Leap Day

Hi, Marilyn here! Today is Leap Day--February 29, a date that happens only once every four years. Did you know these facts about leap years?

- A leap year is divisible by 400. So, 2000 was a leap year, but 1900 was not. The next time leap year is skipped will be 2100. The next leap year will be 2016.

- If you were born on a Leap Day, you're called a "leapling" or a "leaper."

In 1700, Sweden had a February 30.

- Some famous people born on Leap Day:
Pope Paul III (he died in 1549)
Dinah Shore (an actress)
Al Rosen (a baseball player)
Antonio Sabato Jr. (an actor)
Morarji Desai (an Indian Prime Minister)
Joyce Kolinski (a sweet friend of mine)

- If you were born on leap year in:
1992, you'd be 5 years old
1996, you'd be 4 years old
2000, you'd be 3 years old
2004, you'd be 2 years old
2008, you'd be 1 year old

- Traditionally, women can ask men to marry them on Leap Day.

- If you were born on February 29, your official birthday would depend on the country you're in. In the United Kingdom and most US states, your birthday would be March 1. In China and New Zealand, your birthday would be February 28.
- There are also Leap Seconds. A Leap Second is 1 second that's added to the clock to align the earth's rotation with astronomical time (for example,the sun's rising and setting). The next time 1 second will be added to the clock will be on June 30, 2012, at 11:59:60 PM.

What are you doing with your extra day?

Leap (of Faith) Day

Why not use Leap Day to take a leap of faith? Do something you've never done before, or never thought you could do. Pray first, then listen for God's guidance. Maybe you'll try a new food or talk to someone who needs a friend. Maybe you'll try a new skill, like watercolor painting or ice skating. Or explore a new place. Go for it! Take a leap of faith that God will hold you up, and then catch you on the other side.

God bless you!

10 Simple Ways to Let Others Know You Care

Hi! Sherry Kyle, here. Can you believe it’s February? Before you know it, it will be Valentine’s Day, the day to show your loved ones how much you care about them. But why wait till then? Consider these ten ideas to put a smile on their face, and warmth in their heart ANY day of the year:

1. Forgive something they did that hurt you without needing to hear the words, “I’m sorry.”

2. Send them a text that reads, “Thought of you today, and it made me smile.”

3. Look them in the eye and say, “I really appreciate you—just for being you.”

4. Compliment them on a job well done.

5. Give them something from nature that reminds you of them—like a beautiful shell, or a sturdy rock.

6. Ask, “How are you—really?” Then do nothing but listen for as long as they’d like to talk.

7. Encourage them to pursue their dreams.

8. Tell them which qualities of theirs you admire.

9. Notice when they do something that might have been difficult.

10. Go on the swings, get some ice cream, and let go of your stresses together.

By Sherry Kyle

Quiz Book just for You

Later this year I have a new book coming out called The Christian Girl's Guide to Me: The Quizbook. It has 25 quizzes with titles like:
Are You a Good Loser?
Follow, Lead or Stay at Home?
Are You Clothes Crazy?
Are You Content?
What Does Your Room Say about You?

Besides 25 quizzes written just for girls like you, there are puzzles, crafts, stories and activities. This book will be fun to do alone, but will be much more fun shared with a friend.

Here's one of the quizzes (but when you see it in the book it'll have drawings and lots of fun activities with it)

Are You a Good Loser?

   Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might... (Ecclesiastes 9:10)

   It's fun to win, but it's not much fun to lose!  However, it's important for you to be both a good winner and a good loser. It's all about attitude. The key is to have a good attitude at all times no matter what happens. How well do you do at that? Take the quiz below to find out. Read each question and then circle the letter in front of the answer that sounds most like what you would do.

 1. Middle school cheerleading tryouts are taking place. It's your turn and you're doing great. Just as you do your final jump, your foot slips and you fall. What do you do?

A. Get up, smile, and finish.

B. Blame whoever was supposed to clean the floor.

C. Leave the floor and hope the judges liked the rest of your routine.

2. You arrive early at the science fair and discover that you won the grand prize. Then you notice that the girl who always teases you for being slowest in PE didn't place at all. What do you do when she walks in?

A. Find one good thing about her project to compliment her for.

B. Say, "Ha! You might be better in PE but I aced you in the science fair."

C. Ignore her and spend time with your friends, enjoying your moment of fame.

3. Your girls’ basketball team is playing a team known for fouling. You've been elbowed several times. But then you come down from a rebound and hit one of their players in the head with your elbow. What do you say?

A. “Oops, sorry.”

B. “Move next time.”

C. Nothing.

4. You and another band member are playing a duet at the city competition. You don't place well. What do you say?

A. Maybe if I practice more I'll do better next time.

B. Maybe if you would have practiced we'd have done better.

C. I guess the judge thought we didn’t  play well.

5. You pride yourself on being a good writer. You place second in an essay contest. When you read the essay that beat yours what do you think?

