Launch Day is Over.... now what?

So as many of you know, I have been a part of the launch team for Jen Hatmaker's new book, For the Love.  Well, the book has officially been released and is available on several websites and in stores all across the country.  If you haven't seen it you, see my previous post for my review of the book.  If that doesn't make you want to go get it, I am not sure what will.  

If you pre-ordered a copy of the book, like I have been recommending for months, then you should have your copy.  If not, stalk UPS, the mailman, Fed Ex, and then pounce.  I got the ones that I pre-ordered yesterday and it felt like Christmas.  

There is this really cool group of women that get these copies.  Do you want to be one of them?

If you didn't pre-order a copy, then stop reading this, get in the car and go get a copy today.  I promise, it is worth every penny.  I know that the Barnes and Nobles in Brier Creek has several on the shelf.   Look on the top shelf in Top Picks in the Christian Life section.  I may or may not have moved them there (hee, hee).

There are also ebook versions available (for both Nook and Kindle), if that is your preferred method of reading.

And then once you have your copy, turn to page 213......

There is a really cool name on that page.....well there are lots of cool names on that page and the one before and the one after.  

Those cool names belong to the launch team members that I have "met" over the past several months.  Some of them, I have gotten to know very well and there is even one that I have already gotten to meet in person.   And to top it all off there are a bunch more that I will get to meet in September.  Yep, this girl, is Austin, Texas (well more precisely Buda, Texas bound) Labor Day weekend.   And I can't wait.   Yes, I get to meet Jen Hatmaker (which I still can't believe), but I also get to hug the necks of so many women that I have come to know and love.  

But the most cool thing about being a part of the team is that we have all lived this book out loud and are so excited to now get to share it all that we live life with on a more personal level.  And if you are reading this then that means you.    

I have never been a part of a launch team before and never gotten to read a book before it is available to the public and I am so glad that I got to be a part of this venture.  I have learned a lot about community, womenship (yeah, that's not a word, but in Jen's world, it is okay to make up words), support, love, and see constant reminders of grace.   I have laughed, I have cried, I have prayed, I have given words of encourgement, and I have been blessed beyond measure.   I have learned about what is means to live in a community and why it is so important.  

So for those of you that don't feel like you have a community, I want to welcome and invite you to mine.  Every Tuesday, a group of women fill my living room for 2 hours.   These women pray, eat, drink wine (yep, we drink wine in my small group --- no judging, Jesus did turn water into wine), pray and talk about God.  

And starting in September, we are going to be talking about this book.   If you are looking for a community, will you consider joining the one that meets in my home.   The biggest thing that I have learned through this experience is that we all need community.  We all need fellowship.  We all need peeps in our lives to love us, pray for us, support us.  Women need women.  

And so what is going to happen to the virtual community that I have been a part of for so long.  Absolutely nothing.  We are keeping our private Facebook group.  We have exchanged emails, phone numbers, blog addresses, mailing addresses.  We are going to remain a community at large.  We are going to continue to share ideas, continue to pray, continue to encourage, but most importantly continue to extend GRACE to one another.  

Because we as women, really need a constant reminder that GRACE is all that we need.  

Will you consider finding a community for you to call your own as well?