Well hello again! It’s been a while. I had created this amazing editorial calendar of content for the blog but between work and other things this passion project had taken a backseat. Sometimes those breaks are also needed so that you can regain your strength and focus when you get back into the rhythm of things.

As I sit at Bolay waiting for our Thursday VOUS Crew to start I can honestly say there’s nothing I’m more grateful for than the group of people I have surrounded myself with in this season. Those people that I can say exactly what’s on my heart and not feel judged, that I can cry with and heal with, but most importantly that will tell me the things that I don’t want to hear but need to hear. They’re the ones that keep me accountable.

I realize that having dinner with those friends and having hard and deep conversations is needed. They can see and understand your heart and what you’re struggling with. It’s why our church believes that healing happens in the context of community or that you can’t heal what you don’t reveal. The quotes all sound so cliche but they actually have such a deeper meaning to it.

I’ve been leading a crew for almost four years now and out of it has come a desire to always have amazing conversations over dinner. It’s how my group of girls established a relationship/friendship. Jesus built the most amazing relationship with his disciples by breaking bread. But it’s in this season that I’m taking a backseat in leading and allowing myself to lean in and be led by others.

It’s at crew that this blog began to stir something new. Something that I kept putting off and had been spoken over me. It’s at crew that I celebrated over 200 (now 300) listens on a podcast episode I recorded with a coworker (see below). It’s with my crew girls that I was challenged to surrender my pain to God on a Sunday at church and allow God to create a platform. It’s in the simple act of “Breaking Bread” and having conversations with friends over a meal that God is doing something more and something new.

Food for thought this week: When was the last time you actually sat at dinner with a group of people and had deep conversations about how you’re feeling and what you’re struggling with? It’s in the valley that you can connect with others that are going through the same pain you’re feeling and that will challenge you to heal and grow. “God uses pain to break walls down in your life.” – P. Rich.

Check out the sermon below: