Treasured Friends

We have lived in North Carolina for over 10 years now. It's hard to believe it's been that long. We all love it here and can't imagine living anywhere else. We love our home, our yard, our neighborhood, our church, and our friends. One of the main ministries of our church is the Small Group Ministry. It took us a while, but we found a small group within our church that has been an excellent fit for Rich and myself, but also for our children. Once a week, we gather with our small group, share a meal at a home of one of the families, study our Bibles, have accountability, and prayer. Our children experience community and fellowship with the other children in the group. 

The idea behind the small group ministry is to "do life" with  your small group. On this particular day, we all gathered together on Labor Day and went swimming and cooked out. It can take a long time to develop relationships within the church. It requires a commitment to seek out those relationships and time to develop them to the point at which it's comfortable to seek out prayer and counsel for whatever it is that is going on in your everyday life. 

We are so thankful for our small group. We love the people in our small group and are continually blessed by them as we share our lives with them. Our entire family looks forward to going to small group each week. Years ago, after we were first married we were a part of a small group ministry and  Rich began a small group ministry at the church that he pastored. We have missed this ministry so much over the years! Our children are blessed by the friendships they are forming. 

I am not only thankful for the relationships that I see my children forming  - both within our church at large - and with the other people (both young and old) in our small group, but I am also thankful for the women in the small group who have become my dear friends.