The Lily Letters

Partakers of the Promise August verse: "He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.​" - Galatians 3:14​ (NIV) 2026-27 verse: "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." - Ephesians 3:6 (NIV) ----- This summer we launched our 2026-27 theme, “Mysteries in Motion: Unfolding Who God Is and Who God Says We Are.” Our guiding verse is Ephesians 3:6, which reads, “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” ​S​o far, we have focused on the fact that this verse reminds us Christians that we are fully included as Christ's co-heirs (June), His body (July), and, this month His promises (August). This...

Dear God, Let our leadership in SAO be united so that our sisters and their surrounding communities receive an overflowing blessing. Let our unity bring life, refreshment, and spiritual nourishment to our chapters so that those surrounding our campuses may know Jesus Christ and receive the blessings of Eternal Life. We reject comparing our gifts both enviously and pridefully, and we accept working towards unity in our faith and in the knowledge of you so that we become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. We want to use our gifts to serve the church of Christ just as the parts of the human body work together. Each of our gifts comes from you rather than ourselves. We love you. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

One Body (Unity): We Belong to Each Other Ephesians 3:6 (NIV) This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. July Verse: “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”- 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV) – This month's theme is based on being part of the Body of Christ and walking together in unity, rather than division. Just as the human anatomy works along with each other, we each have a gift that God gives us to work together to help spread the gospel. If we were to look at 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, we would see that each part of the Body of Christ is important. This calls for us to remove envy and pride and to stick to the gifts that God has given to us. I remember going to see my service chair after attending a Christian concert the night before (the same night when I did 16 crunches at a Panera for Crunch-a-...

I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but we are all children of God. But have you heard that we are the co-heirs with Christ? This is a phrase that I was not super familiar with before writing this post. I have always heard that I am a child of God, and I have been proud to be a child of God, but being called a co-heir with Christ was new. In simple terms, it means that all of us are adopted children of God. We have been fully welcomed into His family, and we are entitled to a share in Jesus’s inheritance of eternal glory, salvation, and blessings. This inheritance is not like the physical inheritance you may receive after a loved one passes, and it is worth much, much more. Romans 8:16-17 says, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” But what, exactly, do we inherit? 1 Peter 1:4 says, “To an i...

Monthly Theme: Co-Heirs (Belonging): I belong in God's Family Starting Verses: Ephesians 3:6 “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.” 1 John 3:1 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” There are such cool things to be pointed out in Ephesians 3:6 about who God’s people are and what they receive. This is something we’ll get to dive deeper into as the months of the school year go by, but as we get started and as we settle into that summer, post-convention rhythm- I’d love for us to start to focus in on the idea that we are called “heirs” or children of God as mentioned in 1 John 3:1. At first thought, I think of my classroom of students and how I consider that a sort of family while at the school house. Students and teachers support each other, grow together, laugh, celebrate ea...

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13 Hands-down, this might be my favorite passage in the Bible. I know some people find it cliche or overused or taken out of context, but I sincerely believe that you cannot emphasize love enough in a world like the one we’re living in today. Love is everything, and I think Paul does such an excellent job of reminding us why. For a bit of context, in case you may not know or remember, Paul wrote this letter to the church in Corinth, because they were hindering their own mission after becoming obsessed with flashy spiritual gifts, acting selfishly, and becoming divided. With this specific part of the letter, Paul seeks to point them back to love, as everything is meaningless without it and engaging in love as an action builds up the church of Christ. Now having a deeper understanding of why this passage was written, I wanted to emphasize a couple of points Paul made: Verses 1-3: In spite of anything we do, say, or have, none of it matters without love. Verse...

Huge fun fact, I have a fear of thunderstorms and the dark. It might sound silly, but I hate the unknown when I have to move from room to room without having any sort of guidance of if I am safe from obstacles that may cause me to be injured. Thank goodness for flashlights though. With flashlights, things that we may not see become exposed by the light, so that we know what is safe and what is unsafe. With headlights on the car we can see if there might be a pedestrian, where the medians are, and if there is any hazards that we might need to avoid. Believe it or not, we are flashlights too. In our wear the word wednesday Bible verse Matthew 5:16, we are told to “let our light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Through our social events, through our Bible Studies, through our outreach, we become flashlights to those on our campuses, or as an alumna, in our communities. The coolest thing about being in a sorority...

