Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Last week, SCA Sisters gathered for our second annual Valentine's Day party! We enjoyed a yummy cookie exchange, then settled down to talk about how we can show love to one another. We each took a quiz to discover our "love languages," and, surprisingly, many of the SCA Sisters shared the same love language! Later, we created little Valentine's Day cards with a verse to remind each SCA Sister to pray for her little or big sister.
Thank you to those of you who joined us! And, thank you to the C family for hosting! Keep your eyes open for an exciting service project coming up in May!
Love,
Ashlyn and Tessa

Christmas Memories with SCA Sisters

Fudge baking, gingerbread house decorating, and movie watching are all great activities to do with your SCA Sisters—and are especially fun if you do them all at once! Our SCA Sisters’ mom took initiative by texting us and giving us dates that her girls were free. We found a time that worked for both of us, then headed over to their house for a fun Christmas-y night. We baked lots of fudge, had a gingerbread decorating contest between our sister pairs (we even switched teams at one point and got to know our sister’s SCA Sister!), and laughed and sang along with the movie Elf.   

Have you done anything fun with your SCA Sister over the Christmas season? We are thankful our littler sisters’ mom helped us plan an activity this time. Maybe your moms can help you connect with your sister too!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Ashlyn and Tessa

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall, SCA Sisters!

We gathered for a fun event at the park yesterday and were grateful for no rain! :) Below are some cute pictures we took of the sister pairs who were there!

Also, we wanted to post here on the blog the e-mail we sent out a couple of weeks ago.

*** Remember that little sisters (and even moms!) can initiate activities with your SCA sisters!*** If you have not heard from your sister in a while, it’s time for you to initiate with her! I know we love it when our sisters send us texts just to say, ‘hi”. J

Do not feel pressure to spend huge amounts of time together. Everyone is busy at this time of year. The purpose of SCA sisters is to connect with someone who is older or younger than you, to encourage them in their relationship with Jesus. Every Sister friendship will look different and that is o.k. The goal is to build a friendship of mutual encouragement. One mom mentioned the great idea of simply writing each other an encouraging note with a Bible verse once a month. If you have any great ideas of activities to do with your SCA Sister, let us know and we will post them on the blog!

Love,

Ashlyn and Tessa

Hello SCA Sisters!

We hope you are well on your way with a great school year. We thought we would answer some questions that we frequently get!

1)      So…what should I do with my SCA sister? There is a list of ideas on our blog and website so check them out, but we’ll mention some here as well: Meet her for a picnic lunch, bake together, go watch her sports game, share with her a skill that you have, shoot a basketball or kick a soccer ball with her. We know sisters who have gone to the movies together, watched a movie at home, baked, painted each other’s nails, gone to the beach, cheered each other on in sports, done a Bible study work book together, gone ice skating, and made crafts together.

2)      What should I do if my big or little sister doesn’t contact me very often? Contact her! Even if you are the little sister, you can reach out. Another idea is to have your moms help get you started.

3)      What should I do if my sister is kind of shy and not very talkative? We totally understand that it can take some time to feel comfortable together, but do not give up! Try writing her a note, sending a card, or corresponding via email. When you are together, you could play a Would You Rather game, or any game. Invite your moms or another sister pair to join you for an activity. Watch a movie or do an activity together so you don’t feel pressure to talk the whole time. Keep trying. It gets easier and it will be worth it.

4)      What do I do if I no longer feel I have the time to participate? Just give us a call and gently let your sister know. We will fix her up with someone else.

5)      Is there anything I can do to help with this club? Yes! If you would like to plan or host an all-sister’s event or service project, we will get on board with you! We would LOVE that! Also, we’d love to have you contribute stories and pictures to our blog. Just send us an email!

Hopefully, these questions and answers are helpful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact us any time for any reason. We really believe in the blessing of mentorship and want to help you gain all that you can through this experience.

Enjoy the sunshine this week!

With Love,

Tessa and Ashlyn Olson

“We were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” ~1 Thessalonians 2:8

Fun Activities with SCA Sisters!

