Summers are for Writing

I know I said summers are for reading, but for me summers are for writing also… Along with my list of books to read I usually have a writing project going on in the summer.

This summer I’m working on a project that I started a few months ago after I spoke to a young ladies group. I spoke on the topic, Becoming the Girl of His Dream. Because of the positive feedback I decided to expand it into a Bible Study for individual or group discussion. Here’s an excerpt from the introduction...

Dear girls,
What do you dream about? You know the kind of dreaming I’m talking about, the kind where you write in your diary or talk with your friends, or just sitting and daydreaming, fantasizing about the woman you want to become, the type of lifestyle you want to live… beautiful clothes, big house, cool cars, a handsome guy…

For some unexplainable reason, before young ladies even know what it means to truly love we are in love with the idea of love, of finding the “guy” of our dreams, riding off into the sunset and living happily ever after. However in our dreams do we ever evaluate ourselves to see if we are the girl of his dreams?

Did I peak your interest? Well keep reading and I’ll tell you a secret that will help you in your quest to become the girl of his dreams. If I’m remembering my teenage years correctly, you probably already have a picture of the cute guy at school in your mind. Nevertheless before you get too excited, the “HIS” I’m talking about, it isn’t the guy you’re probably thinking about. Before we can become the girl of some guy’s dreams we need to become the girls of our heavenly father’s dream… Does that sound weird to you?

Do you know that God has bigger dreams for you than you can ever have for yourself?

Jeremiah 29:11 states:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (NIV)

Your creator has big plans for you. He wants you to have a great future. He has such high hopes for you that before you were even created he designed a plan for your life. He created you for a purpose. You were destined to be a young lady of excellence, integrity and impeccable character. He wants you to achieve your dreams. But first, He wants you to be the girl of His dream. By now you’re probably thinking, “God has a dream girl? I wonder, what’s His type?” Well join me in this quest and let’s find out…

I’d love to hear your opinion on the following…

What characteristics do you think God’s dream girl would have?

How can someone become God's dream girl?

Photo credit: Microsoft clipart

Summers are for reading...

As a child summer was my favorite time of the year. During Summer time slowed down to a crawl. There was no rush to get up in the morning to catch the bus for school, no homework assignments, no schedules… What was a girl to do with all that time? Why read of course. From I discovered the Bobbsey Twins, Famous Five, Secret Seven and a few others when I was about seven or eight, books have been a huge part of my life especially those lazy summer days.

I am an avid bookworm and when I was younger I was hardly ever without a book. I read on buses, during recess at school, at the beach, at the dinner table, I even tried sneaking a reading book into church. I got caught though so that was the end of that.:) I can remember as a teenager getting so caught up in reading that I’d forget to do my chores, until I heard the angry, “Bernadine!” which meant my mom was home. The "Bernadine" instead of the usual “Bernie” meant she wasn’t very happy with me…

Today I’m still very much a bookworm and still love summer days where I can curl up and lose myself in a book, maybe that's why I chose teaching as a profession, I didn't want to give up my summers:).

What about you? Do you enjoy reading? What are some of your favorite books? What are you reading right now?

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” Dr. Seuss

Change Begins With Me

If you’re a Bahamian or if you’ve ever visited the Bahamas you’ll probably know that Paula Dean and her butter aint got nothin’ on us when it comes to our peas n’ rice, cracked conch, fried fish, and of course potato salad, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese, followed by guava duff, coconut tart and a lot of other tasty delights. By now the average Bahamian reading this, self included is already thinking about Sunday dinner. For this reason many of us are always fighting the battle of the bulge

Believing that a nation’s health is directly related to its wealth officials from the ministry of education have been having a series of workshops with teachers about integrating healthy nutrition choices into different subject areas of the primary school curriculum. The objective is to get the youngest members of our society along with their families excited about making good nutrition choices then we can begin to change our communities, our islands and our nation.

At the end of the workshop we were asked what we learned. The majority of teachers talked about making changes in their personal lives, eating smaller portions, eating more vegetables, reading food labels etc… To an outsider it may seem like what was being said had nothing to do with integrating healthy choices into the school curriculum, however for me it showed that we got it! We realized that if we wanted the change to come to our classrooms and our schools, our communities then it has to begin with us...

This is the way it is with life, if we want changes to come then we have to be willing to become the vehicle of change. So hopefully when September comes, (after much practice this summer), I'll be able to set a good example for my students by making better nutrition choices myself.:)

Note to teens: Remember one of my summer tips was to avoid too much fast food which can cause you to pack on the pounds. So how about joining me in my attempt to make better food choices this summer?

Thank God for the Lighthouse

The Lighthouse

by Bernadine McIntosh

The lighthouse stands,
A symbol of hope
In a world that seems
Dark with despair

It sends out a light
On the darkest of nights
Drawing in lost souls
From the storms of life

It gives you hope
Where it seems there is none
And symbolizes the true lighthouse
Jesus Christ, God’s only son

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12 (NLT)

I’ve always loved lighthouses. I’ve never actually been in one but I enjoy looking at pictures of lighthouses and reading stories built around them.

My favorite pictures of lighthouses are those where the waves are crashing against the cliffs and the lighthouse is somewhat in the distance seemingly just a small part of the picture, however it is the most important part.

These pictures remind me that no matter how tumultuous and chaotic life may become He, Jesus Christ, will always be there, the steady, unchanging presence that will guide me safely to my destination.

1 The LORD is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid?
The LORD is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?
Psalm 27:1 (NLT)

Photo credit: Microsoft clip art.

Summer Time

Today it officially begins….

“What?” You ask.

My summer vacation… *big grin*

The exams papers have all been graded and report cards all handed out. On Friday afternoon I signed off at school for the last time until August 24th. So today marks the first day of my summer vacation.

YES!!!

Right now thoughts of summer (minus the heat) are as refreshing as that glass of ice tea. So bring on the lazy days of summer.

As usual my summer to do list includes a list of books I plan to read. Among them are Do Hard Things by Brett & Alex Harris and Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado (recommended by my bloggy buddy Iris). I’m sure I’ll think of a few other things to do this summer but for right now that sounds like heaven to me.

As you can tell, I'm excited about summer, how about you?

*Photo: Microsoft Clipart

GT Magazine June/August 2009

Click on a topic below to read some of the contents of this issue of Girl Talk.

ARTICLES


It is Hard (poem)


Let's Talk About Friends

Passing the Flame Fiction


Summer Time Tips

Spotlight on
Miss Leria Smith

Note from Publisher

The Freedom to Choose

What's Wrong With a Little Conversation? (A Mother's Perspective)

It is Hard

It is hard
To forget
To apologize
To save money
To be unselfish
To avoid mistakes
To keep out of a rut
To begin all over again
To make the best of all things
To keep your temper at all times
To think first and act afterwards
To maintain a high standard
To keep on keeping on
To shoulder blame
To be charitable
To admit error
To take advice
To forgive
But it pays!

- based on Matthew 7:1-2
Author Unknown