Back home....

...and it's good to be here. I just got back from a ladies' retreat at Camp Nakamun and it was wonderful... The last two weeks have been kind of intense for Floyd and I, so after the relatively good news on Thursday, I decided to continue with my weekend plans for the retreat. Floyd went out to the lake and I'm sure he'll tell you all about that on his blog (hint, hint, Floyd...).

As for me, I drove out Friday and got there around registration time of 6 p.m. I was rooming with Shelagh and Gudrun and neither were there yet. I put my stuff in the room and headed to the lake with my camera (tee hee). It was so warm, sunny and relaxing to just listen to the lapping of the water and watch the birds hovering in the sky then diving into the lake to catch their prey. I'm not sure what kind of birds they were but they definitely weren't seagulls. I'll have to google them and see if I can tell you what they're called.

The session started at 7 with welcoming and early-bird door prizes, then we broke into teams for an Amazing Race game. As in the TV show, we were given clues as to where we were to go and once there, we were given a task to do. It was a great ice-breaker and a lot of fun! After that they had snacks and free time. Shelagh and I went back to our room around 11ish and went to bed (Gudrun wasn't able to come out until Saturday). I took the futon in the kitchenette/living room area while Shelagh took the bed in the bedroom. I was about 2-3 hours before falling asleep and tossed all night. The futon was really hard and I sure missed my bed. But I just prayed and recited scripture until I finally fell asleep.

On Saturday, I got up and went to the lake to find a spot for devotions. It was another beautiful morning even though there were a few mosquitos out. Shelagh and I both missed breakfast as we weren't hungry. During the day, we had two more sessions (morning and evening) with free time in the afternoon. The speaker was Beth Murray, whom I had never met. Apparently she had been on staff at Beulah (our church) for awhile but has since left to start her own practice (http://www.bethmurray.com/). She was awesome and, being of the same personality as Shelagh and I, we hit it off instantly. The three of us had a blast the whole weekend...and she was one of the many new friends that I had when I left this morning. During our free time in the afternoon, Shelagh and I first of all watched a movie "The Devil Wears Prada" - I'd seen it before with Mandy but Shelagh hadn't seen it yet. I knitted during it (the "Emma" in me - LOL!), so the time was productive. The weekend theme was "Got Stinkin' Thinkin'? Attitude is Everything!", so the movie fit in well. After that, we went for a walk around the camp, remembering all the many years of good times/hard times/God times we and our kids have had there, and just talked. It was so, so good. Shelagh and I can always pick up our friendship where we left off, but we always wish there was less time between our get-togethers. We've known each other for so many years. We came back to the main lodge later for snacks, and Beth, Shelagh and I found a particular one that twigged our interest - LOL!! Oh my goodness!! Anyone ever have tamarind?? Ha ha... Yeah, I won't even go there right now...maybe in my next blog...

In the evening, we had the second of three session - they were so good. They were based on Numbers 11-15, about the children of Israel's journey to the Promised Land. The three sessions were on (1) Living in Egypt, (2) Living in the Wilderness, and (3) Living in the Promised Land. It was so good and has given me a lot to think about and to challenge my faith and (hopefully) change my thinkin'!! After that session, we went upstairs to watch another movie, "The Gospel" http://www.gospelmovie.com/ It was very good, based on the prodigal son story in a modern setting. The music alone is worth buying the DVD for (Jorge and Mandy!) - the songs and choirs of Kirk Franklin (even though I didn't see him in the movie) - and we enjoyed it except for one thing [Spoiler Warning], the father died of prostate cancer. Can you believe that? Yeah, needless to say Shelagh and I were both a bucket of tears when it ended. We just sat there and sobbed as everyone else left. Then, who walks in the room, but Gudrun!! It was 10:30 at night and here she finally was. Well, the three of us sat, talked and cried for about 1 1/2 hours. But it was good and we walked back to our room confident in the knowledge that God is in control of all of our lives - and that of our spouses. Amen. Those two chatted in the bedroom until the wee hours of the morning, but, having slept very little the night before, I put an extra mattress on top of the futon and hit the hay.

This morning, after breakfast and the final session, we prepared to leave. It had been a wonderful weekend and I was so happy to have had time to reconnect with women that I've hardly seen, let alone spoken to, in about 10 years!! It was really good to know the friendships were still there though and it made me think of what our reunions in Heaven will be like. I'm sure there our conversations will pick back up as if there hasn't been any interruption... One thing I did miss this weekend, though, was my three best friends. Even though we had a fun time with lots of laughs, I often found myself thinking of Tanya, Kristy and Mandy, and wishing they were there. It made me realize that my three daughters have grown up to be wonderful Christian women whom I am blessed to call my best friends. And I missed them...

Maybe next year we can all go??

(oh, the birds? They're called Common Terns...poor things...lol.) Also, photos of the retreat are in My Photos, folder under May 2007, called Ladies' Retreat (shocker!)..... In there, as well, are some black and white photos that I took of the places at Camp Nakamun that are still as they were when my girls were little. So many memories.... I did them in black and white so they would stand out from the new camp.