First, God provided the most perfect weather. It was a little cool on our morning walk and then just right by the time we sat down for lunch and devotion time.
Second, Shakertown provided the best backdrop. I mean, it is always nice at Shakertown but today I thought it really popped!
Third, I got to spend time with some of God’s finest women. They are my sisters in Christ and they inspire and encourage me every time I am with them!
Here’s how our day went:
As we walked I wanted us to experience nature and feel God’s presence. I got much more than I bargained for in that we were treated to the warmest welcome by the animals. The ducks greeted us and led our parade for a while. Then the goats and the donkeys made their presence known and made us feel right at home. They made a beeline for the fence to get our attention. And, the best part was we got to pet Amelia, the baby donkey. She was precious!
From the petting zoo we went to the herb garden and enjoyed seeing the many varieties of herbs grown there. As we made our way down toward the Trustees House we also visited the vegetable garden. It was interesting to see how many things were still growing. There were peppers, eggplant, lettuce, cabbage, greens and even some beans getting ready to bloom. More evidence of God’s awesome plan to provide for us!
As we walked back I got to point out the two houses that my Mama and Daddy lived in growing up. Oddly, I sensed Mama smiling down on me as I stood in front of what used to be the Pennebaker Home for Girls. She instilled such a love of Shakertown in the hearts of her daughters and I still love to go there!
After our walk, we loaded up in our cars and went back to the West Lot meeting areas A & B. We did not use the meeting houses because we wanted to have an outdoor retreat. The area is so quiet and peaceful. We did our Yoga exercises to beautiful music and then set up camp amongst beautiful trees across from the meeting house. We enjoyed our picnic lunches and our time to enjoy one another.
After satisfying our physical hunger with our lunch, we had a devotional time which filled our spiritual needs. We used this scripture passage:
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40: 28 – 31
We talked about how God is like the Father Eagle feeding, protecting and teaching us to fly. We renewed our spiritual strength dwelling on these verses and realized again that God renews and restores us and teaches us to soar like an eagle when we completely put our faith and trust in Him.
It was a great day and our final thought was to remember that: Spiritual Renewal Begins and Ends with God!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.