BEAUTIFUL HOSPITALITY...

Recently The Hubs and I were the recipients of some really beautiful hospitality!  I mean, our hosts REDEFINED THE WORD!

We decided to go on a long road trip (to Maine) without a lot of prior planning.  The Hubs got laid off his job, which I haven't blogged about yet.  But he had the time and the hotel points, so we decided to go.  He wanted to go to Maine to see a co-worker who had extended the invitation to come to Portland.  So, we did!

They treated us like ROYALTY.  I mean, seriously.  I had never met his wife, and she hugged me upon meeting me, and we got along wonderfully.  She cooked a wonderful dinner the night we arrived.  Our room had fresh flowers in it and chocolates on the night stand.  Plus, a gift on the bed of Maine ball caps for us to wear.  So sweet!  There was a white starfish in every room, I think.  It was her signature.  I noticed on two screen doors on the back the white starfish was in the frame of the door.  Coastal charm!

The next day we were out until the afternoon, and when we got in, our friend took us out to see lighthouses.  He also told us about a great bakery that we should stop at in the morning - and we did!  Great to get tips from a local!  For dinner we all went out to one of their favorite fish restaurants, Scales, right on the wharf.  IT. WAS.AMAZING!  I tried 3 new kinds of fish that night:  Octopus, Haddock, and Mussels.  The sauces were so good!  Definitely the best fish I've ever had.

   

We stayed two nights, but it felt like much more.  You know, hospitality doesn't mean you have to put out fresh flowers and chocolates.  It's more about having an attitude of love.  We have offered beds to many throughout the years, but I have to say it's never been on this level.  I hope as long as we can offer hospitality to others, we will.  Maybe I will step up my game after this lovely stay, though!

I will forever LOVE PORTLAND, MAINE, because of this wonderful couple! 

RETREAT SUCCESS...

We just had a women's retreat weekend recently, and our theme was UNFILTERED: Be you, bravely!      There were so many ways you could go with that but we went the way of taking off your filters that you place on your true self.  We had old cameras as a theme, thinking about how with our new phone camera filters and we can hide our true selves. Our speaker had a great illustration with a lamp and placing layers of scarves (filters) over it to show how we dull our Christian light.

Me and my right hand ma'am! :)  We made the backdrop out of pegboard, paint and letters cut from a cricket machine.

A successful women's retreat is kind of like a good recipe.  Knowing how to schedule time (not cramming the schedule with activities), incorporating the theme into the retreat, a good combination of large group/small group times, and doing some activities you can't do at the church building are
things that I believe make for a good event. Having an experienced speaker isn't a must, but it sure helps!

 
I worked with a committee of 5 ladies and it was a good but stressful experience, much like 3 years ago when we had our first retreat in about 10 years.  This time we had it about the same time of year, but there were so many things happening our numbers were down and really had me stressed.  We had booked a friend of mine from college to be the speaker and I was going to be really embarrassed if our number was less than 50 women.  I felt alone in my stress with the exception of the committee. I struggled with things I couldn't control.

All that to say we did end up with 73 ladies attending!  It was a good number.  The weekend went really well - we had good weather, great sessions with a speaker who knew how to engage the audience, some good mixers, small group times, and extra activities, like a craft, campfire singalong, and a morning hike to the cross.  The singing was excellent, with great acoustics and a planned song team. (Not to mention 184 song slides - can you believe?) Our food was good, too!  Bonus for me was that my daughter attended and took care of the campfire!  My mother also came for the day on Saturday.  I was super-proud of the retreat committee who shined despite a lot of personal difficulties.  The past few months we had 2 members moving, a job lay-off, and one starting Nurse Practioner school.  Even though I had gotten frustrated, they really pulled it together and I think we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when it was all over!

Times like this remind me that I need to let go a little more and not sweat the small stuff.  But it's hard when you work on a project like this for a year!

Here's a few more pics:

vinyl earring craft

me(looking rough Sat a.m.) with our speaker Kathy

HEARTS THAT LISTEN...

I was given this topic a few months back to prepare a lesson for our women's class.  The summer went a little different than planned and so I was starting to panic when I didn't have it completed in August and I was to present early September!

Anyway, it finally came together and I learned so much!  What I learned was mostly introspective on my part as far as being a listener, and a little more on how to handle situations better.  One of my favorite resources was this book.  It's part psychology and part listening tips.

Over the last couple of months I began to notice people's conversation skills, how they listen, and examples of good listeners.  When we visited the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library in Atlanta, Georgia, there was a great example of listening that stood out to me.  I used it in my talk:

Last Saturday, I visited the Jimmy Carter presidential museum in Atlanta.  I was in elementary school when he was elected, so all I really remembered about President Carter was that he was a peanut farmer and had a daughter close to my age.  It was very interesting to me as an adult to look at his life, and see how his faith showed through his presidency.  One display highlighted the Peace talks that he set up in 1978 at Camp David, Maryland.  This was a time when good listening led to peace for two countries. 

