When we got together ten years ago, we never imagined we would be here—creating a website and blogging on it! Did they even have blogging ten years ago? This is what God can do with a little time devoted to Him each day and a strong commitment to keep meeting every week. God did this and we are so excited to be able to connect with you. God has used the Yada experience so amazingly in our lives that we want you to have it too.
Our first lunch was a simple one, yet important. What made our time together so special that day was that we all got really real. Have you ever had a time like that—a time where you left feeling heard and loved no matter what you shared? We wanted to meet again. We knew sharing on this deep level was missing in our lives. So we met again. And, we met again. Today we are still meeting.
We all had issues (still do, actually), so when we began meeting we worked through “12 Steps-A Spiritual Journey.” We were not alcoholics or addicts but we had marriage, food, anxiety, people issues . . . in other words, lots of idols. This study helped us to learn to listen to God and each other’s story. Each story was what it was, and we were not there to fix it. There was no cross-talking allowed, which means we listened without interruption. That is one of the greatest tools we encourage in YadaFactor and it continues to be a staple in our sharing.
After meeting for over a year and finishing this study, we just had to keep meeting, and eventually it evolved into Yada. We were reading, writing, and sharing for four-and-a-half years before we realized there was something special happening and we had it captured on paper. We would walk out of the local café where we met and wonder “what just happened?” Our sharing time together moved from one hour a week to two hours. It became the most important scheduled event of our week and is even more so today.
When we “yada’d” we were really experiencing God and His Word. Yada is not a feeling, although, we had those. Yada is knowing God one day at a time and holding onto what we know. The truth of God’s Word was so relevant and real when we were willing to be real and transparent.
We named our group Yada Sisters after our first invitation to share at a women’s Bible study in Colorado. From there, we continued to share what we were learning with our friends and family. We have done workshops at our own local churches, and God is continuing to expand Yada, which brings us back to you.
This website is new territory with one constant: to know God and others intimately. The heart behind this YadaFactor website is that you come along with us on this extraordinary journey. It’s been said that God’s Story is “epic.” We get to be a part of that story every day. God invites us to join Him in His story. Yada is one way to do that. Come, let’s walk together following JESUS.
