THE SECRET POWER OF JOY

8/13/2019 THE SECRET POWER OF JOY

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ZONDERKIDZ

The Secret Power of Joy

Copyright 2012 by Susie Shellenberger

Illustrations 2012 by Zonderkidz

This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook.

Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz,5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

ISBN 9780310728429

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible,

New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.

Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communica-

tions, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.www.alivecommunications.com

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Editor: Kim Childress

Cover design: Kris Nelson

Interior design: Sarah Molegraaf

Printed in the United States of America

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time to watch her cat stretch by the foot of her bed. I

wonder whats wrong? I go to church, Im involved in our

Bible study, and I enjoy Sunday school. What gives?

Her cat purred his satisfaction when Carrie reached

down and brought him to her side. She stroked his neck

and scratched behind his ears.

I love God,she thought.And I really want to be a strong

Christian. I guess I just dont know how. Frustrated, she

turned over again and finally fell asleep with the cat

curled up at her feet.

Carrie was missing an important ingredient in the

recipe for a spiritually victorious life: She was allowing

other thingstexting, video games, and friendshipsto

get in the way of studying the Bible!

Majorly Important

Check out what the apostle Paul has to say about the

importance of the Bible in our lives: All Scripture is

inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and

to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us

when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God

uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good

work. (2 Timothy 3:1617, TheNew Living Translation)

Wow! Since the Bible is so important, doesnt it make

sense that we should take it seriously? But how can we

take it seriously if we dont read it? If were not reading

it, we cant study it. And if were not studying it, were



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Good question! It all begins through a relationship with

God. And its an extremely exciting relationship, one in

which God knows you completely and invites you to get

to know him as well. Once you havethat relationship, you

grow closer and closer to himkind of like you would

with a best friendonly your relationship with Christ

goes much deeper. He becomes your Savior (the only one

who can save you from the sin you were born with), your

Guide (hell show you what to do in the tough day-to-

day situations you encounter), your Lord (he created you

and wants to be in charge of younot to treat you like

a puppet, but to show you how to get the very most out

of life), and yes, your very best friend forever and ever.

And as you grow closer to him, and as you continue to

surrender every area of your life to him, you learn to live

in his power instead of your own. And thats when life

REALLY gets exciting! Thats what being a Secret Power

Girl is all about. This book is for girls who want to get the

most out of their Secret Power living. Its a Bible study.

You mean I gotta read the whole Bible with this book?

No. (Though I hope youll eventually read the whole

Bible. Its truly fascinating!) In this book, were justfocusing on one small part of the Bible. Just one book.

Its the book of Philippians.

Im not even sure anyone in my family has a Bible!

Does that mean I cant read this book?

Tell you what. Ill include the book of Philippians inside

this book in case you dont have a Bible of your own. But



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I want you to seriously consider getting your own Bible

one you can carry around with you, underline stuff while

youre reading, and be proud to own. A special youth

Bible would be a great thing to add to your birthday or

Christmas list.

And for those of you who already have your own Bible,

youll need it for this book. Ill include specific questions

that youll only be able to answer with your own Bible.

By the way, this Bible study is designed so you can do

it alone or with a friend.

So I call my best friend and we can do it together?

Sure! In fact, sometimes a friend can hold you

accountable.

Accounta-what-a-ble?

Accountable. It means she can encourage you to read

and complete each section, and you can do the same for

her. It also means you can discuss what youre reading

together and pray for one another.

Cool!

Ready?

Can I grab something to drink before we get started?

Sure! And while youre at it, how about pouring me aglass of lemonade? Go grab your Bible (if you have one)

and a pen, and meet me on the next page in five minutes!

(Note: Each chapter of this Bible study is divided into

bite-size chunks that you can either swallow all at once

or spread out and complete over a period of time. Try to

complete one entire bite at each sitting, okay?)



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SECTION ONE

Having A Bad Day,But Still Happy!

BITE #1

Philippians

Where is it? In the New Testament (after Ephesians and

before Colossians).

Who wrote it? Paul.

Who was he? Paul was an apostle of the Lord Jesus

Christ, but he sure took an interesting route to get there!

