God's Gifts to Me through the Ladies' Retreat (by Jill Osborne)

The Women’s Ministries of Faith Baptist Church sponsored a Ladies’ Retreat October 14 and 15 at Camp Gilead, Polk City, Florida.

  

• Gift #1 – Beautiful weather!
    
• Gift #2 – The joy of seeing ladies of all ages from Faith fellowshipping together.
    
• Gift #3 – The opportunity to learn new things from our ladies.
    
• Gift #4 – The fun of seeing so many ladies involved in serving the Lord!
    
• Gift #5 – The blessing of sharing God’s Word and life lessons with our ladies.
    
• Gift #6 – The time to talk with ladies and get to know them better.
    
• Gift #7 – The prospect of continued growth, unity and ministry among the ladies of Faith.
     

Related Posts:

• Broken & Spilled Out - Thoughts on the Ladies' Retreat (by Lee Dusing)
• God Gives Good Gifts - A Ladies' Retreat

Broken & Spilled Out - Thoughts on the Ladies' Retreat (by Lee Dusing)

The Women’s Ministries of Faith Baptist Church sponsored a Ladies’ Retreat October 14 and 15 at Camp Gilead, Polk City, Florida.

  
"Broken and spilled out

And poured at Your feet

In sweet abandon, let me be spilled out

And used up for Thee"
  

That is one of the verses the "Retreat Choir" sang for us from "Broken and Spilled Out." That tune has been running in my mind since then. What a retreat! What a blessing I received from all that went on. But also, those words were true for me. Physically? By the time Dan brought me home after the retreat, I could hardly get up the three steps to get in the house. Spiritually? My Spiritual Cup is filled up and overflowing!
   

Early in the week, it was becoming apparent that satan did not want things to go well. I kept fighting a low-grade fever most of the week. Cancellations started coming in, all with good reasons, but it sure kept the book work busy trying keep up with it all. When Phyllis Foster had to cancel because of Jim's surgery, I felt so bad for her because she had literally spent hours helping me with the retreat and was looking forward to it so much. Other problems kept showing up. All of us were praying that the Lord would pour out His blessings and challenge the ladies coming, us included. I started telling others that the Lord must be going to work mightily, because satan was fighting so hard.
   

From my perspective, the Lord got the victory. What a blessing it was as I watched the ladies fellowshipping and meeting new friends. Thanks to Nadine mixing us up at meals, we had to sit by our birth month at one meal and by our folder color at another meal. Then she had questions to be asked and discussed. The fellowship continued Friday night around the "S'more Time" by the bonfire. What a beautiful night the Lord gave us. The stars were out and the temperature was just right. Most of all there was not 6 inches of rain like the previous weekend.

Helen VanHorn performing in a skit.
  

Because of responsibilities, the General Sessions were the only parts I observed. The blessings from all the fantastic speakers, challenges, songs, skits, even Terri making us exercise filled my cup to "overflowing." I watched the Lord answer prayers as some issues presented themselves for solutions. Did we make mistakes, yes, I am sorry to say. Yet, He never deserted us. 
  

Terri Hunter leading an exercise session.
   

Praise the Lord for allowing me to be used, stretched, challenged, but never abandoned. He was right with me giving the wisdom needed. Praise the Lord for all the ladies that helped, whether doing something before the ladies or behind the scenes. Praise the Lord!


See also: Birds at the Ladies Retreat

Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops

If you are registered to attend the Ladies’ Retreat on Oct. 14 and 15 but don’t know which workshops interest you or what your “alternate choices” will be if you cannot attend your first choices, check out two of the workshops below and find links to many of the other workshop at the bottom or this article.

Couponing Workshop

If you’re using coupons to save 10¢ here and 50¢ there, you’re not using coupons to their full potential. Missy Eby’s couponing workshop at the Ladies’ Retreat will help you make the most out of saving money with coupons!

Missy Eby (pictured above) appears on TLC’s reality show Extreme Couponing. Using coupons, she once spent only $4 for $1160 worth of products!

Workshop leader Missy Eby says she got involved in couponing out of necessity. “We needed to survive financially because we were not making ends meet on a weekly basis. So I started couponing, and we have been making it ever since.”

