After our personal quiet time, my fellow roommates came back to our room to have a bible study. Michelle lead the study questions but we didn't have much time before we had to head over to lunch. Again the meal was delicious and the people I sat with were very sociable.
We had free time after lunch and I used most of the time to relax and read. I originally was going to go play tennis but that fell through and I was kind of glad because I wasn't in the mood. :)
At 4pm, I attended a breakout session that was about God's greatness in singleness. It was mainly focused on waiting on God and unearthing the lies we start to believe about God when we don't get what we want when we want them. But we need to remind ourselves that God works all things for good and the session was a reminder of that.
We had dinner before our evening session. The evening session began with a touching testimony. The worship time was awesome and by the end of it I was emotionally exhausted.
I went to bed early again and slept with peace.
The next morning I woke up fresh and met up with Jenn to load the car with our bags before heading over to breakfast. I loaded up on protein so that I could last throughout the morning session and our drive home. Brenda Chance lead the morning session and it was exactly what I expected to hear about God's greatness. Brenda also provided a handout for us to take home that had various attributes of God and how those prove how great He is. I read through it once and I plan to go over it again in my quiet time.
King's Harbor Church gives a time at the end of the retreat for others to share how they were affected by God's greatness over the weekend. It was very moving and an awesome way to end the retreat.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Women's Retreat Part 2
Prior to the women's retreat, every woman was emailed the name of a woman that would be a prayer partner...we would pray for that woman and then write her a note with our prayers and scriptures that we feel God has given us to give to her.
I was fortunate enough to get someone that I know, although I do not know her that well. After breakfast we had our first session and then we were given a quiet time. God really shared a lot of scripture with me during that time...some for me and some for her and some for both of us.
One interesting thing that happened was when I was looking up Zepheniah 3:17, which was referenced in the morning session. "The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." This scripture was just one that showed God was there with me and that he is sometimes quiet in His Love, but as I began to write the scripture reference down in my journal, instead of writing Zepheniah 3:17 I wrote Zepheniah 3:10. Whoops, so I crossed out the "10" and tried to write "17" and wrote "10" again.
So, I figured God wanted me to read that as well. It reads: "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings." I continued to read on: "In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain. But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord." WOW.
Shame is what I felt and God was telling me He will cover me. The next scripture I read was Isaiah 40:2: "Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned." Another WOW and a Whooooaaaa!
Jeremiah 3: 14-15 was the last one I wrote down, which I also included in my women's retreat prayer partner's card..."Return home, you wayward children," says the Lord, "for I am your master, I will bring you back to the Lord of Israel--one from this town and two from that family--from wherever you are scattered. And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding."
I am thankful that I was given this scripture. I want to be brought back into the fold...the sheepfold. :) I also pray for those out there that feel separated from God. I know the feeling. Whether it be a year and a half or ten years, I pray that even when God is quiet in His love, that we have faith that He still loves us, even if we don't hear Him or feel His presence. And most of all that we know He has forgiven our sins and we should feel no shame, even if we have sinned as a rebellion (as I have) because we have somehow felt betrayed by Him (as I did).
I was fortunate enough to get someone that I know, although I do not know her that well. After breakfast we had our first session and then we were given a quiet time. God really shared a lot of scripture with me during that time...some for me and some for her and some for both of us.
One interesting thing that happened was when I was looking up Zepheniah 3:17, which was referenced in the morning session. "The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love. He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy." This scripture was just one that showed God was there with me and that he is sometimes quiet in His Love, but as I began to write the scripture reference down in my journal, instead of writing Zepheniah 3:17 I wrote Zepheniah 3:10. Whoops, so I crossed out the "10" and tried to write "17" and wrote "10" again.
So, I figured God wanted me to read that as well. It reads: "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, will bring My offerings." I continued to read on: "In that day you will feel no shame because of all your deeds by which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst your proud, exulting ones, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain. But I will leave among you a humble and lowly people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord." WOW.
Shame is what I felt and God was telling me He will cover me. The next scripture I read was Isaiah 40:2: "Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned." Another WOW and a Whooooaaaa!
