Small Group

I don't think I've ever posted about our small group, but they are a big part of our lives!  Really, this small group was an answer to our prayers.  The first several years we were back in Catlin, it seemed like there was no one "our age" at church or that we didn't have anyone to "hang out with."  That changed when our small group formed at the beginning of 2010 by a LCU student who was on his internship here.  We gathered several miscellaneous people, many of whom were new to the area!  The makeup of the group has changed a lot in just two years.  In fact, we've already lost 6 of the original members due to moving (Crostreets, Warners, Lindsey, Chris).  But we've gained as quickly as we've lost.  It's funny to think that a few years ago, I only knew 3 out of the 11 people who are currently in our group!  I guess that's only weird because Catlin is such a small town, and it's where I group up, and I pretty much know everyone my age.  And about a year ago, Josh and I were briefly the only married people in the group, and by this fall, 10 out of 11 will be married (we have some engaged couples)!  We also were the only parents until recently... but I'm sensing a baby boom in the next couple of years!  Our group has pretty much always met at our house since we go late and we have babies to get to bed.  Sometimes it is a challenge for me to have our house totally clean every Monday, and putting Hannah to bed when so many fun people are here isn't always easy either, but I also know we couldn't be a part of this group if it wasn't here, so I'm glad we get to host!

We have read lots of good (and some bad) books together.  Our group would definitely say the favorite has been Radical by David Platt.  It was very challenging.  It was partially an inspiration for a project we did last night.  After reading the book, our group discussed doing some sort of a fundraiser for a world mission, but we didn't have any great ideas.  Then, our small group attended a Trivia Night for a school one of our group members works at, and we had SO MUCH FUN, we decided we wanted to put one on for our church.  Then, we connected the dots to a girl from our church who is going on The World Race, which is a mission trip to 11 countries in 11 months!  We decided to do a fundraiser and share the profits between her and our church's roof campaign.  It turned out to be a lot of fun and pretty easy to pull off, and we made a quick $800!  We were really happy with the way it went, and everyone said it was lots of fun!

I love this group and the people that God has brought into our lives through it.  I know that friendships have been formed that would not have otherwise.  Many people in this group are at a crossroads in life, so it will be interesting to see where God takes this group over the years.