As the chill of winter enters the air for most of the country, fall is a great time for a fun and bonding small group experience outside of the normal home or church setting.

Choose a destination bookstore that offers a warm and intimate atmosphere. To make the ride there a time of fellowship, carpool and enjoy the time just talking and relaxing (not the designated driver mind you!)

Provide a thermos of warm apple cider or hot cocoa and maybe some donuts. This provides a great chance to catch up on each other's lives and just have fun together as you make the trip as a group. Once there, as the leader of the experience, encourage everyone to order a coffee if they wish and tell them how much time they have to mill about.

Then do the following: Ask then to choose one book that strikes their fancy for no particular reason. It can be chosen for the title, the book cover artwork, the flap bio, anything they choose. Encourage everyone not to overthink their choices.

Give everyone time to choose, then reconvene. Tell everyone that their mission is to connect their books' titles with some aspect of their own spiritual journeys. As leader, be the first to share: What connections can you make to specific circumstances that might be going on in your lives? What scriptural references come to mind? If the content in any way challenges your spiritual beliefs, how might you counteract that with a positive viewpoint?

This small group experience is an opportunity to have fellowship, relaxation and the sharing of ideas and beliefs. And we all know no one passes up a warm cup of coffee on a cool autumn day.