We are so blessed by you. Do you know that? By the comments you share here on the blog, the way you interact with our posts on Facebook and Instagram, and in the stories you share with us about you and your friends. We regularly hear beautiful stories of friendship.

Stories about reconciliation and grace. Of lattes and laughter. Of support through cancer and loss, of welcoming new babies, of enduring financial hardships. You’ve told us about the ways reading Craving Connection and being a part of the Never Unfriended sweatpants book club have blessed your lives and friendships, and about the women of all ages gathering in your churches and homes to read these books. About the bravery you’ve borrowed from reading those pages, leading you to reconnect with old friends and let go of destructive ‘friendships’. About the ways you’ve been blessed by friendships, and the ways you’ve been burned, and the ways you’ve bravely decided friendship is worth the fight.

You’ve shared your stories with us, and now we want to share those stories with the world.

You know we’re getting together this October for the (in)real life FRIENDED event, both live in Nashville and via simulcast all over the world. You know we’ve got these amazing books about friendship, and that what we share on social media goes way beyond ‘likes’ and ‘hearts’. There’s plenty more fun coming down the pike too, and we want your stories of friendship to be a part of it all!

So here’s what we’d love: To hear your stories on video! Nothing fancy, practiced or rehearsed — show up makeup-less and in your sweatpants, the real you. That’s who we love and want to hear from. Just grab your camera phone and hit record. Tell us about a meaningful friendship that:

• Has helped you through a hard time. Why did her friendship mean so much to you? How did she show you love?
• Has been recently rekindled. What did it take to start over?
• Was hard at the beginning but grew to a treasure. What made the difference?
• Is long-distance. How do you make it work?
• Began when you moved to a new location. How did that friendship begin?

The ideal video length would be about 90 seconds. And if you live near your friend, invite her to be a part of your video. We would LOVE to see you sharing your story together, in real life! And that’s the whole point. We’ve gotten to hear such wonderful stories about your real-life friendships, and that’s what (in)real life FRIENDED is all about. Friendship in — and for — real life.

To recap:

1. Think of your best friendship story. Use our prompts above to help you choose just the right one.
2. Grab your phone and take a 90-second video of you sharing your story.
3. Upload it here.*
4. Send an email to socialmedia@incourage.me with your name and the title of your video (so we can let you know if we’re able use it).

In thanks for sharing your video with us, we would love to send you a FREE ticket to the (in)real life FRIENDED simulcast! Because after talking about your besties, we know you’ll need to plan a get-together, and (in)RL is the PERFECT girls’ night (or weekend!) And yeah — that free ticket is in addition to the thanks of the thousands of women who will be encouraged by your stories after watching them at (in)RL this fall. So be sure to do each of the steps above so we can both share your video AND give you our thanks with that free ticket!

We can’t WAIT to see your stories in real life!

 

*By sending us your video, you give (in)courage permission to use it in promotional materials and/or on our social media platforms.

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