Month: April 2008

Homeschool Conferences

Kansas City Homeschool Conference


Myself, Marie, Chrissy

We had great weekend at the Kansas City Homeschool Conference! We stayed pretty busy at our booth and we were grateful to the Lord that our two sessions (“Training Young Ladies to be Bright Lights for the Lord” and “Raising Daughters who are Pure in a Generation of Darkness”) went well. We pray that the Lord would use what we said in the lives of those who came.

We are doing a Bright Lights Conference and Radiant Purity Conference in Kansas City in July, so we put some extra effort into getting the word out about that.


Keshia (Bright Lights Leader in Kansas City) and me

One of the highlights of the trip was meeting several girls and moms who ran Bright Lights groups in Kansas. I knew most of them by name, but meeting them in person was special! We heard reports from them, and were able to get acquainted with a few girls of the “Bright Lights girls” who attended their groups.
It excites me to know that these groups exist and are meeting on an ongoing basis. Accountability over a long period of time is effective! People normally don’t change overnight; it takes girls time to learn and grow. When a young lady is regularly attending Bright Lights meetings and fellowshipping with other girls who are also seeking to be truly strong for the Lord in their youth, it gives her “spiritual food” on a regular basis and changes her life.


Dawn and Keshia, Bright Lights leaders

I introduced these two Bright Lights leaders (Dawn and Keshia) to each other because they hold their Bright Lights meetings in the same town but neither of them knew that the other existed! It was fun to make that connection. I think they are now talking about getting their groups together for a special meeting sometime.

I first met Keshia at the Kansas Homeschool Conference five years ago. Keshia has been faithfully leading a group for several years now and she explained to me how she is currently training three of the older girls in her group to lead so that they’ll be able to take over for her.

We praise the Lord for Bright Lights leaders around the country who are faithfully following Jesus’ last commandment – to make disciples. One day they will reap a harvest and they’ll be grateful for every ounce of energy they put into the Lord’s service!
Jesus told us that we demonstrate our love for Him by feeding His sheep. There are a lot of sheep out there that need to be fed! A spiritual battle is raging today and it’s obvious that the enemy is especially targeting young people. If we want to be faithful warriors for the Lord, wrestling for spiritual victory in the lives of young people, we need to prioritize our lives (2 Tim 2:4) and get into the battle! We only have one life, one chance to fight in the battle for the Lord. When we personally meet the “Captain of the host of the Lord” as Jesus describes Himself in Josh 5:14 whatever we’ve done for Him will be worth it!



Packing up

It was a last minute decision for my dad to come along. Boy, are we glad he did! Packing and unpacking would have taken so much longer without him (My dad is a master at packing vans and trailers. 🙂 ) And, of course, it’s more fun to have Dad along.


Dad’s bedroom

Since my dad didn’t want to pay for another hotel room just for himself, he decided to sleep in the van.
Poor dad. But he didn’t seem too bothered by it. He just spent a lot of time in the hotel lobby… 🙂 Thanks for everything, Dad…we sure appreciated you on this trip!

Homeschool Conferences

Review of past week…

Last week was busy! Here’s a short summary starting on Wednesday…



First of all, we got the orders off. Yea! (Thanks to Chrissy and Nickie for doing orders for us so often!)



Next, we got Mom, Dad and Sarah off. Yea! (That was a big accomplishment.) They planned to leave at 9am and ended up leaving at 4pm…but they had good reasons for leaving late. It was a lot of work to pack that whole van and trailer!



Finally, Stephen and I were free to pack for our trip to Indianapolis. We loaded up from our new building, which made things easier. We finished packing late and then went home to pack our personal luggage…



At 5am Stephen left with one mini van because he had to pick up some materials in Chicago on the way.



At 7:30 am, I locked up and left in another mini van headed for Indianapolis with Nickie, Rebekah, and Rachel.




The whole conference went smooth and it was a blessing to be there!



We were excited to talk with several girls who are hoping to begin Bright Lights groups. Here is Nickie talking with a young lady who is hoping to start a group soon.

I’m sorry I don’t have time to share more details with you. For now, I figured that pictures are better than nothing. I’m leaving tomorrow morning for the Kansas City Homeschool Conference. I’d appreciate prayer because I am doing one of Sarah’s sessions that I’ve never done before. God bless you all! Keep your eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-3.

Homeschool Conferences

Quick Report of the Day

Here are a few quick pictures from the day today.
Our booth

I spent many hours behind this booth today–along with the BL staff who came with us. It was a great day! We’re grateful to the Lord that everything went well.

The vendor hall here in Indianapolis

We really enjoyed visiting with all those who came by our booth. I forgot how much I like homeschool conferences. 🙂

I hear that things are going well for my mom, dad, and Sarah at the Minnesota Homeschool Conference as well.

Homeschool Conferences

Packing, Etc!

Dad packing trailor
We’ve spent a lot of time packing in the last 3 days!
Our New Banner
We are happy to have a few additions to our booth this year. Here we are unrolling our new vinyl banner.

I am currently in Indianapolis with Stephen (and a few other girls who came to help) for the Indy Homeschool Conference. My parents and Sarah are at the Minnesota Homeschool Conference. We’ve done some intensive packing in the past few days but we are grateful that we’ve both arrived safely at our destinations! I will share more details later. For now, I need to catch up on some much needed sleep…

Family News

Chicken Noodle Soup Disaster

My mom made a big pot of chicken noodle soup to take to a family from our church who was sick. As she was taking it to the car…….somehow something slipped. Poor mom, she had been working on the soup all day, and it was really delicious (or so I hear). She screamed really loud (her natural reaction when she spills something) and my dad came frantically running out. I think he was relieved that the problem wasn’t more serious. A few minutes later, Stephen and I pulled into the driveway to an unexpected sight….

