Acts 2 dinner group

Our first dinner party on our deck!

Some new friends at Redeemer introduced the concept of Acts 2 dinner groups to us, and we were happy to participate in the pilot group.  The idea was that 8 people would get together over a period of 4 months, and each month we would take turns hosting a big dinner.  At each dinner, 2 people (or one couple) would share their stories -- anything they wanted to talk about from their lives and their testimonies of how the Lord had saved them.

This ended up being such a fascinating way to get to know people!  We knew a little bit about everyone else in the group when we started, but now we know a lot.  Plus, it was so inspiring to hear how the Lord had worked the details of each life to draw us close to Him.  There were stories of great redemption, of intense seeking and finding, of surprising redirections, of suffering, and of joy.  We also learned who used to grow pot on his parents' back deck, which couple met at a bar when the man asked the woman for a smoke, which couple was married by Tim Keller, which guy had to propose 3 times to the same woman, who lives in a log cabin and used to live in a house that  was 630 square feet, and who met at Houghton College!

We also got to taste some wonderful food made by some excellent cooks. All in all I couldn't think of better ways to spend a Saturday night!