A. That's a really well-written essay.

B. Mine should have won.

C. I wish I had won.

How did you do?

If you had mostly A's, you are a good sport! You like to win, but you accept it when you lose. You try to congratulate the winner. And if you are the winner, you make sure to say something nice to the loser. Way to go!

If you had mostly B's, you need to practice your sportsmanship skills! We'd all like to win but that rarely happens. Don't blame others when you lose. Just determine to do better the next time. And when you win, do it graciously not rudely. Real winners have good attitudes!

If you had mostly C's, you aren't a poor sport, but you're not really a good sport, either. Go a step further and compliment the winner, or if you are the winner, say something nice to the loser. It's good to be able to both win and lose well.

New Beginnings

Hi, it's Marilyn! Hey, it's almost the new year--2012! Are you excited about celebrating on New Year's Eve, or is it just another night for you? Do you stay up to greet the new year, or go to bed at your usual time?

Here are some things I'm going to do:

1. Clean my house. When I lived in Japan several years ago, I helped my school and host family prepare for the new year by cleaning the house so it was sparkling clean when the new year arrived. Ever since then, I've tried to keep that tradition by cleaning up near the end of December.

2. Pray for one word to focus on for 2012. I'm quite sure I know what this word is, but I'm keeping it in my heart until the new year begins.

3. Have a party! I'm inviting friends to my house for a celebration. We'll eat "small bites," drink a yummy punch made of fruit, fruit juice, sherbet, and soda, and enjoy one another's company.

4. Set goals for 2012. I can never keep resolutions, but I often meet goals that I've set. These goals include finishing tasks (such as completing the draft of a new book) and improving on things I already do (such as deepening my relationship with God).

The end of the old year and the beginning of a new year means a chance for new beginnings, a chance to start fresh. It's like our relationship with God--even if we drift away from him or do things we know he doesn't like, he loves us so much that he always welcomes us back and invites us to come closer to him.

Happy New Year, and God bless you!

Family Fun

With the holidays coming up, you're sure to have more time with family and maybe even family members you don't see often.

Here's an idea for family time fun from The Christian Girl's Guide to the Bible:

Family Fun

     Talk to your parents about having a special family night. Then make one or more of the snacks below to share while you spend time together. Pour the ingredients listed into a bag or bowl for sharing and just mix or shake.

Sweet Family Mix

1 cup plain M&Ms

1 cup peanut M&Ms

1 cup white morsels (chips)

1 cup gummy bears

1 cup malted milk balls (Whoppers)

Pretzel Mix

1 cup plain M&Ms

1 cup miniature marshmallows

1 cup pretzel sticks

1/2 cup peanuts or sunflower seeds

Healthy Mix

1 cup cubed hard cheese

1 cup peanuts

1 cup cubed turkey

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

     Kabobs are fun and easy to make! Just thread the ingredients listed and on a wood or metal kabob stick .

Fruit Kabobs

Kiwi squares

Strawberry halves

Pineapple chunks

Sandwich Kabobs

Lunch meat cubes

Cheese cubes

Bread squares

     After trying some of these ideas, create your own mixes and kabobs. See who can come up with the most creative ones.

Thank a Veteran

Be sure to thank a veteran for his or her service. Here's a video that someone put together on youtube. Unfortuately I can't get it to embed, so I'm putting the link.   http://youtu.be/5pfBUUZNbFM

It's Save Our Girls Day

This is the first national day of prayer for girls-especially for teen girls. You are close to being a teen so we also want to pray that your teen years will be great and you will stay close to Jesus through them all. Look at your friends and consider just a few facts:

1 in 3 teen girls becomes pregnant

1 in 3 teen pregnancies is ended by abortion (so one in 9 teen girls will have an abortion)

Girls get depressed more than boys and experiment with drugs more than boys

The world can be tough, but as young women prayer can make you strong, so spend P-O-W-E-R time with God

• Pray -pour out your thoughts and feelings and listen for God to respond-HE will
• Open up to other Christians in praying together-who share your faith will strengthen you-ask your mom, friends,and church to pray 4U and with U
• Word of God will strengthen you-so read the Bible and gain wisdom and encouragement from it-read about Hannah pouring out her heart to God(1 Samuel1:7-20), a forgiven woman (Luke 7:37-48) , and how God made plans for you as he created you inside your mother's womb--let God's Word be prayers-Psalm 51:10 is a great morning prayer (create in me a clean heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me)
• Evaluate of life and what's happening--think through to the outcomes and ask God to show you his plan and how he could use you--things may seem terrible but know the season will pass and joy will return
• Request better results--look back at how God has answered prayers and how you have grown. Consider the results you want it you life and set those as goals and then work toward the goals--you cannot control people but you can make wise choices in how to live--ask God to give you a vision of the results He can help you achieve and trust he will do it

And pray for a teen girl you know--pray God will give her strength and peace and much more!

Check out Save our Girls Day on facebook---http://www.facebook.com/SaveOurGirls