Summer Escape : it's like a spa for your soul!‏

At the end of July I attended Summer Escape at my church, Stonebriar Community Church. It's a yearly event put on through the Women's Ministries. It's a place to "Escape from the heat. Be refreshed by the Word." This year I helped with registration and clean-up. Those of us helping with the event got together the Friday night before the Saturday event and made sure we had name tags for everyone who had registered, as well as placed their session information and lunch selection on the tag. We arrived early Saturday so that we would be ready for all the women who were attending. We had a really great turn out this year!

Registration Girls - Stephanie & Jessica

There were sessions you could choose from that fit your personal and spiritual needs. These "treatments" lasted about an hour and ranged anywhere from "How to get through trials" to "Hip Hop for Jesus", which were the two sessions I attended. Breakfast and lunch were included in the $10 cost. It was a great day of fellowship with other Christian women; some I knew and some I just met that day.

me & Jessica

I really enjoyed the sessions I attended. "How to get through trials" was very informative and I thought I'd share. I know everyone can use this info at one time in their lives or another. I attended a bible study the other day where the person leading said that we are always going though storms/trials. We might be in one right now, we might have just went through one, or we might have one coming up, but there are always trials in life. The lady leading my session at Summer Escape said that a trial is any circumstance that knocks you off kilter and they never go away. She referenced Hebrews 12:4-11. We suffer because we resist. We reap what we sow, Galatians 6:7-10. Every trial demands a choice. We can choose bitterness & worry or we can choose to trust God for strength & wisdom. God allows trials as a way to test our faith and develop perseverance. We must trust God. We must respond to trials with prayer, asking that God remove them and heal them. We must persevere; have staying power. Romans 8:35-37 says "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: 'For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us." We experience inner joy by following Christ. Joy does not equal happiness. Joy is an inner quality beyond our circumstances. Last, but not least, faith is like gold. Faith stands the test of time.

Showing of their hip hop poses: LA, Nina, Joy, & Renalee

After that wonderful session, which I got a lot out of, I attended Hip Hop for Jesus. Eric, our hip hop leader, started the session out with devotional time and then taught us a dance routine. It was hilarious watching everyone try to learn the moves. I was having a pretty difficult time with the hip hop, as I am most definitely not very coordinated. I was also wearing a long skirt that day which didn't help either. I muddled through and we all learned the routine. It was a pretty great workout. I was sweating bullets! :-) Not sure hip hop dance suits me, but it was definitely fun.

Summer Escape was a huge success this year. I invite you to all be a part of it next year!