Equipping Families to be Strong in the Lord
Halloween is a great time to spread the gospel. It’s such an open door. People are already thinking along the lines of spirits, death, and ghosts.
This year, my dad wrote a little tract on “What the Bible says About Death.”
The tract is purely Scripture and we are excited about using it this year. If you’d like to use it too, please click here. Just print on both sides, cut in fourths, and fold in half.
Here’s what the inside of the tract says:
Last week Sarah and I spoke at the Daughters of Destiny camp, held once a year at Mountain Top Youth Camp in the hills of North Carolina.
It was a very beautiful camp! The lodge was built right at the top of a hill with a great view.
The sunsets were beautiful.
There were 60 girls, a very nice size because we had the chance to actually get to know each other over the course of the week. We were encouraged by their hunger to grow in Christ, their diligence in note-taking, and their enthusiasm about what they were learning.
A variety of classes were offered during the days, taught by several moms and older girls. One was a sketching class, pictured above. Some of the other classes were clay sculpting, herbs 101, Scripture study techniques, hair cutting, paper making, weaving, puppet ministry, and creation evangelism.
On a hike up the mountain.
The camp ended with a banquet and a “sacred music concert” performed by the girls. The theme of the evening was “the Lord’s love for us” and it was a very special night. Sarah concluded with a chalk talk. (And praise the Lord, we got our travel easel set up and taken down without dad or Stephen with us!)
Some of the girls have come to this “Daughters of Destiny” camp every year since it began — nine years ago! They testify to the dramatic encouragement it has been throughout their teen years. In addition to the teaching they receive at the camp, the friendships made with other like-minded girls is a gift they enjoy throughout the year.
“I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise … The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever…” (Psalm 138:1,8)
There were some neat answer-to-prayer stories about “getting the word out,” and we were grateful to the Lord for those He brought.
Singing “I am Your Shield”
The Counselor skit
Picking up nametags
Staff devotions. John 15 was our theme chapter for the week.
The “Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends” session.
Stephen does about a hundred things back there… I couldn’t name them all if I tried.
The guilty consciences, trying to convince Bekah that she doesn’t need to confess her sin.
Here are our two kitchen heroes from the week. Kelly served 3 meals a day to all 40 of our staff, and Mrs. Kramer did the conference snacks… and not just any conference snacks! She made homemade applesauce (9 gallons in all) and other homemade items. Her daughter Abby is getting married this weekend, so we are especially grateful that she still took the time to help with the conference!
Some very encouraging things happened on our free day, including an hour of witnessing at the mall and many good conversations.
My dad spent the whole time talking with a friendly Muslim man. Sounded like a very interesting conversation.
In conclusion, it was a great week. We praise the Lord for the beautiful things He did and taught us. Thank you to anyone who was praying.
Today is Bekah’s birthday! We surprised her with a little party Saturday night after the conference. Here’s the little song we sang for her. Even though there are a lot of inside jokes, I think you’ll still enjoy it.
Bekah, Bekah, we all love you, full of laughter, full of sun
Faithful, long term Bright Lights member, you provide us so much fun
When you enter, you bring laughter, you bring joy, you make a splash
We are thankful for your friendship and your secret chocolate stash!Bekah, Bekah, make us coffee, you don’t measure, it’s okay
We have grown to kind of like your simple, tasty, random way
You could use the coffee maker, aero press, or moka pot
French press, or the Keurig maker, make it strong and make it hot!9:00 we meet at office, ready for the day to start
It has been a two-day weekend, we can’t bear to be apart
We just miss your cell phone singing, tigger boings and little sounds,
More than that we love your laughter, little jokes and friendly bounce.Phone is ringing, won’t stop ringing, all you want to do is yawn
Coffee filters down to zero, and the precious cream is gone!
Where is Hannah when you need her? Tia’s gone to family camp.
Grace is talking in the bookstore. Stephen, did you take a nap?Nickie, are you always busy? Sarah’s door is closed the most.
And of course, like every morning, Mr. Mally burns his toast!
Packing orders, finding labels, post office is closing soon
Is it 5 O Clock already? I thought it was only noon.Think of all our conference memories: stubborn horses, cowboy boots
30 hours without sleeping, and your favorite—durian fruit!
Think of all the Asian cooking: fish eyes, squid, and sea weed bites
And your favorite from Australia, that delicious vegemite.If you ever get discouraged, think of all your favorite things
Target shopping, purple pillows, coffee mugs and cell phone rings,
IMing Nickie, when you should be working, playing dumb games on your nook
Don’t forget what you have written in your “I am Awesome” BookBekah, Bekah, Happy Birthday! Hope that you can really thrive
With the new responsibilities now that you are 25!
dusting your cubicle, learning to drink tea, and with the printer make amends
Bekah, Bekah Happy Birthday! Blessings from your loyal friends!
On a more serious note, thank you to everyone who was praying for our conferences last week! I will post some more pictures soon.
Here are a few things going on today here at our office.
Sarah and I practicing putting together the travel easel that we will be using next week at a girls camp in North Carolina. (Trying to prevent potential disasters from happening since we will not have our normal technical assistance along! [smile]) We only broke down in tears once, lol, but those were tears of laughter. I think we have it figured out now.
Since we were gone last week we had quite a few packages of materials going out to many Bright Lights groups today! My Grandpa packed almost all of them. We are VERY grateful for him.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul,And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5)
We are running Bright Lights conferences in St Cloud, MN this week. The “Strong in the Lord” conference went very well, and the Radiant Purity conference starts tonight. It’s looking like it will be a pretty large conference (there are over 400 registered).
This area of purity is a topic that young people are struggling with SO much! Please pray with us that the Lord uses this conference to convict, comfort, encourage, inspire … that the Word would be clearly taught and understood, that girls would respond to what they hear, and that fruit would remain for God’s glory. Thank you!
Hannah sharing a testimony during the Strong in the Lord conference a couple days ago.
Last weekend I attended a youth Bible retreat (connected with my church) called “Extreme Weekend” at Willowbrook Bible Camp in Des Moines.
Mark Woodhouse (an elder at my church) taught through the book of 1 Thessalonians over the weekend.
I had never noticed how every chapter in 1 Thessalonians points to the return of Christ. It is so important that Jesus’ return is consistently on our thoughts! It encourages our hearts and purifies our lives (1 Thess 4:18; 1 John 2:28)!
Saturday morning we went to a mall to share the gospel. Most of us started conversations by asking people for prayer requests. We’d say something like this: “Hi, we’re from a Christian Bible camp and we’re here at the mall today asking for prayer requests. We are going to pray for them this afternoon. Do you have any requests?”
Often, this led into a longer conversation. We saw many divine appointments.
I walked up as Josiah and Homer were praying with two guys, so I snapped this picture. Apparently they had a great conversation and one of them was very close to coming to Christ.
Eating lunch and sharing stories about the witnessing encounters God gave.
Back at the camp, Tony wrote the prayer requests on the board as we listed them.
It was fun to hear about the different approaches people used. One guy in our group hung out near the hunting section at Scheels because he found that to be an easy place to form friendships with kindred spirits and then witness to them [smile]. One girl got a manicure so she could have a conversation with the girl doing it. Another girl noticed a lady checking out a bunch of romance novels at Barnes and Noble and was burdened to talk to her about Jesus’ love.
I met an Indian girl who had only been in the US for 2 months. She said she had two Christian roommates that had been doing a Bible study with her! She told me about how they go phrase by phrase explaining what each verse means. It was exciting to have the opportunity to build on what the Lord is already doing in her life. (I left her with a “God of Wonders” DVD. If you are looking for a good evangelistic give-away DVD, this is definitely one I’d recommend.)
Praise the Lord for a long list of prayer items!
Praying for the requests mentioned, and, more importantly, for the people who told them to us.
Good-bye pictures with new friends!
Last night was our annual (well, almost annual) neighborhood pie party! It went great, praise the Lord! About 35 neighbors came from all around the block, and we were so excited about the warm responses and good connections made!
Our purpose for the pie party is simply to get acquainted with our neighbors.
The first year we had the pie party about a dozen neighbors came. It has just continued to grow since then. The neighbors like the opportunity to get to know each other. (Now they express strong disappointment to us when they have to miss a neighborhood pie party.)
Unfortunately, in today’s generation, most people don’t know their neighbors that well. It’s not because people are less social than they used to be – it’s just because they don’t “rely” on each other as much, and have more connections elsewhere. But we’ve seen that our neighbors really do like getting acquainted (and eating pie).
If you’d like to try this in your area, we’d highly recommend it! Here are a few tips:
1) Set aside a couple hours a few days in advance to go around, knock on doors, and invite all the neighbors. It’s helpful to tell them about it face to face. It also gives extra opportunity to get acquainted. (Sometimes I have long talks on their doorsteps!)
2) Print up a little paper to leave with them (or attach to doors) to remind them of the day, time, and place.
3) Whatever you serve for desert, make it special and memorable.
4) If there is a prayer request or celebration in the neighborhood, acknowledge that. For example, last night as everyone arrived my dad prayed to give thanks for the food and prayed especially for Harry, our next door neighbor struggling with cancer. We also honored the couple across the street who was celebrating their anniversary.
5) Use name tags. Last night my dad invented a new kind of name tag by cutting paper plates in fourths so they looked like pieces of pie.
Right now I am working on a study guide to go along with Will Our Generation Speak?. I’m looking for practical ideas similar to this one to include. I’d love to hear any you may have! Feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me. Thanks!
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” Hebrews 10:24
Remember the story of the woman in Luke 7 who wet Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair? Can you imagine being in her position? She experienced the favor, love and protection of Jesus Himself. The huge burden of her guilt was instantly lifted as she heard His voice tenderly telling her, “Your sins are forgiven … your faith has saved you; go in peace.” What an unbelievable privilege and gift.
What if, the next day, you found her sweeping her home, grumbling about something? You would think, What?! You’ve just had intimate personal contact with Jesus Himself and experienced His grace and forgiveness and love … what could you possibly be grumbling about now? Is He not enough for you?
The other day as I was feeling a little dissatisfied about something, a simple thought came into my heart: He has given me His Son.
He has given us … His Son!
If that doesn’t silence every form of internal murmuring and discontentment, then we need to gaze more thoroughly at who Jesus truly is. Having Him, we have everything. Possessing Him, we lack nothing. Let us not allow lesser desires to take our eyes off the only One who truly satisfies.
“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:8).”
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col 3:1).
The weekend before last we drove out to Ohio for our friend Danielle’s wedding.
We have been very blessed to have Dani on our team at many Bright Lights conferences both in the States and internationally.
A highlight of the trip was getting acquainted with Dani’s older brother and sister-in-law who are missionaries in Ukraine, and also with her sister and brother-in-law who are missionaries in Alaska. Dani has told us so much about them and how much they have encouraged her in the Lord over the years. It was special to see their excitement for their little sister, to see the expression on their faces during the “family prayer” on stage, and to see their joy over how the Lord has answered their prayers for Dani. The support, prayer and love of godly brothers and sisters is a huge treasure.
“Give thanks to the LORD for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1
Our friends the Bontragers host a unique event every year at their farm called the “Turning Hearts Celebration,” based off Malachi 4:6.
Home school families from all over Iowa and surrounding states come for a day of great fellowship, hay-rack rides, food, special music, and speakers. It has been exciting to see this event grow. This year topped every other year with over 1,200 people!
We wondered how that many people would fit, but much prayer went into the day, and the Lord worked it all out. (The Bontragers even served dinner! [smile])
It was nice having some friends who are students at the University of Iowa come with us.
The Duggar family sharing special music
In the evening Mr. and Mrs. Duggar did a Q&A time and shared a lot of good advice. I think my favorite point that Mrs. Duggar made was how Matthew 18:15-16 revolutionized the way she dealt with tattling with younger children. All the wisdom we need for every area of life is in the Word of God.
It was a good thing the Bontragers had a good sound system because as you can see, not everyone fit in that barn! The Bontragers ended the evening with a concert. If you haven’t heard their family sing before, I recommend you check their schedule here to see if they are coming to your area. You would be encouraged!
It is very encouraging to be with a large group of godly families for a day – to be reminded that God is raising up a generation of ministry-minded warriors!
When we consider the strong opposition to homeschooling in Germany and other nations, we’re reminded to be grateful to God for what He’s given us here. Those of us who were raised in godly homes with much godly teaching have great responsibility. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” (Luke 12:48) May we not lack zeal or focus, but run looking unto Jesus.
… let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus … (Hebrews 12:1-2)