Happy New Year!

In this week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Michelle challenges us to try a different type of New Year's resolution. Think you can try it for 14 days?

Let us know what it was like and what you learned!

ENCOUNTER article: "Resolution Revolution"
article author: Michelle Griep
magazine: January 3, 2010 issue of ENCOUNTER

Birthday Blessings

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Brian writes about his friend Keaton, who decided to use his birthday party as a way to raise money to help a village in another country. Have you ever been impacted by another person's godly generosity?

Leave a comment and tell us about it!

ENCOUNTER article: "A Birthday Party for Someone Else"
article author: Brian Coates
magazine: December 27, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Merry Christmas!

This week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine features a quiz to help you figure out if your focus is more on giving or getting. Do you have the right perspective about Christmas, or do you struggle?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results!

ENCOUNTER article: "Becoming a Christmas Giver"
article author: Teresa Cleary
magazine: December 20, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Giving Back

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Joel and Luke of Austoville share how they are giving back to God through their talents and tithing. What are some ways you've seen people give back to God? How do you give back to God in your own life?

Leave a comment and let us know!

ENCOUNTER article: "The Family Business"
article author: Christy Barritt
magazine: December 13, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Green with Envy

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Shelley writes about feeling jealous over something a friend has. Have you ever felt a twinge of jealousy over something nice your friend had? What changed your perspective?

Leave a comment and share what you learned!

ENCOUNTER article: "Priceless"
article author: Shelley Lee
magazine: December 6, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Science and Salvation?

In this week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Ryan tells us about how he plans to have a career in science in order to share Jesus with others. What career would you like to pursue in the future? How do you think God could use you in that field?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

ENCOUNTER article: "No Limits: Science in the Cross Fire"
article author: Ronica Stromberg
magazine: November 29, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Happy (Early) Turkey Day!

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Chance shares his favorite things about Thanksgiving. What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving? The food? Football? Or spending time with the fam maybe?

Leave a comment and tell us about it!

ENCOUNTER article: "My Story: Thanksgiving"
article author: Chance Thrift
magazine: November 22, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

No Pain, No Gain

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Karl told us about some of the obstacles he faced while he was a missionary in eastern Europe. Have you faced obstacles when telling others about Jesus? How have you faced those obstacles?

Leave a comment and share your experience!

ENCOUNTER article: "Do They Stop You—Or Make You Stronger?"
article author: Karl Halverson
magazine: November 15, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

A Place to Serve

In this week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Tanner shares how he got involved with a food pantry in his community. How do you serve others and share God's love?

Leave a comment and tell us about it!

ENCOUNTER article: "A Place to Serve"
article author: Tanya L. Wells
magazine: November 8, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Can God REALLY Use Me?

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Jennifer helps us understand that we don't have to worry about how qualified we are to serve God—He is the one that gives us our value. How has God used you to do things for Him?

Leave a comment and share your story!

Also, make sure to check back here next week: We'll be talking about how to serve others AND finding out a little bit more about the band This Beautiful Republic!

ENCOUNTER article: "Paper Money and Shady Pasts"
article author: Jennifer M. Kvamme
magazine: November 1, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

The Usual Suspects

In this week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, you tried to determine which person was most in need of God's mercy. Did you pick the right suspect in the lineup?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

ENCOUNTER article: "The Lineup"
article author: Anne Williman
magazine: October 25, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Alone

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Teresa gave us some tips for dealing with loneliness. Do you ever feel like an outcast? How do you cope?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts:




ENCOUNTER article: "Lonely, Left Out, and Up a Tree"
article author: Teresa Cleary
magazine: October 18, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Go Team Go!

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Rosemarie pointed out that performing some ridiculous ritual so your favorite team will win is just as silly as all of the efforts we make to get right with God. Like a fan of your favorite team, be a fan of God. Celebrate what He's done in your life!

Leave a comment and share your thoughts:




ENCOUNTER article: "Paint Your Face for God?"
article author: Rosemarie DiCristo
magazine: October 11, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

What Does Your Reputation Say About You?

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Michaela learned how valuable a good reputation really is. What about you? Do you like what your reputation says about you? What do you need to change?

Leave a comment and share your story:




ENCOUNTER article: "I Needed a New Reputation"
article author: Michaela Jaselle Wilson
magazine: October 4, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Do you need a new attitude?

This week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine features a quiz to help you figure out if you need an attitude adjustment. Which prescription for an attitude change do you need to work on the most?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results.




