REAL men wear PINK

RG sure did have a fun weekend in Kentucky at a youth conference in Louisville. Here is pic from this weekend with the REAL guys who wear pink. We sure do love it when boys step up and support RG. One day maybe there will be a "ligit guys"....any takers?
Also, we enjoyed spending some time with some girls at a back to school party here in Nashville.
We are overwhelmed at where God is taking this ministry and are so glad each of you are a part of this with us! Have a great week! And remember....Stay REAL!!

Real Girls Impact Follow Up

Cute Shoes!

Some people hate feet, some people love feet. But with a cute pair of shoes, all girls love feet! I pray that as teen girls we all strive to be walking down a path with our cute shoes on and heading in a direction that brings us closer to God. Make sure that you concentrate more on what path your shoes are on than what shoes are on the path.

I pray that this verse is what we are all truly about:

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

Romans 10:15

I want my feet to be beautiful, but to be that I need to be all about some good news. Remember that no matter how cute your shoes are you are representing Christ and need to be sharing HIM with others, so they too can have beautiful FEET!

Stay REAL!

Thanks to Libby Barker for cute pic! Check her out at www.libbybarkerphotography.com.

I don't believe in coincidences

Yep, this is true for RG. We don't believe in coincidences but in God things. We just like to call them "God stories". You know what I am talking about. The times when something happens and the world would say,"wow you are lucky!" but we say," wow we serve a mighty God". This has happened to us a lot lately but we want to share this one first and have more for later....

We met a girl at Impact named Alexandra. She went to our class and afterwards came to us and said she wrote poems and we might want to take a look. We did and this is what we found in her book:

Six of us sitting ‘round the circle,
Expressing all of our feelings.
Some tears mix with laughter,
And the mood lifts from gloom and doom
To happy and cool.
But everyone is being helped by this,
Understanding and knowing what they need to fix,
Or need to stop thinking of themselves,
As ugly, or fat.
Because we all think everyone’s beautiful,
And so does God.
So next time you have friend over,
Sit ‘round a circle and express your feelings.

Yep! This is what we read. We really were in shock. Did she know that we had 6 girls on our RG team at that time? Did she know we actually did sit and talk about this? Did she know our class was going to be about self image? NO, she didn't. Crazy, huh? So, we read more poems and all of them are great. We are going to start posting some, but for now this is the one we want you to hear. God does think you are beautiful. He knit you and created you just the way you are. Check out Psalm 139 if you don't believe us.

Thanks Alexandra Burton from North Caroline for sharing your talents!

We want to hear your "God stories", so tell us some!

Stay REAL!

Halfway

Real Girls is at Impact at David Lipscomb this year for the first time. We are loving it and enjoy seeing God at work here. The praise and worship time is great, and the singing is amazing. Our classes have been great and the girls are all really opening their hearts.

Here is a sneak peek at this class:

You knit me

So I praise

You found me

So I live!

Our class is based out of Psalm 139 and goes with the "hidden" theme of the week. We are putting a RG spin and working through our self image this week. Please let us know if you want to come by and see us. The more the merrier! Have a blessed week.

And as always.....stay REAL!

P2 (peer pressure)

- everyone's doing it

- me too!

- wait for me

- it can't be that bad

These are all things we catch ourselves sometimes saying, huh? Don't you wish you never felt pressure to be cool or fit in? It would be great if we could just be ourselves and not worry about what others think. I know I wish I could be more like that! In the New Testament we see many times how Paul was great at this. In 1 Thessalonians 2: 4 (in the Message) it says:

" Be assured that when we speak to you we're not after crowd approval- only after God approval."

WOW! If only it were that easy right? Well, it is that easy. Start praying that God gives you a heart to seek after His will and His will only. Pray that you will want to walk away from crowd approval and seek what is right. I hope we can become leaders and then eventually others will want to follow us. Maybe we can set a new "peer pressure" standard. I would love to see the COOL thing that others feel pressure to do become the RIGHT thing to do.

May we be REAL GIRLS seeking after God approval.

Stay REAL!

adrenaline rush!!!

