Third Place Tuesdays

Hi friends,

So I posted a new blog entry on Monday evening ... and then deleted it on Tuesday with plans to repost. I'm finally getting to it and want to include the first part of my orginal blog:

"Jamie, great recommendation ... I am really enjoying Exiles so far. In fact, it has me all excited and charged up this evening! For the past seven months, I have tried over and over to get involved in our church. I have attempted to join a small group, only for it to dissolve before I ever got a chance to attend. I have tried two women's Bible studies, only to feel restless and dissatisfied during each of the meetings. And I have contacted several leaders in the church in an attempt to get connected, only to receive either no response or a very delayed response.

I'm finally waking up to the fact that God likely does not want me investing my time at that church right now. So for the past few weeks, I've been asking him exactly where he wants me. I'm positive that Emerging Desert is one place, but I need something in addition to our biweekly meetings. As I was reading Chapter 3 in Exiles this evening, I was completely struck by the third places concept, and it has me thinking this might be exactly where God wants me to invest. After all, Jesus had an interest in being in third places, and I am striving to be more like him."

It was at this point in my entry that I declared Third Place Tuesdays in my life and decided on a coffee shop that I would be committing my life to on Tuesday evenings from here on out. I have to admit, though, that I rather hastily wrote my original blog, and after talking to Zac about it Monday night, I decided I should probably meditate on this idea for a bit before permanently etching it into my calendar. So that's where I am at this point ... praying about what exactly God has in mind for Third Place Tuesdays. Is this what He wants me to focus my energies on? Should this be a once-a-week thing? Who are the people that could be impacted by this friendship and conversation? What kind of venue is the best place for this incarnational ministry?

Last year I committed to working with the youth at a local church. I didn't think about it -- let alone pray about it -- for five minutes before I made the decision. And by month two I was counting down the days until my committment would be fulfilled. That's the last thing I want to do with Third Place Tuesdays -- especially because I have extended the invitation to all of you.

Although my post was only online for about 12 hours, I heard from a couple of you who read it -- one in particular who is very interested in talking more about meeting mid-week. I would certainly love to hear your ideas about Third Place Tuesdays as well. And in the mean time, I am going to be praying about it and asking God to lead me into this fellowship and ministry opportunity so that it can be most effective for all involved. Zac and I likely won't be at the meeting on Sunday (unless we speed home from San Diego), but I'd love to hear from you on here!

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Trish