Meet our new blogger Sarah!

Hi there!

      My name's Sarah. Pleasure to meet you.  I am a sophomore in high school, and I like to keep myself busy.  I enjoy music very much and dedicate quite a bit of my time to that.  I also babysit, and volunteer in the youth section for my church on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings.  I tend to be more on the tomboyish side.
      Now that we have the basics out of the way, let's get down to business.  
     First off, I have a confession: I am a bully magnet.  I don't know what it is, but I am. Depending on who you ask, explanations include me being strong willed, having an intense sense of justice from a young age, seeing things as black and white, not being a girly girl, not filtering my extremely loud personality, and just that people are looking for someone weird to take things out on.  That's also my personality in a nutshell.
     Whatever the reason, I never really fit in with the other kids. You know that girl who played tackle football with the boys? The one who went for blocks instead of dolls?  Yeah, that was me. The weight lifter, odd one out, the girl who never, for any reason, would spend more than 10 minutes on her hair.  Haven't changed too much in that aspect.
     The bullying, along with other things, cause a lot of problems for me over the years. I battled depression from a young age but was good enough at putting up a front that no one really knew. People seemed to think I was unbreakable.  Just letting everything roll off me, being a smart aleck, and having no problem being the odd one out.  They never guessed I might be crying myself to sleep.
     I didn't get as bad as I could have. Either way, that's another story for another time.  
     When I was 12, I tried youth group for the first time, right after I graduated sixth grade.  It was probably the happiest night of my life. I continued going there and still attend the same church as I did then. It was a wonderful experience, and for the first time in my life I wasn't the odd one out. I actually fit in pretty well.  
     See, at this place everyone was loud.  No topic was off limits, and it's not entirely unusual for us to ask each other for advice or meet up outside of church. We had fun but knew when it was time to be quiet and serious. And it was the only place I wasn't bullied or avoided. I  could actually just relax and not get made fun of, though it wouldn't really be a family if there wasn't some good-natured teasing.  
     At the winter retreat almost a year later, I became a Christian. 
     Now, don't get me wrong, my parents took me to church as a kid.  I “prayed the prayer” at age 4. But it wasn't real faith for me. It was just my free pass out of Hell – nothing more, nothing less. 
     But this time it was different.
     I was happier, and literally felt lighter. It was as if I'd been carrying a million pounds on my back that were suddenly gone, and it remained that way. It's really hasn't been that long, but so, so much has changed.  
     And you know those bullies I mentioned earlier? Gone.  Every once and a while one comes back to bite me, but they always go away after a week or two. The nerves are gone, and depression is just a tiny thought in the back of my mind. I'll never let it come back that strong again.
     That's my story, or at least the back cover.  
     So, if you want to hate me for it, or name-call, go ahead. I can take it now. No matter what you say, there are people who care about me, and a God who literally loves me enough to die for me.
     So, bring it on.  
     I'll probably write on a wide span of things here, from dealing with bullies and recovering from it to ethics and the Bible. Pretty much whatever seems right for that time or post. I'll experiment, and if there are unanswered questions or it gets a lot of interest there will most likely be more on that topic. 
     I look forward to hearing from you!

Stop listening to your heart!

     Imagine your heart like a pitcher. You know, the kind you make tea or Kool-aid in. 
     Whatever ingredients you put in it, that determines the taste. No matter what you may want to taste or expect to taste, when a glass is put in front of it, what comes out of the pitcher is determined exactly by what you put in it.
     That's exactly what happens when you pour something into your heart. That's exactly why it's SO DANGEROUS to listen to your heart!
     Jeremiah 17:9 says:  The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

     When you pour hate in your heart, you will pour out hate on others — or even yourself. When you pour anger, resentment, fear, jealousy, pride, or bitterness on your heart, it will leak out somehow. Even if you try hard not to let it. 

     It makes me think of verses I heard in Sunday school from Genesis 4:6-7: Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."

     What a scary thought? Sin is crouching at MY door and desires to HAVE me! I MUST master it!! 

     Whatever is causing you to put negative feelings in your heart, that's not from God. That comes from you, rooted in sin that you are responsible for mastering. Nobody else!

     Whether you are dealing with a boyfriend, gossip, bullies, your best friends, your siblings, it's so important that you MASTER YOUR EMOTIONS. Otherwise, they will rule over you. (You can learn more about this in the current issue of Mighty Strong Girls.)

     "But it feels right to be angry," you might say. Especially if it's a social injustice you are fired up about. And that's right, it's OK sometimes to be angry. 

     Before you soak your heart with the emotion, line it up with the one source of TRUTH you have been given from the Lord — His word. It is your guide for all the ingredients God desires for you to pour into your heart, so you can in turn pour it out onto others. 

     God isn't responsible for our hearts. We are. He offers us truth. We can find it in His word. 