ENCOUNTER article: "Your Prescription for a New Attitude"
article author: Teresa Cleary
magazine: September 27, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Anxious Thoughts

This week in ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, singer and songwriter Bebo Norman tells us about his struggle with anxiety. Have you ever dealt with anxiety or troubling emotions like Bebo? How did you cope?

Leave a comment and share what you learned.




ENCOUNTER article: "Struggling with Anxiety"
article author: Christy Barritt
magazine: September 20, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Sticks and Stones . . .

In this week's issue, Jamie was hurt by a rumor at school. Have someone's careless words ever damaged you? Have your words ever hurt someone more than you realized?

Leave a comment and share your story.




ENCOUNTER article: "Words Can Hurt"
article author: Brinda Gress
magazine: September 13, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

This week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine features a quiz to help you figure out how healthy you are. So what did you find out?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results.




ENCOUNTER article: "Are You Healthy?"
article author: Melissa O'Reilly
magazine: September 6, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Now Playing in a Theater Near You!

In this week's issue of ENCOUNTER—The Magazine, Brian showed us how our lives can sometimes look like a movie. What does your life's movie look like?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts on life, God, and movie prequels.





ENCOUNTER article: "The Greatest Prequel Ever"
article author: Brian Coates
magazine: August 30, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Run Kid Run

In this week's issue, David Josiah Curtis from Run Kid Run shared how being in a band has allowed him and his bandmates to tell people about Christ's grace and freedom. Do you have the latest Run Kid Run album? Have you ever seen them perform live?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts or experiences.





ENCOUNTER article: "Running Free"
article author: Christy Barritt
magazine: August 23, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Something for Nothing

In this week's issue, Erin had a hard time understanding grace. Do you ever struggle to grasp the concept that grace is truly FREE?

Leave a comment and share your thoughts.





ENCOUNTER article: "Free Gift"
article author: by Karen M. Leet
magazine: August 16, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Wanting . . .

This week ENCOUNTER has a quiz to determine if you struggle with coveting. It's something everyone deals with once in a while. But do you struggle with coveting more than you expected?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results.





ENCOUNTER article: "Do You Want What You Don’t Have?"
article author: by Jaclyn S. Miller
magazine: August 9, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Honestly!

This week ENCOUNTER has a quiz to see how honest you are. Were surprised at the results?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results. Be honest!





ENCOUNTER article: "Quiz: Are You Honest to the Core?"
article author: by Laura & Stephanie Farrar
magazine: August 2, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Take my advice!

This week ENCOUNTER has a quiz to see how well you do in giving advice to others. Do you always have the right thing to say? Or do you fumble when asked for wisdom? Do you share stories about yourself or really try to put yourself in the other person's shoes?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results.





ENCOUNTER article: "Are You a Giver of Good Advice?"
article author: by Teresa Cleary
magazine: July 26, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Fun in the Sun!

This week Jaclyn gave us some ideas to add some fun to your summer if it's getting to be a little slow.

Have you tried any of them? Leave us a comment and share if you did! Or let us know your favorite way to spend a summer day.




ENCOUNTER article: "Celebrate Summer!"
article author: by Jaclyn S. Miller
magazine: July 19, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Hey You!

Pssst. Over here! Yes—YOU. Before you head to the next website, I’ve got something on my mind, and I want to make sure you hear me out. Here it goes:

It’s really possible—you can make it!

I won’t lie to you, it’s hard. As a follower of Jesus, sometimes you may feel alone. Sometimes you mess up and you feel like crap.

Other times, the sun is shining, you’re giving God your all, and it’s the most amazing feeling ever!

Whatever day or week or month you’re having—good or bad—don’t give up. PLEASE! Don’t forget how much God loves you and is on your side and is ready to live every day with you.

You may think that it’s too hard to live for God. You may struggle to overcome sin. But you don’t have to do it on your own. The point is, we CAN’T do it on our own!

I know God is using you to do amazing things, and He’ll keep using you if you let Him. Try trusting Him, even if you can’t figure Him out.

I just don’t want you to give up. I believe in you. More importantly, so does God. Living life for Jesus is worth it. He’s worth it all.

Have you found that Jesus is worth it? Leave a comment and encourage others to stay strong in their walks with Jesus.

Your friendly editor,
Kelly

Oops!

This week Dominique shared a story with ENCOUNTER about a time when he disobeyed his parents and the disastrous results.

We’ve all learned lessons the hard way after disobeying our parents. But look at the positive side of things: leave a comment and tell us what blessings you’ve gained from HONORING your parents.


