We planned, we prepared, we prayed and then we gathered for the FMF (Five Minute Friday) Retreat. A brave gathering of seventeen women plus two day guests talked, wrote, listened, ate and slept in a house by a lake in Tennessee. Every moment was ordained by God as He brought us all together because He knew each of our stories and how these stories were ready to connect as one.
Stepping out to come to a retreat like this is hard for an introvert like me. But God continues to hold my hand and teaches me how to be brave in each step. He cheers me on and reminds me that I can do anything when I ask Him to walk with me. God knows that it cost every woman something to leave home and join together in the house by the lake and He doesn’t take for granted the bigness of this decision.
As I arrived on Thursday to join the rest of the planning team-Kate, Holly and Jen – to finish up last minute details, I was in awe of how one ordinary house near Nashville, Tennessee can become the beginning of something so much bigger and better than we imagined back in January, when the idea was first born. We prayed for God to show up and for just the right ladies to gather and God did exactly that and more. From one tiny, off the cuff question during the weekly Thursday night Twitter party came a real life small group retreat that centered around faith, writing, friendships and community. Looking back over last weekend, I have learned so much. Here are a few of the things that made a difference for me.
1. Intentional conversations evolve from one on one time.
This small group gathering allowed for one one one conversations where stories were shared and hearts were opened.
2. Our presence is our present to others.
Simply just being in the moment throughout the weekend was a gift that poured out grace and love in the act of being present.
3. A brave gathering allows learning to be enhanced when you have a community to share new ideas.
Talking through our fears, writing woes and joys and taking the time to listen well to new ideas was enriched because we were with like-minded women who had the same questions and dreams.
4. When you ask God for bravery, He gives you that and more.
We all took a step out of our comfort zones to come to the retreat and leave the comfortable and known. The beauty is when we are bold we become known to each other through the heart connections God blessed.
[Tweet “Bravely gathering is looking beyond the unknown to the known by being present with God.”]
The weekend flew by and all of a sudden the end was near. Last minute pictures were taken, bags were slowly dragged out to cars as each person held a newly written story of a brave gathering in their heart.
And as we said our goodbyes, a piece of ourselves left with each woman and scattered across the United States and Canada. A piece of our story was written in that house by the lake and the connection of who we are joined with the others to create a new story. We allowed each other to be brave and we were made better because of it.
As iron sharpens iron,
so one person sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
In grace and peace,
Mary
Please join me in thanking our sponsors and speakers who made the weekend even better.
Sponsors: ViBella Jewelry and Fistbump Media
Speakers: Trillia Newbell, Ann Kroeker, Charity Singleton Craig, Amy Breitmann and Dan King
We love you all!!!
Come on over to Kate’s to read the other stories about the weekend retreat!
Oh Mary, I’m so glad to read this. I’ve been traveling and off-line a lot, so I’m glad I happened to pop over to your blog today and read about the retreat. I was so curious! Sounds like you had a wonderful, God-ordained time!
I know you have been busy and I am glad to see you made it safely to Texas. The retreat was amazing and definitely God-ordained in the women who were there and the conversations that we had with each other. I highly recommend this kind of retreat. I am blessed to be have been part of it.
I told my Sunday School class that the entire weekend and everything surrounding it was definitely a “God Thing.” He was there in the midst of us. I am so thankful for the time spent with you and all the other women who now are a part of me! Love you and miss you!
It was a “God thing” and it was beautiful! We were blessed for the time together, the chance to get to know each other and the time spent learning. I truly cannot stop thinking about the weekend and all of the blessings that we experienced. I love you and miss you and look forward to the next time we meet!!! 🙂 Whenever that might be!
Smiling for all you lovely ladies. What a blessing I know you must have been to each other. And how I’m sure God showed up in big ways. He just like that. 🙂
This kind of retreat sounds just wonderful to me as I like small. Works best for this introvert. Now the five minutes of writing that I heard you did an open mic would have been the big stepping out of my comfort zone moment. But maybe I need more of that.
Much love to you. Thanks for giving us a peak into your weekend.
xoxo
You would have loved it Beth! The small group was ideal for one on one conversations and really getting to know each other. You also could have done the 5 min of writing. We had time to think first before the actual five minutes started and then we only shared if we were comfortable doing so. It truly was a special time. Glad you stopped by to take a peek into the weekend. Hope you have a lovely weekend! Love and hugs!
Mary,
I hope this comment makes sense as I am on some pretty powerful pain meds lol. Your retreat sounds wonderful and it sounds as if you really had an opportunity to open up and be brave. I’m sure you found bravery as a result of daring to be vulnerable. May God bless you as you take what you’ve learned and go forward! I really look forward to meeting you at the Allume conference in October. Hopefully, I’ll be getting around much better by then!
Love and ((hugs)),
Bev
There is vulnerability needed to become brave because it requires us to be authentic with ourselves and with God. I was able to do that last weekend and the result was amazing. I am still processing what I learned but that is all part of the journey. I cannot wait to meet you at Allume. I am praying for continued healing and more mobility. Hugs friend!
mary, i enjoyed your review of the weekend. it was truly delightful:) the work you four ladies did was truly worth it…and the prayers worked! great sponsors and bags too;)
ps. did you notice how i cropped that photo and left out that bad shot of you? that really was a bad face wasn’t it? 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed the weekend. I know I did! We were all so blessed by each woman who came to the retreat and how God showed up BIG! Thank you for cropping that picture with LeeAnn and the baby. That would have been scary for all to see! 😉 Love you!
So so nice. I am glad you had fun Mary.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
God Bless
It was a beautiful and amazing weekend Ifeoma. Thank you as always for cheering me on! Weekend blessings friend!
Mary, thank you so much for choosing to be brave. Thank you for your words, and thank you for all your hard work for this weekend. I appreciate the whole crew.
Hugs,
Melinda
Loved getting to meet you, Melinda! What pure joy to spend this time away with so many brave women. God blessed the weekend mightily. Hugs to you!
Mary – I was so glad to participate in a small way for the weekend. I would have loved to have been there in person with you all. These weekend retreats have real purpose in our lives; there’s something so revealing about our every day lives and selves when we are removed from them temporarily.
Thanks again for letting me join you guys!
We loved having you Charity and Ann as well. You are right in saying that retreats play an important part in who we are and in restoring our being. The weekend was a chance for me to be brave as well as letting God teach me through the others who were present or speaking on the big screen. I appreciate your time and for being so open in sharing answers to our questions about being a writer. Happy weekend to you!
loved reading this post, hearing your heart, and living vicariously, a few heart-thoughts from the sweet fellowship. thank you!
Blessed to have you here. I appreciate your sweet encouragement and hope to see you again!
Oh Mary, I’m so glad I was able to meet you this last weekend! You are just a bright light for Jesus, and we are all blessed by you!! I loved your devotional on that last day-it was the perfect binding that brought us all together. Blessings on your head, friend.
Sweet Marcy! I love your open heart and willingness to embrace others. Thank you for embracing me. May we all carry God’s words and blessings with us each day. Love you girl!
Mary, You and the others did come forward and lead us into a peaceful place for worship, laughter, teaching, and rest. We were able to discover God in that place. Thank you! Your photos and words are lovely. I appreciate your numbered list because it is concise and so good! I’m a list maker, number girl, and introvert myself! Write on! Jenn Cook
I am thanking God right now that He was present in our retreat weekend and He spoke truths into each of us as we needed them. It was a beautiful experience and was made better by women like you being there. Love and hugs!!
Bless people like you who gather to help spread love across the land. 😀
Thank you Lux! I pray that everyone is able to have an experience like this. It was beautiful, restorative and a way to make heart connections in real life.
Hi Mary – I know how much you were looking forward to this special weekend and God didn’t let you down. Thrilled to read about all of the ways His spirit was present. Thank you for sharing!
Thinking of you.
Love,
Karen
It was amazing Karen! Being able to connect in real life with these online friends as well as connecting deeper because of our love of God was such a gift. Thank you for reading about this experience and being such a good friend to want to take the time. Love you and thinking of you as school is getting ready to begin.
Hi Mary! What a beautiful experience you had, and you did it as you stepped out of your comfort zone. How cool is that?
I love retreats. I just feel like time has no meaning during them, and that all my troubles and life melts away, so I can be present right there in those moments. It sounds like that’s the kind of weekend you had…
I’m so glad that God blessed you with the opportunity, and you joined with joy. I know that you were a blessing to each person you encountered, bringing Jesus and joy to each.
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience!
Ceil
I did feel like time was standing still last weekend. When I got home I looked around and needed to pinch myself that I had just experienced the beautiful retreat. God blessed the whole weekend and all of the women who were there. I love how God made me brave by stepping out of my comfort zone. Thank you for your beautiful encouragement and the way you take the time to just be here. Love you!
mary…I would not have guessed you for an introvert…or me…but we are. However, God gives us those brave, beautiful, and blessed moments to break open our souls to others. What a gift to learn from one another’s stories. Hope you have an Awesome August as you unfold your fall callings from the Father. j cook
Your words here are so sweet. I love how you share who you are in every smile and every moment that you connected with others at the retreat. I wish we had talked more but know that I was blessed by watching your interactions and welcoming spirit.
So grateful for the vital role you played in this retreat, Mary. You are a gift. Thank you for giving of yourself, in so many ways, to bless others. Grateful for you and your gentle, genuine heart! xx
Thank you Kate! Your gentle leadership was a joy to watch and learn from throughout the weekend. I love how one random question about a retreat led to this beautiful weekend. Thank you for being willing to see it come to be. I loved every minute of our time together.
I still haven’t been able to put words to the retreat. I hope to this week. I love this reflection and how God intertwined our stories this weekend. The one on one convo and discussion of what we learned really helped me process. I love that God brought tge people he knew would be there and that we can continue to build this community on Thursday nights and through visiting each other throughout the week.Love you
I will pray that God gives you words to share but honestly your comment here reflects a little of your heart. I loved that God knew exactly who needed to be at the retreat and He blessed each of us with Himself and the gift of being there with each other. The small group setting was exactly what I needed as well as the one on one time. SO glad you were part of last weekend. Meeting you in person made me happy!!! 🙂
Mary, it sounds like it was such an amazing weekend. So wish I could have been with all of you. Brave indeed it was. A younger me would NEVER have met blog friends in real life. I was so blessed that I got to meet Jen, Janel and Val. You all are my heart!!
You met a beautiful group of women and even though you weren’t there with us for the weekend you still had your brave moment. God loves our intentionality in being present with others and sharing our hearts. I have no doubt that He was smiling big this past weekend. Thank you for being here and for being part of the FMF community. It is amazing group. Sending virtual hugs your way.
Thanks for giving us a bit of the inside scoop of what surely was a wonderful gathering, Mary. Even though I haven’t been doing FMF in recent months (too late for this ol’ girl!), I was thinking of you throughout the weekend.
Your beautiful photos said it all, your love-laden words were the icing on the cake!
Hugs to you, friend …
The weekend was truly amazing. When online life connects in real life you are left forever changed. I love how God”s hand was in all the details and in the orchestration of gathering just the right women. My wish is to be able to connect with you in real life too. I will keep praying for that to happen. Love and hugs! Praying that life is leveling out a little for you!
That would be SO cool …
;-}
Yes it would!!! 🙂
Beautiful post, sweet Mary! Totally captured all that we thought and did and learned. Love and miss you!
Thank you Holly! Words can give people a glimpse into the weekend but it was the heart moments that are hard to capture here in print. Love and miss you too!