On Friday I went to the women's retreat. The retreat as a whole was on wisdom / proverbs. The women and their stories were so diverse, yet somehow it all fit together beautifully even though they didn't really plan every detail. The topic on Friday night was financial discipline. Fun. Actually, it was really good. Three different women spoke on Friday evening, all with a little different take on the subject. We were challenged to re-imagine discipline as a positive thing. For without discipline, we quickly become dissolute. [I'd rather not use such a strong word, but alas, that is the word of the day.] "But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline; don't sulk under his loving correction.It's the child he loves that God corrects; a father's delight is behind all this." (Proverbs 3:12) The Message
I have to say that I wish there were a more pleasant word for the word 'discipline'. It's not very fun to say. And there is. In several translations of the Bible the word 'instruction' is often used where the word 'discipline' might be found. I prefer the word instruction. This will help me view it in a more positive light.
We had the option of camping out overnight at the church. Some people took this literally and pitched a big tent to sleep in. I just brought my air mattress and found a corner of the sanctuary to sleep in. I slept in the sort of lofted balcony area. I thought it would be really cool to sleep here, but it doesn't matter where you sleep if you didn't put enough air in the air mattress and didn't get enough sleep. I awoke at 7am to the nettlesome sound of my alarm and the hard floor of the sanctuary. I headed down the hall for 7am yoga. Pure craziness. I never get up this early. But it was fun and I'm really happy I did it. Several of us did yoga from 7-8am (before the coffee!!) to start out the morning. And then there was coffee. 4 more women spoke on Saturday and I loved hearing all of their stories. I can't really begin to describe in a coherant way how each of the stories impacted me. I especially loved the stories from the women who had traveled or worked in Israel, Africa and Vienna.
I have to say that I wish there were a more pleasant word for the word 'discipline'. It's not very fun to say. And there is. In several translations of the Bible the word 'instruction' is often used where the word 'discipline' might be found. I prefer the word instruction. This will help me view it in a more positive light.
We had the option of camping out overnight at the church. Some people took this literally and pitched a big tent to sleep in. I just brought my air mattress and found a corner of the sanctuary to sleep in. I slept in the sort of lofted balcony area. I thought it would be really cool to sleep here, but it doesn't matter where you sleep if you didn't put enough air in the air mattress and didn't get enough sleep. I awoke at 7am to the nettlesome sound of my alarm and the hard floor of the sanctuary. I headed down the hall for 7am yoga. Pure craziness. I never get up this early. But it was fun and I'm really happy I did it. Several of us did yoga from 7-8am (before the coffee!!) to start out the morning. And then there was coffee. 4 more women spoke on Saturday and I loved hearing all of their stories. I can't really begin to describe in a coherant way how each of the stories impacted me. I especially loved the stories from the women who had traveled or worked in Israel, Africa and Vienna.
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