Created for Care Retreat....The BEAUTIFUL People

Oh my goodness! I so wish I had the time to tell you about all of the amazing women that I met in person. With them, I've been blog buddies, Facebook friends, Twitterheads, and some I met for the first time at the retreat. Let me first just say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Andrea Pierce Young.  She is the founder of Created for Care. She has a heart for mamas who need to be refreshed, orphans, and widows. If you haven't seen her blog, I'm telling you....you're totally missing out so stop by --> http://www.babeofmyheart.com/

Can I tell you how awesome it was for me to finally meet in person Ms. B from the This is the Life blog? She's a gem of a woman. From the beginning of our encounters in blog land, I totally hit it off with her. I've been following her journey and I've been so floored and honored that she follows mine. She is beautiful from the inside out....and her girls...wowza! They're little angels. (Her picture is about the 7th in the slideshow below).

Then....there was the picture that I got on the last day with Kristi from We Love Our Lucy. I was hoping to get a picture with me, her, Gwen & Suzanne (from 147 Million Orphans) but things got a bit hectic that day. In case you didn't know, if I could create my own Dream Team that inspires me, it would totally be Kristi, Gwen, Suzanne, and Katie Davis (from Amazaima Ministries).....a girl can dream, right? I'll get that pic one day. For now, the one with me, Kristi, and her son, Wes is in a 4x6 frame on my wall at my office. Yes, she inspires me that much. (smile)


Again, there were so many women that I met....I wish I could have taken photos of them all so I can share but for the sake of not making you read forever, you'll just have to trust me. You'd love these chicas. Here are just a few pics of the BEAUTIFUL people and things all around me.

The way that the retreat was planned, there was so much to choose. I mean the general sessions were fantastic and then you had these AMAZING breakout sessions like this one below....

Recognize these beautiful women? This breakout session was called "Blogger Panel: Using Your Blog as Ministry". Here's the line-up from left to right... Gwen (Oatsvall Team), Suzanne (Joining the Journey), Missy (It's Almost Naptime!!), Kristi (Home with Lucy Lane & Wes), Lovelyn (Moments with Love), and Lara (The Farmer's Wife Tells All.) What a beautiful line-up of women who are advocating hard for the orphan crisis. Love these gals and their transparency.

As to not give anything away for the ladies who are attending in March, I do want to share this one thing from Suzanne...she said something like..."There is a façade of picture perfect families. For all of us, we love to see a family we are drawn to but know that they are not perfect. As a culture we’re searching for people who are like us that are not perfect. People long for the truth." Amen sister. That's one of the things that draws me to blogs and let me be honest...even reality tv. I enjoy peeking into other people's lives to learn. I also find it very healing to share transparently on my own blog what's happening in my life.

I attended a couple more FANTASTIC breakouts over the weekend. I couldn't attend the well over a dozen breakouts offered so I did the next best thing......ordered the mp3 deal of all of the taped sessions. Adoption Mama Heaven! (smile)

So if you were going to a retreat like this, what type of breakout sessions would you have attended? What topics would you want to discuss?

I've got one more thing that I've got to tell you about regarding the retreat. I mean the sessions, breakouts, and worship were awesome but wait 'til I tell you about my 'Date with God'.  Oh my goodness! It will blow your mind....this one caught me TOTALLY off-guard. Stay tuned...