Sometimes our “thank yous” become only words. We can become more thankful by practicing thankfulness. 

Lukas Heckmann 

Today many of us live in a world of many blessings. God has blessed us with education, family, friends, and faith. But how are we doing at thanking him? 

I don’t mean just saying thank you, because we say thank you a lot. Think about Christmas. We receive gifts from family, friends and coworkers. Many of the gifts we receive are things we’ve wanted and feel we need, but sometimes we receive a gift that we feel we don’t need and don’t have a use for. When I get a gift like that, I say thank you, but only because I don’t want people to feel I’m ungrateful.  

Is that how we treat God’s gift of Jesus? Do we thank God because it’s the nice thing to do? I know I do that a lot. During church, I frequently thank God for his blessings, but during the week I find myself doing opposite of what he told me in church. That is one of my useless “thank yous” to God. If we thank God like we thank the relative who gave us the gift we’ll never use, then God doesn’t want our thanks.  

In the book of Malachi, the people of Israel were giving useless offerings or thanks to God. They, like us, said thanks to God only because it was a tradition. Here is how God responded. “ ‘Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will accept no offering from your hands’ ” (Malachi 1:10).  

So how do we become better at thanking God? How do we live our lives out of thanks to God? Like everything else, it takes practice. A golfer doesn’t become a better putter by running eight miles every day, and a basketball player doesn’t become a better three-point shooter by swimming laps in the pool. These things might indirectly improve their skills, but not directly.  

If you want to become a better three-point shooter, the key is repetition. Shoot a hundred threes with perfect form. The same thing goes for giving thanks to God. If you want to give God the thanks he deserves, practice—and repeat it every day. We are encouraged to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

It is not that hard to find God’s blessings in your life if you take a minute to look. If you’re reading this article, you woke up in the morning. Thank God for something as simple as that. The past two years I have had the privilege to participate in an eight-miles-for-water walk, which replicates what people in Africa need to do just to get a drink of water. It involves carrying 70 pounds of water from a spring two miles away, twice a day. So next time you walk to the faucet to pour a glass of water, thank God because even something that small is a blessing from God. Thank your parents when food gets put on the table, because your parents and the food on the table are huge blessings from God.  

Finally, thank God for the gift of Jesus. Let that gift help you see all the other blessings God has freely given to you. Give thanks. 

Lukas Heckmann, a junior at Lakeside Lutheran High School, Lake Mills, Wisconsin, is a member at St. Andrew, Middleton, Wisconsin.  

Author: Lukas Heckmann
Volume 104, Number 12
Issue: December 2017

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Lutheran education prepares students to face the real world.

Anna Menges

“You live in a bubble!”

As a student at a Lutheran high school, I heard this often. Whether it came from peers who went to public school or from the wonderful wisdom of social media, it was a thought that seemed deceptively true. The bubble they were talking about was one that inhibited us from experiencing the “real world.”

At first thought this may seem like a legitimate flaw of private education. But through a recent experience I have had, I learned that instead of an inhibiting bubble, a Lutheran education is a place where we learn how to use our faith properly. Instead of preventing us from experiencing the real world, it shows us what God wants the real world to be like.

The eye-opening experience I had occurred while attending Badger Girls State, a convention for seven hundred high school girls entering their senior year. Its purpose is to teach the younger generation about state government in order to encourage future leaders. At this convention, I realized that I was in a minority group when it came to my political opinions, especially those based on my Christian values.

I distinctly remember a discussion with a friend I had met at the convention on the topic of homosexuality. She believed that homosexuality was a person’s right. She even told me about one of her homosexual friends who was one of the nicest persons she knew. I then told her my opinion, which was that homosexuality is wrong. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. I was a 17-year-old female who should have had the same liberal views as her. We then went on to discuss abortion. As two people with opposite views, these were some difficult discussions.

While talking to her I began to realize that the underlying reason for our differences was my belief in the Bible—and her lack of belief. I ultimately had to explain that my reason for disagreeing with homosexuality was because God says it’s a sin in the Bible. I had to reason with her that killing a baby in the womb isn’t about the rights of the woman, but about killing a masterpiece of God and not giving that baby a chance to live and come to faith. I have tried to keep in touch with her in hopes that she will come to faith.

