Handling Immodesty

Handling Immodesty

by Brooklyn Goodman, age 14 eighth grade

She was so excited; they were going to the movies tonight. She was at Megan’s house, one of her friends from school. Megan had invited her and Lacey over to get ready for the movies. When she put on her blue jeans and a cute top, Megan looked at her and snickered, "Are you seriously going to wear that?" Feeling embarrassed, she replied, "Well do you have anything else I can wear?" After several try-ons she finally decided on a low cut top with a short skirt. When she looked in the mirror she felt very uncomfortable but wanted to fit in.

As they waited in line for popcorn he spotted her. She was just one line over from him. With her long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes he couldn’t stop staring. He was thinking to himself how pretty she was, but why did she need to dress like that? Being a Christian guy, it’s sometimes hard for him to understand why girls think they have to dress a certain way to look good or to draw a guy’s attention. When she looked back at him he just dropped his head and looked at the floor. He was not interested.

She was going through a lot of peer pressure. Being a Christian girl, she knew what she wore was inappropriate, but because of the fact that her friends had made fun of what she was going to wear, it affected her decision. How does what you wear influence other teens? Do you pick out clothes that glorify God or yourself? Modest dressing allows others to see God in you. Immodest dress only allows others to see you.

In 1 Peter 3:3-5, Peter says that we (Christians) should be known for the beauty that comes within us. Also, the unfading quiet spirit is so precious to God and He wants us to be modest in our appearance and to not draw attention to ourselves by the way we dress (1 Timothy 2:9).

So when you pick out your clothes, make sure that your appearance is glorifying God and not yourself. Learn to overcome pressure from others and stand up for what you believe is right. Appearances are very important. Like the boy, whose first impression was, “Wow she’s pretty,” but immediately turned his attention away. Just remember, whatever you do, do it to the glory of God!

Friday Nite Live

The youth group met last night at our monthly event "Friday Nite Live". We talked about the new contest that we started last night. I hope everyone is excited as I am about it. The first part will last for 3 months to see if everyone wants to keep it up. I hope to put interesting ideas for the group to work on.

Last night we played bible trivia. I had a great time. It was great to see how much of the bible the group knows.

We have a busy June coming up! I hope we a good turnout for all of the events coming up. Part of the group is going to Cpress CoC for their Impact! event today. I hope everyone has a great time.

Some of our Youth Group

Leandra made a collage from some of the pictures she took at the 2006 California State Youth Conference

Friends Matter Devotion

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friend's tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye.

As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks."

They really should get lives. "He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge s tack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are going to really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday! "He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was going to Duke.

I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.Boy, sometimes I was jealous!

Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech.

So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

"Thanks," he said. As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.

Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach but mostly your friends.

I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story." I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.

He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize its depth. Never underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.

God puts us all in each others lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.