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We’ve shoveled a lot of snow this year, but I never guessed that I’d be shoveling chicken noodle soup!

I was at a friends house recently and saw a little wooden sign in their kitchen that said “There is always, always, always something to be grateful for.” Even when things go wrong, benefits arise. For example, we learn patience, we have something to laugh about (well, later), we remember to be more grateful for all the times when we didn’t spill the soup, [smile] etc.
If things “go wrong” at your house today, don’t forget to “Give thanks in everything, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thess 5:18)

Homeschool Conferences

Our Van Left Without Us!

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As I type, four of our Bright Lights staff are on the road headed to Illinois for the Peoria Homeschool Convention. We had a busy day packing and sending them off!

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Thank you Bekah, Elyssa, Chrissy, and Nickie! We are grateful to God for our great Bright Lights representatives! Hope you are having a good time. [smile]

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Stephen configuring our Point of Sales software –making sure it’s all working correctly

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Stephen explaining to the girls how to set up the projector for the session they will be giving

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Dad packing the van

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Dad giving final instructions and directions to Nickie, “the driver” [smile]

Miscellaneous

Our 2008 Schedule

Here is our current 2008 conference schedule–at least, what we have planned so far. We’re looking forward to a great year! We are grateful for the ways the Lord has guided and provided thus far, and we are praying that He will be working mightily in the days to come, producing eternal fruit for His glory.

“…we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

Below are the conferences my family or our Bright Lights staff will be at, and the titles of the session(s) we will be giving.

April
11-12 Peoria, IL (APACHE)- Bright Lights Staff
Booth: 225
-Training Young Ladies to be Bright Lights for the Lord

18-19 Duluth, MN (MACHE) – Mr. and Mrs. Mally and Sarah
Booth: 308
-Raising Young Ladies to Be Pure in a Generation of Darkness

18-19 Indianapolis, IN (IAHE) – Stephen and Grace Mally and Bright Lights Staff
Booth: 301, 302
-Training Young Ladies to be Bright Lights for the Lord

25-26 Kansas City, KS (MPE) – Bright Lights Staff
Booth: 1108, 1109
-Raising Young Ladies to Be Pure in a Generation of Darkness
-Training Young Ladies to be Bright Lights for the Lord

May
2-3 Lansing, MI (INCH) – Mally Family
Booth: 67
-How to Start a Bright Lights Group
-Learning From Dad
-Peace Treaties in the Living Room
-Raising Young Ladies to Be Pure in a Generation of Darkness

9-10 Arlington, TX (Home School Book Fair) – Mally Family
Booth: 200
-Peace Treaties in the Living Room

23-24 Orlando, FL (FPEA) – Grace Mally and Bright Lights Staff
Booth: 212
-Training Young Ladies to Be Bright Lights for the Lord

June
6-7 Des Moines, IA (NICHE) – Mally Family

-Credentials Without College
-Knights, Maidens, and Dragons
-Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
-Peace Treaties in the Living Room
Preparing Young Ladies for their Teen Years

6-7 Naperville, IL (ICHE) – Bright Lights Staff

-Training Young Ladies to Be Bright Lights for the Lord

24-25 Bemidji, MN (Bright Lights)
Radiant Purity Conference

27-28 Bemidji, MN (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

July
8-9 Kansas City, KS (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

11-12 Kansas City, KS (Bright Lights)
Radiant Purity Conference

August
11-12 Lansing, MI (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

13-14 Lansing, MI (Bright Lights)
Radiant Purity Conference

15-16 Lansing, MI (Heart of Homeschooling Conference)

September
6 Singapore (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

10-13 Melaka, Malaysia (Bright Lights)
ATII/Bright Lights Conference

16-18 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

20 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Bright Lights)
Radiant Purity Conference

22-24 Melaka, Malaysia (Bright Lights)
Strong in the Lord Conference

27 Singapore (Bright Lights)
Radiant Purity Conference

If we are in your area, feel free to inquire whether we are available for a presentation
at your group or church. Also, you can see our Presentation Page for a list of our messages.

Bright Lights Local Group

Dads at Bright Lights

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We invited all the dads to come with their daughters to Bright Lights last night. We all enjoyed having the dads there. 🙂 We showed a video called The Return of the Daughters. This professionally made documentary addresses the God-given role of young ladies, gives vision for how girls can use their single years for the Lord, and shows in a beautiful way the blessings and benefits that come when a young lady honors her father and seeks to make him successful. The video was very well received, and my dad said that the 30+ fathers who were there had a good time of sharing afterwards while all of us girls divided into discussion groups downstairs. It created some special fellowship to have a whole group of like-minded fathers watching it together with their daughters. It’s exciting and encouraging to see many strong families in our community.

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For an activity, all the dads had to draw a picture (with their daughter’s verbal help) of something related to their occupation. We taped them up on the wall afterwards for everyone to look at. It was funny to see the little cartoons they all came up with.
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Family News

Chicago Bible Quizzing Tournament

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Last Saturday, Sarah and my dad accompanied me to my last WBQA Bible Quizzing Tournament of the year. The tournaments are always intense, very competitive, and lots of pressure…. but also enjoyable (at times). 🙂 It’s like a sport, except it’s mental and not physical. Quizzers have to build their “memory muscles” to contain lots of God’s Word.

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A strategy timeout during the finals

I love Bible Quizzing! (As my family knows, I don’t say that when I’m cramming right before a tournament… 🙂 ) but really, I am SO grateful for the way quizzing has helped me to memorize God’s word and for the way my parents have enouraged me to involved. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.