7 Bible Verses to Start Your Week

Need a quick pick me up? Grab a highlighter and mark these verses in your Bible to get you focused on God this week.

Rest in the Lord today.
They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:30-31)

What Does the Bible Say About Cussing?

Today it's not uncommon to hear your friends cussing all the time, and it's pretty easy to pick up on some of the bad language around you. You know God cares about what you do, but does He care about what you say?

Faith Friday: Dealing with Insecurity

Deni Kiara shares her struggle with body image and reveals how God turned it around.

Faith Friday: 10 Encouraging Bible Verses for Your Week

Need some end-of-the-week encouragement to get you through the weekend? Here are some inspirational Bible verses to reset your focus on God.

Faith Friday: Dealing with Change

A lot can change in a year. You can lose people you love, build new relationships, and be tested in ways you never thought you would.

Faith Friday: 7 Things God Hates

Remember Miley Cyrus' song "7 Things"? The pop singer sang an angry list of the "seven things I hate about you". God also has an issue with the things we do against Him, but behind his "7 Things" list is a message of truth and a promise of blessing.

Q&A: Messing Up

Q:  How many times can I mess up before God doesn’t forgive me anymore?

5 New Ways to Connect with God

Having trouble focusing on spending time with God? Here are some ideas to renew your spirit and revamp your daily quiet time.

How to Overcome Sin

Sin is a tough word. It makes some people think of a preacher yelling about how sinners go to Hell, but sin is so much more than that. It's something rooted so deeply inside of you that it was in your heart the moment you took your first breath. It's the thing that binds you to this world instead of to God. It's the thing that can separate you from the person you are and the person you want to be. If sin has such a strong hold over us, how can we escape it?

Why Should I Read the Bible?

Why is it important to read your Bible every day? Our minds are focused on so many things throughout the day that reading the Bible can seem like more of a chore than a desire. How can you make time for reading the Bible? What more can you learn from it? If it was written so long ago, how can it still be worth anything to you today? How are you supposed to focus on God's word if it's so...boring? Those are all valid questions, and I want to help you find the answers you need.

Tests, Worries, Mongols, and Why God is Not a Vending Machine

I have a question for you: Is it ok to ask God for help on a test? Specifically, the World History AP exam that I am taking tomorrow that deserves a bit more studying than I've put into it?

Melissa: Dear God, I love you.
God: That's great. I love you, too.
Melissa: Does that mean you'll help me on my test tomorrow?
God: You're funny.

Melissa: If you don't, I won't get college credit. Which means I won't be  successful in life. Which means I'll have to join the circus or something to get money for food. Which means I won't be able to change the world, adopt orphans, and serve your kingdom...all that good stuff. You don't want that, do you?

God: Quit blogging and go study.

I'm fairly certain that's what God would say to me right now. Not that I haven't studied. I have doodles of soldiers, kings, and Queen Elizabeth all over my notes, outlined in pink scented highlighters. But I can just picture myself sitting in front of the test tomorrow....

Melissa: Hey, God. You created the Mongols. What influence did they have on the culture of Southeast Asia?

God: I'm gonna go with C.

So back to my question: Is it ok to ask God for help on an incredibly significant, life-changing test? I thought I'd consult my Bible on this one.

 So keep this in mind: do not worry in advance about what to answer.... (Luke 21:14)

 If that's not a sign from God, I don't know what is. In all seriousness, though, I'm the one who's taking the test, not God, and it's up to me to come up with a good grade. Yeah, yeah, I know. God never promised us he'd make up for every stupid mistake we've made, or pick up for our lack of study skills. But God did promise us something that can help:

Come to me, all you who work hard and who carry heavy burdens and I will refresh you. (Matthew 11:28)

So the fate of my grade (and my abilty to change the world, etc.) is in my hands, but I'm not completely alone in this one. I've done the work, so God's got my back. Although that would be SUPER, (hint hint, Lord), God's probably not going to feed me answers or even help me write those three killer essays. But I know that I can count on him to clear my mind, help me focus, and maybe make sure my stomach doesn't growl too loudly during the test. Wish me luck!

Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:34)

Q&A: Doubting God's Call

Would God call me to do something I really don’t want to do?

Sometimes we think that if we give our lives completely to God, He’ll automatically send us to Africa to work in the mission field. That’s not how God works. He’s not out to “get us”. He loves giving His children great gifts. But like most fathers, He knows best!

There are lots of examples in the Bible of God asking people to do something they didn’t want to do at first. Noah probably didn’t want to build a huge boat in the desert in front of all his neighbors. Joshua and his people probably didn’t want to march around their enemy’s city seven times. But guess what? Noah built the ark, saving him, his family, and the animals. Joshua and his army marched around Jericho and the city walls crumbled. God told them to do something “uncool” and not-so-fun, and they did it. Look what was accomplished because they had faith! Joshua’s army overtook the sinful city easily, and Noah saved the animal species and the human race (yeah, you’re a descendant of Noah). Pretty cool, huh?

Every time we choose to obey God, He shows Himself to us in new ways and we get to know Him more. God may call you to do something hard or uncool, but as you obey, you’ll see how amazing God’s plans are.

Extreme Makeover: Conquering the Lies

What makes you feel beautiful? Was it when someone at church complimented your outfit or your friend said she wish she had your hair? How would you feel if you knew God thinks you’re beautiful?

