That Girl Thing

Gifts

2010-08-15T17:21:00.000-07:00

We all love the anticipation of opening a big shiny box on our birthday or Christmas. Although we enjoy the decorated beauty of the outside of the surprise, we cannot wait to break through this beauty to behold what is on the inside. The longing for newness drives us to rip through the beauty of the wrapping paper and bow to discover the treasure that will bring delight even if just for a moment.

Sometimes the treasure on the inside is not a treasure at all. We find the pretty wrapping paper and bow deceived us and we wished we had never opened the so-called gift. For it would have looked much prettier and served a better purpose staying on a desk or table. For on a desk or table, we could just look and imagine the treasure that existed on the inside without tainting the outside layers of beauty on the outside.
Other times, we don’t receive a pretty wrapped box and bow at all. We are left wanting something to look at. Something to admire. Something to bring color to our dark world. We tell ourselves, we won’t unwrap the beauty of the outside paper, we will stand afar and appreciate it’s greatness. We beg and plead just for someone to bring hope in the form of intricate wrapping paper put together carefully and flawlessly with a shiny bow.
We all have received gifts. Some of us have received gifts that we long waited for. Some of us have received gifts without even knowing it. Some of us have received gifts that were viewed as curses. Some of us have received gifts that we didn’t want. Some of us are so envious of the gifts that others have received, that we are blind to the gifts that we have received. No matter who you are, you have received gifts in life. Your choice to use them in your relationship with God and His people is in your hands.

Doors by Amanda Smith

2010-05-09T18:26:00.000-07:00

The Doors

Amanda Smith

I am running up and down a long hallway, where at first I see two doors- one at each end. Both doors have windows, but both also have padlocks. I keep looking through the windows at what each door could hold for me. Behind one door I see one choice. With this choice, my life is decided one way- no looking back. When I look through this door, I wonder what is behind this pretty picture. Is there certainty without confusion? Is this where God wants me? Is there doubt hidden behind all this? So I run down the long hallway to the other door, and peer through the window. Behind this door, I see another life. Here there is a little more pain and fear. I am making more mistakes behind this door but maybe I am learning from them too? Can I handle it? So I run back to the other door. As I run- In my hand, I hold a key...

So I keep running back and forth between these two doors, looking in each window, thinking about what I should do. Which door will my key unlock- what is the right choice for my life? Because I know with this choice, my life will change. The running will stop, yes. But once I choose a door, that is it. I will have to accept the good and the bad behind whichever door I choose, and I am not sure I am ready for that. So I keep running, and crying, and I am so tired.... tired of running and tired of wondering. I am almost ready to just give up and "Eeny meeny miney mo" my way out of this choice.

I keep running back and forth and back and forth, when suddenly I notice a door in the middle of the hallway.... I never noticed this door before. It has no lock, but no window either. I see light shining out from the crack at the bottom, under the door. Beside the door it says: " Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.... For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

I stop and stare at this door. I have no idea what is behind it- none. And not knowing is scary too. I run back to the other two doors, and peer through those windows once more. Then I come back to the door in the middle. Asking myself, “Can I give up the key, can I walk through this door and walk away from controlling this choice?” I don't want to run anymore. I am tired of fighting with myself for answers. I don't want to worry anymore. I don't know where this door leads, but I know that it has to be better than the pain of running to exhaustion and crying until I can no longer breathe.

I say a prayer of gratitude to my Savior for taking the burden off my shoulders yet again and offering peace in the confusion. My hand is on the knob, and I slowly open the door and light floods over me. I don't have to run anymore, I can rest in the love of a God so beautiful and patient. He has been waiting for me to see his door for so long, just offering his arms to take away the hurt and confusion. I have been so caught up in my struggles that I didn't see him there... Just kept running right past trying to find my own answers.

I pray: Please, my Jesus, let me rest with you. Take this key from my hand... I can't do this anymore. I know it won't be easy. I will still cry, but I am also still learning from the wonderful experiences you have given me. I know you will offer the wisdom I so desperately need. But when the pain comes again- as I know it will- please continue to wrap me in your arms and protect me from myself. I love you, my Jesus. I am yours, my life is not my own.

