What would you say?

I was wondering...


If you were able to go back in time


and talk to yourself


as you graduate from high school,


what would you say?


What advice would you give,


the young, excited, optimistic


you about the future?

-Hoping to use your answers in the last issue of my teen girl magazine.-

Photo credit: Microsoft clipart

What a Girl Wants to Know - Public Speaking

Help for the dreaded oral presentation

1. Know your material – it’s okay to refer to notes or cue cards but know your speech well enough that you’re able to present it without stumbling.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice – The mirror can be your best friend when practicing. Read your speech out loud, practice your gestures, pauses and inflections.

3. Make eye contact – Don’t look down at your notes the entire time. Look around make eye contact with the people you’re presenting to.

4. Engage your audience – ask a rethorical question once in a while. It will get the audience actively involved in what you’re talking about.

5. Be enthusiastic– Let your audience know that you’re passionate about what you’re presenting to them.

Thoughts on being a girl

What do you love most about being a "girl"?

by Davina, Jess, Ruth, & Sabrena

What do we love about being girls? Hmm... let’s see…

1. Pink

2. Makeup

3. GIRL TALK!

4. No goatee

5. Not having smelly feet.

6. No extra unwanted hair.

7. We get nicer clothes

8. Chocolate solves almost all of our problems.

9. We’re allowed to be crabby at least once a month

10. We can get out of gym when we have cramps really bad.

11. Watching “Chick Flicks” with our closest friends.

12. We can hug all of our friends, talk about clothes and shop as much as we want without guys thinking it’s unusual.

13. If guys cry they get called a big girl’s blouse. If we cry we get hugs! (Ruth’s from England in case you never heard that term)

Girl Talk Magazine Dec 04/Feb 05

(I was looking through an old issue of Girl Talk when I came across this. )

I'm a New Christian... Is it Wrong to Wear...?

Dear Girls,

You’ve just made the most important decision in your life. Welcome to the family of God. You’ll find out as you get to know us that we’re just like any other family. We make mistakes, we get angry, we do and say silly things sometimes. However, all of that is secondary to the fact that we love God and we love each other, faults and all.

You’ll find out as you walk this Christian journey that different people have different opinions about the dos and don’ts of being a Christian. Don’t get hung up on small stuff. The most important thing about being a Christian is your relationship with Jesus Christ.

I remember when I was a teenager, I was out on a Saturday and a gentleman passed me a gospel track and asked me if I was a Christian. I was pleased to say yes because I was a young Christian and quite excited about that fact. However, his incredulous response floored me. “You’re a Christian and you’re wearing that????”

What was I wearing? Believe it or not, jeans and a tshirt. But, according to what he believed, if I was a Christian I shouldn’t wear pants. I didn’t get into an argument with him. My response was simply, “If the God I serve is more concerned about the jeans that I’m wearing than He is about my heart then He’s not the God I thought He was.”

Later that day though, I was still thinking about it. It bothered me that my faith was in question because of what I was wearing. However, a friend reminded me of the following scripture;

The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

I’m not saying that we should not be concerned about the way we present ourselves or what we wear. However, that’s not the most important thing to God. The condition of your heart and your relationship with Him is what is most important to him. Hence, that should be most important to you too.

Until next time, stay strong in Him.
Bernadine

Walk of Faith

Dear Girls,

I’ve been thinking lately, (yes I do that sometimes:)). I’ve been thinking about you and your walk with God.

A few weeks ago I started writing the series “So I’m a Christian… Now what?”, and I haven’t completed that yet. I do plan to at some point. However, I don’t want my thoughts to seem too simplistic, as if this Christian walk really is piece of cake, because it’s not. There are days when it gets difficult. There are days when you question your faith, and in all honesty, there are days when God seems far away. But, he never promised that we would not experience difficult times in our lives. What he did promise was that He would be with us through them. Hence, those tough days are the days when your walk with God really becomes a walk of faith. When you can’t feel His presence but you know He’s there because He said in His word,

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

As a Christian you will experience different things in your life that sometimes shake your faith. Fortunately, just because it’s shaken doesn’t mean it’s lost. That’s why it’s important in the early days of your walk with God to develop a strong relationship with Him. Talk to Him, spend time in his word and get to know him. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to really get to know the God you gave your heart to. The stronger your relationship is with him the less likely you are to turn away from him when you experience tough times.

Let’s be like David, one of my favorite biblical characters. When we’re discouraged or facing things in our lives that cause us distress, let’s find our strength in the Lord our God.

David was now in great danger because all his men were very bitter about losing their sons and daughters, and they began to talk of stoning him. But David found strength in the LORD his God.1 Samuel 30:6 (NIV). (emphasis mine)

As always girls, I want you to remember, that your heavenly father loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you so much you are engraved in the palm of His hand. There is nothing you can ever do that will change the way He feels about you. There is nothing that concerns you that does not concern Him. Talk to Him always. Don’t ever give up your relationship with Him. He is the friend that you always want in your corner.

Group Projects... A Necessary Evil?

What a Girl Wants to Know

“I hate group work!” These four words were punctuated most emphatically by a college student who was at the end of her rope. “Why are there so many group assignments and why can’t everyone just pull their own weight instead of the burden being on one or two people?” She continued slumped down in her chair. The posture and annoyance seemed so familiar I couldn’t help but smile.


I remember encountering similar frustrations when I was in college. However, there’s no getting around it, group work is a part of the college experience that won’t go away. For the most part group projects can be an enjoyable, learning experience if all members are willing to work. You can learn from the different opinions and viewpoints of those in your group.


