About the summer...from Kaci

As I mentioned in my previous post...I asked PiNK's interns to write a little something for you about the summer. Here is Kaci's....

Today marks the beginning of August. It’s hard to believe that seven weeks of Bible study have already flown by! Please, if you know where the summer went, tell it I missed it! Haha. It’s hard to even know where to begin sharing what I learned, what we did, and how God moved through this Hoarders series with PiNK Ministries, but I guess the beginning is a good place to start.

The start of Bible study was, honestly, hectic! From not having a location, to then having a location, but then switching locations provided challenges, but more importantly, we were tested. In 1 Peter 1:6-7, Peter says that “there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a while.” He goes on to say that the “trials will show that your faith is genuine…So when your faith remains strong through many trials…it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world”. Oh, this verse makes me want to rejoice in my trials and hard times! I love Psalm 139 where it says “search my heart, O God, test me”. What a scary yet empowering prayer! But I digress. The beginning of the summer was not only testing me, but testing us as a staff. What a beautiful thing when you can rejoice, praise and worship God, and devote everything to the One who made you with the people you work with!

Having not a lot of experience working with younger girls before this summer, I really had no idea what I was getting into. All of my expectations for the summer were well exceeded in ways I could not have imagined for myself. "Younger girls" did not only mean high school and middle school, but girls who are going into their first years of college! Oh what an exciting time! I think what I realized and loved the most about this Bible study was that every girl in the room, whether my age, or going into middle school, could relate to what God was saying throughout the series. How incredible! This lead to me receiving phone calls from girls asking for advice, or getting texts with questions that I had to research for myself! I think the most surprising thing I got out of Bible study was the fact that the girls who attended the Bible study were teaching me every night! Although I am the intern and am supposed to be pouring into them, which hopefully I did, they were giving me a lot back too and I was not expecting that! I formed new relationships with girls, while strengthening old ones!

Moreover, I was shocked by the eagerness of the girls, especially the younger ones. Who, would come one week, and then bring five of their friends the next week! Haha! It really makes me laugh out loud and smile just at the pure thought that these 12 and 13 year old girls are getting it. They are understanding that PiNK Ministries Bible studies are not an event, and they are hungry for more! Not only do they want to keep it for themselves, but they are bringing friends! Oh I cannot express how these young girls inspire me!

And if that isn’t enough, let’s relive testimony night! Some of the stuff these girls deal with at such a young age is almost unbearable to hear, but as I was sitting there looking into these girls' eyes, I could see brokenness. However, the more they spoke, the more I saw their heart, and the more I saw Jesus. Jesus came to fix our brokenness! During the time of pain and suffering is when Jesus holds us close and says, “I love you, you are precious and worthy, and you are a light in this world that is so dark. Keep pushing, because I’m right here with you”. Oh how it brings tears to my eyes (which is rare for me) that Jesus loves us so much, even after our sin hung him on the cross!

Finally, I feel like I’ve written a novel! I want to say a little about the leaders that served PiNK Ministries this summer. First, it would have been very hard to make Hoarders happen without them. Second, they really taught me a valuable life lesson. As humans, we are drawn to people who are like us to be friends with. I mean it’s a lot easier to be friends with someone you have stuff in common with, so I have always thought that to some degree, everyone in the world should be a little like Kaci. Hahaha what a thought! Actually that is a real dumb thought. This summer, I don’t think we had one leader who was anything like the leader right beside her. At first, my thought process was, how in the world are we going to get these girls who barely have anything in common to work as a team and pull this off? Well let me tell you that loving Christ is a big enough “thing” to have in common with someone because I have never seen a team so beautiful, and I’m not just talking about outward appearances. We had some leaders who could talk to a brick wall and be satisfied, but we had others who had a harder time going up to someone and striking up conversation. We had some leaders who were conventional, and some unconventional. Some who were loud, some who were quiet. But through all of the different personalities, the girls, who are all different, had at least one leader they could relate to, and that is when I saw the beauty in God’s creation. There is a reason not everyone is like me! In Psalm 139:13-14, David praises God and says “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous- how well I know it”. Oh what a joy it is to know that each one of the leaders and girls are hand-crafted by our One and only Maker. Our Father and friend. How delicate our lives are to Him, and how wonderful it is to serve such a mighty, powerful, yet merciful and forgiving God.

Bible study this summer has, as Rachelle puts it, “been one for the books”. As a staff we learned, worked, experimented, and achieved together and it has been such a blessing and answer to a prayer to have worked with PiNK Ministries. How cliché this next line may sound, but how true it is: this is not the end, but only the beginning of a Ministry that God has so much in store for!

Kaci

About the summer...from Julia

Earlier this summer I introduced PiNK's Interns to y'all. I asked both of them to write to you again before the summer was over.

