This theme verse reflects our desire to help encourage girls to become God-crazy:
“If I acted crazy, I did it for God…Christ’s love has moved me to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do.”
2 Corinthians 5:13-14 (MSG)
As soon as we got there, we stopped at the Spirit FM photo booth, and they snapped these two pictures of us! We had some waiting to do from 5:30 when we got there until 6:15 when the pre-show concert began. We ended up with front row seats which was super convenient and allowed Jayna to be fully involved and engaged the entire night once she got over her nervousness-- no clue why my child seemed nervous!
Jayna's styling hair due: 8 pony tails, purple and red spray plus glow in the dark and sparkle spray
Then the pre-show concert began with One Girl Nation. Jayna was pleased with their fashionable outfits!
The kids were allowed to stand and come up closely on many occasions! No one expected the kids to stay seated and be quiet the whole time, it really was perfectly geared towards their age range 8-12.
There was the mom verse daughter challenge using the beach balls. As expected the girls won!
They had many contests in which required a scream-o-meter between the pink and blue teams. We were on the pink team with Charmaine, while Suzzy led the blue team.
The story of the night was Napolean the "Chicken", who was not NORMAL, and didn't act like the other chickens--- only to find out he was a peacock- and that it is ok to be different and not just normal. The bible verses were toned down to wording the kids could understand. This is the one that went with that story.
“And so I insist—and God backs me up on this—that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty-headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself.”
Ephesians 4:17-18 (MSG)
Another main emphasis was simple NOT to be normal, instead be God-Crazy! The core teaching emphasizes what’s “normal” — boy-craziness, obsession with beauty, being a mean girl—and what a God-crazy girl strives to become. Here are the verses that describe a “crazy” girl:“Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 (NLT)
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 (ESV)
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)
Then there was about a 20 minute intermission.... so of course that meant more pictures!
When it resumed, it was time for the fashion show, where they were taught Fashion is fun and clothes are cool. Sometimes it can be hard to resist conforming to the world and desire to remain set apart. This is why we believe modesty and inner beauty matter so much. It included clothing rules and these verses.
“You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you.”
Song of Solomon 4:7 (NIV)
“And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.”
1 Timothy 2:9-10 (NLT)
Here is the "TRUTH OR BARE" Fashion Test to see if clothing is appropriately modest. That night Jayna past it easily. On most days she would pass easily.
TEST #1: Raise and Praise
Target Question: “Am I showing too much belly?”Action: Stand up straight and raise both arms high in the air, like you are pointing up to Heaven. Is this exposing any belly? If so, your mom has permission to poke it!
Remedy: Visit the men’s or boy’s department and buy a simple ribbed tank top (they often come in packages of three) to wear under your funky short T’s and crop tops or with your trendy low-riding jeans. Layering is an easy way to solve the belly problem!
TEST #2: Mirror Image
Target Question: “How short is too short?”Action: Get in front of a full-length mirror. If you are wearing shorts, sit down criss-cross applesauce. If you’re in a skirt, sit in a chair with your legs crossed, applesauce. If you’re in a skirt, sit in a chair with your legs crossed, ladylike. Now, what do you see in the mirror? If you see undies, or lots of thigh, your shorts or skirt is too short!
Remedy: Buy longer shorts and skirts! We know that due to today’s fashions, these can sometimes be hard to find. Fix the length problem by adding a pair of funky, bright-colored tights under your shorts and too-short skirts!
TEST #3: I see London, I see France
Target Question: “Can you see my underpants?”Action: Bend over and touch your knees. Have your mom or a girl friend look at your bottom. Can she see the outline of your underpants? Can she see what color they are? How about your actual underwear because your pants are so low that you’re risking pulling a “plumber” exposure?
Remedy: If your pants are so tight that you can see the outline of your panties, try buying pants one size larger! Wear flesh-tone panties with white or very light pants.
TEST #4: Over & Out
Target Question: “Is my shirt too low?”Action: Standing in front of a mirror, raise one hand up to God and place the other hand on the small of your back. Bend over. If anything comes out… Can you see a lot of skin? Your shirt is too low!
Remedy: Today’s fashions thrive on short, low-cut shirts. Layering them is often the only remedy. Consider a guys ribbed tank! The neckline comes up higher than most girls’ camis and they are much longer.
Jayna and I signed the Modesty Pact which states:
We believe that the fashion industry is pressuring little girls to grow up too fast! The findings of two years of study by an APA (American Psychological Association) task force state that clothing, which makes girls appear older, and the associated marketing efforts are linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. Ironically, this early sexualization presented to young girls also has “negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop healthy sexuality.” We would like to request that industry leaders send a message to the fashion industry that we want to purchase age-appropriate clothing for our little girls and would like the fashion industry to evaluate the clothing they design and the messages they send to our girls through advertising.
Jayna high fiving Charmaine- which she was extremely excited about |
Up close to the performers at the end |
The evening concludes with praise and worship and an invitation to become God Crazy and one of God's children.
“He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.”
Psalm 103:9-10 (NLT)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 (ESV)
After it was over you could get whatever autographed and pictures with 1 Girl Nation and the other performers. This mom chickened out of that insane line and replaced it with buying a tshirt and this picture!Then we left in the midst of a (somewhat minor) snowstorm, with cruddy road conditions. The spoiled girly got a slushy-- yes in the snow!
Should you have the opportunity, I am willing to bet your 8-12 y/o (and maybe even a 7 y/o0 would enjoy this). It is was an affordable $15 ticket, so $30 for both of us. You would pay more than that to take your child to a concert, granted a concert is longer than the concert we had, but it catered to my child's attention span where a concert thus far hasn't.
Busy Beth, keep doing a great job teaching life's lessons with your fine family!
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