Hi, everyone! I had an ABSOLUTE BLAST at the Thin Within retreat! Oh my goodness! Judy Halliday had to come without her wonderful hubby, which was unfortunate. It was like a reunion for some of us, though, as I got to see Pam Sneed again as well as Judy, who I hadn’t seen in a few years!
I flew to Tulsa to meet up with my good friend Jan. The picture is of us at the retreat. On the left is my friend Jan (LOVE YOU, LADY!). Next to her is Pam Sneed (YOU ARE PRECIOUS to me!). Second from the right is Judy Halliday (what a doll you are!) and I am on the far right.
The retreat center was beautiful and the schedule was jam packed with activities. The feeling of the weekend was so amazingly deep and the Spirit of the Lord showed up with power. It was absolutely stunning. On Friday night, as ladies began to introduce themselves around the tables after dinner, it was clear that these precious ladies (and a couple of men) had such hearts to do God’s will. There were some hurting hearts longing for His healing and many who reached out to one another to encourage and support. It was such a privilege to get to be a part.
The focus was on “Grace and Truth” referring to the fact that Jesus was (is) full of grace and truth and likewise calls us to be Christlike in extending grace and truth to ourselves, receiving grace and truth from God, and extending grace and truth to others. Joe and Pam Donaldson, who now “run” the company, Thin Within, were a couple of DYNAMOS!!! WOW! They were something else. Both are great teachers and the best cheerleaders anyone could ask for. They love the Lord and have such humble spirits. I am so thrilled that they are leading Thin Within into the next phase.
Judy presented material a couple of times…and it was such a joy to see her do that. One of the things she did was “unveil” the “food target” to explain what beneficial choices are and how they can fit into our lives as we progress along the path. She did a MASTERFUL job of this with truth *and* grace! She even offered some tried and true Halliday recipes for those wanting to give a shot to incorporating even more beneficial foods into their lives.
I think the highlight for me, though, had to be doing Dance Praise with Judy. As soon as I get a video together, I will put it at You Tube. For now, here is a photo of me, Judy and dear Pam Sneed! We giggled quite a bit together and Jan was our photographer. 🙂
I guess that was the FUN highlight, but the spiritual highlight was the worship on Saturday night. OH MY WORD! I sat next to a wonderful woman named Kim. She has the voice of an angel and I was SO blessed! All of the ladies sang in such incredible harmonies! I felt like I had been transported to heaven and was standing before the throne of God like it might be one day in heaven. It was incredible!
I also had the privilege on Saturday morning of sharing some things that God has been up to in my life. Some of these things are here in the blog already, but I may put them up here in consolidated form.
Some good news for people who lead TW groups is that all weekend there was a professional videographer who was taking video of participants. These recordings along with video that will be filmed of others leading real life groups will be used to make new DVDs that group leaders can have as a teaching tool in their groups. Oh it was a wonderfully inspiring weekend!
Pam Sneed led two sessions for group leaders and people who might want to lead a group. What came of that was not just learning from Pam, but some incredible brainstorming with the group leaders present about things that can be done to better support group leaders! WHOO HOO!
So much more to share, but wanted to update you who visit the blog on occasion!
Hugs,
Heidi
I just LOVE seeing the pics. You all just look so great! I wish I could have been there with all of you! Maybe next time! 😉
Sounds like you had a wonderful time! And, I have to say, looking at your “Before” (Summer 2006) picture, next to the one of you doing Dance Praise with Judy & Pam — you have done an AMAZING job!!! Look at how THIN you are!!! Wow!I can’t wait to see what TW will offer in the future! I’d love to be a group leader some day! < Mizbooks
This is wonderful!!!! Thanks so much for sharing! I wish I could have been there! Maybe next year!!! Love and Blessings, Allie