Monday, 07 November 2011

• Girls Night Out: Time Spent Being Real

  By Bonnie at Faith Barista
  

  “The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are.” ~ C.S. Lewis
  

  Yesterday, I did something different.

  Three girlfriends and I went out for dinner.

  We met up after we put our kids down for bedtime and made our families dinner.

  Of course, we were starving by the time we sat down to order.

  What was different is that we chose a restaurant neither of us had been before.

  It was fun.
  

  Missed Hanging Out

  Over the summer, I felt the need for some prayer time with godly women who I could be real with.   Our women’s group at church takes a break in the summer, and I felt I was getting too comfortable being alone (other than with Hubby).  Sure I connected with girlfriends over email and even the phone.

  But, something in my soul missed hanging out with women friends.

  The spontaneous laughter, the random conversations that women who have listening hearts do so well.

  I prayed about who I could approach.  I wanted it small and cozy.  Just two or at most three other women.

  I’ve gotten so comfy on my own recently.

  Would you like to get together and pray every other Monday?

  Keep It Simple

  We’d meet after we fed our families and put our kids to bed.  It was short — an hour or so.

  But, how those conversations we shared fed our souls!

  Some of the girls already had more structured Bible studies or small groups.

  Ours was purely focused on praying for each other and sharing thanksgiving and needs.  No “preparation” needed other than just showing up.

  Just keeping it real.

  I’d keep it really simple.

  I’d remember to wash some extra fruit earlier in the evening when I prepared dinner for the family.

  Boil a pot of tea.

  Brushed the toys to the side and went around the living areas, collecting stray items in a bag to place in the closet.

  Some of us brought notebooks to take prayers down. Others of us didn’t.

  We prayed for each other.
  

  Over a period of months, we got used to each other.

  Last night, we decided to go out for Thai.

  What Godly Women Do Best

  I looked up restaurants on the online restaurant guide Yelp for some help:

  QUIET for noise level.

  NOT RECOMMENDED for children.

  Perfect.

  We shared our different food selections “family style” and sampled each others’ dishes – as well as the stories going on in our lives.

  We do what godly women do best — we listened, laughed, hurt for one another and made a big deal out of everuday joys and triumphs.  In between bites of food, we talked about books we’ve loved reading and others not so much, DVDs worth renting and ended sharing prayer requests, praying for the sister to our left.

  Here’s what’s interesting.  Between life happening and mismatched schedules, it took us over a month to schedule our Girls Night Out.

  It was worth it in the end. We left with not only our tummies full, but our souls refreshed and filled.

  Maybe in the past, you might have been like me, hurt by women too. 

  It may be time to for you to start something new and discover godly women can heal and bless you too.

  Get comfy with just one or two friends.

  Give your soul a chance to have fun.  Make some plans to go out with some girlfriends.  Or just invite someone over for a pot of tea and some fruit.

  “Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.” Romans 12:10
  

   
  
  
  ~~~~~

  Do you have a small and cozy circle of godly women to be real with?

  When’s the last time you went out to just enjoy some fun with them?

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