1 Girl Revolution

I meant to do this 2 weeks ago...we had a great discussion one night at 1GR about WORRY.  We talked about how God's Word tells us over and over that He will take care of our needs.  Yet most of us have never learned how to enjoy the real peace that Jesus died for us to have. 

We worry and stress and get anxious about almost everything.  God has this intricate, beautiful plan for our lives (like a perfectly created daisy) - which includes tough times - and we can completely trust Him.  But with our worry and stress, it's like we pick away at his beautiful creation (like the daisies that look half eaten).  After we're done freaking out and trying to manipulate our circumstances, we're often left with a sad looking life. 

Worrying doesn't add any good thing to your life.  Trusting God is a great sermon title, but can be hard to live out sometimes.  But let's keep working at it and not pick away at the beautiful plan God has for us.

New Year Refocus

The Christmas season is so fun and crazy...and a total departure from "regular life".  The regular routine of life is pretty much out the window for most of us!  You stay up late - talking, playing games, watching movies - with relatives, friends...then go to bed (usually in the guest room or on the pull-out couch)...then wake up, after sleeping in late, and eat an incredible amount of fattening food all day long.  There are always plenty of emotions to tap into when you're with family you don't see very often.  Someone's usually annoyed or frustrated because of someone else, the kids are usually loud and easily bored, and it's difficult to remember what day it is because things are so "not normal".  Hopefully there are also wonderful family moments, warm hugs to share, and maybe even a few sentimental words exchanged.

And I look forward to the crazy wonderful chaos of it all every year!  But now that's it's winding down, I am really looking forward to a week to refocus and "start fresh".  I am looking forward to the week of prayer and fasting more than ever this year.  I don't know if you've ever set aside time for fasting before, but here are a few reasons why I enjoy this time (even though it's very difficult at the same time).

• The end of the year usually seems to end with lots of disorganization (for the reasons I mentioned in the first paragraph).  So after the new year begins, I am SO ready to get refocused.  I don't really buy into the whole New Year Resolution thing, but I do believe that it's important to take time to evaluate where you are, where you'd like to go, and how you think you'll get there.  I think that the perfect time to do that is while you're fasting!  Your body is cleansing itself of impurity - what better time to allow your mind to be washed by the Holy Spirit?  There's a certain spiritual clarity that comes when you commit yourself to a fast.
• Don't allow your fear of having wrong motives stop you from fasting.  Something I hear from a lot of people about fasting is that they are afraid they're doing it for the wong reasons.  Like "I like losing weight, I feel like I'm being more 'spiritual', I'm going to try to convince God to do something for me..."  Those are all things we've all thought about.  I've decided in the last couple of years that I'm not going to let those things stop me from developing a spiritual discipline that Jesus Himself practiced!  Yes, I think I will struggle at times with having right motives while I'm fasting.  I think that's part of the struggle between the spirit and the flesh.  But instead of giving up, I'm going to talk to God about it (He already knows), and ask Him to help me grow in faith so that my motives come into line with His will.  Developing a discipline is always a good idea!  You may waffle a bit in why you're doing it, but it will be another weapon in your spiritual arsenal...and when you get stuck in a difficult place, you will be glad it's there.
• I don't want to just keep trudging along in life.  I know that God has guided my life and will continue to do so.  But I'm serious when I say I want to see Him do something HUGE here.  I think there are a lot of amazing stories that He's waiting to write, but He's waiting on us to be ready.  We get too caught up with just trying to make our life better that we miss some incredible opportunities to impact others for the Kingdom of God!  Wouldn't it be awesome to see a great move of God in our community?  Like to see people crammed into a church service because they just can't wait to see what God is going to do next?  Maybe it won't look like I imagine it - but I know God desires to see an epic revival - even in little old South Dakota.  :o)  On whatever scale (large or small) it might be, I want to see God's Spirit move among us...and I want to do whatever my part of that might be.  From what I see in the Word, Jesus said that His followers will fast when they're seeking His return.  I'M READY!!! 
• Good death practice.  Paul says that we have to die daily as we walk this Christian life.  Fasting is definitely dying to the fleshly appetites.  By telling your body NO, you are setting aside the natural desires and appetites, and asking the Lord to fill you with supernatural nourishment.  We ALL need more of this.  If you really want to see your loved ones come to know Christ, if you really want to see your school or workplace filled with believers, if you really want to find God's purpose for your life...then this is a great time to put more of you to death.  Less of me, more of Him. 

I'd like to challenge you to go a step farther in your fasting this year.  We are fasting together as a church - to seek God's direction for us.  If you have no other reason to fast - that's your reason!  We are only as effective as we are surrendered to the will of our Heavenly Father.  Without His direction and the fuel of the Holy Spirit, we are just running in place here.  Working hard - but not going anywhere. 

Payton shared this story with me - brave choice!

There is this new girl in school and she is a freshman like me. She came from Beverly Hills so alot of people are and were jealous of her (which I have to admit I was jealous as well) but she started hanging out with the "preps" so basically people just talked behind her back. Well today in P.E. class, all of the "preps" left during SRP time (extended class period) to go do gift wrapping so I starting thinking "you know you should go sit by her; how would u feel". So I told my friends that I was going to go sit by her and they thought I was weird for having the idea. So I ignored them and went and sat by her. And right then I felt something inside of me telling myself, wow good job for standing out. So we talking and my friends actually ended up coming over to sit with both of us. I was very prould especially when I saw the expression on her face telling me that she was very thankful that I would be such a nice friend. It was very nerve racking to know how she would react since I didn't know her to well.

Pastor Annette says, "That something inside her was the Holy Spirit! And being obedient to that was so rewarding for her. Thanks Payton for sharing that...so proud of you!"

