1.) Based on the Proverb, the woman spoken of is a strong woman with strong values and convictions who follows the path God has chosen for her. That's how I interpret it. So based on that, yes I do think that with God's help and time, I can become a 31 girl. 2.) I think that it will be an ongoing process of growth. I'm only 21, and yet I've felt as though I have matured considerably within a single year. My thoughts and convictions have altered and are continually altering and growing. So yes, we are in a continual process of growth in our faith and our walk instead of just coming to a stage of achievement. 3.) My worth being greater than rubies. I have always been self-conscious of myself and in some ways thought I needed to prove myself to others when instead I should just let people see me for who I am. 4.) Esther. Always loved Esther.

Oh man is there a passage about self-worth in there. Chalk that up as the hard one for me too <_<

Ready for the next part?

[b]Cowgurl4JC wrote:[/b] [quote]I'm only 21, and yet I've felt as though I have matured considerably within a single year. My thoughts and convictions have altered and are continual I interpret it. So based on that, yes I do think that with God's help and time, I can become a 31 girl.ly altering and growing.[/quote] I think that's the cool thing about God and how He works in us. He can change and help us grow in so many ways possible, and over such a short space in time. I've really been praying that God will change me from the inside out lately a. I reckon it's such an awesome feeling to know how He is working within us. :D [quote]3.) My worth being greater than rubies. I have always been self-conscious of myself and in some ways thought I needed to prove myself to others when instead I should just let people see me for who I am.[/quote] This is a hard one for most of us a...

1) Do you believe that you can become a 31 Girl? I think its possible (but not by myself of course). My parents raised me to know how to take care a family and run a house. 2) Do you think there is a stage when you achieve it or do you think it is an ongoing process of growth? like with all parts of life I think it is ongoing. 3) What part of Proverbs 31:10, 25-31 would be hard for you personally to achieve/work towards? What part/s would you struggle with? I struggle with keeping God at the front of everything I do so that is what I work towards, that and not whining when I do have to wake up extra early to help the family. 4) What fairytale type stories are there in the Bible? What one is your favourite? Ruth for sure her faithfulness is inspiring.

[b]keyseya wrote:[/b] [quote]Ready for the next part?[/quote] Bring it on!

