Fall Quarter Wednesday Night Ladies Class Intro

Hello to all who have decided to check in on our ladies class on Wed nights. I thought this would be a different way to throw out ideas to think on during the week. Since I know that so many of you have extra time to devote to blog reading. However since it is different maybe that will be an inspiration and also something you can share with friends who are interested and can not make the class on Wed for whatever reason. You will learn that my writing is a bit like my talking - run on sentences and occasional tangents but eventually right back on track so hang with me.

Last night went really well I thought, despite the teacher being late. Which I think shows promise of good things to come. Please feel free to invite any other girls you would like to come along - again feel no pressure to study ahead, but boy would it help me with the discussion.

We talked a great deal about how Jesus can be our model of an ideal friend and what we can do in our own lives to imitate Him. Remember the four qualities we looked at -

• Revealing our true thoughts and feelings
• Respecting the desires of others
• Sacrificing for others
• Encouraging the talents of others

(For those of you who are interested, and also so that I do not plagiarize anything, most of the good stuff can be found in the book Authentic Relationships: being real in an artificial world. It is a Life Connections study from Serendipity House)

I want to encourage each of us to try the application suggestions of setting aside three hours of friendship building, sharing something new with a friend, and identifying two talents a friend has and encouraging him/her in those. I also promised some other questions to ponder from the book. Let's re-look at the verses from John 15:9-17 and ask...

• Verse 9 - How has Christ shown His love to you this week?
• 10 - What command do you need to focus on obeying more?
• 11- In what way has your faith brought you joy?
• 12-13 - Have you ever sacrificed something for a friend?
• 15 - How can you open yourself to the idea that Jesus is your friend?
• 16 - What fruit are you bearing right now?
• 16-17 - What do you need to ask for to strengthen your friendships?

This was a great lesson for me who enjoys my small circle of friends with little natural interest in pursuing more. God has pushed me many times to broaden my horizons in friendship. If it were up to my instincts I would hide behind others whenever possible. Many of you know that I do not hide much. This is totally a God Thing. He has convicted me that if I feel strongly enough about something - ie church fellowship and the family of Christ- then I need to be willing to do something about that. Unfortunately for my instincts, that something is opening myself up to new relationships and actively pursuing those if necessary. I hope we can all feel the hand of God on our back propelling us forward in relationship with others.

I want to thank all the ladies who came and those who may be joining us digitally. I hope that you will find a new passion for authenticity in your friendships and your life. On Tuesday I will post a teaser for the Wed night class. I am not promising something dramatic each week but you never know. :)