“Taking her by the hand he said to her, ‘Talitha cumi’, which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise. ‘”

Don’t you just love Mark 5:41? Aren’t there countless times in our lives where we have felt dead (just as we are told in previous verses that Jairus’s daughter was indeed dead)? And what a Word that Jesus spoke to her just as He speaks to us, “Arise.”

Kelsey Mendez’s  teaching from Mark 5:21-43 was so perfect for the first Club of 2017, for the new  year, for a fresh reminder to ALL of us to continue to believe in and stand firm in knowing that regardless of our circumstances, the Lord is standing before us with His Word, with His encouragement, with His grace, mercy and love telling us to A R I S E.

I’m so excited remembering the teaching from January Club that I need to take a quick minute to back up and recap the whole sweet evening – that was the assignment you know?!

Club night starts way before the actual Club takes place – prayer coverage over the night , reminders to the teens, childcare scheduling, driver scheduling, mentors connecting with their girls/guys, décor, skits/games, musicians booked, craft planned, set up & tear down volunteers scheduled, dinner, drinks, & dessert. And of course ALL the details that go along with each of those mentioned. So much prep. So much love. So much shining Jesus before the night even happens!

For the night of January 19^th, everyone was greeted with super cute Valentine décor – tulips, hydrangeas, XOXO table runners, conversation hearts and Hersheys Kisses.  I mean it – really, really cute stuff happening EVERY single month with the décor!

Then, let’s talk about the crazy good little sandwiches that were served up – turkey and provolone on Hawaiian sweet rolls that were baked with a sugar & butter topping that was sheer deliciousness (good-bye to everyone’s 2017 diet resolutions!) The food prepared by one of the Life Groups (okay…it is my Life Group – haha!) this year has been tasty. But more than just the taste, these meals are prayed over during preparation and truly put together by some amazing servants.

Moving on to the childcare…how amazing is it that we have this crew of beautiful souls that walk in every month to rock babies and play with toddlers? Who does this aside from Jesus shiners????

Okay, let’s talk about Abby Clark and her crew (these folks are just plain crazy in all the BEST ways!) that can get a roomful of people into competing  groups that each had about 8 minutes to make up a song, practice it and then perform their artistic song/dance masterpiece before a panel of judges. But wait – these songs must include the following words: Lollipop, friend, heart, fly, river – WHAT???? It was hilarious but quite honestly it made me sweat in panic…and humility. Let’s just say that everyone gave it their best but I think all would agree that Jude Sumner killed it for his team with his break dancing skills!

This Club year has had the privilege of having Cooper & Kaia to share music – pretty cool since they themselves are high schoolers. High schoolers that are playing music for their own peer group, but living day to day life in different circumstances. This is God. (Okay, they are stinkin adorable too!!!) There was something really special about their leading of “Your Presence Lord” – He was present.

At this point in the evening is where Kelsey shared from Mark 5:21-43. Along with the message of God calling us to arise she reminded us that He will love us up. He will cover our mistakes. She even gave each of us a band-aid as a visual reminder that He covers over our boo-boos. Sweet, right? He is a good, good Father.

The night progressed to the craft room where if one didn’t know better, it looked as if potions were being made. But alas, it was our sweet Tracy teaching the girls how to make wonderful, smell-good essential oil blends. Her soft spoken words, coolest crafts ever and approachability provide such an atmosphere of peace and calmness for the girls/mentors. Really good conversations are held in this room.

All this on a Thursday night in January. And you know what? Because of flu season, job schedules, and tough circumstances for some of the teens, there were only a handful of girls and their babies there this particular night. And you know what? God knew EXACTLY who needed to be there and it was a sweet night. And God was there with us.

Written with His loving kindness, Colleen