Turning off the negative thoughts, By Tricia F.

Turning off the negative thoughts

By Tricia F.

I am a teen girl and all teen girls deal with just about the same thing. Our
looks. We all tend to view ourselves as scales, and we measure ourselves 
with other girls. Like me, I did a lot. We base our worth on what people say 
is beautiful about us, we place our trust in words. When really the true 
value of our importance lies on what God thinks about us. And what He 
thinks is way better than what others think.

I used to believe that I was ugly. It's normal for teen girls. People say things 
about us, and it makes us feel bad about ourselves. If we put our value in 
what others think about us, we will never be satisfied. We will bounce up 
and down emotionally thinking good and bad things.

The thing that turned those thoughts off for me, was getting around good 
Christian friends that helped me by encouraging me. Also, I found out that 
God put the beauty in me, and He's the one what made me beautiful in my 
own way.

Who You Are, By Sarah P.

Who You Are

By Sarah P.

 

April 5, 2010

          I’m fat.

          I’m as dumb as a doorknob.

          I’m not pretty.

          I’m not skinny.

          I’m as bad.

          I’m lazy.

          I’m horrible.

I wrote the above words in my journal four years ago. At the time, I attended public school. I was an uncool kid. I was bullied. Kids didn’t physically beat me up, but they did emotionally. The bullies, girls at the time, did what girls do: they gossiped, betrayed me, giggled behind my back, and pulled me down. Sure, there were some friendlier kids. I wasn’t completely ignored. As long I was willing to follow the crowd, I had “friends” to hang out with. They weren’t popular or acceptable in my family’s eyes, but I thought they were all I had. I trusted what they said about me for a fact. When I compared myself to their standards, I came up with what I wrote above: I’m fat, stupid, ugly, lazy, and worthless.

Does some of that sound like you? Are you bullied? Do you simply have no self-esteem? Do you not have any real friends? Are you struggling with who you are? If so, I want to tell you who you really are. Not in my eyes, not in the world’s eyes, not even in your own eyes, but in reality.

You are loved. The beginning of John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son.” Think about this verse for a moment. God loves you. He let His Son die for you. Do you know how much parents love their children? God’s only Child, His Son, was perfect. He was irreplaceable. God also loves you, even though you’re imperfect and sinful. He loves you so much that He gave up His perfect Son so that you could be His child. No matter how hard you fall, no matter how much you sin, that will never change. The worst criminal in the world is still loved immeasurably by God. The Message paraphrase says, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.” (John 3:16-17)

You are more. You are more than what people think and say about you. You are more than what you have done or will do. You are more than your appearances or your clothes or your attitudes. You are more than your boyfriend or your friends or your smartphone or the fact that you don’t have these things. In God’s eyes, you are cherished. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “[The LORD] is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” In God’s eyes, you are treasured. You are adored. You are loved. To Him, you are worth His only Son. You are irreplaceable. You are special to Him. You are His child. You are redeemed. Hebrews 9:12 says, “With His own blood…[Jesus] secured our redemption forever.” In God’s eyes, you are valuable. Nothing can ever change that. You are more than “just you.” You are the one and only you, who is loved by the Creator of the universe.

You are beautiful. God made you beautiful. You do not need makeup to create a fake beauty for you. Genesis 1:27a says, “…God created human beings in his own image.” Just think: you are made in the image of God, the Creator of the world! Verse 31 says, “…God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!” No one else in the world is exactly like you. Even if you had an identical twin, with the same genetic makeup, you would different than them. Who you are, as a person, is made in God’s image. Your soul, the real you, is beautiful in God’s eyes because He created it. He wants to have a relationship with you. He wants to give you His Spirit and fill your soul with His life and peace and joy. If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you can learn more here:

http://ggfgdevotionals.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-abc-of-starting-over-by-anonymous.html

Two songs that I’ve been listening to lately are “You Are More,” by Tenth Avenue North and “In The Eyes,” by 1 Girl Nation. I challenge you to listen to these two songs. I’ll post links to them at the end of this article. I think they’ll show you who you really are: God’s child. I can’t say enough how much God loves you and how much you mean to Him! I hope that you’ll dive into a deeper relationship with your Creator and begin to realize who you really are in His eyes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwtcwQwgdsA&feature=kp

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qO6kh8BPHg

Past Valentines Day

Boys

Past Valentines Day Experiences and What God Has Taught Me/Shown Me

By Haley B.