Reflecting back on this experience, I realize that because of my education at Lutheran schools, the Holy Spirit has given me the knowledge and confidence to speak my opinion. A Lutheran school not only instilled in me the knowledge, it also gave me a like-minded support system of friends and teachers that I knew I could go to for any questions or concerns I had. Because I heard the Word of God every day at my Lutheran high school, the Holy Spirit worked a strong and unwavering faith in my heart.

As sinful human beings, we will never be perfect. There is no less sin at a Lutheran school. The difference is that at a Lutheran school, we have the opportunity to surround ourselves with those who embrace God’s Word just as we do. We learn how to live according to God’s plan. A Lutheran education is an opportunity to prepare us to deal with situations that come our way as a result of the world straying from God’s teaching.

Anna Menges, a 2017 graduate from Manitowoc Lutheran High School, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is a member at Bethany, Manitowoc.

Author: Anna Menges
Volume 104, Number 8
Issue: August 2017

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Christ, who lived and died and rose again so that we could be in heaven someday, helps us fight through the pain when a loved one dies.

Philip Treptow

“Do you believe this?”

Jesus asked Martha this question after Lazarus died and after he shared what is now a well-known Bible passage: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die” (John 11:25,26). Her response is one of the best expressions of faith in the Bible. “ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’ ” After this Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

Don’t we all wish that we could look Jesus in the face and say, “We do believe,” and then expect him to raise our loved one from the dead? But it doesn’t work like that. No matter how much we pray, no matter how much we beg, no matter what we do, they will still be dead. It takes a lot for us to think about our loved ones as being dead. We love them. We want them still to be here for us to give us their advice or just to talk with them once more. We can pray, but everything is not okay.

My mom died when I was in seventh grade. Why isn’t my Mom here? Yes, I know that she is in heaven and that she was suffering on earth in her battle with cancer, but that still doesn’t help change the fact that my mom is gone and no one can replace her.

Some people say it gets easier as you move on, but they are lying. It never gets easier; it is always a pain—a stumbling block—in your life. It hurts every time someone jokes about their mom or someone else’s. Mother’s Day is hard. One of the hardest things I have learned to do is to hide the fact that these things still hurt and that I do still think about her every day. You figure out pretty fast that the pain never really goes away. You learn to mask the pain.

We think that by praying everything will just magically be perfectly fine. That is not that case. But we still need to rely fully on Christ when we hurt, for he cares for us and he will help us through these times of troubles.

When the doctors told my mom she had colon cancer, they told her she had six months to live. For the next seven years she battled this disease. She fought for six and half more years than what the doctors gave her. This is the greatest blessing I have from my mom. I was able to enjoy that much more time with her.

Jesus compares death to sleep in the Bible. It is hard for us to comprehend the fact that we will fall asleep and when we wake up we will be in heaven with Jesus.

After my mom died, it was very hard to go to school every day knowing that that she wasn’t coming back. But my family and I have stayed very faithful in our church attendance, and I truly do believe that this is the sole reason we all have been able to make it through this.

Prayer does help. It may not fix things, but it does help.

Yes, I do believe.

Philip Treptow, a sophomore at Lakeside Lutheran High School, Lake Mills, Wisconsin, is a member at St. Matthew, Janesville, Wisconsin.

Author: Philip Treptow
Volume 104, Number 4
Issue: April 2017

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Happily-ever-after is only true because of the promises of Jesus.

Melanie Rittierodt

“Once upon a time” is the beginning of my favorite story lines in books. This phrase brings hope that there will be a happily-ever-after for the characters of each book.

An important lesson that I have learned in my life is that the fairy tales we see in movies and read in books are nonexistent. However, God has a happily-ever-after for us. It will have faith, trust, and hope, but no pixie dust.

The authors of many fairy tales don’t tell you that the lives of the characters are not always what they seem. Disney characters never have it easy. Cinderella was only a scullery maid. She was treated poorly and had no one but mice to talk to. Snow White was poisoned by her stepmother. Simba witnessed his father’s death.

God never promised us a movie-star life, where we have the perfect hair and the perfect person to stand by us. He knows that because we have him in our lives, the devil will work even harder to take us away from him.

