Category: Girlz in Action

blog, Girlz in Action

Spring 2015: Persecuted Christians and More in This Season’s Issue!

Jessica Lippe
Have you read the Spring 2015 issue of Girlz 4 Christ yet? If not, click here to get your free subscription! As this issue commemorates our fourth birthday as a magazine, we wanted to make sure we had a super-special cover feature. And we certainly found it! 

In the pages of this issue you’ll meet Somchi and delve into her story of how she was persecuted in her country, simply due to the fact that she is a Christian. 

Now It’s Your Turn:
After hearing Somchi’s story, it might be easy to think, “I’m thankful I don’t live in Laos or in a persecuted country like Somchi does.” It’s good to be grateful that we live in the United States, but more than that, stories like Somchi’s should cause us to look at our own lives and ask the hard questions: “What am I doing to reach out in a nation that is free? Have I counted the cost of following Christ no matter what happens, even if it causes offense, rejection or worse?  How am I standing strong in my own faith?” If we hear a story and are encouraged, that’s good; if we are changed, that’s even better.
You may not have to worry about someone burning your Bible, but you are still faced with the same choice every day: Will you remain unshaken in your faith and follow Jesus regardless of the consequences? In Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” This doesn’t apply only to those who live in Laos or North Korea or the Middle East. As believers, each one of us is called to take up our cross every day to follow Jesus. You can ask God what areas of your life He wants you to grow in by taking a stand for your faith.
What can I do to help persecuted Christians?
There are many stories like Somchi’s happening every day. You may have seen recent stories in the news about Iraqi Christians having to flee for their lives. The Voice of the Martyrs works in more than 60 hostile and restricted nations, serving persecuted Christians. Hebrews 13:3 tells us to remember those in prison and those who are suffering. Persecuted Christians are more than just a cause, they are your family — the global body of Christ. Here’s what you can do to get involved:
1. PRAY: Prayer might not seem like a big deal, but it might surprise you to find out that the first thing our persecuted family asks for is prayer. Often, there is only so much we can do in a physical sense, but prayer can change everything. It might also surprise you to know that persecuted believers don’t primarily ask for prayer for their safety; they ask for prayer to help them stand strong in their faith and for the lost to come to know Christ. You can visit www.icommitopray.com to see urgent prayer needs that are updated weekly and post your own prayers for persecuted believers.
2. TAKE A STAND: Another great way that you can get involved is to “Be A Voice.”  Our persecuted family asks that we don’t forget about them. You can take a stand with your persecuted family by sharing their stories of what persecuted Christians go through in other countries. You can go to www.be-a-voice.netto sign up. You can also write letters to Christians who are imprisoned for their faith at www.prisoneralert.com. You can encourage them in their faith as well as write to government officials and request their release.

3. SERVE: Finally, our persecuted family have very practical needs that you can help with, such as medical expenses or the need for a safe house to hide in. You can also fill an Action Pack, which gives persecuted Christians basic things they need such as coats, shoes, blankets and hygiene products. You can go to www.persecution.com/actionpacksto find out how to send an Action Pack. The Voice of the Martyrs also strives to make sure any believer who is persecuted has a Bible. You can serve by giving a Bible to a Christian in a persecuted country at www.biblesunbound.com.
Thank you to Brooke Parks, the Youth and Young Adult Coordinator at Voice of the Martyrs, for sharing these tips on how we can help persecuted Christians. The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting persecuted Christians worldwide, both practically and spiritually.
blog, Fashionable Girlz, feature, Fun 4 Girlz, Girlz in Action, Girlz on the Go, Godly Girlz, Healthy Girlz

Girlz 4 Christ Winter 2013/2014 Issue!

Jessica Lippe
The Girlz 4 Christ Magazine Winter 2013/14 Issue is out! Below you’ll find the titles and authors of all the contents inside. Some of them you can click on, which will take you to the weblink for that article. The other articles can only be found inside the magazine. (But you can subscribe for free in the right sidebar!)
Godly Girlz
4 Ways to Spread the Gospel Adelee Russell
The Road Less Traveled Ashley Oliver

Girlz in Action
In the Act Lily Garay
Miracle Seed Maddy Morrison

Fashionable Girlz
Natural Beauty Products Natasha Atkerson

Girlz on the Go
Missionary Scholarships Jessica Lippe

Healthy Girlz
Winter Workout Jessica Lippe
Homemade Spiced Cider Jessica Lippe

Fun 4 Girlz
Gift Guide Lily Garay and Jessica Lippe

Top Books Every Girl Should Read Natasha Atkerson
blog, Fun 4 Girlz, Girlz in Action

Girlz 4 Christ is Now FREE!

