Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Girlfriend Getaway

Went on my second annual Girlfriend Getaway this past weekend.  Last year I went with three other gals to Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon.  That was for a week, and a marvelous week it was!


This year I joined three of my friends from my high school years...we all attended church together as teenagers and young adults.  A fifth person joined us for part of the weekend, but four of us went for a four day weekend.  


We headed up to Big Rapids and spent the night in a Quality Inn near Ferris College.  We had supper at Applebees after walking the streets of downtown and picking up some fudge and apple cider.  We also went shopping at Peebles, one of my favorite stores.  I was the only one who did not buy clothes.  I opted for some jewelry for my granddaughter instead of something for me.  After supper we played Apples to Apples.


The next day after our breakfast buffet at the motel, we headed toward our true weekend destination...The Shack in Jugville.  It's between White Cloud and Fremont, and is a fairly large lodge with various kinds of accommodations.  Very unique place, built on several acres on a lake, log cabin style.  There's a museum and prayer chapel and various gazebos and a large pavilion, plus walking trails.  We did take a walk on a trail, but mostly we opted to stay inside and chat and play games.  


The room price included our supper meal and breakfast buffet.  We had lunch at a cafe in down town Fremont on Saturday, while we were browsing through the little town.  That town is the home of Gerber Baby Foods, so we drove around the plant, and by the Gerber House...now a bed and breakfast.  It was the original home of the Gerber Family.  


Sunday morning we had our own worship service, with each of us sharing some scripture, our thoughts on it, and a song.  Then we had a time of sharing our prayer concerns and praying for one another.  We had The Shack's Sunday Brunch.  And I can't forget to mention that every night they serve banana splits.  I think it's the key to longevity of life, as the owners served them each night, no matter how large the crowd was, and they must be close to 90 years old.  They've been serving them every night for 33 years.


While we were there this weekend, one of my friends' 100 year old grandmother passed away.  It was good for us to be with her and help her refocus for a while before she came back home to the funeral.  I think God ordained this time for her.  She had lost her mother earlier this year, so it's been a tough year for her.


Monday morning we stopped by an apple orchard on our way home, and we stopped in Lowell at a small town cafe for lunch.  One of my friends lives on the campground also, and we were back home by mid-afternoon that day.  Was glad to see hubby and the dogs and cats!!


Now hubby and I have a little get away together.  We are going to my 20th college graduation/homecoming down in Cleveland, TN.  We look forward to seeing friends, staying with a close friend, attending a concert and a basketball game, and our old church on Sunday.  Next week is the annual Nazarene Camping Association Conference in the Cincinnati area.  We'll be stopping at that on our way back home from Tennessee.  


This week I'm getting things caught up at work and preparing to be gone again for a few days.  I'm filling in for one of our office staff who is in Florida for the month of November.  It's a slower month, so things will be fine.  


We bought our second high top conversion van...a 2002 Ford, Tuscany Edition.  It replaces our 1997 GMC Savanna, which has come to its final rest for us.  Someone may want it for parts, but we didn't want to put any more money into it.  We enjoy traveling in a high top van, even though the gas mileage isn't the greatest.  It's a great way to travel with granddaughters also!!  We will get our use out of the Ford van, even though we will be using it just for travel.  It's our travel investment, which should take us right into the retirement years.


I'm looking forward to our trip back to Tennessee.  We basically raised our boys there, and it seems more like home to us than Michigan does, even though we were both raised here.  I could easily move back to Tennessee.  But we will be content wherever God has us...we just want to be in His service!


Time to look at what God has been saying to me the past week or so.


2 Timothy


  • But you must keep on believing the things you were taught.  You know they are true for you know that you can trust those of us who have taught you.  You know how, when you were a small child, you were taught the Holy Scriptures; and it is these that make you wise to accept God's salvation by trusting in Christ Jesus.  The whole Bible was given to us by inspiration from God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives; it straightens us out and helps us do what is right.  It is God's way of making us well prepared at every point, fully equipped to do good to everyone.  (3:14-17)
  • Stand steady and don't be afraid of suffering for the Lord.  Bring others to Christ.  Leave nothing undone that you ought to do.  (4:4)

Psalm
  • Lord, when doubts fill my mind, when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.  (94:19)
  • Worship the Lord with the beauty of holy lives.  (96:9)
  • I will try to walk a blameless path, but how I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should.  (101:2)  (Amen!!)

Lamentations
  • Yet there is one ray of hope:  his compassion never ends.  It is only the Lord's mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.  Great is his faithfulness; his loving kindness begins afresh each day.  My soul claims the Lord as my inheritance; therefore I will hope in him.  The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for him, to those who seek for him.  It is good both to hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.  (3:21-26)  (This is the passage I used for my devotional at our weekend worship service.  I also brought in the verse God has given to me this year in I Thessalonians 4:11-12:  Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your hands, just as we told you so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders, and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.)

Hebrews
  • ...we Christians are God's house---he lives in us!---if we keep up our courage firm to the end, and our joy and our trust in the Lord.  (3:6)
  • For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as we did when we first became Christians, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.  (3:14)


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