This week RTF  editors B.J. Hamrick and Halee Matthews played a short game of Truth or Dare. They both opted for truth… from paying for meals with quarters to being mistaken as drunk at a Bible study… you can find the whole truth here.

(To read Part I click here.)

• BJH: What’s your Favorite color?

HM: Green, of various shades. My kitchen is lime-y green, but I love dark green too, along with various shades of blue-green (teal, turquoise, etc). Yours?

We have this weird connection — obviously — because we both love green. Or maybe we’re just artists. Yeah. We’re just artists. (Because to be honest, I embarrass Halee too much for us to have a soul-connection. Just ask her about the time I invited her to lunch and paid entirely with quarters.) (more…)

By RTF Editors BJ Hamrick and Halee Mathews

Our new partner at Real Teen Faith, Halee Matthews, agreed to humor me by answering some questions…. under one stipulation:

I had to answer hers, too. I guess you could call it sort of like a really rough round of Truth or Dare.

Which wouldn’t be so bad if I hadn’t shared some of my most embarrassing moments ever with her…

• BJH:What drew you into RTF?

HM: See, I have this really crazy friend (*cough* BJ *cough*) who said, “Hey, you like to write. Wanna help me with this?” And being the wonderful friend that I am, I of course said yes because it was clear she needed my help. At least, that’s my interpretation. How about you? (more…)

Jamin Goecker, RTF Staff 

Joshua Guthrie, 16, and his family has given things such as goats to people in poorer countries through an organization known as World Vision. At the age of 15, he set a goal to raise $8000 to put the project into affect. World Vision served as the inspiration for the project, but Joshua worked through an organization known as Baptist Global Response.

Jamin Goecker: Did you ever envision yourself doing something like this [raising funds for wells in Africa]?

Joshua Guthrie: In order to answer this, I need to give a bit of a background. My parents have always taught my sister and I to have a desire to give to the needy, and we have been supporters of World Vision for as long as I can remember. In case you are not familiar with them, they are an organization which focuses on taking funds from their supporters and getting it put to good use around the world for various needs. We have supported several children thought their organization, and my sister and I have made purchases at Christmases for needy children. I remember when we bought a goat once.

Anyway, if you are a supporter of the organization then you receive a catalogue from them once a month (I think). This catalogue contains items which you purchase not for yourself but for others around the world. It contains things such as farm animals, clothing, medicine, and irrigation supplies/tools, among many other things. Well, there happened to be a section dedicated to wells in the catalogue, and I had always thought it would be really cool to purchase one of the biggest items in the catalogue: the $10,000 well.

Just to clarify at this point: DfaD is not working through World Vision; we are working through Baptist Global Response (BGR). World Vision was simply my inspiration to want to get started on something
I really started to think a little more seriously about wanting to get one of those wells at the beginning of 2008; I was 15 at the time. Well, being 15 I knew that I wouldn’t be able to save up for it all myself; I would have to raise it.
All of this to come to the answer to your question: yes and no.

I believe that I had always known that the possibility existed (all things are possible with God, after all!), but if you had asked me at the beginning of 2008 if I thought I would be doing a fundraiser for wells in Africa over the fall of that year then I would have probably answered no. I knew that I had the desire to do something, I just didn’t know how to get started.

Jamin Goecker: Did you see yourself as a leader when you started? (more…)

by Debra Weiss, RTF Staff Writer

DW: On your site, you state that femininity isn’t dead, it just needs to be reclaimed. What is the Biblical definition of femininity and how can we as young women reclaim it?

Hannah: Whew! What a question! Biblical womanhood is a controversial issue these days, and it’s difficult to define it in a single paragraph. A bare bones definition of “femininity” is simply “womanly-ness.” For us, that means being the women God calls us to be through His Word.

It means knowing that we’re equal in worth to the guys, but differ in our design and role. (Think of it like harmony and melody; they’re both different, but work together to make a more beautiful sound than either could alone.) But by “role,” I don’t mean that women are held captive to one specific cookie-cutter pattern. Our God-given talents cannot contradict our God-given femininity.

We’re meant to use all of our gifts–though our talents might not be displayed in the way the world generally expects women to use them. At the same time, obedience to God brings true freedom; the girl who submits to God’s role for women finds more joy than she could’ve ever concocted for herself.

DW: I have three younger sisters. One of them is nine and I’ve always wondered how do you leave behind a legacy not of physical beauty but of spiritual beauty, a beauty that does indeed come from the heart. Any thoughts on how we as girls can influence our younger sisters?

Lindsey: Oh, that’s a convicting one. I have two younger sisters also (ages 12 and 8), so this question really resonates with me; I’m always asking it too.

