Every year has it’s memories and things that made it special, and this year is no different – just take a look at some of the shenanigans below!
You might have thought Women’s Retreats were stuffy and boring, but you’ve never been to one like this. From laughing together until our bellies hurt, to laying hands on a sister with a burden and asking Jesus for healing and breakthrough over her, this retreat is really one of a kind.
This year we opted to view four powerful sermons instead of a session-oriented bible study. Busy moms have sports and other responsibilities, so we thought it would be helpful to make the sessions independent of each other to make it easy for those arriving late or needing to leave early.
After introductions and a one-unique-thing icebreaker, we watched a sermon by Tim Ross, formerly of Gateway Church, from the 2015 Pink Impact conference. It was the perfect sermon to kick-off a weekend – Tim is engaging and quite funny. Check out this clip for yourself…
Anytime you don’t have to cook and clean for yourself is a bonus! And sometimes it even seemed like we just finished eating and it was time for our next meal!
Our next inspiration came from Pastor Shannon Nieman from Abundant Faith Center church in Texas. Her entire sermon on the Proverbs 31 woman went verse by verse and creatively contrasted each between the English Standard Version and the Passion Translation. It’s hard to imagine that any of us can measure up to the standard of the Proverbs 31 woman, but we learned to look at her knowing that we are all equipped to be her already. And how good is our God that he gives us a guideline to work with!
We introduced a new song and style to our worship in “Promises” by Maverick City before taking in a sermon by Sarah Jakes Roberts called “Get Up Girl” – she is a powerhouse! And if you liked “Promises”, check out “Man Of Your Word” and “I Shall Not Want.” Other worshipped songs we were blessed by were “Highlands (Song of Ascent)” by Hillsong, “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music, and “Make Room” by Community Church.
We closed out the weekend with Louie Giglios’ sermon titled, “Don’t Give The Enemy A Seat At Your Table.” And God is so good that even in four independent sermons, he could speak continuity and give each of us what we needed to find in the teachings.
Another big hit this year was the ‘craft’ – and not only because it was fun to do, but because each guest was able to make the craft their own. There were three pre-designed images, yet every shirt created is a variation all it’s own.
Special thanks to the Inspired Sisters team (Amy and Kaitlin), and to Jess who graciously provided her Cricut machine and heat-press for the shirts. (Can anyone say, “guess what’s going on MY christmas list!).
