Happy Reformation Day!

Instead of celebrating darkness, let's celebrate this day with something God-given ~ Reformation Day. The historic day when Martin Luther nailed the 95 Thesis to the church door. The birth of the Protestant faith.

Thank you, Martin Luther, for standing for God's truth. 

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

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<><

Cozy Moutain Lodge Retreat

This weekend, the ladies at our church will be on our annual Women's Retreat. I am honored & excited to be leading worship. Our theme is Cozy Mountain Lodge & it looks to be incredible. I have a feeling this will be one of my favorite retreats.

I'm looking forward to our study in the book of Ruth, fellowship with our church friends, good home cookin', comfy beds with down comforters, massage, a service craft to benefits others, hayride, bonfire, s'mores, movie night, hot cider, hot chocolate, crisp temperatures, colorful leaves . . . and the best thing . . . growing closer to the Lord.

I hope you have a great weekend, too.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<>< 

Choices Matter

"Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance." — C. S. Lewis

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” - Dietrich Boenhoeffer 

We are a country that has been blessed, we now have a big decision to make that will have eternal consequences. I hope you are praying for our country.

 Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#71~ A Woman of Noble Character

"Boaz replied, 'I've been told all about what you have done . . . ' . . . And now, my daughter, don't be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character." ~Ruth 2:11(a); 3:11

"But the noble man makes noble plans, and by noble deeds he stands." ~Isaiah 32:8

This weekend, the women of our church will be at our annual Women's Retreat. The topic of the weekend will be the book of Ruth. Ruth has much to teach us about family relatonships, taking godly advice, honor, devotion; and Boaz, her Kinsmen-Redeemer, represents a fore-shadowing of Jesus as our Redeemer.

Something I admire about our Bible heroes is that God lets us glimpse their imperfections. It lets me know that He can use even me ~ even you. Just as God used this little woman who came to Naomi's family from a different people, He can use those of us who came from different faiths ~ or even no faith at all ~ and build us into the people He can use.

Things couldn't have been easy for Ruth, but she was teachable of the things of the Lord. As she grew in her love and devotion for her husband and his family, so she also grew in her love and devotion to their God, the One True God. And He became her God. In spite of mistakes I'm sure she made, as she was no different than us, her reputation as a godly, honorable "woman of noble character" went before her. 

We are not perfect; the Christian walk is a walk of continual growth. We may stumble along the way, but let us try to walk humbly and with devotion to our Lord. Let us walk in such a way that our noble character precedes us.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

And Her Married Life Has Begun . . .

"I don't want to look strange or fixed up today," she said. "I don't want a fashionable wedding, but only those about me whom I love, and to them I wish to look and be my familiar self." . . . ~Little Women, Ch. 25

Last Friday, THE Man & I gave away a piece of our hearts ~ We gave our oldest darling daughter away in marriage. 

One of our girls' life-long friends always said that she would like to get married in the rain, well, if she were still in this area & could have attended the wedding, she would have thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a blustery, chilly, RAINY ~ but other-wise beautiful ~ fall day for an outdoor wedding on a farm. And it was lovely & heart-felt. 

 Farm gazebo & barn where the reception was.

Our two girls ~ all grown up & lovely young women. They are my heart.

At rehearsal, the night before, it was cold & windy & we were still hoping to be able to be seated during the ceremony while the wedding party would be under the gazebo.

Our pastor officiated the ceremony & kept everyone in line during the rehearsal. He & his wife are dear family friends. Pastor Tom dedicated DD#1 to the Lord as an infant, baptized her in a creek when she was 11 years old & now has officiated at her wedding. What a special man.

Well, it may have been dry under the gazebo, but it wasn't otherwise, so we (& everyone else) had to watch the wedding under the cover of a large awning about 20 feet away. Thank goodness for wireless mics or so that we could hear the ceremony.

 THE Man, walking our baby into her future . . .

. . . and, there, he gave her away.

 Mr. & Mrs. "J"!

I am SO proud of my darling daughter ~ other than baking the wedding cupcakes, she MADE EVERY decoration that was there ~ from her bouquet, attendants' bouquets, the men's boutonniers, the isle decorations, the table center-pieces & favours, the cupcake tiers, wedding party's gifts . . . EVERYTHING. She worked very hard & it really paid off. It was all gorgeous.

 Life-long friends who are more like family.

 New family ~ DD#1's new Mother-in-Love.

 And let's not forget that we finally have a SON! :-)

"They stood watching her, with faces full of love and hope and tender pride, as she walked away, leaning on her husband's arm, with her hands full of flowers, and the [October moonlight] brightening her happy face, ~ and so [J's] married life began." ~Modified from Little Women ~ Ch. 25

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><