Jessica Lippe

For over a year, we have been charging a modest fee of $5 for a yearlong subscription. We did this to allow for as many people as possible to be able to afford G4C. However, we still realized that this excluded some people. Some people couldn’t afford it. Others couldn’t do online transactions. So, we decided to take a leap of faith: Girlz 4 Christ is now FREE!

Anyone can subscribe, so spread the word! All you have to do is send your name, birth date, state/country, and e-mail to Girlz4Christ@yahoo.com. (If you are under 13, we’ll also need your parent’s name and e-mail.) Then, we will sign you up for a FREE subscription to Girlz 4 Christ Magazine!

Even though we are excited to be able to offer you FREE subscriptions, there is still a cost for us. We have NO paid staff, all of us are volunteers, but we still have the costs of web hosting and office supplies. If you would like to support Girlz 4 Christ, you would be helping to spread the Good News around the world to girls of all races, ages, economic standings, and nationalities. You can make a donation by using the PayPal button in the right hand sidebar.

Thanks for sticking with us for more than a year. We hope that we can spread God’s love even further!

blog, Girlz in Action

Kari Jobe: Where I Find You

Jessica Lippe

A

By Christa Banister

fter being established as one of the industry’s premier worship leaders with her Dove Award-winning, self-titled debut, Kari Jobe continues to serve as a worship pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas, and released her highly anticipated follow-up album, Where I Find You (Sparrow) in January .



Rather than simply emphasizing the beauty found in God’s presence, Where I Find You is a clarion call for listeners to experience His presence to the fullest. And not surprisingly, the accompanying soundtrack is just as bold with a buoyant mix of fresh musical textures and timbres.
“After singing about the importance of making time for intimate worship on my first album, I wanted to take the next step on Where I Find You,” Kari shares. “These songs come from such a honest place of praising God for what He’s done—and what He’s continuing to do in our lives—because of His grace and goodness.
“Ultimately, it’s about declaring who He is and enjoying the simplicity of knowing the Lord is near,” she continues. “He’s for us, He loves us, and sometimes, we need to just stop, enjoy His presence and take that in.”
 While recording the album, Kari says she was often reminded of that very truth—a theme that resonates through the lyrics of “Here,” a reminder to press pause, even when our culture insists we constantly keep moving.
“There were many instances when we had to stop whatever we were working on because I needed to go outside, take a walk and have my own time with God for a few minutes,” Kari remembers. “Again and again, I was so overtaken by how present He was while we were recording, and it’s my hope and desire that people really feel the strength and intercession that was taking place while I worked on the album.”
Another decidedly counter-cultural idea that resonates in these new songs is how God never lets believers, including worship leaders, get too comfortable in their faith or permanently reside on the proverbial spiritual mountaintop.
“This past year has been the season of being completely uncomfortable and going through things I didn’t understand that were really hard,” Kari shares. “I was literally having to hold on in my heart and trust He had everything in control. You can even hear that a little in my vocals, especially on songs like ‘Love Came Down,’ ‘Run To You,’ and ‘What Love Is This.’ It was a season that stretched me.”
Even through all the growing pains, however, Kari says she was continually reminded of God’s faithfulness.
“I think there are times as believers when we feel entitled and that life shouldn’t be hard. We live in this culture of convenience that says we can do everything ourselves and find all the answers on Google,” Kari says. “But if we can learn to fall more in love with the Lord and trust Him in the middle of every storm, we build our endurance to keep running the race.”
Naturally, these declarations of God’s faithfulness couldn’t help but make their way onto her album. “‘We Are’ is a song of commission for us as believers,” says Kari, “to be reminded of what we’ve been called to, and that is to impact people’s lives in everything we do.”
In the track “One Desire,” which she co-wrote with Jason Ingram, Kari uses simple, heartfelt language that reminds her of one of her favorite worship anthems when she was young. “During our writing session, Jason and I were talking about the simplicity of worship; how it doesn’t always have to be so ornate,” she explains.  “When I was a kid, I remember how much I loved singing the song ‘I Love You, Lord’ because it was this sweet, simple song straight from Scripture.”
In stark contrast to the straightforward worship of “One Desire,” another key track, the aforementioned “What Love is This,” features powerful imagery of the Centurion soldier’s reaction to discovering that Jesus was the Son of God after He’d been crucified.
“I often think about what it would’ve been like to experience that and to say ‘Truly, you are the son of God,’” Kari shares. “You realize you were part of His death, you were the one of the people who’d nailed Him to a cross. He must have felt so incredibly broken—to believe the lie and then experience the truth. I really think that’s like all of us. We’ve got to have the perspective that without the Lord’s presence, we’re all in darkness, and ‘What Love Is This’ is my love song to the Lord for His love song for my life.”
Also serving as a grounding force for Kari when life gets complicated is her tight-knit Texas family. Although she turned 30 this past year, she still considers being a daughter one of “life’s greatest blessings.”  
Kari has also found another outlet for sharing God’s love in partnering with the A21 Campaign, an organization dedicated to abolishing human trafficking in the 21stcentury. “I’ve become really invested in that ministry and strongly believe that we all have to play a role and do our part to fight against the modern form of slavery that affects 27 million people and growing,” Kari says. “It’s so incredibly dark, and I feel a responsibility to do what I can. Most of these victims are girls like me, and I can’t imagine what life would be like to be stuck in that place.”
Along with her sister, Kris, Kari has created an exclusive line of jewelry and t-shirts where all the proceeds go to the cause of bringing an end to human trafficking and injustice.
“Whether I’m participating in an effort like this or leading worship, it’s all about making a difference,” Kari concludes. “That’s the reason I’m doing what I’m doing at this specific moment—to see God’s name lifted high, to encourage the hurt and the broken and to remind everyone to draw close to Him because He really, truly does care about each and every one of His children.”
And that’s ultimately the message behind Where I Find You, enjoying the beauty of God’s presence, praising him with your whole heart and letting your light shine in a world that needs to experience the true grace and hope found only in Jesus.
For more information on Kari Jobe and her ministry, please visit www.karijobe.com.
blog, Fun 4 Girlz, Girlz in Action, Godly Girlz

