Celebrate Community

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Photography by Madi Flournoy Henderson 

Top: Target || Similar Top || Skirt: Nordstrom || Similar skirt: Forever 21 || Shoes: Nordstrom

Can you seriously believe that we are in the last week of 2016? This year has absolutely flown by. Even though I still have no clue what I will do to ring in the new year, I know that this outfit will be part of it. When I first saw my friend Brittany from Loverly Grey wearing this ADORABLE top, I knew I had to get it, too. Especially because it is from Target! Yes. Target. That in and of itself is a reason to party!

In 2016, I made some big changes to my everyday normal. Of course, one of those big changes was this blog. It’s fun to share my thoughts with this online community and even better that there are people who actually want to hear them. But what I love most about a TAD more faith is the people I have connected with along the way. 

This blogger world can feel pretty cutthroat at times. One minute you are on your way up, while the next minute you feel like you are at a stand still… People who you thought would be supportive and helpful suddenly are not. It is a business that can really mess with your inner-self if you let it.

But then there are people like Brittany, who wanted to help me grow just because she believed in what I was trying to do. And friends like Bailey, who connected with me on a spiritual level and understood that it’s all about connecting more women with Jesus. Both girls owe me nothing, but have given me something that is priceless: friendship. They made room for me in their world and welcomed me when they easily could have shut me out. For this reason, I consider them my “blogging angels.” Sometimes, it’s someone that you never expected that makes you realize that you CAN do what your heart desires.

Jesus created this world for us to have community. Whether that community is in a small group or on Instagram, when “two or more are gathered in His name, there He will also be.” (Matthew 18:20). He wants you to go for it and encourage those around you to go for it, too. If you are both meant to be famous authors, He will create an audience for both of you. If you are both meant to start your own businesses, He will bring enough customers to support both of you.

So, as you look forward to the year ahead, I pray that you will remember the importance of community. The importance of lifting each other up in fellowship rather than tearing each other down in competition. And I pray that you will be blessed to find friends like Brittany and Bailey, who want nothing more than to celebrate you along the way. 

Come Together

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This past weekend was packed full of events where people were coming together. The City of Franklin put on their annual Main Street Festival. Our church had Serve the City, where over a thousand volunteers went out to do just that – serve the city. Discouraged Predators fans got together and hoped that their cheers would be heard all the way in California (unfortunately, this didn’t work out so well).

While all three of these events were for different purposes, they all had one thing in common – community.

Main Street brought people together to showcase the community’s talents – whether that was through homemade soaps, ACE’s kettle corn, or my all-time favorite… distressed wood signs that say “Nashville.”  The festival showcased artists, singers, and performers from all over Middle Tennessee.

Serve the City brought people together for the purpose of serving other people. It consisted of volunteers giving up their Saturday morning to pick up trash, clean up yards, and fix up homes – all while giving back to the city they call home. Serve the City was a showcase of the change, both physical and emotional, that can happen when people come together.

Believe it or not, despite a losing effort, the Preds even brought people together. Yes, these get-togethers probably consisted of a little more food, a few more beverages, and possibly a few choice words; but, it was a place of community all the same. For our group, the Preds gathering involved the guys cheering in the living room and the girls sitting on the back porch sharing life stories and watching our talented friend design chalkboards. I honestly didn’t even realize the Preds lost until we got home later that night and noticed Adam moping around. 

 

The point of highlighting these events is to showcase our need for community. People like to be around people – especially people that encourage and challenge you. It’s important to value those people that God has placed in your life. It’s also important to recognize that community can be anywhere.

Not only can you have community at church, but you can also have community at work, at the gym, at your child’s school, or even while hanging with your friends on a casual Saturday night. And these communities give you a chance to make your mark. It can be in big ways, like organizing a platform for your co-workers to raise money for a local charity. It can be in small ways, like bringing hummus and pita chips (ok, ok… champagne works, too) to a much needed girls’ night at a friend’s house. It can even be as simple as picking up the phone and catching up with an old friend. The point is that you can build community through your work and through your love. Further, you can build God’s community when you live as an example of everything He can do. But I promise you – you can’t do it alone. You need community.

How can you contribute to building your community this week?