My mom battled with cancer for six long years and those years finished their course with her death last year. From that day on, I have learned to take care of myself and provide for myself and my family. Like Wendy Darling in Peter Pan, I take care of my two younger brothers, who need all the help they can get sometimes. I am not just the big sister in my house. I am the woman of the household. I feel like Cinderella, constantly taking care of my family along with myself; there is always something left undone. The fairy tale of a perfect high school career is only a dream.

In a way that I have yet to understand, God has put this tragic event in my story to help me. And, in some crazy way, the two childhood stories of Peter Pan and Cinderella have stuck with me and have almost become my reality. God works in mysterious ways. He knew that this tragedy would cause a stumbling block for me.

“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 29:11). This verse has rung in my ears ever since that day my life turned upside down. One day all I had to worry about was getting to work on time. Now my life isn’t just me anymore. I have my brothers, dad, and my own future to think about. I had planned my life according to the endings of my favorite fairy tales, but the ending to a story doesn’t take place until the plot is finished.

Are fairy tales real? No, at least not the fairy tales that we see on the silver screen. We don’t have the simple life of happily-ever-after. The world doesn’t give us our fairy tale; it gives us our story. God is the one who gives us our fairy tale. When our time is over and our story is complete, we will be with God and see Jesus our Savior sitting at the right hand of God. That is where the fairy tale begins. But it won’t be a fairy tale. It will be the reality of everlasting life in heaven.

Melanie Rittierodt, a junior at Evergreen Lutheran High School, Tacoma, Washington, is a member of Light of Life, Covington, Washington.

Author: Melanie Rittierodt
Volume 103, Number 10
Issue: October 2016

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God is with you through everything, even bullying.

Kaylee Elen Neupert

As we move further and further into the future, sin becomes even more prevalent in our everyday lives. There are wars; crimes; and what’s beginning to be more and more common in our schools, bullying.

Some of the synonyms of bullying are persecute, oppress, tyrannize, browbeat, harass, torment, intimidate, strong-arm, and dominate. I don’t know what you think, but this isn’t sounding like something that should be happening in our Christian grade schools, high schools, and homes . . . and yet, it is.

Bullying happens every day, whether it’s through obvious ways such as violence toward an individual, or through telling people they’re too fat, too thin, ugly, or stupid. Either way can be extremely devastating and can lead to bad things like self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and possibly suicide itself.

One of the hardest things to do when you’re being bullied is to speak out. You’re think that people may call you a tattletale or that nobody will believe you. Another reason you might not speak out is that you’re scared.

The thing that’s wrong with that statement, though, is that you’re never alone. God promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous” (Joshua 1:5,6)

Think about Jesus. He was mocked and scorned. Sometimes we forget that although Jesus is perfect, his life wasn’t. They called him names, told him he was a blasphemer, spit on him, and beat him. Jesus knows exactly what we’re going through, and he’s always with us.

Here’s some advice:

To those who are being or have been bullied: Turn to God. Being bullied can make you feel miserable, like you’re not worth it. But you are. There will be trials in your life, but God will overcome them. Jesus reminds us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

To those who know people who are being bullied: If your friend tells you he or she is being bullied or you see it happening, you need to tell someone. Your friend may ask you not to tell an adult, but you need to. This can be incredibly hard to do sometimes, but that’s what best for the bullied person.

I know that choosing to speak out can be one of the most difficult decisions you’ll make, but it’s worth it. Trust me, I know this firsthand. If you don’t tell someone about this, it may never stop. Depending on the type of bullying, it can leave permanent scars. If you don’t take care of it before it gets to be a big problem, it can cause you to distrust all the people you talk to, make you antisocial, and take away all of your self-confidence.

In conclusion, bullying is a terrible sin that affects the lives of many teenagers. It can be stopped, though, if the bullied and the witnesses go and tell a teacher or trusted adult about it. Speaking out about getting bullied is a hard thing to do, but God always will be with you.

Kaylee Neupert, a junior at Lakeside Lutheran High School, Lake Mills, Wisconsin, is a member at St. John Newville, Waterloo, Wisconsin.

Author: Kaylee Elen Neupert
Volume 103, Number 6
Issue: June 2016

Copyrighted by WELS Forward in Christ © 2021
Forward in Christ grants permission for any original article (not a reprint) to be printed for use in a WELS church, school, or organization, provided that it is distributed free and indicate Forward in Christ as the source. Images may not be reproduced except in the context of its article. Contact us