From the Film Studio

                          



It is hard to believe that the filming for the Scripture Talk DVD is now completed!!


It’s a weird mix of emotions…..total relief and excitement, mixed with the inevitable “let down” that comes from having poured your life into one avenue for 6 long months.

Yet there is joy in seeing how very much the Lord accomplished during these past 2 weeks, as we lived nearly every waking moment in our church building (a.k.a. film studio).

Below are several pictures to show a few highlights of our time with filmmaker Alex Lerma and his crew, along with 50 children and several teachers.

The natural question now is “what next??” We’re actually asking the same question over here :), but here is what we know so far.

The next few months will find us in frequent contact with our filmmaker as he systematically works through the hours of footage that he recorded, and sends it over to us for our suggestions and advice in the editing process. There will most likely be 3 drafts of edits completed before the product is finished. The estimated date that the DVD will be ready for printing and distribution is July or August.

Our family has much work to be done on our end as we research the options available to us for distributing the DVD. We would appreciate your prayers as we move into this next step with a whole lot more questions than answers! :)

To God be the glory! He has done great things!

 

We had all ages of children involved in quoting Scripture for the filming.....the youngest was 2 years, and the oldest was 17 years! 

 

Getting ready for filming...... 

 

.....During filming......

 ......And after filming.....relief and elation! :) 

 

Those present at the "film studio" could watch everything that happened on a large screen as footage was being recorded. Sometimes, the kiddos on the screen were so cute that taking a picture was inevitable.....  :)

                                

 

Each Scripture passage had a teaching segment that went with it, explaining how the children could apply it to their lives. Here, the twin team teaches together on 1 Corinthians 13! :)  

       More teachers and more fun :)


                            
              Yup. We're ready!

                                      





                            
               Great helpers and friends!

 

One of the highlights for me during the filming process was hearing interviews from parents as they shared their insights on Scripture memory, and discussed their children's responses to memorizing God's Word.

 

We had an incredible filmmaker and crew....Alex Lerma (middle), along with his assistants Amelia and Micah (second from left, and far right). Working with strong Christians who believed in our project was a huge blessing!

 

Children of all ages memorizing God's Word - hiding living power in their hearts and minds. What can be more exciting than that??

A New Adventure

Introducing.........

The Bridges family's latest project!!

The Lord has given us the idea of producing a DVD to help children memorize Scripture with hand motions, and after a year or more of dreaming and planning and praying, we are moving forward! 

We've already filmed a small portion of the DVD (a pilot project over the first weekend in February - see pictures below), and the rest of the filming will happen in April. 

Interested to learn more? Hop on over HERE to see a 4-minute promotional video, and view more details about the project. 

Excited? Great! Help us spread the word!

And most importantly, we covet your prayers as we move forward into this all-encompassing, sometimes-overwhelming, but always exciting! world of film making  We are trusting the Lord for His wisdom, and we know that He has given us the mind of Christ. 

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." ~ Jer 29:11

Newsflash - We're Back!!

Hello, and welcome to the Bridges family blog, where we write at the staggering rate of a whopping 2 posts per year.

*smile*



For those who have give up on ever hearing an update from our family again - - SURPRISE! :) Below is a little "report" on the highlight of our year......helping to host a girl's conference for 1100 girls and moms. We serve an awesome God, Who alone deserves all glory and honor. May our lives reflect His light more and more each day, as we strive to love Him with all our hearts. This is our prayer for each of you, our friends, as well!

In December of 2011, I emailed the Mally family, who head up a ministry called Tomorrow's Forefathers, (www.tomorrowsforefathers.com). This family and their staff have ministered to thousands of girls all over the world through their girls' conferences and Bright Lights follow-up Bible study curriculum. Though the Mally's have held conferences all over the United States, they had never been to Texas, and I wanted to bring them here!

Their response to me informed me that another girl (her name was Haley) was one step ahead of me - she had already contacted them, wanting to host a conference in the Dallas area. And so began many months of planning together, hundreds of emails and phone calls, developing relationships, learning new skills, being stretched in our walk of faith, and growing in our relationship with the Lord.

Though Haley and her family took much of the load for organizing the conference, our family was delighted to come alongside them as much as possible. Together, Haley and I called 40 + churches to find a facility that would agree to host the conference. Finally, we found the perfect church in Carrollton, and a date was set for late July. This conference was really going to happen!


1200 registrations later, we were in awe as the Lord kept bringing these moms and daughters. The church was maxed out, but we never had to turn a single person away. Excitement mounted as the first session began, and Sarah Mally, the main speaker, shared vision with each girl to "choose to be strong for the Lord in your youth!'


There was much beautiful singing and music throughout the week....

As well as hilarious skits! :)
 

Christa and I were each excited to be a leader of a breakout group throughout the conference. Christa led 10 and 11 year-old's, and I led 13 and 14 year-old's. Both of us were stretched as we learned to depend ONLY on the Lord's strength and wisdom. Each of us had about 20 girls on our team, and we definitely needed the Lord's leading each step of the way!
Here is me with my team....