"Whatever (I thought) was to my profit I now consider lost for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:7-14

2010-05-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

You are amazing, so perfect, so delightful. You are the thirst quencher, the one who makes all things meaningful and purposeful. You are the one who makes the light shine upon our soul, our heart and our mind. You bring hope when rejection curses us, you bring joy when pain pounds upon us, you bring strength when we are weak and tired of pressing on, you bring peace when our hearts are troubled, you bring endurance when our feet are tired of running. You bring love to us who are so unworthy, who don't even deserve to merely stoop in your presence. You bring us, the most selfish and evil creatures, a gift that we don't deserve to even hear the mention of. You bring us the gift of salvation which brings us the hope of a love that won't be shattered, the promise of a bright plentiful future and the clean slate that erases all our yesterdays. You give us your paintings in the sky, and your sculptures in the forest. Your peace and glory radiates ever beaming from your eternal sun that never changes. Why, merciful God, have you chosen us to love? Why have you chosen to give us your son and all the beauty of the earth? Forgive us for putting you aside and not choosing you. Forgive us for our repetitive sin that always strikes our weak hearts that need to be strong in you. May we seek you Lord and may we choose you everyday!

2010-05-09T17:52:00.000-07:00

Steven Curtis Chapman
Fingerprints of God

I can see the tears filling your eyes
And I know where they're coming from
They're coming from a heart that's broken in two
By what you don't see
The person in the mirror
Doesn't look like a magazine
Oh but when I look at you
It's clear to me

That I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God

Never has there been and never again
Will there be another you
Fashioned by God's hand and perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what He's been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living, breathing
Priceless work of art

And I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know it's true
You're a masterpiece that all creation
Quietly applauds
And you're covered with
The fingerprints of God

Just look at you
You're a wonder in the making
And God's not through
In fact, He's just getting started!

Healer

2010-04-13T13:50:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share the lyrics of a song that have been on my heart lately.

Healer

Verse:

You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

Chorus:

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

No matter where you have been in life, no matter where you are, no matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you... YOU can find a healer in Jesus Christ! YOU can find ALL that you need in Jesus Christ! Nothing is impossible for HIM, who did for us on the cross what we could NEVER do for ourselves! Stop looking for healing in worldy things and look to our perfect almighty creator for true healing that is eternal!

2010-03-07T08:03:00.001-08:00

THAT GIRL THING 2010

NOVEMBER 12-14

REGISTER NOW!!!

Being alone the rest of the story

2009-11-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of what I talked about at camp on Saturday night. I talked about being alone at school and in my faith.

At school I didn't help my situation. I looked at myself as the other people did. I told myself that no one wanted to be my friend or talk to me becasue of the way I dressed and looked and acted. One reason I looked at myself as others did is I didn't see myself fitting in with anyone at school so I stayed away. Another reason I looked at myself as others did is that a lot of people did try to tell me that I needed to change and tried to get me to do things that I knew were wrong. If I stayed away from them they couldn't tell me that. Still I could have done more to not feel so left out. There were some people who would have been nice to me and at least sat with me at lunch but I stayed away most of the time. That left me feeling alone almost all of the time.

I didn't really read my bible a whole lot but there were Christian things that got me through high school. Aside from camp there were things I heard on the radio. I heard someone say one day that girl's are God's princesses so I told myself that I was special to Him and that I was His princess. As silly as it sounds that helped. Another thing that helped was songs on the radio. I listened to Christian radio a lot. One song that I haven't heard in a long while but it came on occasionally when I was in high school was the song I'm not Cool by Scott Kirppayne. I loved that song becasue I could identify with it and it reminded me that God doesn't care if I fit into a certain crowd, how I dress, how I look or things like that, He just cares about me.

Most girls want friends, they want to fit in, and a lot of girls will do what it takes to fit in with the popular crowd. My advice to everyone is be yourself and don't try to do things to fit in. At the same time though don't look down on yourself, if you do you will find it hard to make friends. There is always someone out there who you can get along with even if you are a little different than them. Look for other Christians to encourage you, and encourage other Christiasn. Most of all remember God loves you no matter how you dress, look, or act and you belong to Him.

Ronda Putnam
Staff at TGT

dating

2009-11-22T16:50:00.001-08:00

"Do you love him because you need him or do you need him because you love him?"

2009-11-22T16:44:00.000-08:00

Thanks Josh! If anyone else would like to comment or ask any questions, please do!

