2012 Women's Retreat ~ Cozy Mountain Lodge

There's nothing like getting away from it all ~ no T.V., no radio, no computers ~ and spending some quality time with friends while we all grow in the Lord . . . Nothing. 

And this past weekend, that's just what I did. And while there, I had the privilege of leading worship. I do believe that this was my favorite retreat; the theme was Cozy Mountain Lodge & the Bible study was on the book of Ruth. Fantastic!

The retreat took place at one of my favorite places, Golden Eagle Retreat Center in rural Palestine, Ohio. The building, itself, is an old school that has been lovingly, beautifully & extensively re-done. The classrooms have been remodeled into dorm rooms with custom made bunk beds with comfy mattresses & each bed has a thick, fluffy, cooshie down comforter. This was our room . . .

As we all arrived, we congregated in the entry hall, where yummy snacks awaited us.

Soon, we all began to gather in the gym, where our most of our meeting time would be . . . 

Each lady received a lovely goodie bag with a lesson book, a CD of all the music we would be singing, treats and other little thoughtful goodies. And each table was set up to catch the Northwoods mood.

We even had a little camp-site ~ put up a camp chair & sit around the fire!

First order of the evening, after everyone was welcomed, was the first of our yummy country meals. All served with love & a smile from the kitchen staff.

As I mentioned earlier, I had the privilege of leading worship . . . 

One of our lessons included trying to make something out of what life hands you. We were given a bag of "stuff" & tried to make a house out of it. Here's our table's work of art ;-) . . . 

We had such great speakers, all ladies from our own church, each covered a particular topic gleaned from the book of Ruth . . . 

An on-going project for each lady was the building of a little log cabin. After some of the studies, an item was added ~ the foundation, the supporting walls, the roof & the welcoming open front door. With the addition of each part, we added our own touch to them. I won't share what they were, exactly, because they are personal to myself & each lady, but we wrote a particular something on the foundation, our table-mates wrote special messages to us on a particular piece, a special Scripture was added to the roof interior, etc. Here's some of the process of my cabin . . .

 

Table-mates changed from time-to-time, here's a pic of one of my groups . . . 

Evenings were spent in fellowship: conversation, games, walking & movie watching in comfy cozy living room ~ fireplace blazing, of course.

On one of our days, we did a service project. We each put together a barley soup mix to give to someone who would need it ~ for someone who has had a baby, facing a hard time, needs cheering, etc. We prayed over whoever would receive our soup as a group . . . 

Another very special time was on the last day, as we were exploring how God builds each room of our homes, & what each room means to us, we all received a heart-shaped necklace with two Scripture verses on them ~ Psalm 46:1 & Psalm 23:6. In the future, as we see each one of us wearing our necklaces from time-to-time, it will remind us of a very special weekend we shared together that grew us closer to each other & to the Lord.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><