Grace Notes – Page 13 – Tomorrow's Forefathers, Inc.

Daughters of Destiny Camp, Truth that Sets Us Free

October 22, 2015 Grace Mally4 Comments

Sarah and I were greatly encouraged to see the Lord’s hand at work in girls’ lives last week at the Daughters of Destiny camp at Mountain Top Youth Camp (in North Carolina).

Many girls made comments such as, “I felt like Sarah was speaking directly to me because she was addressing the very thing I’m dealing with!” or “I’ve been believing ‘that very lie’ and didn’t know it!” It was sweet to see their sensitive hearts to the Lord. Of course, this is all the LORD’s doing, and we’re so grateful for the MANY who were praying!

John 8:31-32 sums up our theme for the week:

“So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, ‘If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free'” (John 8:31-32).

It is awesome to witness how the “Truth sets free” – not only in salvation but in all kinds of life struggles! One of my prayers for the girls was that burdens would be lifted as they realize the Truth about God’s character in relation to their current trials.

Lining up for dinner

For example, we might believe fearful or discouraging thoughts about circumstances such as, “God isn’t paying attention to my current circumstances,” or, “Everything is going wrong.” Yet, the Truth is, “God works all things together for the GOOD of those who love Him” (Romans 8:28). And, “No purpose of [God’s] can be thrwarted” (Job 42:2), and, God “works all things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11).

The mountains were beautifully displaying colors everywhere we looked.

One topic that Sarah focused on quite a bit was “lies we believe about sin.” It was VERY encouraging to see girls resolve to confess hidden sin to parents–praise the Lord!

One lie commonly believed is, “I should conquer this sin on my own before telling anyone else I’m struggling.” But the TRUTH says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

There are many other lies, such as, “That happened so long ago, it doesn’t matter anymore,” or, “The only one I was hurting was myself,” or, “No one will ever know,” or “My parents would be so disappointed it would be better for them not to know,” or even, “This is just the way I am now, and I have to live with it.”

Those are all lies from Satan! Lies have always been his strategy, and they are damaging weapons. The truth is that total VICTORY can be experienced in Jesus Christ. But it won’t come by hiding our sin. It comes by bringing our sin out into the light! Yes, it takes great humility, but the pain of confessing doesn’t even compare to the joy and freedom of a clean life — forgiven and now able to be transparent — nothing to hide! It’s WORTH IT to confess your sin!

If you want victory, if you want healing, then “Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).

This young lady, Hope, was in a Bright Lights group for many years before she moved to North Carolina. She shared with us how much the Lord used her Bright Lights leader in her life, and how now SHE is praying about beginning her own group! We were so excited to hear that, and we think she will make a wonderful Bright Lights leader!

“… what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).

Sarah and I were amazed by the intricacy of some of the crafts the girls were doing!

We were especially grateful for the bread-making class as we got to eat the delicious breads they made.

This fall at home Sarah is writing Bright Lights Set 9 on this very topic of “lies and truth.” Hearing the girls’ feedback last week at camp was a huge help, encouragement, and confirmation that this set would meet a need.

On Tuesday night, Sarah spoke on “Lies we believe about ourselves.” This was one session the girls commented on the most.

Some common lies girls believe about themselves are, “I am worthless and insignificant,” “If I looked like so and so, then I’d be happy,” or “I’m a failure and a disappointment.”

The Truth is NOT to tell yourself “I am beautiful; I am talented; I am special.” No. The Truth is that we are desperately wicked! (Jeremiah 17:9).

But once we are IN CHRIST we have a new identity–we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). We find sweet rest and security when we understand who we are in God’s eyes once we are in Christ!

The Truth is that IN JESUS “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). We are “seated with Christ in heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6), we are valuable to Him (Matthew 10:29-31), we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9-10), and as we abide in HIM we can bring forth much fruit (John 15:4-5)! The list goes on and on.

As our lives bring praise to our Creator and Redeemer we find satisfaction–not in our own value but in His! We find joy, not in our own worth, but in falling before His Throne worshipping Him with gratefulness for His great love.

There’s a little peek into what the next Bright Lights set will be. We’d really appreciate prayer as we’re working on editing it this fall!

