There was a time when girls learned how to
 flourish in life from other women
in their community.

Women in the family.
Women in the neighborhood.
Women at church.

Side by side or hand in hand,
wisdom and advice
was dispensed and practiced.

I learned to peel hard boiled eggs,
mend a torn shirt,
and walk in high heels
from the women who loved and nurtured me.

I learned to dress with style,
listen to a boring story with an engaging smile on my face,
and host a party
from watching the women in my neighborhood.

I learned to study the Bible
pray with expectancy, and
treat my husband with love and respect
under the tutelage of the women at my church.

Living in community is important!

Even though women tend to be relational,
we are losing our connectivity
due to the demands on our time
and
the abundance of virtual relationships.

We hide behind busyness and
pretend that “liking” a Facebook post
is the same as personal engagement.

It’s not!

It takes time to build friendships,
but the return on
your investment is immeasurable.

If you think about it,
in the time you spend cruising your newsfeed,
You could call a friend
write a note,
or even meet for coffee!

Couldn’t you?

Take the time to build a
meaningful friendship.

It takes courage,
but learning to be honest and truthful
will save you a multitude of hardships.

Having a friend who will call you out on your stuff
or
give you the head’s up on impending danger
or
walk through a season of sorrow
is
life giving.

Be courageous and be the friend you want to have.

Flourishing in life
requires
living in community.

Last weekend,
four of us trekked to the Upper Peninsula of MI
to attend a Winsome Women Retreat.

 We stayed at the luxurious Grand Hotel.
(remember the movie, Somewhere in Time)

We were moved by the music and
inspired by the teaching.
But, it was taking the time and
sharing our lives
that made the retreat especially sweet.

We told embarrassing stories.
We confessed secrets and made declarations.
We ate too much and laughed so much
it seemed we’d burst out of our seams.
We made new memories and
threaded our lives
even more closely together.

None of us had the time to go.

We all work outside the home,
have families,
volunteer,
take on injustices,
and go on mission trips.
Two of my friends are in the midst of a move!

It’s never convenient
to find time to build
life giving relationships.

We have to create the time.
We have to muster the courage not to hide.

We have to believe what Jesus said is true.

You are created for community,
To live in harmony,
To carry each other’s burdens,
To love one another
To motivate one another to
acts of love and good works.

Will you?
Do you?

Take a minute right now and think about
how great it would feel to
belly laugh with a girlfriend.
Expose a secret that is weighing you down,
Receive words of genuine affirmation or
Hear a story of personal victory.

Friendships let you experience the joy of
belonging and contribution.

I’d love to hear about your escapades.

Scripture Refresher:
Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

With my belly-laughing friends at the Grand Hotel.

Me with Susie Larson at Winsome Women

https://wswretreats.org/