December 27, 2024

Crazy Love: Chapter 9 Weekly Review – “Who Really Lives that Way?”

March 8, 2013 by

WOW!!!! Week 9 of this study has come to a close, and it was a good one.

On Monday, you and I met Nathan Barlow, Simpson Rebbavarapu and Jamie Lang. I also asked you to be a little introspective on Monday and begin to write your story as we learned about these incredible lives for Christ! Then, on Tuesday, Martha introduced us to Marva J. Dawn, Rich Mullins, Rings, and Rachael Saint…as well as a few souls who have impacted her life personally. Jennifer talked about transformer toys on Wednesday and asked us to look at the lives that God has so divinely placed around us and see how we can best impact them for His glory. On Thursday, Donna introduced us to a few more of Chan’s friends and his church as we looked at more lives who are living out God’s will in this earth.

Please take a few minutes to watch this brief video from Francis Chan about this chapter. We only have one more chapter left after this week…let’s finish strong!

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Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, we thank You for all of the wonderful examples of lives furthering Your Kingdom on our earth. Use them to stir a deep passion within us to follow in their footsteps in our own unique way as only we can. Bind up any fear or insecurity that might be holding us back and give us Your supernatural strength to be our best for Your glory! We thank You for Your mighty provision, Father! Help us strengthen each other and propel each other forward as me take this bold step for Your Kingdom!  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen. <3

 

Your Assignment:

Who do you look up to? Name some people you look up to as Christians. Then, think about your own life; what type of legacy will you leave behind?  What will you be known for? What do you believe God created you to do on this earth?

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GWS

Our Next Women’s Online Bible Study

Begins March 24th!

CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE TO SIGN UP TODAY!

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If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.

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Captivating: Chapter 9 – “Loving Fallen Men” – “Good Men That Do Not Belong To You” (pp 161-167)

March 7, 2013 by

Wow, ladies…I have to say, this section of the chapter really hit close to home in many ways.  And to be honest, part of me started to balk as I was reading this.  “I can’t write about that!  I can’t talk about that!”  or  “I don’t know what to say!”  Of course, I know this is a ploy of the enemy to try to get me to shy away from a difficult topic, so here I humbly sit writing this post for me, as much as every reader out there.  I pray you are blessed.

You Will Find Me

Seek me with all your heart.  How many of us long to have a man who is willing to do just that?  Exactly what does that look like?  And how do we cultivate that in our relationships? This is no easy question.  I believe that we have to walk a delicate line when we are attracted to a man.  In the book John and Stasi state, “Don’t offer everything, but don’t offer nothing.”  How do we know what is too much…not enough?  This is something we cannot do on our own.  This is when we must lean into the arms of Jesus and seek His guidance. Fervently pray for discernment and wisdom when entering into any relationship.

We also need to remember that “don’t offer everything” not only includes the physical, but also the emotional.  I have had some trials in my life, like most of us, and in the past I have found myself spewing forth every detail of my past to someone who, in reality, I barely knew. We have to realize that this isn’t necessary; as with anything else, the reveal should be slow and based on increased intimacy with a man.  When we find ourselves sharing so much so soon, we also have to look at our motivations for doing it.  Are we longing for intimacy so much that we are forcing the issue?  Are we sharing every skeleton in our closet to scare any potential mate away?  Or are we just not using good judgement?

We deserve to be valued, and not every man deserves all of us ladies.  Guard your treasures—physical, emotional, and spiritual—to share with the man the Lord provides.  We cannot avoid this challenge in our journey but, when we trust in our Lord and seek His guidance completely and fully,  the results will all be worth it.  Remember the words in Matthew 6:33 (NLT) – “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.”

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LET’S PRAY:

Father, I ask You to guide us.  You know this journey isn’t an easy one.  It can be so hard to know how much is too much when we delve into the world of dating.  We pray that we always keep You first, because then all that follows will be pure.  Guard our hearts, mind our tongues, and keep us close as we learn to discern Your voice in the chaos.  Thank You for loving us with a love like no other.  In Your Heavenly Name we pray.  Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

In which aspect do you find it hardest to find the balance between “not enough” and “too much?”  Is it spiritual?  Physical?  Emotional?  In what ways do you turn to God for guidance?

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GWS

Our next online Bible study begins March 24th!

Click on the picture to sign up TODAY!! 

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 If you would like to send Michelle a private email in regards to this blog post, you may email her at:  Michelle@GirlfriendsCoffeeHour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 9 – “Who Really Lives That Way” (pp 161-164)

March 7, 2013 by

The people Francis Chan highlighted in this part of our chapter are such an inspiration to me!

The Robynson Family: Giving their Christmas morning to the homeless with a cup of hot coffee and pancakes, teaching their children while they are young to offer  themselves the way Christ did for us.

 

Susan Diego: Telling God she would do anything He asked her to, then putting  into practice that promise. Helping students, teaching young mothers, starting a school, and opening her home to people of all walks of life. Even doing the one thing she hoped He wouldn’t ask her to do: speaking in public.

 

Lucy: Leaving a life of prostitution and drugs when she met Christ and gave her life to Him. Now she is opening her home (on the same streets she was on) to other young women caught in drugs and prostitution. She shares Christ with anyone in need.

 

Cornerstone Community Church: Giving away 50% of their budget, “loving their neighbors as themselves.”  Also building an outdoor amphitheater to hold services and reach people for Christ.

These examples encourage me, and I hope they do you as well. They are average people like us, who use the talents God has given them to spread the Gospel. I want to do that! Even in my own little world I hope I do that. I pray I can be half the woman of Christ that these examples are! It’s something to strive for, and I can achieve, with the help of my Father.

In Christ,

Donna

 

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Let’s Pray:

Father, thank You for the inspiration that these examples of Your love give us. I pray You will give each woman who reads this blog opportunities to be like the examples here and spread Your truth to the world around us. Helps us to also recognize those opportunities when they come and give us Your words to speak.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Your Assignment:

Can you think of some opportunities in your life that you could share the love of Christ in your part of the world and encourage someone else? Let’s name them and pray that we take advantage of those times.

 

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GWS

Our next online Bible study begins March 24th!

Click on the picture to sign up TODAY!!  

 

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Captivating: Chapter 9 – “How Does a Woman Love A Man?” – “The Holy Scandalous Women Of The Bible”

March 5, 2013 by

Throughout my life I have heard that there are many ways to a man’s heart, many ways to make a man happy. Sex and food being the main two theories or methods, tools, feeding his favorite hobby, or being submissive. I’m sure if a survey were taken it would be found that there are as many answers as there are people polled, and that the answers differ greatly between men and women.

“Femininity is what arouses his masculinity. His strength is what makes a woman yearn to be beautiful.”

”The beauty of a woman is what arouses the strength of a man.” 

The first thought that popped into my head was “hmmm….” But it makes sense, there are many other complimentary relationships in life, this just happens to be a very important one, past the peanut butter to my jelly, past the ink to my printer, it is about a man to his woman and a woman to her man, strength to beauty and beauty to strength.

But what if I’m single. What does that mean for me?

What I write next applies to all women. Before God sends our husband, and even after God has blessed us with the man we are to marry, we need to make Him Number One in our life. The strength of God is what makes us beautiful. The hand of God in our life is what prepares us for life, it’s what teaches us how to be beautiful, it’s what teaches us how to be good women. It’s been said before that a man doesn’t complete us, God completes us. Yes, a man’s strength is what makes a woman yearn to be beautiful, but until that man comes along, and even after he has been placed in our lives, the Number One man needs to be God.

The strongest women in the Bible displayed courage, cunning, and stunning vulnerability.  When we display these characteristics in our relationship with God it will only allow His strength to shine through more.  When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to Him, then our beauty will shine through more.

 

With Love,

Tonya

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Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord,

Beauty is a word strived for by all women, beauty is also one of the things in life that seems impossible to feel at times. But when we allow Your strength to take hold of our life that beauty shines bright; when we are vulnerable to You, Lord, our beauty is magnified because of Your strength. Please prepare us for our husbands by teaching us how to let masculinity and strength shine through because when this takes place our beauty does the same.  In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

Your Assignment:

 “Femininity is what arouses his masculinity. His strength is what makes a woman yearn to be beautiful”…”The beauty of a woman is what arouses the strength of a man.”   

What does this mean to you? Or what else stood out to you? Share your thoughts; they may bless someone more than you know.

 

GWS_Slider1

Our next Online Bible Study

“Girls with Swords” by Lisa Bevere begins March 24th.  

To join us for this amazing study, click on the picture above!