Julia is going to share with you today!

The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or work; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world..

Psalm 19:1-4


As I sit here and write this thing, I can’t help but be in awe. I’m truly in awe of God and the wonderful works He does. His beauty is displayed all around us, but how often do we even take a look? All of creation shouts out His name without even saying a word. How often do we stop to watch or listen for that faint whisper of the greatness of God? Because all it takes is a whisper to bring us to our knees. Or how often do we wake up just to watch the sunrise that God created especially for us, to bring life to the world for a brand new day? Oh, the mercy that is shown with each sunrise!

Recently, my heart has been set in the book of Psalms. Reading and feeling along with the cries of each person who wrote these songs and poems thousands of years ago, but seeing the unchanging character of God reflected back through each passing year has changed my heart. What a faithful God. Through all of my sin, He rebukes. Through all of my hurt, He heals. Through all of my rebellion, He takes me back. This brings me to 2 Timothy 2:13 which says, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.” How powerful. Through all things God is faithful. The sun rises because He is faithful. People live because He is faithful to keep His promises. What a wonderful God.

This reminds me of how unfaithful I can be when I let worry take over my heart and my life. Worrying is not something God advises us to do. In fact, he advises against it and encourages us to place our burdens on Him in Psalm 55:22 and in Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus offers us rest in Him. When worry takes over, I often become very selfish because all I can focus on is what I need to do, rather than fixing my eyes on God and asking what He wants me to do. Psalm 18:30-32 is a beautiful example of how faithful the Lord is. It says, “God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock? God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect.” Because God loves us, He makes our way perfect and He gives us the strength to go along our own perfect path.

As the summer comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect in awe of the things God does when we trust in Him. I am so blessed to be a part of PiNK Ministries, to have this beautiful opportunity to be a servant to God, and to serve the beautiful girls He brought through Bible Study this summer. I am so thankful and stand in awe of the Lord and who He is! He is always faithful. I can only look back on this summer with my heart full of love and joy for the greatness of our God and for the great, life changing things He's done in each one of us!

With love,
Julia

Recently...

Recently, it's been insane over here... I'm so thankful for summer, though. It's such a great and fun time for ministry with the girls, but to tell ya it's been crazy for PiNK's staff schedules would be putting it lightly.

I wanted to check in and give you a quick update on summer so far... and even better, I thought I would do it through photos.

First, here is a very small and hard to see photo of some of the girls attending Hoarders Summer Bible Study... God has been blowing our socks off. Tuesday nights have been the highlight of my summer.

My sweet cousin, Emily, came to visit us from Kansas. We had a blast with her while she was here.

Emily, Mom, and I went to Painting with a Twist one night - we had a blast.

Showing how we got paint all over us!

We made a road trip up to A&M for the day to show Emily around campus and hopefully convince her to move back down here in a few years and become a future Aggie.

The three of us also ventured to the Kemah Boardwalk for a day!

So sad to see her leave. Love her oh so much! Between some long car rides, movies, countless hours of games, pedicures, manicures, painting, shopping, and digging into God's Word, we had a blast with her here.

If you know me, I haven't ever really used the crock pot. My closest friends say it's a true blessing to any woman... So, I gave it a try to and cooked a roast, potatoes, and carrots last week and we loved it. The house smelled amazing all day.

With the leftovers from the roast, I made a homemade beef potpie! Oh, happy day!

This summer, PiNK Ministries started a college girls night on Thursdays called - ChickChat Night. This has been a powerful time of talking about a passage from a book and praying together. It's been a true blessing to me personally, and I've enjoyed every moment with them. I've loved just talking 'til the wee hours of the morning, crying, and gut laughing 'til my stomach's hurt. Here are a few of the girls from ChickChat Night.

Here is the book the girls at ChickChat Night and I have been using for our group discussions. I love this book! I'm actually going to be blogging about Notes for the Goats soon. Amber, the author, is a firecracker for Jesus, and hearing her heart and passion for Him through the pages is amazing. The girls and I are loving it.

Of course, I'm loving working with PiNK's interns this summer! They have been a pure joy and God-send to me. I'm sure going to miss them.

On Friday we had a staff lunch here, and I just love love love this place.

This season with the LORD is one that will go down in the books. I've been journaling a ton in this season. With so much going on... I mean so much... it has done me a world of good to journal and write down what the LORD is showing and teaching me. This scripture below just popped at me the other day, and I decided to write it on the board in our kitchen.

Sweet morning time with my Savior.

I love my job and just have to tell you a few of my favorite things about it...

Of course digging into and sharing the Word of God with people is my favorite, but here are a few others...

Praying and believing with girls!

Spending sweet, quality time with them...I wish I could remember to take a photo with all the girls I have a date with, but here are a few I remembered...