So a few questions...

1.) How can a christian girl appropriately evaluate her relationship with a guy that she is dating to determine if this guy is someone she could potentially marry or someone that she should steer clear of?

2.) It's so hard to break off an unhealthy relationship with a guy especially when you feel lonely and feel that this person makes you feel good about yourself. How can girls learn to find value in God alone and be ok with being single?

Would anyone like to recommend any christian books about dating? I know some of my favorite books are ones written by Michelle McKinney Hammond. I highly recommend all of her books to you. You can find her books at any christian bookstore.

What Christian Guys really think!!!

2009-11-18T12:47:00.001-08:00

A guy wants to have a “girlfriend” in Junior High and High School just to be a companion. I put that in parenthesis because in these years that is what a girl is to a guy: just a companion/girlfriend. They are not thinking about the future just for the time. They also will pick out a girl just to fit in with the “IN” crowd because that is the way that the “world” lives by and tells them to go by.
In College there usually begins a change, a guy becomes a Man and begins to see things differently because he is looking for a wife that he can spend the rest of his life with. A Godly man will look for a girl that has evidence of Growth in her spiritual walk. This is seen by the fruit of her labor. He will also look for someone that is about pleasing God and not about pleasing the world. He looks for the one that God has brought into his life for the rest of his life, and not just for the season. This is about Guys that have a relationship with Christ. The ones that do not have a relationship with Christ you STAY AWAY from. God has someone picked out especially for you and you need to take the time to seek HIS face and trust that in HIS timing it will be revealed to you.

Some scripture for you to think on!

Romans 12:4 “ And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Proverbs 18:22 “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the Lord.”

Proverbs 31:10 "Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies."

Let us know your thoughts, questions, comments!

IN CHRIST
Josh Caines
FBC Ludowici, Youth Pastor

Notes from Friday night's message

2009-11-14T06:10:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY NIGHT TGT 2009

Tonight you have a choice. A choice that you have been destined to make upon your birth in to this journey we call life. For too long, we have taken this choice lightly and believed there to be three possible answers when there really are only two. What is this choice? Tonight, to explain the possible answers, I will use a color system to help us visualize and think more about the choices. Your choice tonight is you will serve.

For never were there or are there two more opposite colors. White is neutral, stainless, transparent, pure and no darkness can be added to it. The people that live in the white tonight are those that have totally surrendered themselves to Jesus Christ, they live for Him that died for them and lack nothing. They live with purpose. They have hope because of Jesus Christ and have faith through the hard times in life because they have Jesus as a father and protector and know they have much to look forward to.

Black is deep, dark and tainted. No light can shine through. It's a color that we associate with gloom, with moruning. The people that live in the black tonight are self-indulgent, and living without purpose for their master satan.

Bibically, these are the two ways we can respond to the question of whom we will choose. We can either choose to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ or to surrender our lives to the world.

I think a lot of us, however have lived as if another area existed. We will call this the “in between” ..the gray area.

The group of people that I believe to be in this gray area are those that are Christians yet are ones that are trying to have the best of both worlds, so to speak. These are the people that love Christ but that don’t love Him enough to get beyond living with world. These are the people that are trying to hold the hand of God and of the world. And because they are holding the hand of the world and God, they are stagnant and will never be able to truly be all that God wants them to be and fufill the purpose that God has for their lives.

I want to make a guess that a majority of you tonight are living in this gray area comfortably. For in this area, you can have the “best” of both worlds. You can be “christlike” around those that you need to be such as your youth leaders, certain adults and certain friends and in participation in Christian activities. On the flip side, you can be worldly around those you need to be and participate in worldly activities. For black and white together make gray so certainly, it is logical for us all to think in our human minds we can have a mixture of both colors in our lives? !

We see however in scripture that gray does not exist!

Matthew 6:24, “You can not serve two masters, ... you can not serve both God and the god of this world.” James 1:8- “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” In Revelation, we read“Because you are neither hot nor cold and are lukewarm, the lord wants to spew those out of his mouth.” So that basically tells us that God is sicknened by those who live a double standard, those who try to live in black and white. So we see now that this gray category must be diminished because it never has nor will it ever exist. I believe there are those of you tonight who can knowingly say that you are living in this gray area.

