One thing I do have a passion for that I thought I would slide in here, is coffee dates. Intentional relationships and mentoring. I'm not always the greatest at being intentional and seeking out ladies whom I would want to mentor me or being intentional about meeting with other ladies for the purpose of encouragement and growth.
But it is something I am passionate about.
It's something I totally feel is biblical.
'As iron sharpens iron,
so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.'
Proverbs 27: 17
Even something as simple as meeting to pray for one another. Or intentionally meeting to share your walk with the Lord.
'Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,
just as in fact you are doing.'
1 Thessalonians 5:11
I don't think it is something that naturally happens even among church community, at least not in my experiences. It is something I am continually having to train myself to be purposeful in, to be bold in asking a friend about how they are doing spiritually, to give freedom to others to ask me the same question. To have that accountability.
I particularly love investing in the lives of younger girls, high school age. Being able to love on them as they walk through a challenging part of life. Being able to listen and on occasion share things I have learned with them. Something I am totally praying about being able to do more of in the very near future.
How are you intentional in your relationships friends?
This post is part of my 31 day series for the month of October,
fighting through the fears and sharing the confusing passions I have.
Hoping to figure out the bigger picture of all these interests.
fighting through the fears and sharing the confusing passions I have.
Hoping to figure out the bigger picture of all these interests.
I am trying to not have a lot of friends right now. Because I honestly just don't have time to devote to a lot of different people. I'm working on spending time with those closest to me, learning and growing together. Its been so good just seeing God work in my friendships, even the long distance ones. My absolute best friend lives in California, and we make time to text and email and talk because we're special to each other and we care. God blesses that.
ReplyDelete(and for the record, I'm very glad and privileged to count myself as one of those high school girls who you encourage and invest in. love your heart!)
xoxo!
You are precious sweet jennifer!! =) I love your precious heart & the way you love on me so much!! =) What wisdom in your choice to choose where you invest your time =) Such a skill I feel I am STILL working on and probably will have to continue to work on LOL. I love that you are your friend make time for each other, those long-distance relationships really have to be that way or you lose touch. Haha! I consider you to be a dear friend who is my equal sweet girl!!! =) =) =)
DeleteThis is something that is close to my heart! I am part of a group young women in our 20s-30s (single, married, young moms) who are paired up with teen girls within the church in what we call Big/Little sister groups. I text my "little sis" weekly, greet her at church, and take her out for coffee, lunch, or museum hangouts monthly. It's a great way to discuss things that she is dealing with while also letting her know that someone older is praying for her and has gone through a lot of the emotions and struggles she is daily dealing with. Its been a huge blessing for my own life. I am actually having all of the Big and Little sisters at my apartment for a fellowship breakfast this weekend, which I am super excited for. We are sisters in Christ, or atleast we say we are... so it's about time we start putting actions to our words and living out this sisterhood in practical ways. I am confident God will lead us and take take of this little ministry since it's his idea after all.
ReplyDeleteI also LOVE taking friends out for lunch and getting deep into "real talk" and seeing what God is doing in their lives and what they need prayer for. It is SO easy to get slammed with the busyness of life, so being intentional about nurturing these godly friendships takes time, but is so awesome!
Oh how AWESOME friend!!! =) YES YES YES. I really wish our church did this!!! I would LOVE to be a part of something like this =) =) What a blessing I'm sure you are to your lil sis =)
DeleteYou are totally right, it is SO easy to have the busy excuse, but learning to be intentional really helps with that! Much Love friend!! =)
So, so true. We need that community to help us grow in our relationships with the Lord and with each other! It really can be hard to constantly remind yourself that it takes practice to become more intentional in relationships. Something I'm definitely learning all the time!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely!! I'm SO not that great at it. But I think its really important so I'm praying to be better at it as I practice it =) Its so worth it when you start to see that intentional time reap fruit!! =) =) Much Love girl!
DeleteThis is such a great thing to be passionate about as it is something I've often times seen lacking in many church bodies.
ReplyDeleteThanks friend! Its a hard thing to do, I'm certainly not perfect and fail at it on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. But I really hope to get better at it as I work on it =) Much Love!
DeleteI love this post and I love all of the comments. This has lately been on my heart--I need/want a mentor, someone to challenge me in my faith, but it seems like most people are content to attend church for an hour on Sunday and be done. It's discouraging but I'm not giving up hope, and I'm glad that you have a heart for connection!
ReplyDeleteAww yes girl! I totally understand your heart for this!! =) Will be praying for you! Don't give up, I'm sure the Lord has a wonderful plan for you in this area!! =)
DeleteMuch Love & Hugs!!!
I love this! This is one of my exact passions, but often something that I feel guilty about because it feels way too indulgent. I love getting together with women who have been where I am or where I am going, I love getting together with women who are where I am, and I love getting together with the girls-turning-young-women who for some reason think I have something to offer them :) I love these opportunities to share life and faith and experience and messiness and Jesus.
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