Sometimes when you work as a group you put together a far more superior project than anything you would have done alone. Those are the enjoyable groups. Unfortunately every group experience isn’t that enjoyable. The difficulties arise when some members are unwilling to do their part. Consequently, the group members who are more serious about their grades end up doing most of the work and carrying the group which really isn’t fair.


Here are a few tips I hope will make your group projects whether it’s college or high school less stressful.

Meet with your group early. If you have a large group chose a leader.

Discuss your project then break it into smaller tasks and assign everyone a task according to their strengths. For example, the person who isn’t very proficient on the computer probably shouldn’t be given the task of typing up the project.

Set a time when the project should be completed. Schedule times to meet and discuss how far everyone has gotten and whether anyone needs help completing their task.

Don’t wait until the day your project is due to try and put it all together.

Sometimes no matter how hard you try some group projects just don’t work out. If you feel as if your grade is at risk because of someone else’s refusal to complete their work let your lecturer or teacher know. There are times when grades may be assigned based on what each person contributes to the project so be sure that you do your part.

How Do I Grow Spiritually?

So I’m a Christian … Now What? Part 2

Do you know that as Christians we are to feed ourselves spiritually just as we feed ourselves physically? If you’re a new Christian your mind has probably wandered to physical food such as pizza or burgers and you’re wondering, “spiritual food? What’s that?” 1 Peter 2:2 states

As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
(KJV)

When you accept Christ, spiritually you are like a newborn baby. The word of God is your spiritual food. In order to grow spiritually you have spend time reading and studying His word by yourself and with other Christians. Spending time with Him can be simply having a quiet time where you spend time reading his word and talking to Him while He talks to you, spending time in church, or any gathering where He is the main focus. As a consequence of doing this you will begin to deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ and become a stronger Christian.

“But that sounds like too much time and effort,” you may be thinking. However, every relationship takes work to survive. In order to get to know someone you spend time with them talking to them, listening to them finding out their likes and dislikes. This forms in your mind a true picture of who this person really is and what you admire about them. Relationship with Christ is no different. In order to get to know the Christ that you gave your heart to you have to spend time with Him.

As you read His word, you learn more about his character and what it is He desires from you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states:

Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation. The old is gone! The new has
come!

As you get to know Jesus Christ more personally you will find that you’re not comfortable doing certain things you did before. There may be attitudes and behavior that you displayed before that changes. You’re putting away the old things you used to do that were not in keeping with the standards God expects of His children. This is an example of you growing spiritually into a mature Christian. So my dear young lady, desire spiritual food, feed yourself often. Don't ever stop growing...


Check in next week for another installment in this series.

Part 1: So I’m a Christian … Now What?

Here are a few post I wrote about my experience reading the Bible as a new Christian.

Reading for the Love of Reading
Reading for Meaning and Inspiration
Reading because it’s my duty

So I’m a Christian… Now What?

Tears streaming down their faces they walked to the altar. The call was made; Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation (2 Cor 6:2 NLT)… the choice is yours. What choice will you make?

With joy in my heart and a prayer of thanksgiving on my lips I saw several young ladies choose Christ. At that moment there was no thought of friends, image or status. There was simply a longing for the fulfillment that only a relationship with Christ can bring.

There at that altar began a new relationship with Jesus Christ.

As a former Christian teen, I know that at some point the excitement and passion that came with that new found faith will begin to fade and the thought will come to mind, “So I’m a Christian…now what?”

“How do I keep this excitement?”
“How do I grow spiritually?”
“What does God expect of me?”

Over the next few weekly blog posts I’ll be exploring this topic.

What a Girl Needs

Part one A girl needs: A relationship with Jesus Christ

What exactly does a girl need? If you watch the television or read the latest magazines you'd probably come to the conclusion that a girl needs lots of money to buy the latest fashions. Maybe, you'd decide that a girl needs jewelry, nails done etc. You'd probably also think that a girl needs to be surrounded by lots of friends and that a girl needs to be able to make her own decisions and do her own thing. Furthermore, you'd probably think that a girl needed a guy...

I'm not going to go as far as to say that a girl doesn't need these things but I don’t think they should be the most important items on a girl’s agenda.

First and foremost I think that a girl needs to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The word of God says in Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (NIV) Having a relationship with Jesus Christ simply means inviting him to forgive you of your sins, come into your heart and be Lord of your life. Accepting him creates in you a desire to change to become a better person.

I remember the proudest moment of my life when I accepted Christ as a teenager was when my mother told me a few weeks later, "Bernie I know you got saved, I can see a change in you. According to her, there was a change from my sometimes, surly attitude especially when I was called upon to chores *blushing*.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t suddenly become the perfect teenager (my siblings can attest to this). I still made mistakes but I knew that in Christ I’d always find forgiveness. Seventeen years later Christ is still the number one man in my life. He guides my decisions and because of him I make much less mistakes than I would have trying to navigate life on my own (If I'd only listen to him more I'd make even less mistakes).

So while I do agree that there are many things a girl needs, as you can tell, I firmly believe that a relationship with Jesus Christ is key. The strange thing is when you truly have a relationship with him some of the things that you may think that a girl’s just gotta have may no longer seem so important.

Be on the lookout for the next issue of GT, for part two in this series.

Part 2 A girl needs: Parental Guidance

Girl Talk Magazine
June/August 2007