Deeper Retreat

This past weekend a group of the older girls from both this group and the other group I lead in Belleville, gathered for a time of seeking the Lord, encouraging one another & growing intentional relationships with one another. Unfortunately, we were so busy enjoying our time with the Lord & each other that we forgot to take very many pictures! However, I've asked the girls to share a few testimonies about what God did or taught them through the retreat.

"I had such a blast at the Bright Lights retreat! Not only did it give me the opportunity to dig deeper into the relationship I have with my Lord and Savior but also with the girls around me. It was such an encouragement to spend time with other believers and learn that I'm not the only one who struggles with spending as much time with God as I should. I was challenged as we spent time learning new ways to spend time with God." - 17 year old

"I was so encouraged by the videos, encouragement groups and prayer time. I loved spending time getting to know the other girls, just knowing that we are all struggling and that we can all help each other is cool. I loved being able to spend a whole weekend in prayer and talking with or about the Lord, and also finding new ways to have a deeper relationship with Him. I was really convicted by the fact that I need to surrender my entire life to Him and let Him write my story. Also, that I need to be spending more scheduled times in prayer. I really appreciated all the times we spent in prayer in our encouragement groups. It was really cool to share different thoughts, stories, verses and struggles. I know the Lord was working in each of us, and I'm so thankful for this opportunity." - 15 year old

"I had one of the most amazing times at the Deeper Retreat. At first, I didn't want to go because I didn't feel 'good enough.' However, I grew so much closer to the girls and realized they struggle with the same problems I do (even Allison! Shocking, I know! ;), which means we can pray all the more sincerely for each other. The Holy Spirit convicted me of many things - like how I wasn't surrendering my whole life to Jesus - and the retreat pushed me to answer those questions which sit in the back of your mind that you don't want to deal with. After the retreat, I felt so refreshed, encouraged and close to my Lord." - 16 year old

"God further instilled in me a fervor to fear Him and obey His calling no matter what other people think or say. To possess Chazak and Amats! RAK CHAZAK  people of God!!" - 18 year old

Leadership Retreat

Every year there is a group of young ladies in our group who are chosen to serve as small group leaders throughout the year. In preparation for the year ahead, the O'Fallon leaders for 2012-2013 gathered to spend the day in prayer, training, discussion & fellowship.

We started the day with a delicious breakfast made by our hostess, Mrs. B. Then, we gathered briefly before each young lady went off by herself to spend some time in individual prayer & Bible reading.

Once everyone was finished, we gathered back together to pray as a group for the upcoming year of Bright Lights. It was so encouraging to spend time asking the Lord's blessing on our group. After that, each of the girls paired up with her co-leader & spent some time brainstorming & praying for their small groups.

The Rebekah group leaders

The Mary group leaders

The Esther group leaders

The rest of the day was filled with lots of discussion, training, planning, games & good food (thanks to Mrs. B!).

The day was full of anticipation as leaders got excited for all the Lord has in store this year. It was also a sweet time of building friendships & enjoying good fellowship.

Small Group Leaders 2011-2012

Something many girls in our Bright Lights group may not realize is that once a month, all the older girls who serve as small group leaders take time out of their Saturday afternoons to pray and plan for their small groups. These young women have faithfully invested time into serving and praying for the 6-8 girls in their groups.

Today was one of our meetings & we took time out to take a few pictures.

Miriam Group Leaders

Ruth Group Leader

Esther Group Leaders

Mary Group Leaders

Rebekah Group Leaders

I am so blessed by the way these girls love & serve with such willingness & joy! It is truly an honor for me to know & serve alongside them! Thank you girls for all that you do! :)

Contentment 1/24/12

To start the evening, girls were divided into smaller groups and prepared skits together based on Matthew 6:19-21. The skits demonstrated the way a discontent girl with an earthly perspective would respond to a situation vs. the way a content girl with an eternal perspective would respond.

As always, the girls were very creative & the skits were quite humorous. After skits, we sang "Who Will Shine God's Light?" from the Bright Lights CD. I am always so blessed by the girls sweet voices filling our basement!

This evening we had a special treat! One of our older girls, Jessica, taught a special lesson on contentment. She talked about pride, and how it is the main cause of discontentment in our lives. She challenged the girls to put God & serving others first. She did an excellent job, especially since it was her very first time to teach a lesson!

After a time in small groups for discussion & prayer, we ended with tea & dessert.

I look forward to seeing you all for our next meeting on February 14th as we begin Set 5 together! If you're doing 4:12, I'll see you before then on January 31st!

Leadership Retreat

This morning, a group of enthusiastic young ladies gathered together to spend a day training & preparing for serving as small group leaders in our Bright Lights group this year.

We were graciously hosted by Jessica & Jenna's family. They did so much to make the day go smoothly and I really appreciate their hospitality!

We started the morning with prayer, singing & Scripture sharing.

Each of the leaders took a lot of notes as they prepared for the year ahead.

Twice during the day, the girls met privately with the girls they are co-leading with and prayed for their small groups, planned discussions & brainstormed ideas to make their small group meetings special.

We also took some time for some games, fellowship & lots of laughter! :)

The girls watched two leadership training DVD's by Sarah Mally on discipleship & being a servant.

 We also enjoyed a delicious breakfast & lunch together.

It was such a joy to spend the day with such a wonderful group of young ladies! I am so privileged & blessed to have them serving alongside me this year. I believe I speak for everyone when I say the day made us all very excited in anticipation for what the Lord is going to do in the year ahead!