At the Copa, Copa Cabana....

Well, it's been awhile, so I suppose I should give you something to read, or you won't bother coming to visit.

Some of you are probably wondering why I haven't been blogging about our women's retreat. It is, after all, a pretty big deal for me, and I have been spending a lot of my time over the last couple months on it.

Well, it's over.

All that prep, stress, coronaries, psoriasis break-outs, and stress induced hair loss, and it's over. Just like that. I'm not even fully sure what happened. I've heard a lot of feedback, and it all had some good in it. (Sure, who's gonna beat this dead horse and tell her she did a horrible job and should be flogged. You're all just too nice, that's what it is.)

Let's see. The speaker was good at what she did. She was just a bit off target from what I had envisioned for the weekend. I know her style isn't for everyone, but I'm not talking about that. I'm talking focus. I was looking for teaching on why we are all inherently valuable and on equal footing with everyone else. Self-image stuff. Knowing the "how-to's" of tending your spirit is good, but if you don't feel like you're worth tending then it's just useless info. File it away and shut down your brain and your spirit.

Yvonne told us during worship on Saturday evening to close our eyes and listen to see if God would tell us what the thing is that's blocking us. I did hear a word, but I assumed it was just for me, so I didn't share it. Maybe I was wrong. What I heard was "doubt", or perhaps more accurately "self-doubt". I was blocked because I really didn't think that God would actually come and have something for me.

I spent a lot of the weekend struggling with the same self-worth issues I hashed out on the Breathe blog a while back. I had to keep reminding myself that I am made in the image of God. It was the whole concept of the Celtic view of Christianity that sees the image of God first in a person instead of seeing the sin first that has impacted me so much since I heard Jan teach about it at Breathe. That's why I was excited about having her come. I expected more of that teaching. I guess she was given a different perspective on our vision for the weekend. I wasn't in charge of relating the vision to the speaker.

The food was good. The facilities were as good as I remembered them. Even the nursing moms seemed to be OK with their room sharing arrangements. I heard people laugh that first night, so I guess I don't have to worry about looking silly in front of people. They seem to like it. Hmmm... I wonder what accent I should use next year...

I had a lot of good people working with me this year. Fresh ideas and enthusiasm were really a treat. Not to say that there weren't problems or issues, but this is not the forum for that.

Don't ask me about next year, yet. I'm still trying to calm down my psoriasis and replant hair on my head. I think I'll take some from my overgrown legs...Speaking of my head, will someone PLEASE help me get "Copa Cabana" out of it?!!