Girls’ Brigade NI Blog

Penguins are my new favourite animal.  If you have been watching the BBC series ‘Frozen Planet’ then you will know why.  They really are amazing and really really funny.  (Check out the video at the bottom of the blog to see why they are soooooo funny!)

But how, you might be asking, are GB girls supposed to be like them?  Well it is not the way they walk, but the way that they stay warm.  You see they live in the Antarctic which is cold beyond belief, and when the wind and snow storms hit the temperatures drop even more.  The penguins need to do something to protect themselves, so what do they do…. they huddle together!

They share their body heat by supporting each other, and all take turns to be on the outside of the group.  It really is the only way that they can survive.

The whole point of GB is summed up in our motto: to Seek, Serve and Follow Christ.  However, I think the best bit about GB is that you are all in this together!  You are all on the same journey, with the same aim.

Following Christ is not an easy path to take.  In fact becoming a Christian is possibly the hardest path you could choose, but you have the other Christians in GB around you to help.  You huddle together to support each other, to help you survive and to protect you from the storms of life that will brew all around you.

Ask yourself: Do you really support the other girls in your company in their faith?  Do you pray for the other girls and leaders in your Company?

After all, that is what we are told to do in 1 Timothy 2:1-3:  The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

So after you watch the ‘Criminal Penguins’ below, then spend some time thanking God for the Christians that He has placed around you and pray for the other members of your GB Company.

Sarah

Does anyone reading this blog also read magazines?  What kind of magazines do you read?

Growing up I heard so many youth leaders talk about the bad messages that were in magazines and how we should be wary of them.  I never really thought what I read was too bad, it was always more gossipy/fashion rags that I read rather then the more risque ones… however, if I look at some of them now, they still had detrimental images in them.  I always thought that I could see past the negative messages, but I am not as sure about that anymore.

If I am totally honest, I always thought that those youth leaders were a bit over the top.  However, I was at a youth event a few months ago and the speaker said something that stopped me in my tracks.  He was quoting from a book called ‘Essential Youth: Why the Church Needs Young People,’ by Andy Hickford.  This is the quote:

‘Watch a teenage girl going through her favourite magazine.  She is comparing herself to images, imagining herself with certain products displayed, comparing male portraits to her own fantasies, and in general being instructed as to how she can better live her life socially.  In effect, she is having her cultural quiet time.’

OK so what is the girl getting from that magazine:

• What she should look like;
• What she needs to have;
• What she should look for/value in others;
• How she can live better.

I’m also going to add:

• How she should deal with issues with friends and boyfriends;
• What she should watch on TV;
• Who she should idolize;
• What she should be doing on her weekends;
• Answers about issues of sex and relationships.

This is so true isn’t it!

So what is the problem… well as a Christian we should be looking for all those things in the Bible not in magazines.

You might be thinking, I have never come across the parts of the Bible that talk about Autumn/Winter fashion.  Fair enough, but read Matthew 6:30-33  “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?  (It was mentioned a few weeks ago too!)  That is God’s fashion advice, and that is only a tiny, tiny bit of the advice that is in the Bible.

The problem with the Bible is that it is big.  You can open a magazine and everything is printed clear as day in front of you, but to get to the message in the Bible to have to dig deeper into the text.  But here is the secret…. that is the most amazing aspect of the Bible.

God gave us this book that is made up of His actual words.  You can spend a lifetime reading this book, and God will still continually reveal more of Himself to you through it.

In GBNI, we produce a Scripture Course every year, which will hopefully help you get into the Bible a bit more.  There are also a mountain of Bible reading notes out there as well as podcasts, emails, websites, blogs, books….  There has never been more material produced to help you read the Bible, you just have to actually use it.

Even if you do not like reading, you should still try to get into a routine of having a quiet time with God everyday.  This is a time when you stop, pray, read a bit of your Bible and reflect on it with God.

Quiet times are not complicated things, they are between you and God, but it is by meeting with Him every day that you build up a relationship and gain further knowledge of your Heavenly Father…. just the same as you would with any friend or family member.

So next time you sit down to read a magazine, ask yourself if you wouldn’t be better getting what you are looking for in the Bible.  After all the Bible is ‘God-breathed’ and as Hebrews 4:12 says, ‘the Word of God is living and active.’  Can you say that about a magazine?

Sarah

Were you one of the thousands who hung about Belfast this weekend hoping to catch a glimpse of someone famous?  Did you see anyone?

