The Ladies' Retreat that I was able to attend was wonderfully good & refreshing. I got very little rest, but I did get lots of fun fellowship time (including running in to a couple of other Northland girls that I haven't seen in AGES). There was a group of sixteen ladies from our church. They are all such great fun & it was great bonding time, giggling over our ice cream & making late night calls from room to room at the hotel (ok, so that was just me...).
The theme of the retreat was 'Welcome Home' & the speaker focused on how we are supposed to make Christ the foundation of our lives. Her speaking style was very unique & I got a lot out of her teaching but I was totally unable to organize it into points 1, 2, 3. She actually apologized to all Type A listeners b/c she knew her style would drive them crazy. We laughed a lot as she related illustrations & confessed her shortcomings. I really appreciate teachers who can be transparent like that. Her teaching was a blessing & the thought that has stuck most strongly in my mind was a question she asked about how I choose to live: will I continue to entertain myself with the very things that Jesus suffered for on the cross? Will I continue to choose sin when I know that sin is what caused Him to suffer on the cross?
I was able to attend a workshop on 'Making My Quiet Time Quite A Time'. Another blessing b/c this is an area that I struggle with greatly. The teacher suggested falling in love with Psalm 119 b/c it focuses so much on God's Word & how we are to respect & love it.
I also attended a workshop on 'Keeping It Sweet'! It was a marriage workshop & I felt kind of goofy going to it, but I figured maybe it would offer some tricks of prevention for my life post July 11th ;-) The teacher was hilarious, using different kinds of candy to symbolize different attitudes & aspects of marriage. It was refreshing to listen to a lady who has been married for nearly 25 years & seems to be overjoyed about it. So many people have negative attitudes about their marriage or their partner (maybe I see this a lot b/c I worked with unsaved people) that it causes me to think what's the point? We are just going to make ourselves miserable! And then I get the opportunity to be around some happily married folks & it reminds me why we're taking the plunge. I was encouraged even more to pray that I will be an effective help to Michael, that we will be what the Lord wants us to be.
All in all, a fabulous weekend! I was encouraged, convicted, refreshed, & invigorated. The Lord is so good to give us these times to really focus on Him & His Word. I don't know about you, but I definitely need it!
4 comments:
glad your retreat was fun...I was thinking maybe you and your hubby could come to the couples' retreat we go to every February in Gatlinburg,TN.. it is really fun and just a time to relax with no cell phones or other interruptions..something to think about.Hope all is well with the planning!
Glad to hear you had such a refreshing time! Now you have to tell us what the 3 types of candy were . . .
I'd like to know about the candy too!
I think it's great that you went to the marriage workshop. It is always good to learn as much as you can. We were in a book study for married couples after only being married 3 wks. I think some people wondered why we were there. We sort of wondered the same thing when we heard the other couples talking, discussing problems, etc. We were still in the honeymoon stage at that point, of course. BUT, later we were able to draw on things we had learned when things weren't quite as rosy. :)
A very convicting verse for me is Prov. 13:10 "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." Ouch!
Glad to hear you had such a good time. It is always refreshing.
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