Christmas Party!

Last week, we gathered at Dr. Jazz Soda Fountain & Grille for a few games, Christmas carols & fellowship! Here are a few pictures from our annual Christmas party!

Thanks for the lovely evening, ladies! See you next year! ;)

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 2 or 3 practicing using our words wisely by writing letters of testimony & encouragement to others.

We ended, as always, with small group discussion & then tea!

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 Tuesday, 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

At the beginning of each meeting we spend some time singing together. In the past we have always just used a CD. However, this year, Katie has blessed us by accompanying our singing on the piano. It has added so much more to our singing times & I continue to enjoy the sweet voices as they fill our home!

Before the lesson, we played a rather rowdy treasure hunt type game. It involved searching the house for plastic coins, pieces of paper & Allison, all while attempting to do it quickly & fill out a worksheet with your team. Needless to say, there was a lot of pounding & shouts as girls ran up & down the stairs and encouraged their teammates. The game is a bit too complicated to attempt explaining here, so you'll have to ask someone who was there.

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

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

Receiving Rebuke

Tonight the house 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!

Other Related Groups

As most of you know, this year our group has been split into two groups. For those who'd like to keep up with your friends in the Belleville group, check out that group's blog: www.brightlightsbelleville.blogspot.com The Belleville group will be doing the exact same lessons & activities this year, just with different people! :)

Also, Sylvia, who used to be in our group, is now leading a group with her friend Jael in Mascoutah. To keep up with that group check out their blog: www.godspurified.blogspot.com

Wisdom

Tonight we finally had our first meeting! It was exciting to see the group God has brought together! We started the evening, in the lovely weather outside, 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.

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 2nd!