Missy took a 30-minute class on couponing at a friend’s home, where she learned the basics. About three weeks later, she started hosting classes herself, and now she has taught over 13,000 families!

Missy says her workshop will teach wives “how to be good stewards of their money and helping their family finances and just making sure that they can provide for their family.”

Come to Missy’s workshop to learn from an experienced “couponer,” who is in her second season as a cast member of TLC’s Extreme Couponing!

Organization Workshop

The organization workshop will be led by Karen Hafner, who will address the “most important places in the home that need organizing to keep the function and flow of the home going smoothly.” Karen will also talk about adding distinctive design flair in the areas that are organized.

Karen says, “Sometimes we feel that organizing is just a big, huge task, that a lot of times we don’t even want to begin to tackle. And there are some simple guidelines that you can go by when you’re learning to organize certain areas and purging certain areas. I truly believe that the more organized you are, the more efficient you are. Efficiency is the goal—not that you can do everything faster, but that you can enjoy the things you’re supposed to be doing instead of having so much mental clutter that weighs you down from doing the things God would have you do.”

Karen suggests that women of all ages can benefit from this workshop. She says, “I used to think that women raising a family with small children at home” would benefit most from help in getting organized, but she has offered help long enough now to know that even retired women with both spouses at home say, “Why do I have so much stuff, and where do I put it?” Karen concludes that needing to organize one’s home applies to all age groups.

So no matter your age or home, come to Karen’s workshop and learn how to organize with flair!

Related Posts:

• God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat
• Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Break-Making Workshop
• Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card-Making
• Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling
• Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops
• Ladies' Retreat - Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop

Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling

Join the women of Faith Baptist Church at a ladies’ retreat on Oct. 14 and 15. Costs vary, giving you options. $20 is due at registration. The last day to register is this Sunday, Oct. 2. (Balance due Oct. 9.) The retreat is being held at Camp Gilead, Polk City, Fla.

3 Rs of Parenting

Workshop leader Jill Osborne (pictured above with her family) says, “Of course there are more than just three” Rs of parenting, “but I’m going to talk about only three basic disciplines that if you practice them, God can bless your parenting.”

Jill says the Lord has shown her and her husband (Pastor Osborne) these three Biblical, commonsense principles “that have really worked—not just with our children, but as we’ve observed other people.”

Jill has observed that moms can become uptight about parenting. These 3 Rs will encourage mothers that parenting is not as difficult it might seem. Jill says that grandmothers can benefit from these three principles but that the workshop is geared more toward younger moms because “you develop your parenting style really early, and it determines how your kids turn out.”

Jill has learned these Biblical principles primarily through experience, so Jill will be sharing answers that God has given her along the way. If you’re a young mother, soon to be a mother, or hoping one day to be a mother, plan to attend Jill’s workshop!

Prayer Journaling

Nadine Gentry, an experienced Bible study leader, will lead the workshop on prayer journaling. To find out more about Nadine click HERE.

She says the first time she did prayer journaling—even though she hates writing—was when her children were in high school. Life with three teens was busy, and Nadine quit journaling her prayers for a while.

In 1994, Nadine took a Bible study that encouraged journaling. Based on Philippians 4:6 and 7, she began writing out her prayers and listing her concerns. She has not stopped journaling since.

Nadine says journaling does more than give you a record you can go back to look at. “It helps you focus on prayer, and the Holy Spirit will guide your prayers,” she says. Nadine says three things have contributed to her spiritual growth: prayer journaling, Bible study, and praying facedown. “Prayer journaling is so important to me,” she says. “It increases dependence on God and faithfulness. And when I get discouraged, I can get my prayer journals, look at them, and see where God has answered them or how He has answered them or areas that I’m still struggling with that I struggled with years ago. When you really look at it, there are many things that you don’t realize you’re growing in until you go back and see where you were,” says Nadine.

Come to Nadine’s workshop to be strengthened, challenged, and encouraged!

