Giving God our Mind

Hello Bible Girls!
I hope you are still working on your walk with the Lord.  There are so many things, even good things that compete for our time with God.  Have you ever noticed that when you sit down to read your Bible a hundred things start going through your mind of things you could do?  Things like...
...checking email
...answering the phone
...letting the dog out
...straightening a picture
...texting
...studying for a test
...taking meat out of the freezer
...checking the weather
...filing your nails
...putting lotion on your elbows
...turning on your curling iron
...turning off the curling iron
I've just listed some of the things I've thought about.  If I listed all of them we'd be here all day.  The battle that the devil wants to fight is for our mind.  If he can get our mind off of the Lord he's got us where he wants us - too busy doing and not thinking or meditating on the Lord.
When we don't put the Lord first in our thoughts we will quickly follow our own path.  Doing things our way seems right but it will never work out right.  God's ways are so opposite of ours.  God says "give and ye shall receive", "die and you will live", "weeping endures for the night but joy cometh in the morning".  God's ways just don't make "sense" sometimes.
If we give God the first minutes of the day He makes the other minutes so much more productive and flowing.  Days aren't perfect, but we know that they are ordered by the Lord since we have gone to Him first for the days instructions.
How many minutes should we give God?  In truth the whole day belongs to Him, but why don't we set aside some special time that's His alone?  If I were eight-years-old again, I would try to give the Lord the first eight minutes of my day.  If I were ten-years-old, I would try for ten minutes.  If you aren't doing this I think the Lord would be pleased with FIVE minutes!
As school begins, schedules get tighter, and lives get busier, let's keep our Lord first every day.

Others

One of the best ways to encourage yourself in your Bible time is to share what you learn with others.  It doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, or how long you've been saved.  The more you share with others, the more excited you will be.  The next time you see the person you spoke with they might ask you about your Bible reading!  That is real motivation.
Accountability is a big part of success in your daily walk with God.  The Walking with God notebook has been used by our teenagers for years and might help you stay on track.  However, vocalizing what God has given you does MORE!  You say it, you hear it, someone else hears it - then it becomes a part of who you are and it helps develop your testimony.
Take this challenge: Tell one person every week about what you read in your Bible.  Tell your Sunday school teacher, or pastor's wife, or mom, or sister.  Just say something for Jesus - that's what being a Bible girl is all about!

"Making Minutes Count"

Are you as busy as we are? Are you doing homework, studying, doing your chores, and not having the time you had before for your Bible?
Well, you can make your minutes count and still spend quality time with the Lord.
Here are a few ideas:
1. Have your mom or sister read a chapter to you while you eat your late night snack!
2. Keep a Bible or New Testament in the glove box in the car.  On the way to school, read a chapter of the Bible to your family and then pray before you get out of the car.
3. Get a copy of "Bible Stories" by John R. Rice.  Read one aloud to your family before you turn on the TV...good idea, huh?
4. Before you eat your dinner, ask your mom or dad if they could read a chapter from the Bible and lead the family in prayer.
Matthew 4:¹Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. ²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. ³And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God,command that these stones be made bread. ⁴But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
There is no excuse, you HAVE to get into the Bible, your spiritual life depends upon it!  God will forgive you if you don't read it, but you will not grow in Him.  You need to think of it like food, you need it for survival!
If I have to choose between typing this blog or reading my Bible, which one should I choose?
It is a choice, please make the right one and choose the Bible!
Be a Bible girl tomorrow!

"Countdown to School Time..."

Pencils sharpened, backpacks ready, new socks and shoes, school supplies marked with your name, checklist checked....Are  you ready for school?

Around here we have just SIXTEEN days until school starts.  It is a mixture of anticipation, excitement, and sadness as our schedules will change.  We love the routine of school but we also love the time together as a family during the summer time.

Even though the seasons change, we want to keep our Bible reading and time with the Lord as a top priority, which can be hard to do when the demands of school begin. What can you do to get ready for the schedule change? 

