I'm sharing today about a special group of women that I am lucky to know. In fact, I spent the weekend with these powerful women enjoying our annual Christian Spiritual Retreat. We go on retreat about this time every year to a retreat center about an hour's drive from where we live. Sometimes it's September, sometimes it's October, but whenever we get together we enjoy so many special times. Here's an overview of some of our fun!
Communal meals are a big part of our weekend. We're wearing party hats because our theme for the weekend was "Happiness" and we wanted to have a happy, party-like atmosphere.
We work as partners and each cook team takes responsibility for preparing and serving one meal during the weekend. Here a cook team is happily working in the kitchen.
All of the meals were AMAZING, but I snapped a photo of this lunch. This was the best vegetable soup topped with couscous and cilantro. And that homemade pimiento cheese on warm homemade bread was some of the best I have ever tasted! Yum! My compliments to all the chefs who prepared meals this weekend!
We created "Happiness" collages that helped us to think about things that make us happy.
And we shared our collages with the group. Here, I am explaining my Happiness Collage. It's amazing how God can speak to you through art and spiritual direction exercises like this one!
We had heartfelt discussions and prayer and devotional time together.
And time to just laugh and be silly together! We laughed a lot!! You should have seen us playing charades! Unfortunately, I didn't take pictures while we played. Next time!
Although we only go on retreat once a year, our group actually meets monthly. This group has taught me how important it is for women to have connections with other women. Over our almost nine years together, we have laughed, cried and prayed together. Strong bonds have been forged in our group over the years. We sure missed a couple of members who were unable to be with us this weekend.
This is a strong group of amazing women whom I am blessed to spend time with throughout the year.
Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loves at all times." I am blessed to experience the love of these special ladies! I will end this post with a scripture from Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10.
"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man (or woman?) who falls and has no one to help him up!"
So until next time, may you have friends who bring love and joy and a helping hand when you need it to your life!
Linking to
Imparting Grace
Happy Saturday! It is so beautiful in my part of the world today. A truly Fall day with blue skies, great temps and leaves just starting to show a smidge of color. This is the perfect day to try something new on my blog....which I'm calling "Debbie's Stylin'!"
I have to chuckle a little at myself in this post. I have never considered myself very photogenic, and certainly not a model! However, I decided to give this stylin' thing a try. Mr.thisandthat and I had a few good laughs as I posed and he snapped photos. I love my jeans and tennis shoes for comfy wear, but I also like to try more dressy outfits from time to time.
Since I'm an over 50's gal, I try to choose age appropriate outfits that look good, are comfortable and offer style. This is my first attempt at wearing ankle booties with a skirt. Not sure if I like this look. I love the boots but possibly prefer them with leggings or pants.
I bought these boots on sale last Spring and am looking forward to wearing them more often.
I've had the skirt and black top for years, but the aqua long sleeved top is a new find. I purchased it at a local country style restaurant that also sells clothing and other fun items. It's lightweight and just perfect for this time of year when you need something to cover your arms, but nothing too heavy.
I think I prefer this look wearing low heel sandals rather than the boots. A pair of closed toe black pumps would look classy as well. I also enjoy that I can wear the aqua top multiple ways. Here I chose to wear it loose and flowing rather than tied at the waist.
I love jewelry ( I am my mother's daughter!) and enjoy adding bracelets, earrings and a special ring from my husband to complete the look.
So, that's it for my first "Debbie's Stylin" post. I believe that every gal has their own style. Tell me about yours! Hope you have a wonderful Saturday! (And please note that Gracie also has style. She wanted to be in this photo!)
Linking With;
I'm linking this post with Elegantly Dressed and Stylish for Turning Heads Tuesday! Please visit this site! Thanks for the linkup!
Fall is definitely in the air today in my neck of the world! And tonight, we're supposed to get down into the 40's. Where did summer go? I decided since we are well into September, that maybe it was time to do a re-style on my foyer table. I shared some of the previous stylings I have done on this table in a previous post. If you didn't get a chance to read that and would like to see what I have done previously, you can check it out here.
Even though it is September, and we are approaching Fall, I just don't feel like doing the pumpkin thing quite yet. So, I decided to do a styling that gives a nod to Autumn and all things September, knowing that there will be plenty of time for pumpkins in October and November! I went through my house filling my basket with things I thought I could use...
Then, I removed the Lighthouse items I had used previously and gave the table a good dusting in preparation for the new styling.
I chose a pretty wreath that contains many Fall colors to display on the wreath hanger I purchased at our local farmer's market several years ago. It makes a nice accent standing next to the foyer table.
For the top of the table, I chose to continue the fall colors by covering the top with a brown cloth topped with a yellow place mat. Since September is the traditional time for school starting, (although in our area, school actually begins in August!), I went with a pseudo-school theme. The two little "Reading Bears" are cute bookends that support a reading theme. To that, I added a school bell and an apple for the teacher!
The school bell is an antique that was a gift to me from one of my sisters. The apple was a gift to Mr.thisandthat from one of his students. So, there is some nostalgia in the display. Here is a slightly different angle on the display.
The figurine at the back is a metal figurine I bought a few years back on one of our trips to Colorado. It doesn't really fit a school theme, but I liked the sunshine and how the colors of the figurine fit the Fall theme of the table. The school bell actually has a snow scene painted on one side of the bell. It's way too early for snow, however, so I turned it around so the snow doesn't show!
To complete the look, I added two Longaberger baskets on the bottom shelf and floor. The larger basket was given to me as a gift from one of my former teacher assistants many years ago. The smaller Longaberger basket was a "find" at a local antique barn. I love Longaberger baskets! Here is a picture of the completed foyer table display.
I think the foyer has a fresh new look now that says, "Fall is here!"
I hope you have enjoyed seeing the new foyer table styling. How about you? Are you doing any Fall decorating yet? I would love to hear about it!
So, dear readers, I've been down for the count these last few days with a "bug" of some kind. It could be the flu...it's definitely worse than a cold...not sure the exact definition. I just know I hate these maladies that start with a scratchy throat and a few sniffles and then progress into a fever, achiness, racking cough, horrible congestion and general malaise! Luckily, I saw my doc who sent me some good meds and I have good family and friends who have been lifting me in prayer, so I am starting to see the other side of this icky bug!
I guess one "good" side effect of these seasonal maladies is that it forces you to slow down, take a break and rest your body. In my case, I just haven't felt like doing anything else other than rest! Even reading a book or watching t.v. has felt like more of a "chore" these last few days! Luckily, I have two "bed warmers" named Gracie and Annie who are my "nurses" while Mr.thisandthat is at work. They keep me company, check on my progress and haven't been too demanding these last few days! I appreciate their support so much! As far as I'm concerned, there is nothing like a warm "furball" to make you feel better! And Mr.thisandthat has taken over the nursing "shift" in the evenings with back rubs and hot soup.
As you can see, Nurse Annie is ultra concerned with how I am doing! (Hey Mom, could you scoot over? I'm trying to nap here!)
I'm hopeful that since I have caught this virulent strain so early in the cold and flu season, I will be done with germs for the year! Do you think I'll make it? For now, though, I'm gonna keep taking my medicine, drinking my liquids and getting some rest! Until next time, hope you all are staying in the best of health! I will close this post today with a scripture from 3 John 1: 2
"Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."
