Raise your hand if you’ve ever connected with someone online and then arranged to meet them in real life. (And I’m mostly thinking of fellow female bloggers here, not internet dating.)
I’m not sure what it is, but I’m so intrigued by stories of people becoming friends online and then meeting face-to-face. I know some of you are thinking, “NO THANK YOU. That would totally freak me out!” But really, you should give it a shot. I’m a living testimony that a solid 70-80% of my online friends were nice and safe when I met them in person.
Oh, I jest.
When we tell people that we stayed with 31 families during our Zoo Adventure and 17 of them were people we’d never met until we showed up at their house, we get a lot of lowered jaws and raised eyebrows. Even Gabe’s brother, Tug, who is a total people person, The Class Clown on Steroids, thinks we’re NUTSO for doing what we did.
But I think it’s awesome. I could go on and on and on (and actually already have) about all the FABULOUS people we’ve met in person after meeting online, but I don’t want to leave anyone out, so I’m not even going to start. All I know is that every single one of those meetings (online AND in real life) had God’s fingerprints all over them. ALL OVER THEM.
I’d love to hear about a friend you met in your computer and then got to hug her neck in real life. And if you have a link to a post you wrote about your experience, do share! And if you’re someone I met here first and in real-life later, pipe up, sweet friend!
p.s. Stay tuned tomorrow for one last chance to get Diapers books at a discount!
Oh i have fabulous friends I’ve met on the computer! One of them is moving to CO as soon as they sell their house and we’ve already told them we want them to stay with us when the come. Isn’t this the exciting part of being a part of the One Body of Christ?
This is the good part of the internet and I say let it spread like wild fire!
I met the Pastor in Matisi, Kenya/Africa…”online” had NO CLUE… no personal contact at all…. a post about the experience / what has happened out of that ? smile…www.unreined.com ….
I hope we get to be those people at some point who meet and discover we are now freaks….
I have only met one bloggy friend in real life and that was MckMama. Oh! I met PW too! But neither of them are really my bloggy friends per say. I have a couple of friends online that I would love to hug someday!
Well I met you of course!! It was fun and I was so worried you’d be bored with us. Well hopefully you weren’t bored with us
We’d let you stay again anytime!!
At first I thought your “ps” said “get diapers at a discount!” and was wondering when you got into that business. Maybe I just have mommy brain….
I haven’t really met too many people from the internet. I have met up with a couple ladies from an online forum to buy or sell things (I’m one of those cloth diapering somewhat AP moms you refer to in Diapers) No lasting relationships but they have always been super nice. I mostly wanted to comment to let you know that I am really enjoying the Diapers book. After reading what your wrote about the in laws in that book I really think you need to get crackin’ on a full length in laws book. I’ll be the first to buy one!
Oh I’ve some great experiences meeting friends from my computer! We flew to Dallas actually to see Melissa (from A Long Way from the Theta House) because wanted to see her ministry . . . they graciously accepted strangers to come stay at their house – and we had a blast!
Total blast
I mentioned one such meeting yesterday…but I’ve gotten to meet a few others via the blog as well…and I’m hoping to meet even more when I go to Atlanta next month for the Beth Moore conference.
Another of my favorite blog meet ups was when I met Lysa TerKeurst…a woman of great faith that I look up to in more ways than one. I was blessed to stay a weekend in her home. God is beyond good.
THE CLASS CLOWN ON STEROIDS – I LOVE IT!!
My first blog meetup was when my family had dinner with Kristin (http://thisiskristin.com) and Brody Harper (http://www.brodyharper.com) and their kids when we were on vacation in Nashville a couple years ago.
It was really fun and they are just as sweet in person as they seemed to be online.
I might have met you on the Zoo Adventure if Waco had a cooler zoo. Not that I’m bitter or anything. Really.
Another cool one was when Mark Lee (guitarist for the band Third Day) invited Jimmy and I to be his guests at their concert in Dallas last year. Got to meet him, his wife and the band.
I joined an online book club started by Angie Smith and have met several women thru the chatroom there. Five of us met up at a Selah concert in February and it was a complete blessing of GOD.
As friends we can laugh together and more importantly pray for each other. It is amazing. We were all the SAME in person as we were online. It has made the friendships that much richer. We hope to meet up again some day soon.
My bestie ever lived in my computer for the longest. Then when I finally was able to hug her precious neck, I knew that my life would truly never be the same.
I’ve met lots and lots of my bloggy buddies…and I LOVE IT. It is such a fascinating dynamic that I don’t know that anyone could understand until they actually do it.
Can’t wait until we no longer live in eachother’s computers…..our day WILL COME!!
You do know Drew and I met online (and it wasn’t through an internet dating sight – in fact, neither of us were looking).
Anywho – I won’t bore you with that story. How about the story of how we came to Columbus?
I used to blog on Xanga. It was where I blogged through college and I loved it. I joined a group on xanga and a girl contacted me. She said her name was Chrissy and that she knew my hubby. They had gone to school together for a year at BBC. She and I began to chat and we became GREAT friends.
A few months later Drew and I had planned a weekend trip to cincinnati to see friends from college and decided we would meet up with Chrissy and Jason here in columbus and stay at their place. The friendship Chrissy and I had formed online only grew stronger after staying with them.
Chrissy is the reason we moved to columbus, well not the only reason, but it was good to have a contact. I had to move down to start a job prior to when Drew could move and our apartment was ready so I stayed with Chrissy and Jason. We ended up moving into the same complex and were just two buildings away from each other.
Now she lives across the street from me, about 2 minutes away.
It’s awesome
I think you my only internet friend that I finally got to meet in person last summer. What a JOY that was! Seriously – SO FUN!! I’m hoping to meet some of my other Xanga friends someday too.
I laughed at the Class Clown on Steroids comment
Piping up
Found my way to your 52zoos blog first, then popped over to this one, then our families met in Columbus at your zoo bash this summer. The other story I have is of my book designer. Found her through an online freelance service, partially choosing her because she also lives in MI. She designed two books for me over a period of a year and a half or so before we finally met in person-met her whole family as well.
I went to an actual blogging conference, once. I carpooled and roomed with a “stranger,” and it couldn’t have been more fun. I do it all over again in a heartbeat.
OK. Finally getting to this post. I seem so disconnected from all things techo (which isn’t necessarily bad but I miss my girls).
I’ve had the utter blissful pleasure of meeting 2 precious people in real life.
But, my Amber up there is truly my gift from this blogworld. Once we spent 4 days together with our families…”computer” was so far out of the equation and that’s when you know you’ve got something special.
I have lots on my list to meet…including Mrs. Taviano.
Whimzie and Gretchen I’m about to flip to spend some time with..shared lots and lots of personal moments and phone calls but never in real life. I can’t wait for that.
You are the only one I’ve met so far, but you are fabulous in real life too
There are several other “bloggy” friends I’d seriously love to meet.
I’m with you that meeting my close blogging friends, including YOU last year, have been wonderful experiences. I will never make fun of internet dating again because you CAN get to know the “real” someone, and really grow to love them, all through the computer. God’s hand is all over those relationships I’ve made with ladies who I knew virtually first. And I am so thankful for all of them.
p.s. Did you know I’m pregnant?? Just thought I’d ask b/c I announced it when you were in NJ and I haven’t heard from you and that’s not normal:) Love you, my sweet blogging-turned-real-life friend!
I’ve met a few bloggers in real life and love it. This online community is great…but sometimes sitting across the kitchen table from someone is a million times better
One of my real life best friends Annalee, we met online.
I have never been SO GLAD that we chose to come out of our computers!
And you? Need I say more, you know how much I love you!