Discovering Beauty in the Poconos

I was blessed to spend an amazing weekend with 60+ women from my church in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. We got lucky in that it was peak weekend for fall foliage – it was beautiful out there! We heard several women from our church speak throughout the weekend and I was really wowed by the speaking abilities of the ladies in our church. I was also very moved by their willingness to share some very personal life experiences. The topic of the weekend was “Beauty from Ashes”, based on Isaiah 61:1-3. We talked about how God can take all the yucky stuff in our lives and in this world and make it into something beautiful and how our true identity isn't based on all these things but on the beauty He has bestowed on us. (If you don't have your volume turned up, do so and listen to a beautiful song based on this scripture by Shane & Shane!)

We had a long break on Saturday morning for individual quiet times and they gave us a devotion to work through – it was the best 45 minutes I’ve spent alone with God in a very long time. It reminded us of our personal identity in Christ. Part of the devotion was going through a list of scriptures that tell us how God views us. Did you know that God says the following about His people? You are all of this and more:

- Beautiful (Psalm 45:11)

- Righteous (Isaiah 61:3)

- Loved (Colossians 3:12)

- His child (Galatians 4:7)

- Precious (Isaiah 43:4)

- Holy (Colossians 3:12)

- Strong (Isaiah 40:31)

- Redeemed (Isaiah 43:1)

- Created for His Glory (Isaiah 43:7)

- His Delight (Zephaniah 3:17)

- Chosen (John 15:16)

- Complete (Colossians 2:10)

- Free (Galatians 5:1)

- Known by Him (Psalm 139:1-4)

Since God IS truth, we should believe these things about ourselves. This is who we are in Him and who He created us to be! Do you have trouble seeing yourself this way at times? I know I do. I've been learning that the best way to see myself as my Creator sees me is to spend time getting to know Him. The more time you spend in His word and prayer, the more your mind and thoughts conform to His. I think that if I could see myself the way that He sees me (which is the way I really am) at all times, I would have such a confidence and a freedom from the pressures of who this world tells me I am or who I should be.

This was the view during my awesome

quiet time on Saturday morning. I caught Angela basking in the sun &

leaves during her quiet time

Saturday morning started out with a worship session in an outdoor amphitheatre. To hear 60 women singing a'capella in such a beautiful setting gave me goosebumps!

But, the weekend wasn’t all Bible talk! We ate well and had lots of time to play, get to know each other, and enjoy the crisp fall weather and colorful scenery.

The car I rode in stopped on Friday night at IHOP for dinner.
Oh, how us city folk get excited for the chain restaurants we
can't find in Manhattan! This is Chamey, Ramona, and I. Contessa & Kaylie

Contessa, not sure of her name, and Ashley (who I was
super excited to see as she just started coming to
Apostles, but I knew her back at The Journey).

A bunch of us took a hike through the woods on Saturday afternoon. There was supposed to be a trail up the mountain, but we never found the right one and kept ending up in people’s front yards. It was still fun exploring the area with a pack of about 30 girls!

Lucy, fighting her way through what
someone said was a TON of rhododendron

Contessa & Karyn became addicted to Foosball

Saturday night we had a bonfire with smores!