Banquet the final evening

After the camp, we went with Bill and Marj Longstreet to Charlotte. Together with their daughter Jan, they hosted a “Bright Lights Seminar” on Sunday afternoon at Fairbluff Bible Chapel. We were very blessed by them.

Quite a few moms and daughters came out to learn about the Bright Lights ministry at little seminar they hosted at Fairbluff Bible Chapel. It sounds like some more groups will be starting in that area, praise the Lord.

Grateful to Jan for all she did to host us!

Announcements

Two Upcoming Speaking Events

October 1, 2015 Grace Mally5 Comments

Sarah and I will be speaking at the Daughters of Destiny, a camp for young ladies held at Mountain Top Youth Camp October 11-17.

Sarah and I had a wonderful time at this camp two years ago (blog post here) and we are looking forward to coming back!

Since we’ll be in that part of the country, we are also speaking to women at Fairbluff Bible Chapel (4650 Fairbluff Place, Charlotte, NC 28209) the following Sunday (October 18). Information Below for the little Seminar we will be doing. We’d love to meet you if you live in the area and can make it.

Radiant in Christ Young Ladies Seminar

Taught by: Sarah and Grace Mally
When: Sunday afternoon, October 18th
Time: 2:00-4:30 P.M.
For: Young ladies of all ages and their mothers (single ladies also encouraged to attend)
Location: Fairbluff Bible Chapel (4650 Fairbluff Place, Charlotte, NC 28209)
Cost: Free
Topics Covered:
Growing Deeper in Your Walk with Jesus Christ
Radiant Purity – Guarding Your Heart and Emotions
How to Boldly Share the Gospel – Using the Years of Your Youth for Christ
Treasuring Relationships at Home – Being Best Friends with your Parents and Siblings
Preparing Young Ladies for Their Teen-age Years (break-out session for moms)

RSVP: If you are planning to come, please email [email protected] so that we know how many to prepare for.

Announcements/Family News

September Newsletter – Combatting Pornography

September 21, 2015 Grace Mally

In our most recent ministry newsletter, my dad addresses the problem of pornography. To read it or to sign up for our monthly newsletter, click here.

Miscellaneous/Witnessing Conferences

Witnessing Workshop, Dallas

September 9, 2015 Grace Mally7 Comments

Attending a “witnessing workshop” is not in most people’s comfort zone. And attending a witnessing workshop where everyone goes out witnessing at local “modern-day market places” that afternoon is about a mile out of most people’s comfort zone.

Evangelism is not a topic that appeals to our flesh. Far from a “clean family comedy” event, this event was more like planning “war strategies” – (war against lies and deception) … planning strategies that scare us because we know WE are the ones to be carrying them out… that very day.

Therefore, it’s a miracle from beginning to end for this conference to be a success.

We prayed that the Lord would bring those He wanted. Registrations were coming in very slowly. But they did come in, and the little church was filled with an energetic joy. Some emphasized to me, “We knew God wanted us here.” One family from Florida heard about the conference, found a great airline deal, and had their airline tickets bought–all in a 3-hour time frame. Wow – praise the Lord!

We were extremely encouraged by how we saw the Lord at work. We were thrilled that Dr. Jason Lisle was available to come and share two sessions. His talks on apologetics were fantastic. It was fun to see the audience captivated: laughing, learning, and asking questions.

I’ve heard Dr. Martin speak many, many times, but I think this was my very favorite. He shared practical advice on using tools (such as “Creation cards”) to engage the lost in conversation, and how to rejoice in rejection (Luke 6:22-23). He also shared a wealth of Biblical teaching on evangelism. Dr Martin speaks from much experience. Any who know the Martin family know that their whole lives are spent talking to people about the Lord Jesus!

Questions and Answers with Dr. Jason Lisle and Dr. Jobe Martin

One pressure that was weighing on me as we were planning the conference was Where are we going to send everyone to witness when we go out Saturday afternoon? Since I’m not from Dallas, I wasn’t sure which locations were best. But the Lord provided in a wonderful way: Mr. Noland, not knowing about this need, came over to the church a day before the conference (while Sarah was teaching the Bright Lights Leader’s Training that his daughter was attending). When he learned of this need, he offered to help, and he picked out five good locations for witnessing. Not only that, he also printed maps to each location. What a relief this was to me and my dad as we were using every minute we could to finish planning everything else!

