#2 – Why This Blog?.

I debated for a good while whether to start this site. My message to graduates was timely enough to force me to decide to do this. But as I assembled the list of “Links To Check Out” and “Books You’ll Find Helpful,” I realized that there were good reasons to have this site. For one, I want to have a site where there can be in one place links you can go to that will help you with whatever needs or questions you might have as well as to encourage you. I also see the need to have a list of books I could recommend that I believe would help you in understanding your faith better.

But a real distinction from other youth sites, I believe, and what finally made me decide to start this site, is that this is the only site I know of that will direct you to other sites that will help you to better understand the things happening in our country and the world as well as at times speak on those issues as they relate to you in particular. I have not come across such a site that speaks about “the other side” of what you are hearing from most people in the media and in your classroom and assigned readings in school. I believe that it is WRONG not to have enough respect for YOU to discern truth from error by giving you the full story about things that impact our country and and the world and that will potentially impact you and YOUR children and grandchildren. For instance, maybe you already know that evolution is a theory and not a fact, but did you also know that that there are about 10 times more scientists who question the popular idea of global warming than those who believe in the Al Gore version? Also, has anyone ever told you that because of abortion, about one out of every four who were in their mother’s womb on your birthday were actually aborted, that one out of every four who were supposed to be your classmates were, on average, killed because their lives were considered inconvenient and insignificant?

Sooner than you realize, YOU are going to be one of the citizens of this country who will help to make decisions which will decide whether we remain as free and have the same foundation of values that have made our country the greatest in the world. YOU will help to decide what kind of nation we will be and what kind so many hundreds of thousands have and continue to give their lives to preserve. Therefore, if you are not fully informed to make the right decisions and do not now and throughout your life choose to speak out that our leaders make the right decisions, than, trust me, the day will come when God will NOT bless America anymore! I refuse to let that happen and I want to help you to be able to be sure that doesn’t happen.

Links To Check Out:
· The Squirt Gun Brigade - Stan M. Yonashiro - I list this site first because it is the site I started in mid-April to post a minimum of two weekly articles (Tues and Fridays) that I write or pass on from other writers that make some comment about what is happening in the news. This is where you will regularly find important information that is “the other side of the (popular) views” of today. Please check this site out; I HIGHLY recommend you subscribe to this free site;
· http://Worldmag.com (student edition) - This is a great site for getting a Christian view of the news of the day, as well as reviews of current books, movies, music, as well as some great editorial cartoons you probably won’t find in most places that give you the news. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE SOME OF THE BEST EDITORIAL CARTOONS, BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THEIR WEBSITE EVERY FRIDAY AND LOOK FOR A LINK IN THE COLUMN ON THE RIGHT. GREAT STUFF!
· http://meant4more.com - This is an incredible site with answers to questions teens ask, articles by teens, and links that will tell you tell you about how to know God, and others with such titles as “Real Stories,” and “Life Issues,” and “Connecting With Someone.”
· http://pluggedinonline.com - This site of Focus on the Family has up to date trustworthy reviews of movies, music, and video games. It's an excellent place to check out before you make your next choice and that you can inform your friends about as well.
· http://gotquestions.org - This site provides Bible answers to your spiritual questions.
· http://evangelism.com - This site helps you to answer questions you may be asked when sharing your faith.
· http://GlobalMediaOutreach.com - This site offers over a dozen different presentations of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you are interested in knowing how you can have a personal relationship with God, this is the site to visit
· http://Bible.org - This site allows you to read passages from the Bible in many different translations.
· http://Breakpoint.com - This site offers free daily commentary on things in the news by probably the most brilliant Christian mind today, Chuck Colson. I will sometimes post one of Mr. Colson’s articles. They WILL make you think of the news in ways you never considered.
· http://Mikeysfunnies.com - This site offers you free daily jokes and funny stories. Now who doesn’t need a laugh every day, right?

