About the Author

At (in)courage, we empower women to be like Jesus. Our writers share what’s going on in their life and how God’s right in the middle of it. They bring their joys & struggles so that you can feel less alone and be empowered by the hope Jesus gives.

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things we love
& you will too!
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  1. My girlfriends do not get together nearly enough… Usually because I am sick. But we are close, thanks do to the Internet. That is why I am hosting an (in)RL beach party in April at my house!

  2. My girlfriends get together the 1st Friday of each month for lunch and hang out together to catch up on what is going on in each others lives. We also stay in touch by email and share our prayer request with each other.

  3. I get together with my girlfriends the 1st Friday night of every month. We have dinner and watch movies until late into the night. There is plenty of love, joy and chocolate!

  4. I honestly don’t meet up with ladies outside of the family. Not for girls nights or anything. Sometimes we have people over for dinner but that’s about it. Sadly.

  5. I do not have a lot of girl friends that I am close with. I am working with God towards trusting in my fellow females again… been burned badly. But, I hang out with you gals every morning 😉

  6. At least once a month in some form or fashion. Deep relationships with other women are hard to come by it seems.

  7. I meet up with a friend to walk the dogs and another friend just
    to walk and talk. But no meetups to go “out”. I searched the irl meetups
    and will try to join in with a real group.

  8. Being I’ve moved a bit, I get to get together with my best girlfriend via phone at least 2x a month and we chat for hours.

  9. I try to meet up for lunch at least once a month with some of my very close girlfriends. It’s always a special bonding time.

  10. Not very often. My closest friends live several states away and I’m in a stage of life that makes it hard to get out 🙂 I would love to have that again though.

  11. Not as much as we would like but when we do, it is like we never missed a beat . I think my friends would love to Meetup.

  12. I don’t meet up with my girl friends hardly at all. We are all so busy with work and kids.

  13. I don’t get together enough with my girlfriends. Busyness keeps getting in the way. I think they would like to Meetup.

  14. I meet up with girlfriends weekly! Gotta have my girl time fill. I adore all my friends and each of them bring something different to our mix. I like to think we are a treasure box and each one is a different jewel!! I wish we could have a big meet up…hmmm…maybe the (in)IR event….:)

  15. Last November I lost my best friend 🙁 and that relationship can’t and hasn’t really been replaced. So that is a real void I feel. I recently moved to a new state and know people but don’t really “know” them….I created an event in my town – Marshall MN and am hoping that maybe I can meet some people there! And I just need to take the leap and get involved at our church…but it is hard sometimes! 🙂

  16. My bff and I try to have a girls night at least every other month. We see each other and church every sunday. My house is really not big enough for hosting people, and the other events are so far from me, I don’t like to travel much!

  17. My girlfriends are my three sisters, but we don’t live close enough to get together. -which is why this an rl meetup would be perfect!!!

  18. I get together with my friends a few times per year…I know it’s not much, but I struggle socially, and it is more than the zero I would have had to give for many years…

  19. Get together with my several girlfriends as much as possible….we have learned it’s not how often but the quality of when we do connect. Grateful for good friends.

  20. My girlfriends & I try to get together once a month, but that is tough given everyone’s crazy schedules!

  21. My girlfriends and I try to meet up once a month, though with all our busy schedules it is way more difficulty than it should be!

  22. I try to get together with my girlfriends at least once every other week – it doesnt always happen but I sooo look forward to sitting in a quiet coffee shop, laughing and enjoying the company of another woman! 🙂

  23. I don’t get together enough in person with my girlfriends. That is why I’m glad to have an online mommies group too! I think the ladies there would be game for some (in)courage-ment!

  24. Now that I am so far away, I get to see my lovely friends about twice a year. Thank you for this post, it has reminded me that I should encourage them to go to (in)RL!

  25. We don’t get together nearly enough,especially now that we all have kids! They may be game for an online meetup–never thought about it.

  26. The quality time I spend with girlfriends is special; an (in)RL meetup would be another way to connect!

  27. I don’t get to see my friends often because of the distance we live apart. Friends who live closer mostly have children, so that’s also difficult. Whenever I get to see them it’s truly a blessing! I’m sure an (in)RL meetup would be great!

  28. I like to get together with girlfriends often!! With young children at home, I need some recharge time with good friends!!! I think I have some friends that would be interested!

  29. I just moved so I’m just making new friends to get together with, but overall I’d say I get together with a group or someone at least once a week.

  30. I don’t get to see my best girlfriends all that often because I serve overseas. When I am on home assignment, I love getting together with my friends whenever I get the chance in my travels around the country reporting to churches. It is always so nice to see old friends and catch up after years apart!

  31. My girlfriends and I retreat once a year. The road trip is awesome and the teaching is always a blessing. We’ve decided that once a year is not enough! In between retreat, we try to meet up for a meal and hanging out. Other than that, it’s FB and email to keep in touch.

  32. I get together with some moms from my church once a month…an (in) RL meetup would be awesome!

  33. I don’t get together with my girls often enough. God has me in a season of transition with some friendships, and the close ones … well, we now all have little ones 🙂 I’m trying to get them together in April, we’ll see what happens!

  34. Hardly ever! I don’t really have many close friends outside of family. I do see my other BF ( besides my DH) my sister almost every day! Yay for sisters!

