Bright Lights Report

My Bright Lights group meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, at 6:30. We meet at my home church.

A few of you (my readers) were wondering how my group is doing, so here are a few pictures and stories of how it’s going!

There are four girls in my group this year. Last year, there were five, but I’m finding it easier to teach a  slightly smaller group, and the meetings seem more cozy and one-on-one. I have two new girls (who are older) this year, and they seem to be very responsive and open to the lessons. However, I really miss the girls who are unable to come back this year!

Some topics we have covered are:

• Friends
• Pride and Humility
• Having a Clear Conscience
• Meekness
• Dealing With Crushes in a Godly Way
• Being Content
• Honesty
• Wisdom
• Accepting the Way God Created You
• Self Control

We start with a time of singing a song or two or three.   We use the Bright lights songbook, (since the girls have the CD, they know the words and are excited to sing).

The first meeting we had, I was so nervous! Everything I’d learned whilst in Cedar Rapids left me, and I had to calm myself down before I hyperventilated! I went to the bathroom and prayed. So, though a little shaky, I must’ve impressed upon the girls enough to make them want to come back! I had originally invited 15 girls, and only three came.

The first ever BL meeting. Notice how nervous I look

This is later into the first year. I still had the three girls coming!  It was getting easier to teach at this point. I was actually excited! You see, I tend towards being shy. I have to be spoken to in order to talk! Starting the whole initiation process for me is daunting… but slowly melting away…

My favorite meeting… Christmas! My mom and I planned to surpsie the girls with a surprise tea… We carefully planned out everything, from the place settings to the gifts to the food! We even used my mom’s gold silverware, which never ever gets used…

I captured the girls’ faces when they came into the room… so cute! I invited one of the girl’s little sister to the tea… isn’t she darling? (She’s the little girl in the middle) You may have to click on the picture to see it up close. You really should :-) )

And of course, a group picture. A small group picture! Many of the girls were unable to attend.

Teaching on accepting the way God made you. I did have great plans for this meeting. I had wrote a skit and invited some girls to help me with it. Well, I knew that one of the girls wasn’t the best example or role model for the girls. This girl and I had been through a long argument, and I knew she wasn’t trustworthy. I felt like this wasn’t the best thing to be doing, and maybe I should call it off. Well, God worked something out for me. This girl ended up moving over 300 miles away. Instead, I showed How Great Is Our God, a DVD from Louie Giglio’s PassionTalk series. It went remarkably well.

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I had the girls over on a Sunday afternoon, and we had to borrow the church van to hold them all and my family.

Whilst at my house, we played a lively game of charades. It seems to be a group favorite!

After the afternoon at my house, we went to sing at an assisted living home.  Cute!

Skits are favorite in our BL group. Here, the group is coming up with a skit about being honest and not stealing.

This summer, we went to Hidden Lake Gardens, which is run by a college. The gardens are beautiful and full of various plant types. Here is our group on a hill… being goofy!

This year’s Bright Lights group, with four girls. 

Another skit! The girl on the far right is reading a story from her BL Notebook. It’s about a family who went on a trip to Hong Kong and were approached by two ladies asking if they’d like a trip in a boat.  The boat ride was awful, and the family had to pay the ladies a lot of money to get off! The theme was being content and laying up treasures in heaven, not on earth. So, as the story was read, the two girls acted it out. They all did an excellent  and hilarious job!

Last night, our topic was on pride and humility. Here, we are filling in a worksheet that will hopefully be helpful to the girls in the future. It talks of many verses in the Bible that speak against pride, exampls of kings who were prideful (and the consequences), and common sense questions that really caused us to think. It was a wonderful discussion time!

Well, there you go! That is what happens on every other Tuesday around here…

Do you have a BL group? Please share about it! We’d all love to hear about it!

30 Children + Two Big Boxes + Christmas = Joy!

This past week, we’ve been finishing up on a special project: a project we’ve never attmepted before.

