Pastor's Wives Retreat

I was blessed to be able to spend a couple of days last week at a Pastor's Wives retreat through Deer Ridge Ministries.  The retreat was held at Highpoint Inn in Freeport, IL.  We were pampered and spoiled with absolutely delicious meals while we were there, including Chicken Enchilada casserole, a tuna salad with all kinds of veggies for a light lunch, delicious stuffed pork chops, a quiche, and the final evening was a prime rib dinner, and the dessert....well...you can scroll down and look at the photo of the Crème brûlée and beautiful chocolate covered strawberry!    There was CHOCOLATE available all the time (that in itself can make an event perfect in my mind :-)  The main speaker for our 3 day event was Mary Whelchel.  We had the opportunity to hear her speak several times.   We also had small group time, where we were able to get to know 4-5 other pastor's wives a bit better.  One of the best things for me was the 1-4 or 4:30 time frame where it was unscheduled.  My friend Kelly and I were able to enjoy God's beautiful gift of warm breezes and sunshine and walked both days through Krape Park in Freeport.  We laughed and talked and didn't have to listen to a single kid complain!  What a blessing and treat that was!  And I didn't mention that all of this was offered for absolutely no cost! WOW!

I also had the chance to reconnect in person with my friend Donna.  I've known her for almost 10 years through a pastor's wives email list, and it was great to see her and visit again!

Sadly, Kelly and Donna made me promise not to share any photos, so...you'll just have to IMAGINE the fun that we had :)

I just have to say a HUGE thank you to the Decker's, who are the directors of Deer Ridge Ministries.  They have SUCH a heart for pastor's and their wives, and making sure that they take the time for rest and renewal.  Their ministry makes that possible for many of us!  What a blessing they were to ME last week!

  

This fun little fruit bowl was delicious and beautiful!  It's just a small idea of how we were pampered at each meal!

And there is the Crème brûlée and chocolate covered strawberry!  Beautiful, and oh my GOSH was it delicious!  I could go for one of those around right now!