Every Monday night, Joel takes the kids out around 6:30 and brings them home around 9:00 so that we can have our FLOCK** women's group meeting here. We started having the group at the end of April and have met every Monday night since, except for one. (Then on Tuesday night, Joel does the same thing with the men from our FLOCK group, and I take the kids out.)
The purpose of the group is to allow us ladies to get to know each other better, to share the struggles we're dealing with, and to pray for and encourage one another. So far, I feel we've accomplished that to a large degree. Summertime schedules seem to interefere somewhat, so our group has dropped off in numbers since school let out, but that's okay! Even when there are just two or three we have a great time! ("Where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20 NIV) I trust God each week to bring the ladies He wants there, and to be the Lord over our meeting.
Last night we started a new "study"--although there's no homework and the ladies don't even really need the book. It's based on the book "Keep A Quiet Heart" by Elisabeth Elliot. The premise? How to keep a quiet and peaceful heart in a world where struggles and pain and pressures chip away at our peacefulness on an almost constant basis.
The challenge I found, for myself last night, was that I am much better able to keep a quiet heart amidst the larger painful issues of life, but when it comes to the smaller, more mundane, more "normal" everyday issues, my heart is anything but quiet! So even though I'm leading this study, God is already using it to transform my life. (Though I feel certain this transformation will take some time!)
Anyway, I have loved getting to know the women in our FLOCK better. They are an awesome bunch of ladies--all dealing with different issues, all in different "places" in their lives. We have grandmothers, empty-nesters, mothers of young children, singles, women married but separated, working women, stay-at-home moms, etc. But the best part is the common ground we share: a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, and dealing with the struggles of this life.
What an awesome gift we have in being part of "the body of Christ." And what a blessing this body of believers has been to me!
God is so awesome!
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**Note: Our FLOCK is a Sunday morning Bible study and care group. It is an acronym for Fellowship, Leadership, Outreach, Caring, and Knowledge. We meet every Sunday morning from 10:45 a.m. to noon at Henderson Hills Baptist Church. We also have monthly FLOCK socials where we get together and just have fun. It's a great group of people! You can see our FLOCK's blog here.