Translate the Bible and WIN!

Jessica Lippe

If you are able to read this, then you are one of the people on Earth fortunate enough to also be able to read the Bible. But there are 350 MILLION people on this planet who can’t read the Bible at all. Why? The language the speak does not have a written alphabet, so they do not have a Bible.

Wycliffe is a ministry whose goal is to allow everyone in the world to be able to read a Bible in their own language. They are working towards this goal by sending missionaries to these unreached people to learn the language and create a written alphabet for their language. You can always help out Wycliffe by supporting their cause financially. But for the next several weeks, they are inviting you to do more.

Play the Wycliffe game “In Other Words” by clicking here.  This game allows you to answer Bible trivia. As you answer the questions correctly, you will translate a Bible verse. Earn points for answering the trivia, translating the verse, and doing other bonus activities. As you earn points, you can be eligible for some cool prizes, like bookmarks, bracelets, iPads, iPods, and even a trip to Florida! So what are you waiting for? Sign up and play every day!

blog, feature, Girlz in Action

Gracie Schram: The Passion, Purpose, and Drive of One Girl

Jessica Lippe

What do you do when you’ve been given a gift? When you’ve been given a passion? What happens when both are yours by the time you’re 13 years old? I recently had the chance to call Gracie and talk to her about what it took to get where she is now and to take a peek into her life. For Gracie Schram it was a matter of believing God, support from her parents, and believing in herself, and now she has a CD and has raised enough money to build – Wait! Let me stop right here. After all, this is Gracie’s story to tell!

It was my first time in “big-church” and my pastor had just come back from a mission trip. He showed videos of kids that had nothing and that were basically raising each other, but they were still happy. I felt a sort of connection and like God was calling me to help them. I knew I had to do something. So far, over $20,000 has been raised! We have built two fish ponds in Africa and teamed up with the Global Orphan Project to build an orphan home in Haiti where twelve boys now live.

