WE LOVE YOU LORD...THANK YOU, BECKY...

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Almost 90 women made the trip to the southernmost tip of New Jersey (the Garden State... did I say it's beautiful this time of year?) to attend the Pitman church of Christ women's retreat: WOMEN REACHING OUT IN FAITH.

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We had talked to God so much about this retreat:

• "What should the focus be?"


• "Where should it be?"


• "Who should our speaker be?"

It all came together with the wonder that only our awesome Heavenly Father could pull off. We are so thankful! We are so blessed!

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Over the last few days, I have shared "reflective thoughts" from those of us who attended. Today, I want to personally articulate my gratitude to:

• Our Heavenly Father who orchestrated this with His amazing love for us!
• Our elders' wives who tirelessly planned this weekend for over a year
• The women who chose to come, in spite of the multiple ways the devil tried to hinder them
• The women who had an integral part in making it successful: meal planners/organizers, free time activity leaders, song leader, m.c., technology geeks, welcomers, photographer, fashion models, entertainment organizers, and you know who you are...
• The men and children who chose to stay behind and give us a break!
• Becky Holton, our speaker, for her preparation, wisdom, honesty, and above all her deep love for the LORD.
  

We laughed together in what some called a "spiritual fashion show".




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We worshipped together in song, prayer, and the fellowship of our hearts.



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When one was touched to the core, someone else would come close, give a hug, or just sit beside.

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We listened, we learned, and we loved. Thank you, Becky!
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I will continue throughout the week sharing things about this retreat. Some of them will be extremely powerful! God truly made this a time of many connections

1. connections to His will, Word, and Spirit
2. connections to one another
3. connections to our purpose in life
4. connections to things we had no idea that there would be connections to
   
   Stay tuned as I share those later in the week! I'm hoping to also post a slide show of pictures! Right now, as I thank God for bringing Becky to us, I leave you with the last part of a letter that she wrote yesterday. It was to all of those sisters-in-Christ who had attended the retreat. Becky was detained at the Philly airport from flying back to Chicago because of inclement weather. She shares part of that experience:

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"...But God wasn't finished yet. I was sitting in front of three TV monitors with weather, etc. running. There were speakers attached and some music was occasionally playing. Music would play when an agent wasn't making those really loud announcements like "WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE WEATHER PATTERNS BUT WE WILL LET YOU KNOW WHEN WE FIND OUT. BUT BE PREPARED TO TURN ANOTHER YEAR OLDER WHILE YOU WAIT." (Ok, maybe not the last sentence :) Just as I finished reading your sweet notes -- out of those speakers the song "Shout to the Lord" began to play! I am not kidding! The exact words that were playing were "I sing for joy at the works of your hands. Forever I love You, forever I'll stand. Nothing compares to the promise I have in You!" Then another announcement came and that was the ONLY spiritual music I heard while I was there. AMAZING!! I just had to share that with you. God is here and He is all around us and He is at work! We are so blessed to be his daughters!
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I thoroughly enjoyed my time with you this weekend and count it as true joy to have met you all and to know you. Thank you also for the beautiful sea shell Christmas ornaments that you gave me! I will truly enjoy them -- and always with special thoughts of you and our time together. I would like to borrow Paul's prayer to our brothers and sisters at Philippi and give it to you as my prayer for you:
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"I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.

This is my prayer for you:that your love

will grow more and more;

that you will have knowledge and understanding

with your love;

that you will see the difference

between what is important and what is not

and choose what is important;

that you will be pure and blameless

for the coming of Christ;

that your life will be full of the many good works

that are produced by Jesus Christ to bring glory

and praise to God."

(Philippians 1:8-11)

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And as our feet hit the ground in the morning, together let's make Satan "shutter" all day because we are up and loving God with all of our hearts!
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my love and prayers,
Becky
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