'Tween You And Me

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BIBLE SCHOLAR TO ENTER!

There's at least one girl in every Sunday school who knows more memory verses than the Reverend Billy Graham. She's amazing, isn't she? I'm in awe of her myself because I'm always snapping my fingers and saying, "You know, the verse about don't put your flashlight under a bucket . . .where's that?"

I'm glad there are people who know the "address" of practically everything that's in the Bible and can quote it perfectly. I'm not one of them and you may not be either. PLEASE DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM ENTERING THE FAITHGIRLZ BIBLE CONTEST.

All you need is even a little bit of faith that the Word of the Lord has the answers. Today's example shows what I mean. Here's how a Bible-challenged FaithGirl might enter the contest.

       VERSE OR STORY: That one where the guy's hurt in the road and nobody helps him except another guy nobody likes. The Good Simaraton?

       HOW IT APPLIED TO ME:  This one girl at school was being bullied by these mean popular girls and nobody would help her. I didn't think I could help her because I'm not that popular and they might bully me next

     HOW IT HELPED:  I thought of that story and I decided to help her so I told them they were mean and invited her to eat lunch with me. Now we're friends.

Once you realize you've used a Bible story as a guide, you can ask somebody what the chapter and verse are so you can find it next time you need a refresher. And, of course, you have to have at least HEARD the story to learn from it -- so listen up in Sunday school and church. Get a friend to share her favorites with you. Post an entry so maybe you can win a FaithGirlz Bible and learn the stories and the wisdom on your own.  Then you'll be using the Bible, like, all the time. Who knows? You might even become one of those amazing people who practically have the entire thing memorized. (or not!)

Remember, you can enter by:

       *  posting here OR
       *  emailing me

NOVEMBER 10 is the last day to submit your entry. Everyone who enters wins a small prize! The three winners will each receive a FaithGIrlz Bible.

So dig back through your memory and let me hear from you!

Blessings,

Nancy Rue  PS  -- That church I'm standing in front of in the picture is the model I used for the church in LUCY DOESN'T WEAR PINK.  Lucy is Bible-challenged at the beginning, but as you read on -- well, you'll find out when you read her novels.

FOR MY NON-WRITING MINI-WOMEN!

We writing freak shows (you know who you are!) will write anywhere, any time, including in the car, in a restaurant, at the hair cutting place, in the tub (I've done all of those) So when there's a contest that involves writing, we're all over it.

Then are are the normal people who either would rather play soccer or shop or have dental work done than sit down at the computer and put something into words. When there's a contest that involves writing, they'd sure like to win a FaithGirlz Bible, but they figure they don't stand a chance. Not the way they spell!

Here's some good news for you normal people. You don't have to be, like, some gifted author to enter the contest, because:

                   (1)  I'm not an English teacher any more and
                   (2) I'm going to read your entry for the idea, not the writing skill or the spelling or the fancy font.

To show you what I mean, here's today's example the way a mini-woman who doesn't like to write might post her entry:

             Verse or Bible Story:  That part where Joseph is a brat to his 10 brothers so they sell him

             How That Applies To Me:  I was being really mean to my best friends and telling them I was smarter than them. Big mistake. They all dumped me.

             What I Learned From It:  I was all sad and guilty. Then I remembered the rest of the story  where Joseph becomes the Pharaoh's right-hand guy and does all this good stuff. He learned from his mistakes and was a better person. I just tried to be a better person and some of my friends came back and we all said we were sorry and moved on.

Simple! And if you still don't feel comfortable posting here, you can email me and I'll put your entry with all the others.

Now that you have the hang of it, you can enter as many times as you want. I love what you're sending me, and I want LOTS MORE!

I'll post another example tomorrow that will help you, too.  Thanks for being a FaithGirl!


Blessings,

Nancy Rue

YOU ARE AMAZING MINI-WOMEN!

That's me, looking amazed, because ever since I announced the Win a FaithGirlz Bible Contest, I've been receiving your entries. They tell me that you are an incredible group of young women who really do  look to the Bible  for help with your life. And you are all able to express that with a passion and a joy that many adults can't achieve. So I've decided that  EVERYONE who enters the contest will win a small prize. Three will receive a FaithGirlz Bible, -- but all of you are winners for God.

For more information about the contest. just click the last post (at the top of the blog) and it will take you to Friday's post where it's all explained.