We packed two good sized boxes (I could fit into one and I’m about 5’7″) full of goodies for 30 orphaned children in Soroti, Uganda, Africa. This past spring, the Manes Family came to our church and shared about their missions ministry, one of them being in an orphanage.  As we talked with them about the orphans, the subject of OCC and Christmas came up. “It would be great if you guys could do something like that for the kids in our orphanage,” they said. Well, my dad didn’t think it’d be possible, because of shipping costs and customs. However, we asked for ideas, just in case. “A plain number 2 pencil of their own would thrill them!” It was also discovered this orphanage was in need of toys, which were in very short supply. “They share everything!” Turns out, God provided for us to pack two boxes of toys for these kids, many of whom have not received much for Christmas before. How did He do this? Our church graciously donated the money needed to do this!

I thought I’d share these pictures of our family’s packing party!

Don’t worry, I wasn’t shipping my cat. Daisy was just being helpful! I’m sure the kids would love her, though.

We tried to include a variety of things, from footballs to hair clips to easy board games. Party City was a fun, inexpensive stop for little things. Noisemakers, bouncy balls, stickers, and pencil sharpeners are cheapest at Party City. You can find Fresh Metal cars for $4.50 for 5 (as shown).

We asked the Manes’ what was needed most. They said “socks and school supplies.” So, each kid got a pair of socks, a 100 page notpad, and 4 colorful pencils. These are some of the boy bags in the stuffing process. I think the boys are going to enjoy all those whoopee cushions! I wonder if they’ve ever played Football American?! Well, they all are getting a football, so they’ll have to learn!

This is what a good part of our living room floor looked like as we dumped out all the bags! The frisbees work well, and they are from Party City… (just a hint to all the OCC packers!) We made sure each kid got a pack of gum, and some hard candy. The puzzle is from Dollar Tree, and is very good quality! It’s also small enough to put in a shoebox! (Not to give out OCC hints or anything) We found a finger bowling game at WalMart, and a Jump The Peg Game at Dollar Tree in Ann Arbor.

The girl’s bags.  We found spyrographs at Dollar General for $1.50, and jump ropes for $1. We also found Lisa Frank coloring books at Dollar Tree. The Lord gave us many good deals on many great gifts. Cute notebooks can be found at Dollar General for a dollar.

We sent along I Spy Snap, a card game that can be played in a group, Uno, Memory Match, Go Fish, and Old Maid. A boy from church donated 4 of his old soccer balls to send along. Glue sticks and crayons also jumped into the boxes. We also found some Lego Car Kits that were $1.

It was fun… until we saw the shipping! (Which was funny to see, anyway!) It cost more to ship the boxes than to buy all the fillers! But it’ll be a blessing.

There ya go. More OCC ideas, or…

Ask your church if they’d like to do this for your missionaries who’re involved in orphanages!

Happiness vs. Joy

Happiness is an emotion.

Joy is a way of life.

Happiness comes after doing something physical or material.

Joy starts deep within the spirit.

Happiness is temporary, fading after the moment.

Joy radiates outward from the soul, lasting a lifetime.

Happiness is sought after, never caught for keeps.

Joy is found and captured when you find God.

Happiness cannot be found in sorrow. Can you find a ‘happy’ person at a funeral?

Joy keeps going through pain: the Holy Spirit places it in our hearts, and it keeps growing.

Happiness is simply outward. It doesn’t satisfy, and quickly fades, having us seek happiness again!

Joy is a God-given gift. Joy is strength to stand, in a way. Honestly it is internal, eternal, and overflowing.

Joy is pure elation!

Joy is contentment.

Joy is knowing Christ.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” 1 Peter 1:8 (NIV)

Joy is inexpressible!

Egypt File VBS: A Great Week in Review

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We had an amazing week with 60 kids in attendance.  The theme was Egypt File: Decoding the Mystery of Life. We talked about how life is precious to God, and how whatever’s precious to God should be precious to us.

