Courageous.

Oh ladies it's that time again... the ladies ministry calendar has kicked off with our fantastic girls night in last night; and what a night it was! And tonight; we are back on our blog too- woohoo! This year we already have some of our lovely ladies lined up to share what's on their heart and we cannot wait!

As we kick off this week, I am reminded of how amazingly well last year went and have looked back with joy and astonishment at our successes. From the first blog, we hit the ground running and on average we were reaching on average 150-170 readers, with our top number being 250 and the last 6 months we had 1500 readers. I mean what?!

While reminiscing I was able to cast my mind back to when the idea of the blog was birthed. At the time, I was just so inspired by the ladies surrounding me in small group. We had had a beautiful morning in small group that day, sharing our stories of hardship and things we had learned. As I sat and listened to the women in the room, I found myself being humbled and honoured to have each and every one in my life and what a privilege it was to call them my friends, but more than that I thought how much we can learn for each other. I love listening to or reading stories from our more famous ladies in ministry but I was equally inspired and encouraged by those close to me and I wanted everyone in our church to know; we are in this together. It's not just those writing books and standing on stages who have been strong in faith and learnt lessons while walking their journey, it is every women in our church. And so the idea of the blog was born, a place where we can all share what we have learnt, where we are at or where we have come from in order to encourage those around us.

Not long after, I was meeting with our pastor Lorraine, We talked about the things that I would love to do that year in ladies ministry and then she asked me to dream big for the ministry and what that would look like. The blog was one of the 'big' ideas but Lorraine said, why not now? The answer... I don't know why, it just seemed a little new or a little big for me. So we aimed to get it off the ground in the next few months. We started after summer in 2017 and it has gone from strength to strength. We have seen ladies encouraged, lifted up, challenged, inspired and brought together. A community of ladies, from now all over the world, reading our blogs and spurring each other on. As someone who has written a few blogs it has been lovely to hear I wasn't the only women shrinking clothes, using dry shampoo or really having quiet a few off days or serious life challenges. People commented saying how effected they were by blogs because they themselves were going through it now or were able to offer advice about when you reach the other side! How comforting to know In my vulnerability others were able to share or use their own experiences to encourage me. We have seen this time and time again with every post on the blog and what a blessing it has been.

From this story ladies, I want you to be courageous and step out in faith to what you feel God has for you. If it's a blog, buying someone a bunch of flowers, writing a book, making dinners for family, listen to Gods voice, pray about it, speak with those you trust and then go. The bottom line is there is no ceiling to what God has for us. Whatever God asks of us, He will provide. So this year, lets all step out of our comfort zones, ask God where he wants us  to do and then do it because, ladies, you never know whose life you could impact for Jesus as a result.

We are praying that this year, you step out and be courageous! 

​Love, 
​
Lyndsey