Set 4 Testimonies

Here are a few of the testimonies girls wrote last semester after we finished Set 4. I hope you'll enjoy reading these & rejoice in what God is doing in our group this year!

"Courage to Stand Alone was my favorite lesson. I learned about this a few years ago, but it's always good to be reminded again because we are humans and slip up. I know for myself, I tend to find myself wanting to "blend in" but instead I need to tell myself that God has called me to a higher purpose and I should be serving my Lord instead of myself." -age 14

"Although the lessons have influenced me in more ways than I can count, the way God has most used Bright Lights in my life is giving me boldness. There have been other factors that have helped me with this issue, but Bright Lights has definitely been one of the most important influences.

About two years ago, I was extremely shy... I avoided praying out loud, I was terrified of what people would think of me, and I didn't want to step out of my comfort zone for anything. Although I wanted to serve others and witness, I was afraid to take the first step to doing so. However, lessons like Presenting the Gospel, Sensitivity and Humility convicted me of my selfishness and pride, and God helped me to begin to change. Being a small group leader literally shoved me out of my comfort zone, but it surprised me how quickly my comfort zone was enlarged, so I started reaching out in other ways. Several important times this year, I've felt God prompting me to do something... when I obeyed, even though I was afraid, God would bless what I was trying to do and although it was usually just as hard as I thought it would be (if not more so), it wasn't impossible... and it was worth it.

I'm still shy. I'm still afraid of what people think of me. I'm still selfish and prideful. And I always will be. But God is changing me. Day by day, He's molding me into the person he wants me to be. It's hard; it's a painful process. But He knows what He's doing, and I wouldn't have it any other way." -age 15

"One decision I have made this semester, after we learned about protecting ourselves from polluting influences, is the commitment to submit to my father's rules while I live in his house. It has made a big difference in my life. I am following his rules better and respecting him more. I have also tried to follow my mom's rules more too. The other lesson that had the most impact on me is the one where we learned that standing alone is going to be hard but rewarding. It impacted me most because I do stand alone sometimes at school. But I know that even the times when I don't have friends I can still believe that God knows what He is doing. The Lord is showing me more on how to pick true friends and how to better obey my parents." -age 10

"This semester in Bright Lights there were a lot of important lessons. All the lessons were very helpful for me but I think the one that helped me the most was the lesson on having the courage to stand alone. I have never actually stood up alone for what I believe in, there have always been other people to stand up with me. But, as it says in the lesson on standing alone, before we can apply the other lessons we learned in this set we have to gain the courage to stand alone. This has opened my eyes to all the chance I have had to stand alone, and I haven't. I have been praying four courage to stand alone with God. And for a chance to stand alone for him. Once we have the courage to stand alone in God, we have the ability to stand up to our friends for what we believe in, to use discernment with our words and to stay away from polluting influences." -age 13

"One Bright Lights meeting, we were talking about friends. Allison mentioned that we should evaluate our friends by how they treat others (especially their siblings). I realized that if people evaluated me that way, they probably would not want to be my friend! That thought has helped me set a goal for myself and it's given me more of a desire to be kind to my brother and sisters." -age 11

"I was always concerned about how I looked. I didn't like my hair style. I thought my clothes looked weird compared to the girls' clothes at school. I also wanted to wear make-up. I also was worried about how I talked. I didn't want to talk about Jesus to other kids at school. I wanted to talk about what they wanted to talk about. I also wanted to act cool. I didn't want to be the odd one out. I wanted to have a friend at school. So, I started to act like the other girls at school. I always wore tight jeans and started to wear lipstick, like the other girls. I also started to use the words they were using and began talking a little too much in class. I also had a different attitude about things.

After discussing the lessons this semester, I started to do things God's way. I started talking about Jesus to other girls at school. I paid more attention to who I was hanging out with. I need to hang out with someone God would approve of. I didn't talk as much in class. I changed myself to be more and more like God. I understood things better about what God looks for in a person.