     

There's no doubt of this: ALL girls are worth waiting for

by Morgan

When I sat down and wrote my first purity blog, I was skeptical and overall terrified. 

Purity has always been a touchy subject with me, not because I'm afraid of it, but because I don't always have the answers I want to have. 

When I was told blogging about purity would be a smart idea for me, I wasn't even positive of where I should start and what words I would say. Like I said before, purity is a touchy subject for me because I am a strong believer that everyone is worth waiting for, and I'm not sure what would be the simplest way to put that.

After writing that purity blog, I felt called to share my faith in that way with younger girls and even older women. I believe that God calls me to do things I'm not very comfortable with because I grow by learning and sharing. 

I cannot stress enough that everyone is able to be pure, whether it's sexually or being made new. God's kingdom keeps growing, and we all deserve the opportunity to come to know Christ and His pure heart. 

It's true: You ARE 'worth more than gold'

by Morgan

1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” 

The past couple years of my life, I’ve leaned on a God who I’ve never leaned on before. I’ve loved a God who I’ve never loved before, and I’ve trusted in a God who I’ve never trusted in before.

Before I became a follower of Jesus, I lived my life on a bad road. A road that would lead to misery, heartbreak, and disappointment. A life I would never wish on anyone. How I saw myself back then, and how I see myself now are so different. I used to see a cute boy and think he was “the one." I wanted that label that made me popular, and I honestly thought sex was the way to get it. 

The attitude I had about sex and boys changed dramatically in the sense that I now see myself as worth it. I see myself as God’s prized possession, because I know I am. And I know you are. 

I struggled with purity and being pure. I struggled with knowing what being pure even meant. When I think of pure, I don’t think of “waiting till marriage” as much as I think of Matthew 5:8 that says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” 

Do I think waiting to have sex until marriage is a good idea? Yes, I do.

I think you are worth waiting for, too, and even if you haven’t waited, God still can make your heart pure and can make you new. He can make all things new. 

I’ve done things in the past that I regret, but I see God in all those things now. I see my life as His life, because He made me and created me. He knows the mistakes I’ve made and the mistakes I will make, but it’s never too late.

Being pure is something I always wanted. Little did I know, God already made me pure in heart and now I can see Him. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s never too late to turn back around.

God’s arms are wide open, and He’s waiting for you to run to Him. Britt Nicole’s new song says this “So hold your head up high, it's your time to shine, from the inside out it shows, you're worth more than gold." 

This is how God sees you, worth more than gold.

Yesterday I encountered the devil on Facebook

Yesterday I was ridiculously close to pulling the plug on my Facebook account. I was literally holding my finger above the button on my phone that says "deactivate account." 

I love reading and sharing encouragement on Facebook. It's where I get a lot of my news through various news outlets and through organizations that I support and love. 

But the drama yesterday was. Killing. Me. 

It wasn't even overt. It was subtle jabs and innuendos at ordinary unnamed people through posts, links, blogs and comments. Oddly enough, I was barely even on Facebook yesterday. I was super swamped and only checked in a few times for mere minutes on my phone. 

Before you get to thinking it was all my teen girl friends stirring up drama, think again! It was pretty much limited to grown ups on my friends list and many of them fellow Christians. 

Here's the killer part though. Because the meanness was so subtle, every time I saw or read something, I began to wonder what I'd done to tick off someone. Did I need to repent? Had I stumbled? 

I think that's OK. It's alright to allow these kinds of things to be used in such a way — to reflect and ask God to show you where you've fallen short. 

But I was obsessing for some reason. It was like a poison running through my veins, this thought that I had tainted my image somehow. Do you see my sin through this? Do you recognize it? 

Suddenly I was more concerned with how others viewed me than how God views me. 

I was actually relieved when I opened my Bible this morning to the assigned reading in my church's daily Bible reading plan and read these words: 

From Psalm 56:2-4
"My slanderers pursue me all day long; 
many are attacking me in their pride. 
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. 
In God, whose word I praise, 
in God I trust; I will not be afraid. 
What can mortal man do to me?"

What an awesome reminder! Mortal man can do NOTHING to you! Mortal man holds no power over you. Satan may try to convince you otherwise. It's a lie, a trick. The devil doesn't need complicated schemes; he simply finds your weaknesses. In my case, he went straight for self doubt and pride. 

But the truth is this, from Psalm 56:13
"For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life." 

Jesus took my place on the cross so that I could hang up sin. What freedom! Satan has no power over me unless I am stumbling. Seeking Christ keeps me walking in the light! 

And even more importantly, our identities have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with how other people see us, even if someone is twisting your words, plotting against you and conspiring harm (from Psalm 56:5-6). 

Because, as you will read in Psalm 57:2, it's God who fulfills his purpose in us. Our identity is securely fixed in Him, and nobody can take that away when we are choosing Him daily. 

If you want a freedom like this, repent and seek Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the light! 