Finally - some random favorite things recently...

My friend popped in the other week with a bag of these and ever since I've been addicted.

A sweet necklace I got with the girls shopping. Love this and the flower is pink (of course).

A new headband. I'm so loving the trend of having flowers in your hair. This one is super cute, big, and pink. My momma picked it up for me... she's so awesome!

Hope you are having a wonderful and blessed summer!

Meet PiNK's Intern!!!!

I know it has been a while...but I have a good reason. It's summer Bible study season. Therefore, I've been trying to dedicate every minute of every day to the study. If you have been following for a while - you know this is my favorite time of year!

Over the next couple of posts, I will introduce you to some fun new people. PiNK Ministries has 2 Summer Interns this year. Saying they are a blessing to me personally and to PiNK Ministries is a complete understatement. They both bring such a passion, excitement, and love for Jesus and the girls this summer. Summer Bible study would not be possible without these two girls. They have been working with me for countless hours getting everything ready week in and week out. So thankful to Jesus for bringing these girls to PiNK this summer.

In this post I am going to introduce to you, Kaci.

Kaci, has written a post for y'all, but I'm going to give you some fun facts about her first...

School: Junior in College at ACU

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food: Mexican Food

Favorite Verse: 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 139:13-15

Favorite Starbuck's Drink: Soy Green Tea Latte

What she wants to do when she graduates ACU: Not sure what she wants to do yet, but she knows that God will use her communication degree along with her family studies minor for something that follows His plan for her life.

And now, here are some inspiring words from our new Intern, Kaci:

Teenage girls. Oh what a hard age to be, especially in the culture we live in today. Between society, schools, magazines and other media, teenage girls have so much to compare themselves to. Fitting in is the hardest thing to do as a Christian teenage girl. The world tells us that we need to be like them, but the Bible tells us to stand out. Where can girls these days find the balance? Well, with other Christian girls of course!

I have been given an amazing opportunity to work as an intern with Rachelle Oneacre. Rachelle started her own girls’ ministry called PiNK. I became involved with this amazing ministry last summer. In just one year, God has quadrupled her ministry. Rachelle is on fire for the Lord and practically tells everyone she meets. Well actually she doesn’t have to tell you, you could just know by talking to her for five seconds. Rachelle’s passion for teenage girls really sparked an interest with me.

Last summer, I did not fully understand the entirety of having an all age girl Bible study, with the youngest being in sixth grade and the oldest being a college girl, like myself. But the more I became involved and began to understand the importance of younger girls having older, Christian role models, the more it began to make sense. My sophomore year of college, God was stirring something up within me that I cannot describe. All of a sudden, I became obsessed with the younger generation of girls. These teenage girls have it so hard; which explains why I am here today. I am at PiNK because I believe that in order for girls who are walking the narrow path to righteousness to keep their eyes ahead and avoid as many trials as possible, they need the support of other girls who are going through the same thing. I strongly believe in the power of relationships. Our God is a relational God. That has been my main theme this past year because it helps me to focus on the relationships around me and realize how valuable they really are. Throughout the Bible, we see that God created ways for us to always have relationships. When he made Adam and Eve, when they created family, when God created church, when people formed friendships. How beautiful!! God knew that we could not do a life in Him alone so He gave us others to support us when we’re down, to encourage us when we feel worthless, and to challenge us to live a life that is ALL ABOUT HIM! This is what PINK is about and I am so excited about what God has in store this summer! He was already working and teaching me before Bible study even got started.

This past semester at college was about waiting on HIM. Probably the hardest thing to do for a human is to be patient, but what’s even harder is giving Him complete control. It has taken me a very long time to realize that my life is so much better when He has total control over it. On paper, the concept sounds easy, but try relinquishing every thought and plan you had for your life and start walking blindly into the darkness of the unknown. Scary? Definitely. Worth it? More than you know. So the start of this Bible study was very challenging for Rachelle because Bible study had grown so large that we now had no place to hold everyone. Rachelle’s search for the location finally ended Monday night before Bible study after having talked to every place in the Cypress area. We definitely learned to embrace the concept of God’s timing when He provided us with the perfect location late Monday night. Although it can be honestly frustrating for things not to go according to your plan or the way you would have wanted it to turn out, God’s timing is never late and is always on time. I’m anxious to see how this theme continues to play out not only in Bible study, but throughout the rest of the summer.

There are so many new girls at Bible study, most of whom I got to talk to, and let me tell you…wow. I am so excited for the hearts of these younger girls! We also have some new leaders and what amazing girls they are! I cannot even begin to describe how awesome these girls are in this blog, but stay tuned and you will start to see not only how awesome these girls are, but how majestic and powerful our God is.

- Kaci