The penny wars that happen every year were in full swing again! The boys and the girls are challenged to bring in as many pennies as possible; and they are weighed every day. Whoever’s bucketful weighs the most on Friday, wins. The final score: 70 lbs for the girls, 71 pounds for the boys. (Thanks to Ryan [my brother] and Jay M. , who brought in 12 and 25 pounds, respectively). The pennies will be exchanged for paper money and given to a local crisis pregnancy center. (The same one I visited earlier)

During the closing each day, the teens put on a drama relating to the Egypt theme. That was a lot of fun to be a part of: I LOVE ACTING! There were some goofy and cheesy parts, which made it enjoyable for the kids and for us! My mom took movies, and I saved some frames: if these are little grainy, sorry

 

This scene was the best! Since we were opening a museum, there were plenty of boxes to unload. This one had fossilized dinosaur … uh… you-know-what in it. One of us had to say “This looks like chocolate. I wonder if it tastes like chocolate…” and lick it! I bet you can imagine what the kids thought of that! (It was actually a dog biscuit painted brown).

 

Percy, one of the characters, was always pulling pranks and slacking off. Here he is terrorizing the maid, who ran off the stage with the shriek “The museum is closed right now!”

There was a little sand rat who was mentioned all in the play all during the week. Claire, another character, wasn’t to thrilled about it; so she jumped on the table.

The play escalated to a mystery- trying to find who stole the money box. There was also mention of hidden treasure. But, my character, Mackenzie, was afraid to talk about it out loud- the man who last searched for it disappeared. So, Mackenzie whispered about it…

Of course, the week had it’s down moments, but all in all, it went smoothly as possible. Praise the Lord for His goodness!

Dundee Tornado Pictures

Here are some pictures from the local tornado very early Sunday morning. For those of you who are local and are wondering, my family and I are okay, and house didn’t take any sort of beating. Our town is lucky, the tornado was forming in the air as it went over it though. Yikes…

As you read this, please pray for each of the families, businesses, and workers represented in the picture. Some of these may be a little intense: you know how much you can handle.

This is a house not more than 4 miles down the road. Cute house once– had a cupola coveted by myself… but that’s been replaced by a not so cute skylight…:-(

Most of the stuff inside was strewn on a neighboring field, and shingles were in the road.

Stop sign straight ahead- er sort of to your left- I MEAN  HARD LEFT – oh never mind! This sign is totally twisted, and notice the plastic siding all warped in the background.

DTE Energy had an army of men working hard at replacing poles. This was one of the areas where they were taking snapped poles and counting them as the damage was assessed. Pray for the workers, they hope to get the power back on by Thursday: that’s bookin’ it!

All of the poles along several back roads were snapped in half. The tops were as far as 1/4 mile away, on top of trees, houses, and roads. The farthest one in the picture is completely fine. The tornado was 813 yards wide: close to a half mile.

Amazing this pole didn’t completely slice the whole end of this pole barn off like a loaf of bread!

I saw this house and was like “Holy Cow.” That’s all you can really say. Another picture I have of this house shows the other side, and the bathroom sink is still standing, with a thing of Softsoap on the counter. Notice the front of the house is still intact: windows, storm door, lamp… and yet the rest is kaput. This is about 6 miles away from my house. The roof (or someone’s roof) is in a ditch 1/4-1/2 mile down the road. Mr. Roberts (his story further along in the post) told us that the couple heard the tornado coming, and the man went under the dining room table to protect himself. The house lifted up and he dropped through the floor to the basement, while his wife rolled with the house a few feet. The found her later, with some broken bones, but the man was trapped inside for a few hours. They are both doing fine. Pray for them as they recover, and when they are released from the hospital: they have a lot of work ahead of them.

Big Mac anyone? This 30 ft high sign did say “Get your Shrek glasses here!” but that was blown far far away…

While we went through Dundee, we stopped at one of my dad’s coworker’s house. He and his wife were spared, but their house had minor damage. The trees in that neighborhood now line the road, either in full form or as firewood. (Some trees smashed cars, which are now for sale: “Good car, runs, cheap”) Mr. Roberts had been working hard when we stopped and chatted. He was very thankful they were okay. As we were leaving, a Salvation Army van mosied down the street, and pulled up along the curb. The driver hollered: “Hey- you need water? hot dogs? sandwiches?” They were so friendly and encouraging. Please keep Mr. Roberts and his wife in your prayers, they need a new windshield and fencing, and just physical strength to get through the next week.

