C.S. Lewis once said, “Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another, What!? You too? I thought I was the only one.”  It is my prayer that you will find hope, help and new friendships here that grow from lots of “You too?” moments!  I have found over time that my deepest and most meaningful relationships have come from my most vulnerable moments.  Moments when I stepped out in faith and courage, willing to show my weaknesses and admit my failures.  It was during those conversations that I experienced many “You too?” moments and so often, God would use His child, my friend, to speak courage to my fear, healing to my shame or truth to my weakness.

So friend, I hope you’ll join me as I share friend-to-friend conversations with women who’ve been there, done that, and can point us to our Saviour who walked them through it.  It’s my desire to have conversations with women who are meeting God in the mess of their living room or in the mess of their heart.  Women who have met Christ in the center of their chaos.  Women who have followed God through their valley and are still holding tight to His hand.  Women who pursue friendship through extending their own, strengthening relationships with both believers and unbelievers all for the sake of the Gospel.

The Gospel has the power to change lives, both eternally and daily, and it’s through that changed life that a testimony is born.  A testimony of God’s faithfulness and love in the small and monotonous days as well as the big and adventurous.  God gave us His Word so that we would remember and have hope. Romans 15:4 says, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” He gave us each other to remember and have hope, and to remind each other that He is faithful and He is able.

This is a heart’s desire that the Lord planted in my heart and has grown over the last two years. I have prayed and sought counsel from my husband and trusted mentors. God has used these people to speak courage to my fears and reservations, also affirming His will. I initially feared that in pursuing this dream, I would overlook the ministries of my home and church — priorities that I do not take lightly.  But God has opened my eyes to time untouched by my to-do list, those middle minutes of my day when I mindlessly scroll Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.  Time that could be invested in a space scarcely touched by women in the local Independent Baptist church.  

Many Blessings, 

Jessica Smallwood