Jordyn Sun Jul 15, 2012 8:13 pm
Hello everyone! How are you all? I am ok. We had a nice vacation!
Here is devo. #11
A True Testimony for Christ
Beep! Beep! Sleepily Trisha rolled over to turn her alram off. Surely it's not time to get up already? But then she remembered: Today they were going to Philadelphia to pick up twin girls who would be staying with their family for the summer. She was so exited as she was the only girl in a family of four brothers. Trisha jumped out of bed and put on her favorite pink dress. She ran downstairs and helped mom finish making breakfast. After hurriedly eating, they put the dirty dishes into the dishwater, and jumped in the van. About an hour later, they arrived at the mission where they were meeting the girls. As Trisha's family followed the misson director, they were surroned by silence. the girls sat shyly in chairs. One of the missonary women was sitting with them and introduced the girls, " This is Shania, and here's Keisha." After the paperwork was done, the family headed to Friendly's for some ice cream. Everyone was feeling a little shy, but they all soon warmed up to each other and started laughing and having fun. once they arrived home, yTrisha and her brothers-Jackson, judah, Aden, and Mason- vied with each other, trying to shwo the twins al around their home. the next morning, the girls came down for breakfast and found the table all nicley decorated. " Mom, what is the speacial occasion?" asked Trisha. " I thought it would be nice to celebrate the arrival of Shania and Kesha," Mother replied cheerfully. " that is so nice of you, Mrs. Beiler, but you really didn't need to do this for us," replied Shania. " Well, i just wanted to. We are so glad you are here to give Trisha some girl company for the summer, and we want you to feel apart of our family." answered Mother. " Girls, another surprise for today! Aunt Lori wants to take you to the shopping center today. She wants to help buy items for Keisha and Shania. You can take as long as you need." The girls arrived to the mall around 10:30 am. Aunt Lori told them to look around while she went to pick out a wedding gitfs for someone at their church. In the midst of all thier shopping, the girls came to a store with loud music playiong and suggestive clothing displayed. " Let's go into that store," suggested Shania. " Well, we believe that type of store is not for Christian. The clothing is immodest, plus the music they play is not what Christians want to listen to." Trisha said. " but why can't you wear that type of clothing? i do. Am i wrong?" Keisha wondered. " In the Bible, it tells us that women are supposed to cover thier bodies, not to show them off. When we get home i will show you the verses in the Bible and have Mother explain it better." said Trisha. " I really want to learn more about your religon and everything," replied Keisha. " It sounds very intresting." It just so happened that some older teenage girls from Trisha's church walked out of that store. Recognizing Trisha, they said "hi" and came over to talk. " So these are the girls that are going to be staying with you this summer?" Lisa asked. " Yes, that's correct." replied " this is Shania; and this is Keisha and they are both thirteen." " That is so exiting that they can stay with you . I am sure you are having fun. Are you bringing them to church tommorow?" " Yes, they are coming with us." replied trisha. " Well, then i guess we'll see you tommorow at church. Have fun shoping. by the way, that store we just came out of is having a major sale on all their clothing. you should reallly check it out. Look what we got." the girls said, as their pulled out clothes that Trisha would never consider wearing. Trisha was surprised that the first thing she said was, " Why did you buy those clothes?" " It is just for fun and dress up. We do nto wear them out in public. Anyway, I'm sure Shania and Keisha would love to get some." said Lisa, as the girls walked off to continue their shopping. Trisha's heart sank. Here she had just explained why Christians don't go into those kind of stores and now these girls from church were telling them to do it. how was she ever going to explain things now? They had just ruined her testimony. Thankfully the girls did not ask any questions about it right there. Trisha could not enjoy the rest of the day because she kept thinking about Lisa and the other girls. " Why do they do stuff like that and ruin other Christians' testimony? Why do i dress the way i do if other girls from church think it's all right to dress differently? Trisha was so confused she did not know what to think. She was going to have to ask Mother when they got home. Aunt Lori showed up and asked the girls how shopping was going. She went with them to another store and helped them buy a few items. Okay girls, its time to go home now, she said. On arriving home, the girls showed Mother their many purchases. Great, girls, I'm glad you were able to find things you could use. Today while you were gone I finished something that I am sure you will like. Come follow me and I will show you. Mother took them to the sewing room. She held up three look-alike dresses. Oh they are so beautiful the girls chorused. I am glad you like them said Mother. I thought it would be nice if you could all have matching dresses to wear to church tomorrow. I also thought you could take some pictures with them on. That sounds like fun commented Keisha. I love the color said Shania. Trisha was wondering whether Keisha or Shania would say something about the girls they saw while shopping. When neither of them did, she asked, Mother, when we were shopping today we came to some stores that had loud music and immodest clothing. I explained to Keisha and Shania why we don't go in those stores but then we saw Lisa and two of ther friends coming out of one. They came and talked to us and showed us some of the thing they had bought. They encouraged us to go in because the store was having a special sale. So, why shouldn't we go in those stores if Lisa and her friends can?
Well, Trisha, not everyone thinks those kind of stores are wrong. People like to get as close to the world as possible and still claim to be Christian. They do not want to stick out and be a shining light for Christ. But why am I not allowed to wear that type of clothing?" asked Trisha. " Because God says in the Bible that Christians are to dress modestly and not to follow the fads of the world. Lisa and her friends need to decide for themselves what kind of testimony they are going to give. But it makes it harder for other Christians since they look just like us but shop in those places and buy that style of clothing. Turning to Shania and Keisha, MOther asked, Does this make sense to you, girls? Yes, we understand. We want to dress modestly and wear these dresses, replied the girls. Turning to Trisha, Shania said Thanks, Trisha, for standing up for what's right and telling us what you believe and why. Thank you, too, for not being ashamed to talk about it. We now better understand some of your beliefs. Thank you for not being a confusing Christian, added Keisha. The rest of the summer flew by with lots of fun and happy times. At the end of the summer, when it was time for the girls to go home, it was a very sad good-bye. They hop[ed to come back next summer and thanked the whole family for being such wonderful hosts. Thanks so much for showing us what it means to live for Christ, said Keisha. We will never forget added Shania. Trisha treasured that summer in her heart and purposed to continue to stand up for Christ no matter what. She wanted to show the way of Christ to everyone she met. By George Allen Bennett