girls retreat

From red sweatshirt left clockwise: Morgan, Colleen, Raquel, Meredith, Malea, Amy, Ranell, Anna, Josie, and Angela.

January 13 I organized a girls retreat for the highschool girls in our youth group. It was a great time....not as many people showed up as we thought would, but we had an intimate group to play some games and get to know each other a lot better. I often have an urgency to satiate a stirring in my heart and this girls retreat was definetly a stirring for quite a long time. So we went ahead with it. I think one fun moment was first of all going grocery shopping with Ash and filling this cart...then taking the cart across the road to the building--driving the cart into the building right up to the fridge and unloading it. Talk about service.

I have a great small group I like to call "Creative Worship" and they were all present at this shindig...I love those girls.

Brooke Damstra and myself practiced some songs did worship. She has a great voice.

We ate smoothies--my treat!

We got to share some stories about life and just be open and honest for perhaps a first time in real ways. God really open some doors for honesty and growth in maturity and knowing him.

I bought beads and showed them some basics and let them go crazy. The idea was to make a bracelet for an accountability partner and give it to them---explaining why it was made JUST for her. A great moment was telling embarrassing stories. I definetly had at least 4 make the top 10 list of best and wierd moments. I mean what can I say, I am just a walking narrator....things that happen in my life....will become a story that is told again, and told often. We found these awesome wigs and wore them.

Then on Sunday morning at church we all sang a song in Norwegian. I taught them "Stor i din nearhet" ---"Standing in Your Presence" I loved it...I think God did too.