Bellevue Bright Lights: October 2012

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Setting up for meeting 3

Meeting #3 was on Keeping a Clear Conscience. This time I thought I'd post a few pictures on what goes on to get ready for the girls to come on meeting day :)

We type up and prepare notes for the girls to use...

We pick out songs to sing during worship and make up enough packets for each...

We clean up the house and set up the meeting area in the living room. I use a large wipe on wipe off board, have my notes put together with my Bible, Before You Meet Prince Charming, and the study guide to ask questions from.

We get the activity put together and ready to go...

We decorate the table for tea...it was one of the girls' bday so she got the special hat ;)

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Mom and Tween Secret Keeper Event!

Secret Keeper Girl LIVE!

WHERE: Cedar Park Church - 16300 112th Ave. NW, Bothell, WA 98011
WHEN: Saturday, November 10, 2012
TIME: 6:30 p.m.

Calling all moms! This event is designed just for you and your tween daughters! Imagine your 8-12 year old daughters giggling and having fun while they dig deeply into God's truth to talk about modesty. Think that's impossible? Think again!
Join SPIRIT 105.3 for Dannah Gresh's brand new mom and daughter event. It's the most fun you will ever have digging into God's Word!

Follow the link for full details, including ordering tickets online:
http://www.spirit1053.com/event/Details.aspx?ID=325886

Monday, October 8, 2012

A Close Relationship With Parents

We had another great meeting today, with the blessing of 2 new young ladies to our group! The more girls we have the more fun our meetings are and we pray that the Lord will continue to bring whoever He has in mind for our Bellevue Bright Lights group :)

Yeah! The ladies and I started going through Before You Meet Prince Charming today! We'll be spending about 15 minutes each meeting taking turns reading a few pages aloud and discussing some of the questions from the study guide. The study guide is an excellent resource to get the girls engaged in thinking more deeply about the material in BYMPC...the questions really got them participating and made for some great input from all of them!

Today's topic was: A Close Relationship With Parents. We took a Biblical look at authority as explained in Romans 13: 1 - 7, and talked about the benefits of obeying authority. My favorite picture for this concept is an umbrella, and the protection an umbrella offers when used correctly...the girls get a good laugh at my stick figure picture of the girl standing under the umbrella with neat hair and clothes, joyfully enjoying the benefits of staying dry from the rain, while her poor disobedient counterpart stands exposed to the elements with frizzy hair and a big frowny face! The gals all came up with some amazing answers for the benefits of obeying authority: clear conscious before God, protection, favor from others, spiritual growth, self - preservation, good relationships, etc. I hope everyone remembers our talk about cheerful obedience to moms and dads, instant obedience, and a willingness to 'go the extra mile'...the blessings of inward submission and not just outward obedience.

Small group breakouts had time to think up skits demonstrating the blessings and consequences of obeying or not obeying parental authority.

A big Thank You to Vanessa for bringing the laminating machine - the bookmarks turned out so professional looking!

Preparing skits...

Selah girls!

Tea time :)

Completed bookmarks

What is a Bright Light?

It is a girl who has given her life to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone for salvation and for the grace to live each day according to His will. It is a girl who knows how to respond "just right" to people and circumstances, demonstrating godliness in her actions and attitudes. It is a girl who has Biblical convictions and commitments (holiness), and is able to go through her teenage years strong for the Lord without stumbling as many do. It is a girl who touches the lives of others by her servant’s spirit, her radiant countenance, and the message of eternal life through Jesus Christ (testimony). God wants bright lights! There is a great need for more of them in this generation of darkness.

Bright stands for Being Radiant in Godliness, Holiness, and Testimony. The first Bright Lights group was started in 1996 by a 17-year-old young lady named Sarah Mally. The Lord had given her a desire to encourage younger girls to be strong for the Lord in their youth, and she decided to begin a discipleship group in her living room in order to give these girls vision, encouragement, and teaching in godliness. Since that first meeting, Bright Lights has seen God’s hand of direction and blessing in many ways. There are now hundreds of groups that have started worldwide. Bright Lights continues to train leaders to begin groups, host Strong in the Lord conferences and Radiant Purity conferences, and provide discipleship material for moms and daughters. It is exciting to see many young ladies making commitments to seek the Lord and shine their light brightly for Him. To find out more about Bright Lights, visit http://www.brothersandsisters.net/

What does a typical meeting look like?

What is a Typical Meeting Like? If you were to attend a Bright Lights meeting, what would it be like? At each meeting the leader shares a lesson covering important topics that are essential for girls in order for them to be strong for the Lord in their youth, such as:

Developing a Close Relationship with Parents
Gaining a Clear Conscience
Spending Time in God’s Word Everyday
Keeping Yourself Pure from Polluting Influences
Accepting the Way God Created You
Choosing Wise Friends
Contentment
Sensitivity
Humility
Self-control

The lesson is reinforced by testimonies from older girls in the group. At Bright Lights meetings, we also enjoy singing, fellowshipping with likeminded young ladies, listening to biographies of great Christians from history, preparing for future ministry opportunities, enjoying other activities together, and snacks (often with tea in china tea cups).

Each girl receives a Bright Lights binder that she brings with her to the meetings each week. After each lesson, she receives a new handout to add to her binder. The Bright Lights curriculum is organized into eight sets which you can view here.

Statement of Faith

1. Everyone has sinned and broken God’s laws. Because the penalty for sin is death, each of us deserve to spend eternity in hell in separation from God. We are totally incapable of achieving heaven on our own. There is no way we can be good enough to attain forgiveness from sin or achieve eternal life by our own works.
2. God so loved the world that He gave His only son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sin. Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day. He paid the penalty for our sin and took the punishment that we deserved.
3. Forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life is offered to anyone who will repent of their sin, and believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Redemption is wholly by the blood of Christ, and salvation is by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and the final authority for our lives. It is literal, historical, and infallible.
5. There is one God, eternally existent in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
6. The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God, born of a virgin, sinlessly perfect. His sacrifice is substitutionary and representative. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand, where He now ministers as our Great High Priest.
7. Jesus Christ is coming again to rapture His church, and subsequently to return and reign over the earth.
8. God created the universe ex nihilo (out of nothing) by His spoken word in six literal days as the Bible states.
9. There will be a resurrection of both the saved and the lost to either eternal life or eternal judgment.
10. A true child of God who is justified by the blood of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit is safe and exempt from God’s judgment and thus secure for eternity.