I want to be stronger and shine brighter.

In high school, I always looked forward to Wednesday nights because it was our discipleship group for young ladies — called Bright Lights (founded by Sarah Mally). This stands for “Being Radiant in Godliness, Holiness, and Testimony” with the theme verse, “Let no one look down on your youth, but be an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (I Timothy 4:12)I can’t describe Bright Lights in one blog post. We sipped tea, presented our testimonies, sang worship music, read stories about heroes like Amy Carmichael and Gladys Alward, learned skills like flower arranging and card-making, prayed for each other, found creative avenues to serve together, decorated prayer notebooks, memorized Scripture and encouraged each other in the discipline of daily Quiet Times.

Drinking tea and completing latch hook projects don’t sound like activities that would make one strong. And they don’t. I never finished a sewing project by myself, and I’m not crazy about tea (but love teacups and teaparties!). My point is that I’m thankful that these Titus 2 women and sisters in Christ demonstrated strength and attributed it to knowing Christ. This is the way we shine and cultivate a ministry mindset, and it’s beautiful.

Our beloved mentor of Bright Lights sent me a note yesterday about my trip which started this whole thought process: I am thankul for your desire to shine your “bright light” — the light of Christ to those He called you to. What a dark world we live in, in need of the Savior.

Tomorrow I’m embarking on a two-week journey where I’ll need a lot of strength and light…the kind that God supplies, not caffeine or the right time zone.

We walk around with a radiant resources we didn’t earn — His Spirit, His Life and His Word.

So would you pray that our team would be bright lights in this dark culture?

Thank you for helping send me!