My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.
Psalm 101:6 NIV
Faithful, fruitful women. Do you know any? At the Neighborhood Café, we call them “Good Godly Girlfriends,” or GGG’s for short. They give better advice than Oprah, they’re more real than a “Real Housewife” of any city, and they’ve got more good things up their sleeves than Martha Stewart.
Funny thing is, most days I fall a G or two short myself.
I’m always girly, but some days I’m not the best girlfriend. A friend sticks closer than a sister (Proverbs 17:17 and 18:24) and shares everything God is doing in her life (John 15:15). Sometimes I’m more concerned with my concerns, and I’m too busy to share my sorrows and secret joys.
Some days, my only claim to godliness is that I dusted my Bible. Lovingkindness isn’t long on my To Do list, because I left my last bit of patience in the long line at the drive-through window.
Most days, I can’t think of something good for dinner, let alone find a morsel of goodness in my thoughts, actions or emotions.
But thank God and praise Jesus, He is my source of goodness, righteousness and faithfulness. All He asks of me is that I seek His face. When I do, I often find His image reflected in the lives of women around me.
GGG's: Who are your Good Godly Girlfriends?
Like bricks stacked in a wall, you are surrounded by GGG’s beside you, below you and above you.
Who are your GGG’s beside you, in the same row as you? These are the women about your same age, with kids the same age as yours, with similar jobs and availability as you. You share a common lifestyle (marketers would say you have the same demographic profile) but more than that, you share a common love of God.
Who are your GGG’s in the row below you? These are the women following in your footsteps, about to step in the same pile you just wiped off your shoe. They may have fewer wrinkles than you but they definitely have fewer years’ experience. They look up to you for advice about running a home and raising kids, how to love their husbands or how to handle their boss.
Who are your GGG’s in the row above you—women who have already been there, done that, got the t-shirt? These are the women you look at in amazement and think, “I want to be like her when I grow up!” This Good Godly Girlfriend isn’t necessarily older than you, but she is certainly wiser.
I want you to name names, Girlfriend!
Who are your peers in the faith, women with a shared heart for Him, who are running alongside you? Who is looking to you as a role model, needing to know God’s truth for every trouble in her life? Who are your mentors you allow to speak the truth in love to you?
Are your relationships growing, or are they stagnating under the weight of busy-ness, shame or pride? Are you invested into the lives of your friends, your neighbors, your coworkers, the women at your church? Who knows what you made for dinner last night? Who knows what you’re reading in your Bible (or that you haven’t picked it up in weeks)? Who knows about the fight you had with your brother-in-law? Who knows the fears that keep you up at night?
Who knows you? Who do you know?
A Neighborhood Café Bible study in your home is the ideal place to get real with real women. It’s a safe place. It’s a place to lay aside our pretenses and take off our masks. It’s where we share joy unspeakable and pain unbearable. It’s where we confess we don’t have it all together, but we know Who does. It’s where a women of deep faith grabs the hand of a woman with no faith at all.
Would you like to learn more about starting a Neighborhood Cafe? I promise, you can do it. I will help you.
It’s just what girlfriends do.
Tonight is “Trick or Treat” in my neighborhood–or it would have been, if a single costumed creature had come to our door. We don’t get a lot of traffic in this neighborhood.
Yes, you can – and you should. Your church is the perfect place for women to grow in Christ… but the home is the perfect place for women to meet Christ. Neighborhood Café Bible Studies expand your ministry and strengthen your community by moving church-based Bible studies into comfortable, non-threatening homes.
As a special gift to my WomensMinistry.net and Proverbs 31 friends, please enter Promo Code “wmnet″ at checkout to receive 10% off any order through July 31!
