James 1:19 - "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,"" (NIV)

I know that I can sometimes be quick to say something before I really think things through. Either I end up embarrassing myself or hurting someone's feelings. In the end, my quick response can sometimes hurt us both. God asks each of us to do more listening than responding, to think before we speak, and to not allow anger to take us over.

Yet making that change isn't always easy. We develop habits that take root. We need to put effort in through prayer and persistence in order to break those habits. Change doesn't come quickly, but it can come. Whether we are stressed, tired, or just have a tendency to say the first thing that comes in our heads, we sometimes need to take a break and be aware of how our words affect those around us.

Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Until the year 2012 passes, there will still be plenty of debate on the Mayan prediction of an apocalypse. While just about every religion has some sort of "end of the world" scenario, it seems that Hollywood likes to add plenty of their own stories to the mix. Tomorrow director Roland Emmerich and Sony Studios rolls out another disaster/end of the world movie to thrill and excite you. Except this time, the movie might make you think a bit.

2012 does wallow in a number of disaster movie cliches, which seem to be bothersome at first. Yet, if you can get over the stereotypical situations and characters, there are some great life lessons about human nature. How would you react if you found out the world as you knew it was going to disappear? What if you knew resources would become scarce or that someone around you was in danger? These are the questions that come up, and ones that make us keep going to these disaster movies.

Still, from a Christian point of view, the Bible tells us that the end will come like a thief in the night. While the scientists in the movie make the predictions, the Bible tells us the end is on God's time. While Hollywood threw wrenches in the scientists' plans by speeding up the apocalypse for dramatic value, Christians may walk away with a sneaky feeling that we can make all the predictions we want based on science, but God's still going to do it His way.

Read the review of 2012

One of the wonderful blessings God provides us is creativity. Each of us has a creative side that shows itself in some way shape or form, so why not find a way to harness that into youth leadership events?

There are so many things youth leaders and pastors can do to help foster God's creative gifts to us. From battle of the band events to craft shows to poetry readings, using events to show off the talents of creative youth group members is a way to get people involved.

Whether you're a participant showing off your creative side or a spectator enjoying what talents God has provided, these types of events allow youth groups to grow together in celebration of one another.

Proverbs 24:5 - "The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger."" (NLT)

I am not really sure when we started down this path of believing that intelligence wasn't important, but it seems like we reward ignorance far too much. People become rich and famous for nothing more than being pretty or unintelligent. It makes it seem like there is no reason to grow in our knowledge of things.

Yet God tells us something different. Wisdom and knowledge make us far more powerful than the world tells us about. Wisdom that comes from God makes us truly strong, because there is an assurance and strength that God provides to us in understanding. We should never shy away from wanting to be smarter. There is nothing wrong with being the smartest or wisest, in fact, God tells us that there is a strength in wisdom that we should strive toward.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this tragedy at Fort Hood in Texas. Was it religion? Was it one man on a rampage? Was it really fear of serving in Afghanistan? Whatever the answer or answers are, it still doesn't change the tragedy of people dying. It still doesn't alter the fact that this incident happened to those men and women who already had it in their hearts to put themselves in the middle of danger to protect our freedoms.

I ask everyone I know this week to say a prayer not only for the victims and their families this week, but for all our men and women serving around the world. Or even take a step further and do something to honor the troops. We are about to honor our veterans for Veteran's Day this week, and the fact that these men and women serve every day facing danger means we owe them a bit of thanks. Agree or disagree with military action, it does not mean that these soldiers are not out there protecting your freedom to say what you will about what they do.

Disney's "A Christmas Carol"

Every holiday season it seems like there is another twist on A Christmas Carol, and this season is no different with the motion capture version starring Jim Carrey. What is our fascination with the Charles Dickens' tale, and do we really need another incarnation of the story?

Our fascination stems from the overarching theme of the story, which is redemption. We all know someone who is a little Scrooge-like when it comes to faith, some of whom we've seen slowly come to know God. The change in those who were so resistant is remarkable, as is the change in Scrooge.

Yet the fascination with the story is really more of a belief that we ourselves can change. For Christians that change often comes from allowing God to work in our lives. God places people and things in our lives to tell us when it's time to change. It may not be as obvious as three ghosts, but often there are hints that we aren't living quite right in God's eyes - from the pull on our consciouses or the warning from our friends and family.

In the end, we all know at some point we will feel that redemption and freedom from the burdens we have carried. Yet in the meantime, we need to listen to our personal "three ghosts" so that we can rid ourselves of as many burdens as possible. That is why A Christmas Carol will always remain a popular holiday staple.

2 Corinthians 3:5 - "It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God."" (NLT)

Trust in God. Sometimes it's hard, because our nature takes over, and we tend to want to do things on our own. It is no different than when we pushed our parents aside for the first time to do something on our own. We do it to God all the time. Yet, we cannot think that our successes are our own. God created us. He provides us with our abilities. He gives us lessons in our failures. He shares joy in our successes. We can do nothing without Him.

This weekend is Halloween. Most Christians have one opinion or another about whether Halloween is acceptable or not, after all, the Bible doesn't directly say that Halloween is bad. Since much debate comes from various interpretations of the holiday, each year I like to find out where you stand by doing a little poll:

Psalm 67:1 - "May God be merciful and bless us. May his face smile with favor on us."" (NLT)

We often ask ourselves how to be more Godly. How can we be more pleasing to God? Yet, one of the greatest things we have as Christians is to know God's mercy and blessing. There is nothing better than knowing you did something right in God's eyes and feeling his smile upon you.

At the same time, we should be using this verse to ask for God's blessing on others. Take some time this week to ask for God to be merciful to those around you and bless them. You may not know it, but someone you know probably needs it. What a blessing your prayer may truly be.

I don't think there is a day that goes by that I don't have to ask God for forgiveness for something that I did. I'm not perfect, and I know I make a lot of mistakes. Yet I also know that I have one thing that makes my life a little better...God. No matter what my mistakes are, I know that God will forgive me if I ask for it.

Does that mean that God's gift of forgiveness can be taken for granted? No. However, God doesn't expect us to be perfect. He knows we all make errors in judgement. That's why he gave us examples all throughout the Bible including big names like Jacob and David - all of whom made big mistakes but also received God's forgiveness and love.

When we ask for forgiveness, though, we need to learn from those mistakes. What good is forgiveness if we need to ask for it over and over and over and over? If we can't find a way to solve our problems, we need to ask for help. We need to allow God to work in our lives through his presence and the people he places in front of us to help us in our walk.