Once we receive your registration, we will email you further details!

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 If you are interested in sending a private message to Tonya, please email her at TonyaEllison@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 9 – “Who Really Lives That Way?” (pp 149-153)

March 4, 2013 by

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

~ 1 Corinthians 11:1

I have attempted 3 times to write this blog post to no avail and then BAM…in my quiet time this morning God showed me why.

YOU were meant to write this blog post, not me, dear sisters!  In today’s reading, Chan gave us 3 stunning examples of people on this earth who truly embody this life that God commands us to live—crazy in love and obsessed with Him. It’s not just about adoration, my friends, it’s about walking your love out in your life in every way possible…no matter what the costs.

We met Nathan Barlow, Simpson Rebbavarapu and Jamie Lang today. The rest of this week, you will continue to meet others like them. I pray they all have a huge impact on YOUR story!

How will you write today’s blog post? Well, I think it’s safe to say that most of us are not yet living up to the character God intends us to have to land ourselves as one of the names in this chapter. Please do not let that discourage you! What I would like you to do TODAY is to write out YOU as one of these people…. Write out your future, changed to be living out this divine life God intends. Write your story how it WILL be. CLAIM it here today with all of us as witness!!!! May God get all the glory!

Revelation 3:1, 2

…you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.  Wake up!

Strengthen what remains and is about to die,

for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes.

They will walk with me, dressed in white,for they are worthy.

The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white.

I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life,

but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.

This is my song for us today:

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Let’s Pray:

God, give us strength and courage to go against this world and live the life YOU have so divinely created us for.  Speak into our spirits today as we write our story of who we are to be—how we are going to take our crazy, obsessed love for You and walk that out in our lives to further Your Kingdom. Thank You for this provision, Father.  Help us to hold each other accountable and spur each other on to be our very best. May You get all the glory! Amen <3

Your Assignment:

Write  YOUR story today. If you feel led, post it as a comment below. If not, keep it in your Bible and pray over it daily. Claim this victory for God’s Kingdom as you begin to walk this new, narrow path for Him.

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If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Captivating: Chapter 9 – “Arousing Adam” (Reading Assignment)

March 3, 2013 by

Happy Sabbath Ladies!

This week we will be delving into Chapter 9, Arousing Adam.  This chapter talks about how men’s wounds sometimes cause them to become passive or overly driven and what women should do to encourage men to become the type of men God intends them to be.

Here are our reading assignments for the week:

Monday: Jackie – Arousing Adam – Standing in Love’s Way

Tuesday: Tonya – How Does a Woman Love a Man – The Holy Scandalous Women of the Bible

Wednesday: Carissa – Emasculating Women – Arousing Women

Thursday: Michelle – Loving Fallen Men – Good Men That Do Not Belong to You

Friday: Jackie – Weekly Review

LET’S PRAY

Lord, I ask for Your blessing upon each and every woman in this study.  You know their hearts even better than they do.  Through this study, through this book, and especially through your Word speak to them.  Give them what they need to hear and give them the clarity to recognize it even when it isn’t easy.

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Crazy Love: Chapter 8 Review – “Profile of the Obsessed”

March 1, 2013 by

My friends…. Week 8 is coming to a close, and this chapter has been necessary to complete our Crazy Love journey. This chapter was all about what it looks like to really be obsessed with God.

On Monday, you and I discussed being a lover and a risk taker in our faith. Martha had a wonderful blog post for us on Tuesday where she explored with us about being friends of all, crazy ones, and being the humble. On Wednesday, Jennifer had us consider ourselves as servers, givers, sojourners, and the engrossed. On Thursday, Donna shared with us about being unguarded ones, the rooted, the dedicated, and ones who sacrifice for God.

We were all forced to take a hard look at ourselves and see our lives through God-lenses as to how we are truly living out our faith and what it shows our culture about our Crazy Love for Jesus. What is your profile? Are you lukewarm…or are you OBSESSED?

Please take a few minutes and watch this video from Francis Chan:

http://youtu.be/VidzmquOi60

Since when does our culture dictate what we do and don’t do?

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Your Assignment:

It’s time to ask yourself “Why not?” What makes it so that we can/cannot live today the way they did in the early church…obsessed with God? Why wouldn’t we do this?

To live out biblical christianity in the biblical church is a very difficult thing. How is this an issue of trust?

