Conner Liberto

I wasn't planning on taking Ruth with me to Fiesta Texas, but when mom came up behind me and said: "Conner? I know you won't want to do this, but..." I knew exactly what she wanted from me. I'm seventeen years old! I'm half a year from adulthood and she wants me to drag a doll around Fiesta Texas? This is when mom put her begging into all or nothing mode.  "Ruth needs an adventure! This would be so much fun!!" We're talking about Ruth, the doll, right? I hardly think she would notice the difference between being squished in my bag at a crowded theme park and sitting on the shelf at home.  "Plus I could tweet about it!" She continued.  Oh no... Moms new twitter obsession is becoming frightening.

This is when I began to mentally argue with myself. The devilish form of myself on my right shoulder was goin' at it with the angelic me on the left. Finally I convinced myself to take Ruth with me. I could not deny mom her simple request.  After all, I've been a desperate tweeter before. So, with my bag full of sun screen and money I grabbed Ruth and we headed for the car. "Ruth" I said to her, discarding my current sanity. "You can be so inconvenient." Cruel, I know, but she didn't seem to take it too hard, she just stared at me with that winsome smile and those dark eyes.

Before I knew it, Ruth and I were in the church van headed for the park. She didn't exactly fit comfortably in my bag but I didn't want to walk around all day with only her head protruding from the top so I searched for a different approach. Aha! Lightbulb! I grabbed my towel, snuggled Ruth in it and stuck it in my bag. The only thing still visible was a tuft of her hair protruding from the middle of the towel. This'll work. I slung the the small yellow backpack over my shoulders and headed for the entrance.

"Oh you brought your doll" says the lady at the desk, "how cute". Her voice was slightly condescending and I noticed that maybe she was trying too hard not to laugh. "C'mon, ma'am." You've never seen a seventeen year old carry a doll around before? ReaIly?  Not ever? I tried to convince myself.  I smiled politely at the lady and walked forward to have my bag checked. I was preparing to defend my bag of veggies as I handed my bag forward, but what came next completely surprised me.

I turned just in time to see the man, who was supposed to be checking my bag, recoil his hands quickly. The look on his face reflected one of sheer horror. Seeing his obvious confusion as to what was sticking out of my bag I tried to reassure him without breaking down with laughter. My hand shot up and I started talking to him like a cop would talk to a hostage-holding criminal.

“It's just a doll. No worries” I told him slowly. His physical stance didn't change, however. “it's just a doll” I told him again, reaching my hand into the bag to reveal the rest of Ruth's head. She just smirked, obviously finding this guy very entertaining. After this awkward encounter he just handed me the bag, not even bothering to search the rest of it. I have a feeling he wasn't prepared for anymore strange surprises.

The rest of the trip was fun and just as entertaining. Ruth got to see the park, and then eventually... The inside of a locker. (We didn't want her to get wet). All in all, it was a good trip.  It started with a lesson in humility and obedience as I was acosted by my mothers will that was drastically different than my own.  Maybe it was good I took this journey with Ruth.  After all, these are lessons she herself taught us (Ruth 1:16-17, Ruth 2:22-23).

Everywhere we look we see broken homes, broken families and broken people.  There's an attack on the family institution as well as the sacred covenant of marriage.  

There's fathers who abuse their children, mistreat their families or just walk out all together.  What happened? But then,  I look at my own father and I see nothing but strength, guidance and love.  Thus earning him the loving title of "daddy". 

The movie 'Courageous' ended with a very powerful question.  A question that wasn't just directed to the people sitting in that auditorium,but to every person who would ever watch that movie.  Alex Kendrick asks, "where are you men of courage?" After posing this question many of the men around the room began to stand, amidst watching eyes, to signify their acceptance of the challenge of living courageously.  The challenge was easily said, but it wasn't easily accepted nor easily done.  It was a wake up call, a reality slap to empower  men to become the courageous leaders of their families, to become true christlike fathers and to fearlessly love and guide their families through all circumstances.  

As times continue to get more difficult and these attacks continue, we need these men to be prepared to rise to the challenge of leading their families.  Father's day isn't just a day to receive "totally unexpected"  gifts and eat expensive food.  It's a reminder of the role and duty that father's must fulfill.  