He used to hate Christians. In fact, he even persecuted

them. But God temporarily blinded him and helped



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him see that what he was doing was wrong. When that

happened, Paul gave his life to God. You can read the

whole story in Acts 9. After Paul began serving God, he

wrote several letters (books of the New Testament) to

fellow Christians. The book of Philippians is a letter he

wrote to the church in the city of Philippi.

(From) Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all

Gods holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, togetherwith the overseers and deacons.

(Philippians 1:1)

What does it mean to be a servant?

Identify a specific time in your life when you served

someone. (Maybe your mom was sick and you brought

her breakfast in bed. Or you put someone elses needs

ahead of your own.)



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Identify a specific time in your life when someone

served you. (Perhaps a friend brought you your

homework assignments when you had to miss school.)

Paul identifies himself as Jesus Christs servant. This

means:

_____ a. He has to copy the Bible by hand for every

new Christian he talks to.

_____ b. He gets a weekly allowance from heaven.

_____ c. He has totally surrendered his life to Jesus and

is committed to serving him.

_____ d. He must be pretty good at running the vacuum

and emptying the dishwasher.

Guess what! If you chose the third answer, youre

on the right track. Paul is reminding all of his readers

(thats you!) that Jesus Christ is the master. Hes the

one in chargenot us. He is Lord; we are his servants.

And we dont serve him out of a grudging have-to

attitude, but we serve our heavenly Father out of joy

and gratitude for all hes done for us!



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This makes me feel:

_____ a. Like throwing a party and inviting all my

friends! I want them to know that Jesus gave

his life for me! Ill tell them that Im going to

serve him with my life.

_____ b. Angry. I dont want to serve anyone.

_____ c. Sleepy. All this talk about servanthood makesme want a nap.

_____ d. Confused. I dont know how to serve God.

The way you can serve God is by giving him your

whole life. Your entire life. Everything in your life. This

is called complete surrender. And when you do that, youserve Christ by your very lifestyle. And guess whatthat

brings true joy! (More about that later. Lets get back to

the Scripture.)

In the first verse of this letter, Paul addresses all the

believers as saints. If youre a believer (a Christian

someone who has asked Christ to forgive her sins and is

living in obedience to him), Paul identifies you as a saint!



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BITE #2

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the

Lord Jesus Christ.

(Philippians 1:2)

Have you ever stopped to think about what grace really

is? Read the following scenario and try to identify when

grace is given.

Kaley was walking through the front door of her

house when she heard the phone ringing. She tossed her

books on the dining room table and rushed to pick up

the receiver.

Kaley? Its Monica. My older sister and I were going

to see the early showing of A Princess Foreverat 4:45.

But shes not feeling well, and she said you could have

her ticket. How bout it? Wanna go?

Im dying to see that movie! Kaley said. But I have

a book report due tomorrow, and I still have five more

chapters to read!

Free ticket, Kaley! Come on. My mom and I can pick

you up in ten minutes.

Okay, Ill go.

Monica and Kaley munched on popcorn and drinks

during the movie and giggled at the lead character.

When Kaley got home, she picked up her book and

began reading. She had four chapters left when she

remembered that her friend Amber had promised to



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email her a funny video that day.

I really shouldnt check my email now, she thought. I

need to keep reading. But I could do it quickly and then

get back to the book.

So she went downstairs to the family office and

absorbed herself on the Internet. An hour later Kaley

headed toward her room to finish the book but noticed

her parents watching her favorite nighttime drama ontelevision.

Oh, I forgot that was on tonight! she said.

Shouldnt you be reading your book? her mom

asked.

Im almost done, Kaley replied. Ill just watch the

rest of this with you guys and finish the book in a few

minutes.By the time the show ended, Kaley could barely keep

her eyes open. She struggled to read another chapter in

her book and finally fell asleep.

The next morning when Mrs. McCormack asked Kaley

for her book report, Kaley approached her teachers desk.

Mrs. McCormack, Im almost finished with the book.

I have two chapters left. Is there any way I can turn itin tomorrow?

Kaley, youve known about this assignment for three

weeks!