Briana W.'s Overflow Story

I have always wanted to do something great for God but i never knew what to do then i went to church camp and i knew that i needed to start with a job so i applied for a job at a vet clinic but unfortunately all spots were filled. which really seemed to bring me down and i just didnt know any other places looking for a 15 year old to hire so i took alittle break. I was selling tie-dye shirts on the side but i wasn"t having hardly any luck with that i had only sold like two which wasn't much help but it was a start. I was starting to wonder what God wanted me to do. I still thought well i really need a job some extra spending money, college was coming up quite fast some money in that fund wouldnt hurt. but my mind was in the wrong place. Every wensday we were reminded on 9-9-09 where we would give $99.99 to speed the light and i kept thinking i want to do that but i am so broke. Well on a thursday about a month before school started the vet clinic where i had applied a couple months before was calling me asking me if i could come in for an interview. The girl that had been working there wasn't working out and she was moving. So i agreed to come in to have an interview the following thursday. Unfortunately i had been so excited i had forgot that the wed. before my interview thats right just one day before, i was going to have my wisdom teeth cut out. So not only was i nervous for my interview i was in a whole lot of pian. But i got the job that i wanted really badly. I also had plenty money to do 9-9-09 and give my $99.99 to speed the light plus my tie-dye shirt sales which was $14.00 coming out to be $113.99. Not much but hey that is just the begining of what God has planned... :) TO BE CONTINUED !!!!!

1 Girl Revolution

Well, we just finished week 5 of our 1GR study on the Battlefield of the Mind (Joyce Meyers). It's not too late to join! It's awesome how the Word of God cuts right to the core of what we're dealing with. And even though the details of our circumstances can be vastly different - the battle is the same. Along with our Bible study, we have an assignment each week. It's either a DO, ASK, or WRITE. The DO means that we have something we actually have to do (like pray for someone). The ASK is a question that we have to ask someone else, relating to what we talked about (like "what spiritual tool do you most often use when you are disappointed by something someone else did?"). And the WRITE is simply to write a journal entry. Each girl has a 1GR journal.

So far, we've covered who the real enemy is...and that he (Satan) is a liar. We talked about how EASY it is to believe the bad thoughts - those bad thoughts come without any effort whatsoever! But to think on good things takes work - and our choice!

Provers 23:7 is our verse (we're all memorizing it): "So as a person thinks in her heart, so is she." (NKJV) We changed the gender reference of course. :o)

We've also talked about perseverance. Not giving up is sometimes half the battle! We get worn out from the negative things that happen and we just want to quit. Disappointment is inevitable. Maintaining a positive attitude has a POWERFUL effect on our lives! Praise Him in all things!

This week, Amy did a great exercise. We had a piece of paper, and we wrote the things that we know we need to surrender to the Lord. They were things that we know keep bringing us down in our walk with Christ, and our relationships with others. We put those papers in a coffee can and went outside and burned them! It was an act of faith that we want to lay those things down and allow God to transform us into who He's called us to be.

I hope you can consider joining us sometime. Tuesdays at 5:00.

Emily's Overflow so far...

In Semptember of last year, my step dad got into a really bad motorcycle accident that should have killed him, but from the glory of God, his life was spared. But I am not saying that he didnt come out without a scratch. Let me tell you... he was pretty banged up. During this time my mother wasnt working so we truly had no money. I felt like I needed to give back my allowance to my parents since they needed the money more then I did. During the process of healing and my stepdad being able to do the daily things once again (ex shower, eat...etc). I was going through some pretty hard situations also. By some miracle, we got through the rough patch with money.

In March my mom started a new job. My step dad still hasnt been working since Semptember and he started getting very depressed. One Wed night, Annette threw these little white papers on the floor for us to go pick one up to help little kids across the globe with things like food, doctors, and school and so forth. I started crying, I wanted to do one but I just didn't have enough money. Then Annette and myself had a very nice and long talk about how Overflow isnt just a dollar amount - its what you do too. I noticed that even though I wasn't giving money at that time, I was giving my time to different church events. Those profits where going to go to Speed the Light.

Then the 9nine challenge came and I really wanted to do it. I knew I didnt have the money and I didnt know where the money would come from. So one day I emptied my wallet into a box and put it on my book shelf. All I had was a dollar and a lot of change. Then my birthday was coming, so all I asked for was money. I felt called to give every single cent from my birthday money to this 9nine challenge. I know if you listen to God, he will pay you more then what you could have possibly wanted. So far, for the 9ine challenge I have raised $72.99. I have had thoughts saying I can't reach it. It's impossible. But I just have to keep believeing that I will earn it. Then a couple of days later, my moms boss, Doug (he owns the Dairy Dock) asked my mom how old I was and if I was looking for work!! And she said she had to talk to me about it and I said I would do it. They're even going to pick me up from school and bring me to work! They havent garenteed the job yet, but I believe that somehow I will raise the remaining money I need. Something I have learned during all this is that God will provide and I have to put my trust in him. Doing all this has really pushed me more out of my comfort zone and to do the impossible. With God's help everything's possible!

My STL Overflow Story - Kristie

I felt lead to sell homemade zuchinni bread for my STL Overflow project - there is always an overflow of zuchinnis. But about one week later my zuchinni plants in my garden died; I admit I was pretty disgusted. And I even wondered "now what am I gonna do" but a couple weeks later my neighbor brought me a sack full of zuchinnis and told me I could have more. So I have made 6 batches of zuchinni bread (about 18 loaves) and sold all of them. And I can still get zuchinnis so I am planning on making more. I have also thought about selling jars of home canned pickled hot peppers; still putting some feelers out there concerning that.

In this process of selling baked goods - I have an idea for December's overflow - What about a Cookies for Cars Bake Sale?