Just because school has started does not mean that the fun with your SCA Sister has to stop! In fact, spending time with your SCA Sister can be a welcome break from your studies. :) A few weeks ago, I (Ashlyn) drove over to my little sister Sarah’s house with some muffins and berries. We had a lovely little breakfast on her trampoline and talked. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any pictures of our time together, but we had fun!

Tessa recently had her little sister over for a manicure day! Here is a picture of them doing each other’s nails.

And, last but not least, Rachael and Aubrey had a fun day together ice skating! Rachael has ice skated for several years, so she brought Aubrey with her this time. Is there a sport or activity you could bring your SCA Sister to?

Have you done anything fun with your SCA Sister lately? Let us know and we will feature you on our blog! 

What have you been doing with your SCA Sister?

We have all of the pairings set for this year. We hope you are enjoying connecting with your SCA Sister, whether you have the same one as last year, or you are just joining our group. 

We recently received an e-mail from a mom of a new SCA Sister that we want to share with you. What have you been doing with YOUR SCA Sister? :) We'd love to hear! 

Hi Ashlyn,

Just wanted to thank you and Tessa for pulling together SCA sisters. Aubrey has known Rachel since she was a toddler and is really looking forward to spending more time with her; we were so sad when she and her family moved from Irvine!

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I just wanted to let you know that we had connected and how excited we are:)

In His Service,

Lisa Burington

Aubrey's Mom

SCA Sisters' 1st Annual Beach Day!

Welcome to a new school year! SCA Sisters ended the summer with a bang at our first annual SCA Sisters’ Beach Day. We had so much fun swimming in the ocean, walking the pier, and just getting to know each other.

We hope you all had a great summer and are looking forward to connecting with your SCA Sister this school year! It doesn’t matter if you are the older or younger “sister”, take the initiative and plan an activity together this month! You’ll be glad you did.

And, if you ever want to host an SCA Sisters event, please let us know.

We are looking forward to seeing you all again!

Love,

Ashlyn and Tessa

 Hanging out on the beach

 With our SCA Sisters

 The Whole Group

Cute shirts by Tessa and Naomi!

Finding our Identity in Christ

They say that you will know you are a competitive swimmer when your non-swim friends just stop inviting you to things, because they assume you’ll have swim practice anyway. They say that you will know you are a completive swimmer when you smell like chlorine all day, every day. I meet those criteria. I am a competitive swimmer. I swim more than twenty hours each week. But, this year I’ve been learning a lot more from swimming than just stroke technique.

At swim, I sometimes deal with coaches who are happy with me when I swim fast, and frustrated with me when I don’t. At swim, I sometimes deal with teammates who, for whatever reason, exclude me from their “group” of friends. No matter how well I do at a swim meet, there is always the internal and external pressure to get a faster time at the next meet. The swim world can be intense. I know that many other SCA students (and parents) also experience these and similar situations in their own sports, classes, or jobs. Sometimes we can be tempted to compare ourselves with others. We can struggle with low self-esteem, or with contentment. There is a temptation to let other people or our circumstances tell us our worth. I think I am coming to learn the solution to these temptations.

As Christians, we belong to Jesus. We are His children first and foremost. He made us and has a plan for us, and that is where our identity lies. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.” So, no matter what the circumstance, we must remember these truths. There will always be a time in our lives when we feel “less- than”, or like we don’t belong. I know when my dad was out of work he needed to remember that he was so much more than “a job”. Some of us may not be accepted into the college of our choice, or get the part in the play or the job that we had hoped for. A boss, teacher, coach, or friend may leave us feeling like we are not enough. Life on earth will always bring challenges. This is when we need to rest in the truth of God’s Word.

God loves you. Jesus died for you. He is good and we can trust Him with our lives. Yes, I am a competitive swimmer. I am also a student, daughter, sister, musician, and friend. Most importantly, however, I am a child of a Faithful God!! I live for His approval alone. I want to encourage you to do the same. Let’s live our lives for the glory of our amazing God! Ephesians 1:3-8 says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace He has poured out on us who belong to His dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. He has showered His kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding.”

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete." (John 15:11)

Love,

Tessa