Related Posts:

• God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat
• Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Bread-Making Workshop
• Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card Making
• Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling
• Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops
• Ladies' Retreat - Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop

Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement through Card-Making

On Friday and Saturday, Oct. 14 and 15, 2011, women from Faith Baptist Church will join together at Camp Gilead in Polk City, Fla., for a Ladies’ Retreat. This time away together will include fellowship, recreation, main sessions, workshops, and more! Read more about this retreat and learn how you can sign up to attend.

Scrapbooking

Beth Brown (pictured above with her daughter) was introduced to scrapbooking by friends at the bank where she worked. She says:

“I always enjoyed pictures anyway, but scrapbooking was a really neat way to make it more crafty and more interesting.”

A group of friends and coworkers would scrapbook together, but eventually they lost their meeting space. A couple of years ago, Beth asked permission to hold scrapbooking sessions at church.

“We started meeting, usually one day a month for five or six hours,” says Beth. “Last year we decided that wasn’t enough time, so we started doing it all evening on a Friday and then the next Saturday.”

Beth says it’s nice to be able to leave their stuff out overnight. She says, “We can have anywhere from two people to twelve people, and they come and go as they need to.” These sessions are free and available to all ladies. Beth considers scrapbooking a way to preserve memories and pictures.

She points out that many people have gone digital, but

“I still like the paper books where I can take it to someone and someone can sit down and look at what we’ve done. I like to have something I can present to somebody—whether it’s a gift or something we keep on hand that the kids will take with them,” says Beth.

Beth will be introducing scrapbooking in her workshop at the retreat. She will lead everyone through putting a fall page together that they can take home and add their own photos to. She has already done a lot of the work, with cutting and so forth, to provide the supplies. Beth says, “Even though I’ve cut a lot of the stuff out, everyone’s page will end up looking different. That’s what I’m excited to see.” Come and see for yourself too!


Encouragement

Ruth Wright (pictured at top) and Sue Smith (pictured below) will lead a card-making workshop on encouragement.

Sue Smith made this poster for FX. She used a variety of materials, including "re-purposed" tableware.

Ruth Wright and Sue Smith, relative newcomers to Faith Baptist Church, are leading a workshop on encouragement. Both Sue and Ruth are card makers and will help the ladies who attend the encouragement workshop make cards too. She says,

“When you make something for someone, that lets them know that they’re very special. It’s a part of you that you’re sending them. I think that when people make cards, it sends a special message.”

Ruth has always tried “to say positive things to people, especially when they were going through trials.” She says that making and sending cards

“is one way we can let people know we are thinking of them, especially when they’re going through a trial. When I started making cards, it was simply by making a picture and coloring it in with chalk.”

Sue Smith, designer of this poster, can help you uncover your creativity and discover your ability to make cards and encourage others. Join her and Ruth Wright for the workshop on encouragement through card-making!

Come to the workshop, make cards, and spread encouragement!

Related Posts:

• God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat
• Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Break-Making Workshop
• Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card-Making
• Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling
• Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops
• Ladies' Retreat - Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop

Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Bread-Making Workshop

The Women’s Ministries of Faith Baptist Church is sponsoring a Ladies’ Retreat October 14 and 15 at Camp Gilead, Polk City, Florida. The theme is “God gives good gifts." Read more about the retreat and how to register. In this post, learn about two exciting aspects of this upcoming retreat.

Workout Time at Ladies’ Retreat

As women arrive at Camp Gilead, register, and take their stuff to their rooms or cabins, they will have options on how to spend the rest of the afternoon. One of those options is to join Terri Hunter and Kelly Hill in the gym for a workout time. Terri says she has been working out and pursuing fitness since she was a junior in high school,

“where I was first introduced to weightlifting. From there, I learned more about yoga, Pilates, weightlifting, and the different related fields. I really was a guinea pig on myself to find out what are the most efficient ways to get in shape, to be healthy, to live a healthy lifestyle.”

Terri Hunter (pictured above) and Kelly Hill will lead a workout time.

She turned to books, magazines, and athletic friends to learn more about physical fitness. When asked how she, a busy mom of six children, makes time to exercise, Terri says that pursuing fitness has to be a priority.

