Regional Report
from the 2008 Regional Ladies Retreat
Nashville, Brown County, IN
2008 Regional Ladies Retreat
Nashville, Brown County, Indiana
Ladies Retreat 2008 was such a blessing to all who attended. This was a special opportunity for the ladies of this region to draw themselves closer to the Lord and to one another through the sweet fellowship we felt. This year's theme was entitled "A Woman After God's Own Heart". This title was taken from Acts 13:22. Just as David was a man after God's own heart which did please the Lord by fulfilling the Lord's will, each woman put their name in the place of David's, "I have found_________, a woman after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will".
On Friday night, our first night, as we entered the sanctuary, we could all feel the sweet spirit of the Holy Ghost. He was there in such a loving way. Sister Regina Goodin sang a beautiful song , in which we all joined in the chorus "A heart like Yours is my desire, A heart like Yours is what I'm searching for, Full of compassion, nothing wrong within, Please hear me Lord, Give me a heart like Yours!" As we worshiped the Lord, He continued to pour out His blessings upon the congregation.
Ladies Retreat had a total of 42 in attendance, which included at least 4 new visitors! Each new visitor was formally introduced and welcomed. Our Regional Overseer, Bishop Danny Carter greeted this year's Ladies Retreat with encouraging words. Sister Cathy Carter, our Ladies Retreat Coordinator was welcomed with a sincere greeting of applause and gratitude for her hard work to make this such a special event for all who attended! Sister Carter introduced us all to a special guest, Sister Mary Hart. Sister Mary Hart greeted us all with encouraging words from Proverbs 15:13 "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance." Each time Sister Mary Hart greeted us during the retreat, she gave us all a happy heart and a smile on our face.
After our visit from Sister Mary Hart, we began to worship the Lord through the preaching of Word. Sister Tonya Hughes preached a Holy Ghost inspired message entitled "Fulfilling God's Will." Her opening scriptures were found in Ephesians 5:1-10. As she brought forth the Word of God, I believe the Lord dealt with us all, as to how we, individually, must allow God to fulfill His perfect will in our lives. Following the message, Sister Carter spoke to us concerning the cup that Jesus was willing to take to fulfill His Father's perfect will. What a sacrifice Jesus paid for us all! There is a cup for everyone who decides to follow after God's perfect will. There was sitting on a table, a cup for each person. Sister Carter encouraged us to obedient to the Lord, and if we were willing to take the cup, and if we were willing to drink the cup to do so. I believe many were obedient to the Lord. After we took our cup, we were asked to seek the Lord, just as Jesus did. The Holy Ghost moved after we prayed. A Holy Ghost message and interpretation was given. The message is as follows "Yea, I say unto thee, Yea, Heed to My Word, Yea, I say unto thee, I say, Come unto Me, Yea, I say, Heed My Word, Yea I say, Trouble Ahead! Yea, Seek Me, Seek Me now!, Yea, Seek Me now, Yea, I say, Seek Me now, Yea, I say, Seek Me now, Seek Me now children, Seek Me now, Yea, I say unto thee, Seek Me, Seek Me, Seek Me, While I may be found, (utterance) yea, yea, yea, yea, yea, yea,".
After the Holy Ghost spoke, we prayed more earnestly that the Lord would work His perfect will in our lives. The Lord wants us to be serious about His will for us in our lives. We don't have much time left. We should be so grateful that the Lord love us so much to warn us of the dangers ahead. We need to obey His Word.!
Saturday Morning began with a greeting from Sister Mary Hart. She encouraged us to realize that what the Lord thinks about us is what really matters. We need to do our very best to be the best we can be for the Lord. Sister Regina led us in worship in song. Then we began our three workshops. The first workshop was given by Sister Patricia Bucio. She told us how to avoid heart disease, both spiritually and physically. She taught us that laughter is good medicine for the heart, we need to allow God to fill our hearts with the Holy Ghost, and how important it is for us to lower our stress level. Psalm 85:8 says the Lord will speak peace to His people. If there is ever a time we need peace, it is today! We were also encouraged to get necessary check ups from our doctor, Jesus! He is the healer of men today! He keeps our hearts healthy as we keep our appointment with Him every day and follow our guide the Holy Bible.
