Girl Time

One thing that I don't get much of but I truly enjoy having is girl time. It's nice to hang out with other women of God and just laugh and have a great time. Too often our lives get to busy to build those relationships and we miss out. The Bible tells us over and over again the great benefits of having a close Godly friend--I personally think that other than your spouse your best friend should be of the same gender. It just makes things WAY less complicated! So I wanted to give a little shout out to Rebeccah and Shelby who hung out with me at the mall yesterday before I move on to talk about the benefits of having a close friend. You made my day! Thanks for being patient with me while I counted out the Jelly Bellys so that I didn't go over my calories. You're both the best!


The benefits of having a girl time with a close friend:
Number One: A Friend Sticks Closer than a Brother
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
If you have an awesome girlfriend, hold on to her. Do what you can to grow and nourish that friendship. You can't go around and be BFFs with everyone. That's a little of what the first part of the verse is talking about. When you have "many companions" you are letting all your acquaintances have just as much say and influence in your life as your best friend who you know and trust. This can be bad--especially if not all your friends are Christians. I also think "the friend who sticks closer than a brother" has to be a Christian who is doing their best to live their life for God otherwise they don't understand true commitment or loyalty or forgiveness that friendship really needs.


Number Two: You Can Trust a True Friends Words Even if They Hurt
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6
A true friend will tell you what you need to hear even if you don't want to hear it. Your Christian friends should be challenging you to go even further in your walk with Christ. They should hold you to a high standard. Yes, sometimes it might hurt your feelings if they call you out on your non-Christian behavior or dress but they are doing it because they want to see your relationship with Christ grow. A true friend's motives can be trusted. They shouldn't just tell you what you want to hear even if they know it's wrong.


Number Three: A Friend Loves at ALL Times
"A friend loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17a
A true friend loves you for who you are. They love you when you are doing the right thing. They love you when they are doing the wrong thing (even though they shouldn't agree and should point you back in the right direction. See #2). They aren't fickle. They don't try to pit you against your other friends. They love you as is and as unconditionally as possible. And if you are their true friend you do the same for them.


Okay, so I know there are so many other benefits to having awesome friends. I challenge you to find some and post them in the comments section.


I also want to say, congratulations to Hermione Williams on winning our first ever prize giveaway! Hermione, please email me your mailing address so I can get your prize pack out to you right away! Keep an eye out for more chances to win in the future. Thank you for everyone who participated and thank you for reading Life as a Minister's Wife!

Girl Talk with God Review

Overview:
Girl Talk with God by Susie Shellenberger is designed to teach teenage girls about having a real, viable prayer life. It teaches that prayer is more than just ritual “it’s actually all about talking to Him and listening to Him talk back.”

My Thoughts:
Girl Talk with God allows you to eaves drop on conversations God is having with His teenage daughters. These conversations cover many relevant topics including: entertainment choices, what it means to be a Christian, the language you use, eating disorders, and cutting. The writing style is almost script like as you read the prayer dialogue between God and the girl He is talking with. It honestly made it a little hard for me to get into as I prefer to read a single narrative or a more continuous writing style. The chapters are short and easy to manage. They are written in a way that is easy to understand and that I think any teenager will get. Some of the chapters are almost too simple or they just seem a little too perfectly packaged because teenagers (and adults alike) just don’t listen that well. I would also have liked to see some more added material in addition to the actual “conversation”.

One thing that I really, really appreciated is that each conversation with God was packed with scripture. It wasn’t just the references so that you would look it up later. It was the actual written word right there on the page. Which is good because we are often too lazy to look it up later and it’s important that those scriptural truths be read because they directly deal with what the conversation is about. It also makes for an easy way that teen girls can share scriptures with their friends. If they are talking about sex, just turn to the chapter that deals with sex and you have several scriptures ready to go that talk about sexual purity and what God intended sex to be like.

Overall, Girl Talk with God was a quality book and teaches strong lessons that we all should learn. I would read it again and I will probably recommend it to several of the girls in our youth group.


This book was a free copy provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing for review purposes.