Books You'll Find Helpful - These books are all great. For more of an explanation of each one, please check them out at Amazon.com. I would also urge you to order a used version of any book from that site, just remembering that there is a $3.99 extra charge for sending any book to you. Even then, I’ve never bought a used book from the site that was not in great condition. Hey, it doesn’t have to be in mint condition to share some great truths with you.

If you are a high school graduate or in college, I strongly suggest your getting books numbered #1- #5, if not all five at least #s 1-3. I would also consider getting two other books entitled, “Ask Me Anything” and “Ask Me Anything 2.”
If you are in high school, I would particularly recommend “Apologetics for a New Generation” and “Do the Hard Things.”
If you are in junior high school, I would recommend “Don’t Leave Your Brains at the Door” and “Do the Hard Thing.”

Don't Leave Your Brains At the Door
Ask Me Anything
Ask Me Anything 2
· #1 - Apologetics for a New Generation
· #2 - The Case for Faith
· #3 - Do the Hard Things
· #4 - The Case for Christ
· #5 - The Case for a Creator
· When God Goes to Starbucks
· Evidence for Faith 101
· The Case for the Real Jesus
· The Case for a Creator
· Evidence for Faith 101

Of course, if you have other books you’ve found helpful, please let me know and give me a paragraph or two of a review, and I will consider posting it. Again, I want this to be a site that’s teen-friendly and with teen input, so I will depend on your sending things on to me.

#1 - Congratulations on Having Your Intelligence Certified!

[Originally dedicated to the guys of Discovery MS Student Venture class of 2005, graduating high school in 2009}: While your official commencement speaker may be very eloquent, I don’t believe that person will care about you personally as much as I do. Because of that, I offer you my unofficial commencement message. I know it is a bit long and that you may be tired of reading right now, but I hope that you will take a few minutes to read what I have written below.

When I graduated from high school 40 years ago (yes, I’m a 1969 graduate), I don’t remember anything about that commencement address. But I will never forget the outdoor ceremony I participated in years later when I graduated from college. It had rained the night before and our seats were still wet when we sat down. (For some reason, no one thought of wiping them off before the ceremony started.) It was quite humbling to about to be a college graduate and find myself forced to sit there with my bottom soaking wet. But then, the university president spoke. He concluded his brief remarks by saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations! Today your intelligence has been certified. From now on, if anyone questions how smart you are, you can hit them over the head with your mortarboard!”

Of course, we all had a good laugh at that remark, but on reflection those words communicated more wisdom than I then realized. Our education certainly indicates that we have acquired some knowledge but it says nothing about how much wisdom we have acquired. And throughout our life, what will really count will never  be how much knowledge we attain but how wisely we apply that knowledge to live selfless rather than selfish lives. At the end of your life, they will not remember you for how smart you were but for how well you lived life. While some may choose to measure you by the number of degrees or the amount of power or recognition you’ve acquired, the really successful life will be one “lived well.” (Those trophies and awards you’ve acquired over the years are a great testimony to your hard work but sooner than you think they will rust and be forgotten by others and even yourself.)

And just what is a life lived well? Well, as Christians it should be evident that it is one lived according to God’s will for your life as best as you are able.

 In case you haven’t already, I’d like to encourage you to look at how God has gifted you - what things you enjoy doing and have natural or acquired skills to do. Consider what kinds of careers would allow you to use those gifts and to work with passion. Don’t consider the standard of living or anything else but whether it would be doing things you would be excited to do every day. When you decide what the best career for you would be, pursue a course of study to enable you to have such a career. You may or may not find that “right” job right away but always keep searching for it. My prayer is that you will live each day of your life with joy as you use your giftedness from God to please Him, to serve others, and to please yourself.

