Well, we just finished our first Living in Christ Retreat, exploring the topic, Water in the Rock. What an exciting weekend with a truly outstanding group of women, both campers and staff!
Arriving early Friday to prepare, our staff car encountered a sizeable herd of llamas and goats descending the mountain as we traveled up. Patti warned, "Llamas have been known to attack!" So, we immediately stopped the car until the herd, now known as the llama stampede, moved past us and we were able to proceed to the cabin. Never a dull moment in the lives of the Living in Christ Retreats staff!
True to God's faithfulness, we were met throughout the weekend by His Spirit, led in worship by Tamara (and Gail) and in study of Water in the Rock, from His Word. Kathi cooked and served some outstanding meals, coffee and delicious deserts. We also ate lunch in Boone on Saturday, squeezing in a trip to the local Christian Bookstore - all of which was an adventure and fun! The highlight of the weekend, however, besides experiencing the goodness of Christ, was in making new friends and reconnecting with old ones... Patti, Bea, Gail, Connie, Debbie, Donna, Judy and Lynn. Thanks to everyone for making our first retreat so very special and for your gracious acceptance of the necessary learning curve we must humbly embrace. God bless you all!
Friday, April 8, 2011
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
We are growing!
Tamara Wilmoth has recently joined Living in Christ Retreats as our worship leader/photographer and we are thrilled to have her! We have been praying for God to send His woman for the job which is exactly what He did. Tamara has a tremendous gifting yet a humble heart for service. Thank you God for your goodness to hear and answer our prayers and thank you Tamara for your faithfulness to come!
You must have a spirit of adventure to join this team. We are individually unique in every way but each one dedicated to following Jesus together. We are committed to working out our differences in order to serve you. Tamara has accepted the challenge of this ministry, fitting right in with our purpose. What is our purpose? To bless you in Jesus' name. To build you up in the faith. To encourage you to stand strong in the difficult days we are walking through. Tamara will be leading us in songs of praise to our King. Come join us as we honor and praise Him!
You must have a spirit of adventure to join this team. We are individually unique in every way but each one dedicated to following Jesus together. We are committed to working out our differences in order to serve you. Tamara has accepted the challenge of this ministry, fitting right in with our purpose. What is our purpose? To bless you in Jesus' name. To build you up in the faith. To encourage you to stand strong in the difficult days we are walking through. Tamara will be leading us in songs of praise to our King. Come join us as we honor and praise Him!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Web Site Complete
Now we are ready to launch the ministry! Like a slow but graceful dance, our reteat team has waited upon God and one another over the past few months for direction. All of these women are phenomenal, extremely patient and insightful. They are in fact, some of the best I have co-labored with for the sake of the gospel.
Living In Christ Retreats is now on record at the Cabarrus County Courthouse. We have an account at the bank and although we have no money, we do have a checkbook. The construction of our website www.livinginchristretreats.com is finally complete. We are extremely grateful for Tami Gilman who came alongside and steered us through the thick fog of website building. Thank you Tami! Thank you sweet Jesus!
So, our next move is to begin advertising the ministry to friends and family. We will see what God does from there. It is our prayer that women will come and be refreshed in the fellowship of His Spirit by the blessings of His Word. To God be the glory! Amen.
Living In Christ Retreats is now on record at the Cabarrus County Courthouse. We have an account at the bank and although we have no money, we do have a checkbook. The construction of our website www.livinginchristretreats.com is finally complete. We are extremely grateful for Tami Gilman who came alongside and steered us through the thick fog of website building. Thank you Tami! Thank you sweet Jesus!
So, our next move is to begin advertising the ministry to friends and family. We will see what God does from there. It is our prayer that women will come and be refreshed in the fellowship of His Spirit by the blessings of His Word. To God be the glory! Amen.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
God is Leading!
What an amazing thing to watch God at work! The retreat team has met several times to discuss logic and logistics, topics and summaries, the necessary groundwork and challenges. We have prayed and carefully moved in unison together through the obstacles and different ideas. Complete freedom is given in each meeting to express opinions and concerns. We are a body meant to function together under the leadership of Christ and that is what we are attempting to do. To God be the glory!