I am sure many of you are getting excited about summer coming up. Trips, laying out, swimming, camps, and sleeping in! We just wanted to give you encouragement to finish out your school year strong.

“It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
Hebrew 12:1-3 The Message

Try to embrace this scripture in every area of your life. And let our Savior’s story keep you going strong! Have you ever ran a race, had a big game or event and you get that nervous/excitement feeling? I love that!! I love the adrenaline rush! What Christ has done for us should give us that feeling! I pray for each of us that WE may have that adrenaline rush this week as we serve others around us.

Be a REBEL!

This past weekend we went on a Real Girls retreat and it was AWESOME! I wish all of you could have come. We will have another one, so make sure you join us.
The main theme for the weekend was Be a Rebel! We looked at what Romans 12:1-9 says "Do not conform...." We talked about ways that it is hard for teen girls not to conform and came up with BLT- the way we treat our Bodies, our Language and the way we spend our Time. Then we looked at the later part of that same chapter and spent some time looking at SET- Service, Encouragment, and Teaching. We then went and had some quiet time praying that God would show us what He wanted us to concentrate on. We split into the 3 groups- service, encouragment, and teaching. The service girls went and cleaned the BOYS bathhouse, what sweet servants and what an experience! The encouragers spent some time writing letters to 3 people, one of which was our RG compassion international girl from Honduras. Then the teaching group planned a closing devo talk for us to hear. Each of these groups did GREAT! We talked about doing each of these so much that you went home and shocked people. We want to be different than our world and we need to be a REBEL!
On top of all of this, we had a fabulous RG dance party complete with bedazzled glow in the dark bandanas, pink lights, and glow bracelets! Thanks to all of you girls for coming, we really enjoyed it!
If you are reading this and you went, you know the challenge. If you didn't make it, we want to challenge you to the RG Rebel Retreat challenge, so here it is- Take a facebook and texting fast for at least 24 hours and when you would normally spend that time texting or whatever you do on facebook, spend that time in prayer, journaling, or reading a study book. After you do this, please let us know how it goes! Let's stop conforming to our world and take part in God's world of being a TRUE follower of Him and let's start by spending as much time with Him as we do on these computers and phones. Now....GO!!!
Be a Rebel and Stay REAL!

RUN Sista' RUN!

Running is a huge part of my life right now. I am training for the half marathon here in Nashville in April. I also coach track. One of the REAL GIRLS team members runs track. Running is a huge part of my life! I love running. I never thought I would say that. It truly is one of the only skills from high school that I use every day. One thing I love about running is it gives me time to spend just thinking. Breathing hard and hearing my footsteps, I just have time to myself. I love the "runners high"- that feeling of wow, I cannot believe I just did that! If you have ever experienced this, you know what I am talking about.
Running is such a great example of our Christian walk. Hebrews 12:1 says:

"...let us run with persevance the race marked out for us!"

When you are given a certain distance to run, you just run. You don't quit. You run until you are done. This is our walk with Christ. We just RUN! Just keep going, don't quit! Run hard. Run fast. Just run. Yes, you will get tired. You will take water breaks, and you will need others to cheer you on. But what a great feeling when you cross the finish line!

As Dory on Finding Nemo says......"just keep swimming."

Run, REAL GIRLS, RUN!

We love you and pray for all of you as you run this race! Stay REAL!

Where to begin?

That is the question for this blog. After this amazing weekend in Gatlinburg at Winterfest, we really don't know where to begin. We won't bore you with every detail but we do want to share some of our highlights over the weekend so you can see how God was at work in Gatlinburg this weekend. Some of the cool REAL GIRLS moments included:
- a girl named Sarah from Germany who wanted to know how to go back home and share Christianity with her friends there.
- meeting Taylor and Tiffany and seeing what is in store for them (you go girl!)
- finally getting to meet Jenna after months of emailing! can't wait till May!
- getting to see our home youth groups......we love Tusculum, Otter Creek and Rural Hill!
- a sweet girl named Kelsey coming by our booth and teaching us that you don't have to see with your eyes to really SEE!
- watching our huge support team work so hard.....thanks parents!
- hugging a mother who lost her daughter just 10 weeks ago and being amazed at the strength God has given her.
- meeting Zach Hunter and hearing about what God is doing through his ministry Loose Change to Loosen Chains.
- Drew and Dave have a cool ministry YEE. And they make cool videos!
Wow, what a weekend we had! For those of you who joined us there it was great to see you. If you were unable to join us, we missed you and look forward to seeing you soon. God is doing amazing things through RG and we can't wait to see what HE has in store next. Thanks for being a part of this ministry with us!
And don't forget to L1 and L2. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself." Do these and the rest falls into place.
Thanks Dudley, Johnny, Chad, Jeff, Carla, and the rest of the Winterfest Team for this weekend!
Stay REAL!

