Every Day Deserves a Chance - Teen Edition: Wake Up and Live!
By Max Lucado
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About this ebook
Teens really do want to make a difference, but sometimes their attitudes get in the way!
Today’s teens are faced with some big issues, and their attitudes can sometimes create even more struggles for their own lives and those around them. But best-selling author Max Lucado wants to teach teens that life is a gift and that gratitude is critical. With a little perspective, teens will see that God can help them overcome their ungrateful days, their stressed-out days, and even their catastrophic days. Life is not going to be perfect. When teens understand that and realize that God is their constant source of support, help, and blessings, even the difficult days can be faced with a cheerful spirit.
Make Every Day Count shows readers how to deal with each day—no matter what it throws at them. Real-life teen stories, biblical accounts, and inspiring “Daylifters” encourage teens to make each day count for God.
A study guide at the back of the book makes this a perfect choice for individual or group study.
Max Lucado
Since entering the ministry in 1978, Max Lucado has served churches in Miami, Florida; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and San Antonio, Texas. He currently serves as the teaching minister of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. He is the recipient of the 2021 ECPA Pinnacle Award for his outstanding contribution to the publishing industry and society at large. He is America's bestselling inspirational author with more than 150 million products in print. Visit his website at MaxLucado.com Facebook.com/MaxLucado Instagram.com/MaxLucado Twitter.com/MaxLucado Youtube.com/MaxLucadoOfficial The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast
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Every Day Deserves a Chance - Teen Edition - Max Lucado
© 2007 by Max Lucado.
Cartoons by John McPherson. © 2007 John McPherson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Email: closetohome@mac.com. www.closetohome.com
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (GOD’S WORD) are taken from God’s Word, a copyrighted work of God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (ICB) are taken from the International Children’s Bible®, © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Tommy Nelson, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked (JB) are taken from the Jerusalem Bible. © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and Doubleday. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NCV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version. © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (PHILLIPS) are taken from The New Testament in Modern English, Revised Edition. © J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are taken from the Revised Standard Version. Copyright 1946, 1952 by Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible. © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois 60187. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (WEY) are taken from the Weymouth Bible.
Cover Design: Troy Birdsong, BIRDSONG CREATIVE
Interior Design: Kay Meadows
ISBN 978-1-4185-8704-8 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lucado, Max.
Every day deserves a chance / Max Lucado. — [Teen ed.].
p. cm.
Summary: Teaches that life is a gift, that gratitude is critical, how to deal with days in bite-sized portions
—Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4003-1077-7 (tradepaper)
1. Christian life—Juvenile literature. 2. Teenagers—Religious life—Juvenile literature. I. Title.
BV4501.3.L8175 2007
248.8’3—dc22
2007009294
Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook
Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.
For Steve and Annie Millett—
Thanking God for the way you bring life to San Antonio youth
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Every Day Deserves a Chance
Chapter 2 Gratitude for Ungrateful Days
Chapter 3 Forgiveness for Sour Days
Chapter 4 Peace for Stressed-Out Days
Chapter 5 Hope for Catastrophic Days
Chapter 6 Fuel for Drained Days
Chapter 7 Faith for Fear-Filled Days
Chapter 8 Passion for Purposeless Days
Chapter 9 Service for Fork-in-the-Road Days
Chapter 10 Grace for Guilty Days
Notes
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Great thanks to these folks who poured their skill and hard work into this book:
Karen Hill, Laura Minchew, Amy Parker, Rhonda Hogan, John McPherson, Kay Meadows, Julie White, Kevin Harvey, Shana Bell, Shannon Whitehead, and Rob Birkhead.
CHAPTER 1
images/himg-10-1.jpgevery day DESERVES A chance
images/himg-11-1.jpgTHIS IS GOING TO BE A GREAT DAY! I thought, sitting on the beach listening to the waves and feeling the warm sun. I took a deep breath, leaned back in the beach chair, and closed my eyes.
That’s when a bird chose my chest for target practice. No warning. No sirens. No Bombs away!
Just plop.
I looked up just in time to see a seagull giving high feathers to his bird buddies on the branch. Yuck. I poured water on my shirt three times. I moved to a chair away from the trees. I did all I could to regain the magic of the morning, but I couldn’t get my mind off the bird flyby.
It should have been easy. Waves still rolled. Clouds still floated. The ocean lost no blue; the sand lost no white. Palm trees still swayed, and wind still whispered. But I couldn’t quit thinking about the seagull grenade.
Stupid bird.
Birds have a way of messing things up, don’t they? Count on it: into every day a bird will plop.
Parents will argue.
Teachers will correct.
Bullies will taunt.
Friends will forget.
And lines. Oh, the lines. Missed goal lines, flubbed play lines, long lines, deadlines. . . .
Each day brings with it disappointments and demands.
And what of those days of double shadows? Those days when hope is blasted by crisis? Days of hospitals and wheelchairs, sickness and sorrow. You wake up in the same scary neighborhood or abusive household. The failing report card is still folded in your pocket, the head of the dinner table still empty, the cemetery dirt still fresh. Who has a good day on these days?
Most don’t . . . but wait—couldn’t we try? Doesn’t even the worst of days deserve an opportunity? A shot. A tryout. An audition. A swing at the plate. Doesn’t every day deserve a chance to be a good day?
After all, this is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it
(Psalm 118:24 NKJV). The first word in the verse leaves us scratching our heads. "This is the day the LORD has made? Perhaps holidays are the days the Lord has made. Saturdays are the days the Lord has made. Easter Sundays . . . birthdays . . . vacation days—these are the days the Lord has made. But
this is the day"?
This is the day
includes every day. Breakup days, final-exam days, moving days, being grounded days. Sending-your-firstborn-off-to-college days.
That last one sucked the starch out of my shirt. Surprisingly so. We packed Jenna’s stuff, loaded up her car, and left life as we’d known it for eighteen years. A chapter was closing. One less plate on the table, voice in the house, and child beneath the roof. The day was necessary. The day was planned. But the day undid me.
I was a mess. I drove away from the gas station with the nozzle still in my tank, yanking the hose right off the pump. Got lost in a one-intersection town. We drove; I moped. We unpacked; I swallowed throat lumps. We filled the dorm room; I plotted to kidnap my own daughter and take her home where she belongs. Did someone