Thursday, January 21, 2016

Friendship

Friendship can be tough, especially in high school where everything and everyone
changes. Your middle school friends aren’t even recognizable, they have each gone
their own way and you are left to hurriedly find your new crowd, your new best
friends, the people that will make you survive high school. It’s a tough time really
and I certainly struggled the first year because everything was so new and fitting in
was definitely tempting.

While you are on your search, to find yourself, to find your friends, to find where
you belong, it’s important you stay true to yourself. I know you might be thinking,
How can I stay true to myself and fit in?”. High school is all about trends, and doing
what everyone else is doing but most of the time, what everyone else is doing, isn’t
the right thing at all. It can be hard to willingly not fit in, but you will grow true
friendships from it. You will find people that understand you and that have the same
interests and that like you for who you are.

In Corinthians chapter 1, verse 15:33 it states, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company
ruins good morals” You are righteous for you are a woman of God, you are blessed with good morals and changing that just to “fit in” is not worth it, I can guarantee it. So do not change for anyone! Do not become someone you are not, so you can fit in with people that do not care about you. Instead focus on God and his ways and He will lead you to
similar minds, similar people, people of God and together, you will survive high
school and develop your newest friends in Christ.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Welcome Back! (And our Scripture Memory Verse for January!)

Welcome back friends! We hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your friends, family, and loved ones! It was such a delight for our team to spend time away with those closest to us and also spending time in God's word! We are excited to be back and to connect with you throughout this semester! Don't forget to check out our website for exciting news and things that are going on in our ministry! You can find the website by clicking HERE!

We are also excited to share our scripture memory verse for January! You may have already seen in on Instagram (are we connected with you on IG? We would love to if we aren't!) As a little background, one of the heartbeats of Grace Engaged is the scripture memory program that we hope y'all will join in with each month! Each school year we will be picking one "theme" to look at in scripture and for the 2015-2016 school year we have chosen "grace" as our theme. For the month of September we memorized a portion of 2 Corinthians 8:7 and for October we memorized a portion of Ephesians 2:8. For November we memorized Hebrews 4:16 and for December we memorized John 1:14. For the month of January we are memorizing I Peter 4:10 which states: "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." We would love to have you join in on memorizing this scripture with us this month!

One of the things that we are passionate about here at Grace Engaged is encouraging ladies to know that we have a Savior who not only loves us big and beautifully but one who is fully involved and present in our lives. In understanding this big and beautiful grace we then can serve one another as good stewards of that grace. Isn't it a beautiful thing when we understand the love and grace of the Lord and can encourage other ladies? Truly it is a beautiful thing to see and a beautiful way to share the love of God!

What a beautiful thing to ponder as we return to our school routines for this second semester. Who in your life needs to experience the manifold grace of God? Who can you serve in this way? Happy January friends! May you be encouraged as you memorize and live out this verse!