Jeremiah 3: 14-15 was the last one I wrote down, which I also included in my women's retreat prayer partner's card..."Return home, you wayward children," says the Lord, "for I am your master, I will bring you back to the Lord of Israel--one from this town and two from that family--from wherever you are scattered. And I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding."
I am thankful that I was given this scripture. I want to be brought back into the fold...the sheepfold. :) I also pray for those out there that feel separated from God. I know the feeling. Whether it be a year and a half or ten years, I pray that even when God is quiet in His love, that we have faith that He still loves us, even if we don't hear Him or feel His presence. And most of all that we know He has forgiven our sins and we should feel no shame, even if we have sinned as a rebellion (as I have) because we have somehow felt betrayed by Him (as I did).
Women's Retreat Part 1
Last weekend I went to the women's retreat with my church. I hadn't been to a retreat in probably 5 years because my last experience wasn't a pleasant one. I felt very isolated at the last one, but this year's retreat was so much different!
I met up with Jenn Steip at my apartment to drive to Murrieta Hot Springs together. It was a 3 hour drive due to traffic, but it seemed to go by quickly since I was in the company of a friend/family. We arrived at 6:45, just in time to check in and then go to dinner. Dinner was delicious and the company was great. All the ladies at our table were quite animated and everyone seemed to have fun.
After dinner we had our first session. The theme of the retreat was "Great is our God." Marcy Bradford (the outreach pastor's wife) was the MC and she started out by giving everyone earplugs! Haha, some people apparently have issues getting to sleep with 4-5 other "noisy" roommates. :) She also led a cute parody of "All the Single Ladies" and instead of the lyrics "Put a ring on it", all the ladies dancing (it was like a flash mob) had ring pops on their fingers and sang "Purity ring on it." It was hilarious! The session was a quick one with mainly worship time, since it was "late" (9:30 by the end of it). I was actually pretty tired and so was Jenn so we went and found our rooms and just talked for a little bit. I was remarking to Jenn that the whole vibe of this retreat was already so much more upbeat than my previous experience.
For the last year and a half, I had felt very distant from God. I was excited about the theme of the weekend because I really needed the reminder of how great God really is. I slept very soundly that night (no earplugs required) and woke up unexpectedly at 6:10, even though I had planned to get up at 6:45, since breakfast was at 8am. I was wide awake and asked myself "Why am I awake?" and then I tried rolling over, but my eyes popped open and it was clear: God wanted me to go to the early morning prayer.
I'm not what you would call a prayer warrior. I have no problem praying in a group or praying out loud (although I am not a fan of popcorn prayer for fear of cutting someone off) but praying isn't really my forte. But I listened and obeyed, getting out of bed and getting ready for the prayer session. I walked around the lake and into the foyer of the sanctuary where Marcy Bradford and Mena Hughes were sitting with a few other women. I went over and got a cup of coffee and sat down.
Marcy opened the prayer and for the first 5 minutes or so I felt nothing really. Discouraged, I said to myself, "I don't feel God. God's not here." And as soon as I thought that I heard very clearly "I AM HERE!" That got my attention and was reassured that God was with me. The night before, during our praise and worship time, I stopped and wrote the following:
"Your holy presence living in me"
I feel as if Your holy presence is there--a mere ember in the pit of my stomach. Lord, I've been feeding it antacids to try and stiffle Your presence in my life. I don't want to stiffle You, Lord. Help me by breathing oxygen on the fire of Your spirit so that it can grow and grow and I can be holy in You. I want to breathe out your presence, living my life for You and obeying Your will for my life. Lord, help me.
After that moment during morning prayer and throughout the weekend, I felt God telling me "I AM HERE" to continue to reassure me. I also witnessed His presence in the lives of others through His answer of others prayers immediately. After prayer time I witnessed a very tearful answer to prayer that showed He is with us all!
I met up with Jenn Steip at my apartment to drive to Murrieta Hot Springs together. It was a 3 hour drive due to traffic, but it seemed to go by quickly since I was in the company of a friend/family. We arrived at 6:45, just in time to check in and then go to dinner. Dinner was delicious and the company was great. All the ladies at our table were quite animated and everyone seemed to have fun.
