Knitting in the Lord's Army

Hello, Blogger Friends.

<-- Here is a picture of me with my second-to-lastest knitting project: a boys scarf. That went good, and now I am onto a matching beanie. I am thinking about putting the word out there to people asking if they have any wool they don't need and want to donate to the cause of getting knitted up into something warm to be given to a child with Operation: Cover-Up .
  Doing knitting for the Operation has been pretty rewarding, and I recommend that if you live in Australia to get in touch with Operation Cover Up people and get knitting, or there are lots of other projects that help people. I think sometimes we can become so caught up in our little worlds that we forget we have thousands of brothers and sisters in the Lord suffering for being a Christian, and that there are thousands of children whose parents have died or abandoned them, so many families struggling to get by, and that is just the tip of the iceberg.
 I think I have said it before, and I will say it again: ask God what He wants you to be doing to change the world. One thing I can tell you needs to be done first: spending alone time with God each day to get on track and make sure you are doing what He wants you to be doing. It is so easy to go off on our own tangents and get down the track to realize we have wasted weeks, months, or even years on things that don't matter. Making time for God each day is not easy, but it is a requirement for being a Christian. We are part of the Lord's Army, and we can't afford to be sleeping while the fight is raging on.

What is worthwhile to me?

  I was just having a discussion about an a movie that has just come out with someone from my church, and I made the comment that that kind of thing wasn't worthwhile to me. And now I am thinking... what is worthwhile to me?
  I didn't want to comment on their thing otherwise it would seem that I was being all high-and-mighty, which people can often think when I get annoyed with what others are doing when they should be doing the good things in life. But I can write it here.
  What is worthwhile to me?
  Knowing that I am doing my part to reduce poverty. Helping other people. Telling people about God and the Bible... the truth, in other words. Encouraging others to focus on God and let the other things fall away. Preparing for my life beyond being a teenager. Spending time alone with God and learning to hear His voice.
  To be honest, there are a lot of things that are worthwhile to me, and seeing secular movies at the theater have recently dropped off the list. But if the comment about the new movie had been made a couple of years ago, I would have joined in with the excitement. Now I just feel a little cut off from my generation as they go in their worthless direction of consumerism, and I try to go the other way. If you want to follow the way I am going... or even are already going that way... let me know. Encouragement every once in a while is nice. :)

Teen Websites

  I have two websites that I have made for teenagers. One is for Christian girls, and the other is for Christian teenagers (girls and boys). If you want to look at them and fill out some forms to help me make them better (or just look at them, it's up to you) then check them out.
  The reason I have made these sites is because they are both fun to create and I would like to think I am putting some food-for-thought out there to other teenagers around my age. The time to stand up and follow God is now, not in the future. Us Christians need to rise up and follow Jesus with our actions as well as our words. I have made these sites to encourage teenagers to do just that.

Accountability

  I think it is very important to have someone who is an accountability partner. I had one for a short time, but then she moved back to England so I don't have one anymore. But I want to find another lady who I can be accountable to in keeping my standards high and living my life for God and not going off in my own selfish ways.
  So why is it important to have an accountability partner? Why is important to be held accountable to someone you trust?
  It is important and needed in every Christians life because when you are accountable to someone you are less likely to do something you will later regret because you will have to explain to someone else why you are doing what you are doing. It is needed because they can keep an eye on you and you have given them the right to say when they are thinking you are doing something that goes against you're values and what is written in the Bible.
  There are many more reasons, but these are just a few I have thought of.

Hola From New Zealand

  It is an interesting experience to talk with someone that you like, and to use your influence to encourage them in the things of God instead of pursuing and romantic relationship with them.
  I won't go deeper into the subject, but I would suggest that any single women out there that are wondering how they can relate to the opposite gender while remaining respectful, and keeping their standards and morals high, and enjoying a friendship I would recommend reading P.B. Wilson's book "Your Knight in Shining Armor." My friend Sarah and I did this book as a study together and we got a lot out of it.
  I got it from the Christian Bookshop, and I don't regret buying it.
  Have not had any donations in a while, but I think that the fundraising is still coming along good. But the more money that Orphans Aid gets, the more they can give to the orphanages they have set up and the more they can do in the countries where they work. The more homes they can set up or extend. The more orphans that can be cared for. The more staff that can be hired to look after the children and love them. So do not stop donating. Continue on supporting my fundraising goal and Orphans Aid in prayer and through donations.
Thank you,
  Ruby.