I was coming through the City Airport on Friday and there were loads of young people hanging about, cameras at the ready.  Beiber Fever, definitely hit Belfast this week as the city prepared for the MTV European Music Awards.  It was all very exciting for Belfast to have such a big event hosted here given Belfast’s reputation for terrorism and bombs, but seemed odd at the same time to see these famous people visiting places that you maybe walk past all the time.

The crowds of people, all trying to catch a glimpse of Justin, Selena, Katy or Bruno, made me think.  Imagine that it was Jesus who was going to appear at the MTV Awards this weekend.  Would there be as much fuss?  Would you have camped out at the airport?  Would you have done anything to get a ticket?  Would #Jesus be trending on Twitter?

If not, what does that say about who we worship?  Have a read at the first commandment from Exodus 20:3, ‘You shall have no other gods before me.’  It is pretty straightforward isn’t it.  Not much wiggle room to get around it.  Can you honestly say that you put God above all others?  Makes you think doesn’t it?!?

Sarah

If you have been following the e100 Challenge, over the last two weeks you will have been reading about Joseph and Moses.  I don’t know about you, but re-reading these stories that you have probably heard a million times, is really pretty awesome.

One thing that struck me, especially with the story of Joseph, was that they both stuck out like a sore thumb.  Let’s be honest, if you put yourself in the shoes of the people around them you would think that they were pretty odd.  One who had these dreams from God, wore a technicoloured coat and went to jail instead of getting ’close’ to one of the most beautiful women in Egypt.  Then there is Moses who gave up a life of Egyptian Royalty to look after sheep (which stink!!!), talked to bushes and then tried to tell the most powerful man in the country that he should let his entire work force run away.  You see…. odd, odd, odd!

Odd… but really pretty amazing!

We talked about his verse in relation to popstars last week:

“Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.  Instead, fix your attention on God.”  Romans 12:12

Have you ever thought about how the same advice would have stood for Joseph and Moses?  Think about it…

Joseph stayed true to himself and passed on the wisdom that God had blessed him with through dreams.  His character made him stand out among slaves and he was not led astray by a pretty woman.

Moses gave up a life of absolute luxury, way beyond anything that the richest rapper could imagine, and he essentially did all this because he stood up for a slave who was being badly treated.  When God spoke to him through a burning bush, he did not use the excuse of seeing things because he was dehydrated etc, he did exactly what God told him to do despite having a stutter.  Can you imagine going up to a powerful dictator and telling him that he was wrong and must stop!!!

They both went against the culture around them by fixing their attention on God!  Life was not easy for these two men when they choose to follow God’s path, and yet look at what Joseph says to his brothers near the end of their story:

“And now do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you.” Genesis 45:5

They must have had such faith in God.  Moses became the leader of a whole people.  Read what he says to bring them comfort just before he parts the Red Sea:

“Do not be afraid.  Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.  The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.  The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Exodus 14: 13-14.

OK so we know that Joseph & Moses were both men of God… after all they have pretty big staring roles in the actual Bible…. how does that apply to you?!?

It’s simple.  God hasn’t changed in all these years.  He never will.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  If we do go against the lies that the world tells us and fix our attention on God then He will never leave us.  It will be difficult, we might look like odd balls (remember Noah!) but God has it all under control.

You might never lead a people from slavery (though it still happens today, just look at Libya) but God will use you right here in Northern Ireland for things that might seem small to use, but are everything to God!

Pray about all these things and keep on reading along with the e100 challenge at http://e100chat.com/

Sarah

A few weeks ago you couldn’t have missed the fact that Rihanna was in Belfast and filming her latest video right here in Northern Ireland.  Well she is back in the news this week as the video was released and it is totally shocking.   Violent, sexual images mixed with drug and alcohol abuse.  I would urge you NOT to go and look for it.

There was one (now famous) farmer from Bangor who had allowed them to film in his field, but asked them to stop when Rihanna took her top off.  I was in the hairdressers (the best place for hearing all the goss) a few days later and the opinions of people surprised me.  Most people seemed to be saying, ‘good on him for standing up for himself.’  A few thought it was great that NI was being used as a film set, but nobody thought the farmer was wrong.

Rihanna is not the only controversial popstar: Katy Perry, Britney, Madonna even Miley Cyrus have caused stirs because they have done concerts, or made videos that are very sexual.

My problem is that their songs are always so catchy!  Even though I might have serious issues with the lyrics, the tune gets in your head when it is played over and over on the radio, and you end up singing away before you realise it.

One Bible verse that has been in my mind every-time I think about the ‘Rihanna in Belfast’ controversy is this:

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.  Roman 12: 2 (MSG)

God knows more than any of us that we are all living inside a culture that is not as He planned.   He understands that it is difficult, but instead of just telling you ‘don’t do that,’ He offers you a much better life when you stand up against the culture.

What you need to ask yourself is whether the first line of this verse is true of you or not.  Are you ‘so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking?’

Here are some questions that we would love to hear your opinions on!  Just leave a comment below:

• What do you and all your friends think about all this?
• Do you think I am being too harsh or not harsh enough?
• Does this type of video help anyone?
• Do you think these kind of controversial pop stars have any responsibility to their fans, especially the young ones?
• How much say do you think Rihanna herself has over her songs and videos?
• When should you stand up for your faith & God, and when should you just go with the flow?
• Do you think the outfits that popstars wear impacts what we wear everyday?

In the meantime, here is another video that was filmed around Belfast too!

Sarah

 Girls’ toilets are much more than just a place to go to the actual toilet or to wash your hands.  They are also a place to go and fix your make up, to chat with your friends about boys (who shouldn’t be in there!?!) but they can also be a bit of a hideaway.

Even at home, the bathroom is often the only room with a lock on the door.  It is sometimes the only place you can go to get away from everyone else.  The only place to go when you are upset and need a bit of privacy.  After-all, every girl at some time will need the safety of a bathroom to go to and cry.

Are girls more sensitive than boys… probably.  In your teens and twenties do your hormones go a bit mad and lead you to cry at silly things…. yep.  Does everyone go through this… definitely.  Does anyone else care if you are upset…yes, God does!

It is true that God loves you, even when you mess up.  He is concerned with every complicated emotion that you feel, and He wants to comfort you.  Want some proof?  Read these two passages from the Message translation of the Bible:

Matthew 6:30-33

“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

Psalm 34: 15-19

God keeps an eye on his friends,
his ears pick up every moan and groan.

God won’t put up with rebels;
he’ll cull them from the pack.

Is anyone crying for help? God is listening,
ready to rescue you.

If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.

Disciples so often get into trouble;
still, God is there every time.

You see, even at your darkness moment, when you are hiding in the toilets in floods of tears, when you heart is broken…. God is there waiting for you to turn to Him.

This is comforting and challenging… do you let God into your life, or do you take His love and compassion for granted?

Leave any comments below!

Sarah

I don’t know about you, but I love all types of movies. So much so that a friend of mine recently said that he had never heard me say that there was one film I didn’t like, no matter how rubbish it was… that was a bit of an exaggeration, but rom coms, westerns, action, funny… I like most of them.

Think about the films you have seen recently. Think of all the characters in those films, not the main ones, but all the ones around them. The bit parts that if you blink, you’ll miss them.

• When there is a baddie, think of all his hence men who die without a thought.
• If there has been a disaster, think of all the people who are killed off and never mentioned again.
• Even in rom coms, think of the poor boyfriend/girlfriend who is dumped so the main characters get together.

There are sooooo many characters in movies that are ‘thrown away.’ We only focus on the heros at the centre of the story and ignore all those extras who just serve to push the story on a bit.

Ok so films are not real, but now change the channel in your mind and think about the news:

• Right now there is a story on a news website stating that 24 people have died in clashes in Egypt. 31 have died in Syria. That is 110 parents who will be grieving, never mind wifes, husbands, children, brothers, sisters, friends….
• There aren’t even any stories about how many people died yesterday because of the East Africa famine.
• There is no mention of how many people were physically beaten or emotionally hurt by domestic violence over the weekend.
• There is no mention of how many young people cried themselves to sleep last night because they have been sold into modern day slavery, whether as a sex slave or forced marriage or working in sweat shops.
• There is no mention of how many young people looked in the mirror yesterday and hated themselves because of what they saw.
• There is no mention of how many people suffered with hangovers yesterday morning after a Saturday night of binge drinking. No mention of how many girls were panicking because they couldn’t remember if they had unprotected sex while they were drunk the night before.
• There is no mention of the number of young people who dread going to school this morning because they know they face another week of bullying or a struggle with their school work.

If you are honest do you view the world a little bit like a movie? Do you focus on the main characters: yourself, the people around you, the celebrities, could we even say that we focus on people in the western world rather than the Middle East, or Africa?

If you admit that this is true, you will be in the majority.  In fact if you don’t think this is true, you would be truly remarkable! Of course you will be more aware of the people around you. The media informs you about the people in the western world. When you hear a story that mentions 1,000 people that you have never heard of, it is much easier to brush them off when you can’t picture their individual faces. But…. does that make it ok?

In the GBNI Scripture Course this year we are looking at the idea of worth.  Do you realise that the key verse in the Scripture Course applies to every single person on the planet?  Most people on the planet will reject God, but He still created them, they are still His masterpiece.

