Church is more than having a weekly meeting – large or small. It includes doing life together. Being part of God’s family is about being connected in friendships. Besides needing a group of friends with whom we can spend a lot of time, doing everyday stuff together is just plain fun.

Let me encourage you to find a group of Christ followers with whom you can…

• celebrate special occasions
• have some place to go on the holidays when you have no family near
• hang out with watching the Final Four, Dancing with the Stars, Lost…
• call on in the middle of the night for help in a crisis
• share food, fun, laughter and tears

Randy Frazee writes:

“For most of the last decade of the twentieth century, two television shows, Seinfeld and Friends, consistently received the top awards from the People’s Choice Awards…What both shows have in common is a small group of friends that go in and out of each other’s lives and apartments spontaneously more times in a half hour than most ‘real’ Americans experience in a year. Seinfeld even promoted itself as a show ‘about nothing.’ Why would busy Americans watch a show about nothing? Because it wasn’t about nothing—it was about a group of great friends spending lots of spontaneous time together, talking about everyday stuff and loving every minute of it.”- Randy Frazee; The Connecting Church, page 123

Get together with a group of friends this week and enjoy being together.

Grace and Peace,
Terry

Join the Conversation: What are some things your simple church or small group does to experience life together?

Where does it go? Time, where does it go? It seems like it was just the other day that it was 1968 and I was in high school. Now it’s March 1, 2010.

I don’t know where they get these statistics but I have read that over a lifetime here in the good ol’ USA a person will spend . . .

• 8 months opening junk mail
• 1 year looking for lost stuff
• 4 years doing household chores
• 5 years standing in line
• 6 years eating

Add to these stats the time we spend in doctor’s offices, waiting in airports, filling up the car with gas, filing our income tax, (drinking coffee in coffee shops) and we get squeezed a little more.

I used to see waiting in line as a waste of time but I found a way to redeem some of those minutes. Instead of looking for the shortest line or using the self-checkout lane at the supermarket, I look for the checker who might most need a word of encouragement and choose that line. I don’t sit in my car at the bank drive through, but intentionally go inside, stand in line and use the same teller.

I don’t want to waste my time; I do want to use it. So, if I’m going to spend 6 years of my life eating or 5 years standing in line, I want make the most of it.

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:5-6 NLT)

The clock is ticking, put it to good use.

Grace and Peace,
Terry

Join the Conversation: Any tips or ideas? What are some ways we can use our time to build relationships, strengthen ties with others, or encourage someone?