 And Christa with her team....

I also was able to share my testimony during one of the large groups time (while Sarah Mally did a "chalk talk"), and was so thankful to have that opportunity!



The conference ended, but opportunities for follow-up were just beginning! Since the conference, we have been thrilled to host a leader's training seminar in our home for older girls who are interested in leading a Bright Lights group (a discipleship group for girls ages 8 to 13 yrs).....


We have seen 4 new groups start up in the area, and there is potential for several more!

God is good.......who are we, that He would choose to use us and give us opportunities like these? "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

We're Alive!

Yes, we're alive and we're well! Only our blog is not! :) In these past few months, the Lord has taught us much, and drawn us closer to Himself. He does all things well. We pray that He has been real to each of you, and that you have known His goodness in your life.

One of the highlights of these past few months has been taking my (Kate's) piano students to play for residents of a nursing home. Music is a gift, and what better place to share it than with the lonely and often forgotten? It brought joy to my heart to see the paradox of nervous thrill in each of my students, as they discovered the joy of doing a difficult yet worthwhile thing. From the six-year-old playing the great all time classic "Old MacDonald," :) to the nineteen-year-old playing "Be Thou My Vision," we all found much joy in sharing our music with the elderly.

The residents were incredibly warm and welcoming! They sang along to the tunes they knew, and clapped their hands or tapped their feet to the ones they didn't. :)

The duets are always a fun part of every recital...

This time, it was so fun to have a couple of the moms play with their children. This is Landrey, whose repertoire included "Oh I Love Snack Time" and "Old MacDonald." Need I say that he was the hit of the program? :)



Most of the piano students - relieved and relaxed at last


Sweet Annabelle

We met this woman after the program, and her sweet spirit shone just through her radiant smile. She loves the Lord and encouraged Christa and me to stay faithful to Him and keep a regular journal of the things He is showing us.

Stay tuned for more updates...
Until then! :)

Fireworks in Heaven :)

We have had many fun 4th of July weekends, but I think this past time will prove to be the most memorable for the Bridges family!

As a tradition, we always go to a certain fireworks display on the 4th of July in Addison TX. People line the street for miles to see the fireworks. But everyone gets there around 5:00 or 6:00, because an an airshow complete with World War II airplanes always happens first.


This year, for the first time, we put 2 and 2 together: lots of people together in one place...sitting around with little else to do for several hours...probably lots of non Christians present...are you catching our drift?? A perfect place to go witnessing!

The idea kept growing bigger. Why not give a class on evangelism one Sunday before the 4th of July, mobilize our whole church to come with us, then have these families join us in this outreach? We would ask the people there at the park to take surveys with us, leading into the Gospel, and then share Christ with the crowds at Addison Park.


We expected a couple families to show up to join us. But when the evening came, there were more than 40 people there! We were thrilled. Witnessing is not an easy thing to do. Were we nervous? Is the pope Catholic?? :) Was it easy? Definitely not! But worth it? Absolutely!



What a joy to see young children and experienced adults alike engaging in conversations to share the Gospel! We were so encouraged by the conversations we were able to have. We know that whether every person we talked to spit in our faces and told us to get lost (thankfully that never happened!! :)) or whether we led 10 people to Christ, we laid up treasure in heaven, planted seeds, and pleased our Lord. All we can do is to be faithful to plant the seed, and leave the results entirely up to Him!

After an hour and a half of witnessing, we joined back together at a designated place and had a time of sharing and praising the Lord together for what He had done that night.


Thankful for friends who encourage us in the Lord!


May this night be the turning point for each of us to develop a lifestyle of sharing Christ with the lost! We are excited to see His work!

First Piano Recital

A time of memories...


A time of laughter...

A time of nervousness :)


And a time of victory!


Several weeks ago, Christa and I had our first piano recital for our students, and ended up making memories that I think will last for years! :) We are so thankful to our Father for bringing these students into our lives and blessing us with the opportunity to make music together that honors Him!

All our students and their families gathered in our living room to hear the songs that the children have been working so hard on. Doubtless, the parents have the songs memorized themselves and could have played them in their sleep, but no matter! :) They were all on the edges of their seats, eyes riveted to the piano bench. :) It was quite a fun evening, informal and laid back, with great presentations by the students, and complete with all the usual "bloopers" that we'll laugh about for a long time afterward! :)

This is the beautiful verse we put on the front of the program for the recital:

“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.”
~ Psalm 101:1

"Let's get started..."
Welcoming the students and families

Duets were in order...



Solos too...


Lots of beautiful music!

Preview

Preview

Do you see the look of relief on all our faces?? :) These are all our sweet students (minus one.) :)

Great job everybody!! Can't wait till next time! :)