With Each Other
On a recent Sunday, my church had their annual celebration of what the Lord has done this past year in the church. I was excited to be there for that because I have been a part of my church for over a year and participated in activities in the church. Part of the celebration during the church service was a slide show. It was good to see the photos both of activities I missed and activities I was able to attend. A couple of the photos shown I took, and it made me happy to be able to contribute in that way. After the second service we had a soup luncheon and enjoyed a game of Jeopardy. It was a wonderful time of sweet fellowship with my church family.
Other times of sweet fellowship within my church family are the Bible studies, women’s group get togethers, and after each service the coffee and snacks in the fellowship hall. This is a wonderful time to get to know each other by sharing both our joys and our struggles. I look forward to coming events this year with my church. Just being able to attend services is sweet fellowship as we come together for prayer and praise followed by listening to the Word of God preached. Internet services are great, but they are nothing like being there in person. Ah, sweet fellowship!
I could brag about my church all day but there are other ways to have sweet fellowship. For many, like myself, getting together with family can be sweet fellowship. Time spent with my kids and grandkids is sweet, usually. Sharing their joys and their struggles is precious to me. My kids are in their early twenties, so they are just now opening to me but not always. I count it joy when they spend more time talking to me than staring at their phones.
My extended family gets together every year. Last year we got together in June instead of January. While four of my siblings and their families still live within my state, two of my siblings live in other parts of the country. When we get together, we eat, visit and play games. We are fiercely competitive, but it is all in genuine fun. Sweet fellowship.
Only living in the area, a little over a year I have only few friends outside the church in my new city. Yet I lived up north for 19 years in a small town where I still have friends. I also lived in other states, so I have friends from there also. I also have friends I have met in my life I stay connected with. One has been a friend since grade school. It has been a long time since I last saw her, but she is still dear to me. Sweet fellowship.
Physically getting together with friends far away is not possible very often. Even going up to the small town I used to live in an hour away is not possible very often with work schedules. However, we can always get together online, through texting or even, gasp, calling on the phone. People ask me why I am on Facebook, and I tell them it is how I stay connected with family and friends all over the world. I would miss sweet fellowship if I were not connected.Online is a wonderful way for bits of sweet fellowship.
Finally, there is sweet fellowship with people I have never met. I have met them online through trusted groups in social media. While I am slow to friend people I have not met, socializing within the groups has made this possible. Yet I watch a person’s behavior and read what they have written before I proceed in making friends. I do enjoy the sweet fellowship.
Where do you find sweet fellowship? Sometimes it is hard to look at is as sweet. We are not perfect, and conflict happens ruining relationships all the time. Reaching out to ask forgiveness and being forgiving is a wonderful way to restore relationships and return to sweet fellowship. Just like we need sweet fellowship with God, our Savior, we need to have sweet fellowship with others. Share your meaning sweet of fellowship with me in the comment section.
Here is a couple of books I want to purchase from:
If you click on the links and make a purchase I may earn a small percentage of your purchase at no extra cost to you. Any money earned goes directly to the costs of running this website. Thank you for your support.
Real: The Suprising Secret to Deeper Relationships
By Catherine Parks / Good Book Company
Every woman longs for authentic friendships with others – but in a world of carefully-curated social media, most of us are merely keeping up appearances. Both online and offline, we’re all prone to only presenting the best side of ourselves.
This book shows us that, surprisingly, the secret to growing the relationships we crave is in developing a biblical habit of repentance. By being honest about our sin before God and receiving his forgiveness, we’re freed be honest about our sin with others. When we drop the act and are real with others, we are both strengthened in our fight against sin and can start to grow authentic friendships.
Catherine Parks encourages women to resist the “I’m fine” culture, get real with each other about sin and experience authentic fellowship.
This book is great for reading with your book group, women’s group, accountability partner, or one-to-one mentor – discussion questions are included for every chapter.
Where Friends Gather: A Collection of Recipes from the Peppercorn Pantry
By Mary Meyer / WestBow Press
Mary Meyer grew up in rural Iowa, happily cooking for family and friends. As her love for food eventually led her to run Iowa’s popular tearoom, the Peppercorn Pantry, Meyer discovered that her true joy is providing a place for people to gather for fellowship and comforting food.
Within a collection of delectable recipes that are often served at the tearoom, Meyer shares a glimpse into her world of bringing others joy through the art of cooking. Sprinkled throughout recipes that include beef crostini, maple muffins, cinnamon coffeecake, chicken tortilla soup, crab Louie, broccoli grape salad, scalloped corn, salmon with creamy lemon dill sauce, and black Russian bundt cake, Meyer includes personal anecdotes and photographs that offer a heartwarming taste of her family and background.
No Comments