Now, I realize I don't want to be like the other girls. I want to be like Jesus. I also want to be a Bright Light to others and be noticed as a follower of Christ. This semester has really helped me know who I want to be and what a fully devoted girl for Christ should look like. I want to be able to stand alone." -age 12

"Two chapters from our lessons really meant a lot to me, they are: "Friends" and "Polluting Influences." The "Friends" chapter has made me think more about what kind of friends i choose, and whether or not they are a Godly influence or a bad influence. The chapter on "Polluting Influences" has helped me pay closer attention to what I watch on TV, especially kids' shows that promote boy/girl relationships or anything with bad language. I'm making a commitment to honor God by saying "no" to things that tempt me to think bad thoughts or do bad things." -age 10

"I think Bright Lights impacted my life in the lesson where I had to accept the way God made me. I used to always think that I wasn't beautiful, then I found Psalms 139:14, 'And I praise your for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.' That changed the way I thought about myself. Plus, Genesis says that we are made in God's image! And Bright Lights has really helped me grow on that because I am surrounded by lots of other Christian girls that are friends with me no matter what I look like." -age 11

Standing Alone 12/6/11

We ended our set on holiness this evening with a lesson on standing alone. I explained to the girls that in order to apply everything we learned in this set, we have to be willing to stand alone, be rejected & viewed as foolish in order to stand with our commitment to Christ and His holiness.

I encouraged the girls to live their lives with courage, seeking to walk in the fear of the Lord rather than the fear of man. I also reminded them that in standing alone we are never really alone, for God has promised to always be with us & never forsake us.

During the lesson, we played a game where various girls acted out a character of the Bible who stood alone while I read a description of that character. After the charade & description was finished, the group tried to guess who it was.

The girls were challenged to learn from the example of these Bible characters as they sought to stand firm for Christ.

After small groups, we ended with tea & fellowship! After a semester of meetings, it's exciting to see the new relationships that are beginning to form as well as old friendships strengthening.

Since our group is so large this year, I have been doing a private tea party with three girls each meeting. This provides an opportunity for me to get to know girls a little better. Instead of a "date" we call this little get together a "fig."

The girls I had a "fig" with this meeting.

We hope to see many of you on December 20th for our Christmas party. Otherwise, we'll see everyone on January 10th for our next meeting!

Father Daughter Meeting on Courtship 11/15/11

What a great time we had last night as all the fathers joined us for our Bright Lights meeting!

We started the evening with a game. The fathers blindfolded their daughters and then had to use only their voice to direct them through an obstacle course. Dads couldn't touch their daughters or move obstacles out of the way.

As the girls walked through the course, there were various distractions of extra noise & the voices of other fathers. Girls had to discern which voice was her father's so she knew the right way to go.

Besides being a fun game, the goal was to encourage the girls that they can trust their fathers. Sometimes our dads can see obstacles that we are not aware of & it's important that we learn to heed their advice. Just like the dads weren't going to purposefully run their daughters into a wall, our dads have our best interest in mind and we can trust them when we need advice about various situations in our lives.

The topic for the evening was on boy/girl relationships and encouraging young ladies to make commitments in this area now, before temptation comes. I challenged the girls to desire the best marriage, joyfully submit to the protection and guidance of their fathers, save their hearts for marriage & learn to delight fully in the Lord while they are single.

I used an illustration with paper hearts to explain the dangers of dating and giving your heart away to various young men before you're married.

After the lesson, the dads and daughters split up into two groups. My dad led a discussion time with the other fathers about what it looks like to guard your daughter's heart and other related topics. Although I wasn't there to hear the discussion, from what I heard, everything went well and the dads are hoping to plan another time to gather, pray & fellowship.

While the dads had their time of discussion, I talked to the girls about a couple more things and then they broke up into little groups and prayed for each other.

Eventually, everyone came back together and my dad & I encouraged each of the fathers to take their daughters on a special date to discuss what we talked about during the meeting.

We also shared a few of our favorite resources on the topic.

We ended the meeting with a time of fellowship over hot chocolate, apple cider & other yummy snacks.

Thank you to all the fathers who took time out of their evening to come be a part of this special meeting! It was a joy to have you all there with your daughters! I look forward to seeing all the girls for our last meeting of the semester on December 6th!