  35. I meet with a group of beautiful girls one a month…but most of them just speak Spanish, if not, they would probably be very excited about the Meetup!

  36. We moved a few years ago and I don’t get together very often with old friends — being so far away. I don’t really have any new friends. I am however going to offer to have this at my house. One of the ladies commented the other day that things are just to expensive to go to a conference or retreat. I think this might be the answer. Pray for us.

  37. I get together with girl friends at fellowship – one once a month, and one once a week. We used to have a book club, too! I’ve mentioned incourage several times… they’d probably enjoy a chance to encourage (and be encouraged by) other women!

    (Thanks for this kind opportunity!)

  38. We usually try to get together once a month. Since my accident it has been a lot harder to do that…I believe some of my girlfriends would be up for an IRL meetup.

  39. I am lucky to see my one girlfriend at weekly biblestudy and we try to catch up during the week by phone or when dropping the kids to play. My college friends, I keep in touch by email/phone and we only see each other once a year, if that.

  40. My girlfriends and I don’t get together as often as we hope to or need to! We get so busy with our own families it seems. So any time we can like for the (in) RL meetup it is great! 🙂

  41. Life is crazy isnt it? We used to get together monthly, then every couple months, and here lately its been hard to get together more than once or twice a year. I love the idea of the (in) RL meetup but realistically not sure how it would work for us.

  42. I get together every other week with girlfriends. I have some I think would love to follow the meetup.

    I am following DaySpring now! Woo-Hoo!

  43. I like to get together with my friends at least once a month for lunch. I think they would love to attend an (in) RL meetup.

  44. Meet up once a month with girlfriends – play cards. Also get together with best friend every couple of days and pray for each other and do book studies. Also follow you on twitter.

  45. My girlfriends are spread all over the state, but I do see my mommy friends once every other week for MomTime and just joined a MOPS group. My MOPS group is having a mom’s night out soon – I can’t wait!

  46. Just got together with some girlfriends last night – we do it every time it’s one of our birthdays. My birthday is coming up next. I will be 29 again. It is a blast. We would like to attend an RL meet up if in the Albany NY area.

  47. I get together with just girl friends in the evenings probablye very couple of weeks, but a lot more often than that for play dates! I’m not sure if they’d be game for a meet-up.

  48. I have one best girlfriend, and we get together every week for lunch. Without her I’d be totally lost, and probably a little crazy (er)!!! I’ll definitely be floating the idea of an inRL meet with her.

  49. My friends and I usually get together once or twice a month – at least, we try 🙂 I really would like to do the Meet-Up with them… hopefully

  50. Since havinga baby its been hard finding time with my girlfriends.. Wish we saw eachother more often!

  51. We usually meet up once a week while we are doing a Bible study and once a quarter when we aren’t. We have a great group of ladies in our church that our in the same stage of life and love to study God’s Word. I am seriously considering hosting an in(RL) event.

  52. I get together with my friends inRL once every two weeks. We have a women’s bible study and we discuss issues related to being a Christian woman, wife, and mother. It’s an amazing gift to be able to discuss openly with other women about our daily struggles.
    ~Melissa

  53. I don’t get together with girlfriends too often – I’m still new to where I live and am still trying to connect and meet new people!

  54. I don’t get together with girlfriends as much as I would like … many are out of town and we keep in touch via email and FB. Have been thinking, tho that it would be fun to gather a few local folks for the April meet up. I follow (in)courage via FB. … and thanks for the encouragement!

  55. WE used to really good at it, but time has a way of making things busy (that and all of us adding kids to our wonderful lives). I cannot even remember the last time we had a girls night but my favorite was about 6 years ago whenever we took my friend Denise on a night to eat and to a concert for her birthday. I bought tiaras and boas and made everybody wear them all night. They were hesitant at first but then really got into it once they were comfortable and felt really special. I would love for all of is to get together for an (in)courage event!

  56. I gather for a women’s group once a week, and with my prayer partner once a week. But as for casual meetings at the coffee shop, we’re lucky to get in once a month. We all have little ones and so our season of life doesn’t allow for much time or energy to gather. And so, for this reason, I’d say that though our spirits would be willing for another meet-up, our flesh would be weak.

  57. We will get together to bake Christmas cookies next weekend, but we plan “girl time” to go to a movie, have dinner together, or just talk. I couldn’t do this life without my girlfriends!

  58. We see each other at Church at least twice a week then at homegroup meeting on Mondays. That might be something good for us to do on the homegroup “off days” that only the girls get together.

  59. most of my girlfriends, I work with…so yes…we get together often and I’ve already hit them up to join me in April. I’m planning on hosting a party at my house.

    And I already follow on twitter.

  60. I try and get together at least once a month, but try to have it happen more often. We’d love a in(RL) meet up!

  61. I am rarely able to get together with my girlfriends as a group, but I get together with them one-on-one regularly. I think that the girls that I know that follow (in)courage would definitely be up for a get-together in(RL) meet up.

  62. I wish we got together more often, but stay close through social media, FB, twitter, and email. I would love to see a meet up happen here. I would love to have our Ladies Group get together for that event.

  63. My girl friends and I get together as often as we can. My mom is also my best friend so we get to do things together all the time. We are in the process of making candy to share with friends and neighbors.