As I promised, I'm going to  give you an EXAMPLE each day of someone who has found courage, inspiration, or direction from the Bible when she's faced something hard. And that starts RIGHT NOW with, well, me!

A couple of years ago, after I had finished the Sophie series and the FaithGirlz non-fiction books like  Beauty Lab and Body Talk, I went to Grand Rapids where the Zondervan Publishing House is to talk to the team about writing some more books and doing a FaithGirlz Tour. I got up that morning  feeling anxious and scared. I was fifty-five years old. Why did I think I could still write books for tween girls and go out and talk to them? Maybe the people at Zonderkidz would think I was too old. Maybe I was going to have to work at McDonald's! I was all kinds of bummed out when I opened my Bible for quiet time. And what verse did I "just happen" to turn to? Psalm 71:17.

"You got me when I was an unformed youth,
God, and taught me everything I know.
Now I'm telling the world your wonders.
I'll keep at it until I'm old and gray."

I went to that meeting with a big ol' smile on my face, and I shared that verse with the Zonderkidz team. Since then, I've written SIX more FaithGirlz books -- including Lucy and Dear Nancy and some you haven't even seen yet -- and recorded 52 podcasts and a bunch of video and participated in the first ever FaithGirlz event -- and we're just getting started! If I hadn't "Just happened" to read that verse, I might have given up right then and decided I was "too old" for my mini-women.  Silly me!

So tell me your stories. I love hearing them. So, I think, does God.

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

FAITHGIRLZ BIBLE CONTEST -- TA DA!

When I was with some Faith Girlz in Birmingham, Alabama, last month, we talked about how it's hard to know what God wants us to do sometimes, because God isn't physically in the room, sharing the popcorn with us. Then we figured out some ways that God DOES show up in person, and one of them was, of course, the Bible.

Our next question was: how DOES the Bible help us with the real things we  face, like mean girls and annoying boys and hard-to-get-along-with siblings and moms who are too busy to listen and teachers who punish the whole class when only one person messed up . . . . big breath.

That gave me the idea for our NEW TWEEN YOU AND ME CONTEST.  If you would like to win a FaithGIrlz Bible, here's what you can do:

                         *  enter a comment here on the blog in which you tell about a time when the Bible helped you with a problem and include the verses
                         *   do that by November 10, 2008
                         *   you don't have to be a great writer because the winner will be chosen by the situation you write about and how you used the Bible to help you solve your problem --not by how good you are with grammar!
                         *   THREE winners will each receive a FaithGirlz Bible
                         *  if you already have a FaithGIrlz Bible, you can win one for a friend -- which will help you with that Christmas shopping.
                         * your entry can be as long or as short as you want
                         * you may enter as many times as you like

Between now and November 10, I'll be giving examples on the blog of how the Bible has helped solve problems for people, which I hope will inspire you not only  to enter the contest, but to turn to the Word of God whenever you come up against a tough teacher or a friend dilemma or just a bummer of a day.

I can't wait to read what you come up with!

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

PS  If you haven't seen it already, check out the brand new FaithGirlz website. It's amazing!

SEEING FOR REAL

Hannah and I are not starting a a new trend in fashion eye wear. We had to wear these funky  yellow glasses when we went to see "Philharmagic" at Disneyworld, because all the really fun stuff  is in 3-D (that's three-dimensions instead of two like on TV or a regular movie). Wearing the 3-D glasses made us feel like we could just reach out and hold Simba or Tinkerbell -- and believe me, I tried!
Without the glasses, we wouldn't have been able to see it that way at all.

Wouldn't it be cool if in real life we could put on glasses that would let us see things the way they really are? Glasses that would let you see if somebody was lying to you. Or ones that would give you a peek into the future. Or even some that make the hard-to-understand stuff really clear. Yeah, it would be way easier if all we had to do was put on the right glasses and see everything.
 
We don't have those glasses because -- hello! the real world isn't Disney. But we do have something else that's actually even better. We have the Bible. Now, before you say, "Uh WHAT?" think of it this way. We don't have glasses that  let us see who's lying, but we do have the Bible to tell us what the truth is.  We don't have lenses that show the future, but we do have the Bible to show us exactly what will happen if we believe and love and forgive. And we don't have a pair of spectacles that magically make confusing things clear, but we do have the Bible that does that exact thing.

