Grace Notes

Bright Lights Conferences/Strong in the Lord Conf.

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Strong in the Lord Conference

3 Comments

Karen and Elizabeth greeting people as they arrived.

The conference went smoothly and I heard many good reports from the small group times. Praise the Lord. We always enjoy running the conference at home where so many local friends are able to come.

Pictured here is Sarah leading a minute of silent prayer, encouraging the girls to commit to reading the Bible every day–even if it is just for a few minutes. We are always encouraged by the many girls who make this commitment.

“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple. I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as thou usest to do unto those that love thy name. Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver me from the oppression of man: so will I keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes” (Psalm 119:129-135).

Bright Lights Conferences/Radiant Purity Conferences

Radiant Purity Conference, Carrollton, Texas

6 Comments

Sarah teaching a main session

Since we had many musicians among the leaders who were helping us with this conference, we pulled together a little ensemble to accompany the singing before the main sessions.

Our sharing time lasted quite a while as many had refreshing reports from their small group times.

We were blessed to have a large group of staff for this conference (local girls who joined us) … as is evidenced by the height of our empty-pizza-box pile.

I still can’t get over how cute this little guy is. We caught him in the place we were staying.

Waiting for the first flat tire on the way home to get fixed.

Waiting for the second flat tire on the way home to get fixed.

It was a great trip! God took care of us and we felt very blessed in so many ways.

Reports and pictures from the IOWA conferences coming next.

Bright Lights Conferences/Strong in the Lord Conf.

Strong in the Lord Conference – Carrollton, Texas

3 Comments

Below is a slideshow of pictures from the Carrollton, Texas “Strong in the Lord conference.” We took one photo an hour (from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM) to show how Wednesday progressed. We were excited to see the Lord working in many people’s lives.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=’G0000RbvgLyPU_N0′ g_name=’Carrollton-Texas-Strong-in-the-Lord-Conference’ f_show_slidenum=’t’ img_title=’f’ pho_credit=’f’ f_link=’f’ f_enable_embed_btn=’t’ f_send_to_friend_btn=’t’ f_fullscreen=’t’ f_bbar=’t’ f_mtrx=’t’ fsvis=’f’ width=’549′ height=’412′ f_constrain=’t’ bgcolor=’#AAAAAA’ btype=’old’ bcolor=’#CCCCCC’ crop=’f’ trans=’xfade’ tbs=’4000′ f_ap=’t’ bgtrans=’f’ linkdest=’c’ twoup=’f’ f_topbar=’f’ f_bbarbig=” f_htmllinks=’f’ f_show_watermark=’f’ f_show_caption=’f’ f_smooth=’f’ f_up=’f’ target=’_self’ wmds=’llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.Y5pqQ4FLOgmOToF.byYu3PmS..ierrSEuQRUYZrdDhjOVTgcQlw–‘ ]

Bright Lights Conferences/Radiant Purity Conferences

Topeka, KS, Radiant Purity Conference

4 Comments

One of the highlights of our Bright Lights conference trips is the encouraging fellowship time before each conference when we (our group of leaders) share with each other what God is teaching us from the Word.

Once the conference begins, things become very busy!

The skits always keep us on our toes. Often someone is missing something backstage (well, that would usually be me [smile]) and we all frantically hunt for it… but it usually comes together just in time. [smile]

Many girls say one of their favorite parts of the conference was the chalk talk.

This skit on Saturday afternoon was about trusting God instead of listening to our fears.

Saturday night it usually takes several hours to pack up. Thankfully, we work as a team. (i.e. I take pictures while they work. Just kidding. [smile]) …And, though we’re tired, we are usually working with encouraged hearts – appreciating the many blessings God gave during the week and the ways we saw Him work.

Bins ready to be loaded into the trailer!

One sad part of each conference is saying goodbye to so many special friends…like little Bethany (whose family was hosting the conference). She had become Lilly’s little shadow. [smile]

We are now in Carrollton, Texas, and the Radiant Purity Conference here starts in about four hours. Thank you to any who are praying for us. I will be posting pictures from the “Strong in the Lord” conference here tomorrow.

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam 3:22-23)

Strong in the Lord Conf.

Topeka, Kansas Strong in the Lord Conference

5 Comments

Tonight we concluded the “Strong in the Lord” Conference in Topeka, Kansas. All went very well – praise the Lord! I thought you would enjoy seeing some of the pictures Stephen took of the skits and testimonies. The Radiant Purity Conference starts Friday. Thank you so much for your prayers.

[photoshelter-gallery g_id=’G0000EW3Q0eZLntU’ g_name=’Topeka-Kansas-Strong-in-the-Lord-Conference’ f_show_slidenum=’t’ img_title=’f’ pho_credit=’f’ f_link=’f’ f_enable_embed_btn=’t’ f_send_to_friend_btn=’t’ f_fullscreen=’t’ f_bbar=’t’ f_mtrx=’t’ fsvis=’f’ width=’549′ height=’412′ f_constrain=’t’ bgcolor=’#AAAAAA’ btype=’old’ bcolor=’#CCCCCC’ crop=’f’ trans=’xfade’ tbs=’2000′ f_ap=’t’ bgtrans=’f’ linkdest=’c’ twoup=’f’ f_topbar=’f’ f_bbarbig=” f_htmllinks=’f’ f_show_watermark=’f’ f_show_caption=’f’ f_smooth=’f’ f_up=’f’ target=’_self’ wmds=’llQ6QNgpeC.p1Ucz7U.Y5pvAlQSZh0RTTtryeLDOx6zKcwF6rZo09TofYVAenP4DRkm8yQ–‘ ]

Bright Lights Local Group/Witnessing Stories

Downtown on the 4th!

3 Comments

The 4th of July is one of the best times I know of for witnessing. People just sit around bored waiting for the fireworks to start. Everyone is in a festive mood, and many are very open to conversation!

A group of 12 of us gathered downtown to share the gospel with people. It turned out to be a terrific evening.

Here Michael Biegler and Jonathon Olson were having a conversation with a couple who were a bit argumentative, yet interested and friendly. They talked for over 30 minutes.

In the picture above, Nickie and Hannah talked with several older ladies. Sometimes older people know a lot of Christian terminology but have never actually understood the simplicity of the gospel!

As I was taking the above picture, I also noticed two girls sitting a ways away, listening to Nickie. Later, Nickie told me she talked to those two girls as well! She said they were seriously interested, and close to the point of putting their faith in Christ! Please pray for them.

My dad and Brad had several great conversations. They came back to our group afterwards with excitement and it was fun hearing their report!

When it got dark we all came together to share stories. Few activities are as satisfying as getting the gospel out to many people.

At Bright Lights last Monday, Sarah, Stephen and I taught a meeting on witnessing. (We combined the girls in Bright Lights and the guys from Stephen’s Light Shop group.) In the picture above, Michael is sharing a story from one of his conversations from the 4th:

One couple he talked with claimed to be believers, so he asked them, “Do you share your faith very much?”

“Well…” the guy hesitated.

Michael replied, “Well, suppose you were a fireman and someone was in danger on the 2nd floor of a burning building, and you had all the equipment to rescue him–”

About this point, Michael noticed that the wife gave a little half-smile, and glanced at her husband.

“He is a fireman,” she said.

Michael laughed and replied, “Oh, then you will really relate to this. Okay, what if you didn’t rescue that person even though you had the ability to do so? You would be in big trouble, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh yeah!” the guy strongly affirmed.

“Well, as a fireman you are only saving them from an earthly death, but when we share the gospel we are showing them the way to be saved from eternal death. Which do you think is more important?”

This leaves us all with a challenge. Let’s view life from an eternal perspective, obey the commands of Jesus, and enjoy the blessings of being in the battle WITH CHRIST.

Miscellaneous/Witnessing Stories

Unusual Mission in Washington DC!

7 Comments

Last weekend, Nickie and I were in Washington DC … for a very unique purpose.

We were helping Answers in Genesis pass out 4,000 DVDs and hundreds of books to public school teachers across the nation. These were teachers who had gathered for the NEA (National Educators Association) Convention.

It was a high-energy, challenging, and very encouraging weekend!

If you look closely, you’ll see that a lot is happening: Dan Lietha (AIG’s Cartoonist) is drawing free caricatures while Dan Breeding is using his owl to teach about God’s creation. Others are passing out the DVDs and engaging in scientific and gospel conversations.

Yes… the booth received a lot of attention. Praise God!

Not everyone was very happy about what we stood for. This man was protesting by pacing back and forth in front of our booth with his sign until authorities forced him to leave.

While Dan Lietha drew caricatures, Nickie and I got to know the teachers standing in line. Some stood in line for over an hour, and we had the opportunity to share the gospel with many of them. And sometimes, James or Tony preached the gospel to all of them at once, as pictured above.

Nickie’s conversation with these three girls lasted over an hour. They were full of spiritual questions.

Dan’s monitor lizard received lots of attention.

So did the owl.

While sight-seeing before and after the conference, we also had many unique opportunities to praise God for. [smile] One morning Nickie and I had an great conversation with the shuttle driver. (Shuttle is in the picture behind Nickie across the street). Sometimes it’s hard to know how to start conversations with shuttle drivers about the gospel. But this time, I decided to just come out and ask him a straight-forward question. Only have one chance, right?! [smile]
“I have a question for you,” I told him. “If you died today do you think you would go to Heaven?” I asked (or something close to that).
Although the man said he was Orthodox Christian, he wasn’t very confident in his beliefs, wanted answers, and then thanked us warmly, saying, “I learned something today!”
What a refreshing start to the morning!

Here was another neat encounter. As we walked by this bus driver who was waiting for his passengers to return, we handed him a tract about the 4th of July. Then, after walking another fifty yards, we decided we should go back and talk to him more. And we were really glad we did. Turns out he was a believer and wanted more of our tracts to give to his passengers!

What a gift from God to have the opportunity not just to visit DC, but to pass out thousands of DVDs and books that will be going into the homes of influential people all across the country. Please join us in praying that those resources change our country from the inside out – one life at a time!

For more pics and video clips of the action, see HERE.

Announcements/Family News

Yesterday’s Delivery

12 Comments

You know the feeling when something good happens or you reach a mile-mark, and your heart swells with the desire for Jesus to be praised? That’s how it felt yesterday …

… when the semi arrived (a day early) and we unloaded all of our books. We are so excited to have this project done and to be getting the book into people’s hands.

The 90 degree weather + high humidity made it an extra *special* day for unloading, didn’t it, Bekah? [smile]

Dad organized our office basement “warehouse” while we were in Connecticut so we’d have space to put the boxes.

Nolia, who has begun volunteering in our office three afternoons a week (and has been a very sweet addition) spent all afternoon putting books in envelopes to mail to all those who have pre-ordered the book at the various spring home school conferences.

Thank you so much to everyone who was praying for this project! I definitely came to a new understanding of the Lord’s strength, which is not limited by our weaknesses.

“Praise God in his sanctuary … Praise Him for His mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness … Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.” Psalm 150

Homeschool Conferences

California and Connecticut

3 Comments

Sarah, Stephen and I flew to our last two home school conferences–one in California and one in Connecticut.

For our last conference, we “shipped” some of our material via suitcase, since we were allowed to check 2 suitcases per person. We had 6 large suitcases, 3 small suitcases, and 3 other carry-ons. Twelve pieces of luggage and only three people makes it a bit harder to get around! I tried to push them all like a little train but it didn’t work. [smile]

We had a rather unique trip to Connecticut, actually. Stephen found a cheap flight from Chicago to Boston, so we drove to Chicago Wednesday night, slept a few hours in the van, and then arrived at the airport at 4 AM to get everything checked in time for our 6 AM flight. After arriving in Boston, we drove 2 hrs. to Connecticut, picked up the rest of our boxes at UPS, set up our booth at the convention center, checked into the hotel, and then spoke at the conference at 5:00 PM. A rather long day. [smile]

One of the highlights of the conference is making friends with young ladies who are interested in discipleship and hoping to start Bright Lights groups.

Sarah explaining about the Bright Lights material.

We ordered a quick digital printing of Will Our Generation Speak? so we could have a box for these conferences. It is definitely exciting to be actually getting them into peoples’ hands! Our large shipment of books will be delivered to our office this Thursday.

The conference hours run until 8:30pm, so sometimes we have an adventure trying to find a place to eat after that. This night we found a little Greek place and had a really nice time there.

Stephen loves getting his picture taken, as you can tell.

We were grateful for the scale in the fitness room at the hotel. [smile] Since suitcases have to be under 50 lbs., we had to do some careful adjusting in packing on the way there and back.

Both conferences (Long Beach, CA and Hartford, CT) were encouraging times. We were grateful to have many encouraging talks with people, and we really appreciate those who are praying. Sometimes I think about all the things that could go wrong but don’t, and I’m so grateful for the Lord’s hand of care, protection, and blessing.