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feb. 2007
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We all have things we’d like to change — whether it’s our hair and complexion, or something more important, such as our life goals. But there are a lot of different life views competing for our attention. How do we know which ones will steer us in the right direction?
SECRET POWER TO TREASURES, PURITY, AND A GOOD COMPLEXION This great book by Susie Shellenberger is a look at Colossians (from the Bible). But it’s more like an adventure map than a Bible study. Whether you read it in a few sittings or a little at a time, alone or with a friend, it will help you discover treasures you never knew about, find goodness you didn’t know you had and tap into the power that will change your life.
Secret Power to Treasures, Purity, and a Good Complexion (paperback) P00344B Suggested donation* in U.S.: $10 Canadian price*: $11.50 plus tax
Request your copy of Secret Power to Treasures, Purity, and a Good Complexion today! LOG ON to go.family.org/teens CALL (800) A-FAMILY (232-6459) In Canada, call (800) 661-9800 or log on to focusonthefamily.ca briomag.com • february 2007
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Hea
Attrac Celebrating the abundance of God’s blessings.
Picture this: The Festival Con Dios 2002 tour is in full swing. TobyMac is rockin’ out the stage with his song “Get This Party Started.” The smell of hot, buttered popcorn wafts through the auditorium. Jeremy Camp, brand new to the music industry, is sitting at his merchandise table with a black Sharpie in hand. Next table over, The Benjamin Gate is selling its CDs, T-shirts and posters. Between signing autographs and greeting fans, Jeremy and Benjamin Gate’s lead singer, Adie Liesching, lock eyes and immediately fall in love. Well . . . maybe not exactly. Adie and Jeremy were merchtable neighbors back in 2002. It’s just that their love story didn’t begin at first sight.
First Impressions “It was my first tour. I met everybody— Adie just happened to be in one of the bands,” Jeremy says. “When I first saw 16
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eart
by Martha Krienke
action her, I thought, She’s more of a punk chick. I saw her [perform] live, and she was jumping around and going crazy. When I talked to her afterward, she was sweet and very gentle.” Adie remembers thinking the same thing: Jeremy is a nice guy but not anyone I’ve ever pictured myself with. “I love artsy things and being creative, and at the time I imagined myself being with someone like that,” she says. “Jeremy is exceptionally creative, but his personality is more like a sports guy than like an artsy person.” Jeremy and Adie say they weren’t looking for a romantic relationship, but the thing that stood out was each other’s heart for the Lord. “As we got talking, we became really good friends,” Adie says. “About a month into the tour, after hanging out every day, I was thinking, Oh, I like this guy!” By this time, a year and a half had passed since Jeremy’s first wife, Melissa, had died of cancer. “I was feeling guilty and freaked out [about pursuing a relationship with
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Adie],” Jeremy says. “But God said, ‘I’m blessing you with something. Receive the blessing I’m giving you.’ ” Later, Jeremy got nervous again and made plans to take Adie out and tell her they shouldn’t pursue this relationship. “We were sitting down in a restaurant; I looked at her, but the first thing that popped out was, ‘Do you feel like you could marry me?’ Right away she said, ‘Yeah.’ We looked at each other in shock. It was the most bizarre thing, but I think because of what I had been through, I didn’t have time to play games.”
Say Yes To close Gospel Music Association (GMA) Week in Nashville in 2003, Jeremy and Adie were about to attend the annual Dove Awards ceremony. The Benjamin Gate had been nominated, but Adie didn’t want to go because she figured they wouldn’t win an award anyway. Jeremy invited Adie to dinner instead. She dressed up despite the change of events, and in the meantime, Jeremy had planned a special dinner at a small restaurant. Adie and Jeremy were seated at a table near a little bay window, and they could see only one other couple in the restaurant.
