Girls' Night Out in Sturbridge, MA: Event Recap

Over the weekend I was the main speaker at a teen girls' event in Sturbridge, MA. There were roughly 275 people in attendance and it was an awesome weekend! My audience ranged in age from 11-18, which is quite a big spread but they were one of the most receptive crowds I have ever been in front of. And Molly Colton, the coordinator for the event, was absolutely wonderful to work with.

On Friday night I taught from Matthew 13 on the parable of the sower. The girls were a little restless at first as the weekend was just beginning and they were full of nervous energy. But they settled down fairly quickly. At certain points throughout the sermon, you could hear a pin drop. Once I finished speaking, Molly gave the girls about 40 minutes to just sit and ponder where they currently stood before God. I loved how she just stopped her schedule and put everything else on hold so the girls could deal with the most important issue. The leaders all banned together and began to pray for the salvation of the girls during this time, and it was almost as if you could physically watch God claim those who are His. Throughout the rest of the weekend I had girls telling me they became Christians for the very first time. Praise God!

On Saturday, I taught on love and forgiveness from John 13 and the girls all seemed to really respond well. Some of them told me they really appreciated it when I said, "When we choose not to forgive someone else we mock the sacrifice Christ made on the cross. It's as if we're saying, 'His blood was not enough to cover that person's sin.'" The girls all seemed eager to put what they were learning into practice. I closed the weekend out with Paul's admonishment to run to win in Philippians 3. By the time I arrived home on Sunday, my inbox was flooded with emails from girls asking me if I could send them the spiritual growth chart my friend Christa uses that I referenced when I was teaching. I've never met teenage girls so hungry for Christ and so eager to change their lives in response to who He is and what He commands of us.

In every crowd there always seems to be one girl who goes out of her way to let me know how what I do has impacted her life. And every single time this happens I am both grateful for and overwhelmed by the reminder that God has allowed me to be part of the work He is doing in someone else's life. This weekend, the girl who went out of her way the most to encourage me was Taylor. On Friday night she came up to me with a gift. Nervously, she pulled something from a small, drawstring bag and handed it to me.

"This is for you, it's a bookmark," she said handing me a long ribbon with charms tied to both ends. I thanked her and hugged her and made my way to the book table where a line was already forming. Later in the evening Taylor came back up to me to explain what she had forgotten to share with me the first time. She had heard me speak before, and at that event I had taught on trials and how we are to let patience have its perfect work in us (which also happens to be what I am currently studying in James). In that sermon, when I taught on trials, I used the analogy of an oyster using irritants and parasites to form a pearl. When I looked closely at the charm on the end of the bookmark Taylor gave me, I saw that it was an open oyster with a pearl inside. I was touched that she had gone to that much effort to give me a gift with such significance.

What Taylor could have never known was that Michael and I are in the midst of a very great trial right now. Most days are a fight to get through and I know we have both been working hard to meditate on Scripture. Last week I clung to James 1:12 as I worked through my week. And on Friday night, as I looked at the bookmark from Taylor, I was again reminded that God is working something beautiful in my life through this trial and I just need to trust Him and yield to Him in obedience through it all. This morning, I put that bookmark in my Bible to mark my place in James so I could see it and remember Taylor and remember the purpose of trials each morning as I sit down to spend time with the Lord.

I look forward to sharing more about the topic of God working in our lives through trials in my blog post about studying James tomorrow. But, today I want to focus on the work God did in Sturbridge, MA and praise Him for the victory He claimed in the lives of these girls. Thank you for your prayers.