• Start going to bed a little earlier each night.  Yuck! I'm a night owl but I have to adjust my schedule in order to function when I have to be somewhere by 7:55 a.m.  Most young ladies I know need at least eight hours of sleep or more.  So, if you've been staying up until 11:00 p.m., then maybe tonight you can get to bed by 10:30 p.m., by Thursday move it up to 10:00 p.m., then 9:30 p.m, etc...until you're getting your full rest. 
• Start waking up earlier.  Yuck! So, you've been sleeping until 8:30 a.m., well, you'll have to adjust to an earlier schedule.  How early do you need to get up?  I've always done a backwards countdown to know when to get up.  Example:
• 7:40 a.m. - time to walk to the car
• 7:37 a.m. - get backpack, lunch, music books, p.e. clothes, kiss mom
• 7:35 a.m. - put shoes on
• 7:30 a.m. - Brush teeth
• 7:15 a.m. - Eat Breakfast, clean up
• 7:00 a.m. - Read Bible and pray
• 6:55 a.m. - Make bed, put up nightgown
• 6:45 a.m. - comb and style hair
• 6:35 a.m. - Get dressed
• 6:30 a.m. - Wake up, wash face, brush teeth
• Go through your closet and try on every outfit and pair of shoes.  You'll save time if you have your clothes ready.  If clothes are too short, tight, or small give them away.  Someone will appreciate getting "new" school clothes and you'll be a blessing.
• Start praying for a great school year.  
• Write a note of thanks to your teacher and give it to her on the first day of school.
• Start doing more mental activities in the next few days.  Look over some of last year's school books, especially English and math.  Review rules and formulas just for fun, not punishment!
• Take advantage of these last few free days and do some fun things: go to the park, go swimming, play with the water hose, have a picnic, bake some cookies, do crafts, etc...

Abraham Lincoln said, "Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."  Why don't we make up our minds to be happy to go to school, happy to get up early, and happy to spend time in God's word every morning.

"You are So Beautiful!"

Hey Bible Girl, you are beautiful!!!
I hope your Bible reading, prayer time, and time with the Lord are going well for you.  You can do all of these things and still struggle with other areas.  These things can zap your zeal and enthusiasm or just discourage you.  Most young ladies have to work through self-acceptance, or just being plain happy with the way God made you.  We can spend much time worrying about things we cannot change and not doing anything about the things we can change.
For example - foot size...
What size are your feet? Mine are a size ten, yes, don't oohh or ahhh about, these are my gifts from God.  When I was about ten my feet were a size ten and for a few short years they were a size eleven.  When Mom said, "It's time to go shoe shopping" I would dread it and almost cry when I got to the store.  Back in the old days (the 70's), size ten shoes were scarce and each time I would find a pair I liked and ask for the size the shoe man would say, "We don't carry that style in that size."  Then he would bring out some ugly loafers or lace up old people shoes!  I started to hate my feet.  I was not thankful for them or proud of them and I definitely did not think they were beautiful.
I hope you feel great about the way God made you.  I hope that you don't understand what I felt like back in 1973.  It was a waste of time for me to be so upset and conscious about my foot size.  I was about five foot eight inches tall when I was in the fifth grade, that was a sight too, and can you imagine a tall gal like me with a size six foot?  That wouldn't work, something would definitely be awry.
Because I did not become thankful for my feet I tried to hide them.  I would tuck them under my chair when I sat down or cross them under myself if I sat on the floor.  I didn't like to go bowling because the bowling shoes had the size on the back, so my bowling skills still lack to this day!  I remember buying a pair of shoes one size smaller because my friends were with me - tell me, there's not much difference between a nine and ten!  Those shoes nearly killed me and my big toes, my poor toes suffered!
Does this sound dumb?  Yes, as I look at my beautiful feet today I have to apologize to them.  They are the perfect size for my body.  They have carried me for forty-five years, I was slow to learn to walk.  They have been my foundation and taken me places to serve the Lord.  I just love them and thank God for them!  I'll even treat them every so often with a salon pedicure!
Maybe you feel that way about some part of your appearance.  If you can alter it by dieting, exercise, personal hygiene, or clothing style, then try.  If not, work with it!  God knows every part and made you that way for a specific purpose.  Turn your hatred, embarrassment, or fear about the way God made you into love, gratitude, and confidence that it will turn out beautifully and is for a purpose!

