Girls Night In...What's That? by Molly Bynum

As one day fades into another, as one month turns into the next and as one more year slips away, women often find themselves caught up in a whirlwind of bills, work agendas, family obligations and household chores. Finding the time to reflect on the true condition of their heart becomes a luxury and tends to fall by the wayside. We begin to develop a certain tunnel-vision where all we see is our final objective and everything that needs to be accomplished in order to achieve this goal. What many realize, often too late, is that this tunnel- vision we develop can often blind us to our own needs, to others needs and can even distort our original motives.
This past month’s journal gave women the opportunity to place the brakes on their lives for a few minutes each day and reconnect with God’s will. The daily devotions also allowed women the chance to realign their hearts and motives with His true vision for our lives. At the end of the month, I was blessed to meet the other women who chose to take the same journey of self-reflection at our monthly “Girls Night In”. Our discussion was raw, real, beautiful and cleansing. But what struck me the most as I gazed around the room was how diverse a group of women we were in regards to our age, backgrounds and race. Despite our obvious differences; however, there were a few fundamental similarities. I learned that we all want to be truly seen and heard by others, we all want to be happy, we all want to make a difference in this world, we all want to feel connected with others and we all want a closer relationship with God. As the night came to a close, I found myself with a renewed sense of peace and knowledge that not only goes God have my back but so do my amazing Life4Real sisters!

April 12th 2010- Control- Ouch!!!

Hello friends. As days go by and time clicks off the clock sometimes I wonder what in the world I have accomplished for the day. I used to think that being a "stay at home mom" would give me tons of time to get everything done, but boy have I been surprised. I have to admit, I used to think that being at home would give me the freedom to do what I wanted, sleep when I wanted, clean when I wanted, eat when...you get the point, but I have come to the conclusion that staying at home has added more to my plate then when I was working. I think having children has proven to be more of a challenge than I ever expected, but man have I grown up since having them. Thank you Lord for my little blessings.

As Pete stated perfectly at this past Sunday's service at HOPE "It is crazy to think that God only gives you what you can handle," and I came to the conclusion that I could not agree more. More often than not, I am given WAY more than I seem to have the ability to handle and more often than not I am tested with my patience, peace, joy, and character during each day with all of it. What I have come to realize is that this is the beauty and what I love about life.

I have come to embrace the challenges in my life, the tough situations, the hard times; knowing that the only place to turn is to my Almighty Father above. I believe that it has taken me 35 years to finally get to this point. Finally, to understand that I do not need to be in control of every little thing and have things go MY way. I guess you could say...I have given up and given in to my God. I am still on a growing path and always will be, but I have to say that more times than not, I look up. I think of Him all day. I talk to Him. I need Him all day.

We all need to get to the point in our lives that we really start to understand why we are living. What our past has done to make us who we are today and then what we are doing to serve the One that matters. Life is full of things we will never understand, times that are harder than planned, and trials that we can not explain. The great news is that...you don't have too! You just need to know where to turn to give praise, get peace, and feel loved. It doesn't need to take years to hand over your wand...it only takes a decision.

Have a wonderful week! God Bless.

Amy

Time to get STARTED!

So it seems to have taken me forever to actually get this blog started...but here it is! I am going to try to post each week to keep everyone informed with our team and my crazy fun life as I seek to serve God with whatever He has planned for me.

I orginially started Life 4 Real with a vision of women coming together from all over to empower and support each other as we grow through life. While that is still a huge part of the team, the focus over the past two years has been more to help women to engage with Jesus and gravitate towards living a life to serve Him in a powerful way.

Women need each other. We are ourselves with each other. We love each other (well, most of the time)! So to have a group of women to surround you with the love of Jesus and then to challenge you to strive to become more is well...should I say...one that is greatly needed. While we are not officially sponsored by a demonination or specific church, we are very much a part of the calling to bring women together for Christ. There are so many women in this world that are searching, longing, and yearning to know God on a deeper level. They want to connect but just do not know how. They want to have a better relationship with Him but are lost, burnt, or scared... and this is where Life 4 Real steps up to the plate. We are not to replace the amazing churches in this world. We are to be a step and growth system that women can start and continue to grow at all levels.

I have found that women are amazing. Just taking the time to listen to them has empowered me beyond belief! I have truely been shown that by participating with this team and striving to step up my thoughts, words, and actions to enhance my character as a warrior for Jesus has become my inspiration for living. I am a better wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, Christian, and servant because of it and in my opinion...what more could we strive for in life!

I am passionate about having Life 4 Real become an organization that is not the mundane group that meets to talk about "life." It is designed to be a system of self-growth, accountablity, and revelation. One that will help you to figure out why in the world you are on this ball of mud! I know that if we do not have a reason to grow or dig deeper...we will not. So by providing Life 4 Real to the world it will not only provide a safe place to grow the REAL and authentic friendships we all long for but most importantly a place to grow in Christ.

Alright, more to come on how it works and how you can become a part of this amazing team. Check out the website at http://www.lifeforreal.org/ for all the details. Over and Out!