  64. My girlfriends and I love to get together and cook something new just for fun – but it doesn’t happen as often as we like. We all homeschool and schedules don’t always allow it.

  65. I have a group of wonderful, crazy, honest, ever-changing girlfriends that get together at my house on Monday nights. We have evolved into “the Monday Night Ladies”. We have been friends for years, but gather now intentionally to study, pray, eat, and share our lives. We have been getting together for almost 5 years!!!! We have traveled to Orlando, Jacksonville and even, San Antonio for Beth Moore weekends. We are looking forward to a trip to Charleston, SC next summer.

  66. Sadly, only twice a year since I moved away. But, my bestest friend, since 4th grade, always makes time for me, even though we are two hours apart!

  67. At the last place I lived, I met up with the gf’s weekly and I bet they would totally be game for a meet up. We just moved, so I’m still trying to make gf’s here

  68. I have been living with my best girl friend after a recent seperation. Even with our busy schedules of work and gym and life in general, we made time to sit and have a home made cappucino after a morning work out or playing a game of cards after a 13 hour work day. Now that I have found my own apartment, I pray we make time to stay as close as we have become in the past few months.

  69. My girlfriends (pssst, I’d include my mum on that list!) are spread across India, Oxford, Wales and the US. So… no – we do not get together enough! However, we do get together on average once a week on internet dates or INR (in the same city, that is, like this weekend in Oxford). So YES – we’re already a community of happy (in)RL practice 😉 and conditioned to enjoy each other as much together as well as at a distance. I love them, am blessed by them and couldn’t do as well without them.

  70. Not counting church (small groups and single mamas class) we probably get together monthly … occassionally more often but less scheduled. I love it!

  71. Meet ups in real life? over dinner–my fave–easy dinners of course that don’t stress me out! :), over coffee, kid playdates (another good one while kids are occupied) and impromptu get togethers..I am hoping some will meet with me 🙂

  72. I am so fortunate to have several very close friends. Some live in the same town, others are scattered in different places. We stay connected by facebook and texting, however, those are not good substitutes for face-to-face time. But, my very best friends in all the world are my three daughters. How blessed am I that we all love to spend time together and we spend lots of time together. We would love an in(RL) meet up!

  73. Unfortunately, too rarely! Two close friends and I get together when I am back “home” usually the holidays and once in the summer. Never often enough but I cherish it. one would be game for IRL but not sure about the other…

  74. My Girlfriends and I try to get together every 2-3 months. This month we are having an ornament exchange! We do keep in regular contact via text message and facebook. True face to face contact is always the best though!
    God Bless you all and thank you for your messages.

  75. We don’t get together nearly enough. I know that some of them would be very enthusiastic about an (in)RL Meetup.

  76. We get together at least once a month for a girls night and then at playgroups throughout the month. I don’t know if they would be interested in the (in) RL meet up. It might be something to consider.

  77. My life is so busy with my son and husband and all my activities that I don’t have much time for girl friends. We do have a fall and spring Bible study at church where I can connect with ladies once a week. Sometimes it makes me sad that I don’t have anyone I can call a true friend (except my husband).

  78. I get together with my girls at least once a week. We read poetry, have a glass of wine, and pray together. I think they might love an (in)RL with (in)Courage. I simply must ask.

  79. I have a special neighbor friend who I get to see often and another friend who I see about once a month. I get to see friends every Friday at our homeschool co-op. I’m not sure about the meet up in real life. It seems super hard to coordinate our schedules because we are all homeschool moms and don’t have as many hours in the day without our kids.

  80. One of my closest friends and I get together every Tuesday to share what’s going on in our lives, pray, read a book or even just shop and support each other. I don’t know what I would do without our Tuesday nights!

  81. Sadly, I only get together with my girl friends a few times a year, at best. Though my best friend is only a few minutes away, we will go with out seeing each other in person for months at a time! We have been doing better lately, though…

  82. One of my closest friends and I try to get together at least around our birthdays. She lives in another town so we don’t see each other as often as we would like.

  83. We tried at least once a month in some form – dinner, movie or craft nights. RL meet up sounds like a good idea.

  84. My Mom’s group at church tries to get together for a fun night every month but I can’t always make it. I wish I made more time for things like that!

  85. My in real life girlfriends and I don’t get together often enough. Some of us get together once a month to play Bunco, but those aren’t who I consider my “soul sisters.” I am working on getting those “soul sisters” together for the in real-life meet up!

  86. Cool prize!!! About once a month for the ones that live close. I don’t know about the (in)RL Meetup; I’d have to ask.

  87. I’m a ‘young’ senior who loves to follow what all you wonderful young Christian women are doing . It’s amazing….so joyful, helpfulness to one another and support, sharing your lives…it’s a beautiful thing to watch. Being physically disabled does not allow for a lot of outside fellowship, but I connect with many people through blogs and websites like yours. I do have friends who come to visit and I get out as often as I can and I have a loving family. We, who know our Lord and Savior, are truly blessed. In Christ, Jennifer

  88. I try to be intentional about girlfriend time. When kids were younger, we planned a monthly evening get together. With kids school age now, lunches work well. I have several I meet with weekly. A friend and I will be states away to run a race that weekend, trying to be creative…

  89. I don not get together with girl friends in real life very often. I have recently moved and don’t have a lot of friends in this area. I think some of my long distance girl friends would be game for an (in)courage (in)RL Meetup, though! 🙂

  90. My girlfriends and I have completely opposite schedules between work, college, family, we just do not have time to get to gether! We see each other at church and on FB!