But to fully bathe in it, you need to seek Him continually. That's where He will meet you. He did this for me, today, reminding me of these important truths, and He will do it for you, too! 

Often, I'm asked how I know it's God speaking to me. It's easy to discern the Holy Spirit when there are too many coincidences to explain. The coincidences come from daily prayer and Bible reading, plus song and worship. That's where He speaks to me! How about you? When and how do you hear the voice of God? 

As for Facebook, I'm still there. I'm contemplating another fast from it. It's good to remind myself that I should seek God first! It was also a good reminder to watch my own posts, should they cause someone else to stumble. Just last week in frustration with someone (who is not a Facebook friend or even in my "network"), I posted elusively about a situation involving my daughter. God calls us to confront one another in love. Calling each other out through social media and Internet is NOT reflective of the love of Christ. I was wrong, and I apologize to my FB friends!

But what Satan intended for evil, God was capable of using to shape and mold me. Thanks, Father God, for a loving, teachable moment! 

Hugs, 
Amy

Getting back to God

by Payson

                                      
     Remember me? 

     It's been a while hasn't it. I have a reason why I haven't been writing, but the more I think about it, the more stupid the reason seems. 

     I have been having a rough time in the past couple months. I didn't really know what to write about. I didn't really have anything inspiring to say. 

     But now that I think about it, that's a really stupid reason. Isn't that what this blog is about? Sharing my struggles to help others? So why not share?
     I have been really depressed lately. I really don't know what's causing it. That's leading to very bad self-hatred. Which leads to poor eating habits. That's all it takes for me to be back in my destructive habits. Skipping a meal here and there, purging after a big meal — nothing huge. Not compared to what I have done before. But I know that I shouldn't do it.
     I have been really thinking about it in the past few days, and I made a connection. A very huge connection. 

     I have recently been lacking in my faith walk. I've been walking away from God rather than toward Him like I should be doing. That's why I have been struggling. I know that's why! 

     When I read my bible daily, and talk to Him all the time, I don't feel depressed; I feel uplifted! Like I can take on the world! And I would really like to feel like that again.
     So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get a plan to read my bible daily. I'm going to write every day in my journal, and I'm going to pray. Pray A LOT. 

     So the big inspiring message for this blog post? DON'T STRAY FROM GOD. You probably hear that a lot, but trust me, it has some pretty scary consequences. 

     If your life isn't going as nice as you would like it, take it to God. Focus everything on Him, and I promise, things will start to look up.

Why Mighty STRONG Girls?

Someone asked me recently about the name Mighty Strong Girls. Where did it come from?

Honestly, at the time, it just came to me as though not my own. Several things happened afterward to affirm that this was what God would name our little ministry. And then, it stuck.

Today I came across some notes I made from a sermon I heard about the time we were unveiling Mighty Strong Girls on what it means to be strong biblically. The sermon, the scripture and the reasons were all affirming what was already going on in my brain. Strength is so misconstrued, misunderstood and misused from a worldly perspective.

Our world says strength is overpowering, either physically or mentally or maybe even emotionally, another person. The strong will survive. It's a concept central to evolution, too, interestingly enough. Bullying behavior is simply a mirror of what our kids see in the world — the "strong" overtaking the "weak." A theme played out again and again in movies, books, music and even homes.

1 Corintians 1:27 (NIV) says:
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

So maybe you are a "weak thing of the world." What does that mean? Should you throw yourself a pity party? That's what the world wants of you.

Or, you could realize in this one verse that God has destined you — yes, YOU — for greatness. Would it not be so if He had not hand-picked David to not only defeat Goliath but to rise up as king of a nation, to be leader of his chosen people? He loves calling out the unsuspecting to greatness.

Oh, dear girls, you are also HIS CHOSEN. He will use you, when you are ready to listen, hang on to Him and be obedient as He calls you into greatness.

It will be a wild ride, though! Something the weak of our world could never handle.

Because being obedient means having the courage to turn your back on immoral behavior, take on new challenges, have persistence in everything you do, stick up for those being bullied, ignore ridicule, walk away from unhealthy relationships and say NO loudly to a boy's unwanted sexual advances.

Courage is a muscle, and you need to use it to grow it. Today I challenge you to put it to use. Here are some ideas to get you thinking about how you can grow your courage:

• Speak out in youth group. Voice your opinion. Start a conversation. 
• Start your own Bible study or Mighty Strong Girls small group. 
•  Befriend a widow in your church. 
•  Sponsor an orphan. 
• Share the Gospel. 
• Go on a job interview. 
• Confront a problem situation. 
• Apologize to someone in a letter or even face-to-face. 
• Raise money for a good cause. 

You will find the more you employ courage, the stronger you will be. You will hear God's voice more loudly, and you will move into the greatness He has planned for you — your destiny, your very identity.

And as you do, please remember these words from 

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message):

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

{Seeking greatness in Him alongside you}

Amy