Are you going to Summer Madness in the King’s Hall next weekend?  We are!!  If you are there come and look for the GBNI stand, say hello, enter a competition and get your nails painted neon colours.  It will be great to put faces to names

It is that time of year again, and many of you will be smack bang in the middle of your exams.  The Church of England has uploaded some prayer postcards designed to help students pray before they enter the exam hall: Crammer Prayers.  You can find them through the link below.

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/exams/examprayers.pdf

I especially love the line that asks God to help you to care for any friend who needs encouragement.  We all react differently to the stress of exams, and you may be the one who needs that hug of encouragement, but if not consider it a perfect time to show God’s love for your classmates.

We pray that everyone in GB will get through this stressful period, including your teachers, and that you all stop wasting time on the internet reading this blog and GET BACK TO WORK!!

We are praying for you and would love to hear how you are getting on!! 

Sarah & Lesley

Has anyone seen the film Twilight?  I know that it was a big deal ages ago, but I have just got around to watching it.  I have to say that I watched it just to keep up to date with the popular movies out there, like High School Musical (which I did not like no matter how much anyone tries to convince me!!)

However, ‘Twilight’ I  loved.  Now don’t get me wrong, vampires and demons are not something we, as young Christians, should be filling our heads with, and while there are no sex scenes as such in the movie, it is a very sexual film and book for being aimed at teenagers….. but…… it is very difficult to avoid the phenomenon and with three more films due to be released over the next few years, I thought we could look at it from another angle.

In case you haven’t seen the film, it is about a teenage girl called Bella who has just moved to live with her Dad in a wee rainy town call Forks.  When she goes to school she meets a guy called Edward (who just happens to be a babe!) and they fall in love.  The complication is that he is a vampire.

As the story progresses, and this is highlighted even more in the book than the film, Edward keeps warning Bella to stay away from him, as he is constantly fighting the urge to… well basically to eat her.  Throughout the story though Bella realizes that she loves Edward so much she is prepared to risk a very painful death to stay near him.

Do you see the parallel coming?  Think of the sacrifice Bella is making as the sacrafice Jesus made when He came to earth.  He knew that sin had turned us into monsters who were capable of every kind of evil, and yet He loved us so much He came to earth, and suffered that evil death so that we could go to heaven to live with Him for all eternity.

Love is a powerful thing, and Jesus’ sacrifice is the highest example of love that the world has ever seen!

So, next time you are in the cinema, or watching TV when an ad for Twilight or any of the other 3 films that will be made over the next few years, just think of the love Jesus showed for us!

Sarah

PS:  I also thought it was good that for once there was a teenage movie with normal teenagers in it, who went to school, did homework, weren’t ridiculous rich and were smart at school without being labeled a geek or a nerd…. well if you discount the vampires and werewolves aspect that is!!!

A friend of mine was giving a talk in church not so long ago, and he started by showing some footage from a nature documentary that was talking about the blue whale.  It is the largest known animal and the size of it was amazing! 

According to this documentary (which I can’t remember the name of, or I would have looked it up on YouTube for you) it’s tongue is the size of an elephant, it’s heart is the size of a car and some of it’s blood vessels are large enough for a person to swim down!!  The even scarier part is that zoologists know very little about it.  They have no idea where it goes to breed.

 My friend made the point that although this is such a huge creature, man knows very little about it, but God knows everything.  In fact God designed the whale and put them together.  Sometimes when problems in our lives seem completely huge, those around us can’t see or understand what is going on, but God does.  He designed us and knows our every thought.

Today, why not take some time and worship God for being such an amazing God.  You can do this by spending some time in prayer, or why not sing a worship song to your Heavenly Father.

 Sarah

A Message for GBNI GEMS from Operation Mobilisation:

Looking for a challenge?  Do you want to experience something different?  This is your chance!  Become a volunteer on Logos Hope, OM (Operation Mobilisation) newest ship.  

OM Ships go around the world from port to port to bring Knowledge, Help and Hope.  In the ports the crew of 350 people from over 45 nationalities work together with local churches and reach out to people in different ways (practical work, sports ministry, street evangelism, school visits…)

Being blessed in the past by local volunteers we want to continue to offer this unique opportunity to the people of Northern Ireland.  Be part of the ships crew and work and reach out a long side us.  Logos Hope will be here from the 30th April to 10th May in Belfast Pollock Dock.

