Point Of Grace - Girls of Grace Make it Real

OUR PURPOSE AT HOWARD BOOKS IS TO:

Increase faith in the hearts of growing Christians

Inspire holiness in the lives of believers

Instill hope in the hearts of struggling people everywhere

BECAUSE HES COMING AGAIN!

Published by Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.howardpublishing.com

Make It Real 2005 by Point of Grace

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Permission Department, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Make it real : words, worth, relationships, and me : devotional and Bible study workbook / girls of Grace.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

10 Digit ISBN 1-58229-462-3; 13 Digit ISBN 978-1-58229-462-9
eISBN-13: 978-1-439-10694-5

1. Teenage girlsPrayer-books and devotionsEnglish. 2. Christian teenagersReligious life. I. Point of Grace (Musical group)

BV4860.M35 2005

248.833dc22

2005050248

10 9 8 7 6 5 4

HOWARD colophon is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America

For information regarding special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact: Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-800-456-6798 or business@simonandschuster.com.

Study guides by Whitney Prosperi Edited by Philis Boultinghouse

Interior design by John Mark Luke Designs Cover design by LinDee Loveland Cover photo by Aaron Rapoport

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked GW are taken from GODS WORD translation of the Bible. GODS WORD is a copyrighted work of Gods Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scriptures marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Italics in Scripture quotations were added by the authors for emphasis.

We would like to dedicate this book to all the Girls of Grace conference attendees, past and future. You continue to encourage us by your desire to walk in a manner worthy of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

It is with great joy that we introduce our new devotional and Bible study to you. We are so passionate about the content, and we are hopeful that you will find lots of relevant information to help you at school and at home. After leading the Girls of Grace conferences for the past three years, we are even more inspired by your lives and testimonies. We understand so much more now just how hard it is to live where you live, to be a teenage girl in our culture. We pray often for all of youthat your convictions will be strong and able to withstand the pressure of all that is coming toward you. It is also our prayer that God will keep you in His care and protect you always. Girls, dont ever forget who you are in Christ and that with the power of the Holy Spirit living in you, you truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

In this book we have really tried to make it real for you. We have shared our hearts on a variety of topics, including gossip, self-esteem, mentors, and more. Just as youve shared your hearts with us through the years, we hope to inspire you by sharing ours. We want you to know us better when you complete this devotional and Bible study, and we think that you will. But more than that, it is our prayer that you would know our precious Lord better, and that He will continue to shape and mold you to be more like Him.

All our love,

the real Shelley

Q. If you had to eat at the same restaurant every night for the rest of your life, what would it be?

A. Thats easyPappasitos Mexican Restaurant!

Q. What is the one thing you would like to do before you die that is out of character?

A. I would like to have the courage to sky dive because I am petrified of heights.

Q. What is the one thing you would change about high school?

A. I would put myself on the homecoming court (preferably as queen).

Q. What is the one material possession you would take from Heather?

A. Her collection of tea cups.

Q. What characteristic do you love most about yourself?

A. I have pretty good organizational skills.

Q. What is the most embarrassing thing about yourself?

A. I have to wear a girdle almost every day to hold my stomach in I affectionately call it the torture suit.

Q. What is the one thing you tried out for and never made?

A. I tried out for the singing group Truth (several times) and never made it.

If we can control our tongues, well have the discipline to control ourselves in every other way.

Proverbs 15:26 NLT

The L ORD delights in pure words.

Weve all done it, havent we?

You know how it works: our mind formulates some negative or rude comment that makes its way to our tongue faster than a speeding bullet, and bam!out it comes, wounding whoever is in its path. The book of Proverbs says, Reckless words pierce like a sword (12:18). Now, Ive never actually been pierced by a sword, but something tells me it would really hurt!

Have you ever been really hurt? I dont mean physically, like by a sword or from a broken arm; I mean emotionally raked over the coals. Have the words of someone ever cut to the quick of your soul and made your feelings cry out, Ouch!? Let me pose another question to you: have you ever really hurt someone else? Have you said something that wounded another person deeply, something you wished so badly you could take back, but the bullet had already been fired?