Well now that I am catching up on much needed sleep I can finally write about our ladies retreat that took place this past weekend. In my "older" state, it takes me longer to recuperate from the lack of sleep that was a result of an amazing weekend! In fact, I couldn't believe that I needed so much sleep to catch up...guess I'm not a teeny bopper anymore, someone please tell my head that.
I had the privilege of picking up Judy Parmer around 10:00 Friday morning and after packing up my mom's suv (nice and clean, unlike either of our vehicles) we headed to the Hamilton mall. I had to pick up a few things and Judy was game for some shopping. It was great, and gave us time to catch up on everything that we don't usually have time to just chat on the phone about:) After a bit we caught up with Theresa Albani and followed her (who needs a GPS, we had Theresa!!) to a place I had never been before. We went to Whitehouse Sub Shop in Atlantic City!! The three of us got a whole cheese-steak with fried onions and enjoyed the fresh rolls and atmosphere that you can only get at that sub shop!
When we finished up, it was getting cold outside, and so we decided to go to the pier on the boardwalk that has all the shops inside. Every hour on the hour they have a water show that is set to music and has lights ect. It's free for all the shoppers there, so we spent a little time shopping while waiting for the show. It did not disappoint, and the three of us found ourselves tapping our feet to the music. I remembered hearing about something special on the third floor, and so we ventured up to find the rumors were true. There, inside the mall and out of the elements was beach sand and wonderful chairs to sit and relax in! No matter what the weather, you could stick your toes in the sand and enjoy watching the waves below:)
It was time to head over to our hotel after our busy afternoon. The retreat was held at The Flanders Hotel. This hotel is historic, and is beautifully decorated from the Victorian era. The other really cool thing about the hotel is that it is right on the boardwalk which meant great views from our windows:) I completely expected the entire hotel to be overly Victorian, but the rooms were to die for! We had a one bedroom suite. As soon as you walked in the door you felt "beachy", if that's even a word! Light colors, great paintings on the walls, granite counter tops in the kitchenette and light colored furniture. There was absolutely nothing to find fault with in this room. I had two great roomies (Michelle and Janette) and had a great time talking, laughing and crying with them.
The speaker was amazing as well (way to go ladies retreat committee!!). Christine Wyrtzen was our speaker and special musician. It was a great weekend learning how to act like daughters of the king...too often we act like orphans, she taught us how to claim our King as our Father. The testimonies from the ladies in our church were tear jerking and heartfelt. It's true, you never really know someone until you've heard the story of how they became the person they are now. And everyone has a story!!
Saturday was rainy and chilly, so I decided not to go up on the boards (jersey speak for boardwalk), but spend some time in my room reading ect. Janette and Michelle had the same idea, and we soon had one of our other friends stop in, Louisa, and we all laughed, cried and hugged all afternoon! We all agreed that had the weather been different, we would have all gone our separate ways; but God knew we needed that time together:)
The food, friends and teaching were great! Sunday the sun came out and allowed all of us to walk the boards before we had to slip away from the shore and back to real life. I feel blessed to have a husband that took over and held things together while I was gone. The kids were happy I was home, but not desperate for me which made me feel better, I know they enjoyed their daddy time as much as he enjoyed his time with them.
Saturday night was our last night there and what started out as the girls in the room next door coming for a movie, turned into almost 20 women, snacks, movie and great fellowship! It was so fun having the party at our place, and at each turn I feel more and more a part of this great family of women I have at Faith. I am learning that sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone, and that's how you'll get to know people, and they get to know you.
They have taught me (just by being the lovely women they are) that you can't form an opinion on someone until you have gotten to know them. And it is really possible to have lots of loving friends who truly care about you.
Easter is now right around the corner, we are getting ready for an egg hunt here on Friday and more fellowship time. Sunday I am playing a duet with my very talented friend Judy, and we are all celebrating the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord. I hope you all have the joy of celebrating that with us or wherever you may be. Happy Easter everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment