The Place, The People, and The Purpose

Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.


It was a wonderful time at the Ladies Retreat on Friday night and Saturday. I'd like to share with you the Three P's of how God worked in my heart.

The Place..... The retreat was held at The Palms of Destin Resort. It was a beautiful condo with lots of amenities. It was quiet and serene and afforded us a wonderful atmosphere for drawing closer to the Lord.

The People... About 100 ladies from our church attended the Retreat. There were girls just out of college up to ladies in their 70's with the majoring of ladies being the young set in their 30's and 40's. I enjoyed seeing so many ladies whom I know and then meeting and making some new acquaintances during the retreat. It was a blessing to hear our guest speaker, Debbie Morris as well as our own church member Dee P. Tracy, our pastor's wife, did an excellent job of emceeing the retreat. The ladies who led the singing, played the keyboard, and sang specials were all used of God to draw my heart closer to Him. Of course I so much enjoyed staying with 5 of my dear friends. Sandra, Ann, Lucille, Peggy, and Regina were all used of God to encourage as well as challenge me in my Christian life. The pic is of them on the balcony of our 3-bedroom condo.

The Purpose... The purpose of the retreat was to come apart from our everyday busy lives to be able to focus on God's Word, draw closer to Him, and of course to have some fun time together as sisters-in-Christ. The Theme of the Retreat was "The Secret Garden." The sessions were designed to help us retreat back to the Secret Garden of knowing Christ in a very real and intimate way. It's amazing how easy it is to relegate Him to a backseat in our lives. The Retreat helped me to re-focus as a Christian. It all worked together for good in my heart... the messages from our guest speaker, the fun stuff we did as a group, the meals shared, and the wonderful fellowship and time of sharing with my friends in our room. I'm so glad I was able to attend and know I would go again in a heartbeat, the Lord willing!!

Our Theme Song for the Retreat was "In the Garden." That song is special to me anyway as it was sung at both my mother-in-law's and father-in-law's funerals. I was blessed to read what was printed in our program regarding the words of the first verse and thought I'd share those thoughts here....

"I come to the garden alone" ~~ Matthew 6:6
This verse brings to mind the idea of a secret or private place that you can go and spend time with the Lord. Do you have a special place that you can go to every day to spend time with the Lord? Where is it? What makes that place special? Are there things that draw you to that place?

"While the dew is still on the roses;" ~~ Psalm 5:3, Psalm 63:1
These verses indicate a need to get up early to have a special time with the Lord. Do you get up early?Do you give God the first part of your day or is He just mingled in with the rest of your busy schedule? Some people would say they do better spending time with God at night because they are more alert. Consider this thought: a thing is more precious if it is gained through sacrifice. If an early quiet time with the Lord is a struggle, will it not be sweeter once you have done it?

"And the voice I hear, falling on my ear," ~~ John 10:4-5, 27
The sheep recognizes the voice of the Shepherd because the sheep stays close to the Shepherd. The sheep listens attentively for the voice of the shepherd, and it is not led astray by another. Are we so in tune with the Father that we recognize His voice and leading right away? Do you doubt when you hear or do you know the Father so well that you can recognize it immediately?" I John 4:1 tells us to "...try the spirits whether they are of God." Are you aware of deceivers who would try to lead you astray?

"The Son of God discloses." ~~~ John 20:14-15
Can you just imagine being there in the garden weeping because the One that you love is dead and His body has disappeared? Oh what joy when He says your name! You recognize His voice and are consumed with the fact that He has revealed Himself to you. Do you know that tender love of the Savior? Have you heard him call out your name and speak to you? Is your relationship with God close enough that you hear His voice?

"And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known." ~~Genesis 3:8-9; I John 1:3-4; Revelation 3:20

God came looking for Adam and Eve in the Garden. God desires that we have fellowship with Him. He comes to us and waits for us to enter into that place of fellowship. In order to have sweet fellowship with God, we must first come to God with a clean heart. I John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins and we will receive forgiveness. Are there things in your life that are keeping you from having sweet fellowship with God? Take a moment and do a little inventory of your heart to see any hindrances. Confess those to God. Then ask God to help you to have communion with Him.

I thank God for the privilege of attending the retreat as it was used to bring me back into the secret garden where my heart was reigned in and refocused on JESUS.

Blessings afterwards..... riding home with my daughter Amy, but first, we went shopping in San Destin together. Being just the two of us, we enjoyed a lot of mother-daughter conversation all of the way home. No one would believe how little time we are able to spend together ~~ especially with just the two of us. It was the "treat" of the retreat!!

And then coming home to my sweet Richard. In the past 6 years of living in Pensacola, we have probably not spent more than 5 nights apart. I missed him!! While I was away, he did a couple of neat things for me..... one of which was to do our laundry. That was totally unexpected and a real sweet blessing. :) I thank God for His blessings on all fronts!!