Blessings of a Retreat

by Wendie Beddingfield

Oh, my girls! We're back from a short weekend away at the Rockin' C Ranch in Lindale--but what God did in just a matter of a couple of days!

For those of you who were not able to attend, I wanted to let you know that I have now taken on the responsibility of leading the Women of Hope ministry team, and I wanted to share a little of what we experienced and give thanks to those that helped make it happen.

Laura Miller shared her story of trials and transformation for us to take in and see how God worked wonders and changed her family forever and is continuing to change it. We've taken in this testimony and are now given a choice....what are we going to do with it? Store it away, saying, "Yeah, that was such a great retreat..." and keep going with life how it was before this weekend? Or, listen for God's prompting to make a change, in our thought-life, in our routines, in our habits, in our words, or wherever God is moving you to be transformed. He's going to do it--we just have to let him!

I was overwhelmed to hear of the outpouring of love and thanks not only with words but with the offering that was given Sunday morning for the Women of Hope ministry. I want to thank each and every one of you ladies who attended--your willingness to be open and vulnerable and to hear from God was amazing and SO encouraging. Many women prayed openly for the very first time during our small groups; way to go, girls! You overcame such a great hurdle, and I pray that is only the beginning to more steps toward growing closer to God and to those sisters that walk alongside you.

I also want to thank those ladies that were praying back at home both before, during and after the retreat. Your desire to see God's will fulfilled through these ladies and your heartfelt prayers are incredibly invaluable. To Jodi Graham and Sarah Wright, thank you for being available for prayer during the retreat--it was so great to know you were there to pray!

Again, I would like to thank Linda Brown as well as Joanna Robertson and Rhoda Ostertag for their faithful service in the Women of Hope ministry at New Hope for the past several years. Each will be stepping down to pursue God's call on her life down different avenues, but your faith and action have helped bring us as a ministry to the place we are today. Thank you Linda for the leadership you gave to our team through the trials and the fun times, too--you're a true blessing!

Rita Armenta, your leadership in our time of praise and worship throughout the retreat was incredible. Thank you for your desire and your work to prepare to bring these ladies into God's throne room, and for your heart to be more than a song-leader. Deborah Yates and Shannon Quick--our little "shedaisies"--thanks for getting up there to support Rita and make such a beautiful, joyful noise before the Lord.

And, for our small group leaders: Karen Bontrager, Molly Bower, Cristol Morgan, Hilary Nagel, Sam Senitz, and Kristi Westergard-- I can't tell you enough how thankful I am for your willingness to listen to these women, to ask some hard questions, to provide a safe place for them to be open and reveal what's really in their heart, the hurts, the fears, the bitterness, the things we generally hide so that we don't have to deal with it. God has used each of you in a mighty way this weekend! What a joy it was to serve with you!

Dani Conley, your pictures along with Cristol's and the slide show were awesome! It was so great to have that right after many of the pictures were taken--thank you for doing that for us!!! I love our shutterbugs!

Marge King, oh you lady of ladies! Thank you for our name tags and for keeping us organized! We just can't go without those things--names are just so important because each of these ladies is so important and valuable. Thank you, too, for sharing from God's word for the leaders' devotional time and prayer each morning.

To God be the glory, the honor; may He get the credit for the awesomeness of this event and our life change as we go forward!

If you would like to share your stories or comments, please send a note to wendie@teuton.org or you can choose to comment directly below (please remember to keep the other ladies' "stuff" confidential).

Women's Home Team at New Hope

Hey girls! You may not be aware of this, but I wanted to just let each of you know that Cristol Morgan is leading a new home team just for women at the home of Brooke Hill on Wednesday nights at 7:15PM.

Check it out!

• PLACE: 206 Harvest Bend Dr, Wylie, TX (Brooke Hill's house)
• PHONE: 214-766-8587 (Cristol's mobile)
• TIME: 7:15pm to 8:45pm
• SCHEDULE: Every Wednesday night