We are attempting to cover one another in prayer throughout the week so that God will be able to speak without hindrance from our enemy, and by enemy, I do mean satanic forces. Yes, they are real. We are either walking with them or against them. By the grace of God, we plan to walk against them with the full realization of what that entails, understod by all of us. Again, to God be te glory!
We are attempting to cover one another in prayer throughout the week so that God will be able to speak without hindrance from our enemy, and by enemy, I do mean satanic forces. Yes, they are real. We are either walking with them or against them. By the grace of God, we plan to walk against them with the full realization of what that entails, understod by all of us. Again, to God be te glory!
Monday, February 15, 2010
A Plan Emerges
Are you a gardener? If so, then you know the excitement of planning, organizing and orchestrating the colorful blooms in your yard. You know the work involved and the prayer necessary to obtain adequate rain for growth. You know the perils of the pruning process and the rigors of scheduled fertilization and systematic irrigation. Perhaps you have even indulged your garden with hardscapes, ponds and bird houses. As a gardener, there is always plenty to do in managing the earth and even more to learn, especially when it comes to dealing with herbivorous critters and audacious weeds. Where do all those weeds come from anyway? And why are they always so much hardier than the cultivated seedlings!
Using the garden example, allow me to explain an idea birthed through prayer. We are each responsible before God to be faithful with our gifting in the Kingdom of Christ. The parables that Jesus used to teach on stewardship illustrate that we are to live faithfully as we await His return (Mt. 25). So, how do we prepare our hearts and families for the event of His return?
The most beneficial avenue of preparation is primarily to spend time with God, allowing His Spirit to transform us through the truth of His Word (Ro. 12:2). Would a weekend retreat of reading and resting in the Word of God help with that? Do you need to get away from a hectic schedule and refresh yourself in the presence of God? Oh and what about visiting the most amazing Christian Bookstore on the planet! Yes, that would be part of the weekend too... shopping!
What does all this have to do with gardening? Well, our plans can be like weeds, springing up with roots that extend into Texas or they can be like beautiful red roses with dew drops glistening on each petal. I am wondering...is this retreat idea a good plan for us to initiate and you participate in? Is it a sweet smelling rose that honors God? Or is it simply a tenacious weed with an bodacious root system that will drive us all crazy!
There are a few things to consider. The mind of a man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps (Pro. 16:9). We should trust God to lead us so prayer will definately be the first step. Then waiting....yes, waiting. After we pray, we must wait to see how God answers. Waiting is actually harder than praying because we tend to put God on the clock and give Him a time line to follow. God rarely follows our time lines.
We also need to consider that the effort required for this endeavour would be complex. A weekend retreat doesn't just happen you know. God can speak things into existence but we humans have to put our hands to plow. It takes planning, praying and digging just like working a garden. Someone said, “Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you and just before you realize what's wrong with it.” We would definately need the energy of God coarsing through us. We would need His Word in our minds, His will in our hearts and His Spirit anointing every step of each lesson. As I sit here in the comfort of my home on a sluggish, rainy day...I am wondering...is this really a good idea?
Using the garden example, allow me to explain an idea birthed through prayer. We are each responsible before God to be faithful with our gifting in the Kingdom of Christ. The parables that Jesus used to teach on stewardship illustrate that we are to live faithfully as we await His return (Mt. 25). So, how do we prepare our hearts and families for the event of His return?
The most beneficial avenue of preparation is primarily to spend time with God, allowing His Spirit to transform us through the truth of His Word (Ro. 12:2). Would a weekend retreat of reading and resting in the Word of God help with that? Do you need to get away from a hectic schedule and refresh yourself in the presence of God? Oh and what about visiting the most amazing Christian Bookstore on the planet! Yes, that would be part of the weekend too... shopping!