Sadly, I believe there to be a great many of you tonight that truly think you are living in the white, that being that you truly have surrendered everything to Jesus Christ but you are mistaken. For we as “Christians” have come to believe that there are only certain sins that are sins or that God actually recognizes as sin and we all know them as- drugs, alcohol abuse, sex outside of marriage. Am I wrong? From my years working here as a staffer, and my years with TGT..those are the answers that we as leaders always receive when we say “sin.” So this presents a problem when we think that because we aren’t engaging in those sins that we are immune from sin period. I wanna tell you tonight that although satan has not gotten you in those areas of your life, you can be certain that he’s already slowly working on another area of your life and it’s dangerous, very dangerous to believe that you are immune and well guarded. You see when we let our guards down and become prideful, we become blind to darkness and the poison it renders in our lives. I say to you tonight, do not become prideful and think you are immune to the traps of the devil. Do not underestimate the power he can have over an unprepared person who has let their guard down!

Since I believe there to be a lot of people in this room tonight that may falsely believe they are living in the white area thus believing they have fully surrendered every area over to Jesus Christ, I want us tonight to examine other possible ways that satan may be attacking in your life so that if there are other areas that satan is attacking, you can identify the area and surrender it to Him tonight.

MAIN POINTS

A.) Satan will deceive you in believing that what God says, he doesn’t really mean.

Our culture and Christians alike will try to justify God’s word so that it accomadates what they want to do however I tell you tonight that what God says ,he means! Proverbs 30:5 says “every word of God is flawless” which means what God says, he in fact means! Therefore His words are not left open to our justification.

I think back to a bumper sticker that says- God Says it, I believe it, that settles it! I think this sticker to be absolutly incorrect. For it doesn't matter what you and I believe. What you and I believe does not make what God says true or not true. If God says in His word that it's right..it's absolutly right! If God says in His word that it's wrong..then it's absolutly wrong! There are no ifs, ands or buts about it!

There will come a point if there already hasn’t where you will want to do something that you know is wrong and you will be tempted to justify what you are doing maybe because nobody sees you doing it, because nobody knows you are doing it or because you feel it will not hurt anyone! You are wrong! God sees you doing it, He knows you are doing it and He will be hurt! Anything against the word of God is WRONG..there is no ifs, ands or buts..there is no in betweens! It is wrong, wrong, wrong! Know your bible, know His precious word so that when satan tries to deceive you in saying that God doesn’t mean what he said, that you can remember – Psalm 119:11-thy word have I hid in my heart that I will not sin against thee,” and Joshua 1:8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Base all of your words, choices and actions on the word of God alone!

From Genesis through revelation, we read about the consequences of those who were deceived by satan to believe that God didn’t really mean what he said. We remember the story of Adam and Eve where God told them directly to not eat from the tree yet they did anyways. Because of this direct action, we humans continue to see the consequences of their sin even thousands of years later. May this be a sign of seriousness to you! What God says, he means! Again I say to you, no matter what other Christians are doing, do not go against this word of God! Use the word of God as your standard to everything that you do. Do not be deceived tonight by believing that what God says he doesn’t mean.

B.)God is not concerned about things up to sexual acts that aren’t sex (also guarding your mind)

I know that some of you tonight are in middle school and years ago, it may have seemed inappropriate to talk to your age group about this but as many times as I have seen 12 and 13 year olds pregnant, I don’t feel it is too early at all. I believe that there are those of you tonight that have committed to be a virgin until marriage but have fallen into the trap of believing that as long as you are not having sex then you are in fact pure and in the clear. This however is not true! This is just another one of satan’s schemes to help you justify getting what you want or what your boyfriend wants. I was your age once too and I know that there are guys that have tried to compromise your virginity and when you have said “no,” they have mentioned other alternatives that would be “ok” since you weren’t “crossing the line.” May we all be reminded of scripture that says “whatever is pure and holy, think of these things” and “blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” If what your boyfriend or friends is talking about is not pure and not God-pleasing then it is wrong. Often too many times, I think girls question “how far is too far?” I honestly don’t see that question as a true question of innocence but one of wanting to know what they can get away with! If you question it, it’s wrong! If you have to think about it, it’s wrong!