President Carter had established a friendly relationship with both Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.  Despite their initial efforts for peace, the two countries had a long history of difficulty with each other.  First Lady Rosalynn Carter suggested to her husband that inviting them to Camp David, where privacy might provide the setting for a breakthrough.  Both men accepted, but with their personality differences, it was a hard task for President Carter to negotiate.  One was very concerned with details, whereas the other left the details to his advisors.  Carter had to listen well as he drafted and re-drafted peace agreements.  Do you know how long these peace talks lasted?  13 DAYS!  After the first 3 days, they reached an impasse.  Carter thought he might have a fistfight on his hands.  He then went back and forth from Begins cabin, then to Sadats cabin with concessions.  At one point Sadat decided to leave and ordered for his helicopter. Carter convinced him to stay.  Then Begin decided to leave but before doing so he asked Carter to autograph pictures taken of the three men for his eight grandchildren.  Unbeknownst to him, Carter’s secretary had found out the names of each grandchild.  Carter signed each photo “with love and best wishes to ______” and put each individual name.  When they were presented to Begin and he saw the names of each child written on each photo, he got tears in his eyes and so did Carter.  He said, “Why don’t we try one more time?” 

Rosalyn confirmed this story and she believed the pictures touched Begin’s heart as he thought about his grandchildren living in peace.  It led to the three men being able to come up with a peace agreement between the two countries, and the Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel stands to this day.  As Carter addressed Congress about it later, he quoted from Jesus’s Sermon on the mount, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”  Jimmy Carter showed excellent listening and negotiating skills and great perseverance during that time.  

The bottom line of the lesson was LISTENING IS LOVING.  💜

In Matthew 26, Jesus spoke the greatest commandment:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it:  Love your neighbor as yourself.  

Having a listening heart is loving.  Having a listening heart encourages others and helps us serve them better.  Hearts that listen can resolve problems, heal divisions, and promote peace.  Hearts that listen can change the world.

Don't you love it when you dive into a topic and enjoy learning and sharing about it?

CHILLIN IN SENOIA, GEORGIA...

Veranda B & B in Senoia, Georgia

 On Labor Day Weekend we met up with our old Bible Study Group - 3 other couples we've maintained a great friendship with for 36 years!  We live in 3 different places now.  One of the other couples planned this trip to Senoia, Georgia.  I really had no idea about anything we were doing and it was refreshing to just go and enjoy!  I usually love trip researching but my plate had been really full of women's ministry lately, so I was happy to do whatever!

The Veranda B & B was such a pretty place filled with antiques!  Built in 1906

We ate so much good food!  Kinda crazy with the fried stuff, though!  Over 4 days we had fried deviled eggs, fried chicken, fried okra, sweet potato fries, fried green tomatoes, fried apples (breaded), and fried chicken livers!

Matt's Small-town Pizza wasn't so small!

Nic & Norman's

The town itself was pretty small.  We found out it's claim to fame is that many movies have been filmed there.  Downtown we saw stars in the sidewalk that represent different ones like Driving Miss Daisy,  and Sweet Home Alabama.  Right now the Walking Dead series is being filmed there and they have a Walking Dead tour (we aren't fans so didn't do this).  In the town there are some beautiful new homes and also old broken down barns.  Kind of interesting!

Walking Dead windmill and a cute church!

We visited Calloway Gardens and they had a balloon festival there! Loved the balloon glow.

This was a double dip....seriously!  But it did cost $8, so I guess he should've expected it to be big!

We drove down to Warm Springs where FDR's Little White House is and enjoyed the museum and the house.  He chose this area because the hot natural springs made him feel better with his Polio. 

I hadn't heard about the Unfinished portrait.  This was being done right before he felt ill and died, at the Little White House in Warm Springs.

This was at the International Market in Atlanta.  It was a huge indoor market that sold all kinds of international foods, including shark!  We all got snacks there, and skipped lunch.  We also spent a few hours at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library.  I absolutely loved learning more about the president that was elected while I was in elementary school.  All I remembered about him was that he was a peanut farmer and had a daughter close to my age.  His faith was prominent in the museum and I really enjoyed it.

Back at the B & B, we had a fun picture taking session with everyone!

We had a great time together and ended on a Sunday where we worshipped together.  We were able to sit outside the B & B in this beautiful setting and share the Lord's Supper, a message, our prayer requests, and songs.  What a wonderful blessing to have these friends in our life!