Women's Retreat

This weekend I joined 22 other ladies from my church for the annual women's retreat. Our location was the Dawn Treader house (vacation rental) in Lincoln City. This 6000 sq foot home was amazing. I realized when I got home that I didn't even see the entire house. 

It rained most of Saturday morning, but by afternoon it was sunny and beautiful - unusual for the Oregon coast in October. We had 5 hours of free time and I went for a walk with a friend. We didn't get very far because we discovered these amazing tide pools. I found lots of hermit crabs and thought of Sydney and Kayleigh.

 Here are some pictures I took of the inside of the house (the pictures on the website are much better - definitely hop on over there to see more). This is the main living room area where we gathered for all our meetings.

I somehow managed to score this king sized bed all to myself! I was supposed to share with the pastor's wife, but she ended up not being able to come.

This library was right next to my bedroom. It was a lovely place to sit and read.

Some of the ladies enjoying the hot tub.

There was even a nice theater in the basement....balcony seating

and this is the lower level.

It was a fun time of fellowship and relationship building. I was looking forward to getting to know my sisters in Christ better - get beyond the obligatory smile and hello we exchange every week at church. I left with lots of hugs and laughs.

I also had the opportunity to share about Compassion and was blessed beyond words to be able to share the work God is doing through Compassion and how He has used Compassion's ministry to not only change my life, but also to shape my family. I'm excited to see how God will grow the seeds planted - I won't be surprised if some new children find sponsors as a result of this weekend.