Daring Faith
A little over a week ago our Covenant Women had a retreat at Glenn Eyrie. So fun to be in the castle to learn more about the King. We had three speakers. The first was Kate Martinez. This is the sketch I did of her sermon. She filled her talk with so many encouraging thoughts. Things I needed.
The first was to let go. Let go of fear, worry, control. God has it handled. He is for us and even the Holy Spirit prays for us. He is searching for our hearts. Friends are in prayer for us, too. We need to allow God to take our failures, trash, tragedies, and even good things, and work it all for the good.
We should drop our defenses and give them up with open hands. The acceptance is what I needed to hear. To accept where you are and not to struggle against the past. To accept what you cannot change over, and over, and over again.
Wonder Woman
This sermon by Julie Slayback was one many could relate to. We are Wonder Woman of the daily. Here is where we learned how deeply loved we are by God. How we don't need to be fighting in big wars or have great ministries. We can be used by God in our everyday life. We can use our lasso of truth to speak His love to others. The bracelets are the gratitude we express that reflects self destructive thoughts and the words we say to ourselves that cause depression and fear.
Oh, and don't forget your Wonder Women panties! lol
I especially loved the phrase we are human being, not human doings. Then the best for me was that we are set apart, cared for and loved by God. That every morning and night Julie says these words, "I am a child of God, Deeply loved."
We need each other
Elyse Thornburg spoke on how Christians need each other. When we stand alone in our Christian faith it is like a flamingo standing on one leg. Not as stable, easy to knock down. But two legs together make your stance more steady. This is why we need each other.
Acts 2:46-47 shows us how the early Christians depended on one another. They prayed together. They taught one another. They had fellowship and ate together. Elyse mentioned how small talk is the lubricant to connection. To reach out to those not apart and bring them in with hospitality and caring service.
To finish off she told a story of Casey Franklin that helped a family dealing with illness, and included the importance of sending out others into missions and evangelism.
I am looking forward to next years retreat. This one was smashing!
