Home group

We started a new home group at our church a few months ago. At the moment there are 5 couples, all about the same age and our kids are more or less the same age. In the beginning we just met once a month for dinner (each couple took a turn to host) and we had a bit of teaching/DVD at the end. We have now decided to try and meet every 2 weeks and just have tea/coffee and then more teaching/study/sharing time. The big issue for all of us is that at Church, because of our young children, we don’t really get to listen to the sermon. There is a cry room for the babies but it is a bit noisy and distractive and then the older ones must be taken to Childrens’ Church, etc. We are also all quite sporty and Sunday morning is often the day that they hold surfski races or other sporting events that we are taking part in. Home group is a great opportunity to get a bit of teaching, even if the teaching is done by DVD’s or each other, and to share and socialise a bit. We don’t take our kids along so babysitting is a consideration, although only one couple doesn’t have access to grandparents. Now that we are meeting more often, it may happen that sometimes only one member of a couple will be able to come but we’re going to give it a go and see how we get on.

Last night was our turn to host the first more teaching orientated meeting and it went really well. Our minister actually joined us and he is really fantastic. I had to lead but he didn’t make me feel intimidated at all. He has reasonably young children (high school and junior school age) and is also quite a sporty guy (he is also doing the trail run with Chris). I have always been part of a home group that has had members that are more “mature” Christians but in this group I feel like one of the more mature ones, not that I think of myself in that way at all but I am hoping that we’ll all be able to grow and mature as Christians together and more importantly support each other through whatever tough times might lay ahead. We are all at a hectic time in our lives – some pregnant, all with young children, some with new jobs, some looking to buy new houses,etc. and we neeed to keep ourselves focused on the important stuff, our marriages strong and our relationships with our spouses and children moving in the right direction. In my opinion there’s no better way to do that than by surrounding yourself with fellow Christians that have the same goals in mind. In our home group in Cape Town we developed lots of strong friendships and I also hope that that will be the case with this group as well. There are 2 other couples that may join us and that will mean that even if only 1 per couple attends we’ll still be a group of about 10 getting together regularly. Our plan is to have a purely social get together once or twice a term and have the kids join us as well.

I’m feeling a little more relaxed about tomorrow but now have no idea what to wear to the funeral. One good thing is that miraculously after many months I’ve just suddenly lost all the weight I’d been trying to lose and am now back to what I weighed before Ava’s pregnancy and possibly a little firmer with all the running I’ve been doing. Having said that I would love to lose another kg or so but my legs have been feeling very tired this week and my heart rate has been a bit higher than normal while training so I think I need to ease off on the training a bit.