ENCOUNTER article: "Something I Regret"
article author: by Dominique Morgan (age 17)
magazine: July 5, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Bored during church?

Have you ever felt bored or distracted during church? It happens to everyone at least once! This week in ENCOUNTER, Katrina Cassel offers tips on how you can get more out of each worship service.

But surely there have been times when you've left a church service and felt encouraged, inspired, challenged to grow in your relationship with God. Leave a comment and share what you get the most from during your church’s worship services.




ENCOUNTER article: "Getting the Most Out of Church"
article author: by Katrina Cassel
magazine: June 28, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Are you going?

This week in ENCOUNTER we have a testimony shared in our Mission Trip Devotions & Journal series. If you're going on a mission trip this summer or in the future, check out more info by clicking here. And let your trip leader know that these books can encourage your entire team.

Have you ever gone on a mission trip or participated in a service project? Leave a comment and share what you learned from the experience.

New look sneak peek!

If you want a preview of some new looks starting this fall for ENCOUNTER, click here and download two sample PDFs.

To highlight some of our regular features, we've designed some new pages to catch your eye: Hey You, Fluff, Daily Devotions, My Story, Expressions, and No Limits.

Enjoy and spread the word!

What are you doing this summer?

Jayona talked to ENCOUNTER about her summer plans to help out with a camp for kids with disabilities.

What are going to do this summer? Are you going on a mission trip? Helping in a service project? Serving at VBS? Working at a summer job? Going on a family vacation? Heading to a camp, conference, or youth retreat? We want to know!

Leave a comment and share your plans.




ENCOUNTER article: "KAMP Dovetail"
article author: by Cathy Griffith
magazine: June 14, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Quiz time!

Another week—another quiz in ENCOUNTER to start you off right. What do you value most? Sometimes what we say we value is different from what our actions show we value. What do your choices show you about what you value? Take this quiz and find out.

Leave a comment and share your quiz results.



ENCOUNTER article: "What Do You Value Most?"
article author: by Katrina Cassel
magazine: June 7, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Rejected!

This week in ENCOUNTER we've got a quiz about rejection. We've all been rejected at one point in life, and it will happen again in the future at some point. Rejection can happen at work, at school, by friends or dates. So how do we handle this rejection? That's what matters.

Leave a comment and share your quiz results or your own tips for handling rejection.



ENCOUNTER article: "How Well Do You Handle Rejection?"
article author: by Katrina Cassel
magazine: May 31, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Doing Something to Help

Austin talked to ENCOUNTER about his passion for Zambia and what he's doing to raise money that will help children in Zambia and fight against AIDS.

Austin saw hurting people and is doing something about it using basketball. What do you plan to do to help hurting people? Leave a comment and share your passion and plan.





ENCOUNTER article: "Adventures in Zambia"
article author: by Michael P. Murphy
magazine: May 24, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Good things from failures

This week Christy shared a story from her life when failing an audition turned out to become a blessing God used in her life.

Have you ever had good things come out of failure? Leave a comment and share your story!





ENCOUNTER article: "My Greatest Failure Ever"
article author: by Christy Heitger
magazine: May 17, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

What makes you freak out?

Christina shared the EXTREME anxiety she faced when she took the ACT. Different things make different people freak out. What about you?

What is the worse stress you’ve ever felt? What did you do about your worry? Leave a comment and share your story.





ENCOUNTER article: "Test Stress!"
article author: by Christina Dotson
magazine: May 10, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Who Are Your True Friends?

This week Brian talked about how important friends are in our lives because they influence who we become. He talked about the church word we hear: "fellowship." When friends who love Jesus encourage one another and push each other to become better followers of God, that's when true fellowship happens.

What are the best times of fellowship you’ve had with other Christians? How does that fellowship make you a better person? Leave a comment and share.





ENCOUNTER article: "Funny Tasting Chocolate Bars and the Power of Fellowship"
article author: by Brian Coates
magazine: May 3, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

A Way with Words

Do you have a way with words? Do you always know the right thing to say or do you always feel tongue-tied? Today Jennifer talked about how she feels our words to God sometimes don't seem as meaningful. She challenges us to pay attention to the words we use to worship God and to live out those words in our actions as well.

What are your favorite words you use to worship God? Leave a comment and share.





ENCOUNTER article: "This Word Is Reserved"
article author: by Jennifer M. Kvamme
magazine: April 26, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Think Fast!

