A Time to Dance!!

Do you have your dancing shoes on? Maybe you are in the process of dusting them off and getting used to them again...maybe they are brand new shoes you need to break in...maybe the music has changed and you are being required to learn a new dance! Wherever you are in this dance of life be encouraged that you have a partner that will never let you fall and will never let you down! WOW! That was the essence of the encouraging message that Cynda gave at our recent For the Girl's NIGHT OUT.

For the Girls International had an incredible night of fun and inspiration and we were thrilled with the amount of women of all ages that were in attendance. Over 100 women came out the the clubhouse in Gulf Landings for a beautiful night of laughter and relaxation. We all need a night like that every once in a while.

So many women have told us that the message given that night was so timely for them. I love when God gives a word to us at just the right time! It's so refreshing!! THE MESSAGE version of Proverbs 25:11 puts it this way...

Proverbs 25:11

The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our NIGHT OUT is just a taste of what happens at our annual conference so we want to encourage women from all over the Tampa area and beyond to join us this February 12 and 13th for AWAKEN 2010. We are offering an "Early- Girl" price of $55.00 per adult for registrations that come in before the end of this month! (Student rate middle school - college $25.00) So ladies, reserve your spot for this incredible weekend by calling Tracy Weber at 727-243-7198 and mailing your check in to:

For the Girls International

10312 Palladio Drive,

Trinity Florida 34655

Our website is getting a makeover so be sure to check on it in the upcoming weeks at http://www.ftgi.org/

Next Girls Night Out is in October...See you then!

Love,

Tracey and Cynda

For the LIttle GIrls Conference

This past Saturday FTGI had a conference for girls K - 5th grade. The idea was born out of so many little girls wanting to be a part of THE PREMIERE, but not old enough to attend. So we designed a conference just for them!

FTGI was the host but it was the efforts of etiquette and protocol coach Patricia Rossi, the stylish flair of fashion and makeup consultant Wendi Braswell and the endearing personality of Rebecca Chase that made it such a success. Thanks to the beautiful and sophisticated atmosphere of the Capital Grille the girls felt special from the moment they walked in.

The sessions were great and it was so much fun to see the girls open up with each other and make new friends. Besides teaching the girls some much meeded table manners and etiquette, Patricia spoke to the girls about how to avoid gossip and I think even the BIG girls that were there to help got some good tips!

Wendi Braswell explained to the girls that they will someday develop into beautiful butterflies but not to rush the process and she lovingly gave them tips on how they could be stylish but still be modest in their dress. (again, good tips for the big girls too!)

And last but not least Rebecca Chase spoke to the girls about being a BFF. By using Jesus, the ultimate BFF, as an example she shared with the girls how they should treat each other with respect and the girls were hanging on her every word. She ended by reiterating to them that each one of them is princess daughter of the God and that they are loved beyond measure.

Our prayer as we watched these beautiful young girls soak in all these important lessons is that they would always know how valuable they are, how fearfully and wonderfully they were made, and how very much they are loved by the Father and by us!

Thank you moms for sharing your princesses with us for a day! You should be so proud of them!!

Check out the smilebox below for some picture highlights!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Lots of Love,
Tracey and Cynda

P.S. All the pictures are up on the website at http://forthegirlsinternational.org/Little_Girls_Conf..html

FTGI LOVES NYC

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has send me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness the prisoners. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor...

We're back from our trip to NYC for the Extreme Makeover weekend and it was amazing. We witnessed first hand the mission of For the Girls International in action!! On May 15th women took off for New York City with a purpose. To bring hope and healing to those in need. Cynda and I were in awe to see the variety of God-given gifts that were represented in the group.

The women in the shelter that we visited were hesitant at first but once they sensed the love coming their way they opened up and some beautiful connections were made. Some of them told us that for the first time in a long time they felt hope again. Others committed to renewing their relationship with their heavenly Father that discouragement had robbed them of. They allowed us to pamper them and pray with them and welcomed the encouragement offered to them from the ladies on our team.

Many of the women that traveled with us told us that the most surprising aspect of the weekend was the work that God did inside their own hearts. They came prepared to minister and ended up being blessed themselves. One woman shared with me her own shock at the depth of compassion that she didn't even know she possessed! She told us that as she massaged and soaked the feet of the women she felt God's love supernaturally flowing through her. As the women thanked her for scrubbing their feet I heard her resisting and saying, "no, thank you for allowing me to serve you".

It was a beautiful scene watching women connecting with women...telling and listening to each other's stories.

Saturday evening a smaller group of us went to a drug and alcohol recovery house in Brooklyn. Some of the women on our team shared their testimonies of how God delivered them from the grip of substance abuse. Many of these women in the program are at their rock bottom but were strengthened to hear how the grace of God had seen someone else through. We could see them grab onto the hope that they too would come through this chapter of their life stronger and free.

Freedom was the word of the weekend. Freedom from the chains of the past that would try to anchor us and immobilize us. Freedom from our own complacency in the face of the great needs all around us.

Greater things are yet to come...Greater things are yet to be done...
This is only the beginning!!

1 Corinthians 2:9
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him..."

There is NO ONE like our God!!

Check out the pictures by clicking on the smilebox below...

Make a Smilebox slideshow

For the Little Girls Conference

OMG!  It's a conference For the LITTLE Girls on Saturday June 13th.  Click on Upcoming Events for details.  You won't want your little one to miss out on this great day of fun and learning!

Oh what a NIGHT OUT!

Our first Girls Night Out was a blast!!

Here's a recap...