  91. I’m in a Bunco group, which is the closest I’ve got to a group of girlfriends. We meet every month, & MAYBE they’d like to (in)real life????

  92. We get together at least once every two weeks. Idk if they would be interested most of us are moms who have little time for Internet blog stuff.

  93. My very best friends live in different states, so we get together once a year when we can, but we text, skype or talk on the phone every day! I plan to enjoy (in)RL with some new friends I have met since I moved to Illinois.

  94. I don’t have friends really. We moved to a semi-rural community and it’s been very hard to integrate.

  95. I only get together with girlfriends about once every month or two. I am mostly homebound, so unless someone can come to me then I usually can’t get together with friends.

    I have one or two friends who might be willing to come for an (in)RL gathering.

    My closest friends actually don’t live close to me. One lives in Alaska. The others are homebound and we get together through email and texting.

  96. My wife doesn’t get to get together with her girlfriends nearly as much as I’d like to see, but has a good time when she does.

  97. Since I am an Army wife, we move around to new places. At our current duty station, I have found a group of ladies who like to knit, and so we meet every Thursday morning, for knitting afghans for Afghans. And of course, we bring our favorite foods. And I think they would like (in)RL meetup!

  98. I get together with girlfriends often – a few. once a month – 2 others once a year

    my sister is my best friend and we get together once a week – food to my soul she is!

    xoTiffany

  99. I have one girl friend that we get together almost once a week and another that I write an email to daily, she lives about eight hours away, so that is the best we can do. Another one we email weekly or more and get together at least every couple of months for lunch. Not sure if they would be up to do the conference over the internet. This gift today is really neat, thanks.

  100. I don’t get to spend time with my friends as often as I would like to…maybe once every few months. It would be fun to have a meetup with them!

  101. We don’t get together nearly enough, but when we do we have a great time. I think they’d love a meetup!

  102. My girlfriends and I don’t get together as much as we should, but I am hosting a Christmas brunch at my house on Saturday morning! I’m sure they would love to do a meet up!!!!

  103. I get together with at least one girlfirend every day – a short chat at the front door, a few minutes stolen after a meeting at church. I don’t get out with them often enough. As for my best girlfriend… She is in Miami, I am in Hawaii. Once or twice a year, usually with at least one child, sometimes five (soon to be six between us). We are blessed to get together that often!

  104. My girlfriends and I get together at least twice a month. And yes, they’d love to have an (in)courage (in)RL Meetup.

  105. So sad! I hardly ever get together with my girlfriends. And my best friend, who is my sister, lives far away. But I do get together with friends and other moms who volunteer at our kids’ schools regularly. I like them but don’t know them that well.

  106. I rarely get together with my friends. 🙁 When we do, we usually go to Panerra Bread for tea and a scone.

  107. Once a month with the gals from church and a few times a year with outside friends..party is always at our place 🙂 …the Holy Spirit is our guest of honor!!

  108. I meet with my local gals at least once a week! But, my bestie – we are lucky if we see each other once a year! I would love to have a RL meet-up, but right now our budgets are so tight it would be miraculous if it happened!

  109. I wish I could say we get together a lot but we don’t. With small kids, volunteer commitments and a house to keep it seems that a “mommy night out” doesn’t fit right now. Which is fine, it is the season I am in.

  110. every few months or so. we get together at small groups which is nice. but we are trying to get a bookclub together soon so we can have more time fellowshipping together!

  111. not often enough….we always pick like we were never apart and treasure/cherish those special moments together!

  112. I get together with 2 different groups of ladies once a month. I have a bunko group and then we have a stay at home mommmy group that gets together for lunch once a month. I think they would love to get involved in in a RL group. This is right up our alley.

  113. We currently meet up at least once a week – and I know they would be interested in an in(RL) meetup!

  114. I love hanging out with my girl friends! It was much easier when I lived with them in college, but I still get to talk to them on facebook or phone. Hopefully we will get together soon. I think they would love a party!

  115. I will be sharing with a group of bible study gals that I am registered for the (in)RL conference and offer this opportunity to meet at our home. I am also going to extend the invite to many friends I know! I am really looking forward to hosting this event.
    Following @Dayspring on twitter.

    Celeste
    twitter chillatlife94

  116. Unfortunately, we don’t have regular times set to get together. When there are lunch dates, dinner out, and movies, it’s a blast! 🙂 I hope they will be joining us for (in)RL!

  117. My girl friends and I get together once a week for dinner. We’ve done this almost every Friday night since I joined the church last year. Its not exclusively girls though. Their husbands come for the food too.

  118. We meet up at least once a year but not always. I find you have to make a point of scheduling the time…not hoping it will happen. If I plan it, it happens, if I hope to do it; forget it, life gets in the way.

  119. I try to get together with my girlfriends on a regular basis but it changes depending on the friend. Some I see weekly at church and others I try to schedule a lunch date or day out shopping depending on the friend. My has and and I also love having our friends over for dinner at least once every month or two.

