Our God doesn't make mistakes

by Morgan

There are certain things in life you can't escape, and there are certain problems in life you can't run away from, but there is one certain thing in life that keeps you going.

It's not a cell phone, or an idol you worship; however, it's a loving God who endures forever. A God who no one can compare to and a God who doesn't make mistakes.

There are tons of people in this world who idolize money, fame, beauty and appearance. We all have appearances. Appearances are what someone looks like on the outside and not necessarily what they look like on the inside. Most humans think their outside appearance and what the world classifies them as is the most important thing. I used to look in the mirror and say to myself "Why can't I be beautiful, and have the perfect body and the perfect lifestyle?" I sometimes still look in the mirror and wonder why I feel so ugly on both the inside and the outside. 

But, I've realized something. "Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair the and wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the invading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." - 1 Peter 3:3-4

Two years ago, I was a mess. I looked at myself as a girl who would never fit in. A person who would have to go to extremes to feel important to the ones around me...especially my peers. I found myself in a sticky situation on a couple snow days we had back in 2010. I made myself drink and drink and drink until I was finally in. I could finally be considered a cool high schooler who people wanted to hang out with. Not only did I drink, but I made decisions I wouldn't have made if I lived in the same body I live in now. I let my parents down, let myself down and let my God down.

As I am now sitting through another snow day, I lay back and wonder. I wonder what I would be doing right now if I didn't get that text to attend Christ in Youth. I wonder what I would be doing if I didn't find that friend who stuck by my side no matter the time or day. And I wonder what I would be doing if I didn't have such a powerful, loving God who couldn't watch me go another day without being hurt and hurting myself. All the thoughts I used to have are now thoughts I rarely have. All the time I wasted on getting approval from society, was all the time I wasted not ministering to one of my friends or family members.

The great thing about God is that He doesn't let us fall. He sees what society and magazines have done and how much of an impact they have on teenagers like myself. God sees that you are hurting and He can't bear it any longer. Run to his arms, because it's not too late, nor will it ever be. You're beautiful and wonderfully made. God WILL continue to use you even if you think the path you have taken won't be accepted. If I have learned one thing these past couple years, its that there's always a Savior to guide the way. "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. " - Acts 3:16.

Don't go one more day. Turn to Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Resolve to be a Mighty Strong Girl!

     Happy New Year, my beloved Mighty Strong Girl! 
     I am so glad you have joined me here, and I have a very important message for you as we begin a new year together.    
     You may not see it now or believe me, but you are beautiful and destined to change the world! God has a perfect plan for you — one that will allow you to live out all the dreams in your heart, one that will bring happiness and peace and grow your faith. 
     You may not see all the fruits of this in 2013 or even in 2014. My walk of faith to learn what God had in store for me is ever evolving. It's exciting to learn how He will use me next. Most exciting of all is that He led me here, to you, to the creation of Mighty Strong Girls. 
     And He wants you to get to know Him, which is why one of the Mighty Strong Girls' values is daily Bible reading. 

One of Andy Raines' Warrior Princess paintings.

In our latest issue of the Mighty Strong Girls magazine, columnist Melody Miller issued a 40-day challenge. I think that's a good way to start a new year. As an incentive, Passion Painter Andy Raines is donating a Warrior Princess painting to one girl who completes the challenge. (All the names of girls who stay in the Word for 40 days are eligible to win!) 
     It does not matter how you complete the challenge, but if you're like me, you might want some guidance. I've mapped out a reading plan below that you could use. It starts with smaller readings and builds up to two chapters daily. I've picked out two books that will be encouraging to you. One is Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus, and the other is the book of wisdom, Proverbs. 
     Try this if you want to go deeper: Read the selection. Pick out a favorite verse and meditate on it (read it and memorize it, clearing your mind of all distractions). Pray about how God could use what you read today to impact your life for Him. 
     I have another suggestion for you as you start the New Year that comes from Pinterest. Get an old glass or clear plastic container and every time something good happens or you accomplish a goal or receive a compliment from a friend, write it on a little piece of paper and put it in the container. On those days when you are feeling "down in the dumps" or angry or frustrated, get out the container. Read until you don't feel yucky anymore and then pray. 
     In fact, if you have a few moments today, scribble out all the amazing things you've accomplished and all the good things that happened in 2012. Pray a prayer of thanksgiving as your first one in 2013.
     I know you can do this, Mighty Strong Girl! I'll be doing it right along with you! 
{Hugs}
Amy