I know. Im sorry.

Is there a reason you need more time? Were you sick?



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Was there a family emergency?

No, Kaley said quietly as she dropped her head.

I really dont have an excuse. Im just being honest

with you. I went to a movie yesterday afternoon when

I should have been reading. And when I got home, I

stayed up too late watching TV. I dont deserve another

chance; Im just asking for one.

Youre right, Kaley, Mrs. McCormack said. You

really dont deserve another chance. Other students

managed to get their reports in on time. But Kaley, I

care about you. I believe in you. I think with a little

extra time, youll do a great job on your report. So Im

giving you another chance. You may turn in your report

first thing tomorrow morning.

Oh, thank you, Mrs. McCormack! Kaley said. Ill

give it my best. Youll love it!

Mrs. McCormack gave Kaley:

_____ Detention!

_____ Extra homework.

_____ A note to take home to her parents.

_____ Grace.

Kaley experienced grace. She deserved to fail the

assignment. But she didnt get what she deserved; she



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got grace. Guess what! Thats the definition of grace:Not

getting what you deserve.

Because were allsinners, and we have all disobeyed

God, we deserve the punishment for sindeath. But

when we ask God to forgive us, he gives us grace. In

other words, he chooses not to give us what we actually

deserve (punishment and death), but he forgives us and

gives us a brand-new startinstead.

Describe a time in your life when someone granted you

grace.

Have you granted someone else grace? If so, describethe situation in the space provided.

If you havent granted grace to others, pray about doing

so. (Because Christ gives usgrace, he wants us to extend

grace to those around us.)



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BITE #3

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my

prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of

your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until

now, being confident of this, that he who began a good

work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of

Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 1:36)

Being a partner means:

_____ Being a good friend.

_____ Always having a friend to do things with.

_____ To join with someone.

_____ Never being alone.

Lets say you decide to start a company that sells really

cool flip-flops. Youre great at thinking up awesome

designs and colors, but your friend Michaela is really good

at math. So you invite her to join you in this venture. She

figures out how much it will cost to have a pair of flip-

flops made and all the packaging details while you create

the most awesome flip-flops in the world.

Because you and Michaela have joined together in

this venture, youve become partners. Youre stronger as



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young imagination.Ellie, now 17, has raised more than $275,000 for

children living a world away in some of the poorest

slums in Africa.

Ready. Set. GO!

Ellie spreads her message in Nashville every spring

through an annual 5K race and mile fun run called,

Ellies Run for Africa.

As a 10-year-old, I thought anything was possible,

she says. But looking back, Im amazed that so

many people have become involved in this and have

made it so huge. It amazes me that so many people

volunteer their time to help these kidskids they

dont even know and will never see on a continent

most people will never visit.

The event celebrated its seventh year last spring,

and the money raised is used to give poverty-stricken

children the opportunity to receive education and

healthcare through African Leadership, a Christian

education and development organization that trains

pastors and church leaders in Africa. It also fundsrelief and development projects in their communities.

Why Running?

The idea of a race took form with the help of her

mother, after Ellie consistently voiced her desire to

do something.



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I had just been to another race and had lots offun, Ellie says. So I naturally thought it would be

a great way to raise money. For several months, my

mom kind of blew me off and expected me to forget

about it.

But Ellie was persistent, and she continued to

approach her mom. It wasnt that she didnt want

to do anything. She just thought it was an idea on a

whim, Ellie says.

She finally said, Okay, Ellie, if you still want to

do this after Christmas this year, well talk about it.

She told me later that she thought Id get so excited

with presents I would forget the whole thing. But I

approached her again after Christmas, and she knew

then that I was really serious.

The Idea Becomes Reality

Ellies mom called some friends and started

networking. A lady from their church volunteered

to serve as the event organizer and helped Ellie find

other volunteers to assist.

Ellie didnt have any specific goals in mind

other than helping the kids she had seen from

the missionarys video. One such school that has

benefited from Ellies dream was the construction of

the New Dawn Education Center.