  120. My group of girlfriends get together once a month (at least) for Bunco. We’ve just recently started a book club so now twice a month! Then we get together in smaller groups throughout the month. Wish we could every week though. My oldest girlfriends from highschool and college only get together once a year (if we’re lucky)… sad! Not sure all would be game for an (in)courage (in)RL Meetup, but would LOVE it if I could convince them all. : )

  121. I get together with my girlfriends almost every weekend.. 🙂 I think we would all be game for an (in)courage (in)RL Meetup.. But with all of our schedules it could be tough.. But it is definitely something I will consider! 🙂 I love (in)courage though!

  122. I am blessed to get together with girlfriends often! I also lead a ladies group with my church and they would love to be a part of incourage, in real life, meet up!

  123. I don’t meet up with my girlfriends often enough… although the moms in my Thursday morning Bible study are turning out to be fabulous friends. We see each other weekly, but another get together would be a lot of fun for In(RL).

  124. I’m pretty excited that now I get to hang out with girlfriends every week and it is SO refreshing! I hope some of them would be up for a meetup!

  125. The combination of little ones and nursing makes it hard to get together with friends in real life. I think my friends would be up for the (in)RL conference, but my house is much to small to host such a thing!

  126. Our church ladies get together at least once a month, and my closest friends usually try to spend time together at least once a month. I think quite a few of us would love an IRL get together which is why I’m hoping for a closer meetup, or to be able to afford to host one by the time spring rolls around!

  127. Rarely…Trying to change that by thinking of ways Mommies and Babies can get together even though we live far apart (an hour or more). Would love to attend an (in)RL meeting near here!

  128. We used to do EVERY monday night for years, but this year has been hard on all 5 of us. It’s now only a few times a month. I’m not sure if they’d want to do the conference or not. Never hurts to ask though!

  129. hehe … um, besides our MOPS group and Bible study, not that often! It’s amazing how family and overall business tends to take over your life. They would be interested in coming to one, though. At least, they would after I told them about it. : )

  130. I’m so blessed with some precious friends that are like sisters. I meet with one friend once a week and we pray for our church and our community. I have two other close friends who live far away, but with whom I chat online with weekly. The more we pray and share, the closer we become. I would love for us all to be together, and they would too!

  131. once a year cousins weekend, monday night bible study, lunches, once in a while afternoon movie…when we can…and a group (i hope) for the inRL weekend is in the plans….

  132. Counting Bible Studies, fellowships, and other get-togethers, we meet quite often.
    Yes, a MeetUp would be great.

  133. Unfortunately, I don’t get together very often with my girlfriends. Although we are doing an overnight getaway this weekend.
    One has actually expressed interest in (in)rl.

  134. I almost feel bad about this one, and not sure why, but I see girlfriends at least once a week, but most of time i get together with one or more twice a week! I thrive on my girlfriend time since I have 3 boys and a hubby who travels….it keeps me sane. I al always up for a meet-up too!

  135. We moved last year so I live about an hour and a half from my close friends, but we email and facebook a lot and try to get together every few months. I checked out the (in)rl list and didn’t see a meet-up in my area…I did see one where I used to live! Bummer!

  136. Depends on who it is – once a months, once a week, and some are out of town so it is just a couple times a year. 🙁 Some of them might be game!

  137. Girlfriends… every week we go to the ATTIC, a place that serves the poor with food, clothing, housewares, baby items etc. then we do lunch. It is a precious time for me and we would love to get an RL meeting in our area!

  138. I do my best to plan a get together with a friend a few times a month and when I do I feel so renewed. It is the best pick me up 🙂
    -Colleen G.

  139. I do my best to plan a get together with a friend a few times a month and when I do I feel so renewed. It is the best pick me up 🙂 Colleen G.

  140. I have a couple diff groups of girlfriends….some we get together once a month, some once every few months and some we try every week!! Just depends but it’s NOT often enough!! 🙂 Thanks!!

  141. I really have no idea what it would be like to get together with a group of girls on a routine basis. I do one-on-one pretty well, but I just get lost in a group, so people usually don’t ask me to come along. Or if asked I beg off for fear of being lost. Please don’t mistake this, I have really good friends, they support me, respect me, encourage me. I would love to come to the RL meetup, meanwhile I’ll continue to ask for spiritual guidance that I might approach it more effectively. And while I’m at it, maybe I’ll invite several friends to come with me!

  142. We do not meet nearly often enough! We usually only meet up once a quarter. Sometimes even less often.

  143. My best friend and I are getting together tomorrow (with no kids!) to go Christmas shopping. I can’t wait. Since husbands and kids have entered our lives, this doesn’t happen often. We are always open to new opportunities to strengthen our faith and grow as women of God!

  144. I definitely don’t get together with girlfriends enough, that’s for sure. But I do have 3 girlfriends – made through twitter – and we get together for Bible study once a month. LOVE that precious time!

  145. We meet during our local Bible Studies, so could be weekly or monthly. And this event [in]RL will be a great chance to gather all friends from all places, even though if some of they are in other cities or states, countries!

  146. Not very often lately.

    I used to until recently a friend told me she no longer wished to be around me. See I have chronic pain. She felt I was a burden.

    I hope someday I have a friend that will visit me…home bound.

  147. My best girl friend and I try to find an evening every week to catch up. And I try to socialize with a larger group of friends a couple of times a month.

  148. I don’t have a lot of time to get together with girlfriends these days, but I’m spending more time with my family, and my in-laws.

