A thousand words...

They say a picture can be worth 1,000 words, but this past weekend at our retreat I challenged the ladies to have a photo just say one. Set loose with a camera and words on a page, the ladies went out (myself included) and captured the true essence of some of God's truth. Rather than telling you about it, I'll let you decide for yourself whether or not they succeeded:

UNITY

"I am in them and they are in me. May they [future believers] experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me."

[John 17:23]

WORSHIP 

"We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."

[Matthew 2:2]

CREATION

"And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, 

because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation."

[Genesis 2:2]

BEAUTY

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment... Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

[1 Peter 3:3-4]

SALVATION

"He will come again, not to deal with our sins, 

but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him."

[Hebrews 9:28]

HOPE

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

[Romans 15:15]

REFLECTION

"As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart."

[Proverbs 27:19]

LOVE

"Three things will last forever- faith, hope, and love- and the greatest of these is love."

[1 Corinthians 13:13]

WISDOM

"For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it."

[Proverbs 8:11]

PURITY

"Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!

Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you."

[Psalm 86:11]

PRAISE

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."

[Psalm 150:6]

SACRIFICE

"This is real love- not that we loved God, 

but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."

[1 John 4:10]

THANKSGIVING

"You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, 

and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

[2 Corinthians 9:11]

STRENGTH

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."

[Proverbs 31:25]

TRUST

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."

[Proverbs 3:5]

At the end, each group could also add a photo of a word of their choosing. This one brought tears to my eyes...

HOME

What TurningPoint Church (TPC) feels like to all of these women. Until we enter 

our true, eternal home in heaven, I am humbled to think that I had a part in planting this 

church to be a spiritual home here on earth. The church, after all, is God's house.

I could frame each of these pictures on my wall... and some of them will probably end up there. I think these pictures speak volumes... much more than just 1,000 words... and all of them will be etched into my heart always. Who knew that a simple activity at a retreat could end up meaning so much? It makes me want to create a photo project for people to participate in with me... almost! I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as we enjoyed taking them!

The Sweet Life

Hello there! I hope you had a lovely weekend... I am grinning ear-to-ear as I type this because I am still on a "God-High" after mine! This past weekend was our church's very first women's retreat, and it's a weekend I will never forget! Since there is really no way to put into words the things that happened, the hearts that were changed, the breakthroughs that occurred, and the love that was felt, I'll just post a few pictures of the details and the fun. You'll just have to be there next time to experience the rest for yourself!

In order to "get away from it all," I found a cute little cabin about 45 minutes from Lexington, otherwise known as the middle of nowhere. Google is my friend... and it turned out the be the perfect venue for 15 ladies to enjoy some peace and quiet (which was frequently interrupted by side-splitting laughter!).

We had planned to check-in by 4pm and told everyone they could start arriving at five. Between the craziness of running around picking things up, last-minute shopping, and weather, we arrived to set up around 4:40 PM and scrambled to set up. In record time we moved furniture, set up snacks, "themed out" the room, and set out welcome cards for the girls.

And then due to an accident on the only road that led to the cabin, everyone was late. As in two hours late! So Gretchen (our other TurningPoint pastor's wife) and I waited... and waited... and killed some time with silly pictures. The good news was that we had time to unwind by the time everyone arrived, rather than being two frazzled messes!

Finally the ladies started arriving and the fun began. That first night, we all stayed up past midnight talking and laughing and we finally had to tell people to go to bed! I could have sat there all night, but knew we had the whole weekend ahead of us.

Saturday was a full day with many group activities, our teaching, worship, and even a campfire. I thin we would all agree, however, that the "love dinner" was the highlight. As a group, we participated in a remembrance of the last supper, complete with the washing of the disciples' feet and communion. It was... in a word... POWERFUL. I am not sure if I have ever physically felt so much love in one room in my life. 

And wow was dinner good! Granted, I think the food probably tasted better because we all got to enjoy it while it was hot and without having to jump up and run to the kitchen 10,000 times to fetch milk and napkins and ketchup, etc. That and I did not have to tell a two-year-old that he did in fact have to eat the rest of his chicken. It was lovely.

We ended the night with worship under the stars. It was cloudy when we went out there, but after a song or two, the clouds literally parted and we could see thousands of stars. I know I said it that night, but I do think He heard us and did that just for us. There were so many special, small moments like that... far too many to recount. We ended the night with what else but s'mores around a campfire bonfire.  Who says girls can't do these things?

By Sunday morning, none of us felt rested, but all of us felt refreshed and renewed, basking in the love of our God. As one friend of mine put it, "I feel like I have love oozing out of every part of me." My cup is full again, and I hope that I can hold this in and continue to do the things that keep it full... get up before the family to have some quiet time, to read, to worship, to pray. Getting out of bed is always difficult, but I'm never sorry that I did it.

I think we can officially say that the Inaugural TPC Women's Retreat was a success and are already getting asked if we think we can top it. All I have to say is that since it wasn't our work that made it so wonderful, I think it can be done. We did the planning in order to bless others, but in the end I feel just as, if not more, blessed than everyone who joined us. It's a level of satisfaction that I don't think I've ever reached, and I am already looking to what comes next. This weekend was just what I needed... nourishment for the soul and the start of many great new friendships. I already can't wait 'til next time!

Thank you to everyone who took a leap of faith and joined us this year, having no idea what to expect! I look forward to more great times with you all in the coming year!

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed are those who take refuge in Him.

[Psalm 34:8]