Most of us are accountable to some type of leadership at work, which is very necessary. But, it is just as important, if not more so, to have some type of peer accountability in our lives.

A couple of years ago Kathy Landis of Mt. Holly Springs United Methodist sent in an idea for a mentoring breakfast that really struck a chord with me. Their group meets on Saturday mornings and the purpose of their group is to "encourage and hold each other accountable to live our lives in a Godly manner."

Here is what they do, in their own words:

We gather every Saturday morning for breakfast at a local restaurant, starting at 7:00 am. The atmosphere is quiet at that time of day. We stay for as long as each woman is able. (Some leave at 8 a.m., some at 9 a.m.) We go over some questions, air our struggles and victories, and offer up suggestions to help one another. We also pray for each other. Our group is made up of five to eleven women from different churches in the area. We have all said we are more aware of what we do during the week because of this group. Everyone is growing in the Lord, we have seen a new boldness in our witnessing to others and we are memorizing more scripture.

I took some questions that are used at a Men's Accountability Breakfast and modified them to suit our group. They are:

We laminated a copy of the questions for each woman to carry with them.

We began the group by advertising in our church bulletin and by word-of-mouth. We stressed that it was not necessary to buy something every time and encourage women to come when their schedule allowed them too. This hour of the morning is too early for some, but works out well for those of us with children. (Dad can be at home with them.)

Sound like a great idea right? But how many of us actually do this?

I honestly believe that we cannot serve to our fullest capacity, that God cannot fully use us, until we are willing to be transparent... until we take off our "church girl super girdles" and share with some trusted friends our struggles and "soft spots." Notice the key words here... trusted friends.

So my challenge to you is to begin to build your trusted friend accountability group. Take pieces from the above idea and modify them to build your own leadership accountability group!

Just do it!

In Him... Robyne Beaubien, Editor

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1. Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
2. Love and Respect by Emmerson Eggerichs
3. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
4. Boundaries in Marriage by Henry Cloud
5. Power of a Praying Wife by Stormi Omartian
6. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
7. Sheet Music by Kevin Leman
8. A Marriage Without Regrets (Book and Study) by Kay Arthur
9. Enhancing Your Marriage (Study) by Judy Rossi
10. For Women Only (Book and Study) by Shaunti Feldhahn

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• Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel
• Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch by Leslie and Lee Strobel
• Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus
• You Can Be Right or You Can Be Married by Brett Williams

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