peacemaking women

I was trying to figure out how to start this post off or where to begin. So I apologize if this is random and not a complete thought....I'm still processing everything from our women's retreat this weekend....I guess more of a "reflecting and applying" processing. This is my first chance to have some time to reflect.

I first want to start by saying God is good! This retreat idea started off with excitement and a sense of being overwhelmed because if you know me I am not a public speaker or a leader...in the sense of a taking charge kind of person. I am a behind the scenes, tell me what to do kind of personality. Although this past year God has continually called me to the former...with trembling. So I first had to ask God for the 1) courage to plan a women's retreat and the 2) time to plan one. My prayer from the beginning was that God would be glorified not only by the retreat but also through the process...God is faithful in answering prayer.

All that to say God brought so many wonderful ladies from my church to help with the planning and an absolutely wonderful speaker, Tara Barthel.

So on to the retreat itself. If you have not read Tara Barthel's book on Peacemaking Women, I would highly recommend reading it. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak...go. I don't want to bring the glory to her in any way because by God's grace is she able to teach at all...but God has gifted her with teaching...the gospel and God's grace, mercy and redemption have such a greater and deeper meaning when you can see all of the areas of your heart that are selfish and dark. I must say that learning about the sin of my heart is overwhelming and depressing at times but at the same time the greatest sense of peace....because God's love and grace is abounding even more than the sin in my heart.

So to leave you with a few quotes from the retreat that challenged me in so many ways:

"How you live shows what you love...How we live reveals our hearts." (on idols of our heart)

"The law does not change our hearts, the gospel does." (it's not about us but about what Christ did for us)

"Conflict is a way of being sanctified" (so I can't ignore it but I have to face it to grow)

"Circumstances are not the cause of the ugliness in our hearts. The ugliness is there to begin with. So we must deal with the sin in our hearts and not blame it on the circumstances." (that way we are able to truly repent and be reconciled)

"Loving enemies (or those hard to love) is a reflection of our Christian life."

"People don't need fixing, they need growing" (God changes a persons heart...we can love them and come along side them)