“For me,” she says, “I feel better—I’m a better wife, I’m a better mother when I feel good. That includes feeling strong and healthy, eating well, controlling what I eat, what I do. I find that you have to plan for it and put it on your schedule. I find that it can’t be at the end of the day unless you have a lot of energy at the end of the day. The earlier you can do it your day, the better. I find it easiest to do it with a buddy. I almost always have an exercise buddy that can help me be accountable. Right now that’s Kelly Hill (and has been for several years). Another thing to make it a priority is to plan on doing a race or some other event.”

Terri ran the Gasparilla, a 15k race. She has six children. During her pregnancies, she gained and lost over 320 pounds! She has successfully lost the weight through determination and hard work. Join her and Kelly Hill in the gym at Camp Gilead for exercise during the Ladies' Retreat.

Terri says that in a good week, she exercises five or six times a week, but in a bad week, two to three. She says it depends on how crazy everything is but that she does not go a week without exercising unless she is physically ill. “It gives me sanity,” says Terri. In addition to the exercise time in the gym, Terri will take five minutes during three main sessions to talk about physical fitness: the importance of moving, diet, and favorite movements. Be sure to stop by the gym to spend time with Terri and Kelly.

Bread-making Workshop

Does a workshop on making bread sound like something for dedicated housewives and homemaking divas only? Do you think, “Bread-making workshop? Un-uh, no way!” Think again!

Workshop leader Eileen Mincey did not get into bread-making because she loves to cook. She is not a Martha Stewart wannabe. She got into bread-making because it offers her a healthy choice of bread, buns, muffins, and even pizza dough to feed her family. Eileen learned through a CD on nutrition about a woman who had had an aggressive form of breast cancer but was healed after she stopped eating processed flour and white sugar.

“This just clicked inside of me,” says Eileen, “because the Old Testament is always talking about grain and flour and wheat and stuff. So I told my husband that I thought we needed to make our own bread. He agreed, and I bought a mill and ordered wheat. I also got a mixer because I didn’t want to be kneading the bread—because I didn’t want to do this, but it seemed the way to go.”

Eileen learned that within three days, ground wheat loses 90 percent of its nutrients through oxidation.

“So the flour you buy at the store,” points out Eileen, “is not as nutritious as when you buy the wheat whole and grind it yourself and then make the bread right then and there.”

To learn more about this healthful choice, be sure to attend Eileen’s workshop!

Related Posts:

• God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat
• Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Bread-Making Workshop
• Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card Making
• Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling
• Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops
• Ladies' Retreat - Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop

God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat

On October 14 and 15, dozens of women from Faith will gather at Camp Gilead for a retreat. The whole thing is the brainchild of Lee Dusing.

The Idea for a Retreat—about Talents (Gifts)
Last spring, Lee went with some other women from Faith to a ladies’ retreat sponsored by the Sunshine Baptist Fellowship and held at Camp Sparta in Sebring. She says:

“We had just gone to that retreat at Camp Sparta. I’ve been here almost five years, and I said, ‘Hey, how come we haven’t had a retreat?’”

Lee says that’s when she learned she should have kept her mouth shut—the retreat was her idea, so she was asked to head it up, along with Jill Osborne.

The theme, “God Gives Good Gifts,” came from Lee’s realization that, in her words, “the church is so loaded with talent, it amazes me. I was thinking about what we would do, and that’s when the idea of the talents came up.” She says that a good way to view the retreat is “some to use their talents and gifts in presenting various workshops and presentations, and others to find their talents from those.”

Lee says there are several goals. “Number one,” she says with a smile in her voice, is “for the ladies to get away.” She then points out that many women don’t realize they have talents. They think that if they are not musical or artistic, they don’t have a talent. She hopes women will attend the retreat and “look inside and see where the Lord can put them to work.” She points to herself, saying, “I have to stick to my birds and my computers and loving the Lord” as her talents. Lee does not simply enjoy bird-watching; she has a web-based ministry through which she shares the gospel, God’s Word, and, of course, birds. Lee blogs here on The Fountain as well as at her own website http://leesbird.com/.


In addition to her responsibilities as the retreat’s coordinator, Lee will be leading two workshops, one on bird-watching (no surprise there) and one on E-Sword, a Bible study program.

