Testimonies

Monday night was our final meeting as a group before the end of the year gathering. To conclude our year together, I asked each of the girls to write a testimony of something God had taught them during the year of Bright Lights. Then, we gathered back together & various girls took turns sharing their testimonies. It was a sweet time of rejoicing in what the Lord has done this year. There were several times of laughter but also several tears hanging in the corners of eyes as young ladies shared the stories of God working in their hearts.

Below are a few of the written testimonies girls shared with me:

"The lesson on encouraging my siblings spoke to me because I fell like my relationship with them isn't what I'd like it to be. I pray that God will move through me and give me wisdom for how to handle my friendship with my sisters in a loving and friendly way. I can only do all things through Jesus who strengthens me."

"I learned things from the lesson on encouraging my siblings. I have two younger sisters and they can get annoying. But I learned to stay focused on what's important and NOT teasing or yelling at my siblings (older and younger)."

"God has shown me that by being diligent in His Word you will be rewarded. When Allison talked about diligence I realized I had been slacking on my Bible reading/prayer. I made a commitment to read & study the Bible everyday. Even though I might skip one day sometimes, God has been faithful. He has shown me many new things about Him through my reading. I've been reminded to seek Him first & everything will be added (Matt. 6:33)."

"One of the biggest things that stuck out to me and that I'll always remember is the lesson about fathers. My dad works hard to support me, get me what I need and take care of me. It was nice to write him the letter & see his reaction. I don't say much to him but it was great to remind him that I love him."

"I think the one thing I really learned in Bright Lights is the importance of being nice to your dad & thanking him for protecting us & being there for us. Also, when we wrote the letters to our dads, I gave it to him and I can really tell he loved it. That is my favorite lesson this year."

"This year in Bright Lights I have learned a lot. One of the lessons that helped me was how to receive a rebuke. This lesson helped me realize how much my reactions & responses to different situations are. It also helped me realize that my reactions were not a good Christian example to others. I don't like to accept corrections and I argue with people who give me them. I defend myself and try to blame others.

Now I'm trying to do better with dealing with rebukes. I'm trying to change my worldly responses, like defending myself and blaming others, into God-like responses such as thanking the person and praying to God about it. I'm not perfect about receiving rebukes, but I'm getting better about it & working hard to fix the problem."

"Orderliness is the lesson that really stood out to me. Before this lesson, I would leave my school all over the place. My mom & dad would always have to get on to me about leaving all my books spread over their room. They still have to tell me to put away my books, but it's not as much as before."

"The lesson on diligence really stood out to me because I am eager to earn my "Mrs." more than any other degree & I thought I was prepared. I was wrong. I realized how often I let things go and don't do things that need to be done because 'I'm too tired.'

I also underwent a trial by fire the Friday after the lesson, as my mom had a surgery that limited her ability to walk long & take care of the house. I think that studying diligence the Monday before I had to help by stepping up, really opened my eyes to how much being a mom requires and how truly under-prepared I was."

"The lesson that has had the most impact on me is Diligence. At times, when school gets really hard, I tend to set school aside and do something that seems more pleasant to me. I recognized that if I'm diligent in my schoolwork, I can get better grades and finish sooner and have more time afterwards to do other things."

"One way that Bright Lights has impacted me is reminding me about turning (and keeping) my heart to my father. Over the years, I have tried to obey my father with a cheerful heart (which is hard to do sometimes) and have usually failed. On the outside I would respect him but on the inside, be fuming.

The biggest issue recently has been over relationships and boys. We had many 'discussions' and arguments (usually with tears). I was disrespectful and refused to listen. I had hardened my heart. I was convinced that I was right and he was wrong. But, I soon learned that my father was right about every relationship I ever had and, now, I appreciate his guidance.

Most of this happened before Bright Lights but the lesson on giving your heart to your father stuck with me. However, until we discussed this lesson, I never thought about praying for him and communicating with him. Also, the biggest thing I learned was to trust God to work through him."

Making a Wise Comment

 On Monday night we gathered for our last Bright Lights meeting of the semester! Our topic was on "making a wise comment." I encouraged the girls that young ladies who choose to use their words wisely will have an incredible testimony for God's kingdom. We discussed 4 aspects of making a wise comment: being concise, worthwhile, relevant & appropriate.

I encouraged the girls that our goal in speaking to others is not to draw attention to ourselves but rather, to benefit and encourage the listener. It shows great wisdom when we can discern when to speak, what to say and how to say it.