How badly do you want this mission and are you going to live this way? Are you ready to make this commitment?

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Let’s Pray:

Dear Lord, I pray that You break our hearts in this area and I know it much break Yours. As we seek You today, help us see what You want us to see in how we are letting the world get in the way with living obsessed with You. Show us step by step what You need from us in this area and give us a boldness to live freely crazy in love with You with all of our actions and interactions. We love You and thank You for all You will work within us. Thank You for the message of this chapter and may it forever change us. Amen <3 

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If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Captivating: Chapter 8 – Letting Our Hearts Be Deepened – Faith, Hope and Love (pp 144-149)

February 28, 2013 by

Deepening our hearts sounds like a no-brainer, right?  Who wouldn’t want to deepen our hearts, grow closer to God, enhance our relationships?  Well, when we find out the method He uses to do the actual deepening, we may be a little more hesitant.

To possess true beauty we must be willing to suffer.  Wait…what?  Yes, ladies, that is scary and makes me want to run too, but we must be willing to suffer.  “Why?” you ask?  Well, the better question is “Why not?”  As our authors state, “If Christ Himself was perfected through His sufferings, why would I believe God would not want to do the same with me?” Sometimes God leaves us in the painful places.  Not because He doesn’t love us, but because He does love us. His main purpose is not to make us happy, but to grow and restore us in an eternal weight of glory.  Cultivating this beauty will likely require waiting and tenacity.  It is in this time of waiting when we turn to our relationship with the Lord.

During the wait we must not sit idle.  Along with spending time with God, we need to be kind and gentle with ourselves.  We need to feed on beauty. We need to laugh, rest, refresh.  As women, we tend to put everyone else before ourselves, and we need to stop that.  We are important, and we need to start treating ourselves as such.

Unveiling our Beauty

 

Unveiling our beauty is not just a simple matter of putting on a nice outfit and some makeup.  It is hard, and it takes work, but ladies…the results are SO worth it!  Remember:  unveiling our beauty is our greatest expression of faith because we have to completely trust Jesus.

Unveiling our beauty is our greatest expression of hope, because we put our hope in our growing beauty through our relationship with Jesus.

Unveiling beauty is our greatest expression of love, because we are able to love like Jesus, with a sincere, inviting love.

Faith. Hope. Love.

Be blessed, sisters. Never forget how beautiful and loved you are!

 

LET’S PRAY:

Lord, I ask You to come along side of us.  We know You love us, and sometimes love means pain.  We trust that with these struggles comes a life more amazing than we can ever imagine.  Give us the grace needed to turn to You when we are unsure or feel as if we are faltering.  Help us remember to pamper ourselves because we deserve to.  We want to live confidently and fearlessly under Your guardianship.  Thank You for always being by our side.  In Your Holy Name we pray.  Amen.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

What are some of the ways you pamper yourself, or take some “me” time?  If you had one day to do whatever you wanted to, what would you do?  Let’s share!

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Captivating: Beauty Flows From a Heart at Rest – Beauty is Inviting (pp 132-138)

February 26, 2013 by

When I read the description of the two women, I saw a lot of what I am in Janet and a lot of what I wanted to be in June.

Despite our various personality traits or where we may feel in our lives, despite how we feel about our journey, or how successful we feel we have been on this journey, it is reassuring to know that we are beautiful. In every woman lies a God-given beauty. A beauty that we hide through our striving to be what we feel we should be, a beauty that we hide after hurts in life have caused us to question this beauty.

“Beauty indwells every woman…So the choice a woman makes is not to conjure beauty, but to let her defenses down.” 

Right there, that’s the key—our defenses. The book describes these defenses as our normal means of survival. We set up these defenses around our hearts and minds and keep others out, while at the same time keeping ourselves in. These defenses stop us from being who God designed us to be. But how do we let our defenses down…how do we embrace this God-given beauty?

Rest. What is rest, and most importantly, what is a heart at rest. In today’s busy world, rest is not a word we hear very often. But rest doesn’t mean an opportunity to relax in a quiet room without interruption from others. In this sense, rest means the opportunity to be who God created us to be without striving to be what we think we should be, without having to hide who we are. “That the more His we become, the more ourselves we become; more our true selves.”

I always try to find a line or two in each section that speaks to my heart. In these sections it was the following two lines:

“You are free to be you, it’s one of life greatest gifts.”