Around 4pm Saturday afternoon we divided into about 5 father-led teams of about 20 per team.

After a couple of hours we came back to the church to share stories of what we saw God do!

Often we’re afraid to witness because we leave God out of the equation. We forget that the miracle-working God is alive and strong! But when we step out in obedience to tell people about Jesus, asking Him to give opportunities, what do you think He does? He answers those prayers big time! That doesn’t mean everyone we share with falls on their knees repenting (He’s already told us that won’t be the case). But we see HIM blessing our efforts, arranging conversations, and working in lives…

Many who attended the witnessing conference had not done evangelism in this form before (in public places, shopping areas, etc.) and I was praying they’d have a good first experience. Praise God, we heard story after story of wonderful conversations that the Lord arranged.

We had over 100 people out there sharing the gospel! Who knows how many unbelievers had a positive face-to-face loving encounter with a Christian about spiritual matters that afternoon?! What an encouraging thought that is. Just two hours with a group of 100 believers scattered around Dallas and so much can be accomplished!

I believe hearing these stories was a highlight for everyone.

When young people get on fire for witnessing, what an awesome path they have ahead. As they use their youth to do the most important work in the universe, they actually have more fulfillment and more excitement than all others. It’s a much richer life living for the One who died for us. And they’re an example to the believers (1 Tim 4:12). One friend of mine, Charis, 14, told me of a conversation she had with some other junior high girls about “what happens when we die.” Charis’ dad told me he was shocked by her boldness. I was so encouraged by her courage and growth!

As stories were told, Sarah and I wrote down a summary of each story shared on the whiteboard so we could remember to keep praying for those we talked to.

Abby sharing about a witnessing conversation

We’re extremely grateful to Lalo for all he arranged to make this conference happen. He has been a wonderful friend to our family, along with Dara and their adorable children.

Family News

Belated Mother’s Day

September 4, 2015 Grace Mally2 Comments

Our family went out for a belated Mother’s Day dinner last night and had a wonderful time. We also went to see the War Room and we’re praising God for the victory this excellent movie is and for the impact it will make. I was expecting it to be great and it was. I know it has already impacted me and it’s only been a few hours… I came home and started a new prayer journal to do a better job keeping track of answered prayer. I think it can be a very helpful thing for us to actually have a “hard copy” of some of the key things we’re asking the Lord to do.

Bright Lights Conferences/Radiant Purity Conferences

Radiant Purity Conference, Dallas, Texas

September 3, 2015 Grace Mally3 Comments

First session of Radiant Purity Conference, Dallas, Texas

In this first session, Sarah answers the question: “what is RADIANT purity?” Why don’t we just call it the “Purity Conference”? Sarah explains how it’s not just being pure yourself, but leading others in the way of purity. It’s having a life that stands out as different, and beautiful–and points others to Jesus Christ.

It was very exciting to see the Lord’s hand working in girls’ lives at the conference. In the small group discussions, many voiced their thirst for answers. They were struggling and wanted help. The most encouraging part was seeing their decisions to actually make changes in their lives. For example, here are a few comments we received:

“I want to spend more time now working on becoming the godly woman I hope to be rather than just daydreaming about finding a godly guy all the time… I thought the speaker made a very good point about how most failed relationships go wrong because of seeds planted before the people even met. That’s important for me to consider right now… I want to make more time actively for exploring the Bible rather than wasting time on social media…” – 17-year-old

“I let go of a guy, told him that I don’t see a future between us (which was really hard cause I’ve really liked him for a while now) … Some decisions I was facing like currently this weekend I got answers to on how to handle it. It was like God was speaking directly to me through the speakers.” – 18-year-old

One of topics the girls seem to appreciate the most is “Emotional Purity.” Sarah shares practical, Biblical advice on how not to be obsessed over a crush, and how to be a godly sister in Christ who is not flirtatious or rude. She encourages the girls to seek to build up young men around them rather than trying to get attention for themselves.