PS: I did my data entry work today and that went well. Only took 4 and a half hours to do it this week. Last week it took seven hours.

Girls Group

  In B-town massive here we have a thing called Girls Group. Well, that was the original name (Girls Gospel Group), later changed to Sistas in God (SnG), but us die-hards still call it Girls Group. Anyway, Girls Group is where we meet at the leaders home (Samm) and we learn about God. There are usually about 4 teen girls on average plus Samm who meet at her house and learn about God, modesty, purity, praying, boys, upcoming camps and Christian events, and all the other things you can think of.
  I think it is a really good way to encourage girls in the ways of the Lord, so if you are thinking about starting something like it to encourage teen girls, I would think it is a good idea. There are many things I have on each night of the week, but if I had to choose between cutting one of the others out of cutting Girls Group out, I would choose to ditch the other thing... like youth group... because GG encourages me. So be inspired and get out there and begin one. Us girls need to encourage each other to live the Set Apart Life, because it's not walk in the park. It is hard to do.

Russian course

  Next year I will be learning the Russian language as part of my schoolwork, because God has called me to go to Russia as a missionary, working mainly in orphanages, I think. So as soon as He told me I began getting to work. As you know, I started to knit like a crazy person. And also I got Mum to order a Russian language course for me to do. I would start it properly this year, but she said I have to focus on my other schoolwork until next year otherwise she won't be able to get me to do much else apart from Russian stuff, which is about right.
  I am not sure when I am going to Russia, but I have figured out that there are lots of things for me to do to prepare. There is not a moment where I can say I am bored these days. When I find myself in a quiet moment in my busy schoolwork-or-other-work days, I am either knitting or doing something else to do with Russia. I used to say I was bored and had nothing to do, but things have changed. God gave me a vision of what to do... and now I am doing it.
  So if you are feeling bored, I encourage you to look outside yourself and ask God what you could be doing to help. There is a lot of bad stuff going on in the world as a result of mans sin, so you don't have to look very far to see something good you could be doing in your spare time. And if you can't think of anything else to do... there's always knitting!
  Yesterday (Sunday) my mother and I and a bunch of people we know plus some that had come down from the North Island, went down to Kai Koura and set up these flip-chart things which is a visual way to tell people about God. I gave it a go for the first time, and it was really interesting. As the church we need to be telling people about God. Some are called to be evangelists and tell people about God as their job, but everyone who calls themselves a Christian is called to go out and tell people about God (see Matthew chapter 28). If your not sure how to go about it, check out Ray Comforts site (livingwaters.com) and see how you can get into it. They good priced things on there called Gospel Tracts which help you share your faith without even having to talk to the person. You can leave them in public places, or give them to people, or use them as a tool to help you share your faith.
  Not long ago I felt down because I was leading a boring life that had not adventure in it. But when I focused on God and having a relationship with Him, I have been finding that life is one big adventure, an adventure with God. 
  Get active and get working, Christian soldiers!
Your friend,
Ruby.

The Set Apart Life we are called to

I am reading the second book of Leslie Ludy's that I have read before. The first was the Lost Art of True Beauty. The one I am reading now is called Set Apart Femininity.

This book is great. It calls for us to live set apart lives as Christian young women. I greatly recommend that you read it. This book has been teaching me so much stuff, I am excited to read another page and find out another way that I can live a set apart life, being a Godly, encouraging influence to the Christians and non-Christians around me. But it is no easy path, that much is for sure. I recommend you get a copy and read it for yourself. We were not called to live exactly like the world and be a couple of steps ahead of them. We were called to be different, to shine the light of Jesus, no matter what the consequences.
The time of living for yourself and still calling yourself a Christian is over. It is time for us young women to leave ourselves behind, take up our cross, and follow Jesus wherever He leads us. Are you ready to respond to His call?