Elizabeth George - A Girl After Gods Own Heart: A Tween Adventure with Jesus

This book belongs to

a girl after Gods own heart.

Elizabeth George

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, Copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

A GIRL AFTER GODS OWN HEART

Copyright 2010 by Elizabeth George

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Elizabeth.

A girl after Gods own heart / Elizabeth George.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-1768-1 (pbk.)

1. GirlsReligious lifeJuvenile literature. 2. PreteensReligious lifeJuvenile literature. 3. Christian lifeBiblical teachingJuvenile literature. I. Title.

BV4551.3.G46 2010

248.82dc22

2009053824

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United states of America

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 / VP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is lovingly dedicated to my granddaughters, my own girls after Gods own heart

Taylor Zaengle

Katie Seitz

Grace Seitz

Lilyanna Seitz

May you enjoy every step of your many adventures with Jesus!

Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this.

PSALM 37:4 AND 5

H i there!

Im Elizabeth, and Im so glad to meet you! And Im so glad you are holding this book in your hands. I cannot tell you how excited I am that you and I are going to go on a journey together with Jesus! Ive also invited a girl named Emma to come along with us. Shes a tween girl just like you who loves God and wants to be a girl after His own heart.

As you prepare to make this exciting trip, heres a little list to get you started on your adventure.

Open your book

and enjoy it. Its just a book! Its not homework. Its not assigned reading. Its not a chore. No, I wrote this book to be a fun adventure. Everything you need is hereexcept your favorite pen or pencil. I even put the Bible verses in the book for you. And if you have your own Bible handy, great!

Open your heart

to your friends. It will be so neat to go on this adventure with your best girl friends! The more girls you get together, the merrier your adventure will be. And if your mom is your best girl friend, youre lucky. Ask her to go through the book with you.

and pray. Ask Jesus to help you realize how much He loves you. Also, ask Him to help you understand what it means to be a girl after His own heart.

and dream! Dream about your future. Dream about all the cool things you want to do, love to do, and hope to do. You are very special, and it never hurts to dream your special dreams. They are a part of the wonderful person you are. I know youll pick up lots of tips from this book that will help you live out your Number One dreamto be a girl after Gods own heart!

Are you ready to let the fun begin? I am! As you read, please remember that every page of this book is covered with my prayers for you. And every word has been written with you in my mind and in my heart. Ive had you in my heart as I sit here in my office thinking about you, praying for you, and writing to you. Ive also tried hard to imagine you at homewhether its in a city apartment or a suburban home or a farmhouse out on the plains. And Ive tried to picture you in your room and with your family. When I say that I consider you to be a friend without even meeting you in person, I mean it!

Sooooreadysethere we go!

In Jesus great and amazing love,
Your friend and sister-in-Christ,

E mma? Emma! Emma Thomas! Mrs. Jones barked out. It wasnt until Emmas friend Jenny shook her arm that Emma refocused her gaze from looking out the window and realized that everyone in her class was staring at her.

Could you please repeat the question, Mrs. Jones? Emma sheepishly asked her history teacher.

Emma had been a complete mess ever since shed received an invitation to Tiffanys birthday party. That was a week ago, and Emma was still caught up in the thrill of being invited to a party given by the coolest girl in her class. For months Emma had been totally absorbed in breaking into the cool girl circle. At last it looked like her hard work was finally paying off. And now that she was about to be in with this group of girls, she wanted to focus on how to stay in the in circle.

Lots of things in our lives attract our attention and distract us from whats truly important. For Emma it was a birthday invitation that took her mind off her schoolworkand everything else. She just couldnt stop thinking about that birthday party!

So, whats the problem? Whats wrong with a party and having some fun? Well, nothing, of course! But the real issue was the focus of Emmas heart. What she really needed was a better understanding of where God wants His girls to focus their hearts.

To help you take a closer look at the heartyour heartlets have some fun with the acrostic below that spells out H-E-A-R-T. Im guessing you have a favorite pen or pencil, or a favorite color of ink. (Mine is turquoise!) Whatever your favorite is, get it out and keep it handy. An adventure with Jesus and a trip into Gods Word are about to begin!

As you read the verses in the following chapters, you may want to mark what you like and learn. And feel free to write all over the margins! Also try to answer the questions, even if only in your mind. And if you dont have a pen handy or you only feel like reading, thats fine! I want reading this book to be funnot feel like another homework assignment.

Well, here goes! Whisper a prayer to God, and ask Him to work in your heart.

H ave a heart check-up. Wow, was Jesus ever right on when He told the people who wanted to follow Him, Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21). For Emma, her treasureher heartwas in friends, parties, and the in crowd. For other girls, their hearts treasure may be in getting straight As, winning trophies in gymnastics, or wearing the right clothes.