Love Is Kind

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "LOVE IS patient and KIND. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

Kindness is a pretty easy fruit of the Spirit for most people. We think if we hold the door for someone, or hold our tongue when we are tempted to speak badly of someone else then we are being kind. The Bible tells us that love is kind. Kindness is much more than subtle gestures. It is doing things on your own time and out of your heart for someone else, even when you might not gain anything in return. It is also doing putting someone else before yourself even when they don't deserve it.

Ephesians 1:7-8 "He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindess on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

If you are truly a new creation in Christ, you should want to serve others! We have been commanded to love God first, others second, and ourselves third. To really love someone like the Bible says, we must put their needs before our own. Work hard each day to serve others before yourself to show the result of your salvation in Christ. Why should you hide it?

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world-like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father."

God is SO kind to us. He has been very loving by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins, even though we didn't deserve it. He also blesses us daily with breath and life. The Lord is so kind! Make an effort to be kind by doing something out of the joy of your heart for someone who really needs a kind word. Remember to treat all those that you love with kindness too, and love them before your own self.

1 John 4:7 "Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God."

-Jenna Hampton

Love Is Patient

1 Corinthians 13:4-7- "LOVE IS PATIENT and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

What do most people think about patience? Let's consult the dictionary! The definition of patience in the dictionary is:
1. The quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
2. An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay


Mostly that is saying that patience is the ability to be able to handle difficult situations without getting frustrated immediately. How long should we be patient? How long should we wait on God? It is very difficult to wait on God and to go along with His timeline, but the Bible tells us that if we love Him, we will be patient with Him. Just think about how patient He is with us!

"The most important thing I would say to anyone is a person HAS to have gone through the transformation of really becoming a 'new creation'...giving God your WHOLE life, trusting Him, that He knows what is best for you, because He is our Father, and He loves us.Just imagine how patient God is with us. He watches us with sadness in His heart when we screw up, or lie, or cheat...you know...sin. He hurts because He wants the best for us...just like a parent. Soooo, just think about how much pain He goes through every second of every day." -Pam Hughes

If you are in a situation right now that requires patience, one thing that helps is to really consider the amazing patience God has with all of His children. Also, know and BELIEVE that God will be faithful to you if you obey Him and serve Him to the best of your ability. He loves you so much, that He will answer your prayers if you remain faithful. But, remember that it will be on His own time, in His own way.

"Love is patient; it is not our place to rush someone or be rushed into anything or out of anything! patience is a virtue!" -Sarah Hoard

The Bible tells us that love is expressed through our actions. If there is anyone today that you need to have patience with, pray about it, know that God will be faithful, and love them by being patient with them always, even when there isn't much of a result right away.

Pslam 27:14- "Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord."

-Jenna Hampton
with Pam Hughes and Sarah Hoard

End Of Proverbs 31:30

Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."

Charm is deceptive: Remember to measure up to God's standard, not the world's. You are beautiful, even if you don't own a pair of Miss Me jeans or have the latest hairstyles. If your heart is pure and you are living for God, then the charm you have is worthy of praise.

Matthew 6:28-29 "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don't make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."

Beauty is fleeting: If you want to be known for true beauty that will last your whole life, then you will need a lot more than some money and a close-by mall. You need the Holy Spirit. A beautiful heart is worth more than all the clothes and make-up in the mall! Clothe yourself in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let the beauty that you have in Christ shine from your heart.

2 Timothy 2:9-10 "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God."

Woman who fears the Lord: To be a woman who fears the Lord, you have to know Him, see Him, be in awe of Him, respect Him, and obey Him. The God that has made lightning and thunder has also made you. Nothing is impossible with fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 9:10- "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement."

Greatly Praised: What do you want to be praised for? Do you want to be known as the girl who is really pretty with a lot of pretty friends and seems to have fun, but on the inside is unsatisfied and lonely? Or do you want to be the girl who has CHRIST and is friendly, loving, well-liked, beautiful on the inside and the out, and gives wonderful, wise advice? To me, it's a pretty clear choice! A woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

1 Corinthians 4:5- "So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time- before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due."

Proverbs 31:30 is a great verse that helps us all to remember who God wants us to be. Tomorrow I am going to start on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

If you have any ideas or suggestions for 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, please e-mail me at jennas_blog@live.com

-Jenna Hampton

Greatly Praised

Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be GREATLY PRAISED."

The last part of Proverbs 31:30 is a promise. It says that a woman who fears the Lord (respects and obeys Him) will be greatly praised. What does it mean to be praised, who should we give the credit to, and what should we want to be praised for?

Being "Greatly Praised" means that people admire you and often give you compliments. Girls get praised for a lot of things like their clothes, their hair, their attitude, their personality, how many boys like them, how cool they are, ETC. Proverbs 31:30 tells us that outward attractiveness is misleading. It also says that outer beauty will fade away and become worth nothing. So, the only way that you will ever be greatly praised for your entire lifetime is if you fear the Lord.

When you recieve compliments, it is easy to let them go to your head. "Oh, she thinks my sweater is cute!", "Oh, she thinks I'm smart! She thinks I'm wise! She thinks I do the right thing!" It is much harder to give the credit to God and to remember that everything we have belongs to Him. (1 Corinthians 3:22-23 "...Everything belongs to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.") If you have trouble remembering to give credit to God, here is a great verse:

Galatians 1:10- "Obviously, I'm not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ's servant."

Many girls seems to struggle with the things that they want to be praised for. Everyone wants to be 'popular', they want to be liked by guys who do NOT respect them, and they want to be pretty in the way of the world. Measuring up to the world's standards will get you no where without a wise path to follow. You and I have seen over and over again girls we look up to crumble under the weight and sinful pressure of this world.

