First of all, let me say a very happy birthday to a very special man: my hubby! Kevin's birthday was yesterday but due to a busy weekend with Ladies Conference and Retreat, I didn't post yesterday. But, I do want to say what a great guy I am married to. He watched the kids for me so I could take off on his birthday and go to Retreat. And he didn't complain at all. I want to say, I love you and happy birthday!!


Second, all I can say about Ladies Retreat was WOWOWOWOW. It was absolutely awesome! Bro Todd Nichols preached Friday night and Saturday and he had a word from the Lord for the Ladies of the Rock. It "makes me want to shout, Hallelujah, Thank you Jesus, Lord your worthy of all the glory and all the honor and all the praise!" I am so excited to think about what God's doing right now in us and with us. What a revelation to realize the power that God has given us is being exactly how He made us to be: meek, compassionate, virteous. A miraclulous change will take place in our homes and our lives when we learn this truth that the world tries to twist and manipulate into something crude and loud and ugly. And we are waiting on God's promise, not allowing the birth of an Ishmael, a mocking spirit, but waiting for God to fulfill His promise in our lives. And the spirit of prayer that moved on our ladies group this morning was phenomenal and life changing. Like I said, WOWOWOW.

I am excited about next year, especially with the format being the same: Conference services on Friday night and Saturday at TRC with Food and Fellowship at the Retreat hotel Friday pm and Lunch after service Saturday. We had a blast at the hotel after service this year. I was up til 3 am playing games and talking. Fun, fun, fun!! Jill did a great job getting it all together with her team of helpers. Anyway, I am marking my calendar for Oct 9 and 10 next year (sorry, Kevin, its your b-day again, I know, but hopefully the changes you see in me after this retreat will make the sacrifice worth it!! love you!)

And anyone who can make it next year, needs to plan on it. The sacrifice of time and money (which is minimal) are worth it when you come away with your spirit renewed and refreshed, your mind set on the promise of God, and your heart clean and full of the Holy Ghost.

World Class Families

Awesome, awesome, awesome! That is the only way to describe todays World Class Families seminar for the ladies. So many timely things were said that I can't even begin to type them all here. To sum it up, I guess I would say we as mothers and wives need to spend time with our children, pray without ceasing, and devour the Word of God like never before. The ladies that serve as our examples at the Rock Church are World Class to be sure, and their leadership is unparalleled. Thank you Sis. Wilson and Sis. Young for your burden for our families and your committment to seeing the women of TRC become the BEST moms and wives in the World!

After a wonderful Holy Ghost filled first session with a question and answer panel and of course the great and inspired teaching of Sis Wilson, we had lunch out in front of the church by the fountain. The sunshine and fellowship were a great way to spend some time with fellow mommies sans kids. Then we reconvened to hear awesome teaching by Sis Young and breakout Q and A groups geared towards grandparenting, parenting boys, parenting girls, single moms, and homeschool moms. We could leave and join the groups throughout the time in order to hear advice and get answers on any of the subjects we needed. I started with the girl group lead by Sis Patty Felt. I heard some great ideas on spending time with daughters, encouraging daddy/daughter time, creating special memories and traditions, how to approach "the birds and the bees", and how to foster a child's independence. I then went to the boy group lead by Sis. Sargent and Sis Jill Lewis. There were many great ideas about how to encourage your boy to be independent, how to plan time for Dad and his son, and how to face those hard dating years.

All in all it was definitely World Class. We are taking a break for the summer, but I know I speak for many, many other ladies when I say I can't wait for the next one and I will spend my summer making those connections with my kids like Sis. Young suggested. Our kids and families are worth ever bit of hard work and sacrifice that we give and the love and devotion and satisfaction that we receive back are immeasurable.