Unfortunately I haven’t been to either Africa or Haiti, but plans are coming underway for me to go.

Even though I haven’t had the chance to go to either of these places, I have performed nationally. Last summer there was a concert at Purdue University with about 4,000 attendees. It was the best and my favorite place to perform. so far! I’ve also had the chance to meet Chasen and Zach Hunter. That was pretty awesome.

Before a concert, I pray with my mom. God gives me an amazing peace before each performance. I also practice lots so that always helps me feel prepared. As strange as this might sound, I don’t get nervous!

As for my fans, I appreciate them so much. It’s great to have people 100% behind you. I’ve had people take the time to email me and tell me how much my CD was a blessing for them or that they were healed when my CD was playing.

It sounds like you are having the time of your life right now! If you don’t mind, I want to back track a little bit and give our readers a chance to get to know you and learn some of the history of your music career.

I have one brother, one sister, and two very supportive parents. This isn’t just my project, but it’s our family mission project.  I have been writing songs since I was 7 years old and my first CD came out when I was 10. It’s a God given thing. I’ve also been taking voice lessons for 5 years. I also believe that if I keep singing, it will lead to a bigger platform to raise more money to help even more kids. Not only that though, it’s a way to express who I am. 

Check her out at gracieschram.com


-By Lily Garay
Photos by Becky Alfred

This article was originally published in the May/June 2012 issue of Girlz 4 Christ Magazine. If you would like to read more articles like this, you can get a yearlong subscription (4 issues) for free! Click on the “Subscribe to G4C Magazine.”
blog, feature, Girlz in Action

Ellie’s Run for Africa

Jessica Lippe

Ellie Ambrose was featured in our cover story in the January/February 2012 issue of Girlz 4 Christ Magazine. Each year in May, Ellie hosts a run in Nashville, and the funds raised from this event go to help children in Africa.

This year, the Girlz 4 Christ editor, Jessica Lippe, has agreed to become a “Hero” sponsor of Ellie’s Run for Africa. This means that she’ll be promoting Ellie’s Run and raising money that will help African children get fed and educated as a way to break the cycle of poverty. Now, we’re inviting you to help us out! 
You can find out more about Jessica’s Hero Fundraiser by going here:  http://www.elliesrun.org/hero/jessica-lippe. Donating any amount will make a HUGE difference in the lives of children in Africa. We’ve already raised $29- enough to pay a teacher’s salary for one day in Africa. We think it would be really cool if all the Girlz 4 Christ readers could partner together and contribute at least $138 to this cause- that would be enough to feed one child in Africa for an entire school year! 
Make a difference in the lives of African children today- visit  http://www.elliesrun.org/hero/jessica-lippe  and click the “Donate Now” button!

Girlz in Action

Giving to Girlz 4 Christ

Jessica Lippe

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:41-44

I love the above true story because in it, Jesus explains that it doesn’t matter if you give a lot or a little- any gift can make a BIG difference! I’d like to explain to you how giving to G4C, whether you can afford to give a large amount or just two copper coins, can make a BIG difference!

We at G4C believe in giving tithes and offerings as a sacrifice to the Lord. Everything that has been given to us is a gift from Him, so it’s the least we can do to share His blessings with others. I believe that this sort of giving should be done on a personal level, but G4C as an organization also gives. Because of our limited funds, we have NO paid staff members, or an office space, or a fancy program or anything like that. But we still take an example from the widow that Jesus saw and give out of what we have to bless others. Here are a few things that we have done recently:

-We gave the the World Vision education fund.
-We donated soaps and other necessities to Care Bags 4 Kids.
-We provided shoes for the impoverished in South America through Soles 4 Souls.
-We’ve given money to several mission organizations so that teen girls can participate in missions experiences.
-In addition, we have sent Girlz 4 Christ magazine to dozens of girls in tough situations at no cost to them.

When you donate to G4C, and even when you purchase items from our shop, you are supporting a ministry that is affecting so many girls and their families in the name of Jesus Christ. You are also helping us support worthy causes like the ones mentioned above. Please prayerfully consider helping to finance our ministry, and with it, you can support people all around the world!

This is just a sample of what you will find in the pages of Girlz 4 Christ Magazine. For more information about subscribing, click here.