The Thrift Store Outfit Challenge

There are very few people in my life who I love more than our youth group girls. Time with them on Sundays and Wednesdays are some of the highlights of my week, as we get to worship God together and learn more about His word. It’s such a joy to watch them grow as teens and as Christians.

But with the start of the new year, we decided that we needed more time together, one-on-one, outside the church setting. And so began our Ooo Time. (Ooo, One-On-One. Get it?) Each girl gets an afternoon with me to do whatever they want - crafts, shopping, sweet treats - and then we end our time at a local coffee shop for Bible study.

When Cailyn and I had our Ooo time last weekend, I offered her a challenge and she totally stepped up to the plate. We went to the local thrift store and I told her my sizes and one thing I didn’t want to wear. Beyond that, the racks were hers to explore and find something I could wear to church the next day. I did the same for her.

To say she knocked it out of the park is putting it lightly. Not only did she find a skirt that fit me perfectly, but she matched it up with three different tops that I absolutely fell in love with. I wouldn’t have picked them out for myself, but they were wonderful when I saw them in the mirror. Let’s just say that all four pieces went home with me!

Cailyn’s only request was that I didn’t try to put patterns together that didn’t really go together. Luckily I understood what she meant, that she didn’t want to look like an old lady or someone who was color blind. So I chose two adorable pairs of pants (I’m sure that cute is look she’s going for, right?) and some cute layering tops. I didn’t get everything quite right on the first try, but I was not to be deterred!

But the end of the trip, we both had outfits to take home, but the surprise was which one we would wear the next day to church. I had to smile when she came in wearing the top from outfit and the pants from the other. She looked amazingly beautiful, we had fun doing something together and we added some fun new pieces to our closet. I genuinely hope that our girls remember these moments for the rest of their lives.

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