1 Corinthians 4:5- "So don't make judgments about anyone ahead of time-before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due."

What do you want to be praised for? Do you want to be known as the girl who is really pretty with a lot of pretty friends and seems to have fun, but on the inside is unsatisfied and lonely? Or, do you want to be the girl who has CHRIST and is friendly, loving, well-liked, beautiful on the inside and the out, and gives wonderful, wise advice? To me, it's a pretty clear choice! A woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

"For the next few weeks I have a dare for you. I dare you to say something nice to the meanest girl in school. Tell them something that will boost their confidence. Then go to a person you don't really like and tell them the exact same thing." -Caitlin Gater

One of the things that I have learned is that if you don't think a person likes you, then most likely they think you don't like them. Show them that you do.

-Jenna Hampton

with Caitlin Gater

Woman Who Fears The Lord

Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD will be greatly praised."

The third part of this verse is about fearing the Lord. You may be thinking, What??!! The Lord is not scary. God is not one of my biggest fears... but the fear that this verse is speaking of is not the same as the fear you get from a roller coaster or from seeing a spider.

Fear=
1. A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition or being afraid.
2. Concern or anxiety.
3. Reverentail awe, esp. toward God.

Even the dictionary knows that the fear of God is different from the fear of evil or pain, but it can have some of the same results.

Since God is our heavenly Father, our fear of Him relates to the fear of our earthy father. Since we know that he is in authority over us, we obey him out of fear of what will happen if we don't, and out of respect.

After you watch a scary movie, you probably pay a lot more attention to the things around you, and make sure you sleep with the light on for awhile! It's the same thing with God. If you fear him (respect him), than you will pay a lot more attention to what he's saying to you and the things he wants you to know. On a rollercoaster, you notice every breath you take. Life as a Christian should be like that. We should notice every single blessing and every day that God gives us and thank him for it.

"Anytime you see the word 'fear' pertaining to the FATHER, it means being in awe of him and his majesty. (or) To Fear the Lord, ... Means to Worship the Most High, to Obey His Commands, to respect Him as a Father .. and Have no Gods Before Him." -Found by Karlie Klimes

Bottom line is, to be a woman who fears the Lord, you have to know him, see him, be in awe of him, respect him, and obey him. The God that has made lightning and thunder has also made you. Nothing is impossible with fear of the Lord.

Proverbs 9:10- "Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement."

-Jenna Hampton
with Karlie Klimes

Beauty Is Fleeting

Proverbs 31:30- "Charm is deceptive and BEAUTY IS FLEETING, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."

Beauty is fleeting is the next part of this verse. What does that mean? Usually when I think of that phrase, I think of a young girl slowly turning into an old person and losing her beauty. Why do people work so hard on their outward appearance? Who are they trying to impress? On Google Images, if you type in beauty, the pictures that come up are anything but beautiful.

"True beauty lies in a person's character- not in his or her appearance or wardrobe. It goes much deeper than outward appearances. It involves attitude, conviction, and commitment. A life lived for God and his design will be marked by an inner glow that cannot be duplicated. Such people will be remembered for what they did, not how they looked." -Dare 2 B Wise, 'Beauty That Never Fades', Written by Joe White.

Everywhere I go I find girls who are like Beauty and the Beast. On the outside, no one could disagree that they look beautiful, but on the inside, the have a beast living in them. They are rude to their parents, disloyal to their friends, immature, and lost. Only God has the power to turn something ugly into something truely beautiful. If you want to be known for true beauty that will last your whole life, than you will need a lot more than some money and a close-by mall. You need the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 2:9-10- "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worshop God."

A beautiful heart is worth more than all the clothes and make-up in the mall! Clothe yourself in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Let the beauty that you have from Christ shine from your heart.

-Jenna Hampton

Charm Is Deceptive

Proverbs 31:30- "CHARM IS DECEPTIVE and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised."

This is the verse of the week. Charm Is Deceptive is the first post about how girls/people put on masks of charm to be misleading and get what they want, instead of doing things the right way.

Charm=

1. The power of pleasing or attracting, as through personality or beauty.

2. A trait or feature imparting this power.

3. Attractivness

Deceptive=

1. Apt or tending to decieve

2. Perceptually misleading

The American dictionary tell us that charm is attractiveness, and deceptive means misleading. Since the bible tells us that charm is deceptive, it is saying that a person who gets their power and influence from the way they look on the outside is most often misleading, because they are ugly on the inside.

It is said all the time that the most beautiful girls are also the meanest, and very often that is true. Make sure today and throughout your life that you are concentrating more on what's in your heart than what's on your body. Let the Lord be your source of approval.

Remember to measure up to God's standard, not the world's. You are beautiful, even if you don't own a pair of Miss Me jeans or have the latest hairstyles. If your heart is pure and you are living for God, than the charm you have is worthy of praise.

Matthew 6:28-29 "And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lillies of the field and how they grow. They don't work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are."

- Jenna Hampton

with Chloe Webber :)

Intro to Measuring Up

Measuring Up is a blog to encourage Christian girls to strive to meet God's standard, even though we never will. *Romans 3:23-"For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glorious standard."
Our world says so many things about teenage girls, and expects them to act a certain way. I believe that God's way is much different and much better. For the next few months, I will be posting on this blog some things that God has shown me and ways that we can all take a stand to shine for Christ.
You CAN make a difference, and people WILL listen to you. If you have any ideas or questions about this blog, please e-mail me at jennas_blog@live.com.
My first post will be on 2/19/10. Please read it!
-Jenna Hampton