The Girl Talk Origin Story

Writing these different posts about Girl Talk has got me reminiscing.

I’ve been facilitating small groups of women for a long time. Like… for over a decade, if I’m being honest about it.

But first—HOW am I old enough to have been doing anything for decades?! Life really does come at you fast.

Anyway. I know you feel me.

Never has it been my actual “role,” but my heart has always drawn me to tables where women are talking about real things.

The name "Girl Talk" came years ago from a small offshoot ministry at my church. I saw that there were lots of women on the outskirts, not really being touched by our usual offerings. If they did come to one thing, they came to everything, and I could tell there was a longing for more community.

So I started a monthly gathering called “Girl Talk”. I invited women from the church and beyond to come together around different topics—money management, health, lifestyle. We even hosted a “Check Your Boobies” mammogram party. You might remember that, Mara!

And women showed up.

I mean, really showed up. We’d have 40, 50 women on a Saturday morning just… wanting to be in the room.

Different ages. Different backgrounds. Different seasons of life.

But all with the same desire: to be somewhere they could be honest, seen, and known.

Since then, it’s shown up in a lot of different ways.

🫶🏽 Leading small groups at Genentech.

🫶🏽 Facilitating weekly tables during Bible study.

🫶🏽 Walking with women through really heavy seasons—including the loss of a dear friend to cancer.

And what I keep coming back to is this: There is something really powerful that happens when women have a space to talk without performing. Where we don’t have to fix it. We don’t have to posture. We don’t have to say it “the right way.” We can actually just be… seen, heard, and understood.

It’s only now, thinking about this new iteration of Girl Talk, that I’m realizing how much of my life has been centered around creating these kinds of spaces. And I think, just maybe, it’s all been preparing me for this.

If you’ve been looking for a place like that, you’re invited to join us. You are so welcome here. 💛