A New Thing

Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?
Isaiah 43:18-19 MSG

I love this verse and it speaks volumes over my life!  VOLUMES I tell you.   But before I turn this blog into a long dissertation on my ‘old history,’ let me just share a 2009 blessing and the 2010 Brand New blessing!

January 2009 also brought an incredible flood of new girlfriends.  Girls I’d only know through the screen came into my life in a very real way.   It seemed as if the Lord removed the book on girlfriends and replaced it with a whole slew of real life girlfriends.   One of those girlfriends is Melinda Garman.

Melinda and I met through our blogs and we chatted via email, but January 2009 we met in Atlanta to attend the Travis Cottrell taping.

I knew this was more than just a passing acquaintance – what I didn’t know was how the Lord was binding our hearts together for His good purpose.    In a weekend filled with laughter, incredible worship and tears of joy, God brought us together and the seeds of a ministry were planted.

Let me introduce:

gIRL: Girlfriends In Real Life
meeting God together on the other side of the screen

This is a ministry that brings the friendships  we forge through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, from one side of the screen to the other…not just for a quick lunch or a quick “meet-up” after a conference, but for extended time together with God. We believe that God is calling us to deeper relationships founded on our relationship with Him, and that He is using social media to bring people together all over the world to achieve just that. We’re excited and humbled that He would be using us for this purpose!

Let’s take our love for the Lord and the fun of social media and let’s LIVE IT!

To get this ministry off the ground we knew we needed  input of girlfriends far and wide – we needed some girlfriend partners.  The Lord plopped Karen Barrows into our life in Memphis through social media and a wonderful girlfriend, Fran.

Karen has graciously given us use of an incredible home in the mountains for our first strategy session.  She’s a true treasure and our first gIRL ministry partner — she’s partnering with us as we plan our strategy session and possibly our first gIRL event in late 2010.

We need your prayers!  We are stepping out in faith and in the planning stages of this ministry.  Since we met online, connected through blogs, twitter, and facebook, we felt we should include our online friends in this process.  Please pray that we follow God’s plan and not our own.  Please pray that above all women are brought to a deeper relationship with Him and that He is glorified in everything we do.

Hang on – this is going to be one EXCITING ADVENTURE!