Today, our sweet Jenny McClendon has some thoughts she wanted to share with us in follow-up to the sweet, precious time we had this past weekend on our Women’s Retreat….if you weren’t there, you were dearly missed!!
Here’s Miss Jenny:
Thankful ponderings…..
Tonight, I’m thankful for the challenge to be thankful.
Our women’s retreat was about cultivating a life-habit of thankfulness, which ultimately leads to that deep abiding joy in our lives. Cathryn so beautifully shared from a book called One Thousand Gifts (by Ann Voskamp), and the message was so timely.
As we worshipped, shared, rested, listened, ate, watched Tech beat OU!!!!, and so much more, I was struck with the thought that without fail, young women led us the entire weekend.
Each young woman was blessed to have their mom there at the retreat to support them and pray for them as they shared their hearts. I had a sweet revelation about that whole “older women teaching the younger women” thing. It is vital that we older women support, nurture, and love our precious young ones. It is equally vital that our young gals have a place to share their giftings and test their wings in a safe place. None of us are out of the picture!! The maturity that came from these girls was incredible – I was so blessed to be a part of it all.
A special thanks goes to our women’s ministry team. Your servant hearts set the pace and the foundation of your prayers was so apparent. Thanks so much for putting the challenge before us. Forgive the “cheesiness” of this, but as I thought about the covenant we made I realized that it spelled out TLC – Thanks-Living Commitment.
We all need TLC in our lives.
As much as negativity spreads like wildfire, I believe that thankful living doubles in effect.
Our world needs our example – our church needs our example and our families desperately need our example. I’m so excited to see what God does in our lives through this! I love you all!
– Jenny Mc
I’d like to encourage anyone who has something to share from your experience at the retreat to do so in a comment here! We would love to hear it and love to be able to see how God is working in our friends’ lives through “Eucharisteo” – Grace, Thanks, Joy….
I have been reading the book and putting it to practice, not always, but mostly. I have learned to notice all those little extra things that God puts in our life that bless us. Things we might overlook, take for granted or come to which I selfishly feel entitled. So I want to take a moment to thank the ministry team for all those special extras y’all crafted or did from this weekend. I know I missed a few, but:
Thank you for the door hangars, (I’m putting our Hope on Riley Hope’s door)
Thank you for the journals
Thank you for the name tags for our journals with the little jewel on them
Thank you for making, bringing and decorating with all the beautiful quilts
Thank you for the event sign on book paper
Thank you for our name tags we hung on our dor signs
Thank you for the wonderful soups that first night to nurture us and fill our souls with that warm comfort in preparation for the weekend’s gift
Thank you for all the goodies
Thank you fo all the extra trips to Merkel you made
Thank you for getting up early to make coffee and set out breakfast
Thank you for loading, delivering, and returning all the heavy a/v equipment
Thank you for such wonderful, beautiful worship music
Thank you for sharing
Thank you for the hand made “list-starter” journals
Thank you for the reminder letter and directions
Thank you for helping me find the Joy in my daily walk
I know there is so much more, but I took benedryl this morning and my brain is failing me. The amount of detail and love put into every single aspect of this weekend was evident, appreciated, and I covet your willingness (and sheer ability) to do all y’all did. THANK YOU! I accept your gift and will walk in the fullness of the blessing Yeshua gave me through you.
Number 1 on my thankful list was “mothers and daughters”!!! We are so blessed among our women to have such strong faithful and astonishing mother-daughter pairs!!!