Also may we all be reminded tonight that thinking something is just as dangerous as commiting the act although the consequences may be different. Romans 8:6- For to be worldly minded is death but to be spiritually minded is peace.” Do not be deceived into thinking that thinking inappropriate thoughts about your boyfriend is ok or even looking at dirty pictures. For it is wrong!

Do not be deceived tonight into thinking that anything outside of sex is ok and that if you just think something, you are not in the wrong.

Satan will deceive you into believing that you are worthless. Satan will deceive you into thinking that you have no value unless you dress a certain way, look a certain way, act a certain way, hang out with the right people, date the cool guys and have the right things. Girls, I cannot tell you how dangerous a low self-esteem is!Because of low self-esteem, there are girls that belittle others in an effort to make themselves feel better about who they are. Because of a low self-esteem, there are girls who are battling eating disorders because they feel they need to be the same size as the super model in the magazine or the celebrity on t.v. Because of low-self esteem, there are girls that compromise their sexual purity to please the popular guy on campus. Because of low self-esteem, there are girls that are involved in alochol and drugs to fit in with the popular girls at school. Because of low self-esteem, there are girls who are thinking about suicide or who have already gone through it. I say to you tonight, do not let satan and his world dictate to you how you can find worth or how you can feel better about yourself.

We, as christian women, need to look away from the world and look to God's holy word to find our worth. Psalm 139:14 says “For I am fearfully and wonderfully made. “ Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.” Isaiah 49:16

Zephaniah 3:17- He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

From this scripture, we should realize that God's character goes into the creation of every human on this earth. He created every aspect of you just the way He wanted to. From the color of your eyes, to the size of your feet....He lovingly created you to be you, different from everyone else. When he was finished, he saw it was good and was pleased. Can you imagine the pain God must feel when we look in the mirror and wish we looked like someone else. Oh the pain he must feel, when we bash his very creation!

Know God made you just the way you are for a reason and your security is not found in your looks or things that you have, it is found in the Lord alone!!

Do not let satan deceive you into believing that you are worthless or that your value is found in worldly things.

Satan will deceive you into thinking that It’s ok to look out for self above others.

1.) selfish (all about self) – do you know someone that only talks about themselves? They may ask how you are but you know they don't care. They may even be the type to use you as an ego boost such as saying things so that you constantly are praising them to tell them how great they are.

These are the people that are so concerned about themselves that they don't truly reach out to others and love like God has called us to love. For they are too wrapped up in their personal lives to care about others. This selfishness is dangerous because it keeps people from truly reaching out to others and loving them as God loves us. If Jesus, who is perfect can humble himself to reach out to others and put others first, then so should we.

Phillipians 2:3- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourself. Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same of Christ Jesus.

I think we can be selfish in not telling others about Jesus Christ.

A lot of girls truly think that it is not their job to tell others about Jesus Christ and that it is the job of the youth pastor or sunday school teacher. This may be because this is how they became a christian so therefore they don't think it's their task. However, we read in scripture that God says that it is all of our jobs to tell others about Jesus Christ. He calls us to go into all the world and tell others about Jesus Christ. It is a selfish and lazy spirit that does not think it's their job to tell others about Christ. Think tonight of the person who told you about Jesus Christ and who took the time to invest in you. This is the spirit that God has called us to have so let us have that spirit and reach others for Him.

2.) Or you may be one to share God with certain people that appear in your eyes “cool” enough to talk to but yet you ignore others, others that don't necessarily fit into group. Be reminded tonight that God does not show favoritism and that He loves all His people just the same as you should love them too. God didn't die for just a certain type of people..he died for all people. Don't show favortism to who you share Christ with, God calls all to rependence. Next time you see a person that you are starting to judge, look beyond the fleeting outward appearance and see their heart. For their heart is the same as yours. A broken tattered heart that has been tossed and turned by the world. A heard that needs a mender. A heard that needs a saviour just like you have.
Acts 10:34-35

34Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

Roman 2:11- For God does not show favoritism.

And since God does not show favoritsm, then neither should we.

3.) One can also be selfish with the talents and gifts that the Lord has blessed them with.

Some of us tonight, choose to believe that for some reason that the talents and gifts we have is because we for some reason deserve them or because it's because of our selves that we have them so we get into this mindset that when we use these talents even if they are at a christian place, that it's all about showing everyone how good we are at a specific talent or how much better we are than someone else at it.