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” — James 1:19 Assumptions are easy to make, in every single aspect of our life. When communication is fast and schedules are full, it’s natural to fill in gaps with our own interpretations. But assumptions can quietly create misunderstanding, frustration, or even distance where unity is meant to grow. This past week at work, I attended a communication seminar to help with my serving on our school conduct board hearings. We talked about going into those situations with a preconceived notion of the student already being guilty or sneaky because the situation has been brought to that level. The scenario we talked about was someone egging someone's car. We made so many theories and had many assumptions about the situation, but one crucial thing was missing. There were no eggshells. (this was after seeing a picture and everything). So in this part a whole room full of professionals were so sure this poor...

Check Your Flashlight Colossians 2:6-7 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. Why might a flashlight troubleshoot? Check the batteries: They may be dead, low on charge, or inserted incorrectly. Inspect battery contacts: Look for corrosion or dirt, which can block the electrical connection. Clean the contacts with a cloth dipped in alcohol or vinegar. Inspect the switch: The switch mechanism can fail. Try pressing it multiple times or cleaning around the button. A faulty switch may need to be cleaned or replaced. Replace the bulb or LED: The bulb or LED can burn out over time, especially in older models. 1.To Glow for Christ we must check our power source. With a traditional flashlight this might include making sure that it has batteries. In your Bibles, highlight or underline part b of Colossians 2:6 and write in your jo...

The Inconvenience of Christmas by Meghan Williams As a society, we love Christmas. The lights, the decorations, the joy, the merriment, family and friends. We have expectations of a perfect day. But many times Christmas can be plagued with sorrow, suffering, stress, and overall inconvenience. If that's you, you're in good company. The first Christmas was full of inconvenience. It started with a God who had been silent for 400 years that came to a young girl, no older than 15 or 16 years old, and asked her to do the unimaginable. Being pregnant outside of wedlock, even more so in that time, would have ostracized her from her community and subjected her to constant judgment. We don't know how her parents reacted, but we do know she spent a few months with an out of town cousin, perhaps revealing she was sent away due to her condition. Once she was far along in her pregnancy, she wasn't even able to stay with family. She had to travel 90 miles, probably a week...

Staying Focused on God Emily Peedin Bible Readings: Philippians 4:6, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew 6:34, and Matthew 11:28 If there is one thing I can distinctly remember from my four years in undergrad, it is just how fast the fall semester seemed to fly by after midterms. Within the blink of an eye, we had Halloween, Fall Break, Thanksgiving, finals, and Christmas before I could even register what was going on. It truly felt like, no matter how hard I wanted things to slow down a bit, someone else’s foot was on the gas, and I could seemingly never catch up. That being said, I did cherish my fall semesters in undergrad– arguably so much more so than my spring semesters. Something about the weather cooling down, sports seasons heating up, and my favorite holidays approaching made the semester feel a lot faster and more bearable to get through. That certainly wasn’t the case for everyone else I knew, though. As wonderful as the fall and winter seasons were to me, I would be remiss if I did...

With Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years coming up, we are more likely to interact with family and friends; some who we might not have seen all year. The Holidays can become chaotic, with milestones being announced, unresolved conflicts being mentioned, the urge to watch our favorite football game, or to answer the golden but awkward question by our favorite aunt. This month’s focus is on the word “others” where we just take a second (or more) to focus not on ourselves, but on others. Philippians 2:3 (NIV) states “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves”. I used an acronym generator to create an acronym for the word “others” which the results said “Outreach through Humility, Empathy, Righteousness, and Service. We can bring in Outreach through the holidays by checking in with our family members and friends. The year could be overwhelming and with a simple “How are you?” could make the gathering less stressful. The one c...

“9000 Fireflies” Full Disclosure, despite all the bows and dresses that I love to wear, I am a wrestling fan. I love watching all of the characters that each of the wrestlers have and the stories that they tell by their videos, promos, and wrestling matches. One particular wrestler and the nicknames he gives the fans resonate with me. Whenever he was nearby, the whole arena darkened and everyone all of a sudden turned on their flashlights on their cellphones. However, at that moment, they weren’t just flashlights to him. They were fireflies that lit up the dark arena. I remember my own fireflies at Longwood University. It was a scary time coming in as a transfer student, not knowing most of the students, and the only organization that I had planned on joining was BCM . My first BCM experience, I saw a group of girls sitting together, laughing, and cheering each other on if they had to speak at our large group meeting. The next week, I saw one of the girls at the Bible Study in gre...

In this day and age, members of the Christian faith often face an internal struggle. It can feel difficult or even impossible to reconcile the idea that we are called to be in this world, but not of it. For many Christians, this can lead to an unintentional belief of moral superiority over those who do not subscribe to Christianity. However, at the end of the day, that feeling is not part of God’s plan for us as stewards of the faith, and can often limit our ability to draw others closer to Him, especially those who have been previously hurt by the Church. Today, I pose this question: Do we truly understand what it means to love like He loves? When Jesus died on the cross, He didn’t just die for the people that would come to know and accept Him. He didn’t just die for the “good Christian.” He didn’t just die for the churchgoer. He didn’t just die for the preacher or the Sunday school teacher. He also died for the liar. For the murderer. For the thief and the vandal and the teenage mo...

