Tuesday, November 10, 2009

A God thing.

Garth and I went to New Leader Training at our church last Thursday night because we want to become small group leaders. We were part of a small group last year and met some amazing friends, but due to lack of leadership our group fizzled. It was a bummer, but we made some good friends so it wasn't a loss. All that to say, the experience encouraged Garth and I to begin the process of becoming leaders.
Let me provide some background first: The church we were married at required us to meet with a couple for 11 weeks and go through the book Preparing for Marriage by Dennis Rainey. We had an incredible experience with our mentors and we cannot wait until we have been married long enough to become mentors. We love reading about marriage and giving (and getting) marriage advice. It has become a passion for us and we feel it is where God will use us in His church.
But our church requires us to be married 5 years before becoming mentors (which is wise) so we felt we needed to volunteer elsewhere in the church. Leading a small group seemed the most logical next step to us so we attended the 3-hour training. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't want to go. I didn't want to miss The Office and I was exhausted from work. But we went and as soon as we walked in one of the small group pasters, John, came up to us and asked how long we had been married. He began casting his vision of married couples hosting a small group with engaged and newly married couples and he asked if this is something we would be interested in. Ummmm yes! After that encounter I felt there was no where else we should have been, but right there at training. It was a God thing.
After the training John took us to his office and gave us his card and we gave him our applications and he said he would contact us about starting this new type of group, which is supposed to launch in January. There were other young marrieds at the training, but he talked to us about his vision. As I was thinking this in my head John said "I just felt God wanted me to talk to you guys about this new idea." It was a God thing.
Flashforward to this weekend. We were coming home from vacation Sunday night and stopped at Walmart for some groceries and ran into a young married couple we met at the training. We talked for a while and they invited us to come to their small group. This is perfect because the new small group John asked us to lead doesn't start until January. It would be a great opportunity to get back into small groups, get in the Word, and meet new friends. It was definitely a God thing.

43 comments:

Whitney said...

That is awesome! You and Garth are perfect for something like this! I know God has such an amazing plan for your small group!

Brittany Ann said...

I love those "God things" Best blessings ever!

Jen Caputo said...

How wonderful - I'm sure you two will make wonderful leaders! It's clear how passionate you are about this :)

Brett Alexandra said...

That's amazing:) I love the way He works!

Mrs. Potts said...

What a wonderful thing! I'm sure that you & Garth will be great at this. It is wonderful for new couples to have others to look up to.

Anonymous said...

That sounds wonderful - I would love to be part of a group like that!

Mary Virginia said...

That is amazing! I've learned community is so valuable, especially when you are newly married! What an incredible calling!

Lauren said...

Don't you just love God things!!!

The Shabby Princess said...

I love when things like that happen. So glad to hear of these exciting and wonderful events unfolding for you!

Jen | Our Life Accounts said...

That sounds absolutely amazing, I love it when you can so clearly see God's hand. The hubs and I recently joined a small group that we enjoy but isn't quite what we're looking for. We've been talking about how we'd love to get involved in the mentoring/leardership role, but unfortunately our church doesn't have any sort of set-up or program, it's all based on who you know. I hope you'll post more about it, I'd love to read it!

Patience said...

I love God moments. Keep us posted on how everything is going.

5th Belle Avenue said...

Ahh, how AMAZING!! God is SO awesome and full of the BEST surprises! Isn't it just phenomenal how right on track He is with His timing? So excited for you and your sweet hubby! So encouraged by your desire to lead!

Beth said...

This is very cool! Good luck!

Anonymous said...

This is wonderful! You and Garth will be great! Good luck.

Tasha said...

Isn't it amazing when things just fall into place like this? You two will be awesome for this! Your love for each other will touch so many lives around you!

JennyLee said...

That is awesome!!! I believe you and Garth will be amazing leaders.

Mrs. J L said...

That is so amazing! I love it when you know it was God. May he continue to lead the way for you two to spread his word to other couples. I know u two will be great at! Please update us. XoXo

Nessa said...

awesome!!
..i love "God things"! =)

Newlywed Next Door said...

I love church Small Groups/Life Groups. We led a 20-something group from out old church for 2 years! Now we're in an awesome life group at our new church. Can't wait to hear more about it!

Lucky in Love said...

Isn't it funny the way God works? You two will be perfect for that sort of training!! I'm so glad you are able to get involved together.

Unknown said...

How awesome! It's so cool to see God calling you to something really amazing. You and Garth are going to be great leaders! :)

Lauren said...

That is totally amazing. God's hand was all over that!!! :)

Lucy Marie said...

I love those God things!

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Megan said...

SOO cool! God really put that all together! I think its so neat that you guys feel a calling on your heart to mentor other couple and that you are following it! LOVE IT!

Gwen said...

I can totally see why God would pick you two!!!

LWLH said...

That is awesome....You and Garth would be great mentors!

Samantha said...

Wow what a great story! Great for you guys!! God works in wonderful ways!

Kristin said...

Sounds wonderful!

AmyKristen said...

How great! You'll be wonderful at this! :) Thanks for sharing!

Shoeaddict329 said...

That's really great Lindsey! It definitely is a God thing! I love when it's so clear like that! Good for you two!

That Fresh Feeling said...

That is awesome! I love those God moments! Looking forward to hearing about the small groups~!

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

that is awesome! and so exciting! so happy that you guys will get to do that!=)

morewineplease said...

That's really a great story! God is going to do great things through you two!

Kassie said...

What wonderful news! I love that moment when you realize a God Thing--it's the best feeling in the world! God works in incredible ways. :)

Anonymous said...

How cool is that girl!?! God things are the best! Can't wait to hear all about it and hope your having a great day! xoxo

Jules said...

Congrats! It all sounds so right and I wish you both luck on being group leaders. I'm sure that you'll love it.

Kate said...

Great story. I can definitely related to the not wanting to go somewhere but then getting there and thinking, "Oh this is where I am supposed to be! So glad I didn't miss it!"

I'm excited for you guys with the small group you will lead!!

Jenny Strickland said...

I tagged you in my blog!

Anonymous said...

That's awesome! I love when God speaks right to us through moments like that. You're going to be awesome!

Go check out my post from today... I left a surprise for you!

In This Wonderful Life said...

This is awesome! I love "God Things" :)

katie said...

So cool! I wish that my church had a group like this!

prashant said...

I would love to be part of a group like that!

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