My father as always been the rock in our family.  He's calm (usually), logical and reasonable beyond belief.  Even in the midst of all these female hormones, he guides our family firmly and gently.  In my opinion, he’s the smartest man I know.  Never have I known a problem that my dad couldn’t fix, or a question he couldn’t answer.  If I have a problem, I know he’ll always be there to talk to me about it.  Not only am I truly blessed, I also have a very good picture of what a father should look like.  The task is difficult, but it's worth it. 

So, men of courage, are you willing to stand and accept the challenge?

This is the question I ask when I attempt to leave my house wearing something not at all pleasing to my parents. Of course I’m not wearing anything bad, they just have a different definition of "appropriate".

Now I have been taught that I’m not allowed to wear anything too short and too low so I try my best to stick to modest dress. I still at times fall short of the mark, because like I said my parents have different standards. God has standards also and in the Bible God refers to our bodies as His temple. We’re supposed to respect ourselves with what we wear. When I dress inappropriately, I’m not only disrespecting myself, but also those around me.

I recently finished reading "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" with a group of friends my age. One of the chapters went into detail about how distracting it is for boys when we girls walk around wearing really short shorts or very low cut tops. We are supposed to respect our brothers in Christ not lead them into temptation. One of the chapters asked the boys what they thought about girls who dressed immodestly. Most of the boys confirmed their appreciation when girls respected them enough to dress modestly.

So as I conclude, you might not find it a big deal. But I tell you it is to my parents and more importantly, it is to the Lord. We should all keep that in mind. And I guess my parents and I are getting closer to reconciliation on the definition of "appropriate". But just in case, say a prayer for me.

What is the real meaning of love? Or what is love? What does it truly mean to love someone unconditionally? We as fallen human beings do not possess the same power to love one another unconditionally as God does. Although we can try, it’s hard to love that certain person ALL THE TIME through the good and bad, the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows. It’s easy to love during the good, the ups and the highs but what does it take, as Christians to also love through the bad, the downs or the lows. To some it may be that they were hurt and struggle to love because of that hurt.

I struggle with this, I went through some difficult times in middle school and now I find it hard to say anything good or uplifting about the people who hurt me. But think about the awesome example Jesus gave us with His death on the cross. As Jesus was beaten, cursed, spit on and ultimately hung on the cross, did he bad mouth all the sinful people of the world that he was dying such an excruciating death for? Actually it was quite the opposite. He asked His father to forgive them. He endured that because he loved us so much and wanted us to spend an eternity with him.

So if Jesus Christ can do that, what will it take for us to show some love for that person that offends you. If the offense was in the past, then forgive and reconcile. Isn’t this how Jesus taught us to pray? "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." – [Matthew 6:9-15] If the person continues to offend, then continue to forgive and pray for them. Jesus taught us of this perseverance as well did he not? "Forgive 70 x 7" -- [Matthew 18:21-22] You don’t have to continue being around the person but keep your arms open for such a time their heart changes and they want to have a relationship with you.

Conner Liberto

Have you ever doubted God?  I have unfortunately.  It amazes me that I can read the stories of the Bible and be so astounded with the faithfulness of God and then something “weird” happens and I start to doubt!   Psalm 55:22 says: "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall."  Some of you are probably saying, “But it's not that easy”.  I agree.   It requires that you completely loosen your grasp on the problem and let the Lord handle it.  That is something I struggle with daily.

We moved to Boerne when I was in third grade, and with moving there comes other big changes like switching schools. So I enrolled in a new school and spent the next 6 years there.   Unfortunately, these were not the most enjoyable years. We prayed but things didn’t seem to be getting any better, in my eyes. But, like always, God had bigger plans, I just didn’t see it yet. So I doubted at times. It’s not that I didn’t trust God, I just wanted to fix the problem on my own.

