Friends, Fun and Relaxation...

A month ago, my friend, Allison called me and asked if I'd like to go on the ladies retreat sponsored by our last church. She said the she and another friend, Shannon insisted that I go, and that if Q said "no" than they were going to take me any way!;) Of course Q said yes--and my two pals were going to take care of most of the cost.

On Friday afternoon, Allison and Shannon picked me up from my house since it was on the way. The Renaissance Hotel is in Boulder, just a few minutes away. When we arrived, we settled into our room. Before dinner, we hung out in the lobby talking to the other ladies as they came in. It was so fun catching up with friends that I hadn't seen for several months.

After dinner, the first session began. Our speaker for the weekend was Debbie Goddard. She and her husband serve the Lord at West Coast Baptist Bible College in Lancaster, CA. The theme for the sessions was "FILLED" based upon Ephesians 3:19 which says, "And to know the love of Christ...that ye might be filled with the fulness of God."

There were three sessions in all. The first one was called "Be filled and grow in grace through life's transitions." This one probably touched my heart more than anything as I'm in transitions in my life right now. God has a perfect plan for me in the change of ministry, heartache in another miscarriage, and the desire to find my place in our new community. I was encouraged to have a grateful heart, have the right thinking and to care about others during this time in my life. Another session was about hospitality. She gave us lots of ideas on ways to be hospitable to neighbors and people in our church.

Julie, the pastor's wife at Front Range, also gave a devotional on being "filled" with the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. She gave us each a water bottle as a way to understand some of her points on being filled...what it takes to be filled, what should we be filled with, etc...

Besides the sessions, we enjoyed a couple fun skits and a time where we could enjoy dessert, give ourselves a pedicure, play games, make jewelry or just sit around and laugh. 

By Saturday afternoon, I was so energized spiritually and enjoyed the time with some of my friends. Here I am with Shannon and Allison. They have been such good friends to me these last few years. I'm very thankful for the invitation to go with them to the retreat. When I went to give them the last of the retreat payment, they said that everything had been covered--WOW! What a blessing this was to me.

Have you had an event in your life recently that encouraged you in your walk with the Lord? I'd love to hear about it.:)