The Marathon where we always “gas up” while in town sustained some damage. The Shell station across the street had about three of its pumps gone: they were blown over and scattered far and wide…

The front of this car has a sign that says: “For sale:  CHEAP!” Glad to see people have a good sense of humor through this. The streets had wires all over, and we were driving over them and some people were walking on them: it didn’t matter, the power was out!

The Holiday Inn with Splash Universe had some roof damage. There were rumors earlier that the whole second story was gone, but that wasn’t true. All the damage was minor – basically what you see. All the trees surrounding the place might have ended up in Cabela’s parking lot…

Now, the crews really have to move, because many people stay here for the NASCAR races- which happen to begin on Thursday with the Indy cars or something like that. (Clarification: Yes, I live 20 miles down the road from MIS. Yes, all the colorful race trucks go by my house every year. Yes, they throw free merchandise out their windows to us occasionally. Yes, the traffic is horrendous. No, I don’t go to the race. I don’t even watch it on TV. It’s not a fun week for us: too many touristy people acting silly).

This camper-trailer had a funny sign on it: I’m not sure if you can see it clearly or not, so it says:

“NASCAR: Camper For Sale. New. Tornado Tested!” {grin}

This picture may not be very good, but it shows how many trucks were parked along the road, working in several areas to resume power. It was an army!

Aww… and they just got done restoring this house to look nice again… and the roof gets blown off.

Please keep all the people affected by the storm in prayer. The schools have been shut down, and they will have to make up all the days. So far, it looks as though they will be going to school until June 23rd. (aww man…)  God has been working through Cabela’s Store, which usually carries just outdoor stuff like camping supplies, boats, etc. They shipped in bottled water, sandwich makings, cleaning supplies, and new bedding: for dramatically half the price. Just in today: hundreds of new, brand name generators from around the country. Since the whole town is out of power, the are selling them to storm victims for 300 dollars- a significant reduction from $800 upwards)

Happy Birthday, Mama!

Today is my mom’s *27*th birthday. (Really, I’m serious! ;-D)

My mom is such a wonderful lady! She’s done a lot for me, and has sacrificed time and money to homeschool my brother and I. She does a lot for our church as well, and is happliy involved in many ministries. Mom has taught me so much in just about every subject imaginable. Some of her interests are: tea drinking, baking, bread-making, and gardening. I think she’s the best mom in the world (maybe I’m biased?) and she is a modern-day picture of the Proverbs 31 woman. Thank you mom for raising me and setting a good example!

Love you!

Lauralea

I Know Where I’m Supposed to Be This Summer!

Most of us make some kind of exciting summer plan. Get a job at Frosty Boy, go to the West Coast, maybe go to camp…

Well, I am planning on attending summer camp at Summit in Wisconsin. This camp is a worldview training course spread over 2 weeks. It has a lot of good teaching- and a pretty hefty price tag for the session: $895.

I decided to give up my much loved ballet and Pointe classes on my senior year- for two weeks that would last for eternity. I knew where I needed to be- even if it meant giving up something I love. So, I sent in my application knowing the Holy Spirit was directing me to attend. I wasn’t surprised (just extremely happy… well… I was going nuts ) when, a few days ago I received my letter of acceptance.

Here’s the great thing:

The IRS just sent us a notice saying my dad had filled out a few places on his return wrong (which he can’t figure out WHERE I wonder why? ;-) ) and that they were sending us $828 within 4-6 weeks. I was very surprised to hear this coming- especially in the middle of May of all times! Then a thought struck me: I had saved around $66 dollars for camp and any other expenses that came up.  My brain whizzed! Could it be? I pulled out the calculator (because 2+2 is 4 and that’s all I know, haha) and added numbers. My money and the check combined? $894. Oh, and I got another dollar today.

“God? Could you be any clearer?! Thank you!”

If God wants you to be somewhere, He’ll make sure you get there.

PS: My dad said I could do ballet and pointe next year! What a blessing! What a joy!