As a Christian, I trust that you are already aware that your faith will be challenged and almost certainly will meet hostility of some kind in college, if you haven’t already. (I was once openly laughed at for carrying a Bible on my college campus.) You will be challenged to be a “free thinker,” which will essentially mean providing air-tight answers to questions about your faith in God, something that is not always possible. But always remember that your faith IS based on solid, intellectual evidence and is anything but a “blind faith.” There is no field of study that has all of its questions answered conclusively and is without differing opinions of some kind. That, after all, is why learning is an ongoing process of discovery, and when it comes to the basic truths of your faith, even as you discover new truths the Word of God teaches, expect your faith to ALWAYS withstand the harshest questioning as it has for thousands of years.

And no matter what you hear in your classrooms or other media or read in any book on your required course reading list, always listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you when something “just doesn’t sound right” because it probably isn’t. There is always another side to any issue that will be discussed and the right answer will always be that which is supported by biblical truth. If you aren’t fully given the opposing view without bias, then Truth demands that you examine any argument before accepting it. Remember, the only really dumb question is the one never asked. (If you have a question, you can be sure there are others in your class with the same question.)

Above all, remember that you are not just a student at your school but a Christian student. In every classroom, every gathering you find yourself in, you are Christ’s ambassador to those who have never heard of God’s truths.

One day, a mentor took me to the center of my college campus and stood with me as the bell sounded ending another class period. Suddenly, as we looked at the entrance of one building, hundreds of students started pouring out. My mentor/friend then pointed at the students and said, “Stan, no matter how many degrees those students earn while they are here, NOTHING  they learn will be more significant in their lives than what you have to share with them when you share the gospel.” The truth of that statement just blew me away and I have never forgotten it.

And so, my friends, when the school year begins, I challenge you to begin by praying – by name – for each of the classmates God leads you to get to know in each of your classes, as well of course, for each  of your instructors and other adults who become significant in your life. Pray that each will have the opportunity while they are at that school to hear the truths of the gospel and then ask God to use you in any way He chooses, whether by your life example or your words, to direct them to Jesus. I believe that there are no “accidental” students.

 I believe that every Christian student is at their particular school, and in their particular classes, and at the time he or she is there, for the purpose of making an impact on those students, teachers, and other adults. Always be aware that – wherever God leads you in life - you can make an eternal difference in people’s lives if you simply choose to be available to God to use you, by your life, and if necessary, by your words (praying for them and sharing your faith with them.)

There you have it. What I’ve written and what you’ve hopefully been patient enough to read may be things you’ve already considered. If so, that’s great. But I don’t apologize for re-stating things that are not new because I hope it serves to just emphasize those things in your mind and heart. Again, congratulations on all your hard work and all you’ve accomplished!

“Lord Jesus, may each Christian graduate seek after You with all of their heart, and no matter how difficult the road ahead may prove, may they always be aware of Your abiding love and presence and hand upon their lives. In every circumstance, may they seek to know your will AND be surrendered to Your will. I thank You that, as your Word promises, You will never leave them nor forsake them (Hebrews 13:5), and that you have planned that they will have a future of great hope. (Jeremiah 29:11). I trust that wherever they go on in life, they will be effective ambassadors through their life and their words of the truths of Your Word, and that they will impact eternity greatly for Your Kingdom and will have “lived well.” May they help everyone in their circle of influence to know Your everlasting love for them, their need for Your forgiveness, and come to embrace Jesus’ death and resurrection as they trust in Him as their Savior and Lord. I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”  -   Stan

P.S.- And please, graduate, I hope that you will take the time to PUBLICLY (say, at your graduation party?) to THANK YOUR PARENTS for their years of support and sacrifice. They deserve to hear that from you.

P.S.S.- As you probably have a copy of this year’s high school yearbook, I challenge you to consider PRAYING for as many of the graduating students, as well as the teachers and administrators you find in there as you can, to come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. YOU just may be the only person to ever lift them up to God’s throne. What if it’s YOUR prayer that causes God to begin working in their lives to draw them to Him and the reason why you meet them one day in Heaven. Think about that!