  149. Being in a season of little ones, getting together doesn’t happen nearly as much as desired, but that’s OK! And it makes the times we are able to get together a special treat! I am hopeful that many of them will want to meet up for the April retreat

  150. Sadly, my girlfriends and I don’t get together too often. I have one good friend that I see about every other week. The rest, it is hit and miss. My closest friends are literally around the globe. Skype is one of the greatest inventions ever!

  151. Sadly not very often. Jobs, volunteer gigs and long distances (one is 15 hours ahead) tend to keep us apart. Skpye however, that is far more frequent – every couple of weeks for most 🙂

  152. Sadly, my family stayed mostly to themselves and I never really learned the true value of friendship or how to be comfortable in social settings but I so admire those who can connect with people and whose lives are richer because of it. God Bless you (in)courage!

  153. I get together with my college girlfriends 2x a year. Once is girls only and the second meet up is with husbands/kids. It is a blast and I love that we have done this each year since we left college.

  154. I have a girlfriend who I run with a few times a week. I also get together with my college girls once a year. Other friends, a few times a year. Friendships with women are so important to me and are a great source of encouragement.

  155. We get together 2 or 3 times a month (no small children in the picture) and have wonderful sharing and caring times. I’m going to mention an inRL meetup.

  156. My “besties” and I TRY to get together about once a month (when everyone’s kids aren’t sick)! The (in)RL event would be awesome if we could all find a way to pawn our kids off for the day!!!

  157. I don’t get together with girl friends nearly enough. But I love my ladies Bible study group. We meet every Monday night (with breaks during the holidays and over the summer). It is so great to get together and fellowship and learn with such wonderful Christian ladies.

  158. My girlfriends and I get together as often as we can, but it’s not as often as we’d like! We try to do a girls’-night-out once every few months. I think they’d love to do an (in)RL meet-up!!

  159. With just the “girls” in my immediate family, we have at least 5-6 times a year to gather. Then, several times during the year – we started having a girls’ game day with a group. And I attended a bible study for a while that was just girls (expanded for men now.) Throughout the year, I have other get togethers with close friends – who are scattered across the miles. An (in)courage (in)RL meetup would be fun to combine several of these groups! 🙂

  160. We get together every year for at least one football game with our girl and guy friends! I might have some girl friends and family who would be game!

  161. Not as often as I would like. Transitioning back into our home town has proved harder then expected, but I am beginning to build some new and old community.

  162. Not as much as I would like either – my family moved up here while I was in college and it has been a challenge finding friends my age. That is something I truly miss…even more so since my husband stopped coming to church and rarely has anything to do with my family anymore.

  163. My girlfriends and I see each other every Sunday but only get together one or twice a month for purely social activities. I hope they’ll be game for the (in)RL meetup.

  164. Two of my best girl friends came over the scrapbook last night. We *try* to do this every couple of months for a couple hours. Thankfully, several of my closet friends also stay at home with kids so we have kid-friendly playdates

  165. I don’t get to get together with my girlfriends like I used to. I have only lived back in my area for about a year, and I haven’t really connected or re-connected with people like I would have hoped to. I am hoping to be able to get some people together for (in)RL.

  166. Unfortunately I only get together with a girlfriend from time to time! I would love to have a more regular plan to meet with my friends for the fellowship prayer and support!! Currently I am separated and being a single mom to my two beautiful daughters and could use the girl time!

  167. I don’t get together with my friends often enough and usually it’s over a kids event for some reason. 🙁 My best friend moved an hour and a half away and I haven’t seen her in a month.
    I’m thankful for our Mom’s Bible study that at least meets weekly. 🙂

  168. Not often enough…I would say probably once every other month for a coffee date. I would love it if we got together for IRL

  169. Most of my “girl” time comes in the course of visiting with friends while the kids are doing home school co-op classes or working alongside friends at church activities. Life is so busy that I rarely have a special time set aside to just hang out. Most of my friends are in the same boat.

  170. I get with my girlfriends every Wednesday evening for a Beth Moore Bible Study. We’ve been doing this for sometime now and it is so valuable for us over here (we live in a country that is very resistant to Christianity). The husbands are on kid duty and they recognize the value for everyone if they do this for us. I’m sure that some of my friends would be up for this retreat; however, due to internet issues and the time difference, not sure how that would work.

  171. Well, I have my Christian girlfriends – and we currently meet once a fortnight for Bible Study, but with so many kidlets between us, and two of us are single moms, “just hanging out” is near impossible. Most of my other girlfriends I hang out with on FaceBook (those scattered all over the continent and the globe for that matter), and sometimes I can get together with one or two gals for coffee – but not nearly often enough! Childcare is the biggest obstacle to meeting in (RL).

  172. I get together with girl friends maybe every two or three months? I doubt they’d be up for an (in)RL life meet-up… we are all so busy with our little ones as it is!

  173. My girlfriends live 2 hours north or five hours south but we connect and share through email and facebook… we review devotions and share our comments together… keeps us close!

  174. I have one friend that I see weekly. The others and I get together every 5-6 wks…we need to up it. I’m not sure if they’d be interested in a inRL meet up…but it’s worth giving it a shot. Ill check into it. Thanks incourage.

