Winter Retreat Top Ten

For the past year and a half I’ve been attending a Bible study at a church in my area called Remnant. It has really been a huge blessing to me because it’s been an outlet where I can go and get fed as opposed to serving and running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I love what I do, love it, but it’s hard sometimes, especially on Sundays, to get into the worship when I’m constantly thinking about what needs to happen next. That’s why Sunday’s are considered work days for me. Not to mention the fact that there are people my age there. It’s a wonderful balance!

I don't typically get to do more with the ministry than just go to Bible study on Thursday nights because of scheduling conflicts with my own ministry, so I was both excited and a bit anxious when I decided to sign up for the Winter Retreat at Camp Tejas this past weekend. I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to meet some new friends, but at the same time, I also didn't know a ton of people and that can be awkward. If I were really honest I'd just tell you that making new friends is hard. It takes work, but I happen to love people, so it's worth it.

With that said, here are my top ten favorite memories from the retreat:

1) Getting away for four days with a handful of people I don’t know, worshipping with some very gifted worship leaders and being taught God’s Word by some very gifted teachers. It’s nice to get away every now and then, and very necessary at times.

2) Last minute, Jared, the pastor of the group, called me to see if I could help co-lead a group. The girl who was supposed to lead it ended up coming down with bronchitis and was unable to go. Leading them was such a pleasure and my complete honor. It was a nice change of pace as compared to leading my typical high school or middle school students.

3) Being a part of Team Acne! There were four teams all weekend and each team was labeled and something people would typically be ashamed of. Hence the acne. The other teams were bad breath, braces and glasses. Go, Team Acne!

4) Sleeping on the top bunk. When was the last time I did that? I don’t think my climbing skills were up to par, but I felt like a little girl sleeping up there. I tried to ignore the fact that every time I went up I hit my head.

5) Nerd dance! To ring in the New Year we had a dance outside and all dressed as nerds. I revamped my outfit once we arrived because it was a bit chillier than I expected, and the dance was outside, but it was so much fun! I learned very quickly that night that the more I moved, the warmer I stayed. Needless to say, I never stopped moving.

6) My roomies! Martha, Cora, Anna, Sage and the girl who must not be named. Ha! Kidding. Sarah was my other roommate. We had a pretty good schedule as far as showers went, which is a must when six girls are sharing one bathroom. I love the facilities at Camp Tejas. They are so nice and very inviting. Our group stayed in the Four Seasons building and more importantly, the six of us took up residency in February for those four days. It was adorable!

7) Getting to do the Zip Line again. I was just at Camp Tejas about a month ago for our staff retreat and had a blast on it. I don’t love climbing up the tour that shakes as though an earthquake is happening every time someone zips off, but it is fun nonetheless.

8) Lying in bed at 1:30 a.m. Sunday morning laughing uncontrollably over Sarah admitting her very real stalker-like capabilities. Apparently I’m not as easy to stalk because of my unique name spelling, but homegirl is legit, y’all. She may know more about you than you know about yourself. Watch out! (I actually went to see Wicked with Sarah and Jared this summer, so I’m not totally creeped out by her, but if I’d of known that before Wicked, I may have second guessed that invitation.) Totally kidding, Sarah. Love you, girl!

9) While we were laughing (very late, mind you) about Sarah admitting to her stalker capabilities, sweet Cora happened to be taking a shower. However, she forgot her towel outside by her bed and felt bad interrupting our conversation to ask one of us to bring it to her. Bless her heart! I was laughing so hard. I could just imagine her standing in the bathroom dripping wet waiting for a break in our conversation. This may be one of those moments where you had to be there, but I was tickled.

10) Learning and applying what it means to live in a way unashamed of the Gospel. Our God is a God that saves. If I believe that with my whole heart, am I living like that? If not, why not? Powerful message that will take weeks, maybe even months, to process. If I believe and claim that Jesus is better, my response to that should be complete obedience and surrender to Him. But whoa, that’s much easier said than done. Praise the Lord I’m not on this journey alone!

I ripped a ton of pictures off facebook. And thanks to my friend, Caleb, I have a lot of good looking professional ones that didn't come from me!

How gorgeous is this?

Swinging during rec!

Team Glasses!

Team Bad Breath! How awesome is their flag?

Go Team Braces!

We took a "hike" one day and came across a neat campfire area where we proceeded to climb branches and trees. I, however, did the least amount of climbing when it came to climbing higher than I preferred. : )


Ryan showed us all up with his excellent skipping skills.


Here is Anna ironing Martha's shirt with a Chi. We are so thankful for the Chi and it's usefulness on both our hair and clothing.

Waiting by the bathroom one evening for worship to start. It wasn't as windy under the covering.

Kendrizzle!

Me and Anna as nerds.

Watching a bunch of nerds dance is hilarious.


I love these girls!

Cora and I sat on the bus ride up together and I was thrilled to find out that she has done two Sprint Triathlons in her time. Needless to say, I grilled her.


This might have been when the Backstreet Boys were playing. Or maybe N'Sync.


Team Acne girls after Mega Relay on Saturday night!

Me and my partner, Cody, for the weekend. So fun!

See how legit Caleb's pictures are?

Popping our zits!

Go Team Acne!


Happy New Year, sweet friends!