at the beginning of the year i shared some prayers that i’m focusing on for 2013, and God has already been faithful to answer one of my prayers in that he has grown our connect group significantly since that time
our group is one of the newest in the church, started just last november, and at the end of december we had about 8 or 9, mostly college students, and we knew the college students would be switching over to the college connect group; we prayed that if God wanted us to continue to lead a group, that he would grow it, and he has–in january we got another couple with a daughter the same exact age as zu (something i had hoped for–some children in the group and other christian moms of little ones for me to connect with–but hadn’t even voiced in my prayer), and this past month one of our elders and his family joined our group. now we’ve got as many families as our little house can hold!
i never would have thought that i would love–and look forward to–opening my house up every friday evening to a bunch of people i’m just starting to get to know; or that i would love the sound of children running around crazy in and out of the room; or that i would find such joy and contentment in seeing my dining room table filled to capacity and then some.
when bryan told me at the end of our 6 week membership class that he felt that God wanted us to step up and become connect group leaders, since the church was in need of more, i was not so sure about that idea. hospitality has never been something that comes naturally to my introverted self (…you know, the textmessaging incident recently….), but i feel how God is shaping me in this area, turning something that i would’ve dreaded and been anxious about into something i look forward to with joy each week!
Renee Emerson 
thoughts?