Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Dear Friends in Real Life & this Community

If you & I have been real life friends for a few years you would have probably noticed that something is different about me lately. As we talk you would probably realize this deeper love for life and everything the Lord has for us, surface in our conversations. In sitting over coffee, while we talk about the gospel, I would hope you hear the desperation in my words in the hopes that other women fall in love with God's word, like I have. If we have been real life friends for some time I am positive that you may be a little tired of hearing about how excited I am for the Lords heart pouring into mine and feeling like I can't get enough. If we are real life friends, we have probably rejoiced over everything God has done in our lives over the years & the way the Holy Spirit is moving within us lately. If we are real life friends, lately the Holy Spirit has been encouraging us to go deeper into the things the Lord has for us. If we are real life friends, I am so grateful for you. There are no words.

I say all of this to say. I am so grateful for such sweet wonderful friends in my life. Best friends. God given friends. Friends that I know God placed in my life at just the right time. Also, I am so thankful for my blogging friends. I am grateful that if I'm having a bad day I can pick up my phone to text you, go read your blog, or see your instagram for a good laugh or smile. I'm glad that we can call and pray for one another.  I'm grateful for skyping dates with you lovely ladies & truly enjoy the community that I've been warmly welcomed into. My heart is fuller because of it. 


Scripture that has been rocking my world & challenging me to build community even more and has grown a love for others in my life is 
2 Corinthians 6:10-13 (the message)

"I can't tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn't fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren't small, but you're living them in a small way. I'm speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!" 

Today, I want to share with you that God's heart is for us is to know him, love him, to become friends with one another, and to encourage each other through community. I am so thankful to belong to both a real life community of believers & a blogging community of women who love the Lord so passionately & strive to live out their lives for him. It is a joy several times a week I can get together with a good friend to have coffee at Starbucks or in our homes.

God desires us to get out of ourselves, our thoughts, daily routines & to expand and build friendships with others. This is how we can start living larger lives. We are the ones making our lives feel empty. We are the reason we are not growing in Christ. We are the reason we don't have community.

If you do not have a community of friends, what are you waiting for? If you are someone who doesn't make friends easily, ask God to give you the words to say in conversation. Ask for boldness to make friends. Pray for an understanding heart. If you live near me, come to Java after Jammies every Monday night, get involved with a local Bible Study, or ask your neighbor to come over for coffee. Start praying for devine friendships, ones that only he can provide. Trust me. With each one of my best real life friends, I have prayed for them. 

My heart is that women begin to make community with one another. True friendships filled with laughter, crying, hoping, dreaming, smiling, accountability, praying, worship, and relying on one another as we serve God. Community is something I have such a passion for these days because I know how vital it is in my relationship with God. I hope this encourages you to step outside of your comfort zone & to make real friendships.

Happy Wednesday. Today I am excited to link up with 
Into the Word Wednesdays &

 As always, I would love to hear your thoughts.
~Brit

10 comments:

  1. Stopping by from Into The Word Wednesday. Thank you for this encouraging post! I am looking forward to getting to know you better:)
    http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com/

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    1. thanks for stopping by. Looking forward to reading your post from today.

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  2. Girl community is sooo important in our faith journey you are soooo right! I'm excited because REALLY for the first time ever I have friends I can REALLY REALLY get into the word with...talk about Jesus with and what he's doing in our lives be REAL with!! it's soooo important to sharpen each other isn't it? And the feeling it gives you is BEYOND gilr!!! So happy to get to know you! Oh and so happy you linked up!

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    1. Thats awesome, so happy you have those friends to get into the word with. It makes such a difference in my life & yes that feeling of connecting & pouring into each others lives is so wonderful! Glad I linked up today, I've been wanting to :)

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  3. Wow! Thanks so much for linking up. I'm excited to get to know you better. This is SO important. I love having a community I can share what I'm learning with. I wish more of those people were in real life right now. I love our Into the Word Wednesdays. I'm always encouraged by the many posts. So many of them are exactly what I need to hear that week. God works in mysterious ways for sure!
    Kelly
    http://exceptionalistic.com

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    1. So glad I got to link up, I've been wanting to for a while now. Finally worked out. I've realized that a lot of people (in real life) struggle with wanting community just because it is something different. I'm thankful that God is growing more women's hearts for it. Look forward to getting to know you as well.

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  4. This post is so encouraging and motivating!! Close friends, fellowship, and doing life with other women is so vital for so many different reasons. Great post with great scripture!! Happy you linked up. :) Have a wonderful rest of the week, dear!

    Falen
    UpwardNotInward.blogspot.com

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  5. Community is key! I am all about encouraging and edifying women...I think that when we can bond together as women and build each other up, we can accomplish anything! God can use us so much more when we are in community in a positive and loving way!

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  6. Thank you so much for linking up with #DesireToInspire! Community is so important, both face-to-face community and the online community. I love that you shared what's on your heart and from the Word. Thank you!

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  7. Thank you for linking up with His Voice sweet friend! What an awesome post to share. I wish I lived near you for "Java after Jammies" that sounds awesome!! For real, I feel blessed to be in community with you!

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