One of my class's favorite song that we like to sing at the end of the day is called "Stop and Go" by Yancy. The lyrics are "Stop and listen to what God says, Go and do what he tells you to do". But sometimes for us, it can be hard to do what he tells us to do when we feel like we don't have directions. We hear from Jesus to "Therefore go and nmake disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19), but what happens when we have that fear? When we delight in the Lord, our steps are made firm by the Lord (Psalms 37:23). Also, we know that we can be strong and courageous and do not have to be afraid or discouraged because the Lord our God is with us wherever we go (Joshua 1:9). In a prayer by Peter and John with the chief priests and elders, they asked God to make them bold to speak God's word (Acts 4:29-31). When it might be difficult to spread the gospel, be encouraged by Paul...

Devo #1: A Green Gables Summit "Dear old world, you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you” When Claire shared the Summit theme with me a few weeks ago, I quite literally squealed with glee because Anne of Green Gables was a cherished imaginary friend for me throughout my childhood. Lucy Maud Montgomery is a storyteller unlike any other. In her books you will not find chaotic twists and turns, nor will you discover psychological or historical stories with high stakes. No, instead you will be immersed into the loveliest, quaintest story about a little orphan girl who simply lives genuinely and propitiously. If Anne Shirley were to transform into an inanimate object - she would be rose-colored glasses. Anne continuously chooses to see the world as wonderful, and consistently works to find the good in whatever her circumstances are. I have a daughter, Cora, who (through no fault of her own, bless her) is the exact opposite of Anne Shirley. She is chemically wi...

Scripture: Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” A Season of Shifting Transition is often uncomfortable—not because we’re doing something wrong, but because we’re growing. As alumnae who once wore letters on our backs and now carry the mission forward through leadership and legacy, we live in the space between what was and what’s next. Whether we’re beginning a new board year, welcoming new voices into the conversation, or carrying out the dreams of the women who came before us, we are navigating holy ground. Change requires courage. It takes faith to step out when the future is not fully formed and strength to keep going when the path feels uncertain. But this truth remains: God is not overwhelmed by our unknowns. God’s Strength, Not Ours In Isaiah 41:10, God doesn’t suggest that we might get help. He promises it. He tells us not to fear, n...

I don’t know about you but I can tell you in the time that I’m writing this devotional, at the beginning of a new calendar year, I am STRESSED OUT. Whether you are someone who follows New Years’ Resolutions or are like me and try to just make a renewed effort to put your best foot forward again, I think the beginning of the year can feel like so much pressure to set out to accomplish something ‘impressive’ for the year to come. If you are someone reading this now and thinking to yourself ‘I gave up ____’ or ‘I started working out and now I work out every day’ I am so incredibly happy for you and I promise there will still be something here for you if you continue to read on! All of that to say, in the stress of life, we can settle and develop routines to make sure we don’t forget anything, meet our recurring deadlines, make it to God’s house every week to check back in, and roll out our trashcans every Tuesday morning so we don’t have to figure out where the trash bags will go when...

Yvette Fay November Devotional 2024 Beta Chapter - App State University “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to get swept up in the big challenges or desires that overshadow the little blessings in our daily lives. Sometimes, we find it hard to be thankf when things don’t go as planned, when life feels overwhelming, or when we face situations that seem too small or insignificant to acknowledge. But God calls us to give thanks in a circumstances—not just when things are going well, but even when the small inconveniences or challenges test our patience and faith. I’ve been fighting to accept even the smallest things as a victim of Hurricane Helene. My ho in Avery County was destroyed, along with my little, Layla Phillips’ home in Burnsville. Through this devastation, we’ve leaned on each other more than ever. Our small text messages over the past month have been one of the bigge...

The art of Solitude Psalms 23:1-3 “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.[a] He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness[b] for his name's sake.” Back in January, I had the most spontaneous idea ever. I decided to book a hotel room away from my parents for the weekend for Valentine's day. This specific resort may or may not have been next to my house. During that weekend I was able to reflect and hear more from God and also relax from being busy with my job and school. There were different times where Jesus took time alone to pray and to spend time with God. This introduced the spiritual discipline of solitude, where we intentionally withdraw ourselves from our daily routines to focus on God. Richard J. Foster states that Solitude can help: 1. Free us from distractions 2. Find our true selves 3. Communicate with God 4. Develop Hope. Some simple ways we can practice solit...