confidence through the spoken word. When we talk about others we should ensure that what we say is positive, genuine, and constructive, lest we take part in gossip and rumors. |  When it comes to dealing with persecution, modern day Christians have some spectacular examples to live up to. Our spiritual forefathers treated persecution as an opportunity to demonstrate God's grace, and with practice we can learn to do the same. |  Interacting with family isn't always the easiest. Fortunately, there are a few easy, God-centered steps that we can take to improve those interactions. |
 There can be a tremendous amount of social pressure on teens to lose their virginity; it's a pretty hot topic in high school. What most teens don't talk about, though, are the benefits of abstinence, which often far outweigh the benefits of having sex. |  Bullies can often be a tough challenge during our school years. Instead of ignoring them, which often doesn't work, or standing up to them, which can lead to physical confrontation, why not try loving them? |  Friends help define and shape who we are and who we become. Yet, finding the people we want around us can be a challenge. Instead of searching for better friends, try being a better friend. |
 The relationships with our friends, parents, siblings, and others significant can overshadow our relationship with God. However, as Abraham demonstrated throughout his life, when we set ourselves right with God, and prioritize him in our lives, our other relationships fall into place. | | |