We had a unique, unexpected problem (well, we always do, but this one was especially noticeable): the sustain pedal on the keyboard wasn’t working, which made the piano sound kind of like a harpsichord. 🙂 Stephen and I took a careful look at it during a break and saw that it was definitely broken. We weren’t sure what to do. You don’t realize how much of a difference a sustain pedal makes until it’s broken.

Sarah came into the office and told a couple of the girls, “I have a prayer request. Pray that the pedal on the keyboard starts to work.” My first reaction was, “Does Sarah realize that’s not possible? Stephen and I looked at it, and it’s broken.” But then I remembered Oh yeah. God could fix it. In the next session, I couldn’t believe it: the sustain pedal was working! Then it stopped working again, so Stephen had the idea of switching to a different keyboard for the rest of the conference, and that really fixed the problem, praise the Lord.

It was really encouraging for me to hear how the Lord had been working in Brook’s life in the area of witnessing! I’m excited for how He is going to use her.

Alyssa (left) came up to me after the conference and told me about how she was wanting to witness to the other girls on her swim team back home but was finding it difficult. I agreed that it is tough to witness to friends in that context. I mentioned that it’s actually a lot easier to witness to people at the park that you don’t know, because you don’t have anything to lose.
“But I don’t want to serve God in a way that costs me nothing,” Alyssa replied.
That was a great comment, I thought.
“That’s true,” I agreed.
“But in a way there is nothing to lose by witnessing to your swim team either,” I remarked…
“Well, friendships,” she said.

Praise God for young ladies like Alyssa who desire to lay down their own lives and desires out of devotion to Christ. Sharing the gospel IS a sacrifice. Living for Jesus DOES cost. And many aren’t willing to pay the price. But when we look from the perspective of the cross, it’s not a price–it’s a privilege.

“We need to get over,” Nickie told me with an intense tone of voice. She was driving one of our 15 passenger vans and I was in the passenger’s seat texting someone. I looked up and noticed that smoke was filling the van. Since we were on a busy Dallas interstate, it took Nickie a little bit to get over to the side of the road. I was worried the van might burst into flames before we all got out. But God protected us.

Eventually my dad arrived, and then two men from a local Bible chapel came to help us. “Usually God sends angels in pairs,” my dad told them gratefully. 🙂 It turned out that a wire came loose from a power inverter and the insulation on the end was charred, thus causing the smoke.

As you can see, I’ve been very slow with sharing reports here this summer, but if you’re interested in more pictures and reports, Caitlin did a fantastic job updating her blog here.

Bright Lights Conferences/Strong in the Lord Conf.

Strong in the Lord Conference, Dallas, Texas

August 26, 2015 Grace Mally1 Comment

It feels like we just got off a roller coaster. 🙂 Our summer of conferences just came to an end and most of our summer staff is now gone. It’s been sad to part with them, but our hearts are filled with gratefulness to God for His work this summer. He does more than we ask or imagine! I’ll try to catch up on blog reports by posting in segments, starting with our “Strong in the Lord Conference” in Dallas, August 4-5th.

When we arrived at the church in Texas that would be hosting the conferences, we were greeted warmly by the church staff. We learned that they had been waiting for us since 7:30 am. Aaron (in black) told us he had been in our state, Iowa, before … playing football against the Hawkeyes. We laughed as we realized that since Stephen is a photojournalist for our local paper (covering Hawkeyes every year) he has pictures of Aaron stored in his old archives. 🙂

Soon local Bright Lights leaders and friends began joining our leadership team. Yet again, the Lord provided a team of leaders who were united, loved Christ, and were passionate to make Him known. Only the Lord can pull together such a group.

A couple hours before the conference began, we had an exciting arrival! 🙂 (We did a “quick print” of these Will Our Generation Speak? study guides to have a box for conferences.) They will be available on our online store soon.

When all the girls are there, it really hits what a responsibility and privilege it is to be speaking into their lives. We’re also vividly aware of the need for much PRAYER, as only the Lord can touch these hearts.

While the girls are in small groups, my mom leads a prayer time with the moms, praying for the conference and their daughters.

Abby and Ana, perplexed that the coffee peculator was making so much noise in the back of the moms prayer time. I’m always pleased when I can be around to document these special behind-the-scenes moments, haha. Ana Skrnich (15) was actually in charge of food for the entire conference week–which meant cooking for 40 of us leaders, two meals a day, as well as doing snacks for the conference. She did a phenomenal job! In fact, I think this is the only time I saw Ana with this perplexed expression. 🙂

We are THRILLED when dads come with their daughters. Nia (left) shared with me that her dad is a pastor and has been speaking a lot about evangelism recently. She is really excited about witnessing and would like to start a witnessing team. It was sweet to see the sparkle in Nia’s eyes as she spoke of her desire to reach the lost the gospel!

Making colored “gospel bracelets”

The girl on my right in this picture has been faithfully spending time in the Word since the Lord convicted her about that two years ago at the last Bright Lights conference in Dallas – praise the Lord! Her mom explained about this to me. How encouraging to see her faithfully following Him!

During our sharing time afterward, Emily Selander reported that one 9-year-old on her team, Taylor, trusted Christ for salvation. I had the privilege of meeting Taylor afterward as well. She was very excited about her decision to follow Jesus! Taylor’s mom told us that they’d had many discussions about what it means to be saved, but apparently it hadn’t clicked with her until that night. Emily shared that Taylor was crying during the chalk talk, obviously very emotional about the decision she had just made. But then Taylor wiped her tears away, sat up, and said, “okay, now I’m just excited!” It was very sweet.

I remembered a text I had received from Mirren Martin earlier that day. She said that her dad prayed for the Bright Lights conference during their family devotions, and that he had prayed for the salvation of unsaved girls. Mirren and Taryn attended that night and it was a joy to send them home with the news that their dad’s prayer had been answered. Praise the Lord!

Our leadership team

Announcements

Witnessing Workshop, Dallas, Texas

August 10, 2015 Grace Mally4 Comments

We’ve seen the Lord’s sustaining hand in many ways through the last week of Bright Lights conferences here in the Dallas area. More reports coming soon. This weekend will be our witnessing conference. Here’s a little more information:

Click here for link to flyer or here to register.

We know Satan does not want believers to become encouraged to share their faith. If you’d be willing to join us in praying for this conference we would be so grateful. Please pray:

-That the Lord would change lives, imparting to us HIS heart and HIS thoughts.
-That our time of witnessing at parks/malls on Saturday afternoon would be orchestrated and blessed by the Lord.
-That the Lord would bring those who He wants to attend.
-That the Word of God would be proclaimed boldly and “accepted … not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe (1 Thessalonians 2:13).”

Right now I’m sitting in the back of the Bright Lights leaders training which started about an hour ago here in the Dallas area. It has already been encouraging to listen to the girls and moms introduce themselves and share why they came. The Lord brought together a special group, and I think it’s going to be a great few days of fellowship. We’d appreciate prayer for this time also. 🙂

Creation Museum

Bright Lights Leaders at Creation Museum

July 29, 2015 Grace Mally1 Comment

We have several girls staying with us during July and August to help run our summer Bright Lights conferences. In between conferences in Omaha and Dallas, we decided to take the girls to the Creation Museum.

The sprinklers went off while taking this picture, adding some excitement 🙂

In Noah’s Cafe

The Lord answered prayers and put together a wonderful “package” for us in Cincinnati. Since I’ve already blogged about the museum in the past, I thought I’d share about a few of the other events of the weekend.

We asked Steve Ham to share with our group, and we were so excited to hear about the amazing things God is doing with Answers in Genesis internationally! Steve also shared some helpful witnessing tips. He emphasized, “Genesis doesn’t just lead to the gospel–the gospel is in Genesis.” He presented a series of great pictures of the gospel from the first few chapters of Genesis, and we’re still talking about some of the points he made.

I asked Tony Ramsek? (who heads up the NEA outreach that I help with) to share with our group about evangelism. He shared 22 points which really met our team “where they were at,” and the girls appreciated it greatly. I’m glad I recorded it because all the leaders want the recording. (And now they are just waiting for his book. 🙂 )

The next morning, we joined Tony and his family and friends at their gospel booth. The Lord blessed us with some very good conversations, and the time of witnessing was one of the highlights of the trip for the leaders.

We saw the Lord provide many opportunities for conversations. For example, Anita (one of the leaders from Mexico) met a young, lonely, Hispanic mom who expressed much thankfulness for the talk. Anita is now working on connecting her with a church. There were many encouraging encounters (I still haven’t heard all the stories), and we’re grateful for the Lord’s blessing on that time!

This guy with the spiky hair stayed around talking for a long time! He was very convinced he is a good person, and adamant that his good deeds should give him merit with God. Lissets (in black) spoke to him of God’s perfect law and cautioned him about the danger of trusting his own heart, while following the world’s standards of “good.” Please join us in praying that the Lord convicts him of his need for a Savior!

Anna and Emily had a wonderful talk with the lady at the ticket booth. She was a believer with a powerful testimony. It was a unique conversation because they kept having to move to the side when the next car came, but it was a blessing both ways.

We also went to see the Ark in progress (see it behind us).

There’s a small little building set up where they have plans and descriptions for visitors to see. I was convicted about how important it is to be praying for this project right now as they are designing everything … making decisions that will be seen and read by so many!

With Grace and Faith Ramsek. We’re grateful to their family for their hospitality as it’s not a small thing to host a group of 10 girls for 3 nights! We saw a fawn in the grass from the window just before taking this picture. As we were walking outside, Faith remarked, “Hopefully the baby deer won’t photobomb our picture.” 🙂

We are now on the road again, this time with two fifteen passenger vans and a 24 ft. trailer, headed to Texas. We’ve already seen His protection in catching and repairing some mechanical trouble before we left.

We’d appreciate prayer for the Lord’s hand on the upcoming five conferences. We’re grateful that He has good plans ahead and is powerful to carry them out!

Bright Lights Conferences/Radiant Purity Conferences

Radiant Purity Conference, Council Bluffs

July 24, 2015 Grace Mally1 Comment

Sarah teaching first session of Radiant Purity conference

God has gifted Nickie with an ability to keep things organized and running smoothly. She does an incredible amount behind the scenes. Please keep praying for her and her family as they miss their dad so much.

We’ve been blessed to have interpreters doing sign language at our conferences so that some deaf young ladies and parents could attend. They added a sweet and beautiful dimension to the conference. We are also very grateful to Deaf Missions for housing our entire team!

We’re so glad that Hadassah (left) could “hear” the conference through the interpreters. She was so sweet to get to know.

Kayla shared a beautiful testimony of God’s healing and redemption in her life. It was encouraging to see many girls impacted by her story.

Many of our leaders shared testimonies of deep struggles, God’s restoration, and the victory they now experience in Him. We’re so grateful to the Lord for the transparency (and discretion) of the godly leaders the Lord has provided to help us run the conferences.

While walking down a hallway, one of our leaders, Emily, mentioned to me how most of the testimonies shared from stage were “redemption stories.” I agreed, and we both thought that was really helpful for the conference. But then I began thinking, You know, every one of us has a redemption story. It may vary in color and dynamics, but none of us are actually “pure” or deserving of a godly marriage. We were all filthy with sin, but have been loved and cleansed and cherished by our Heavenly Prince who has washed us with His blood and is preparing us for the day we stand before Him. In Him we are pure. Without Him we sink in sin—whether the sins are committed or just thought—we’re all unworthy of His blessings, but by His GRACE blessed beyond measure. Just as He redeems us from Hell for eternal life with Him, so it is by His redeeming work in our lives that He makes us fit for godly marriages for His glory.

We cannot stress this too much: Our motivation for purity is not just so we have a good marriage one day, not just for a future husband, but for love of Christ. 1 John 3:3 says “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”

As our group of leaders was eating dinner after the purity conference, Tami Kolar (a conference hostess) shared with us how she felt that any girl would feel welcome at the purity conference, no matter what mistakes she had in her past. We were encouraged by her words. This is our desire and prayer.