The Weekend

Wow, I finally have a chance to slow down and post about the weekend.

First, Matthew worked over 70 hours last week, due to inventory. Then came the weekend. He worked 12 hours on Saturday, while I was at the mini women’s retreat. It was a ‘mini’ retreat because rather than going to the Cavalry Chapel Murrieta Conference Center, it was held at Calvary Chapel Rancho Cucamonga (my home church for the past 17 years). It was nice because we all went home and slept in our own beds. Don’t get me wrong, I loved getting away to Murrieta for the weekend with my sisters in Christ, but there were six of us in one room. Ladies would get up between 5am and 6am to get showered, put make-up on, do their hair (even the ones who showered the night before!), while some of use wanted to sleep a little while longer. So it was nice to be able to go home and sleep in my own bed and not worry about being woken up so early.

Thursday (8/27) I went to the church to help with set-up for the women’s retreat. Friday (8/28) was the beginning of the retreat, where I helped serve in the dining hall. I was ‘in charge’ of the gluten-free meals/desserts for the weekend.

Friday night opened the retreat with dinner from Panera. I had the Greek Chicken Salad. It was so good.

The theme of the retreat was ‘Stories of the Kingdom’. It was based on the verse, ‘Then He spoke many things to them in parables.’ Matthew 13:3

Cathy Dickinson opened the retreat with a teaching on Seeker of Truth with the following references:

Colossians 1:13; Luke 4:43; Matthew 13:10, 13:34-35, 13:10-17, 13:44-48; Isaiah 55:1-2; Deuteronomy 7:6-8; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Philippians 2:5-11; John 3:16-17; Hebrews 9:22, 2:16; Luke 18:10, 7:22-23, 17:13-19; 1 John 4:9-10; Romans 5:8 and Malachi 3:5-17. It was a great teaching.

Saturday Janice opened up the Saturday session by interviewing the three speakers. They were very funny, sweet, loving. You could tell that they really loved their families.

Jeannette Walls opened up the day with a teaching on Prodigals, using the following references:

Luke 15:1-32; Romans 5:8; 10:21, 2 Corinthians 5:17; Psalm 73

Prodigals don’t have to be just your children. Prodigals can be any family member, friends, co-workers, etc…

The next teaching was by Cathy Dickinson. She taught on Foolish and Wise Builders, using these references:

Matthew 7:24-29, 5:20; Luke 6:46-48; Romans 9:30-32, 10:17; Jeremiah 13:11; 1 Peter 2:8.

Similarities of the Foolish and the Wise: Both Called Jesus, Lord. Both heard Jesus speak.

Why we choose sand: We are lazy. We think it saves time. We think we have plenty of time. We don’t like the cost. We like the sand. We are afraid. We think our way is better.

We then had a two hour break for lunch, provided by Gandolfo’s New York Deli. Yummy!

After lunch, we had a skit based on The Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11-32. The team did an awesome job!

Jeannette Walls got the afternoon session started with The Expectant Servant, using the following references:

Luke 12:35-40; Mark 13:32-37; Read Mark, Ch. 13 for signs of the end times; 1 Thessalonians 5:2-6; Revelation 22:12-15; Matthew 24:44; Hebrews 3:12-15, 10:23-25; 2 Peter 3:9.

We then had Afterglow. I love Afterglow. There is worship music, prayer, love. I asked for prayer that the Lord would baptize me with the Holy Spirit. I also prayed, asking the Lord to reveal my prayer language. The weekend is always an emotional one for me, but more so during Afterglow.

We then broke for dinner, catered my The Taco Guys. Their food is always good. Their crew is always on top of things.

After dinner, June Hesterly did the final teaching on The Midnight Caller & Persistent Widow, using these references:

Luke 11:5-13, 18:1-8

After the teaching, we had communion and worship. In between teachings, worship service was provided by Gia Lucid. She was awesome!

The retreat ended at 9pm.

Sunday, we had Pastor David Rosales from Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. He was very funny and gave a great teaching, which went hand-in-hand with the women’s retreat. His teaching was on Parables, using the following references:

Matthew 7:24-27, 7:13-14, 7:17-20, 16:24, 25:21; Proverbs 25:2; Acts 17 (Greeks & Hebrews); john 13:17, 8:31-32;         1 John 2:4-5; Mark 6:20; James 2:26, 5:11; 1 Peter 4:12; Psalm 119:67, 119:73, 18:31, 34:19, 42:8, 62:7; Jeremiah 2:13; Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:6-7; Job 13:15, 19:25, Chapters 1&2.

After church, Matthew and I went to see War Room by the Kendrick brothers. OMGosh!! It was an awesome movie about prayer and being at was with the enemy (satan). I give it 5 Kleenexes…because that’s about how many you are going to need to get through this movie. I highly recommend everyone go see this movie!