A Note From Marsha Mathews
Dear Ladies of RBC,
I’m writing to personally invite you to the Reston Bible Church annual Women’s Retreat at the Doubletree Hotel in Sterling. The retreat begins Friday, March 9, 2012 at 7 p.m. and ends at 11:00 am on Sunday, March 11, 2012. We’ll enjoy worshiping together, Biblical teaching, small groups plus time to just hang out and have fun.
I highly recommend that you stay at the hotel for the entire weekend so that you can enjoy the full retreat experience—being able to put away distractions, unplug and refocus. The rooms are beautifully decorated and equipped with either two queen beds or one king bed…and I’ve heard they’re really comfortable. But if you would prefer to sleep at home we do offer a “day only” option (you’ll be assigned a small group just like those staying at the hotel). Both options include three delicious meals on Saturday and Sunday breakfast and all the hotel amenities.
The retreat is for all ladies college age and above. If it’s your first retreat and you’re worried about not having a roommate, don’t let that keep you away. There are always other ladies looking for someone to room with. I’ve met some really great ladies that way. I’ve been to many retreats over the 20+ years I’ve attended RBC and have come away not only having met new women but also encouraged in my walk with God. I’ve enjoyed true Christian fellowship around God’s word and just plain old fun. Trust me…this is something you won’t want to miss.
The theme for this weekend is Ruler of My Heart and we’re excited to have Margaret Ashmore from Denton Bible Church in Denton, Texas as our speaker. Margaret’s heart is to help women come to the understanding that the safest place to be on this earth is in the loving, shielding protection of submitting their lives to Jesus Christ. I trust that you’ll be blessed and challenged by what she’ll be sharing with us.
I’d also like to ask for your help. Volunteering to work on a retreat committee is one of the ways I was able to meet so many new people over the years. We have many ways you can be of service and I think you’ll really enjoy being a part of one of these teams. (You can indicate on the registration form where you’d like to serve.)
Prayer Team-will pray before and during the retreat. If you have a heart to cover all aspects of the retreat from planning through the final session, then we welcome you to join with other women with the same desire. There will be morning prayer sessions both Saturday and Sunday during the retreat.
- Registration Table: will check in women as they arrive at retreat. If you are organized and good with details, this is the job for you.
- Greeters: will welcome ladies to the retreat and into each session. This is a wonderful way to show hospitality, whether you’re an extrovert or just someone with a heart to make others feel welcome.
- Table Hostesses: will welcome ladies to their table at mealtimes and make sure everyone is included. If you have a desire to show Christ’s love and encourage other women here’s your opportunity.
To get more information and register go to www.restonbible.org/womensretreat. No matter your season in life I trust the weekend will prove to be worth your while. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.
God Bless!
Marsha Mathews
Director, Women’s Ministry
Love, Loss & Legacy: Retreat Reflections
You know the old saying “The best laid plans…”? Well, God has His own plan and it always, without fail, turns out to be the right one. After many months of planning for the Ladies Annual Retreat we, Barb, Bridget and I, arrived at Sandy Cove the weekend of March 5-7 full of anticipation and excitement. We had decided to try some new things and were eager to see if they would work and how they would be received. And I think we were even a little worried that we had somehow forgotten something. As the ladies began to arrive, there were the sounds of welcoming those we’d just seen at church the previous Sunday as well as the squeals of delight at being reunited with those who we hadn’t seen since the last retreat.
There was an excitement in the air at the prospect of sharing a weekend away from home… eating meals we didn’t have to cook, sleeping in beds we wouldn’t have to make and laughing at jokes that only we would get. But all those things, while good, are not the real reason we make that two hour trip up 95 on a Friday afternoon. And maybe I speak only for myself, but at the heart of it what I was really wondering was “What does God have in store for us this weekend?” and “How will He make Himself known to us in a new way?”
For those women of Reston Bible Church who have sat under sound biblical teaching for, well, forever, most of us entered the weekend titled “Love, Loss and Legacy” (centering around the story of Ruth) with our own knowledge and opinions. After all, it is of one of the great love stories in the Bible. What we didn’t anticipate is how the story would change us all individually and so differently. I’m not sure any one of us could have been prepared for all that God would bring to light through Kelly’s study and teaching. Each lady who attended came away with a view of that amazing story through a new lens. Some of us may have learned a hard lesson about forgiveness, others about loyalty, still others about how to just be still and simply hear from God and let Him guide our paths. I truly believe that every lady came away with a changed point of view about those three women in Ruth who began a journey and the paths they each chose.
As we watched the weekend unfold, we saw God use the plans we’d made in ways we couldn’t even have imagined as well as bring some surprises of His own. At first we may have resisted some of those, but as we watched God work, I believe one thing we all walked away with from that weekend was a greater sense of awe for the God we serve… and we could all use a lot more awe.