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“We were talking about what God had been doing in our hearts and sharing that with people the whole week at GMA. We were chatting, and [Jeremy] didn’t say much,” Adie remembers. “At the end of the evening, he started messing with a CD player. I told him, ‘Don’t worry about it. We can tell the [wait staff] someone left it here by accident.’ Then a minute later, he was still messing with it, so I finally said, ‘What are you doing?’ ” The waitress then brought to the table two tiny take-out boxes. Jeremy was so nervous and giddy, Adie says, that he ripped open her box and held
out a ring. He had pushed play on the CD player, and music was playing while he proposed. “It was very sweet,” Adie says.
Next Chapter The two got married a little bit after The Benjamin Gate played their last tour together in 2003. Some speculate that Jeremy broke up the band, but Adie says there’s not true. “I think we [The Benjamin Gate] drove ourselves into the ground. We worked so hard and lacked a lot of spiritual accountability. After a while, so much sacrifice, when it’s for music and not for some sort of ministry, wasn’t worth it for me.” Adie didn’t have plans for her music career after that. “I was just so happy. I knew I was where God wanted me to be, so I was content to just be a wife, and at that time I was hoping to be a mom, which I am now,” she says.
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Pick your battles. “Sometimes [men and women] can both find each other annoying, but we need to appreciate our differences. Make sure an argument is worthwhile, and in that [argument], make sure you’re protecting each other’s hearts.” —Adie
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Give without expecting anything in return. “The love we should be portraying is similar to how God loves us. Sometimes, God loves us so unconditionally and He gets nothing back from us. Sometimes we have to do that with our husbands as well and be patient with them.” —Adie
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Pray for wisdom. “My word is not as good as the Holy Spirit’s. If Jeremy doesn’t want to listen to me, I have to say it once, and I have to take everything to the Lord in prayer.” —Adie
In their first years of marriage, Adie sang background vocals in some of Jeremy’s songs and was content supporting him in his ministry. However, the idea to make her first solo album swirled in her mind. At first she kept it a secret, but then one day Jeremy came to her and said, “Why don’t you make a solo album? That would be awesome. I’ll help you.” Adie was thrilled, but she decided if she was going to do this, her project would be completely different from the alternative, aggressive style of The Benjamin Gate. Adie wanted to make an album that was worshipful, mellow, relaxing, easy to listen to and fun. “I’m in the place where music doesn’t have to be my career, so I can experiment with different styles and do different types of music,” she says. Jeremy and she began songwriting together, and he also produced a couple of the tracks. The finished result, Don’t Wait, was released in September 2006. In the meantime, in late spring of 2006, Jeremy began to work on his latest project, Beyond Measure. He briomag.com • february 2007
went to Adie for her ideas, but he did all the songwriting himself. “I would ask Adie, ‘What do you think about this,’ and she would give me her opinion. But my songs are like my babies. I sit down [to write], and it’s me and the Lord.”
Above and Beyond Jeremy says listening to his new album will tell you exactly what God has been teaching Him. “When I was writing for this record, I went to the studio at my house and prayed, ‘Lord, give me songs that touch the hearts of people and connect with people.’ But God spoke to my heart right away and said, ‘Jeremy, I want you to write songs that touch My heart. I’ll take care of the rest.’ That was so freeing,” Jeremy says, “because I didn’t have this weight on my shoulder to make sure people got it.” Jeremy wrote the title track, “Beyond Measure,” after being interviewed about his first wife, Melissa. “I told them that before she died she said, ‘If I were to die from cancer and one person was to accept Jesus
BLAIR
Embed your relationship in God’s Word. “If you’re not focused on the Lord and you’re trying to start a relationship, it’s not going to work. You have to establish your foundation in the Word of God.” —Jeremy
MADISON
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KAREN
Ask yourself: Is this someone I could marry? “If it’s not, you have no business hanging out and pursuing a relationship. Otherwise, someone will get hurt.” —Jeremy
