Elizabeth George - A Young Womans Walk with God: Growing More Like Jesus

T his book belongs to

__________________________

a young woman loved by God.

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 the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All right reserved.

Scripture verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

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 design by Terry Dugan Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Cover photo Kate Powers / Taxi / Getty Images

Harvest House Publishers has made every effort to trace the ownership of all quotes. In the event of a question arising from the use of a quote, we regret any error made and will be pleased to make the necessary correction in future editions of this book.

Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicate author emphasis.

As always, thank you to my dear husband, Jim George, M.Div., Th.M., for your able assistance, guidance, suggestions, and loving encouragement on this project.

A YOUNG WOMANS WALK WITH GOD
Copyright 2006 by Elizabeth George
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Elizabeth, 1944-

A young womans walk with God / Elizabeth George.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. ).

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1653-0 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-7369-1653-9

1. Teenage girlsReligious life. 2. Christian teenagersReligious life. I. Title.

BV4551.3.G47 2006

248.833dc22 2005029083

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

06 07 08 09 10 11 / BP / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dear Friend,

Without even meeting you, I can tell you are someone very special! Why? Because youre choosing to read this book. When you consider its title, it becomes pretty obvious that you desire to love God with all your heart. This book is packed with information and how-tos that will show you how to fulfill the desire of your hearthow to grow more like Jesus! As we begin our journey together, a few things will make it even sweeter.

Open your bookand enjoy it! Everything you need is here. Ive tried to make it convenient for you as a busy young woman. In my mind Ive pictured you reading this book on your bed at home, in a bunk bed at camp, on your family vacation, in a lounge chair sunbathing around a pool, even in the library after youve finished your homework. Enjoy your book, carry it with you, and let Gods Word instruct you.

Open your heartto your friends. Encourage them to get books too. Then you will each be growing, which means your friendships will be growing in the right directionin the things of the Lord. A godly woman needs other godly women as friends. So invite them to join you.

Open your heartand look around. Are there any girls you dont know very well at school, or in the neighborhood, or perhaps where you work, who you can invite to join your study? Girls who need the Savior? Who need some guidelines for their lives? Who need a friend? Whisper a prayer to God, be bold, and reach out and invite someone youd like to know better to get together.

Open your heartto the topics covered in this book. They are just what every gal needs. Theyll give you Gods wisdom and guidelines for your thoughts, words, and deedsand for your walk with Him.

Open your heartto the Holy Spirit through prayer. Ask Him to illuminate Gods Word, to help you understand His plan for you to enjoy His presence in you. Let Him transform your life into something amazing.

Open your heartand dream! Dream of the woman you yearn to bea woman who walks with Jesus every day in every way.

It is the prayer of my heart that the contents of this special book will encourage you, excite you, instruct you, and inspire you to passionately follow in Jesus steps!

In His great and amazing love,

I live in the state of Washington. And never in my life would I have dreamed it, but right in my front yard is an apple tree! That means I get to watch Gods process for the miraculous production of apples from start to finish each year. But believe me, I know very well the work it takes me and my husband to do our part in improving and increasing a crop of apples! We nurture, fertilize, water, prune, train, spray, and protect this treeand our efforts have definitely paid off.

As I think about our amazing apple tree, I cant help but wonder about the fruit of our lives as Christian women, no matter what our ages. Should you and I pay any less attention to our own fruitfulnessin our case the spiritual kindthan Jim and I do to an apple tree? Shouldnt we be actively cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so we reflect the glory of God and the beauty of Christ? But what exactly can we do to get the growing of spiritual fruit going? What practical steps can we take to get it all together so we become more like Jesus?

Finding Out About the Fruit of the Spirit

Well, just as I studied to learn more about my apple tree and the fruit it produces, you and I need to study Gods Word to better understand the fruit of the Holy Spirit and how it grows. Take your favorite pen in hand now and interact with these truths from the Bible. And if its not a good timeyou know, you dont have a pen, youre on the bus, or youre getting ready to turn out the light and get some much-needed sleepthen just read along for now.