DAY ONE

Ephesians 1:1-14

DAY TWO

Ephesians 1:15-23

DAY THREE

Ephesians 2:1-10

DAY FOUR

Ephesians 2:11-22

DAY FIVE

Ephesians 3:1-13

DAY SIX

Ephesians 3:14-21

DAY SEVEN

Ephesians 4:1-16

DAY EIGHT

Ephesians 4:17-32

DAY NINE

Ephesians 5:1-21

DAY TEN

Ephesians 5:22-33

DAY ELEVEN

Ephesians 6:1-9

DAY TWELVE

Ephesians 6:10-24

DAY THIRTEEN

Proverbs 1

DAY FOURTEEN

Proverbs 2

DAY FIFTEEN

Proverbs 3

DAY SIXTEEN

Proverbs 4

DAY SEVENTEEN

Proverbs 5

DAY EIGHTEEN

Proverbs 6

DAY NINETEEN

Proverbs 7

DAY TWENTY

Proverbs 8

DAY TWENTY-ONE

Proverbs 9

DAY TWENTY-TWO

Proverbs 10

DAY TWENTY-THREE

Proverbs 11

DAY TWENTY-FOUR

Proverbs 12

DAY TWENTY-FIVE

Proverbs 13

DAY TWENTY-SIX

Proverbs 14

DAY TWENTY-SEVEN

Proverbs 15

DAY TWENTY-EIGHT

Proverbs 16

DAY TWENTY-NINE

Proverbs 17

DAY THIRTY

Proverbs 18

DAY THIRTY-ONE

Proverbs 19

DAY THIRTY-TWO

Proverbs 19

DAY THIRTY-THREE

Proverbs 20

DAY THIRTY-FOUR

Proverbs 21

DAY THIRTY-FIVE

Proverbs 22

DAY THIRTY-SIX

Proverbs 23

DAY THIRTY-SEVEN

Proverbs 24-25

DAY THIRTY-EIGHT

Proverbs 26-27

DAY THIRTY-NINE

Proverbs 28-29

DAY FORTY

Proverbs 30-31

Your Defining Moment

by Cece

Whether you know it or not, at some point in your life you have had a moment that has influenced your future. 

These moments contribute to who we are and everything else about us. Your defining moments may be good or bad; it really doesn’t matter. I have had multiple moments in my life that have made me who I am.

For me, I have more bad defining moments than good. I have had a rough past couple of weeks. My best friend and I got into a fight, she called me names and then I fell off the wagon and cut myself. They are now just barely visible scars, but the moment I took the knife in my hand and the moment my arm swelled and burned are something I will never forget. 

Then about a week or so ago, my dad left. He and my mom had a fight and little did they know I had heard the whole thing. I do not want to disclose what it was about, but my siblings were affected greatly by this sudden change. I have had to grow up a lot lately and be strong for my brother. Lastly, I started not eating. I lost about 6-8 pounds in the last week. I am now eating normally now, but I think I have scared a lot of people lately. They have seen me walk around like a zombie for the past two weeks. |

Until I realized that what I was doing wasn’t helping anyone. I was just making my mom feel worse, my friends scared to leave me alone, and my siblings worried that I couldn’t handle what had happened. 

I don’t want this blog to make you cry or feel bad for me. I want this to show you that even the bad moments in your life are essential  to growing up, to becoming the person who you are. I feel like I have aged about 20 years in this past month. I am a better person; I have a better relationship with GOD, and I now appreciate all the little things in life that I have never noticed before. 

I have created an email at  MightyStrongCece@yahoo.com for anyone who wants to ask me questions, advice or anything. Whatever you want, just ask away. I just want you all to know that I am here for you, and I want to help you with whatever you need.

Viewing my body as God's temple

by Payson

In my life, I've always been the "messed up" friend. The friend who cut herself. The friend who starved herself. The friend who attempted suicide. I've never really known what it was like until just recently.

A very close friend of mine threatened to kill herself a few months back. I raced to her house to find her on the floor, blade in hand, ready to slice open her skin. Luckily, I made it in time, and she didn't go through with it. But let me tell you, that really opened my eyes. 

I had never realized what I put my friends through. I never realized how much pain that they went through for something that I did. I didn't know that it hurt THAT much. But it did. I sat in my friend's house and cried for hours, blaming myself for what she did. "Why didn't I notice it? I know all the signs. I should have been paying her more attention." These thoughts raced through my head, and it made me feel terrible for putting my best friends through this same thing. It will make me think twice when a thought like that ever crosses my mind again.

Also, very recently I found out that a very close friend of mine self harms. I've never been on this end of cutting before. When the text came saying, "Yes, I do," my heart dropped. How could someone so beautiful and so amazing do that to herself. I sat there and looked at the text for a good 10 minutes before responding. I didn't know what to say. I've never been in that situation before. 

I'm sure this is what my friends and family felt when I told them for the first time. Maybe you have felt this way. The best thing for you to do is to encourage them to tell their parents. Then to get professional help. But trust me, I know from experience that won't go over very well. Just be a friend to them. Remind them that you are ALWAYS there for them and that God is there, too. That's what got me through some of my bad days. 1 Corinthians 6:19 talks about your body being God's temple. God gave you that body. He doesn't want you harming it.