When we “perform” with our talents instead of “worshipping,” it is worthless. God knows the motives of our hearts and if's for self-interest, we don't gain credit in God's eyes, we may in the world's eyes but like I said it's worthless if it's for the world's eyes. Do not be selfish in thinking your talent is because you somehow deserve it. Use your talent soley for worshipping the Lord and not to compete with others or show others how good you are at it.

4.) Selfish- We can also be selfish when we put things in front of God. Truly think about how much time you spend thinking about worldly things such as money, clothing, cars, hair, your looks and your weight versus how much time you spend thinking about what is eternal in Jesus Christ. Seriously think about that for a moment. Think of today or even back to yesterday. What is your answer? If you had to answer that you truly think about the world a lot more than may we all be sad and ashamed that we would focus on what is fleeting rather than what is eternal.

I'm not saying that it's not ok to have nice things but at the same time, I think a lot of us have really justified our obession with the things of this world. We have really justified it being ok to think about worldly things that we need constantly to make us look better or live better. I gurantee you that if you spent more time with Jesus Christ, a lot of these things would not be important to you. And really, let's be honest. It's all for a show for other people. You may say it's not, but it is.

If you were the last person on earth and you had access to any name brand store you wanted to go to, any car dealership, and any house...would it really matter? It might seem cool for about the first day but then it would quickly be meaningless because you wouldn't have anyone to show your new gucci clothes off to, your new jaguar off to, or your new mansion. It would be utteraly meaningless.

The sad thing is that these things are meaningless right now at this very moment even though we do have people to show these things off to.

Mark 8:36 says “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? “

Stop focusing on the things that are fleeting and worthless, focus on what's eternal. You will never have all that the world can offer. You will never be rich enough, never have all the expernsive clothes, you will never have the best house, you will never have the best car. You will never measure up by worldy standards but thank God, you can measure up to what God wants from you. Let go of these idols, these obessions tonight, and take hold of what is eternal.

Conclusion

Are you in the black? Have you been so blinded by the darkness of the world that you couldn't see the light of Jesus Christ?2 Cor. 4:4- In satan, whom is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of him who believes not, not letting the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ shine unto them.” Are you a slave to the one who seeks to destroy you? Tonight, you can turn to Jesus and get out of this black and live in the white for Him. No matter where you've been in your journey and no matter where you are, Jesus will take your tainted black heart and cleanse you and make you pure tonight.

Are you in the gray tonight? Before tonight, maybe you truly thought you were living in the white but you have realized from things that I have said or even things that maybe I didn't that God convicted you of, that you are in fact living in the gray. Because of your ties to the world, you have never been all that God would have you to be. Tonight, you can break those ties to the world by recommiting yourself to Jesus and offering a totally surrendered heart and lifestyle unto Him. Isn't it time you stop living an area that God is disgusted by and truly says does not exist in His eyes?

Joshua 24:15 says “Choose ye this day who you wil serve.”

The time is now to make the choice, you choose tonight.

TGT 2009

2009-11-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hello!!

Welcome to our Blog site! Please use this site to ask questions, share scripture, share poems, personal writings, share what God is teaching you, and just to keep in touch with the TGT staff!

God worked in tremendous ways this weekend, and my prayer is that you will stand firm on the commitments that you made. Surrender every aspect of your life to Jesus Christ..place Jesus above all else in your life and may the world know you by your love!

YOU SET THE EXAMPLE! THE TIME IS NOW!

1 Timothy 4:12

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

If I can be of any assistance to you. Please email me at stephanie@thatgirlthing.com

Thanks To Everyone!!

2008-11-15T21:08:00.001-08:00

I want to thank everyone who not only attended but prayed for TGT this year. Each year, I am amazed at what God teaches me through this retreat. Often times, we as leaders look at retreats or other church functions as times to teach. We often worry and wonder about the time we will be ministered to because we spend so much time it seems ministering to others. This truly has not been the case for me or the staff that serves every year. God teaches me personally through the preparation, the bible studies, the speakers and the girls that attend. The staff and I consider it a great honor to serve His girls through the ministry of TGT each year. My prayer is that we planted a seed in your heart and that you allow God to make it grow.