November 2018 :: The First Meeting of The Table :: DuBois, PA
Many years ago, God placed a deep desire in my heart to connect women with one another and bring them closer to Him. Over my lifetime I've had years of isolation and loneliness that, unbeknown to me, were planting the seeds of the mission and passion Christ was growing inside of me. The communities where we find ourselves day in and day out need Jesus. We also need each other. Community rooted in Christ is healthy and essential. My passion is to see the boundaries created in church and within social groups of women, torn down and replaced with mentorship and discipleship relationships. This includes churched and unchurched women of all ages.
The name "The Table" was inspired by the song "Come to the Table" by the Sidewalk Prophets. In the fall of 2014, I was driving down the road with baby Rowan in the backseat and I heard this song for the first time. I can remember my exact location. Around this time, I had been feeling so unsure about my purpose and was in constant communication with Christ about what He wanted from me. In that moment I felt as if God immediately laid on my heart that this would be the concept for a ministry He had buried deep inside me. I had no idea what this would look like. I lived away from all family, had one friend at the time living near me, a husband in residency, and a newborn.
Fast forward to our time living in Dubois, PA (where we just moved from), 3 years after that moment. I found myself experiencing God's faithfulness in amazing ways and after a few very clear, unavoidable experiences, I knew God was saying, "NOW!." I still had no idea what I was doing and felt very unqualified. But what I did know was how to open my front door and host, so I went for it. I opened my home to the women in our town.
"The Table" met once a month and together we studied, discipled, mentored, and loved on one another. One month we had nearly 50 women in my living room! In was insane and blessed and God was moving!
After finding out that we would be moving (rather abruptly), I was truly devastated. I knew God was calling us to go but I just could not wrap my head around leaving the community that the Lord was moving and growing in His name. It felt like we were just getting started. I selfishly did not want to let go of the plans I had and wanted to see through what I felt God had called me to do.
I've wrestled with this so much since our move. After months of prayer and just pure confusion about what God is asking of me in this season, I've decided I am going to bring "The Table" to the world wide web HAH!
Right now, my heart is truly focused on getting women in their Bibles and out of social media, self-help books, and blogs. It's all very ironic that doing this is what God's asking of me because I love Instagram, Christian self-help books, and reading blogs... and I'm starting a blog... where's the emoji where the lady throws her hands up and looks confused???... that's me, Lord!
But truly, you cannot find what you are looking for in any of these places. You hope, worth, identity, and mission can only be found in His word. That is the only TRUTH. So here I hope to guide you through what I am digging into in scripture, how God is using what I'm reading, and how you can further study on your own or discuss with a friend or spouse.
We have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Whatever season you are in, your goal should be to bring someone to your "Table" whether hypothetically or literally. Build a solid foundation in these relationships based on the word of God. Go deep, fast. It will be ONE THOUSAND PERCENT worth your effort. God promises.
Matthew 28: 18-20
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Click here to listen to the song "Come to the Table" by The Sidewalk Prophets
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