The immense magnitude of God’s love for us is umbelievable.  Look at this verse from Matthew 10:30 (MSG)

^29-31“What’s the price of a pet canary? Some loose change, right? And God cares what happens to it even more than you do. He pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail—even numbering the hairs on your head! So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk. You’re worth more than a million canaries.”

God has numbered every hair on the head of every person who went to sleep hungry last night.  If life was a movie, He would know the thoughts of every person in a massive crowd scene.  He also loves every single person who is mentioned in the credits of a film, and every single person that they have even spoken to, or bought a cup of coffee off on the way to work.

Mind blowing isn’t it!  Is this going to change the way you think about the world?  If God loves everyone on the planet this much, does that effect the way that we should act?

Leave us any comments on this below….

Sarah

What is the E100 Challenge? 

You may have heard about the E100 challenge from Scripture Union in school, at Summer Madness, or even in your own GB company over the last few weeks.

The idea is simple.  As many people across NI as possible are going to read the same passage from the Bible every day for 100 days.  Some of you will have received lovely books that have the passages all written out for you, but even if you haven’t don’t despair, you can still join in.

In ‘e’ in E100 stands for ’essential.’  You see these aren’t just 100 random readings, they have been carefully selected to give you a good overview of the story of the Bible.  You don’t read every verse, but you get the whole way from Genesis to Revelation.  Pretty clever really!

Why would I bother?

That is a fair enough question.  Why would you bother reading something 5 days a week from October to March?  Well, it is just this simple:  The Bible is the most important book that you will ever read…. like ever!  It is ‘a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.’ (Psalm 119)  It is your instruction manual & more than that, it is the actual Word of God!

The readings each day are not too long and you will probably find that you get caught up in God’s Word and read even more.  But if you have always wondered how all those stories that you have heard in Church, Sunday School and even GB Scripture class all fit together, then this is for you!

What if I don’t understand the passages?

That is the best bit about E100, because everyday at midnight, a little explanation by different people in Northern Ireland is going to appear on the E100 blog: http://e100chat.com/

You can also follow along on facebook, phone apps and audio boo.  All the links are on the E100 site.

If you don’t have a book, the entire reading plan is below and do let us know how you are getting on in the comments below that,

Sarah

We have no normal blog this week, instead we would like you to check out the GB Europe Youth Blog: Connected.  A team of girls from across the UK work together to write this blog, and this week’s message from Charlotte is so powerful, we just had to highlight it to you.

Click on the picture to be taken straight there or look at our blog roll on the right hand side of the screen for the link.

How lucky are you that you have two GB blogs to read!!

Sarah

Do you want to hear a completely useless but very interesting fact?  Well I have two for you today:

FACT #1  No two zebra’s have the same strip pattern!

If you have ever seen a zebra in real life you will know just how amazing they are.  They are almost magical, but isn’t it so amazing that when God made them, He took the time to dream up a different pattern for them all!

FACT #2 A group of zebras is called a Dazzle!

From this picture you can see why they are called a dazzle. When all their stripes are together and moving, predators get confused.  It is like they turn into one of those magic eye pictures.

This year in GBNI, everything that we do will be based around the theme ‘YOUnique.’  Look out for this logo throughout the year at competitions, events, on your Scripture Course and of course on this blog.  Your company may even be accepting the YOUnique Challenge (more on that in a few weeks time.)

You see God has given each one of us different skills and abilities, unique interests and goals.  We are all deliberately made 100% unique, it was not just by chance.  Just like the zebras, God took time to create you just as you are on purpose!

The zebra’s patterns are all about camouflage and survival, but our uniqueness is all about our purpose in life.  Let’s read the verse that the Scripture Course this year is based upon from Ephesians 2:10,  ”For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT)

It is so exciting to know, that our purpose in life is to ‘do the good things He planned for us long ago!!’  We are not just here by chance.  We were made 100% Unique and 110% for God.   At times this might be difficult to understand, but we should remember that God had all this ‘planned for us long ago!’

You might be thinking, ‘I have heard this before.’ Well maybe you have, but think of the zebras again.  When they are alone, their pattern is still pretty and unique, and might give them a bit of camouflage, but when they are in a group they become something much more.  A ‘Dazzle.’  You may have heard this message before as an individual, but in GB, as a group we are going to learn from each other, and hear other people’s thoughts on the ideas.  GB are going to become a Dazzle for the other girls in your community!

If you have any ideas on YOUnique, please use the comments box below to let us hear them!

Sarah