Retreat Recap

Last weekend was spent with a small group of other homeschool mamas from our church's covering at our annual Moms' Retreat. I look forward to this event every year!

 

Y'all, it was like a two-day/night sleepover with some of my best friends, complete with an endless supply of chocolate (thanks to the post-Valentine's day clearance sales) and late nights up talking in our jammies on our beds. It was wonderful! But, the best part of this sleepover/retreat were the times I spent face-to-face with God. Not literally, of course, but those times when you close your eyes and He's all you see. The times when you feel like He really is right there. I want to live like that everyday, but I don't. Life happens and I forget to look up:

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,

from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD,

which made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2

But this past weekend was amazing; I might even say it was life-changing. I'd love to share with you some things from our sessions that really spoke to me, things that remind me to look up. So, here we go:

This book was the underlying theme of our retreat. We all received a copy when we arrived, but I haven't had time to start reading it until yesterday. It is soooo good!

Okay, I'm going to just start writing things that really jump out to me while I look back in my notes. It may seem random, but that's how we're rollin' tonight. ;)

• If I'm having trouble with a sin in my life, I need to invite Jesus into it. He will help! God is quiet, gentle, and kind. God doesn't do shame! (that was big for me)
• Justification - my Jesus costume. I'm not judged on my righteousness; God sees His beloved Son when He looks at me.
• How much Jesus do I have in my life? As much as I want. (ouch!)
• Brokenness and its benefits (I had to just take a picture of my notes for this one):

(Click to enlarge)

Pretty sure that each time I've prayed for brokenness I did so with my fingers crossed, hoping God really wouldn't do it. 

• As a wife and mama, I want to laugh more!
• Am I fun to live with? (this one really got me)
• Take that joy; don't be so uptight. Laugh and breathe. God's 'got this.'
• God's Word is a lamp unto my feet - just enough light for the next step. TRUST.
• Life is fluid; people come and go. Enjoy the blessings!
• Worship is the main goal of each day. I need to acknowledge the Lord in all I do.
• Worship - blowing kisses to Jesus (isn't that an awesome picture!)
• When grief presses me to the ground, worship there.
• Fear is a choice. Instead, choose to trust God.
• Rest in the fact that I am truly accepted by God. I'm my Daddy's girl (love that!).
• Life is hard, God is good. Don't confuse them.
• Sacrifice is not convenient.
• I'm not perfect. If I were, I wouldn't need Jesus.
• Be deliberate about having a relationship with my kids. Have fun with them! If I'm not having fun, what am I doing? Is it always instruction. Always discipline? I want to have the kind of relationship with my girls that when they mess up, they feel comfortable coming and talking with me about it. I don't want them to be scared that I'm going to bring the hammer down on them. If they're scared, communication will stop and things will happen in secret, under the radar. Nope, I certainly don't want that.
• We are not guaranteed tomorrow.
• Wisdom - a permanent character change as a result of an encounter with God (love that definition!)

I could share so much more (click here to see my post on our awesome worship music), but I'll stop with those points. My absolute biggest takeaway was the point about my relationship with my girls. Am I fun to live with? Will they come to me when they're in trouble, or will they hide because they're scared of my punishment. Am I fun to live with; I just keep coming back to that question, and it applies to my relationship with the hubs, too.

It's certainly a good question. . .

Good night, friends.