  175. I did set up an account to organize a meetup during the conference next year… but so far no luck. I guess to people it seems funny to do a internet retreat while they can go to a ‘real’ one. Plus I come from such a tiny country, lots of unbelievers, it’s hard to make happen.

  176. In this season of my life, it is not as often as I would like. We all have little ones and it’s hard to have everyone healthy at the same time. I do see some at church, but having them over is becoming a rarity. Hopefully that will change!

  177. I try to get together with at least one friend once a week at least! Right now it might be hard to get together with everyone for an (In)RL Meetup though. Thanks for the chance! Merry Christmas!

  178. I do get to see and at least quickly speak to most of my friends at church weekly, but as far as getting together for relaxation or fun, a few times a year would be an accomplishment as mothers of young children. I would honestly be surprised if many of us could make a meetup happen. Someday this will change, but for now I will just cherish the moments I have.

  179. I get together with my girlfriends often. Whether it is for coffee, playdates with our kids or book club, I am with friends intentionally at least a few times a month (if not once a week or more). My girlfriends aren’t much into the online world of blogging. I guess I haven’t even considered asking any of them about the (in)Real meetup. I’ll think about it!

  180. I get together at least once a month with a friend or friends and I think and inRL meet up would be great! =)

  181. Me time with girlfriends is so rare! Due to our schedules in life it doesn’t allow much room for mom. I know this is a season and I just try and hang on 🙂

  182. My girlfriends and I don’t get together often enough.
    Seems like life just takes over.
    As for a (in)RL Meetup, I don’t know.
    Sure sounds like it would be fun!

  183. I get together with the ladies from my MOPS group every other week. I think they would totally be game for one more reason to get together!!

  184. I don’t have “girlfriends” that I hang out with–being chronically ill prevents that. My husband and I are part of a small group of people from our church that meets once a month for a potluck, conversation and Bible study.

  185. I don’t get together nearly enough with my girlfriends, but I know I should. I think the {in}rl meetup would be excellent and they would really enjoy it.

  186. I would love to get together with a group of my friends from church. Maybe I’ll ask my Women of Faith group of gals (the ones who go with me to WOF each year) to join me.

  187. I have a group of girlfirends that tries to get together for diiner or some kind of outing at least every other month. I am sure that my girlfriends would love to get together for an in courage meetup.

    koinonia572001@yahoo.com

  188. I get together with at least one of my girl friends each week, over lunch or coffee, or like tomorrow, a craft night 🙂 I couldn’t live without it!

  189. I don’t get to hang out with my girlfriends enough. However, I do get together with my very best friend every Tuesday. 🙂

  190. Not enough!! Between schedules and schooling my girl friends seem to get pushed to the back burner. Trying to change that this year!

  191. I get together monthly with a group of women from a church my husband used to go to. We all look forward to seeing one another. I think they would be game for just about anything fun!

  192. Once a month. More in summer. Not sure they would want to meet up on incourage, but I can ask!

  193. We try and get together at least once a month, but that rarely works out for the whole bunch, so my best guess is that twice a year the whole group manages to make our schedules gel.

  194. Well it’s not often that we get together without our children being home schooling Mums, but we do get together each month at least ( we live quite a distance away). My other friends here I don’t often get together with unless it’s at a church or sport or community thing ( I see them a few times a week 🙂 )
    I’d have to ask about the (in)courage link up~ sounds like fun though!

  195. I usually get together with a girlfriend at least one a month, sometimes every other week! I need girl time 🙂

  196. maybe twice a month, always with the kids though, not usually just girl time! : ) but thats OK with me!! We still have sweet fellowship

  197. I don’t really have many girlfriends to hang with. Never have. Something I’ve always been kind of ‘jealous’ of. I’ve been developing some new friendships from our church LifeGroup lately, but it’s taking time. And we haven’t been able to get together for ‘girl stuff’ very much so far. But hoping to develop something more regular!

  198. I don’t have any girlfriends that I do “girls night out with” or “coffee time with”. Its just me…so it will only be me when I sign up. At least I can hangout out in my PJ’s & have coffee with you all.
    nicolepipkin{AT}gmail{DOT}com

  199. There are 8 of us who get together for each other’s birthdays regularly, but I would love to have us all get together for the (in)courage (in) RL meetup. I think they would LOVE IT!!!

  200. My girlfriends and i need to hang out together more often, its hard to do that with small kids. but when we do get together its always fun to catch up on what is going on in each others lives. We also stay in touch by email/skype and share our prayer request.

  201. i try to visit my girlfriend a few times a week….but i do not think they would want to go to a conference…..PLEASE PRAY

  202. We get together for prayer every week. We get together for a girls night out probably once every two months or so.

  203. It’s tough to get the girls together these days, what with most of them off at school or moving away for work, but we text and email and call as frequently as we can manage. I do get to see a few friends weekly, as we volunteer with the same Christian Performing Arts group for teens, and that always makes for greats laughs and heart-to-hearts. I think we’d all be game for an (in)RL meet up!

  204. Oh! I don’t get together with girlfriends very often all but I would love to. And YES I’m totally up for an (in)courage get together! 🙂

  205. My friends are in another state! So… I don’t get to see them often enough, If they were here with me, or I was there with them, they would TOTALLY be up for an (in)courage (in)RL meetup!!

