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Fall Conversation Starters

Football. Back to school. Pumpkin spice lattes. These are the markers of fall, which officially begins September 22.

 

When we consider the season’s change, God’s majesty is clear. He created the trees to turn colors and the wind to blow cold. He designed the harvest to end and the birds to fly south. He even tells the squirrels to store away food and our stomachs to crave hot chocolate! (Well, okay, maybe not that last one.) So much about this time of year signals the Father’s glory.

 

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7–10)

 

At Faithgirlz, we know how busy family life can be this time of year, and how easy it becomes to get wrapped up in routines and forget to look at the world around you. Yet we also believe it’s important to raise kids who seek God in everyday life. So let’s do it together!

 

Here are some fun conversation starters to get your kids thinking and talking about God’s glory this fall.

 

  • What is your favorite fall leaf color? Why do you think God chose orange, red and yellow instead of purple, pink and blue?
  • Which do you like better—the start of football season or the end of baseball season, and why? Isn’t it amazing how God created our arms and legs to work together in sports?
  • If you had a chance to go hiking for a day all by yourself, what would you pack in your backpack? What would you pray about?
  • Which is better—apple pie or pumpkin pie? Have you thanked God lately for creating apples/pumpkins?
  • If you could design a fall-inspired ice cream flavor, what would it be? Why do you think God gave us taste buds?
  • What is your favorite item of fall clothing in your closet? What items do you think you could part with and give to a family in need?
  • Name five things you can do with a squash. Why in the world do you think God created the squash, anyway? Isn’t He creative?
  • What do you enjoy best about nature in fall? Tell God how much you appreciate it!
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Top 10 Summer Activities for Your Tweens

Summer-Activites-for-TweensSummer is here!

This break is something your girls have been looking forward to for months. You, on the other hand, may not look forward to summer with as much excitement. The time off requires a LOT of additional prepping and planning for parents.

There are many great resources around the web outlining fun summer activities for your girls. We’ve compiled our top 10 below!

10. Get a Job
Instill values of independence, discipline, and responsibility by encouraging your tween to work this summer. Now is a great time to help out around the house, babysit, look after a neighbor’s pets, walk dogs, wash cars, open a lemonade stand, sell handmade crafts – or anything else your enterprising young girls can think of!

9. Update A Room
As our girls transition from one grade to the next, we have to accept that they are growing up! Does their room reflect their maturing taste? If not – head over to Pinterest and look for new room inspirations for your girls. Need a starting place? Check out our Redo Your Room board. If you want even more inspiration – check out our Redo Your Room book!

8. Plan Outdoor Movie Nights
Get together with neighbors and work to set up a projector, speakers and family-friendly movie. Really amp up the space with comfy seating, string lights and popcorn! Click for more creative ways to dress up the space!

outdoor movie

7. Volunteer
What causes are important to your family? Reach out to organizations in your area to inquire about opportunities for your girls to serve. Animal shelters and food banks often have tasks for younger volunteers. Through their service, your girls will learn valuable lessons of sacrifice, humility and caring for others.

6. Host a Board Game Tourny
Help your faithgirlz plan a fun-filled day at home. (This is a great option if there are a lot of rainy days in the forecast.) If you don’t have a huge collection of board games, ask friends to bring over one or two of their favorites. Be sure everyone knows the rules for each game and then roll the dice or pick a card to see who gets to select the first game.  For bonus points: If your girls are especially creative – encourage them to create their own game!

Game Pieces

5. Be a Tourist in Your Own Town
What is one thing you’ve always wanted to see in your area? Plan a quick day trip or outing to visit a unique landmark, attraction or eatery. Take this idea to the next level by dressing up as tacky tourists! Fanny packs required.

4. Pick a Book to Read Together – and take time to talk about it!
We are BIG advocates of summer reading… and so is our spokesperson Natalie Grant! Together, we’ve developed a great list of Faithgirlz! titles to recommend for your tween. We encourage you to pick one or two to read with your girls. These books are great conversation starters and can lead to some incredible chats about faith. Read up on Natalie’s summer reading suggestions here!

natalie-grant-faithgirlz-summer-reading

3. Create and Bury a Time Capsule
Identify special mementos that will help your faithgirl remember 2015. Include items to represent her best friend, secret crush (if she has one!) and her favorite Bible verse, class, band, song, sport to play, sport to watch, book, movie, actor and actress! Did you take a trip this year? Include a souvenir or ticket to remember a special family vacation or outing. Have fun with it – and only peek if she says it is okay!

2. Set Up Camp
Love the outdoors? Take an afternoon to create a campsite in your backyard. Grab some sleeping bags and enjoy a night out under the stars! Don’t have a tent? No worries! Get creative with blankets and sheets to make a colorful retreat. The benefits of camping at home? You have quick access to certain amenities (like a bathroom & kitchen) if you aren’t ready for the complete experience. Still seem like a stretch? If your girls aren’t the outdoorsy type – like mine – create a camp of sorts inside!

sheet-tent

1. Get Moving
Get your girls off the couch! Summer is a great time to try new activities. Gather all the necessary safety gear and encourage your faithgirlz to meet their friends for a bike ride, test out their roller blades, take a swim, paddle board or canoe on a nearby lake… anything to stay active (and tear them away from spending all summer on the computer or binge watching TV shows on Netflix). Just be sure to set parameters on where they can go, when to be back and who they can go with, etc. Use these ideas to give your girls a memorable, safe and FUN summer!

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Prayers for Your Daughter

As the school year wraps, we find ourselves thinking about what’s next…

What will the summer look like? What new or challenging things are in store for my daughter next year? Will she continue to be surrounded by good friends?  How is she growing up so fast? Oh… my goodness… will she start dating soon?