It's weird being on this end for once. But God put me through everything that I went through exactly for this reason. So that I can help people who are going though this. It has given me so much knowledge about these things. I have experience that helps me encourage others into recovery. Sometimes I regret going through what I did. But most times I couldn't be more grateful to God. He always knows exactly what He's doing. :)

Understanding beauty

by Ree
I'm just a girl trying to find her place. And I surely do believe that my place is helping other girls who are having trouble understanding that they are beautiful no matter what. 
I am someone wo has suffered for many years believing I am not beautiful enough or good enough for anyone. Yes, my self confidence is still very low, but I am understanding that no matter what I am beautiful.
Pretty much my entire life I looked up to singers, actors, actresses or anyone famous for that matter, but doing so hurt my self confidence. I started to cut myself in seventh grade because I felt I wasn't good enough (but also other reasons as well). I felt as if I would never, ever be good enough. I felt I needed to have the perfect hair. The perfect skin. And of course the smallest body I could possibly have. 
As I got older people at school and members of my own family, would make fun of the clothes I wore, my weight or just the way I looked in general. At that time (my freshmen year), I had been free of cutting for two years, but then one day I just cracked...I let myself slip away back to the pain that only lasted merely a second. 
I was off and on from cutting ever since, and now here I am a junior, and I still am cutting every now and I have been clean for 100 days, which for me is a huge step! Let me help Mighty Strong Girls in letting girls know that they dont have to be a size "0," or have "perfect" anything to be beautiful! 

The Real Truth

By Cece

     Real and true are words I never hear any more. 
     Now girls are all about conforming to society, trying to make friends, landing the cutest boy and doing whatever they can to be noticed. 
     But honestly going through all the trouble doesn’t guarantee happiness or perfection. All you are really doing is admitting that you are willing to change everything about yourself just to gain acceptance. 
      All through junior high school I was what I considered to be a wallflower. People didn’t really notice me. I was invisible to everyone — the bookworm who never said much to anyone.
     But the thing was…that wasn't who I wanted to be. I dreamed of being the center of attention. I wanted to be different, surprising. 
     I felt as if I was trapped in a box, stuck with the image everyone wanted me to be. Even though I wanted to change, to be defined by me, I didn’t try. I thought no one would accept the new me, so I stayed unhappy and miserable. 
     Little did I know that changing the minds of others wouldn’t be as hard as I imagined. I decided to actually try with my appearance, dressing how I wanted to and taking pride in myself. 
     Once I looked the part, I decided to "act" the part. Instead of taking shelter in my fantasy world of literature, I ventured out of my comfort zone and got involved in debates, conversations, and clubs. I didn’t let the opinion of others influence my decisions anymore. 
     Want to know the real truth about breaking away from the crowd and doing your own thing? It just takes determination and confidence to be who you are. No matter what you want to be or do, you have the power to overcome the status quo.

God's grace is bigger than our failures!

Thanksgiving. 

A day to be reminded for what you're thankful for. But for me, it was a day I had been dreading all year.

Last year, I was "sick" on Thanksgiving day, so I didn't eat. I wanted this year to be different. I wanted to enjoy the good food. Mentally, I was so prepared for it. I was ready for the struggle I was going to face. But I wasn't prepared for what actually happened.

About a week before, I found eight blades on my bedroom floor. I quickly grabbed them without thinking and hid them under my mattress. It was a stupid mistake that I regret, but I can't do anything about it now.

I didn't use them that day. Just knowing I had them felt like a kind of security to me. For that week, I didn't really go to God like I should have. I didn't read my Bible or pray. I shut myself off from Him, which is the stupidest thing I've ever done.

Thanksgiving came along and things were going well. I ate a lot for lunch and kept it down. Then at dinner my grandma said I was getting chunky. This isn't the first time she's said this. But even worse, she asked if my sister was anorexic. So my sister's skinny and I'm not.

So basically my Thanksgiving was stressful. That's normal. I have learned how to handle stress better. But I had blades. It was an easy way out, and selfishly, I cut myself.

A few days later my friends found out, and they told me to throw them away. I didn't listen at first, but I knew keeping them was only going to make it harder for me. So I went out to a lake and threw them. But I stopped at the last one. I held it for five minutes. Then the wind took it and tossed it in the lake. Coincidence? I don't think so.

I failed. I not only hurt myself, but I hurt the people around me too. But, God didn't leave me. He picked me up when I fell down. I let Him down, but He didn't give up on me. I turned my back on Him, but He never left. After all the times I have failed, He hasn't left. Isn't that crazy? He hasn't left. If I had a friend who treated me like I sometimes treat God, I would have been long gone. But that's the cool thing about our God. HE WON'T LEAVE YOU. He didn't leave Paul who was persecuting Christians! If you go to Him when you mess up, he will lift you up. He knows what's best for you.

After everything i have done wrong in my life, I am not a failure. Like a good friend and mentor once told me, "Just because you fail, that doesn't mean that you're a failure." I may be to some people, but not to God. I will NEVER be a failure in God's eyes, and neither will you.