As has become our habit, Brenda and I spent the first week of October in beautiful Panama City Beach at the Laguna Beach Christian Retreat with a dozen Christian friends from AL to TX, to TN, to NC, to IN, to MI. The first few days were COLD! We wore long sleeves and long pants, and sitting on the beach in just a bathing suit was pretty much out of the question. But, after a couple of days it warmed up to a comfortable beach temperature.
Our day was pretty full because I had to give a devotional every morning that was introductory to the talk of the morning given by one of the group. In the evening I had about an hour to share a full-blown wellness talk. So, most of the week i was busy speaking or prepping to speak.
But, I learned a lot. And those folks were a great participative audience. They smiled and nodded and finished Scripture verses for me. It was a true JOY for Brenda and I to be around them. We had asked a lot of folks to pray, and things just seemed to "click". Things fell into place and I tried to move talks around and even created two or three new talks to fit in with where G^d seemed to be directing us.
We had a 5k run walk, and I ran my fastest time in the last 4 or 5 years. It felt great to push myself again in a race. (Note to self- find a 5k and enter it...as soon as COVID permits).
One of our participants had a birthday during the week. Brenda recalled the year my family drafted little notes of encouragement and collected the strips of paper into a box. Every time I pulled one out, I smiled and enjoyed a bit of joy. It's is my all-time favorite gift to receive. It seemed to go over well with our friend too, who shed tears of joy.
Thanks be to G^d for a great safe time together and safety in our travels. Thanks be to G^d for giving each of us words to say.
And thanks for your prayers.
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