Guest Post by Gail Harris
Visionary Womanhood Gatherings. What on earth is that?
I thought the same thing!
I had been seeing the cute little button of the Visionary Womanhood eBook popping up on blogs I visited frequently. I would go to Natalie’s blog and read some articles. And then (this is my favorite part!) a blog was doing a giveaway! And, you see, I never win, so this was a great day for me. 
I won the giveaway, got the eBook, downloaded it, printed it out (I like things in my hands as I read), grabbed a cup of coffee, and read the eBook in about 2 hours.
Hook, line, and sinker, she had me! I was completely sold. I had been praying about where to take my current Bible study. It was going all right, but I wanted more. More depth, more relationship, more than just another thing to do. I wanted something that was going to encourage me, give me vision for my family, get me off of the treadmill of life that we so easily get stuck on. And THIS was it.
I talked with my husband about it. I tend to jump into things with a lot of thought, yet I get so excited about things that I don’t think through everything. I wanted his okay to do it, seeing as he would need to watch the children the night that we would be meeting. I wanted to get his approval. I wanted him on board. And, obviously, he hopped right on! He got it, the same way I did.
From there, I told a friend about it. I let her borrow my copy of Visionary Womanhood Gatherings so she could read through it. I wanted to see if there were others out there looking for the same things that I was looking for. She really encouraged me to get a group started, and said she was on board as well. Our group had officially been birthed! I had decided even if it was just the two of us, I was going to do it. I really felt the Lord leading in this direction, and with her spurring me on, I went with it.
We held our first ‘unofficial’ gathering in December and watched the documentary “IndoctriNation.” That night, there were 4 of us. The time of prayer was sweet and refreshing. To hear women pour out their hearts to God and realize that we are all in the same boat, that we all truly desire the same things, just made me smile. I liked the documentary so much, my husband and I watched it the next day as well. In some ways, this is turning into more than just a gathering for us women. It is helping my own family get aligned.
That night, all the women there expressed how this was exactly what they had been looking for.
Vision. Hope. Encouragement. Refreshment.
January 6th, was our first ‘official’ meeting. There were 7 of us there. All but one are married with children. My friend who is single was concerned about feeling like she had nothing to contribute. At the end of the night, and later that week, she told me she thought she would return. It did my heart good to hear that! I love that it can reach out to all people.
Once again, our time of prayer was open to all who wished to pray. It was again a time to come before our Lord and pour out our hearts. To pray for our husbands and our children. To pray for wisdom and guidance. To pray for the future generations that we are impacting today.
We listened to the teaching “How To Think Like a Christian.” Some brought notebooks and took notes as we listened. The CD and other materials that the ladies brought were available to those who wished to borrow them. We have our own ‘library’ going on already! What a blessing that is! None of us had started reading the book, Assumptions That Affect Our Lives yet, so we skipped that part for now.
When it was over, there was great discussion. Almost a Q & A, getting the chance to pick the brains of the other women there. It was such a blessing. I can’t tell you how thankful I am to have won this eBook, read it, and really put it into motion. Natalie has done the hard work for me. All I have to do is get the resources and follow her two year plan. God has done the rest. He has brought together like-minded women who are set on encouraging one another, coming to the meetings, and making them more than just another ‘social hour.’ In some ways, once a month doesn’t seem like enough! When the night was over, I just kept thinking “I wish we could do this again next week!”
It is nice to finally be able to set aside a reasonable amount of time to come together as women and rest, fellowship, and encourage one another to keep going. Sometimes our lives as wives and mothers can seem hard. Sometimes we feel like we are the only ones out there struggling. We think everyone else must have it together. This has become a place where we can ‘let down our hair’ and be real with each other. Even though we have only met twice, I know this is going to be a wonderful time with these women.
I would like to encourage you all to read the eBook and pray about starting a group of your own. Even if it’s just a few women! I can’t even begin to tell you how this has already blessed my life.
Blessings,
Gail Harris, GA
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