[b]Chapter 1: Character Is A Girls Best Friend[/b] [color=#0000FF]"And the moral of that is- 'Oh 'tis love that makes the world go round!" [i]Alice's Adventures in Wonderland[/i][/color] [color=#FF0000][i]Proverbs 31:10[/i]- A good woman is hard to find and worth far more than diamonds[/color] Have you ever had a crush on someone? I developed my first full-blown crush before I was even a teenager... I could gaze at him for hours and not grow tired. In fact that's literally what I did! His name was Indiana Jones and I was introduced to him in the film 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. We met again through the sequels 'The Temple of Doom' and 'The Last Crusade' but, as is the case with most first time crushes, my fickle heart had already moved on and my interest waned. but seriously, I loved watching all the Indiana Jones movies. They were jam-packed with action, excitement, fun and of course romance. Indiana was always on the hunt for rare artifacts and riches. He tirelessly searched for ancient objects and treasures that were simply priceless... And this is how our girl of the moment is described. Proverbs 31:10 tells us that finding a good woman is pretty hard. And if she is found then she is worth much more than mere diamonds, rubies or any other precious gem. In other words she is an exquisite and invaluable treasure.... She is priceless! When something is priceless it means that it is irreplaceable, unique and usually rare. What makes 31 Girl rare is that she is of virtuous character which in today's world is hard to find and is an exceptionally rare trait. But what is character? What does a good character look like? D. L. Moody said, [color=#0000FF]"Character is who you are when no one is looking."[/color] It's the real you, the private you; who you are without the mask or charade. Character is developed overtime, it takes diligence and commitment. So what makes up good character?... The Bible is the perfect reference point. [color=#FF0000][i]Galations 5:22[/i]- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.[/color] These nine fruits of the Spirit are qualities we need to develop in our lives if we want to be known as young woman of character. Although they are all important the No. 1 quality is LOVE. So how do we develop this foundational character quality of love in our lives? [b][i]1. Stay Close to Love[/i][/b] The Bible says in [color=#FF0000]1 John 4:8[/color] that God is love, This means we cannot but be changed by staying close and plugged into the ultimate source of love. God's character is deposited into you as you spend quality time with Him. The more time you spend with Him, the more you become like Him. staying close to God keeps us "in love" with Him. [color=#FF0000]Revelation 2:4[/color] says that we should not forsake our first love. God should [i]always[/i] be our first and last love; He has to be our priority, our personal number one. [b][i]2. Act in Love[/i][/b] Put love into action. [color=#FF0000]1 John 3:18[/color] says [color=#FF0000]"...let us not love with words and tongue but with actions and in truth"[/color] That may seem like this love-thing is easy, but love gets difficult because the bible says [color=#FF0000]"Love your enemies... If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?... And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."[/color] We need to love those who we don't particularly like, those who are considered 'unlovely'. The real test of character is to love those who really rub us the wrong way.... We need to love and pray for them. BUT we cannot do this without God's help. [b][i]1. Ask God for Help[/i][/b] Too often we rely on our own strength, talent and ingenuity in life. If we want to be young women of character then we need to ask God for His help. We need to ask Him every day to help us walk in love towards others, otherwise it is impossible. [color=#FF0000]Romans 5:5[/color] says that God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Remember that He has already deposited His great, all-consuming and forgiving love into us and by His help we can draw upon it and love those who are in the 'too hard basket' to love. [color=#0000FF]Love so amazing, love so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all. [i]Isaac Watts[/i][/color] Prayer: "Father, I pray that You would strengthen me with power through your Spirit in my inner being. So that Jesus Christ may dwell in my heart through faith. I pray that I being established and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints in heaven what is the width and length and depth and height of the love of Christ. That I may also know this love that is incomprehensible so that I can be filled to overflowing with the fullness of God." (Based on [color=#FF0000]Ephesians 3:16-19[/color]) Treasure tip: Hang out with God By spending daily quiet time with God, we not only allow Him to speak into us but also to transform, shape and craft us into the unique and pure girls He wants us to be. Regular time with God rejuvenates, energises and soothes us. Spending time with God should be a joy and not a chore. [i]What you need to get started (suggestion):[/i] - A notebook, pen, Bible and favourite worship CD [i]Commit to a time and a place:[/i] - Find a time that works for you when you will be awake, alert and energetic - Find a place where it's not too noisy, and somewhere where you won't get distracted [i]Now what?[/i] - Put on the CD and allow your heart to focus on God - Read a passage - Pray - Write in your journal Remember, your daily quiet time doesn't need to be complicated. Simply spend time with God and allow Him to challenge, inspire and speak to your heart through His word. -The End- [color=#800080]Questions (Feel free to contribute): 1) Do you believe that you are worth more than diamonds? Do you feel like you are worth more than something this world sees as so precious? 2) If you were a gem, what kind would you be? Why? 3) What do you class as character? what do you think makes up good character? 4) Would you realistically want people to see/know the real you? 5) How many fruits of the Spirit to you think you possess each day? How do you think you could work on the ones you lack? 6) How can someone love in truth? 7) How often do you pray for your enemies? 8) Do you think that it is better to skip a quiet time with God when you are not 'in the mood', or is it better to have the quiet time even if you think it may not be productive? 9) How many of you have/keep journals? Do you find them useful?[/color]