The evening began with some delicious food with an Asian flair. Thank you Colleen and Debbie for making our evening delicious as well as fun! The always lovely Wendi Braswell brought us up to date on Spring and Summer trends...get out those bangle bracelets and bring on the neon!!


Then we talked about our SHAPE. Not our physical shape but what shapes us as individual daughters of God. Rick Warren, author of A Purpose Driven Life has an acronym he uses that aptly outlines all the factors that make us so unique.


S. Spiritual Gifts - What are yours?
H. Heart - What are you passionate about?
A. Abilities - What special abilities or talents do you have?
P. Personality - What type of personality do you have?
E. Experiences - What's your story?

We focused on spiritual gifts because that's the hearbeat of FTGI... Our mission is to grow a company of women committed to using whatever God-given GIFTS we have to bring hope and healing to a hurting world. So let's identify our gifts and get moving!!!

Here are the great things about spiritual gifts...

1. Everyone gets to play!!
This is not an exclusive club. Every believer is given gifts.
1 Corinthians 12:7 tells us that... A spiritual gift is given to each of us...

2. You don't have to decide!!
No pressure here to decide which gifts you want! Your gifts have already been determined by the Holy Spirit and He distributes them as He sees fit. I think it's safe to say we can rely on the Creator of the Universe to give us the gifts that are just perfect for us and the plan He has for us.

1 Corinthians 12:11 says... All these (spiritual gifts) are the work of one and the same Spirit and He gives them to each one, just as He determines.

3. They are to be used to serve others.
The second part of verse 1 Cor. 12:7 says the gifts are given to us...so we can help each other.

Ephesians 4:12 says: (the gifts are given)...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

As we grow this company of women we need every single one of you and your unique gifts. Rick Warren made a statement that really resonated with me...

Most of us start out as originals but end up as carbon copies.

We need to be ever aware that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made!! (Psalm 139:14)

If we try to become anything other than what God himself created us to be, we are denying the world of a beautiful gift. If we neglect to nurture and excersize the gifts we've been given it's like having an amazing present sitting on a shelf that never gets opened.

1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us to... Eagerly desire spiritual gifts. It doesn't say to casually check them out but...eagerly desire them.

So...delve into Ephesians 4, 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 and read all about the gifts. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you which specific ones you've been given. Some of them we all have! Once you know what they are get moving!!

There is work to be done and lives in need of your touch.

Save the date for our next Girls Night Out Friday July 17th...

Lots of Love,

Tracey and Cynda

P.S. Pictures are up on Facebook.

Visit our website at www.forthegirlsinternational.org

For the Girls Night Out

Join us on Friday April 17th from 7pm - 1pm for our 1st For the Girls Night Out!

It's time to get together! Come join us for our very first For the Girls NIGHT OUT!! This is a chance to reconnect with each other and catch up. We'll be talking about stirring up and cultivating the gifts within you. FTGI fashion and make-up consultant Wendi Braswell will be there with her Spring/Summer tips. There will be great music, great food and GREAT company!! Register today online at http://www.forthegirlsinternational.org/Girls_Night_Out.html

We will be collecting new make-up and toiletries for our EXTREME MAKEOVER weekend in NYC so please bring an item or two to donate.

S.O.S. Conference

This weekend FTGI had the pleasure of being part of the S.O.S. Conference sponsored by Dayspring Academy. S.O.S stands for Shaping our Students and on Friday night Cynda and I were invited to speak to an amazing group of middle school girls.

We talk to so many women that struggle with self-image issues (including us!) that we thought...what if we could say something to these girls that would help them to start identifying themselves not by what they look like but by who they are? What if at this transitional age we could give them some tools to hopefully prevent them from falling prey to the false messages that the media sends us about how we should look?

So we prepared a session that included some magazine ads. We showed the girls the ads and asked what kind of message the images portrayed were sending. For the most part the advertisements contained super skinny girls and women, with perfect skin, perfect hair and perfect teeth. We wanted to help the girls recognize that they are the target of a business world that thrives on them buying their products to achieve the "look" they are selling. We all laughed as we saw haircolor products that would help us get the perfect hair, ads for makeup that would make our skin look perfect and a perfume company that claims to have bottled happiness :)

Then we talked about what really defines them...their spirit, their personalities, their quirks, their goals, their dreams, their history... Cynda made the girls turn to each other and say "I am beautiful" and it broke my heart to see that at that young age some girls are already struggling to be able to say that about themselves.

I think we "big" girls need to be reminded of this every so often as well. It is such a battle ladies, to maintain a healthy self image and such a challenge to not look around and compare ourselves with others to see if we measure up. Measure up to what?

Let's remind each other to chase after what God sees as beautiful which is a heart that is fully devoted to Him. Coming from one that is particularly fond of fashion and cosmetics I need reminding more than the average girl...so feel free to slap me around if you see me getting too caught up in it all!!

Proverbs 31:30

Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! (Amplified version)

Thanks to Jackie and Jessica from More2Life and Danita who also helped make it a great night for the girls!

Lots of Love,

Tracey and Cynda

Ready to run in 2009!

We are busy here at FTGI getting ready for all the exciting things we have planned for 2009!

In March we will begin regularly updating this blog...so subscribe by typing your email address into the box on the upper right.

Our website is updated so click on www.forthegirlsinternational.org for info on upcoming events.

A HUGE thank you to everyone who came out to THE PREMIERE and shared in that amazing weekend. We are looking forward to running the race with you!!

God bless you!

Love,
Tracey and Cynda