Stepping Out of My Box:(in)RL Meetup

So, I did something way out of my comfort zone this past weekend.

And I had so much fun!

I went to one of the (in)RL meetups that were the brain child of the women at (in)Courage. There were meetups that happened all across the world. How cool is that!

Crystal and Amy, from Money Saving Mom and The Finer Things in Life were the hostesses for this meetup.

I am so glad I went.

Each woman who attended was so super nice and fun to meet. I got to meet two of the bloggers whose blogs I enjoy reading and I also was introduced to several new blogs belonging to the other women that attended.

The two hour meetup went by way too quickly!I could have spent a lot more time talking to each woman there.

We had yummy food and good and inspiring conversation about meeting people and becoming friends and being a friend and stepping forward to reach out and working towards just being real.

Our hostesses had door prizes for us and gift bags full of fun stuff that they sent home with us. Super sweet of them and super fun for us!

Here are a few pics of the food table. It was really pretty. I didn’t end up taking a lot of pictures. For a group pic you can go here. You can also go here, to see pictures of different groups across the world at their meetups.

As I thought about the meetup while driving home, one thing that stood out to me was, that as Christians and as women we all have a lot in common. Chatting with these women that I had never met, soon showed me that they are so much like me and my friends.

Number one, we’re all women. Obviously.

We all have dreams. We all have fears. We all have insecurities. Many of us are mothers. We all have work to do. We all-I think-enjoy having another woman to talk to and share with. We all want to grow our relationship with the Lord. We care about others. We are all unique and yet not so different as we sometimes feel.

I don’t always enjoy large groups or get togethers. They’re just not so much my thing. I went back and forth a good bit trying to decide if I really wanted to go to the meetup or not. There is just something a little scary about putting yourself out there. We wonder if we’ll be accepted for who we are or if we’ll be disdained.

That’s something I love about the writers in the (in)Courage community. They are very real. They talk about feelings and real life and they don’t put up with facades. Realness is something I desire for my own life. There again, I think it can be scary to let other people see the real us. To show people that we really don’t have it all together. But you know what? Some of my favorite books and posts are stories about imperfect people who are willing to share their mistakes and how they have dealt with them. I think we all appreciate realness, because we can relate. I know I certainly can.

Ok, a few highlights from my day at the meetup other than just meeting and talking to the other women…

• A Bath and Body Gift card from the door prize basket.
• A voucher for Voyage with the Vikings (AIO Imagination Station Books).

I used both of these before I headed home to my little town! 🙂 My kids loved the book. If your kids have ever read Magic Tree House Books , the Odyssey books are somewhat the same idea, but with a Christian lesson.

• Receiving the book, He Heard Hannah from Lynette at Dancing Again. I love popping into her blog. She has an incredible story and her family is fun to read about. She’s as sweet and funny in real life as she comes across on her blog. I had told her that her book was on my to get and read list. When we were leaving, she came across the parking lot and gave me her book. I was thrilled. I highly recommend it as a must read and I haven’t even finished it yet. You can go here to the He Heard Hannah website.

So see why I was so glad that I bolstered my courage and went to the meetup? I ended up not being as nervous going, as I thought I might. Definitely God. And I felt that the experience was very much a blessing to me!

 Is it easy for you to step out of your comfort zone?

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