Elizabeth George - A Girls Guide to Making Really Good Choices

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011, by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Cover photos iStockphoto / design56; Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock

A GIRLS GUIDE TO MAKING REALLY GOOD CHOICES

Copyright 2013 by Elizabeth George

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Elizabeth,

A girls guide to making really good choices / Elizabeth George.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-5122-7 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-5123-4 (eBook)

1. GirlsConduct of life. 2. GirlsReligious life. 3. Choice (PsychologyReligious aspectsChristianity. 4. Decision makingReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BJ1651.G46 2013

248.82dc23

2013014353

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a non-transferable, non-exclusive, and non-commercial right to access and view this electronic publication and agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

It is with extreme delight that this book is lovingly dedicated to my four granddaughters, my girls:

Taylor Zaengle

Katie Seitz

Grace Seitz

Lily Seitz

It is such a joy to see the four of you loving God and desiring to make choices based on His Word. I love you, cherish you, and pray fervently for you.

For Barb Sherrill, vice president of marketing at Harvest House Publishers, a very special thank you! Ill never forget our publishing meeting when you poured out your heart, asking for a book for tween girls so the girls you teach in your preteen Sunday school class could have a special book to study, a book just for them. Barb, the result of your passion was my book A Girl After Gods Own Heart . You knew the needwhich has now expanded to a second book, this book A Girls Guide to Making Really Good Choices . I thank you, and Im sure moms, grandmoms, aunts, and teachers around the globe are joining with me. Thank you for dedicating your time and your heart to the young girls who pass through your class at church.

Contents

H i there! Im your new friend, Elizabeth. And I am soooo excited to be talking with you about the many wonderful choices you get to make as a girl after Gods own heart. I am really looking forward to being with you as you go through this important book thats just for you.

To help me illustrate some of the many choices you get to make, I will be sharing a few stories from the life of a girl your age named Megan. Her choices, both good and not so good, will give you and me lots to talk about.

But before we look at Megans life and her choices, I want to talk to you for a moment. A great thing about being a girl your age is that you are now able to make some choices about yourself, your attitudes, your habits, your friends, and your hobbies and activities. You are in a fantastic stage of life where you can think, and study, and pray, and talk to othersall of which help you to make the choices God wants you to make about your time, your attitudes, and your activities.

Fun in Gods Word!

As we begin putting together a guide for making really good choices, you already know that life is full of choices. In fact, you have made a choice to start reading this book! My prayer is that when you are finished, you will see how important your choices are, and how they affect your present daily life as well as your future.

Yes, life is full of choices. Right now there are a lot of people in your lifelike your parents and teacherswho are making choices for you. For instance, you have no choice where you live, where you go to school, what you study, and maybe even when you have to go to bed. But whether others make them for you, or you make your own choices, it helps to know what is involved in making really good choices.

So lets see what Gods Word, the Bible, says about choices. In each chapter, we will look at Bible verses and answer some questions about the important topic covered in the chapter. Our goal is to let God teach us about how to make really good choices. So go find your favorite pen or pencil and keep it handy for writing down your answers as you look at verses from the Bible. We are going to spell out C-H-O-I-C-E-S .

C hoices deal with your heart. There are lots of choices that you and girls like Megan can and will make for yourself. They are choices that deal with your heart, which then affect your attitudes and finally your actions. What do these verses say about your heart attitude?

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it (Proverbs 4:23).

Gods command:

Why?

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart (Luke 6:45).

What happens to the things you store up in your heart?

If the things are good

If the things are evil

There are lots of choices that are left up to you. Do you realize how many choices you make by yourself every day? Being kind to others, especially at home, is your choice. So is deciding whether or not to gossip about another girl. So is choosing to share your things with your brother or sister. And thats making me think of a great choice you could make to help your younger brother or sister get dressed, find their shoes, and get buckled up in the car. And how about the choice to obey Mom and Dad the first time they ask you to do something?

On and on goes the long list of choices you get to make all by yourself. So the issue is not whether you are allowed to make choices: You are already making choices, with or without your parents input and approval. Wouldnt it be great to have a guide to help you know how to make the right choices? Not just good choices, or better choices, but the best choices? Read on!

H aving a plan helps you make good choices. Your choices for today started with the plans you made yesterday. For example, today you need to decide to set your alarm clock so it goes off tomorrow morning. And today you have to decide when you need to get up tomorrow so you can set your alarm for that time.

Think about whats going on in your life tomorrow. Do you have a class report due? Is your flute lesson after school? Is tomorrow pizza day at school or do you need to take a lunch? And do you need to study for that big test thats coming up next week? And dont forget to ask Mom what else is happening tomorrow so you can add that into your plan.

The plans of the diligent lead to profit (Proverbs 21:5).