  206. I get together with my girlfriends once in awhile and maybe if we knew more about it, we would be interested.

  207. We rarely get together anymore. Need to plan something soon. Would love to hear more about the incourage meet up.

  208. My closest girlfriends live 8 hours away…so my bff and I get together at least 2 times a year..but I don’t see the others barely at all. No really close friends where I live ;(

  209. I get together with my girl friends about once a week individually, but all together about once a month and I KNOW they would want to do an Incourage Meetup!

  210. I try to get together with just the girls at least once a week. I am part of a knitting group that gets together every Monday evening. I really enjoy that evening and feel lucky to be able to go! My hubby stays home with the 4 kids so I can do it!!

    A RL inCourage meet up would be fun!!

  211. The ladies (6 including me) in my reunion group meet once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. I know they would love the opportunity to have an inRL meet up!

  212. We don’t get together nearly enough, a couple of times a month but I know they would be up for (in)courage (in)RL Meetup.

  213. I moved away from my besties due to my husbands job, so I am only able to see them 2-3 times a year now. : ( Thank goodness for Facebook! We always have the best time together and they incourage me so much. I wish we could see each other more often.

  214. Outside of family, I don’t have many close friends. I do get together with my sister about once every 3 months for a girls day out. I think she would be be game for an (in)courage (in)RL Meetup.

  215. This year I’m living in Spain, following my husband as he plays professional basketball. I miss my girlfriends! We stay in touch through E-mail, and I’m looking forward to more intentional get togethers since I will only be in the states on specific dates!

  216. My girlfriends and I get together once a month. We each take a turn planning our monthly Moms Night Out event!

  217. My friends and i get together often to share our lives, laugh, pray and share the stories and our faith. I am SO blessed to be able to spend precious moments with these I love as family, sharing the Joy of the Lord and asking together “why?”. So many times we just begin to pray words of thanksgiving instead of worry and it is because of them I am able to see God beyond life. They are my sisters truly.

  218. I’m pretty reclusive, so I don’t get together with friends as often as I should..We check in with each other thru email, skype and of course, facebook.

  219. We have a lovely circle of girlfriends. Every year, during the fall,
    we go on a girlfriend’s weekend at a lake home…
    It is so cathartic to spend the time together laughing until
    we cry and listening to one another. That is how I know
    all of us would be up for a (in) RL Meetup!
    Cindi

  220. I am 74 and only get with girlfriends twice a year. Of course I am with one or the other practically every week somewhere. We graduated in l955 and sometimes it is hard for us to all get in town, but FB is always there for us and FB was where I heard about incourage from an FB girlfriend. Got to meet her this summer for brunch as she passed through Kansas on her way to Montana. No matter where you are or where you live, a life in Christ is the part that holds all the mosaic pieces together.

  221. I wish I had some new girlfriends in my area. We moved about a year ago, and it is difficult to connect with Christian women around my age in small-town Wisconsin. I would love to go on a IRL meetup to gain some much-needed girly fellowship!

  222. We recently moved half-way across the country, so no get togethers for me right now… praying to meet some great new friends!

  223. I try to get together with my girlfriends ever few weeks but it’s hard having kids & everything that life entails. I think we would all love (in)RL meeting.

    I like Dayspring on Twitter.

  224. About once/week. Some of them would be game of an IRL meeting… others don’t know the Lord and I am not sure what they would think. But I would love to invite them!!

  225. i’ve got an accountability group that meets twice a month and a larger group of girlfriends that meets once a month for dinner.

  226. ok I am going to admit…..no real girlfriends to get together with….that is why I am so looking forward to hosting irl so I can invite girls I know but not well, women from church, kids friends moms, family…..I need some irl friend!

  227. Not often enough, but the past several months, we’ve made it monthly — not just the girls though!! I tihnk they would be interested in a meet up!

  228. I rarely get together with girlfriends in real life. My local friends are like myself, very busy- all being Autism moms. And many of my friends live too far away!

  229. We try to get together once a month to just chat and catch up. All of us are in a hard stage of life right now, so it is more phone conversations more than anything. One of us has a sick/dying mom she is taking care, another is pregnant with twins, and the other has recently started a new job.

  230. I get together with my girlfriends at least every six weeks and I think they would love to atend a meetup.

  231. We have recently moved to my husband’s old community, and I have been meeting with other women more in the few months we’ve been here than in the five years we lived in our last community! I already know of a few ladies who are coming, so am very excited to open my home!

  232. I don’t get with my girlfriends very often but I do think it would be something a couple of them might love.

  233. I need to get connected with my girlfriends more often. I do enjoy connecting on facebook though! 🙂

  234. We try to do breakfast once a week…while older kids are in school and younger ones can play together. We often have to reschedule but whenever we manage to make it work–it is a wonderful thing!!!

  235. I get together (almost) weekly with girlfriends for our Women’s Bible Study. But I don’t think they’re up for an {in}RL meetup.

  236. i really need to make a better effort to conncect up with my girl friends. I do talk to several fairly often on facebook and saw some at a recent reunion. But i do miss getting together with friends. Life is so busy, but that is no excuse!! Maybe a {in} RL meeting in the future?

  237. I don’t get together with them often enough. I would love to see them once a week though. I do plan events like Christian conferences and concerts. We do at least three of these a year. Already have the first weekend away for 2012! I love my time with them. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I work every other weekend when they are all off. I know they’d be up for a inRL get together for sure!!