1.) There was a time where I honestly did not feel beautiful or worth more than diamonds. I used to feel plain and in a lot of ways, unattractive. There are days now where I feel that way. But I do know that I am worth more than diamonds or rubies. It has taken a while and there are times where I have to remind myself of it, but I do know that God sees me has His daughter worth more than her weight in gems. 2.) If I were a gem, what would I be? So you're asking me to think about what kind of rock I would be? Would that mean you think of me as uneducated or unintelligent? Or you think of me as strong and unbreakable with edges roughened and crafted by the environment around me? Hmm... ...and about halfway through typing that, I started thinking, "Jeez, that was a really random, yet eloquently written philosophical tangent that I rambled on with. No wonder I have so many unwritten stories in my writing folder." Welcome to my mind. Anyway, back to original question: I honestly have no clue. Which is why I probably got on said random tangent in the first place. Although offhand, I'd have to say diamonds and those Sworvarski crystals. Cause really, what girl doesn't like pretty rocks that sparkle and refract light into different colors of the rainbow? Okay next question... 3.) I liked the quote from D.L. Moody. "Character is who you are when no one is looking." I think that sums it up pretty clearly. Your character is who you are: your temperament, your personality, your convictions, your philosophies, all of it comes into play when trying to build your character. And it is a building process, because you are constantly changing and growing. Your philosophies change, your beliefs change, etc. Everything about you changes as you grow and make your way into the world. And thus, your character changes. As for what makes up good character, not only the seven Spiritual fruits, but also honesty and a strong conviction and belief makes up good character. Cause I've found that if you're not honest, people don't respect you as much as you'd like and if you don't have a strong belief or conviction of yourself, then it's easy to let the world sway you into their belief system until you find yourself lost in it. I think I got that across pretty well. 4.) Yes, I would. For the same reasons I would want to see/know the real them. Cause as it was said earlier in the text, their character is the real them, no masks or charades. So for that reason, I do let people see the real me. 5.) Oi, that's a hard one. I would like to say ideally, nine out nine, but I probably actually have six or seven out of nine. Patience is a big one that I constantly work on, not only around horses but around people too. I actually find it harder to have patience around people. Goes with people holding charades about themselves. It irritates me a lot. Another one would be self-control, particularly with my temper. Goes hand-in-hand with patience. I lose patience, I lose my temper/self-control. Surprisingly enough, love lately has been one I've been working on the past few months. See there's this girl I know who in the beginning has lied quite a bit, mostly to gain attention from the people around her. It has cause me to not trust her and to actually try and push her away, but I've seen God tell me, "No, this is not what I have told you do." And so after a few times of actually spending time with her outside of the barn, I have seen some of her true character and it has made me gone back and do some soul-searching about this spiritual fruit. 6.) As I mentioned before, Love has been one of the spiritual fruits I've been working on lately because of someone I know who i didn't like in the beginning because of her actions. But as I began to spend time with her, I began too see the person she really is and thus saw the truth in what John said when he too "love in action and in truth." And that's when I truly understood what Christ meant when He said, "Love our enemies." I think when John said "love in action and in truth," he meant by taking the time to actually hold your hands out to all types of people. Whether it's going to the nearest soup kitchen and dishing up meals for the homeless or sitting down next to that kid at school that no one wants to be around, hold your hands out to them. Talk to them, hear them out. Try and see the person underneath the mask. That is what Jesus did during His ministry. Held his hands out to all kinds of people. And that's what He instructed us to do. Love in our actions. Love in Truth. 7.) Heh, I honestly don't pray a lot. It has been a while since I actually "prayed." I do talk to God as much as I can, so I have talked to Him about my friends, family, and "enemies" (I use quotation marks there cause I really don't think I have any real enemies. Perhaps that's a discussion for another time: true meaning of enemies. *shrugs*). 8.) It's definitely better to find that time and spend some one-on-one with God, even if you don't think it's productive. You never know, He might surprise you (and most likely will); sometimes it's in those moments that seem the least productive that turn out to be the most. ;) 9.) I have quite a few journals and I even have a blog as some of you know. As for keeping them, I can't remember the last time I wrote in mine. It has definitely been a while. When I though, I do remember being able to figure and straighten out my thoughts about something that had been bugging me for quite a while. So journaling my thoughts about my life and God did help quite a bit-while I was doing it. Perhaps it's a good time to back into it, yes? ^_^

Sorry if some of my answers at time seem to get "preachy" or on the public broadcasting side of things. I have a tendency to think out my thoughts as I write, which basically means that I try and figure out what I'm thinking as I type. So I sometimes have a tendency to ramble a bit. I do this in conversation too: think while I talk.

1) Most days this is hard for me to believe, but lately God had been reminding me that I am. And even if I can't tell/see it, others are able to see them (or me) sparkling. 2) If I were a gem I'd be a blue sapphire. Why? Cause they're natural and can be found by searching. Very few people get close enough to see who I really am, they have to search through layers of stuff before they do; just like when trying to find a sapphire. They're also remarkably hard, yet beautiful, deep and sparkle when polished. 3) I love Moody's quote about character is who you are when no one is looking. I think character is also who you are, what defines you, your values etc. 4) I really [i]really[/i] want to say big confident yes but in all honesty, I can't. Not yet at least. God has really been working in me these past 4 months, helping me become beautiful and pure again on the inside. Right now I don't want people to see the real me because there are still a few things I want straightened out a bit more before people do. But in the near future? Yes, I really do. 5) On good days, nearly all of them. On bad days, a little over half. I struggle greatly with patience and self-control, also gentleness. I'm so thankful that I'm aware of them and I try to work on them by praying when I can feel myself loosing control of them. I also try to recognise why/how.who etc. 6) Loving those who it's hard to love, to know everything and still love them. To show them the love that Christ shows us. 7) Daily. 8) I think it's important to spend time with God even if it's the last thing you want to do. I think being able to say "God, I really don't want to talk to You/pray and spend time in Your Word" takes huge integrity and courage. Both of which are important as Christians. 9) I keep a journal and find it really helpful. I struggle with expressing my thoughts and feelings so being able to put them down into words and give them to God is really encouraging and helpful. I also love finding verses that go along with what I've written, and going back and seeing the process I went through when something happened.