sharing God's love through testimony, drama, and song
Retreat Talks
Our retreat talks are designed for four-session retreats, with sessions running about an hour long. Sunday morning worship is also included, usually containing a presentation of the book of Philippians or other scripture from memory. But we're flexible--the time-frame and number of sessions can be adjusted to meet the needs of any retreat schedule. The topics available are listed to the right, and seek to fit any retreat theme.
One-Hour Dramatic Presentations
Our programs incorporate drama, testimony, and song to convey to women just how much God loves them, and that He has a purpose for their life. Presentations include:
"Mary: Ordinary or Extraordinary"
"Tea With Mary, Martha and Their Psychologist"
"That Face in the Mirror: Who Do You See?"
"Friendship: Got It In You?"
This series aims to help women accept each stage of life by avoiding the pitfalls and finding fulfillment.
--Living in the Dash
--Dashing off with Dora the Explorer
--Dashing off with Wonder Woman
--Finishing the Dash with Hyacinth Bucket (pronounce that Bou-Kay, please!)
This retreat challenges women to feel God's joy and follow God's path through serving others.
--The Job Interview: No Experience Necessary
--The Job Resume: Background Check
--The Job Description: Something for Everyone
--Signing the Contract: The Job is Yours
"If Our Closets Could Talk"
A retreat based on a subject to which women easily relate--clothes! You'll peek into your life closet too.
--What's in There?
--What Doesn't Fit?
--What Should We Give Away?
--What Should We Pitch?
Snapshots of Life: Key: See, don’t just look. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 Do You See What God Sees? Poor Matt. He looked from our balcony on the cruise ship for days trying to spot a breeching whale or a spraying dolphin. Day after day . . . nothing. One day I told him he needed Ann's eyes. Whenever my friend Ann and I are at the beach she sees everything first, even the smallest things. Perhaps it is because she is an art teacher and has that detail-oriented mind. When we once visited Bethany Beach she pointed out the dolphins swimming by, day after day. She knows I can never find them so she gives me hints. "Kim, two o'clock! Dolphins!" Then there are the pelicans. Ann even sees the fish they carry. When we are walking and she takes off, I know she has found one of her special sea shell treasures. While walking off the beach the last time we were together she said, "Isn't that a beautiful shell." We were walking on sand with TONS of shells around us. "Ann, which one?" "Kim, that one," she said pointing to a tiny little conch-shaped shell. I have no idea how her eyes caught sight of it, but they did. That is why I told my hubby he needed "Ann's Eyes." Do we have "Ann's Eyes" in the world? Do we see the hurting people? Do we catch the tear falling from our child's eye? Do we see when a co-worker is exhausted or at the end of the rope? God does. God sees the details. He sees us in our joy and sorrow. He also sees our hearts. I am not actually sure Ann's eyesight is any better than mine. But she has trained her eyes to notice detail. What or whom will you and I notice today? Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. 2 Thessalonians 3:16 I’m not sure how you feel about cold weather, but I don’t like it at all. And I haven’t found one weatherman willing to change it for me. In spite of that, I found myself on one cold, winter morning struggling with some guilt over a few things that had happened the night before. And because the guilt was still looming inside me (work in progress), I wanted to get some exercise and clear my head. So I decided to brave the elements and go for a jog. After dressing in all my layers, I turned on my iPod and headed down the street. It didn’t take me long to realize that I had forgotten to put on my headband. My ears were so cold but I didn’t want to take any more time or energy to go back to the house. So on I went without it. Now imagine my frustration when I finished my jog and took off my jacket and felt something around my neck. Yes…it was my headband! It had been there all the time and I just didn’t realize it. My ears suffered for no reason! Think of how many times we do that very thing with God. I forget He is with me and continue doing what I’m doing without Him. Or when I realize I left Him behind, I’m not always willing to “go back and get Him.“ Because of that, I suffer far more than necessary. If I would just turn a situation or struggle over to Him right away, I could let Him comfort me and strengthen me as we work through it together. I might still need to go for a jog to help clear my head, but no matter how cold it was outside, my soul would be warm on the inside because God is every layer I will ever need. Week of February 15
Weekly Devotionals to Lift your Spirit and Warm Your Heart
Week of March 1
(from Kim's Couch)
Week of February 22
(from Janine's Gym)
Remember Your Headband--and God
(from Shirley's Sun Porch)
(Jonah) said, “I cried out to the LORD in my great trouble, and he answered me.”
The Winter Weather of Life
As I turned on a light to check the falling snow, a deer stepped out of the woods behind our house. Her back sprinkled with snow, the doe spent the next five minutes nibbling on the dried leaves and branches of a shrub at the edge of our yard before moving on through snow that by now measured a foot deep.
Those dried leaves hardly seemed appetizing, yet the doe seemed quite content to eat them. I considered what food she might find in the forest. Acorns would be hidden under snowdrifts, and green leaves had fallen months earlier. Wildlife must surely get hungry during our Pennsylvania winters, and that hunger forces them to eat food that may not appeal to them when surrounded by the luxurious greenery of summer. Amazingly, animals draw nourishment from surprising sources during harsh winter days.
That reminds me that we too draw nourishment from surprising sources during the harsh winters of our lives. When all is well, we may easily discover a deeper knowledge of God through His Word and prayer. But when things go wrong and we are too weak, either physically or spiritually, to read and pray, God provides for our needs in other ways—the comfort of a friend, the solace of a quiet walk. Tough times may develop in us a hunger for God that we do not feel during sunny days of summer. And just as God provides for animal wildlife during the winter, so he provides for our needs during the chilling seasons of life.
Lord, I hunger to know you better. Draw me close in the good times and the bad. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
My Response: How might God be speaking to me today?