This school provides a high-school education for

150 students in the Huruma and Githogoro slums



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of Nairobi, Kenya. It opened in March 2009 andis literally constructed out of modified shipping

containers stacked side by side and one on top of

the other.

Proceeds from the race have also provided finances

for construction and operational funds for Emmanuel

Vocational School, an eight-classroom training center

that teaches adolescents trades such as welding andsewing, which later become marketable skills and

primary sources of income.

In addition to paying for building construction

income, money from the races also helps 400 children

a year attend school by providing uniforms, books,

and shoes. And thats not all! The financial outcome

of the races gives money to support medical clinicsand orphanages in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa.

Quite an accomplishment for a girl with a dream!

Ellie on African Soil

Ellie has gone to Africa four times and has seen for

herself how the lives of children are being radically

changed for the better. She says it gives her the

continual desire not to give up.

I loved meeting the kids and actually getting to

talk with them, she says. A golden moment for me

was eating lunch with one of the kids who had been

through the school that our run had funded.

He said, Thank you so much, Ellie. Please go



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back to Nashville and thank everyone who has been

a part of this. If it hadnt been for the run, I would

be dead. How do you top that? Ellie says. That

says it all.

Be a Hero

You may not live near Nashville, and you may not be

able to participate in the annual Ellies Run for Africa.

But you can be a hero where you live by committing

to help ten, twenty, or forty kids attend school. Every

twenty-five dollars donated helps Ellies organization

buy the supplies they need to send kids to school for

one year.You can also organize a local Ellies Run for

Africa with Ellies help.

What to Do

1. Complete the Be a Hero registration online at

www.elliesrun.org/get-involved.

2. Commit to raising enough money to put ten,

twenty, or forty kids in school.Thats $250, $500

or $1,000.

3. Put your first child in school by kicking off your

efforts with a personal donation of twenty-five

dollars.

4. Ellies Run for Africa organization will send you

a packet of information and emails that will help



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you on your fundraising race. Youll also get

your own online log-in page to keep track of your

progress.

5. Pray. This is the most important ingredient in

making a difference in other peoples lives.

More About Ellie Ambrose

Age:17

Residence: Nashville

Year in school:Ellie is currently a senior in high

school.

Hobbies: Playing soccer and hanging out with

friends.

Career goals:Become a nurse.

Bethany Bashioum lives and works in Kansas City,

Mo. This story about Ellie first appeared in SUSIE

MagazineOctober 2011. For more information, go to:

www.susiemag.com.

Paul reminds us that God willfinish the good work

he started in us. The good work he started in you is: (1)

forgiving your sins, (2) giving you a desire to follow him,

and (3) helping you become more like him.

When you first accepted Christ as your personal

Savior, you were a baby Christian. But God wont leave

you hanging. Hell stay with you! Hell continue to



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walk with you and teach you how to grow stronger

in him. Hes committedto finishing all that he started

within you! And hell keep right on working inside you

until you reach heaven.

This makes me feel

_____ a. Like shouting, WOW! What an incredible

promise!

_____ b. Like I willmake it!

_____ c. Like giving God a big hug.

_____ d. Like grinning from ear to ear.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, sinceI have you in my heart, and whether I am in chains or

defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in

Gods grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of

you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 1:78)

According to the above verse, how should you feel

toward other Christians who are involved in spreading

the gospel?



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And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more

and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you

may be able to discern what is best and may be pure

and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of

righteousness that comes through Jesus Christto the

glory and praise of God.

(Philippians 1:911)

When it comes to loving those around me,

_____ a. I need help.

_____ b. I do really well.

_____ c. I get easily annoyed with people who dont

agree with me.

_____ d. I ask God to help me, and he does.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you

didnt know what to do? (Maybe a friend asked to copy

your homework, or you were tempted to lie to your

parents about household chores.) Paul tells us that we

can discern what is best. That means we can know

whats right. According to the above verses, how canyou discern whats best?



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According to Philippians 1:11, how can we bring glory

and praise to God?

_____ a. By singing about God.

_____ b. Through our honesty.

_____ c. By cheering for God.

_____ d. By living a life of righteousness.

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THE SECRET POWER OF JOY