Taking it for Granted

Yesterday, REAL GIRLS was blessed with the opportunity to go to a public middle school in Mt. Juliet, TN. We went there to share a lesson with them, and actually they shared a lesson with us! A group of AWESOME 8th grade girls asked us to come. They worked so hard getting this together: meetings with their teachers, posters made, announcements, and more. We were very impressed and excited about going there. This was our first event at a public school. Usually, we go to churches and private schools for bible classes and chapels. Now, don't get me wrong we love going to those places, but yesterday we learned something very valuable....
The plan was for us to do the talk before school. As they unloaded the buses, the students had the opportunity to go to the gym/hall to hang out with their friends and study OR they could go in an audotorium and hear REAL GIRLS. Ok, so you might be thinking..."what is the big deal?" Here is the big deal: these girls CHOSE to come! The ones that got everything together (which here is my shout out to Shelby Brown and gang) were expecting around 50 girls, and the final number was estimated to be around 300. Yep, that is right 300!!
This is not for me to brag on REAL GIRLS, because I will tell you this is GLORY to what a mighty GOD we serve. This is to brag on these girls who chose to spend their morning soaking up a tiny piece of God's plan for their life. Also it is a reminder for those of us who go to school where we have chapel and don't really want to go. Or for those of us who get bored of all the times our parents MAKE us go to church. Or get tired of hearing announcements about the FCA group or new bible study group. This is to make you wake up and try and be thankful for all the opportunities you have to hear GOD LOVES YOU!
I am so guilty of this myself. So many times, I think about a boring speaker, a too lengthy class at church, bible classes at school that seemed stupid, and so much more. But yesterday, the girls at MJMS taught me something. I want us to CHOOSE to follow Christ. We want everyone to know that we all are CHOOSING to follow Him. We don't want others to think we are Christians because we were born in a great family, went to a Christian school, or go to church every week. We want others to see Christ in us and know that we are everyday choosing that life. The girls yesterday sure are doing a great job of this!
So as you start to get tired of all the "churchy" things you do- STOP. Pray that God gives you a fresh look. Be one of the girls at MJMS that came out yesterday with a smile on their face. Be a REAL GIRL because you WANT to, not because you have to. It is tough being REAL, and especially at schools and in a world that is so fake. But we are proud of you and all the other REAL GIRLS out there that are trying and choosing to do right. We are here, but more importantly God is. Rely on Him.

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name;

make known among the nations what He has done!"

Psalm 105:1

Thanks again to all the REAL GIRLS yesterday, you greatly touched our lives!

Stay REAL!

Greatest Day of their lives!

Great Decision!

A short message to new Christians…we are so thankful that you made the decision to claim Christ as your Savior this weekend! What an amazing, life-altering choice! Let’s just be REAL for a minute…Life as a Christian is not going to be easy…but please remember that it is by far the best decision that you could ever make for your life and your future!! When times are great--Pray a prayer of thanksgiving! When times are hard--Pray a prayer of strength and understanding. Pray at all times. NOTHING is too big for our God! Nothing. Keep the faith. Stay REAL. Share your faith! And remember that no matter what your talents are, you have something to offer God. I mean who would think playing with fashion dolls would work for 2 silly girls!?!

Ya gotta love 'em!