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as their Lord and Savior [as a result], it would all be worth it.’ A fog cleared in my mind. It was hard to finish the interview because God was speaking to my heart. Look at all the people whose lives have been touched through my sharing her testimony and what I had been through. It blew me away.” Adie has also felt abundantly blessed to be a wife, to raise two young daughters with Jeremy and to sing again. “I don’t think Jeremy ever thought he’d get married again, but obviously, he has. I know I’ve been a real blessing to him, and it’s been awesome to see how Christ has restored his heart,” she says. “If you know anything about Jeremy’s first wife, she was absolutely beautiful and such a beautiful woman of God. She loved the Lord with all of her heart and was such an incredible example to anybody. To be following up after that, it’s like, ‘Lord, are You serious?’ It’s not intimidating; it’s very humbling.” Adie’s Don’t Wait is also about her relationship with God and what she’s experienced with Him. “God has given us so much in abundance, of stuff we don’t deserve—the blessing of Jeremy and our girls. He restores you, heals your hurts. It’s amazing what spending time with the Lord does to your heart.” In December 2006, Adie and Jeremy celebrated their third wedding anniversary. You can catch Jeremy on the Winter Jam Tour this spring. Check out jeremycamp.com for details. For more information about Adie’s music, visit adiecamp.com. f
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Camps’ Companionship Counsel
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Pledge
Your
y t i r u P
ay for d li o h is h t n r Tu rtunity o p p o n a o t lovers in to sexual purity. r to commit by Ashley Boye
Sign It! You can also encourage your classmates to sign a purity pledge card. Use the pledge card to the right by making a bunch of copies onto red and white paper and bring them to class or your youth group. Encourage your peers to sign them as a commitment to purity. If your youth group hasn’t talked about sexual purity recently, ask your youth pastor if you can pass out pledge cards and talk about the importance of saving sex for marriage.
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CLARK ALLEN BY PHOTO
Date:
A week before Valentine’s Day, put up posters around your school to advertise. If your school allows, write a short script about the Day of Purity to read over the public address system. If writing is more your style, compose a letter to the editor of your school or local newspaper. Above all, remember that purity isn’t something to promote only on Valentine’s Day. Remaining pure until marriage is a decision you have to make every day—24/7. So this February, celebrate love God’s way by committing to a Day of Purity. f
Signed:
The Liberty Counsel started the Day of Purity campaign four years ago as a way for teens to go against the culture’s view of sex. The most important thing you can do is spread the word! Your classmates will know you’re a Christian by your actions, and they’ll know you’re standing for purity, too! Wear a Day of Purity T-shirt and white wristband to let everyone know that you’re committed to living by God’s standards (go to lc.org/dayofpurity.htm for info.) If you can’t afford an official Day of Purity T-shirt, wear a plain white one instead. This’ll be a great opportunity for your nonChristian friends or your roommate to ask about your T-shirt and your decision to remain sexually abstinent until marriage. Encourage your friends to buy their own T-shirts. There’s power in numbers!
Live It!
I hereby choose not to have sex until I am in a committed marriage relationship. Knowing this is the best choice for my health, emotions and spirituality, I voluntarily choose to abstain from sexual activity until my wedding night. Once married, I will remain true to my spouse. Putting aside whatever past I may have, I make this commitment today to purity and to setting high standards for my life.
Web site references do not constitute blanket endorsements or complete agreement by Focus on the Family with information or resources offered at or through those sites.
Wear It!
If you’re in college, start a Bible study on purity for the girls in your hall. (Try reading Elisabeth Elliot’s Passion and Purity, available through Focus on the Family, item code: BD576. U.S. suggested donation: $12. Canadian price plus tax: $14.99.)
Sign the pledge below, cut it out and put it where it’ll remind you of your commitment to purity.
so Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and you’re bummed because you aren’t celebrating with the man of your dreams. Rather than wallow in self-pity, why not turn Feb. 14 into a celebration of purity? Teens all across America are declaring Valentine’s Day a “Day of Purity,” and we’re challenging you to get involved. Even if you’ll be sharing a candlelight dinner with the love of your life or planning a chick-flick marathon with your girlfriends, you can still add eternal significance to this special day. Keep reading to find out how!
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