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!

Hefty Holidays

Let's just be real with each other.......

Thanksgiving food is so GOOD! But our clothes fitting us after is an EVIL sight! ( hate evil * love good right??) We struggle with this concept and know that with Christmas cookies right around the corner it will not be getting much better. We have good news for you:

"The King is enthralled by your beauty; honor Him, for He is your Lord."

Psalm 45:11

We love this verse. God is captured by our beauty. He loves the way we look inside and out. He does not care that our pants are too tight after too much turkey and dressing. He loves us just the way we are. Because He does love us, we are to give praise to Him.

So when getting dressed for your next Holiday party and you have to jump in your jeans to get them to button, hang in there and know you are BEAUTIFUL! If this does not work, pop in your Christina Aquilara c.d. from 2000 and rock out to "you are beautiful".

And as always, Stay Real!