Despite what life and others may say, I know deep down that God created me for a reason, He created all of us for a reason.  He knew what character traits we would have, and He placed them in us for a purpose. Through Him and His love we can all embrace who we are, and open our hearts to rest.

 

Cap_Ch8_TonyaE

We do not have to be a ‘June’ to be at rest, or to have an inviting heart towards others. Like so many other discussions we’ve had, we need to simply let God in, let Him in to heal us as we walk in faith. Let our true selves come out as He shows us just how beautiful we are. Let Him in to show us the reality of 1 Peter 3:3, 4

 1 Peter 3:3 and 4

3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

We need only to put our defenses down to let Him show us that we are inwardly beautiful.

Zephaniah 3:17

17 The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

He will quiet us with His love. He will lower our defenses with His love. He will allow our hearts to rest with His love. And He will make our hearts inviting with His love.

With Love,

Tonya

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Let’s Pray:

Rest, open, inviting, these are words that may not resonate with us, Lord, for we do not always see the beauty that You have placed in our lives and in our hearts. Our defenses and strongholds that we have created to protect us are stopping us from being the women You created us to be. Lord, please break our strongholds and help us to bring down our defenses through Your love. Thank You for Your love; a love that quiets, a love that heals, a love that allows us to see our true beauty through Your eyes.

In Jesus’ Name, we pray, Amen.

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Your Assignment:

We so often overlook our beauty because in our eyes our flaws stop us from seeing it. Today we are all going to post a trait that makes us unique, that makes us who we are. God has placed so many beautiful characteristics in each one of us. “We are free to be us. It is one of life’s greatest gifts.”

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 If you are interested in sending a private message to Tonya, please email her at TonyaEllison@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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Crazy Love: Chapter 8 – “Profile of the Obsessed” Lovers – Risk Takers (pp 129-133/ Kindle LOC 1673-1724)

February 25, 2013 by

obsessedwithjesus

Does this describe you? Are you a LOVER?

Now…when God prompts me to give, I give freely, I really do. But how open am I to giving without prompting?

This reminds me of a time in my life when God prompted me to do a very kind, loving, and selfless act to someone who I held much unforgiveness in my heart for. This person had hurt my family and my children for a long time.  But when God prompted me to extend kindness to them, I knew it was the right thing to do; but I also knew I would be unable to do it without His help and guidance.

Have you ever been in this position? How did it turn out for you? For me, I completely gave the situation over to God, and He totally showed off in every way! It did not turn out how I ever imagined it would, but He certainly knew exactly what He was doing, and it was 100% the right thing to do. He is so good!

However, I know I would not have come up with doing this on my own. I had shown this person kindness in the past in other ways, but in ways that were far less extraordinary and disruptive to my life. Reading this part of the chapter really made me stop and think about how foolish this is if I am truly living with a Crazy Love for our Heavenly Father.

“People who are obsessed with Jesus aren’t consumed with their personal safety and comfort above all else. Obsessed people care more about God’s kingdom coming to this earth than their own lives being shielded from pain or distress.”

Are you a RISK TAKER? I know I have been known to pray before trips for God to protect my family and keep us safe. But is that the best prayer? Chan suggests in this section that what we ought to be praying something more like this: “God, bring me closer to You during this trip, whatever it takes….”

Would that be hard for you to pray? I must admit, I love it.

It is what my heart believes…truly, it is. Whatever it takes, in whatever I do, I want to become a more fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ and become closer to Him…. Safety would be nice to have, but really, that is not necessary if it is not God’s will. What is there to be afraid of, really?  If we truly trust God to provide and we trust His perfect plan and provision for our lives, then this prayer certainly is most appropriate.

Blessings,

Megan 🙂

Let’s Pray:

God, we want to be obsessed with You in every way. We want every person who interacts with us to not just think we are “nice” but that we are crazy and madly in love with YOU!!! Help us be rid of any mistrust or unbelief we might be carrying and become more fully passionate and devoted to You. We love You, Lord, and we thank You for opening our eyes and hearts to Your Truth! In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.  <3

Your Assignment:

What aspects about your faith need to change in order for you to be a lover and risk taker as you strive to be fully obsessed with loving our God? Please share with us below 🙂

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If you would like to email a private message to Megan in regards to this blog, please email her at: megan@girlfriendscoffeehour.com

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