Hugs to Jamie

Jamie was a young man who came up to our booth and told us that in the future he was going to be a missionary in a foreign field! We had the privilege to pray over him and his future…and in return he prayed over this ministry and encouraged us greatly! Never underestimate praying over someone and allowing others to pray over you! It impacted us greatly! I want to encourage all REAL GIRLS to begin praying WITH and FOR each other. When someone asks for you to pray for them…I want to challenge you to pray WITH them right there on the spot! If they email you a prayer request…email them back a prayer! Just give it a try and let us know what happens!!

Behind the scenes… A huge THANKS!!

To: Dudley, Johnny, Jeff, Registration Booth Workers (Carla and Chad), Sound Booth Workers, Lighting Crew, Camera Crew, etc. We would like to especially thank EVERYONE (you know who you are) for all of the hard work that it takes to make Winterfest a success! Thank you for your commitment to God, others and especially teenagers! May we lift these servants up to God in prayer!!

Shout Outs

Lubbock Ladies…
We wanted to personally thank the Lubbock Ladies for bringing us pizza and cookies when we weren’t able to leave our booth on Saturday! Ya’ll are REAL GIRLS!! Thank you for your sweet spirit! Please email us so that we know your names!! Thanks again!!

T&T
Terrance and Trent were our official REAL GUYS of the weekend! They asked for a “shout-out” on our blog…so SHOUT-OUT Terrance and Trent!! J Thanks for being so much fun! And Terrance…it was so encouraging to hear you singing your heart out to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Thank you guys for all of the fun memories!

We love Southwesterner's!!!
REAL GIRLS: at Winterfest Texas 2009

Hoops of Hope

We had the privilege of meeting and hanging out with Austin Gutwein and his father this weekend (Winterfest Texas) and all I can say is…they are REAL GUYS!!! Austin is absolutely amazing! He has inspired us in so many ways! I am amazed at hoe God is using him!! If you haven’t heard about the ministry that he started, please visit his website: www.hoopsofhope.org! To Austin: May God bless all that you are doing…and we can’t wait to have REAL GIRLS: Hoops of Hope!!!

L1 and L2

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Practice makes perfect! Practice this commandment! Put it into action! How do you put these verses into practice in your life? Feel free to comment!

Bring it on!

What is fear? Does Satan use fear to get to you in your life? Can we overcome fear with God's help? YES! We want to share some short thoughts with you on this topic because it is one we both struggle with. Our fears might not be the same as yours, our fears aren't even the same as each others, but one thing is for sure..... we all can struggle with this feeling.
Do you watch scary movies? Hopefully not. Today it seems like there are so many horror films out. You can't even watch t.v. without one of the scary movie previews coming on. Then you catch yourself wanting to look away, but you get caught in a trance watching the terrifying scenes of a stupid movie that is about to come out. Satan is sneaky and he uses fear to get to us. You watch this preview, then proceed to go to the movie (so you can snuggle with your man when there is a scary scene) then you go home and have nightmares and check the backseat of your car every time you get in thinking that the man from the movie came alive and is getting you. CRAZY how that works, huh? (our plug for not seeing horror movies)

Scary movies aren't the only thing that brings the feeling of fear. What about the fear of heights? or the fear of tripping at school in front of everyone? or the fear of being in big crowds? or the fear of being alone? OR the FEAR of FAILING? Failing at something or failing someone is a terrible feeling. We have to confess to you that sometimes we let the fear of failing keep us from doing things we know we should do. Isn't it great when God reminds us to keep going and not let FEAR or Satan win. Just tonight, I had a moment when I wanted to give up. Then I checked my email and got messages from people letting me know that God wants me to keep going. He doesn't want us letting fear rule our lives. He wants us to bring it before Him and lay it down. This doesn't mean you will not be afraid any more, but it does mean when we let Him have it our load is less. We know that when we call for help and when enemies are around us (the fear we talked about), God is right there winning!

"Then my enemies will turn back

when I call for help.

By this I will know that God is FOR me.

In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord,

whose word I praise-

in God I trust; I will NOT be afraid.

What can man do to me?"

Psalm 56: 9-11

What a powerful scripture and one we need to listen to. So as we start this new year, believe that God is FOR you in 2009 and do not let fear stop you this year! Bring it on! (compliments of the silly cheerleading movie.)

And remember to always STAY REAL!