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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Home Group (11/29/07)
I walked up the driveway into home group feeling apprehensive and nervous. New in town and to the church, the invitation had been extended only yesterday. But entering the house produced an immediate calming effect despite the evident busyness going on. It was cold outside and the room was warm not only from the heat of the fireplace but from the ambiance of the people inside. Elena, the hostess bustled around the living room passing out cookies. They smelled fresh baked. Her husband, who was the leader, already had his Bible open and was seated next to the fireplace, studiously going over the topic which would soon be taught and discussed. There were about four married couples but also a few singles in the group and though all seemed to be of different ages and types, they got on comfortably together, socializing and telling each other stories from their week. Children of all sizes seemed to be coming in and out of the room. After making a bit of small talk everyone settled down for a game. Apparently every week a new game was played as an icebreaker before the actual study started. The game this week was Catchphrase and as the beeping device flew from hand to hand around the room and people shouted their best guesses, laughter decorated the air.
Elena already had her Christmas Tree up and a toy train wound around the trunk. The children of the group played contentedly nearby, looking up every once in a while to see what had made their parents so amused. When the game ended (the girls winning again, as evidently was the norm)they were gracefully ushered to another room. It was time to dig into the Bible study. Ben calmed everyone down, getting them into focus by opening with a prayer. An older lady reached into her purse and pulled out two pairs of reading glasses, putting one pair on and handing the other to her husband. These two seemed more like one, so comfortably and familiarly interacting with each other. They even had a similar appearance as if day by day they grew more alike.
Revelations was what was being studied. Only a few minutes into the Bible reading, there were interruptions, almost everyone full of questions. Ben, newly ordained in ministry answered them beautifully while keeping everyone on track. The newlyweds in the group paid rapt attention, even taking notes. A strange and scruffy thirty-some man scratched his head thoughtfully as Ben explained some of the more complex imageries in this difficult chapter. A retired pastor in the group shared his own depth and insight gained from gifted wisdom from his years of experience, to the conversation which had developed.
Finally, the meeting closed. Again a prayer was led this time after taking requests. Although nothing spectacular had taken place, I knew an inclusion into something special had been offered.. Here was a group of people who by choice gathered weekly to encourage, play, learn and pray with each other. Hugs were exchanged along with “See you next week”s. Here truly were brothers and sisters in Christ and this truly could be considered home.
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This article has been read 946 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
David F. Palmieri Sr.
12/06/07
Great story...beautiful descriptions...You will need to; reformat manually, sentance and paragraph structure after you paste onto the FW site. good job...welcome aboard...
James Dixon
12/06/07
A good start but I wanted you to go a bit deeper into your experience and possibly evaluate it a bit more.

Breaking up the paragraphs with a blank line would have made the prose more readable.
Sheri Gordon
12/11/07
I like the thoughts you shared. This is a good description of a newcomer's first experience at a welcoming group.

There were a few editing issues -- mostly with additional commas needed. And I agree, if you break up the paragraphs with a space in-between, it will make your entry easier to read.

The voice is very friendly and warm -- like a person who would be nice to meet. Good job.
Beckie Stewart
12/20/07
This was a good start, Nicole. I love what happened in the small group, but we needed to be shown it, by some conversation maybe. This was a neat group of believers for sure.

*I also wanted to tell you thank you for the comments you made on my church story and to let you know it was ALL true. I am sorry the seminary aspect distracted you from the message I wanted to portray.

You need to know, the church was used to help me tremendously and my marriage DID NOT end in divorce. My husband and I dealt with our sin issues and the Lord completely healed our marriage from where we were 9 years ago.

Sadly, many couples during their seminary days do face the door of divorce and many walk through it, because life gives them what they don't expect and they get disillusioned by life, the Lord, and one another for a time.

It was the church that helped us through that and to see healing in our marriage. I appreciate your comments and concern and just wanted you to know the story was not over at that point, but was trying to emphasis the hope in what the church (believers) could do when one has it in their life no matter how it ends.