What does all this have to do with gardening? Well, our plans can be like weeds, springing up with roots that extend into Texas or they can be like beautiful red roses with dew drops glistening on each petal. I am wondering...is this retreat idea a good plan for us to initiate and you participate in? Is it a sweet smelling rose that honors God? Or is it simply a tenacious weed with an bodacious root system that will drive us all crazy!
There are a few things to consider. The mind of a man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps (Pro. 16:9). We should trust God to lead us so prayer will definately be the first step. Then waiting....yes, waiting. After we pray, we must wait to see how God answers. Waiting is actually harder than praying because we tend to put God on the clock and give Him a time line to follow. God rarely follows our time lines.
We also need to consider that the effort required for this endeavour would be complex. A weekend retreat doesn't just happen you know. God can speak things into existence but we humans have to put our hands to plow. It takes planning, praying and digging just like working a garden. Someone said, “Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you and just before you realize what's wrong with it.” We would definately need the energy of God coarsing through us. We would need His Word in our minds, His will in our hearts and His Spirit anointing every step of each lesson. As I sit here in the comfort of my home on a sluggish, rainy day...I am wondering...is this really a good idea?
The First Cry
When a baby is born, doctors often slap the little backside to make the infant cry. That first cry clears the lungs for the commencement of healthy breathing and expression. In much the same way, we have cried out to God for health and wisdom as we embark on what seems to be clear direction for a women's retreat ministry. It is hard not to jump on vision and opportunity but we have decided to proceed cautiously, without presumption and only with God. If God is not leading the charge on this, then we will gladly, quickly and without regret...resign.
Today (2/15/2010), we met at 9:00 am for prayer and discussion regarding thoughts and Biblical direction, taking into consideration our individual gifting and callings (1 Cor. 12:4-31). Can we be united? Can we see God carry out His plan despite our differences? Actually, we have decided that God will sovereignly work His plan out through our differences if He is in this. Such a feat is evidence of His presence (John 17:13-21). We are priviledged to be participants, wherever He takes us.
Unity in diversity and an anointing will be achieved by humbling ourselves before Him and one another...that's when a God plan comes together. Are we willing to make allowances for God to lead us through our diversity? We concede that He designed the body of Christ to work in this manner but the question is...are we willing to walk with Him that way? You know, women can be pretty strong willed, highly opinionated, extremely emotional and did I mention...controlling? Those ingredients spell disaster rather than success in the natural realm. Yet, we each know God to be the God of the impossible, doing all things through Christ who strengthens us. We decided, yes. We can walk His way according to His will as long as Christ is in the lead.
We see ourselves as individual members of His body and gifted to complement and serve one another. That is the way God designed His Kindom and we are merely falling into line with His design. May our gracious heavenly Father be glorified through us as we follow His Son into the fields white unto harvest (Mt. 9:38).
Today (2/15/2010), we met at 9:00 am for prayer and discussion regarding thoughts and Biblical direction, taking into consideration our individual gifting and callings (1 Cor. 12:4-31). Can we be united? Can we see God carry out His plan despite our differences? Actually, we have decided that God will sovereignly work His plan out through our differences if He is in this. Such a feat is evidence of His presence (John 17:13-21). We are priviledged to be participants, wherever He takes us.
Unity in diversity and an anointing will be achieved by humbling ourselves before Him and one another...that's when a God plan comes together. Are we willing to make allowances for God to lead us through our diversity? We concede that He designed the body of Christ to work in this manner but the question is...are we willing to walk with Him that way? You know, women can be pretty strong willed, highly opinionated, extremely emotional and did I mention...controlling? Those ingredients spell disaster rather than success in the natural realm. Yet, we each know God to be the God of the impossible, doing all things through Christ who strengthens us. We decided, yes. We can walk His way according to His will as long as Christ is in the lead.
We see ourselves as individual members of His body and gifted to complement and serve one another. That is the way God designed His Kindom and we are merely falling into line with His design. May our gracious heavenly Father be glorified through us as we follow His Son into the fields white unto harvest (Mt. 9:38).
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