Allyson & her mother Gloria
The retreat was held at Epworth by the Sea on the Frederica River. We were surrounded by beautiful moss laden trees...hundreds of years old.
Before we were able to settle into our room, we took a short drive towards town and stopped at Neptune Park beach area. We strolled around the park stretching our legs and having a little bit of fun.
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"Taste & See"
Women of Waynesboro 2014
"Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who
takes refuge in Him."
Psalm 34:8
As we arrived back at Epworth Allison had arrived, checked us all in, and had our room keys for us. It was so good to see her. We were all together now and very hungry. So after unpacking and settling in, we all piled into Glo's vehicle and set out for Barbara Jeans Restaurant (best known for their crab cakes). Yum Yum! It wasn't long after we arrived back at our rooms that it was time for our retreat to begin.
As we arrived and found our seats (the younger girls had gone on and saved us seats), we were all welcomed by Carol Palmer, director of the Women's Enrichment Ministry of First Baptist Church in Waynesboro, Georgia. After some praise & worship singing together and a poem read, Carol instructed us to check under our chair seats for a strip of paper/bookmark, look on the back side, read our "food name" and find our partner...our Prayer Partner.
My yellow bookmark had the food "Pecan Pie" on the back. I looked around the room of ladies and saw several yellow bookmarks. As I made my way around the room, I found out that there were several yellow bookmarks with different food names.
I finally found my partner. My sweet prayer partner was Sharese Hardy who had written & shared her poem at the beginning of our night. She and I had a wonderful time getting to know each other and praying for our "distractions".
Allison came thereafter and gave a drama presentation before Carol spoke of "The King's Table". We dismissed for the night in a sweet, sweet spirit of fellowship.
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Our Saturday morning included praise & worship singing, Allison speaking on "The Family Table", instructions on our day's Breakout Sessions and a moment with our prayer partner before a time of personal quiet reflection & prayer.
I decided to go near the water to have my quiet time just as others were thinking the same.
a light fog among ladies in prayer
When our quiet time ended, everyone had to make a decision on which Breakout Session they would attend for the morning time. From a choice of three sessions ~Equally Yolked or Scrambled Eggs-What's In a Name?-Self-Directed Interactive Prayer Room~we girls selected "What's In a Name?". This session was facilitated by Ally.
Lunch and another Breakout Session. I selected the Prayer Room.
As I entered the Prayer Room I picked up my booklet that would lead me through the room and a tube bracelet. We were to read the charts on the first wall and decide if it pertained to us. If so, we were to use the small funnel to put a little "colored sand" into our bracelet. In the first corner was a wooden cross where we would lay our bracelets at the foot of the cross.
As I began to read the charts on the wall, the first one was a chart of "Greed". Oh wow! I'm sunk.
Greed...of time? This area has become the hardest of my Christian journey lately. As I made my way along the wall of hanging charts, I found that my life had encountered each and every topic. My bracelet was full.
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 1:9
The next corner and wall reminded us of how God's message is illegal in many countries. A short series of continuous video presentations were available to us.
Then the last area was a table set aside where we could write a letter to someone who was imprisoned. I read of a lady in Pakistan who had been arrested for "blasphemy against Muhammed". She was arrested June 19, 2009 and sentenced to Death.
"Remember the prisoners,
as though in prison with them,
and those who are ill-treated,
since you yourselves also
are in the body."
~Hebrews 13:3
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A free afternoon and
a game of "Phase Ten"
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We gathered back together for a short evening session of singing, drama & teaching. As the session ended we went back to our rooms to prepare for our "Saturday Fun Night".
Arriving in pj's or casual, comfortable clothing we found ladies laughing & already having a good time. We found our seats and then set out to get a little yummy snack (tiny Hummingbird cupcakes were the best) from the refreshment table.
Andrea-Glo-Ally
Let the fun & games begin!
The girls participated in some of the games.
We laughed & laughed & laughed.
A fun, fun evening.
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Our last day at the retreat. We packed & loaded our luggage into the vehicle before we made our way over to the conference room. Singing praise & worship started our sweet session. Ally shared another drama presentation before Carol got up to share another word for us to "Keep On".
As we were nearing the end of our weekend retreat, we had a time of personal prayer & then were asked to partner with a Sister-in-Christ to take communion together. Such a blessing to have shared this experience with my Sister-in-Love...Glo!
Lunch and then on the road back to Dothan!
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#Epworth #BlessedWeekend #Girltime #Fun
#Zippedlips
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