Hangin' with the group is great!

Erin and I are in a small group bible Study on Thursday nights at our house. We get together with four other couples and we see what scripture has to say about the life issues we are dealing with. Our first study we talked about marriage and challenged each other to work on our relationships. Now we are in a series on parenting and it has been so good just to have a group of people to share life with. It's funny but every Thursday I look forward to this time together. I get so much out of the relationships... and I am an introvert. Usually for me something like this can be so draining for me. However, I have found it to be a huge encouragement and I feel more healthy with my relationship with God because of it. It makes me feel more connected to Him.

It gets me to thinking about all those people who do not have a group of people they can hang with, that they can discuss God's Word with, that will pray for them and accept them for who they are. I don't know how those people make it through life, let alone grow in their relationship with God. Maybe you are one of those people. You know you need some significant people in your life but you don't want to take the time to do it. Or you don't want to risk building relationships with others in an authentic way. For whatever reason...and none of them are good ones...you are not in a group. Everything we know about God and how He created us points to the fact that we were designed to live in community with others. Nobody is designed to be able to go it alone. We need each other to grow Spiritually. If you think differently you are only kidding yourself and you see things differently than God does.

I couldn't imagine my life without a small group. Well that is not true, there have been times where I haven't been in a group and I look back on those times and realize how little I was connecting with God and others. It has always been when I have been in a group that my growth in Christ accelerates. This has been without exception. What is keeping you from getting in a group with other believers? Stop making excuses, bite the bullet, take the risk, change your priorities and just do it. If your too busy for a regular gathering with others in the name of Jesus than you are too busy. I pray that God touches your heart and connects you with great friends as He has done for me. You know... I have never talked to a person that feels disconnected from God or the church who is actively involved in a small group. There is a reason for that...because God designed us for them. Blessings, Your Dreaming Pastor