Spring Retreat Recap

Fifty women gathered at ALOFT Hotel in Broomfield for our annual Spring Retreat!  It was an amazing time of teaching, worship, prayer, fellowship, food, and fun. 

The ALOFT Hotel has a funky, modern feel to it.  The food was great!  The decorations were cute!  I personally had the opportunity to meet new people, connect with close friends, eat food, shop at the marketplace, worship, and be challenged by our key speaker, Ginger, and breakout speakers.

The ALOFT:

Welcome to Spring Retreat!!

Loving the unique decorations!

Connecting With Other Women as Retreat Begins:

The Yummy Dessert on Friday night! 

Plenty of coffee for all.  A must for any ACC Women Ministries event!

The MCs....i.e. taskmasters!!

Linda and Kinsey

Ginger leading worship the first night:

 

I felt very challenged by Ginger's message, “Strength for the Journey.” I know that we will all be challenged in this life. God makes no promises that our lives will be easy because we love Him. What is the condition of your heart when you face trials? This message seemed so simple to me, yet when I thought about how I’m doing in my own life with the condition of my heart, I realize what a struggle it is to have a heart that this gracious. Lately, I’ve been angry and frustrated when trials have come my way. I am not very pleasant at times.  Much of time I look to overcome trials on my own strength rather than striving to rely on God’s strength. That’s usually when I become unpleasant! However, I find that when I rely on God, those trials seem to be put into perspective. It was a great heart check for me.

 Worship Time:

We brought back the marketplace again this year. The marketplace supports various ministries both local and abroad. I personally used my spending money for the month on a cute t-shirt from Freedom Fashionistas. I got birthday gifts for friends ahead of time from The Starfish Project and ALC Crafts. These organizations work to get women out of human trafficking and provide them with rehabilitation.  They make unique gifts for friends and give me a great opportunity to share about these causes! 

  

 

Krista models the pj pants from Freedom Fashionistas!

We also had the opportunity to have breakout sessions that ranged from fun and informative (Fabulous after Fifty and Find More Time in Your Day and Space in Your House) to fellowship driven (Finding God in Everyday Life). There was even a yoga class!  Another breakout session focused on social justice. Human Trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. This was a tough subject to discuss, but it is important to be informed. We learned some ways we can take active steps in organizations that combat trafficking.  Check out my journey in thinking about these difficult topics -  A Journey and Coke (Zero) Addiction .

Yoga!! Don't forget to come check out the next class at church on May 14th at 7 p.m.!

Debbie teaches us about finding more time in our lives and how to be fabulous after fifty!

Introducing Dawn who spoke about human trafficking:

Going through Finding God in Everyday Life in a Small Group Discussion Format:

We ended the retreat with a time of worship and prayer.  We wrote on stones the name of God that has meant the most to us recently.  I've taken mine home and put it on the piano because I walk by it every day.  I want it to be a symbol of what God has done in my life.  Who knows... I've thought about making my own rock decoration in my house and using rocks to symbolize the significant events in my life where God has shown himself.  Maybe I'll put them in a funky, clear vase. 

We ended by encouraging one another and "tagging" others with sticky notes of encouragment!  What a great way to end the weekend!

See....we had so much fun!  Don't miss out next year!

Many parts of this weekend were challenging. Ginger shared her experience with us about her trip to a children’s jail in Uganda. She also shared about her passion for World Vision. We hit on topics of social justice like human trafficking. These topics are heartbreaking. I was so encouraged by the response of the women here. They have such compassionate and caring hearts!  It was great to see God move amongst such difficult subjects. 

When people hear about Arvada Covenant Women Ministries I want them to hear great things about our events like good food, great teaching, fun atmosphere and a great place to connect with other women. But, I also want them to hear that we are passionate about bringing about awareness of hurting people and promoting ways to help those people. 

In my blog post - A Journey, I quote a verse from Micah 6:8 - And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. This is my heart's desire for our ministry!  Thanks for going on this "Journey" with me! Thanks to all the women who attended the retreat! I appreciate you kind, compassionate, and caring hearts!

Kinsey Ringenberg ~ Women Ministries Chair