Gateway Women's Retreat 2008

Refresh. Renew. Restore. Was Gateway's theme for this year's annual women's retreat. This year was my first time on a women's retreat and it was everything I needed and more. After a long week and a hairy Friday morning trying to tie up some loose ends, I was looking forward to a nice, long hill country drive out to Camp Buckner. However, God had something else in mind for me that day. I got a call at the office from a young woman who just recently started attending Gateway and this was also her first retreat and she needed a ride. I told her that I had some extra room in my truck and she planned to meet me up at the church around 1pm. I planned to leave a little early because I was in charge of picking up a generous coffee and tea donation from Cupprimo, (a new cupcakery) and I was helping set up the silent auction. Sarah met me up at the church and we were on our way. During our 1 1/2 hour ride out to the camp, we talked about life and about what a God has been doing at Gateway and I learned that Sarah had been wrestling with some ideas about her faith for several years. What an amazing God we have that placed Sarah and I together for this retreat! Once we arrived at the camp, we made a b-line for the massage sign up sheet. Ah the joy of arriving to an event early-I hopped right on the massage table and enjoyed a 20 minute massage-Nice! Later that night, our lovely worship band kicked off the weekend and gracefully serenaded us as we met with our small groups-which were formed by zip code and made up of 8 women who had never met each other -Genius! Saturday I attended a two hour "Silence and Solitude" seminar with the fabulous Karen Royer and found myself really connecting with God and realizing how important alone time with Him is. The afternoon was free time and so I headed over to my chateau to squeeze in a nap before dinner. On my walk back, I found Renee out on the porch making homemade detergent and my sweet friend Amanda. I always enjoy seeing Amanda-but this time was particularly special. We had planned to catch up earlier last week at the office-but our schedules never matched. We ended up lying on our backs on the deck for an hour or so watching the clouds go by and talking about God's presence in our lives...what a beautiful sister in Christ. I heard so many stories from so many women from so many backgrounds and it was lovely to see God working through hurting, broken women and fill them with a new song.
As I look forward to reflecting on everything from my experience at the retreat, I thank God for his goodness and grace this weekend and for opening some doors I had closed this semester.

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12)
Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.