The “IF” Table is such a Gift from God!

I can’t claim this idea as my own. IF Table was birthed out of the IF Gathering Conference I attended back in February. I jumped on the idea because I could see it had the potential to connect women in going deeper with each other and with God in seeking and pursuing His plans and purposes for their life.

IF Table is a place where we gather as women each month to share a simple meal and dive deep with friends over real stories and Christ centered conversations. It is a time for a whole lot of laughter – and often times a few tears – but it’s a time spent that always leaves us with hearts filled with brim with gratefulness.

I want to share with you the amazing things that are happening as we gather together each month. We are in our second month of meeting, but already God has knit our hearts together. Our bond together is Christ! We all love Him dearly and long to follow Him with reckless abandon! We are in different seasons and circumstances, yet we totally “get” one another. The fact that we are not all in the same season of life gives our group the opportunity to share perspectives from various viewpoints. Normally, I would have micromanaged the formation of a group like this, but I decided this time to let God show me who needed to be part of the group. It just so happened that I was launching my website, so I had a party to share this God sized dream that was coming to life. I let the gals who came express where they had interest and our little group was formed out of their heart’s desire to connect with other women through the IF Table. I felt compelled to include this experience on my blog because I could tell that something like this would give my readers an opportunity to peek into the souls of their fellow sisters in Christ. We need to know that we are not alone in our pursuit of following Christ, and the IF Table gives us the opportunity to share what God is doing in each of our lives and to encourage each other along the way.

Our first gathering was at my home. I had so much fun preparing the table and the meal so the ladies would feel special, nurtured, loved, and accepted. I found some fun straws and some mason jars with chalkboard places where I could put their names. We started with simple questions like, “Tell us a little bit about yourself?  What are your passions? and What is God calling you to right now?” We shared our high and low for the week and ended with prayer requests. We laughed and we cried and we instantly bonded. It was sort of a magical thing that happened! I believe it was a “God thing.” You know what I’m talking about here, the kind of thing that happens and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is the one pulling it all together, working it all together for good. I think we all left that first gathering with hearts filled to the brim with hope and love.

This past month, we met at my Mom’s home. She has a screened in porch that begs for people to sit and stay a while. It overlooks “Lake Lisa,” a pond that my parent’s had made for themselves several years back. My Mom has named it “Lake Lisa” quite frankly because “Pond Lisa” doesn’t have quite the same ring when you say it out loud. My Mom has always had a knack for entertaining. She is the queen of hospitality and always has the table set in such a way that is inviting. It just screams, “Sit a spell and relax!”  This time was just as amazing as the last. We talked about our favorite summertime memories as a child and now as an adult. It was interesting to hear what mattered the most as each one of us shared. Then we talked about what words we would use to describe this season in each of our lives and what we are aspiring toward right now.We ended with prayer requests again, which is always such a rich time! I am looking forward to what God has planned for our little group as we continue to meet together, share a meal, and dig deeper with each other and with God! This is the good stuff of life!

**I encourage you to be intentional and start something like this with your circle of friends or as an outreach to your neighbors. Please message me if I can be of assistance in making this come to life for you!

Hugs,

Heidi