Our second workshop was taught by Sister Barbara Wade, entitled, "The Kingdoms of the Heart." She compared our heart chambers to a four room house. She explained that there are parts of our heart in which everyone sees, and parts of our heart that we keep hidden from everyone. We must allow the Lord into every part. He longs to come in at the front door of our house, our temple. If we allow Him to, He will come in and clean every room in our heart. He will remove the things that should not be there and decorate our heart with what we do need. She encouraged us to apply Psalm 51 to our lives, and allow the Lord to create in us a clean heart!
Our third workshop was entitled "Here's My Heart Craft." Sister Lisa Newport spoke to us and supplied us with beautiful arts and crafts to decorate our heart craft to the Lord. This was a refreshing time for each lady to do what she does best, decorate! We all had so much fun making a beautiful heart craft for the Lord to pin up on a bulletin board for all to see during ladies retreat.
After lunch, we all had free time. It was nice to see the beautiful town of Nashville, Indiana. There were so many cute shops. This gave the ladies time to do another thing that ladies do best, shop!
We all came together Saturday night for a beautiful banquet. The theme was Valentine's Day in May. The decorations were beautifully done. We appreciate all the hard word and talent from Sister Carter, Sister Pam Phelps, Sister Newport and all the ladies who made this banquet so special. During the banquet, Sister Gina Phelps spoke to us about being "A Woman After God's Own Heart." She taught us, according to the scriptures, how to put our lives into proper perspective. She brought to us the six areas we need to devote our time to. The first and foremost is God. He is the first priority over all priorities.The second is our husband. He should be directly under God. We should work on being his helper, just as God created us to be. Our third priority is our children. It is and honor and a true blessing to be a mother. We have an immense responsibility to pray for them, to nurture, and to teach them God's Word. The fourth is our home. With the help of God, we can make it a little bit of heaven on earth. The fifth is our ministry and the sixth is ourselves. God will help us put everything into proper order when we put Him first! What a wonderful message.
Saturday night continued in worship to the Lord. Sister Sue Hutton gave the alter call and many were prayed for and many received their needs met. One lady testified of receiving salvation, another lady the Holy Ghost. There was two testimonies of healings. Many testified of what the Lord had done in their lives. There was one testimony of how some had severe car trouble and had their vehicle break down on their way to the retreat, but the Lord kept His hand on them and brought them safely.
On Sunday morning, the last day of Ladies' Retreat was open with prayer and worship in song. Sister Beverly Benningfield sang a special song in dedication to Sister Pauline Loveless. She sang "You Can Have a Song in Your Heart." I can remember Sister Pauline singing that song at Ladies' Retreat in 2006. We miss her so much. We all look forward to the day we can all be together, when we sing to the Lord a new song.
Our final message was entitled "The Broken Heart" by Sister Doris Randols. She read Psalm 35:18, that the Lord is nigh to those who have a broken heart. She also read to us the story of Samuel's mother Hannah. In I Samuel chapter 1 Hannah had a broken heart, but the Lord heard her and fulfilled His perfect will in her. Sister Doris gave an alter after the message encouraging us to remember the Holy Ghost words, there is trouble ahead. We must seek the Lord while He can be found. After much prayer, testimonies were given. So many were touched by the Lord in so many ways. Our Ladies' Retreat 2008 ended with our prayer partner exchange, and a special song by the Goodin sisters, entitled, "Prayer for a Friend." I really didn't want to see this retreat end, it was such a great blessing, for me personally. My greatest desire for myself and all the ladies that attended, is that we can all be "A Woman After God's Own Heart."
Ladies Retreat Reporter
Sister Jenny Lonz
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