Psalm 139

¹¹      If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; 

even the night shall be light about me.

¹²      Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; 

but the night shineth as the day: 

the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

¹³      For thou hast possessed my reins: 

thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴      I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

¹⁵      My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, 

and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶      Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; 

and in thy book all my members were written, 

which incontinuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷      How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! 

how great is the sum of them!

¹⁸      If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: 

when I awake, I am still with thee.

"I Am Just So Bored..."

Have you said that yet?  We all tend to say this in the middle of the summer, after the parties, after camp, after vacation, etc...

One of my favorite teachers gave me a tip when I was about fifteen years old.  She said that whenever I was bored I should do one thing I normally don't like to do that takes about ten minutes.  Do you have things you don't like to do?

I started making a list in my mind...

"Things I Normally Don't Like to Do that take about Ten minutes"

1. Clean the toilet and bathroom sink.

2. Organize one dresser drawer.

3. Sweep the porch and sidewalk.

4. Write a letter.

5. Wash the dishes.

6. Floss teeth and clean ears and clean face.

7. Wash the car windshield and windows, inside and out.

8. Hang up clothing, organize shoes, dust bedroom.

9. Pick weeds by front porch.

10. Clean inside of car, dash, seats, trash out, etc...

etc..., etc..., etc...

Can you add to this list?  I could add a hundred things.

Well, I listened to my teacher.  Whenever I was bored I would look around and find a very small job to do that I didn't really want to do.  I started it.  I did it.  I finished it.  I felt good.  I felt so good I would do another small job.  It is amazing how great WORKING makes you feel.  God made us to accomplish a work.  If we are faithful to the little jobs around us, we'll be faithful servants for Him in the bigger jobs.

The next time you think or say, "I'm just so bored..." - DO SOMETHING AND ENJOY YOURSELF! :)

"I'm Thankful to Be an American..."

July starts with a "BANG!" when we pop firecrackers and watch fireworks to celebrate our country's birthday.  I don't know about you, but I am very thankful to be an American.  You can sum up the difference between America and all other countries in one word - "God".  God and faith are the basis for our freedoms and ideals.  But, I'm not going to talk about that today, I want to talk about just plain thankfulness.
I believe if we are thankful Americans we will be better citizens.  The same is true of the following...
1. Thankful daughters make better daughters.
2. Thankful students make better students.
3. Thankful Christians make better Christians.
4. Thankful sisters make better sisters.
Have you ever gone away from home for a few days and realized what you missed?  I know that I miss my bed, my chair, my coffee mug, my family, my piano, my front door, my lamp, my closet, etc... just about everything!  That makes me thankful for all of these little "blessings" around me.
One way to make your Bible time more interesting is to keep a "gratitude journal" or list.  You don't have to write everything down in one day, but write three things down every day.  You'll be excited to see how God is working in your life and won't gripe and complain near as many times in a day.
Here's an example of a gratitude list...
1. Strength to go through a whole day.
2. A rainy day.
3. French toast for breakfast.
4. A mockingbird's song outside my window.
5. Toilet paper!!!
6. Coca-Cola Classic over ice
7. Hot french fries with Heinz ketchup
8. White cupcakes with white frosting, lots of white frosting.
Why don't you add this to your Bible time?  You and the Lord will have more to talk about.

Psalm 105

¹      O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name: 

make known his deeds among the people.

²      Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: 

talk ye of all his wondrous works.

³      Glory ye in his holy name: 

let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

⁴      Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

⁵      Remember his marvellous works that he hath done; 

his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth;