Category: Radiant Purity Conferences

Wow – I didn’t mean to go for almost a whole month without posting! I’ll try not to let that happen again!
This past month our family has been pretty consumed with conferences… the preparation and packing the week before, the 11 day trip itself, and the week of “catch up” after we got home.

We took our team of “Bright Lights Staff” and did 3 conferences in Ohio and Michigan. It was a very exciting trip for everyone. We also all got very worn out! Most of all we were very grateful to see the Lord’s hand at work. At every conference I am reminded how God is the One who does the work. I love the way Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 4:7. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves…” For all of you who have been praying for us, thank you very much!

Wendy, Kim, Ann Marie, and Chrissy are ready for the first attendees to arrive at our registration table

We did our “Strong in the Lord Conference” Friday night and Saturday, and then our “Radiant Purity Conference” Monday night and Tuesday at the same church in Ohio. It worked out wonderfully, and it was great not to have to tear down and set up again at a different church. Our group of girls stayed in one of the church’s large downstairs rooms for 8 consecutive nights! Yes, the room did get a little messy…

…but we all had a good time and we were very grateful for the church’s hospitality.

Here is a picture of our “Counselor Skit” that we do at the Radiant Purity conference. Although each of the distressed patients appear very different, the counselor explains to them that they all actually have the same problem. But I better not give away any other details. 🙂

After hearing the same jokes over and over again at the conferneces, they don’t seem very funny to us anymore. We’ve decided it’s a lot more enjoyable to watch the audience. 🙂

We were blessed by the positive responses we received from these sweet girls who desire God’s best. Thank you to all of you who were praying. Here are a few responses I thought were especially encouraging:

“I plan to improve and prune some things in my life that I don’t feel are edifying to my walk with Christ.” -14 year old attendee
“I am planning to take what I have learned and apply it visibly, especially at school, and not conform to the world’s standards.” -16 year old attendee
“I like the small groups and being around other people who wanted to be pure!” -14 year old attendee
“I want to keep my commitments and communicate with my parents about my struggles and emotions” -14 year old attendee
“I committed to dress modestly and to wait for the Lord’s best” -13 year old attendee
“I liked the testimonies given by young women who knew what we were going through and to whom we could relate. I’ve really just been encouraged to wait on the Lord and not be anxious about anything but to trust Him for my future. I benefited the most from the session on living by faith, not fear. I submitted my will and desires to the Lord…” -16 year old attendee
“I really enjoyed the conference while it lasted, but I wish it would be longer. I loved the skits and the modesty part…you made it clear that God matters the most, and that it matters what’s in the heart and not on the outside.” -12 year old attendee

The discussion groups were a place for the girls to “vent” their thoughts and questions about the topics presented in large group.

I don’t know what a Bright Lights conference would be without skits…we have a lot of fun with them. And we definitely keep Stephen busy! He’s kind of like the all-around tech support man that makes the conference happen.

Stephen can figure out how to work anything (I decided it was okay to brag about an older brother 🙂 ) so it makes us feel “secure” having him around (i.e. usually technical difficulties don’t last very long 🙂 ). God knew we really needed someone like that!

Before this conference, Stephen wired together his own phone system using 6 wireless landline phones with headsets for the video crew to use (Before they always used walki-talkis). It’s pretty cool, and we were a little surprised it actually worked. I think Stephen was a little surprised, too.

We have 3 more Radiant Purity Conferences coming up soon in OH and FL. Click here for details.

Something very special happened last weekend… Our first-ever Radiant Purity Conference was held in Alexandria, Minnesota! It was for girls 12 and up, and included topics such as modesty, dangers with the dating system, how to handle crushes, learning to delight in the Lord as our Prince, being open with our parents, waiting on the Lord, and having a life purpose bigger than marriage. The conference also included 2 chalk-talks, skits, wedding video clips, singing, discussion groups, and mother’s sessions.

This conference was a dream-come-true for us and many others. It was so exciting to see it all happen and see God’s hand working! Personally, I was challenged, refreshed, and exhausted when it was over.

We brought about a dozen older girls who are leaders in our Bright Lights group in Cedar Rapids. They led the discussion groups, ran registration, worked at the book table, acted in skits, shared testimonies, led the singing, and helped with set up and tear down. We’ve all learned a lot about how to work together as a team, how to run conferences as smoothly as possible, and how to rely on God’s power.

Hearing practical testimonies and teaching from real girl’s lives was encouraging to everyone.

I think it’s exciting to share ways we saw the Lord’s hand at work. Here are a few examples:

– Dan Macy, who hosted the conference, found a large facility in his area that he thought would be perfect for holding a conference. As he began to work with this church, he ran into complications and things just didn’t work out. He expressed to us how it seemed like a death of a vision. Mr. Macy realized that the only way this conference could happen is if someone who attended this church would be willing to host it. He began to pray. One day as he was explaining his idea of a Bright Lights conference to another homeschool father, this father replied, “Well, I go to that church and I’d be willing to help host it and work all the details out for you!” The church facility was beautiful and worked wonderfully.

– The Lord’s timing was perfect. Since Sarah had just written Before You Meet Prince Charming last year, it was much easier to plan the material and content for this new conference, drawing from the book.

– Sarah had been secretly praying for 400 attendees. We had 127 register at the door, bring attendance number to 405.

– Stephen came up with a new nifty computer system for registration at this conference. He got it all set up and trained our registrars. About a half hour before the conference as everyone started coming, the computer system crashed. Let’s just say that is not what we wanted to happen, especially with lots of people registering at the door. But the Lord came through, the computers started working, and registration went smoothly.

– Video clips, sound, lighting, special effects and PowerPoint all worked even though they got us worried at times!

– My mom and a good friend Kay Baskerville were teaching the mother’s sessions. As they talked about what to speak on, they found that the Lord had placed the exact same thing on both of their hearts to share with the mothers.

Laura Sisson, Grace Mally, and Elyssa Ertz in our “Old Fashioned Skit”

Elyssa Ertz, Laura Sisson and Nickie Biegler in a skit Friday night