- I'm not going to be rude to my mom this week by calling her names like "poopy-head."
- Read my Bible in the morning and in the evening every day this week.
- I'm going to stay away from the friends that are bad influences on me.
- I want to pray every night before I go to bed, but I keep forgetting. So to help me remember, I'll put a reminder note on my dresser drawer so I'll see it when I get ready for bed.
- Memorize a verse about anger and say it when I get angry. (We helped this student choose James 1:20 which tells us that our anger doesn't lead to the sort of right-living that God wants for us, so we should not get angry quickly. The following week the student exclaimed upon arriving "I did it! I learned that verse and I said it a LOT!")
- To say nice things instead of snapping at my brothers.
- I'm going to not fight back when Kevin* and Joseph* try to pick fights with me.
- I'm plan to read my Bible four times this week and I'm going to spend quality time with my Mom three times this week. I also am going to have a talk with my boyfriend. Oh yeah, and I'll pray about it before I talk with him.
- I'm need to make a list of ten things I appreciate about the parent I've been having a hard time getting along with, and I'm going to pray about it too.
- I'm setting a goal of not hitting any people in the head this week when they cuss. Usually I just smack them in the head whenever they say stuff.
- Start up a conversation with my friends about what I believe. (Came back the following week talking about how she had talked with her friends about creation in a social studies class and was mildly reprimanded by the teacher.)
- This week I'm not going to call Kristen Congdon* a walking zit. (When asked next week if they'd been able to refrain from name-calling, the student exclaimed, "Yeah! Kristen* got kicked out of school, so I never even saw her!")
- To not gossip (We get this from several students every week--often it's accompanied by a plan such as walking away when friends start gossipping or saying one true nice thing about whoever is being talked about.)
- Read my Bible (also set by most students each week, goals range from three chapters a day to 1 verse five days of the week).
- Pray (another common spiritual goal that ranges from twice this week to three times each day).
- To show love better to my dad by praying for him and by not being disrespectful even though he's making bad decisions by doing drugs.
- To help me be less superficial I'm not going to wear any Hollister clothes for a week.
- There's a kid who my friends and I always look down on, but I'm going to be kind to them this week by having a friendly conversation at lunch time.
- I'm going to pray for patience for my sister so I don't yell at her and get grounded from coming to youth group.
- This week I'm going to try to live for God. (When asked for specifics she said,"I've been doing bad stuff and not really caring much, but now I want to follow God again.")
- To do better on my algebra test so that my Dad won't get mad at me again.
Some of these goals seem spiritual and some seem not so much so. Some are very specific and some are very general. The common theme: each student is recognizing that God wants them to move on from where they currently are. Although they may not have realized it yet, maturity is not so much a destination they should aim for as a path they should continue on. Whether their steps be small or large, continuing to take them each week moves them along the path of maturity. What step is God calling you to take this week on your path of spiritual maturity?
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*Names have been changed to protect students' privacy.
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