After the lesson, we spent time in groups of 3, practicing using our words wisely by writing letters of testimony & encouragement to others.

I look forward to seeing most of you next week for our Christmas party!

Reliability of Scripture

Here are a few pictures from our meeting last week. Our topic was the "Reliability of God's Word" and we talked about how we can trust the Bible to be a strong, faultless, foundation for our lives.

We look forward to seeing everyone again in just one week!

Being Wiser Than Your Enemies

On Monday, we met & I shared with the girls the secret to being wiser than your enemies - Scripture memorization & meditation! We talked about the benefits, practicals & I encouraged each of them to set a Scripture memorization goal that night when they got home. (Have you set your goal yet?)

"Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me." Psalm 119:97-98

Delighting in God's Word

Last night we began our meeting by doing a rather rowdy treasure hunt type game. It involved searching the church for plastic coins, pieces of paper & Allison while attempting to do it quickly & fill out a worksheet with your team. Needless to say, there was a lot of running, shouts & excitement. The game is a bit too complicated to attempt explaining here, so you'll have to ask someone who was there.

Anxiously awaiting the return of a teammate...

 

Looking up verses to help complete the team's sheet.

By the end of the game, each team had compiled a list of benefits that can be gained from spending time in Scripture.

Rather than eagerly searching for little plastic coins or pieces of paper, God has given us even greater treasures that can be found in His word! During the lesson I encouraged the girls to delight in God's Word by making the decision to spend time with Him daily.

"As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." 1Peter 2:2

After a time of discussion & accountability in small groups, we ended with tea! Tea is always such a special time of fellowship & enjoying yummy treats! It's exciting to see the friendships being formed around the tables as girls giggle & chat over cups of tea & cookies.

See you all again in a couple weeks! Until then, enjoy the privilege of delighting in God's Word!

Receiving Rebuke

Last night the church was bustling yet again, with a large group of energetic young ladies! To begin our meeting, the girls broke up into groups and prepared "Proverbs" to present to the rest of the group.

These presentations, which were rather amusing at times, were on topics including correct table manners & interacting with siblings.

Towards the beginning of the lesson, we had a rather abrupt & rude interruption by some pretty strange looking characters. ;)

They seemed to think they had the liberty to be in our meeting room doing whatever they pleased & got pretty offended when I told them they were wrong.

Our lesson for the evening was on receiving rebuke. Rebuke is whenever someone tells you that you are wrong. The Lord uses rebuke in our lives to help us grow to be more like Him.

A young lady who is seeking to apply wisdom in her life will respond to rebuke with humility while a young lady who is walking the way of folly will reject rebuke.

Once the lesson was completed, the girls split up for small group discussion, prayer & fellowship.

Finally we ended with tea & fellowship!

We'll see you all for our next meeting on October 29th!

Wisdom

Last night we finally had our first meeting! It was exciting to see the group God has brought together! We started the evening with our traditional "first meeting game." The girls rotated partners, answering various get to know you questions in 30 seconds or less. It was a fun way for the girls to briefly get acquainted with a bunch of girls in the group.

Our topic for the evening was an introduction to the set we will be covering this semester on Wisdom. Proverbs 8:11 says, "For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her." Wisdom is a valuable treasure that is worth seeking after! As Scripture states, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Therefore, if we want to gain wisdom we should start with a proper relationship with the Lord.

One aspect of wisdom is learning to see things from God's perspective rather than our own, earthly view. To illustrate this point, the girls were split up into teams & given a pile of puzzle pieces. The teams raced against each other to see who could complete their puzzle the fastest.

The girls all agreed that if I had shown them the picture of what the puzzle was supposed to look like it would have been much easier to put the puzzle together. Similarly, our life is filled with lots of challenges and circumstances that often don't make sense. However, God sees the big picture and knows how all those pieces are one day going to work together for good. (Romans 8:28)

Another aspect of pursuing wisdom is choosing wise companions. The people we spend the majority of our time with will have tremendous influence on our lives.

Finally, we must realize that often God's thinking is opposite the way of the world. It takes wisdom to know what God's way is.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5

After the lesson, the girls broke up into their small groups. Throughout the year the girls will do accountability, prayer & discussion in these groups. This meeting, most of the groups spent the majority of their time just getting acquainted with one another.

Overall it was a great beginning to what is looking like a blessed year of Bright Lights! I look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on October 1st!