In today’s culture, beauty is everything. Companies want you to believe you can buy beauty, and that they can package it and ship it better than anyone else. Magazines like Seventeen and CosmoGirl tell us outer beauty will give us friends, popularity, money, success, good grades, and boyfriends by the dozen. Little girls play with dolls that teach them that beauty means being skinny, blonde, and “sexy”, so when they’re older, they’ll struggle to find their worth in how much makeup their wearing, how much money they have, and how tight their clothes are, because that’s what makes you beautiful, right?
This is the world’s message. It’s called “pop culture” or “consumerism”, to be more exact. The media is constantly feeding us the wrong messages: “Buy this and you’ll be beautiful!” and “Look like this and be happy!” Behind all these lies, they make us believe that they care about us, but it boils down to their single motive: buy and sell. Their goal is to make money off of YOU, and they will say whatever they need to say in order to convince you that you need their product to be happy or beautiful. They do not care about your feelings; they care about your money. The saddest part of it is that we girls actually believe them. We have fallen into the trap of believing the world’s lies. This has become normal, mainstream, average. You are expected to throw away your money on beauty, fashion, and the “pursuit of happiness”. You are expected to conform to the world’s definition of beauty and believe that beauty can be bottled and manufactured and delivered to your door to give your life meaning.
Even Christians have fell for the bait. God tells us Christ’s vision for your life starts from the inside out, not the “outside in” as most people believe.
God’s definition of beauty is different. According to the Creator of the universe and the Maker of beauty in its purest form, beauty is the breath of life God gave to you and the light of Christ inside your heart. God knows that you’re most beautiful when you are serving Him, not when you’re modeling Maybelline.
God also knows that beauty is a big deal for you, and He wants you to find your beauty in Him instead of in makeup, clothes, or your boyfriend. God has something important to say about worldly beauty: “Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised it the woman who lives in fear of God.” (Proverbs 31:30) To fear God is to respect, serve, and obey Him. That is one of the biggest beauty secrets you will ever find, and it comes straight from the Creator.

“That which is striking and beautiful is not always good, but that which is good is always beautiful.” – Ninon de L’Enclos

Real beauty comes from the heart, not the body. So when we want a total makeover, who do we look to? (If you guessed God, you’re right-on!) He knows your heart and He wants you to know how important you heart is to Him. If you’re going to let Him give you a complete makeover, you’ve got to let Him take the reins and move into your heart. It’s like Trading Spaces: your old self moves out and Christ moves in. That begins your journey to eternal beauty.
Your Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition journey will last forever. It doesn’t fade with old age and never goes out of style. Once you change your perspective to that of Jesus, your heart will be changed forever and your beauty will be everlasting.
Now that we know what beauty is and what beauty isn’t, we’re ready to move on to the next chapter of our journey, where we start to purify our hearts to make room for Jesus. Stay tuned for the next edition of Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition, and be sure to tell your friends and stay tuned to our Facebook fan page to get all the updates and discussions.

Jesus, I want to be the kind of girl who values the right things. Too many times I focus on the outward appearance of others and myself. I make it the most important thing when it’s not. You made everyone in Your image. Help me to see that everyone is beautiful, and help me to place more value on people’s character and heart, including my own. Amen.

Extreme Makeover Kickoff

Who wouldn’t love getting a complete makeover? Imagine this scenario: a beauty expert sets you in a swivel chair and takes you from bland to beautiful. He shows how to get your glow going and your shine on. He takes your old, unhealthy self and whips you into a newer, better you.

That beauty expert is not Guido Palau, but – you guessed it – God. God? What does He have to do with beauty? you may be thinking. Since God created woman (Genesis 2) and invented beauty itself, He’s the biggest beauty expert ever. He knows exactly what makes a girl beautiful and He wants you to discover all the beauty secrets He has for you.

God probably isn’t going to give you catwalk hair or a perfect complexion, because He knows that’s not what real beauty is. Instead, He offers you the stuff that lasts – character, virtue, purity, and integrity. Your amazing new haircut will grow out in 6 months, and you’ll have to buy tons more Neutrogena products if you want that skin to sparkle, but the things God has in store for you will last forever. The best part of it? God offers his princess treatment for free.

When it comes to beauty, you often need to prep your hair or your skin before you can start getting into the deeper stuff. It’s the same way with Extreme Makeover: Heart Edition. We’re going to take this step-by-step, day-by-day, heart-to-heart, girl-to-God.

The first step of your journey to true beauty is taking all of this to God. Take your time and say this prayer out loud. Don’t just read the words – mean the words. Let the become your own words – your prayer to God.

Dear God,

I’m so excited about beginning my Extreme Makeover and becoming a woman of God. Open my heart so I can fully understand what you want me to take away from all of this. Give me the time to be committed to growing more and more like You. Change me from the inside out into who You want me to be. I give myself to You – my mind, body, soul, and heart are all Yours, God, forever. Fill me with Your Spirit and Your beauty.

In Your Holy Name I pray,
Amen

My New Favorite Book!

Beauty books are so fun. But I -- along with millions of people all over the world -- have discovered the one must-have book that everyone is trying to get their hands on. In fact, it's sold more copies than any other book in the world. Yep, that's more copies than Twilight.
The book I'm talking about is filled with ancient wisdom and timeless tried-and-true secrets on all the things that are important to you:

• beauty
• fashion
• family
• guys
• friends
• more!

This book answers all your questions, like:

• What should I wear tomorrow?
• How do I find the perfect guy?
• How can I help a hurting friend?
• Why should I listen to my parents?

So, let's not keep it a secret any longer! Go ahead and get the ultimate fashion/beauty/relationship/life book now!

That's right. The Holy Bible. It's the greatest book ever written. All the above facts are 100% true. Whatever you're struggling with right now, God has answers for you in His Word. So, what are you waiting for? Grab a gel pen and your Bible and open your heart to what God is saying!