On a much cheerier note

A dear friend is starting an every-other-week evening Bible study for women through her new church. This is the church I'm currently test-driving for a few months, and when she was in the planning stages, I said I'd like to be part of the group. I figured she might need the support.

Last week she mentioned that she had about eight ladies signed up, and she was afraid the group might get a little too large for easy discussion - twelve is really about the upper limit for an effective group. But they were doing an announcement Sunday (prior publicity had consisted solely of bulletin notices, which are historically ineffective), just to make sure anyone who might be interested would be informed.

You can see where this is going, can't you?

Grace called me Monday night to say eighteen women had signed up for the study as of that point. As we were talking, a call came in on the other line - sure enough, number nineteen.

God sure has a sense of humor.

There are a few logistical problems; the house is big enough, but it is at the end of a rather narrow cul-de-sac, so parking will be an issue, at least for the first week. The family room is too small to hold everyone; the living/dining room is big enough, but there is no furniture in the living room at the moment.

After the first meeting, a much smaller group of us will do some brainstorming on how to keep the group together, yet have small enough sub-groups to encourage participation. What a great problem to have!

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17