My whole entire life I never had a boyfriend on Valentine’s Day; I had to wait till I was a senior in high school before that wish would even happen. Anyways, before that, God showed me a lot of things about what it means to be alone, even though I didn’t have a personal relationship with Him.

Throughout middle school though, my friends didn’t have boyfriends either so we just called it “Single Awareness Day.” We didn’t care about not having boyfriends and we would send ourselves the roses made out of Hershey kisses that WE made for a fundraiser that Chorus did every year. It wasn’t until high school that Valentine’s Day really became lonely.

In high school, every time Valentine’s Day rolled around, I felt like crying. Sure, I had my friends but I was truly never satisfied without the companionship of a guy. And it was like God was trying to tell me something. I had boyfriend after boyfriend in high school but yet, every Valentine’s Day, I was single. Soon after though, I would have another boyfriend. I feel like at that time, God was showing me that I needed to rely on Him. And I chose the opposite.

I’ve spent my whole life chasing after the wrong thing. I spent my life chasing after my humanly Valentine and someone who I thought would make me happy and that I would love unconditionally. And I’ve found someone like that. But it’s nowhere near close to God’s love for me or for any of you.

When I was younger, my father never really cared for me like a dad should. Sure, he was there but he abused my mom and I verbally, mentally, and emotionally. Without an actual “dad” in my life, I felt like no one loved me. Yes, I know that my mom did but it wasn’t the same without a male figure in my life: the one person who is supposed to teach me on how I should be treated.

Throughout my years in school, I thought guys would make me happy. Yeah, I knew who Jesus was and what He did for me and even though I accepted Christ at the age of 5, I still didn’t comprehend the idea that we are to have a relationship with God until I was 19.

I was one of those girls who thought I could NOT be happy without a guy. Singleness was my enemy that I could never defeat. If I wasn’t with someone, I felt like I was in complete depression mode. I never let it affect my school work but it did affect my attitude around my friends and family.

I finally saw Christ’s idea of a relationship last summer. I spent the next 5 months defeating my enemy for the first time in my life. It made me grow so much and it also helped the guy I was with grow as well. We came back together but only because we knew that Christ called us to do just that.

But Christ can love you so much more than just ONE single guy can. Even now, when I know I’ve found the person I want to be with for the rest of my life or aka “my soul mate”, I know he’s not perfect in any shape or form. He will let me down but Christ never will. And that’s a love you’ll never experience from any person on the earth.

If you’re single this Valentine’s Day, instead of envying your friend’s presents or anyone else’s gifts think about your TRUE Valentine.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”

Now, every time you see the word “love” or the word “it”, replace it with Christ. Ponder on this for seconds, minutes, hours, however long it takes you to realize that only one true thing matters this Valentine’s Day.

Life is not about finding a boyfriend, finding a husband, getting married, getting a career, and eventually having kids. It’s about realizing Christ’s great love for us.

1 John 4:19 describes Christ’s love for us to a tee. It states, “We love because He first loved us.” We have been given this gift to love other people, boys, friends, family, because Christ first loved us!

Ephesians 5:25 also shows Christ’s love for us: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and GAVE HIMSELF UP FOR HER.”

I bolded and capitalized the last part because of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” God loved us SO much that He gave us Jesus to take our place on the cross for our sins. Christ gave himself up for the church. How awesome is that! No guy could ever give you that type of love.

If you have friends that have boyfriends, be happy for them this Valentine’s Day. Don’t envy them but pray for them, Christian or non-Christian, and remind them about Christ’s love for us on the day that people across the world celebrate love.

Beauty: Trends in Beauty, By Livy J.

Beauty

Trends in Beauty

By Livy J.

Unless you've been living in a cave for the past fifteen years of your life, or dwell on an Amish farm out in the hilly countryside, you've probably noticed the way in which the media has a special gift for making girls feel ugly and inadequate. We've all suffered through those nauseating T.V. advertisements in which an underwear model poses, pursing her pouty lips, as her hair blows wildly from a fan. After watching such ads I roll my eyes and try not to laugh. I mean, how lame do the marketers think that I am?! (It's like those drug advertisements that list the deadly side effects, such as hearing loss or your nose falling off, while they show happy old couples flying kites, and walking puppy dogs.)