After dinner we had our first session. The theme of the retreat was "Great is our God." Marcy Bradford (the outreach pastor's wife) was the MC and she started out by giving everyone earplugs! Haha, some people apparently have issues getting to sleep with 4-5 other "noisy" roommates. :) She also led a cute parody of "All the Single Ladies" and instead of the lyrics "Put a ring on it", all the ladies dancing (it was like a flash mob) had ring pops on their fingers and sang "Purity ring on it." It was hilarious! The session was a quick one with mainly worship time, since it was "late" (9:30 by the end of it). I was actually pretty tired and so was Jenn so we went and found our rooms and just talked for a little bit. I was remarking to Jenn that the whole vibe of this retreat was already so much more upbeat than my previous experience.
For the last year and a half, I had felt very distant from God. I was excited about the theme of the weekend because I really needed the reminder of how great God really is. I slept very soundly that night (no earplugs required) and woke up unexpectedly at 6:10, even though I had planned to get up at 6:45, since breakfast was at 8am. I was wide awake and asked myself "Why am I awake?" and then I tried rolling over, but my eyes popped open and it was clear: God wanted me to go to the early morning prayer.
I'm not what you would call a prayer warrior. I have no problem praying in a group or praying out loud (although I am not a fan of popcorn prayer for fear of cutting someone off) but praying isn't really my forte. But I listened and obeyed, getting out of bed and getting ready for the prayer session. I walked around the lake and into the foyer of the sanctuary where Marcy Bradford and Mena Hughes were sitting with a few other women. I went over and got a cup of coffee and sat down.
Marcy opened the prayer and for the first 5 minutes or so I felt nothing really. Discouraged, I said to myself, "I don't feel God. God's not here." And as soon as I thought that I heard very clearly "I AM HERE!" That got my attention and was reassured that God was with me. The night before, during our praise and worship time, I stopped and wrote the following:
"Your holy presence living in me"
I feel as if Your holy presence is there--a mere ember in the pit of my stomach. Lord, I've been feeding it antacids to try and stiffle Your presence in my life. I don't want to stiffle You, Lord. Help me by breathing oxygen on the fire of Your spirit so that it can grow and grow and I can be holy in You. I want to breathe out your presence, living my life for You and obeying Your will for my life. Lord, help me.
After that moment during morning prayer and throughout the weekend, I felt God telling me "I AM HERE" to continue to reassure me. I also witnessed His presence in the lives of others through His answer of others prayers immediately. After prayer time I witnessed a very tearful answer to prayer that showed He is with us all!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
2010 in Review
Last night, while I was recovering from a cold, I decided to look through my blog to see what types of things went on in 2010 in my life. Here's an abridged review for those of you that are catching up:
- Meals with friends -11
- Yacht rides - 2
- Short term roommies - 1
- Self-revelations - 6
- Sickness - 4
- BASIC events - 6
- CPA/CPA review posts - 5
- Home improvements (window washing/carpet cleaning/organization, etc) -4
- Birthday dinners - 12
- Charity events - 4
- Gourmet meals - 2
- Trips to the ER - 1
- Poetry - 2
- Hanging out with Alice - 10
- Days at the beach - 2
- Bootcamp - 2
- Trips down memory lane - 2
- New jobs - 1
- Helping "patients" - 3
- Trips out of state - 4
- Shows thrown by nieces and nephews - III
- Root canals - 2
- Recipes - 6
- Engagement Parties -1
- Bachlorette Parties - 1
- Baby showers - 1
- Weddings - 2
- Holidays - 3
- Hikes - 4
- Shoes - 11 pairs
- Car washes - 1
- Strawberry Festivals - 1
- Kids games - 3
- Barbie cakes - 1
- Writer's Conference dinner - 1
- Bridal shower - 1
- Wedding set ups - 2
- Rehearsal dinners - 1
- Kid's sleepovers - 1
- Visits from family 2
- Stop at the Soda Pop Shop - 1
- State Fairs - 1
- New England Aquarium - 1
- Baptisms - 1
- College football games - 1
- Dumpster diving - 1
- Stupid human tricks - 1
- Potty Parties - 1
I feel so blessed that I have such a full life, even though I don't have all that I want out of life. I have a lot! I'm blessed with a lot of great friends and family and I am provided for enough that I can manage to do all of the above! Here's to the new year...may it be filled with even more joy!
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