As the oldest, it’s been so important for me to recognize just how much our younger sisters do imitate us. We even have the potential to set the mood of a day by our example! (more…)

by Debra Weiss, RTF staff writer

When Hannah Farver and Lindsey Wagstaffe started Beauty from the Heart, it was a small blog devoted to encouraging girls to seek real beauty. But God had big plans for these two teenage girls!

The blog grew into a thriving website that quickly became one of the most popular sites for Christian girls on the net. Even more doors opened, and Hannah and Lindsey began speaking at conferences, sharing the message God had put on their hearts.

Today, Hannah Farver and Lindsey Wagstaffe sat down to talk to Real Teen Faith about beauty, plastic surgery, and femininity.

Debra Weiss: Hi Lindsey and Hannah! We’re so excited to have you here at Real Teen Faith today. What led to you two to start Beauty from the Heart? Did you both wonder if God could use ordinary girls like yourselves?

Hannah: Well, when Beauty from the Heart began, it was just a blog. We had different contributors and definitely enjoyed that stage of posting; but as time passed, we knew that Beauty from the Heart would eventually step extend outside the web. When I was sixteen (in 2006) I began writing a book based on the ideas we’d worked through on the blog. Five drafts later and three years afterwards, we’re working with a literary agent on publishing that book. (Yay!) (more…)

Debra Weiss interviews Laura Farrar

Laura Farrar is part of a courageous generation determined to reach out and do something about the problems they see in the world around them.

Because Laura Farrar has struggled with eating disorders, depression, and self-injury, she understands the pain and secrecy they bring. Discontent to just talk about these issues, Laura is determined to do something.

In 2008, Laura started the Dancing in the Rain Foundation. Through her organization, Laura hopes to start a shelter for hurting teens where her organization can offer crisis and intervention services to hurting adolescents so that they may experience God’s mercy and love while receiving the help they need.

Debra Weiss: First of all, Laura, it’s great to have you here at Real Teen Faith. I loved the name of your organization, Dancing in the Rain Foundation, as soon as I heard it. What’s the story behind the name?

Laura Farrar: Thanks, Debbie for having me! Our name was inspired by a few quotes I’ve heard over the years. One of those is “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” That’s the heart of what we believe in. The storms of life bring rain and hardship to our lives, but there is hope–we can learn to dance, cope, thrive and heal even in the midst of the pain. (more…)

by Jamin Goecker, RTF Staff Writer

Summer ushers in a ton of free time. It can be hard to decide what to do with all of it. Some people spend their summers partying. Others work till they resemble squirrels that have been placed inside a box and shaken around.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”

Sure, summer provides a great time to relax a bit or have fun with great friends. However, some people decide to use their spare time to change the world.

Arielle, age 20, plans on spending her summer in an internship program at a ministry called House of Faith. She will be on a team, working at camps and ministering to their community in outreach.

Arielle says what draws her to this ministry is working with kids. Most of the kids she works with don’t come from good homes. Many of them are surrounded by drugs, alcohol, and other adult situations. “We work with a lot of children,” she says, “whether it be elementary age or high school age, and I just love working with kids and always have. And that’s what really draws me to this because we really get to show love to them when they really don’t get any anywhere else.”

Because the events the interns work on are so close together, they have to keep busy. Arielle expects to work up to sixty hours a week. It’s also a struggle to transport all the equipment and supplies needed for camps and such to locations.

Does she believe she will make a difference for Jesus this summer?

“I definitely do. I could just be spending my summer doing nothing or hanging around with friends. But doing this I get to impact a child, even if it’s just one child, that gets impacted it will be worth it because that child will go and impact someone else.”

WHAT CAN ONE TEEN DO?

• Get involved in your own neighborhood with VBS, Salvation Army Boys and Girls clubs, or Big Brother/Big Sister.
• Check out House of Faith ministries.
• Pray for Arielle and the kids she will reach. 

RTF writer, BJ Hamrick, sits down with Erynn Mangum, author of three books (and one more on the way!). Erynn is 24 and received her first contract when she was a student with Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writers Guild. Join BJ and Erynn as they talk books, writing, and embarrassing moments. 

BJ Hamrick: You’ve published three books since 2007. Which one was your favorite to write? (We know. This is like asking you to pick a favorite child. You can do it… we won’t tell.)

Erynn Mangum: Actually, that’s an easy question. My favorite is the 2nd book. I didn’t have to worry about introducing the characters, I got to just write the story.

BJH: Which character do you relate to most, and why?

EM: Probably Lauren. It’s told through her perspective and a lot of me slipped in there as I was writing it. She’s got my awful caffeine addiction, love of movies and sweets. But she’s waaaay more direct and outspoken. I guess those are qualities I wish I had.

BJH: What sparked the idea for your new Maya Davis series? (more…)