Girl's Retreat!

This past weekend we had a high school girl's retreat at the Sunset View B&B in Big Lake. It was awesome!! Vangie and I got the idea this winter and we ran with it. I actually based a lot of it off a one day retreat we did years ago at WBC. We had 4 sessions: Home and Hospitality, Friendship, Purity/Dating, Faith and Life.

Linda and Vangie did a fantastic job presenting on things from setting a table, cooking a meal, etiquette (I learned a lot) and welcoming friends in your home (even if it's just to sleep over). Amy Elder and I did the session on Friendship and we talked about 4 seasons of friendships (spring, summer, fall, winter) and how to break out of cliques and/or stop putting up walls that hinder friendships from happening. Kathy, Courtney and Cheryl did an excellent talk on Purity. A highlight being an anonymous Q&A session they did with our youth guys on what they look for in a godly woman and what they do and don't appreciate about how girls present themselves (i.e. pursuing, being desperate, dress, etc.). Anita Bacon and I wrapped the weekend up with a session on Faith and Life. I emphasized the importance of worship and being immersed in the WORD of God and Anita B. did her usual bang up job of how to share the Gospel. Anita Bacon is one of the most evangelistic minded people I have ever met. She did a really neat short study getting the girls to DRAW out their 3-5 minute testimony and then had them share.

In retrospect it was a bit of a whirlwind weekend, very packed with LOTS of good info! When we do it again next year I think we'll leave a little more down time in the schedule but the girls LOVED it. That was the hope, that they would be loved on, encouraged and challenged in their walk with the Lord. Thank you Lord for a blessed weekend!

I only got pics were of the first session b/c my camera battery died. If I get more group pics I'll post them later.