Summer Bible Study...part 2

If you missed part one of summer blog - you can check it out here.

The first 2 weeks of the study, we did a lot of laying the foundation...then building on top of that for the next 5 weeks.

After week 2 it was very obvious we had no more room in the current place we were meeting and had to change locations. It was an awesome God-thing and also a big stretch and transition for PiNK's staff. So thankful for the girls and the girls' parents being so flexible during all the transitioning. The whole growth enchilada was a complete God thing - nothing any man could ever do. That alone is what made it so amazing.

In the following weeks of the study we focused on: what's keeping us from sharing our faith with others, why we don't need to conform to this world but yet stand firm in God and His promises, going and making disciples, and knowing God has a purpose for us.

To say God moved would be a complete understatement. God was stirring a new passion in the girls, the leaders, staff, and definitely in me for a new hunger and longing for Him.

Girls learned what they were hoarding and how to give it over to God. Some made commitments to follow God. They make choices to no longer keep flirting with the world but seek/run after God alone.

On the last day of the Bible study some of the girls got up and shared their stories on how God moved in their lives during this series of Hoarders. It was just such a sweet time of bonding. Tears were shed, laughter was definitely to be seen, hugs were given, and the love for each other was so deep.

I'm so thankful for this past summer. Just like I started this by saying it was one for the books... this past summers' chapter may be closed, but the book is not finished being written. I know God has so much more up His sleeve and I can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Here are some more pics from this past summer Bible study:

Summer Bible Study...part 1

Summer. The word just makes me take a deep breath. I want to share what God did this summer at PiNK, but I 'm going to warn you - It's going to take a few blogs!

I'm still in complete awe of this summer. To be really honest with you, I've been putting off blogging about this because it's so overwhelming all that God did, and I truly want to share it all with you - it's just sometimes I have to sit back and realize all that has happened. Then, if I sit back too long I will forget it. Therefore, I figured I'd better blog now! :)

Hoarders was the theme of this years summer Bible study. I knew it was going to be a summer to remember from the beginning because the devil did not want us moving an inch as we were preparing for summer study.

The LORD started clearly talking to me about the study of Hoarders last year. First, before anything - He started working on me. (Which is the best...I don't ever at any point want to get up and speak to any group without the LORD speaking and dealing with me before I teach on that subject). It was a season of cleaning out some things I didn't want to let go of - forgiving people that hurt me, trusting the LORD's plan, and so on... it's such a freeing feeling letting go! I had to let go of things that I was holding onto tightly and didn't even realize. I'm so glad I serve a patient God - He knows exactly how to deal with me. :)

At that point - God really started speaking to me on what He wanted the girls to hear this summer. I was beyond excited to share what the LORD had in store.

There was the issue of finding a location because of our growing group. We actually had canceled Bible study, but then the LORD opened a door at one of our girls' home. We fit at their house for about 2 weeks, but then we jumped locations again... I'm telling you - it was a roller coaster of a summer. All of this is so not me... I'm a full-out planner and like to have everything perfect way ahead of time. The LORD was truly streching me.

The first week of Bible study we did some evaluating of ourselves. We talked about what we are Hoarding in our lives that needs to be cleaned out.

We asked ourselves: What am I HOARDING? What is keeping me from moving closer to God? Friends, boyfriend, filthy language, TV shows, music, gossip, bullying, drinking, drugs, and disobeying parents were a few examples the girls laid down that night at Bible study and said no more. We each declared: "I don't want the things of the world - I only want Jesus." Let me tell you, friend. That kicked off our 7 week journey of Bible study this summer.

From there we saw God move in the girls' lives in ways I can't even begin to tell you. True transformation began to happen that only He can do. Lives given to Him, girls seeing that there is more to this life than just what the world has to offer, girls began to see the hope in Jesus. They didn't have to "hoard" and carry around this junk anymore.

More to come... here are a few fun pics from the summer!

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

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!

FIRST Summer Bible Study ANNOUNCEMENT!

Can you believe summer is around the corner? It's going to be here before we know it. I know God has some great things in store for this summer...He's been talking to me for a while on what He has up His sleeve for summer Bible Study....and let me tell ya - it's going to be AWESOME!

This summer, we are going to be kicking off on Tuesday, June 7th and will go for 7 Tuesday nights. Therefore, we will end on Tuesday, July 19th.

If you are not familiar with PiNK Bible Study - it's a non-denominational Bible Study for girls 6th grade-college. It's a great time of fellowship, fun, games, food, and digging into God's Word.

I love studying God's Word with the girls. It's my heart and passion to see these girls get ahold of God's Word, apply it to their lives, share His love and truth, and make Jesus famous!!!

So if you are or know a girl 6th grade - college, join us on Tuesday nights this summer for a great time studying God!