Lee’s Bird-watching Workshop
Lee previously lived in the Ft. Lauderdale area. She says:

“There were all kinds of birds right by our house—we had a lake. I started seeing them, becoming aware of them. There was a little park nearby. The naturalist there took me under her wings and trained me. She got my interest piqued. I’m not an expert, but I enjoy watching God’s creatures.”

“The main gist” of her bird-watching workshop, she says, “will be making people aware of birds. You can’t be a birdwatcher if you’re not aware of birds. I’m going to show how to use binoculars and give general tips on bird-watching.”

Lee’s E-Sword Workshop
Lee is a fan of E-Sword and recommends it. But she learned from experience that people she recommended it to don’t always know what to do with it past a certain point. So for this workshop she will have her laptop set up, show learners how to load the program, how to download the options, and go from there. E-Sword lets users find Bible words and verses in a variety of translations and provides access to dictionaries, commentaries, and other resources.


Retreat Registration and Costs

The last day to register for the retreat is Sunday, Oct. 2. Twenty dollars ($20) is due at registration, with the balance due on Oct. 9. You can register on Sundays at the Information Desk in the church foyer or simply by sending us your name and which 'plan' you would like to register for. Various plans are available:

• $65—Cabin accommodation, one night + meetings + 3 meal
• $45—No overnight accommodations, all meetings + 3 meals
• $35—Saturday meetings only + 2 meals
• $20—Friday meetings only + 1 meal

Related Posts:

• God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies' Retreat
• Ladies' Retreat - Workout Time & Break-Making Workshop
• Ladies' Retreat - Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card-Making
• Ladies' Retreat - Parenting & Prayer Journaling
• Ladies' Retreat - Couponing & Organization Workshops
• Ladies' Retreat - Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop

Heart to Heart - Ladies Retreat

This past week-end, eight ladies from Faith attended the "Heart to Heart" retreat at Camp Sparta. All of us agree that it was a very good and profitable time.We were assigned our cabin and all enjoyed a "bottom bunk." One stayed at the inn where she was well treated and one came for Saturday only.

We were fed a great dinner which was accompanied by a beautiful sunset over Lake Sparta. All of our meals were delicious and plentiful. Bethany Baptist of Avon Park, the sponsoring church, knows how to give a pleasurable retreat. They did a fantastic job in all aspects.

Our speaker, Barb Reynolds, left -4° in Iowa to come speak. That gave her a "Merry Heart" to start. The three sessions were informative, inspiring and challenging: (Excerpts from our handout)

My Broken Heart:

Even when I am busy serving God, I can have heart issues.

• When my heart is broken God cares. 
• When it is overwhelmed, God provides. 
• When my heart is sinful, God forgives. 

God uses all of the above situations for His Glory.

My Merry Heart:
A merry heart is not about my circumstances. It is about my choices.
If my life is totally in my hands and what happens is dependent on me, then I'm in trouble! In spite of my circumstances I can choose a merry heart. Sometimes we get more concerned about out circumstances, than about the One Who controls them.
A merry heart is not about my stuff. It is about my Saviour.

Pro 17:22  A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

My Servant's Heart:

1Sa 12:24  Only fear the LORD, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

Remember

David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee. (1 Samuel 17:37 KJV)

Respond

Serve Him in truth with all your heart.

God has chosen to use me, but it is, oh so not about me. It is all about Him.


We were also provided with good music, and comedy by a "Barbershop Quartet" singing about their "Rubber Ducky." Win-it-in-a-minute brought many laughs.There was also free time with different things to do. Helen VanHorn did her Scissor thing for some of us with Renee and Mary's help. I was privileged to be able to show a Birds of the Bible presentation. Helen and Cindy Harrell joined the volunteer choir. Eilene went Antiquing. Cindy gathered at the Bonfire.

Here are some of their comments: "Fellowship was outstanding. Didn't come away with a quilt feeling." (Helen); "Excellent" (Jonita); "Fantastic" "Enjoyed the fellowship" "Refreshing"  (Lee); "Great food" "Laid-back and Fantastic" (Cindy); "Fun" "Great at Hotel" (Eilene); "Speaker was very encouraging - very good" (Esther) "Would do it again" (by all).

Check out Bethany Baptist's Photos of the Retreat