I'm sure you've picked up on the trend in many teen magazines. The words on the glossy cover shout, “Boost Your Self-Confidence! Six Tips To Loving Yourself!” Yet by the time you flip to page ten, you've already seen a dozen perfect faces and bodies posing for makeup advertisements, which drained away all confidence you were hoping to get from their pep-talk article.

Every girl has noticed what's going on. We're not immune to it. But have we ever recognized what's going on around us as a targeted attack on our beauty as females?

The sickening plot has been dreamt up, and skillfully executed by the enemy of our souls, Satan. He has always hated girls. Ever since the Garden of Eden, he has been attacking Eve and his daughters with lies that spew like fire out of his dragon mouth.

The purpose of this disgusting scheme is to convince God's chosen daughters that they are worthless. The familiar scenery of the hour we live in, the set on this stage, and the cast of characters in this story remind me of what unfolded in Esther's day. Esther’s story is a dramatic tale that all of us love. An ordinary, average, orphan girl was called to play a magnificent role in the Kingdom, and God used her to release her entire generation from destruction. Just like Esther you were called into the kingdom for such a time as this.

Girl, your adrenaline-pumping, high-action, story of greatness is unfolding. You living in the midst of this BEAUTY-saturated generation for a purpose, and that purpose is not to remain silent and be destroyed. There is no need for fear because we know how this story ends. The victory is not in jeopardy, it already belongs to Christ. He is calling you to walk with Him into this adventure.

Will you join your Christian sisters and discover what's going on behind-the-scenes in the modeling industry, Hollywood, the media, and cosmetic companies? Many of these avenues have added insult to injury , as thousands of young girls just don't feel like they measure up. Discover the unique role that we have as young women in combating this attack on our generation! You have been given a powerful influence and are called to play a meaningful role. Be both challenged and encouraged in this powerful new recourse for Christian girls, an online magazine, Crown of Beauty Magazine. Crown of Beauty has released their first FULL downloadable issue! This issue includes articles and interviews with some wonderful young women! Including, Jenny Simmons of Addison Road, Sarah Ross from Everlife, Rachel Lee Carter author of Modeling Christ, and Kylie Busitti, a former Victoria's Secret Model, who walked away from her glamorous career to obey God's call and be an example for girls everywhere!

Recommended for teen girls ages 13+.

If you decide to order The Beauty Issue for yourself, or another young women in your life, be sure to use the promotion code: godlygirlsforgod

It will give you$1.00 off & you’ll be supporting Godly Girls For God because we’ll get 50% commission from your purchase! (This coupon code also works on the COB E-book: When Life Feels Like a Taylor Swift Song: A Girl’s Guide to Boys.)

For more info about The Beauty Issue, or to order go to:

http://www.crownofbeautymagazine.com/TheBeautyIssue.html

It will first give you an introduction of the magazine, then down below, you put your info and how you found out about the magazine. Once you enter submit, it will lead you to another page: click Add to Cart. The next page will show you what you have in the cart and underneath you will put the promotion code: godlygirlsforgod

Make sure you UPDATE your cart before you continue. It’s all easy sailing from there. If you have any questions feel free to e-mail crownofbeautymagazine@yahoo.com

Beauty: Perceptions of Beauty, By Kiara W.

Beauty

Perceptions of Beauty

By Kiara W.

One of the biggest problems in today's society is image; if you look at magazines and billboards you're met with the image of perfect, size 0, flawless skinned models. 

What a lot of girls don't know is those 'perfect' models are more often than not photo shopped. Here's a link to watch one of the photo shopping processes if you're interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hibyAJOSW8U

I remember watching that video in a Bible study and I was shocked; I had always wondered how they had managed to look perfect, and would often wish to be like them. And I was probably not the worst of them out there, due to my up-bringing I'm not as exposed to the magazines and stuff. 

The products that they put out on the shelves make it even worse: whitening strips; breast growth pills (yes, they really have those); pills to get rid of fat...the list goes on and on. It's horrible, the Bible teaches that God made us in his image so wouldn't changing our bodies by pills and surgery insult Him? That's basically saying 'You didn't make me good enough so I'm going to alter myself'! 

And I'm not saying I haven't had my struggles, because believe me, I have. But if society started focusing on the real women of our country, girls would have better role models.