For the Love of A Party

So the entire month of September is such a blur to me.  I can’t believe that today is the 30^th and tomorrow starts a whole new month.  So much has happened this month and I don’t feel like I have really had a chance to let it all soak in. 

The month started out with (for lack of better words) a pretty epic weekend.   I was blessed with the opportunity to fly to Austin Texas and spend the weekend with a group of ladies that I had never met before.  Well, technically, I met one in person prior to the trip, but the rest of the tribe, I had never had the chance to actually physically touch them. I had spent 6 months getting to know them through Facebook posts, cards, mug swaps, texts, and other messages, but the in person interactions had not been there.  That is until I stepped off the plane in Austin, Texas (or more like stepped into the hotel).  From that moment, it was on. 

And yes the highlight of the weekend was the chance to meet Jen Hatmaker, at her house, in her yard, and get a hug from her.  

OMG!!! I still can’t grasp this.  

I was at her house.

In her yard.  

I sat on her porch. 

 I met her parents. 

But the weekend and the entire experience was about so much more than that.   

It was about the community that had formed.   

It was about the meals that we shared around tables.  Yes.  Meals.  We ate.  A Lot.   

It was about the stories.

It was about the pictures.  

The smiles.  

The hugs.  

The coffee.  

The friendships.  

The prayers.  The worship.   It was about life. 

And yes, it was about boots 

And shaved ice 

and BBQ and wine.  

But it was also about Love.  Grace.  Christ. 

Being a part of the launch team for Jen Hatmaker’s book For the Love, was about learning what community is all about.  It was learning about Grace.  It was learning about how we as women need to live our lives.   It was about coming together, to love, to pray and to support. 

I truly do feel so blessed that I got to be a part all of this.  I still have moments when I can’t believe that it actually happened. 

I have met some incredible women through this journey (yes there were 4 guys that were part of the group, but I will admit that I didn’t really interact with any of them).  Many of who will forever be a part of my life.   Yes, I may never get to hug their necks again, but I will pray for them.  I will send them cards.  I will mug them.  I will laugh.  I will cry.  And I will continue to a part of their community just like they are a part of mine. 

However, I have other women and men in my life that I do get to hug.  I do get to continue to share meals with.  I do get to pray with them in person.  I do get to gather in their homes and they in mine.   And these women and men mean just as much if not more than my For the Love tribe. 

So even though I will forever be a part of the For the Love launch team (aka the #FTLtribe).  I get to forever be a part of the community that I live life with every day.  Whether that is the co-workers that I eat lunch with, the small group girls that come to my house each week, the people that I serve with in Summit Kids.   The family members.  The friends.  The “framily” that gathers each month. 

All of these people are my community.  And for that I am blessed and forever grateful for. 

And FOR THE LOVE, if you haven’t read the book yet, go get it.  If you can’t afford a copy, please let me know and I will get a copy of it in your hands.