The theme of the 2016 Iowa Young Women’s Retreat was Surrender. It was pretty special to see how the Lord brought the theme together with what was happening in the girls’ hearts and lives. It was a sweet weekend of learning, fellowship, and relaxation.
The whole group! The time with these sweet girls was so precious! Their spirits were so sweet. What a joy it was to hear their hearts and what Jesus was teaching them individually. I can’t wait to see what God has for these girls’ futures!
DL Moody said, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to Him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
Well, changing that a bit gives us this, “The world has yet to see what God can do with a woman fully consecrated to Him. By God’s help, we aim to be those women.”
A sweet friend and my sister Elizabeth helped decorate for the Retreat. We chose a fun palette of bright spring colors with gold.
The girls were each given a headband and delicious caramels (from the fabulous Mouth Party Caramels) as a little welcome gift.
My mother shared a fabulous session about Surrendered Emotions. Other sessions included “Preparing NOW to Surrender THEN” (by Chelsy), and a panel session entitled “A Surrendered Walk with God” (by Chelsy, me, and several others, pictured below).
The Coffee Bar is always a big deal at Retreats…..lots of chocolate, tea, coffee, fancy syrups and toppings, and…….
WHIPPED CREAM!!! (the above picture was taken during an emergency trip to the grocery store when we ran out of the aforementioned necessity!)
Lots of new friendships were forged.
There was a woodland adventure…….
….worship time……..
…..playing of instruments……
…..and hair + makeup fun!
Chelsy prepared all sorts of scrumptious foods. She was the cook for the weekend, and her legendary skills, along with the love she poured into the girls lives, made a big impact.
“To love God is to love His will. It is to be content with His timing and wise appointment.”
-posted by Allison
Everything about this post was so lovely, Alli! I only wish someone like you had been around when I was a young teenager. 🙂 Love you, sweet lady! (And Chels, the FOOD! It all looked superb! You're so talented!)
This was a gift. Such a blessing. THANK YOU!!! Love+miss you!
This was such an encouraging time!! Everything about this retreat was absolutley wonderful!! Thank you girls so much for hosting this!! I pray that we will be able to attend next time too!! The Werner family cant wait to see you guys at family camp this year!!
Blessings,
Mackenzie Werner
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