This week in ENCOUNTER, we're talking about fasting. Several people shared their stories of fasting and how difficult but helpful it was in drawing them close to God.

Have you ever fasted? Please leave a comment and share your experiences.



ENCOUNTER article: "Fasting—Not for the Fainthearted!"
article author: by Karen M. Leet
magazine: April 19, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Easter and the Lord's Supper

Happy Easter!

Is the Lord's Supper a meaningful time for you? Maybe it is. Maybe it's awkward or odd or boring. If Communion is more confusing than special, I encourage you to read "What's Up with the Lord's Supper" in ENCOUNTER and consider what that bite of bread and drink of juice is all about.

What does the Lord’s Supper mean to you? Please leave a comment and share what's on your mind.




ENCOUNTER article: "What’s Up with the Lord’s Supper?"
article author: by Karl Halverson
magazine: April 12, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

P.S.

Happy Palm Sunday!

Talking to God

This week in ENCOUNTER is all about prayer. We're looking at what prayer is, what prayer isn't, and different ways people pray.

So what about you? How do you pray? What ways work best for you? When do you pray best (mornings, while you're jogging or driving, before you go to bed, during study hall)?

Leave a comment and share how you talk to God.








ENCOUNTER article: "What Prayer IS—and What It’s NOT"
article author: by Candy Arrington
magazine: April 5, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

They're so stuck up!

Scott could not get past how snobby he thought Annie was.

All of us can think of stuck-up people. But there's often more underneath the surface. There are times when things we do or say can be interpreted as snobby. Try to find out more of the story if you think people are stuck-up. Maybe they are, or maybe something else is going on.

Have you ever thought someone was a snob but then that person became your friend? Please leave a comment and share your story.






ENCOUNTER article: ". . . But You Can't Pick Your Family"
article author: by Elizabeth Matko
magazine: March 29, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

What kind of friend are YOU?!

This week in ENCOUNTER there is a quiz about friendship. God gives us his design on what it means to be a true friend. What did the quiz tell you about yourself? Are you a true and godly friend, a pretty good friend, a self-focused friend, or a frenemy?

Leave a comment and share your quiz results!



ENCOUNTER article: "Are You a True Friend?"
article author: by Melissa O'Reilly
magazine: March 22, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Feeling Alone?

This week in ENCOUNTER, we're talking about loneliness. Yeah, it's not a very happy topic, is it? But we all feel alone at one point or another. What makes a difference is what we DO about it!

The article "Reaching Out from Loneliness" gives some great advice on things you can try to overcome your loneliness. Have you ever tried any of those ideas to battle loneliness? What works for you?

Please leave a comment and share your experiences.




article author: by Teresa Cleary
magazine: March 15, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Under Pressure?

This week in ENCOUNTER, we're looking at peer pressure. Did you know there were so many kinds of it? We didn't until we started reading!

Which type of peer pressure have you faced the most in your life? How do you usually respond?

Please leave a comment and share your experiences.




ENCOUNTER article: "5 Types of Peer Pressure"
article author: by Tammy Darling
magazine: March 8, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Do you have confidence—in God?

This week in ENCOUNTER there is a quiz on confidence. How easily do you trust in God? Is facing the the future easier for you, knowing God is with you? Do you easily give your problems over to God, or does your faith waver in tough times? We understand. It can be challenge.

Leave a comment and share your quiz results and your thoughts on trusting God in good times and bad.



ENCOUNTER article: "The Confidence Quiz"
article author: by Christina Dotson
magazine: March 1, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Sometimes people are frustrating

Tekoa admitted that sometimes people complicate her life and she wished she could be all alone. Then she experiences situations where she realizes she DOES need people in her life.

Do you ever feel fed up with the people around you? Although it's hard to realize at times, we really do need to rely on others. That's how God made things!

How do you depend on other Christians in your life? What have you learned from relying on them? Please leave a comment and share your story.






ENCOUNTER article: "Baking Soda on a Desert Island"
article author: by Tekoa Miller
magazine: February 22, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER

Do you have a role model?

Today in ENCOUNTER, Melissa shared thoughts about her role model. Evaluating a lady's life at her funeral made Melissa stop and consider what she'd like to see in her own life.

Do you have a role model? Do you have mature Christians in your life that you can look up to or who you can seek to help you grow in your walk with Christ?

Please leave a comment and tell us about these great people!







ENCOUNTER article: "Deciding WHO I Want to Be"
article author: by Melissa Hill
magazine: February 15, 2009 issue of ENCOUNTER