Getting real… in and out of church.

 {One of the sweetest ever Good Morning Girls groups from my church!}

Against my better judgement, I sometimes run errands after working out.  It’s all about incorporating some efficiency into my day, but I have to admit, it’s not my favorite thing ever to go into a store looking (and smelling) like a worked-over, sweaty mess.  And you and I both know that more times than not, it’s on these days – and definitely on no-make-up-days – that I inevitably run into a high school classmate that I haven’t seen in years, or my hairdresser who suddenly finds out I’m failing her miserably (isn’t that sooo true?!), or worse yet… someone from church.  Heh.  Please tell me I’m not the only lucky one.

If it were my neighbor turning the corner of the Target aisle, it might feel slightly more comfortable.  She’s at least seen me a time or two (or fifty!) in my pajama pants, retrieving the mail (or, say, a wandering toddler… ha).  Friends who take out their trash and pull weeds alongside each other have some kind of a mutual understanding that life sometimes gets messy.  But church people… woah.  For the most part, they’re pretty used to seeing me fairly put together.  Well, except for those Sunday mornings when getting four children out the door and to church on time really does cause me to break into a full-blown sweat…

Image.

I have a rocky relationship with that word.  As a Christ-follower, I want to be an encourager and an example-setter.  But too often I’m just a hot, sweaty mess, wishing I came across a little more put together than I actually am.

As a mom a few years into parenting, I love to sit and talk with brand new moms in our church.  After exchanging sleeping and feeding tips we’ve tried with our babes, it seems that the conversation will often times turn to our individual struggles in finding consistency in our daily quiet times with God.  Isn’t it amazing that we can find it surprising – and somewhat relieving – to know that someone else might struggle with that very thing too?

In our put-together church world, maybe even after years of knowing Christ, we hesitate to admit that we need help figuring out how to devote time to knowing God more daily through His Word.

What if we all got real in church, and admitted that we need a little help in our walks with God?  What if instead of remaining silent and pretending like we have it all together (or judging those who aren’t so silent…), we banded together for the cause of Christ, and spurred each other on in this area?

In and outside the church walls, that’s what Good Morning Girls is all about.

During this sign-up time before our Colossians study begins, can I challenge you to share Good Morning Girls with someone who might need to be encouraged that they are not alone in their journey of faith? 

Would you pray over and consider one or more of the following?

• Determine to achieve an ever deeper level of intimacy and transparency in your GMG group this session.

• Consider leading a group if you haven’t in the past.

• Invite someone new into your GMG group who may not already be in your comfortable, neatly packaged group of church friends.

• Invite a friend into your group who may be new to church or who is seeking in their relationship with God.

• Invite a (wiser and often older) mentor into your group, who can challenge group members and be a great resource for indepth biblical knowledge and hard questions.

• Invite a group of teen or college girls to study with you this session.

• Share the Good Morning Girls concept with your church leadership in areas such as Women’s Ministry, Small Groups, Youth Groups, etc.

• Talk up GMG on your facebook page, then link to goodmorninggirls.org for more information.

Together, with God’s help, we can continue to point women to the life-changing, soul-quenching Word of God!  Will you join us as we get real, and get busy for God?!

What other ideas do you have for stepping out-of-the-box and getting bold for God this session?

At His feet,