As the unknowns pile up, we often find ourselves grasping for control. I love this quote from Lysa TerKeurst.

Whether  we are excited, anxious or terrified about the growth of our girls, we have to remember that God has an amazing plan for their lives.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
– Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

I was given great advice last week – and I want to share it with you. When you’re wrestling with any matter, imagine you’re having the conversation with a friend. If you heard your story from their mouth, what advice would you share?

  • Turn to the Lord
  • Pray, pray, pray
  • Practice patience

I know! It is so much easier to give this advice than to take it!
To best equip our girls (and restore our sanity), we have to take our questions, concerns and celebrations to God. Pray for your girls each and every day and see how God shows up in your lives.

Need an outline? We’ve compiled a list of resources to help pray for your daughter on our Pinterest page.

Faithgirlz-Pinterest

 

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Your Story is Incredible

your-incredible-storyBy Jennifer Ebenhack

Do you ever envy someone else’s story?
That girl in your book? Your best friend? Some famous movie star or singer?

It’s something moms and daughters have in common: we often compare our lives to others and believe our own story is less important… boring… hard… maybe even downright painful.

But girls, I want you to know how incredible your story is. There are two good reasons for you not to get hung up on someone else’s story:

  • God has a purpose for you, and
  • He’s working everything out for good.

So, first of all, know this… the God who paints the sunsets formed you.

He knit you together in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). Your quirks, looks, and interests delight Him! The desires of your heart have been planted there by Him. Your talents and passions come from His design!

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

When I was young, I dreamed of serving God in another country. I loved stories of adventurous women like Amy Carmichael, who rescued children from slavery in India.

And guess what… God allowed me to live out a similar dream in the country of Haiti. My husband and I not only helped children without families, but also got to adopt three amazing kids of our own.He used the desires of my heart to do something meaningful. And He’s going to do that in your life too.

Secondly, God is working through all the hard stuff in order to accomplish the good stuff.

Sometimes we look at someone else’s story and are fooled into thinking theirs is full of “awesome” while ours is full of “hard.”

The truth is, we all have the hard. We all have pain and problems. We’re all afraid we’re just not enough.

If all I told you about my life was that God helped my dreams come true, you’d get a glimpse of the “awesome.” But there was a lot of frustration and difficulty in there too.

It took us nine whole YEARS to adopt our kids! And let me tell you, those years in Haiti were hot (no air-conditioning)!
The worst part was that even though our kids lived with us in Haiti, they couldn’t ever leave the country with my husband and me to visit our family and friends in the U.S. The paperwork was completely stuck. Sometimes our problems made me angry. And sometimes — like when thieves broke in — I was full of fear.

JenniferEbenhack-Family

 

But God taught me so much there — especially how to trust Him when things don’t make sense. And even though I doubted Him sometimes, He hadn’t forgotten about me.

A big earthquake hit Haiti in 2010, and there were so many problems, we were sure our adoptions would never be completed. But in the middle of that tragic event, God did the most unexpected thing… About one week after the earthquake hit, our kids and hundreds of other Haitian kids were allowed to join their American families in the U.S.! Our prayers were finally answered.

Where’s your story right now? Boring? Hang on… it will change! Hard? Keep trusting Jesus! In Romans 8:28, He promises to work all things (even the bad things) for the good of those who love Him.

Wherever you are, remember God sees you, loves you, and is writing an incredible one-of-a-kind story through your life.

  1. Don’t be jealous of the others. Be a girl of faith!
  2. Trust Him. Love Him. Follow Him.
  3. There’s no telling how He’s going to use you!

About Jennifer Ebenhack

JenniferEbenhackHi! I’m Jennifer, and I’m delighted to meet you here! I’m a homeschooling mom of five, a life coach, and a writer, thankful to enjoy all those things in the sunshine of South Florida. I love to laugh, listen, and share encouragement with anyone going through a hard time. You can me at JenniferEbenhack.com, my Facebook page, Google+, Pinterest, or Twitter. For encouragement in mothering, check out a couple popular articles here and here. Also, I’d love to bless you with a gift! Click here for instructions to receive a free copy of my ebook: Take Courage: Choosing faith on my journey of fear. 

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Time Travel to Your Teens

time-travelIt’s easy to forget what it was like to be a girl, but maybe the best way to open the lines of communication with your daughter is to be 13 again.

Yes, God likes you to be in the present…

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
– Corinthians 5:17)

A temporary time-trip into your past could be a divine gift. How so?
It might help you better relate to your daughter by opening up meaningful topics of convo.

Challenge: 

Share a Most Embarrassing Moment
Whether you tripped onstage during a recital or passed gas in a fancy restaurant, your little girl will get a good chuckle when you tell her of the slip-up that stained your cheeks candy-apple red. She’ll get that you, too, were once a “real girl” and—who knows?—she might even feel inclined to share her most cringe-worthy moment ever.

Tell Her About Your First Crush
If it’s in your comfort zone, you might even talk about your first kiss. Don’t force the conversation, just let it flow, perhaps bringing it up during a particularly sweet movie scene you’re watching together. If she won’t tell you about her school crush, that’s OK—respect her privacy. But just about any girl is willing to talk about her celebrity crush!

Break Out the Old Yearbook
Pull the high-school or middle-school yearbook from the closet shelf, and dust it off. Show your daughter what your class picture looked like (too much hairspray and a retainer-lined grin?). Flip through to show her the clubs and sports you were active in, and have fun reminiscing while you read what your school friends signed in your book.

While you’re clearing the cobwebs, show her some of your other teenage memorabilia—athletic trophies, ticket stubs, and more.

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