Women's Retreat- More Fit for the Kingdom

Ok so it's not exactly enrichment but I thought that the Women's Retreat was definitely worth blogging about.  This weekend about 25 of us Relief Society Sisters went over to Camp Edgewood in DeQuincy Louisiana.  We had a wonderful time and were spiritually uplifted by the things we learned while there.
After a short program and dinner Friday night we were able to spend some time around a camp fire roasting marshmallows and Starbursts (this was new to me too).

Friday night after the program, we played a few games.  One of them was Hollywood squares.  Here is the panel of "Squares".  It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot of trivia about Relief Society.
Part of the program Friday night was a presentation called "My Name is Sarah".  It was beautifully done and very inspirational.  We learned that no matter the circumstances in our lives we are never alone. 

The theme of the Retreat was "More Fit for the Kingdom"  On Saturday we learned many ways to become Fit.  Heidi Serage taught us how to be Physically Fit in any Circumstances and gave us all an action plan to help us on our way to being more fit!  We even had a short workout around the building in between presentations.

Bishop Hold talked to us about "Being Financially Fit Brings Peace".  We learned that when we are Free from Debt WE are free, and to "Joyfully live within our means" so that "We can be ready for the rainy days WHEN they come".
Jackie Holt taught us about making our "Eternal Relationships Fit".  We learned more about what it means to have a responsibility to love and care for one another and how we can do those things better.  She also talked about how when we make choices to do something good we can either honor them or betray them.  When we betray our choices to do something good we betray ourselves and 1. inflate the faults of others 2. Inflate our own virtue 3. inflate the value of things  that justify our self betrayal and we 4. Blame

I didn't snap a picture of Sister Kathy Robinson because I was so busy taking notes on her excellent lesson about "How to be Spiritually Fit in these the Last Days".  Sister Robinson came out to be with us from the Silverlake Ward and gave us a great list of things we can work on to become more Spiritually fit 1. Prayer 2. Scripture Study 3. Temple Worship 4. Sacrament meeting Worship 5. Keep the Commandments and Repentance 6. Fasting  7. A Remembrance Journal- to remember the blessings of the Lord in our lives 8. Service 9. Worthy Music/other media 10. Seek to be led by the Holy Ghost.

All of these presentations were wonderful and I feel like I am ready to become more fit in every way for the blessings of the kingdom.
It was a wonderful weekend, we played many great games and shared some wonderful spiritual experiences.  Thank you to the Relief Society for putting together such a great outing for us all and for allowing us time to relax together and to become unified as a relief society and ward.

Now for an extension of a game we played  can you guess which of the Sisters in our ward :

1. Was featured in a Teen Magazine

2. Had heart surgery at he age of 15

3. Wore Fishnet Stockings in a senior play and danced on chair

4. Caused Elder Kimball to stop in  the middle of a Conference so she could eat

5. Received Student of the year the same year she received her associates degree while being the mother of 5 children

6. Was a gymnastics High achiever in her youth

7. Plays the Piano like an angel and is a concert pianist

8. Was a drum major of her junior high marching band

9. Graduated from Clear Lake High School

10. Loves learning and will continue learning and BYU Hawaii

11. Still owns/ wears some of her 8th grade wardrobe- She would like me to make a disclaimer that she did not offer up this information and she only has a few sweatshirts and some pj's she made

12. Youth nickname was Razor Blazer- this one is not a Sister that should be a good hint

13.  Still hold swimming records at her high school

14. Is obsessed with Tap Dancing

15.  She's a twin!

16.  Won a beauty pageant in High school and enjoyed playing Volleyball

17. Career goal of being a race car driver

18. Baptized 1 1/2 times ( Her mom was pregnant with her when she was baptized)

19. Loves life, good food, critters and flowering plants

20.  Is a visionary stylist

21.  She enjoys playing the flute and is an excellent musician

22. Performed with her college band in the NYC Macy's Thanksgiving parade

23. Enjoys planning and attending parties, a lot!

Answers: 1. Kendra Gladwill 2. Ashley Crawly 3. Vera Mckee 4. Mary Ellen Bradshaw 5. Beth Livesay 6. Johanna Gregory 7. Windi Hinson 8. Rhonda Davis 9. Amy Bradshaw 10. Renee Oliver 11. Heidi Serage 12. Bishop Holt 13. Ellen Corier 14. Hayli Holt 15. Jackie Holt 16. Rosly Cooper 17. Rebecca Oliver 18. Ginger Gregory 19. Magdalina Adams 20. Krissy Hon 21. Sheridan Goodall 22.Melanie Livesay 23. Yolanda Cano