This was our funny picture of the evening.. haha. Enjoy. ;)

Polluting Influences 11/8/11

This evening we had yet another blessed Bright Lights meeting! During the lesson I shared about various polluting influences which the enemy uses to trap us and encouraged the girls to search their lives for things that may not honor the Lord.

They were also encouraged to submit to the protection of their parents. We ended the lesson by each girl signing & decorating a special certificate to give to her father.

After the lesson, we did a sword drill with verses related to holiness & our topic for the evening. Girls who looked up verses the fastest, racked up points for their small group & the winning small group (which was the Mary group) got to enjoy M&Ms during their small group time.

After small groups we ended, as usual, with tea & dessert!

We'll see everyone a week from today for our special father/daughter meeting at CBC!

P.S. This shot was too funny not to post. ;)

Friends 10/25/11

This evening, our lesson was on friends. We started the evening with a fun game to see how well the girls had been making friends in our group.

The girls were split into two teams and each team stood on one side of the quilt.

Each team would choose a teammate to stand in front of the blanket.

On the count of three, the blanket would drop & girls would try to be the first to say the name of the girl on the other side. Whoever said the name first, got to have the other player come to their side of the blanket. Whichever side had the most players at the end of the game won!

Sometimes it was a race to see who could blurt the name out first...

And other times the girls were a bit more puzzled. :)

With 50 girls in our group this year, there are quite a few names to learn!

After this game, everyone went downstairs to celebrate some birthdays & sing! I love hearing the girls' sweet voices fill the room each meeting with lyrics of praise & resolve to serve the Lord!

After singing, I shared the lesson on friends. I encouraged the girls to place the greatest importance on seeking a relationship with Jesus & finding their identity in Him. I also shared with them some practical ways to choose friends wisely & get rid of friends which do not provide true fellowship. I reminded the girls that you will become like who you surround yourself with & it's important to choose companions who are seeking after the same goal you are.

Many times we have difficulty with friendships because we are self-centered and want friends so they can meet our needs. Instead of having the attitude of a "taker" we should have the attitude of a "giver," someone who is always looking for ways to serve, encourage and bless their friends.

We ended the meeting with small group discussion & tea!

I look forward to seeing you all again on November 8th!

Our Words 10/11/11

This evening started out with dividing into groups and planning some short skits to perform. Each of the skits demonstrated how to & not to do something.

Some of the skit topics included.. how to/not to give a compliment, respond when your parents ask you to do something, ask your little brother to do something, start a conversation with a neighbor about an annoying dog, etc.

Many of the girls exaggerated the scenarios, added funny voices or were super dramatic which resulted in plenty of laughter from the audience.

The skits were used as silly illustrations of common circumstances where we must use discernment in how we will use our words.

During the lesson I shared with the girls that the tongue, although small, is one of the hardest things to control and, with the tongue, is the power of life and death.

Then, I explained the 5 types of words we shouldn't use:

1. Bad Words

2. Harmful Words

3. False Words

4. Proud Words

5. Inappropriate or Unnecessary Words

I also talked about the 3 ways we should use our words (found in Psalm 100:4):

1. Praise

2. Thanksgiving

3. Blessing

The girls were encouraged to look for ways to give rather than get every time they entered a conversation with someone.

I also shared that even if we are saying something that is good, if we don't say it with the right attitude, people will not think we're genuine. We played a silly game to illustrate this point.

There were lots of eager volunteers. :)

Girls volunteered to come up front and draw a phrase card & an attitude card. They then had to say the phrase they drew in the the attitude their card indicated.

The rest of the girls tried to guess what attitude they were saying the phrase in. It was pretty funny to see the girls say, "Jesus Loves You" mysteriously or, "Thank you for helping me clean my room" as if they were sad.

We ended the lesson with some personal time to evaluate their past conversations and their motives in those conversations. Then, everyone split up into small groups for a short time of discussion and prayer before ending with tea.

We had a great time & I'm really looking forward to our next meeting on October 25th! See you in two weeks!