I had such a great weekend, but it was so busy and went by so quickly it almost feels like one big blur!
Friday after work, Frank and I joined our first New River growth group. It’s a small gathering of people from our church who gather together to share and discuss bible studies, pray for each other and do life together. We were members of a great group back in Colorado and I have hopes that we’ll experience the same here. So far, so great.
Our group had about 11 present, with a few missing, for the first night. We got to know each other a little bit and then started to discuss the study our whole church is working on, Letters to the Church by Francis Chan.
This is such a great study for the body of our church at this time. We’ve just gone through a leadership transition and there was some fallout from that period of time. We came just as the transition was being finalized so feel blessed not to have been touched much by some of the sadness and discontent other long-time members might have struggled with. It amazes me how God works sometimes. I had stumbled upon NR when we first got settled in Fort Mill but decided to try a different church first. I gained some great friendships from that first stop at church and was protected from some of the unrest I mentioned having not gone straight to NR.
We started with the introduction at our group meeting, watched the video that goes with it and discussed why we might be reading it. This week for homework we dove into the first chapter. So far I’m loving it. Francis Chan is a straight shooter and doesn’t sugar coat. For those who know me, this is my preferred method of receiving a message. I’m really excited to keep going.
Saturday I spent the day with Kenzie. We ran errands at the mall and then stopped for lunch. I so enjoy my girl. She’s grown into such a great young adult. It’s nice when you like your kids in addition to loving them! š
Later on Saturday we went to the local Harley dealer (Cox’s Harley Davidson in Rock Hill, SC). Earlier in the summer the HOG group did a ride to raise funds for breast cancer and they awarded me, and three other fighters/survivors each a portion of the funds raised. I wouldn’t normally submit to a nomination for something like this (mostly because I think others had a greater fight than I did and deserve to be pampered a bit more), but I figured we could all get away for a weekend having finally completed my treatment. So, I put my name and my story in the ring and was chosen. I am humbled and thankful and cannot wait to ride along side the group to raise funds for someone else this summer!
Finally, after church on Sunday, Beth, Emily and I went to my new favorite lunch spot, 7 Oaks Cafe for brunch. That was so much fun! After that I napped for a bit and later we joined our neighbors for Superbowl 50. Not that it was a stellar game, but the company was great. Dana and Cedric had a bunch of friends both from here and from New Jersey over for the festivities. Nicest people. We were warmly welcomed by everyone.
It was a fun weekend, but busy like I said. I savor every moment of it.
Shrinking Shay 