If you are interested in getting involved please contact us:

• About volunteering contact Tamy Cirilo, tamy.cirilo@gbaships.org or 07747 096 526
• For general information contact Netti Schneider, netti.schneider@gbaships.org, 07794 874 737, 028 9075 2646, or OM 218 york Street, Belfast BT15 1GY.
• PLEASE NOTE: You must be 18.  For other specific requirements contact the people above.

We all do it.  We all stress and gossip and worry and debate and ask ourselves does he really love me, or not!  Just like the old game of pulling a petal off a flower, one at a time and asking that question, our minds can see-saw between the two.  Just think how much time we spend thinking about matters of the heart like this!!

Wondering if he loves you or not is not just restricted to boys either.  We worry if our friends really like us, or people from church, or in some cases we may doubt our families love for us at times.  In reality they will love you, but sometimes our insecurities get in the way of really trusting those we love.

When it comes to God we should have not doubt at all.  Do you need proof?  Just read Romans 8:31-39 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208:31-39;&version=65;) just for starters.  It will bring a smile to your face!

But as we celebrate Easter and look at the way Jesus died for us and rose again, just think how much God must love us to go through all that so we don’t have to!

We hope you all have a very happy Easter and that you spend some time with God over the break.

Sarah & Lesley

Were you at kNOw Escape? Check out the pictures in the News and Events section of our website at http://www.gbni.co.uk/news.php?id=240.

At the end of that Brigader Worship Event a few weeks ago we had little feedback forms for everyone there to fill in.  On those cards we asked if you had any questions about GEMS.  There were a few and we have put them together in a blog to try and clear some things up!

1.  What exactly do GEMS do?

There are two parts of GEMS.  Every girl between 16-25 years old is a member of GEMS and you can receive the e-newsletter and keep in contact with us through this.  We also need you to do a survey every year, and it is through this survey that we will gauge what you need from GBNI.  The second part is the GEMS Core Team.   This is a small group of girls who want to get more involved.  They attend approximately 3 meetings a year, represent GEMS at competitions & events, write articles for the blog and e-newsletter, and visit other companies to tell them about GEMS.  What they do at the meetings and for GEMS overall depends on who gets involved and the gifts they have.

2.  What do WE do if anything?

There are three things we need you to make sure you do:

1. Sign up for the e-newsletter and read it when it comes into your inbox.  Your Captain will have the permission form you need your parents to sign if you are under 18, but if you are over 18 just email lesley at gbni dot co dot uk (or pop us a comment via the blog filling in your email address in the appropriate section and only we will be able to view it here in HQ).

2. Make sure you fill in a survey every year.  Your Captains will all receive a copy every year, but you will also see GEMS girls at different events. 

3. Consider coming to a GEMS meeting and getting more involved.  We will let you know the dates through the blog and the e-newsletter.

3. How do I join?

Like I said above if you are over 18 email lesley at gbni dot co dot uk, if you are under 18 get the parental permission form from your Captain, get your parents to sign it, make sure you have written your email address on the form and send it into us using our FREEPOST address on the form.

4.  Can 14 year olds be in it?

You cannot be part of the GEMS Core Team until you are 16, but you can sign up for the GEMS e-newsletter so that you know what is going on, and by the time you are 16 you will be ready to get involved in the GEMS Core Team.

5.  Just don’t know how you will go about achieving aims!

GEMS is all about getting your voice heard and the GBNI Executive have been very very supportive of this initiative.   They listen very carefully to the results of the surveys, but it will only work if the girls in GBNI engage with the idea.  So far we have 18 girls signed up to the Core Team.  They have helped arrange the Brigader Worship Event, made a video for GEMS, written for the blog and sent out 5 e-newsletters, visited competitions, collected hundreds of survey responses, they are piloting a scheme on Facebook, will hopefully bring GBNI to YouTube, have committed to service in Kosovo, Romania and Summer Madness and come up with a few badgework topics that they have volunteered to help write.  There is alot going on and more to come!

We hope that clears up some queries, but leave us a comment below if you have any more.  Please also pray for GEMS as we finish this GB year and look towards all the challenges that next year will bring.

Lesley

One of the struggles I had growing up (and sometimes still do!) is plucking up the courage to tell others about my faith and what it means for me that Jesus died on the cross all those years ago.  It can be so scary especially as we often will not know how the person we are talking to will react.  However the fact of the matter is that as Christians and disciples of Jesus we are taught in the Great Commission to go and tell others about Jesus (Matthew 28 v 16-20).

I think there are many reasons why we hold back from telling others.  What if they laugh at me?  What if they stop being my friend? or a lot of the time I think it is because we are afraid we will not be able to answer any questions they may have.  However I think we must not be afraid because in my experience God always equips us when we step out in faith for Him.  We just need to be willing and God will give us the words to say to those who we engage with.  In fact very often I am so surprised when I start a faith conversation because very often they are chomping at the bit to talk about faith issues and to ask questions.  You will be surprised at the questions that people have.  You may even find that the person has been thinking about faith a lot and you may be the answer to their prayers.  If you don’t know an answer to a question then DO NOT be afraid to be open and say you don’t know but you will try and find out.  One of the most powerful things you can do is to just share your story and what Jesus means to you.

As Christians we also have a responsibility to equip ourselves-to read the Bible, to pray and listen to God, to read up about other faiths so we can be equipped.  A website I found recently on the internet is dare2share.  It has a great section on sharing your faith.  For example it has Top 10 questions about sharing your faith including answering the question “How do I reach those who want to argue?”.  However my favourite part of the website is the section where it gives you helpful tips for sharing your faith with people from various worldviews e.g. Marty the Mormon.  It tells you what that faith believes, contrasts it with what we as Christians believe and then it gives you helpful things to remember when sharing your faith.  Fabulous stuff!  Go and check it out!  And why not ask God to open up a door of opportunity to chat to someone today.

www.dare2share.org/

WARNING! When you ask God for opportunities to share your faith with those around you then be prepared to speak out as He will provide you with those opportunities!!

 Lesley

Do many of you have sisters?  I have one little sister and she is just the best.  She is a complete nutter and I have to say that every time I get a birthday or Christmas present from her I am nervous opening it.  For my birthday this year she bought me lego, a pinhole camera and a venus fly trap!!!

But it is also really cool to have a sister who is a Christian, because she sees things from a different angle to me.  While we are alike in many ways and come from the same gene pool I think it is amazing that we can be so different.  She can really humble me sometimes because as she is younger I know that I sometimes still treat her like a baby, but her bible knowledge is much better than mine, and she has learnt a lot from the couple of mission trips she has been on.

While I am blessed to have a sister who is a Christian, I can imagine how difficult it is to have a sister who is not, and has not allowed Jesus into their heart.  It is usually easier to talk about God to people we don’t know, and very difficult to talk to those who we are close to, but at the same time it is very, very important to talk to them and pray for them.

I think this week we should pray for sisters.  For those know Jesus, we should pray with them for their walk with God as praying with a fellow believer will deepen your relationship.  We should also pray for those who don’t know Jesus that their hearts will be opened to His love, and that our lives can be a witness for Him. If you do not have a biological sister, pray for those girls in your life that are like sisters, your friends whether in GB or school.

Do you know how to pray?  Sometime it can be easy to say I’ll pray for you but then it is difficult to get started.  I find that if you make a list for things that needed prayed, by writing it down you work out what to say.  Start by praising God, say something about how amazing He is for designing us, or for bringing us these sisters, or for listening to our prayers.  Thank God for the chance to pray for your sister and for what He is doing in their lives and yours.  Say sorry for anything that has come between you, for any cross words you have said to your sister.  Then bring before Him any worries you have for them.  Very soon you will see that you have been praying for a while, and the more you pray the more you learn about God.

So, this week spend some time with your sisters and pray for them because that is the most powerful thing you can do for anyone.

God Bless,

Sarah

PS If you are struggling with being a girl of God, then see if you can get your hands on a copy of “Soul Sista” by Beth Redman.  You can buy it on amazon, or your church may have a copy.  It is highly recommended, and I even know of one GB who has called their Bible Class Soul Sisters.  If you have read the book let others know how you found it by leaving a comment below.