 I love that.

Speaking of Bibles, who wants to own a FaithGirlz Bible? I'm thinking it's time for another contest. What do you think?

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

IT WAS GLORIOUS!

That's my it-was-glorious pose. And it was. This past weekend's first ever FaithGirlz event in Plymouth, Michigan, was the best thing EVER! 700 tween girls and moms -- 700! -- came together at Northridge Church for a whole morning of talking about girl politics and our changing bodies, doing crafts, and just hanging out. Moms got kits for starting FaithGirlz Clubs, and I got to say hi to just about every  girl who was there. It was AMAZING!

So why am I telling you this?

One, because you could have a FaithGirlz, "Beauty Is Believing" event in your town. Check out the BRAND NEW FaithGirlz website for details. I would LOVE to have a chance to meet you in person. You are the reason for just about everything I do in my ministry.

Here's the second reason. When I was standing in front of all those girls and their moms, I realized that every dream God had for me was coming true at that very moment. And you know what? God has a dream for you, too. People call it a "plan" , but I think it's even more spectacular than Step One, Step Two. It's God dreaming up a career for you, and maybe a husband who will emerge from a boy who right now is an absurd little creep, and maybe cute kids and far off places and adventures you yourself can't even imagine right now. And it isn't just the big stuff God's dreaming for you. It's every small moment that makes up the one-of-a-kind picture of your life. It's the dream of best friends sharing a secret -- a  sweet-smelling puppy licking your face -- you standing in the ocean with your arms spread wide, shouting, "It was glorious!"

I'm so excited about your life -- what it is and what it will be. Please share your glorious moments with us in our little blog community. I think that's part of God's dream, too.

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

ALL ABOUT KINGDOMS

This time last week I was in the Magic Kingdom in DisneyWorld.  I rode every ride in the park, including Space Mountain (yikes!), saw Mickey, and forgot there was a real world beyond the castle. 

Today I'm in Detroit, Michigan, getting ready for the first FaithGirlz event for tween girls like you and their moms. There are going to be (drum roll please) 600 people there. Double yikes! I think it's going to be a more exciting ride than Space Mountain!  It' will be a    morning fit for queens and princesses, with girl-workshops and crafts that boys would scoff at but that we females dig in a major way and a lot of royal giggling. It will be its own magic kingdom -- and I can't wait.

But have you ever checked out what Jesus says about God's kingdom? It is SO not like all the Disney princesses riding by on a float in the afternoon parade.  He  says God's kingdom is like a mustard seed or a piece of yeast or a stinky old fishnet.  You're not going to find any of THAT at Disneyworld! So what's the deal?

Basically, it's this. Although it's totally fun to spend a day in a park pretending there are really Prince Charmings and large mice and ducks who can talk, God's kingdom is very real, as real as a seed growing in the ground, and it's right here, growing all around us and within us. We don't have to stand in long lines to get to it or leave it behind at the end of the day. I hope it's more like a FaithGirlz event, where we will talk about starting now to depend on God to show us how to deal with mean girls and body changes and all the other challenges of tweenhood.  Maybe it will be like a seed we plant that will grow forever.

You won't all be with me here in Detroit tomorrow   -- at least not in body, though I hope you'll be with us in spirit. But you can still have the seed that is God's kingdom. It doesn't take a castle. It just takes a prayer. Ya gotta love that!

Blessings from  one princess to the others --

Nancy Rue

Boys -- and Other Things That Fry Your Brains

I have bad news for you. Boys never entirely grow up, even when they get to be men. I mean, look at my husband in this picture. There we are, having our first photograph taken of us on our brand new Harley, and he makes that weirdo face. Honestly. Yeah, it doesn't matter how old they get, that absurd little creep is still in there. Sure, you'll find other things that make them worth hanging out with as you grow up and they start to smell a little better and stop treating you like you have head lice. But in the meantime, I thought I ought to prepare you with a few lessons I've learned along the way about the male of the species.

Lesson #1. God made boys so we have to be nice to them. Even when they make that disgusting noise with their armpits.

Lesson #2. God made boys to be completely different from girls and we have to accept that and not expect them to be quiet during the mushy parts of movies or stand in line without punching each other.

