A few weeks ago I started meeting once a week with two friends at 8 or 8:30 at night...after we put the kids down, so we don't feel too bad for leaving our husbands all alone. It's something that my church encourages, and that I've wanted to do, but I just didn't know how to get started. Sometimes we go out for coffee and sometimes we go out for wine. Tonight my friend asked me which I preferred, and I acted as though I was indifferent and then immediately said "wine!" So, instead of going to a restaurant, we went to her house and sat in her driveway while her husband brought us out glasses of wine (one each) and dark chocolates. Yeah, life is rough.
The reason I am posting this though, is to say that being a momma can be such an odd combination of loneliness and busyness that it is difficult at times to find yourself in the mix, let alone gauge any kind of personal growth. It is slightly more than a mom's night out, and I think that is why it is so meaningful to me. We go through a list of questions to help us open up about our weeks. Usually we just talk about the things that matter to us most, and then hit the list to make sure we covered everything. And we don't always pray. We should do that.
It must be said that I was encouraged to do this with people that were not already my best friends. Do this for a few weeks, and you'll become good friends, though. There is a truer sense of accountability with people that don't already fully know your strengths and weaknesses. It's a little harder to keep making the same mistakes week after week with people you still care (mildy) about impressing :) I just tried to pick people I didn't know super well, but thought were mature and felt "safe" with. I just ended a sentence with a preposition...again. I'm getting so lazy about that. There I go again. My composition instructors would be so disappointed.
That reminds me of a funny Easter card my mom told me she saw at Target. One lady says, "Where is the Easter egg at?" Then the other lady says, "You shouldn't end a sentence with a preposition." Then the first lady rephrases with, "Where is the Easter egg at, bitch?" Okay, I've gotten off the subject a bit.
Well, here is more information about the discipleship group and questions, if you might like to try something like this at home. In ways, it seems a little silly, but honestly I've spent way to much of my life not wanting to just "check things off a list." Sometimes a little discipline is in order. Discipline. Disciple. Hmmm...I'm guessing the same root word. Anyway, here it is:
Discipleship Group (By the way, I didn't pen this. I found it somewhere on the internet.)
Small discipleship groups of 2-3 people are a simple way of carrying out the ministry of Jesus. These groups can be a great help in the process of discipling one another to be more like Him and to be more fruitful in our service to Him. The questions below are designed to help us focus on the central themes of the Lord's teaching. When done in the power and grace of the Holy Spirit and from a heart that is hungry for Jesus, a weekly rhythm of Bible reading, accountability, confession of sin, and praying for the lost will help us to glorify God in our daily lives in a greater way.
Core Values
1 Love God
A) Did I do my Bible reading?
B) What is God speaking to me in His Word and through other means?
C) Have I intentionally received God's love through prayer?
D) Am I intentionally focusing on Jesus throughout the day?
2 Love One Another
A) Am I fulfilling my ministry to my family?
B) Am I building community in love or tearing down with words and attitudes?
C) Am I struggling with any relationship?
3 Love the World
A) Am I daily praying by name for 1-3 people who are not walking with Jesus?
B) Have I had the opportunities to develop relationship and/or share the Gospel with them?
Other Life Issues
Are there other issues in your life that you need to discuss with the group in order to help your daily walk? What temptations have you experienced this week?
Prayer
Pray by name for those who are not walking with Jesus.
That's it. Goodnight!
Love,
Kate
Yay! Love D-groups! I think we grow so much with that sort of accountability and I totally concur about stretching yourself to doing that with people you don't know as well. I like your questions you found too!
ReplyDeletesuch wisdom. . . wine and discipleship.
ReplyDeletewho would have ever thunk it?
i was very careful to not end with a
preposition.
As a composition teacher, I am happy to tell you that not ending a sentence with a preposition is more of a preference than a rule. It's one of those things that a guy put in a book, and then everyone treated it like gospel (same goes for splitting infinitives). Usually, the reason "at" seems so wrong at the end of a sentence is that it's superfluous:
ReplyDelete"Where's the Easter egg" doesn't need any preposition at all.
I hope this relieves you of your guilty grammar burden!
So relieved :)
ReplyDelete