Now, I'm a sophomore in high school and although I still struggle with bitterness occasionally, the Lord has definitely gotten me on the road to healing as well as blessing me abundantly. I have amazing friends, an amazing family and an amazing God.   It's always been tough for me to completely let it go and give it to the Lord but it’s a process.  I would just like to reiterate that the Lord does not want you to carry these burdens, the Bible says he is willing to carry them for us because he loves us that much! Never doubt God, he knows what he's doing! :)

Conner Liberto

I cracked, I confessed to someone the other day my occasional tendency to be a bad sport when I compete.  Okay, so it really wasn't a huge secret in the first place.  Anyone one who has competed against me before in anything has probably experienced my post game wrath.  Well, I suppose wrath is a bit of an overstatement.  I've never yelled, punched or even murdered anyone in a fit of rage.  That would be a little.. unnecessary.   Instead, I give reluctant hand shakes, flash a forced smile (that could easily be mistaken for a scowl) and repeatedly think, "oh your gonna get it next time my friend."

Keep walking.. keep walking.. keep walking.. stop crushing her hand.. keep walking.. SMILE!

Back in the day, when I played soccer.. my absolute least favorite part of a lost game would be that terrible thing they make you do at the end.  Shake hands with the enemy. I mean, seriously!  Did my coaches not get the idea of cruel and unusual punishment. Not even the enthusiastic cheering of deranged soccer moms trying to make us feel better could cheer me up.  I could not be satisfied till next game.

Mwahahahaha.

As I've gotten older these tendencies have removed themselves from my competitive routine.  But there is still no doubt that I still get very frustrated when I can't accomplish what I had hoped. I still occasionally force a smile.  While I am indeed very competitive, most of what I have said here today has been nothing but a mere hyperbole.  No I am not a sports obsessed wacko.  Don't worry or run away screaming in terror.

While up to this point in the post my writing has been merely entertaining and somewhat exaggerated, I do have something morally relevant to share.  While competition is essentially a good, positive and uplifting thing it can easily become something negative.  How?  When we disregard everything around us and treat competition and winning as the main goal.  Yes, winning is a spectacular goal, I should hope none of you strive to lose.  But is it really an acceptable goal when we disregard feelings in pursuit of it?  Competition is a healthy part of society, there's no doubt about it.  But it can become unhealthy and even detrimental when we begin to treat it as "all there is."  Don't perceive it as an outlet to showcase your pride or promise revenge. Rather, use it as a tool to instill healthy competition and even build friendship. We won't always win, but that's no excuse to give up, we persevere and continue to better ourselves.  Strive and train to win but never lose sight of what it actually means to compete.  Competition is good.. but only when utilized within boundaries.

Hebrews 12:1 says,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off anything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Conner Liberto

The great lie that we are not good enough.  Although it's not always openly voiced, we cannot deny it's presence everywhere.  Don't believe me?  Go stand in line at any grocery store and scan the front cover of magazines.  They will often say things like, "Do this for amazing hair" or "10 ways to get your best body for summer." If that doesn’t convince you, flip through a few pages and you'll find articles on how to make yourself better, get more attention from guys, or step by step instructions to improve your love life.  The message is we're not good enough for the world.  In fact, we will never be good enough for the world.  And trying to keep up with its constant trends will help you achieve nothing but emotional exhaustion, low self esteem and even worse despair.  The more you try to please everyone, the more you (without realizing it) degrade yourself and distance yourself from your Creator.  Before long you are doing nothing but hiding behind a plastic smile.  The sooner we realize that our identity comes from God and God alone, the better.

For a few long agonizing years I tried desperately to improve myself in the eyes of others.  Sadly, I wasn't free. I was being held captive to what the world thought about me, and I found my self esteem slowly withering away.  I could find nothing nice to say about myself at all.  I modified who I was depending on who I was interacting with and I became very good at hiding behind my plastic smile. Although no one ever suspected, I felt everything.  It was emotionally draining.

Then the Lord delivered me an Aha! moment.  Why seek the approval of a world that I'm never going to be good enough for, when I already have a God who has told me exactly who I am in his eyes.

{Psalm 139}

When you accept Christ you are given a NEW identity.  Something that won't change.  No matter how much the world changes. What He thinks about us won't change.  And that is a promise.

• You are more than the choices that you've made.
• You are more than the sum of your past mistakes.
• You are more than the problems you create.
• You are more.
• You've been remade.

This is not about what you've done..

but what's been done for you.

This is not about where you've been..

but where your brokenness brings you to.

This is not about what you feel..

but what he felt to forgive you.

And what he felt to make you loved.

Conner Liberto