Lesson #3. God did give boys some good qualities that a lot of us girls don't have (though some of us do) and it is to our benefit to recognize them and take full advantage of them. They can whistle through their teeth at an early age, which is helpful in getting large crowds of people to hush up, and they like to carry heavy stuff and show off their muscles, and that is good when you brought too much  to camp and need  help hauling it all to your cabin.

Lesson #4.  God gave us girls certain qualities that boys don't usually have (though some of them do) and it is our job to teach boys about them. For instance, boys think burping is funny. Girls know instinctively that it isn't. You will never stop them from belching completely, but you can convince the ones who really want to impress you that bringing up a good one in the middle of the cafeteria is not the way to do it. In short, girls make boys acceptable members of society.

Lesson #5. God likes it when we get along, and boys can make excellent friends  when they are not having spitting contests and  snorting at us because we  swoon over the Jonas Brothers instead of them (they WISH!)  A boy will often keep a secret better than a girl. He will never run crying to the bathroom if you accidentally hurt his feelings. And he and only he can explain the mysterious world of male-ness to you.

I'm going to be away for several days --hello! Disneyworld! -- so I won't be blogging. While I'm gone I would love for you to come up with some great boy stories to share. After all, we girls have to stick together!

Blessings,

Nancy Rue

HUH?

My grand-kitten, Inari, has a lot of things to wonder about. The world's pretty new to him, so he doesn't get why humans are so big, and why the other cats in the house hiss when he gets into their food, and why the dachshund thinks he's a snack. Yeah, he has a lot of questions.

We all do actually. I mean, aren't there a ton of things you just don't GET? Like why boys can be way nice when they're by themselves, but when you  get them in a pack they act like absurd little creeps.  And why all the things you love to eat aren't that good for you, and the stuff that is all tastes like broccoli?

And then there are the really tough questions, the ones that probably won't get answered until you get to actually sit down one-on-one with God. Such as why bad things happen to really good people. And why  some people who make bad choices still  get life's goodies. Most of us have a whole LIST of things we want to discuss with our Heavenly Father -- and maybe we do in our prayer time. But the answers we may not get in this earthly lifetime.

But have you ever thought about the questions God might have for you? Yeah, I know God already knows all the answers to everything. But what about the questions God might put to you, just to make you think? Maybe God would say, "Now, why do you pick on your little sister when you know she's going to cry and your mom is going to yell and then you're going to be grounded? Why do you do that?" Or God might tilt the Almighty  head and say to you, "Why on earth do you want to be one of the 'popular' girls when those same girls dis people and act like I don't even exist?"

I'm thinking tomorrow we should all spend a little time thinking about what questions God would ask us to consider about ourselves.  Not so we'll feel  all horrible and guilty, but because those are questions we CAN find the answers to. I'd love to hear what yours are.

Blessings Mini-Women,

Nancy Rue 

WINNING

All right -- drum roll, please! And the winners of the Website Launch Contest are . . . .

    BECKY      MARY-CLAIRE   SARAH H.

KATIE    EMILY  SARA I.    JULIE & KARA

OKay, okay, so it was only supposed to be the first five with the right answer, but I'm sending a prize to each of you from the FaithGirlz product collection anyway. See, the problem for me with contests is that I love the term WINNER -- but I do NOT like the word LOSER. At our house, I call it "the L Word," and nobody around here says it without getting at least a scowl from me, if not a full-blown lecture on what a demeaning and cruel word it is. And out in places where I don't have lecture privileges -- you know, like with strangers in the mall -- I can only shudder in silence when I hear somebody say, "He's a loser," or, worse, "YOU'RE a loser." It says that person isn't good enough, can't measure up to somebody else, and might as well disappear because only the winners get the prizes. Maybe the reason it bothers me so much is that God doesn't call any of us losers. God might be disappointed in us from time to time (okay, a LOT of the time), and no doubt God gets angry at some of the stuff we pull. But God never washes those almighty hands of us completely, saying, "I sure messed up with Becky or Sarah or Natalie. She's a loser." I mean, can you even imagine? So if God doesn't do it, why should we?  Yes, somebody wins the soccer game and somebody doesn't (and by the way, congratulations, Hannah, on a win in your very first one!), but the people who walk away two points down are not "losers".  As a matter of fact, each of us has already won the biggest prize of all, which is God's undying love.  TODAY'S CHALLENGE, Mini-Women, is to look for the winner in everyone. I'd love to hear some winning comments!
 
Blessings,

Nancy Rue