This weekend was the annual Faith Fellowship Men's Retreat. The date is always fluid, as is the location. In past years we have gone to a Methodist camp in Glen Rose, TX and to Sky Ranch near Tyler, TX. This year we went to Camp Straight Arrow, in Pottsboro, TX which is right on Lake Texoma. The weather was perfect.
This year also marked the first time that James organized the retreat, with a little help from our pastor. Since it was his first time scheduling an event like this he was a little nervous but it turned out pretty well. There were only a few snags and I am sure those will be worked out next time we go.
This retreat was a little different because instead of staying Friday and Saturday night, we just stayed Friday. While we were able to stay late on Saturday, we did not spend the night. I am not sure why but it was the pastor who vetoed the Saturday night stay. To make up for that, those who could come up early could stay on Thursday and Friday night (for an extra $15). I was on call last week but I did manage to switch Friday-Sun with my TL so I could enjoy the retreat.
Friday I took off work and cleaned house before I headed north to Pottsboro. I decided to do a little geocaching along the way and took my time driving. The lake is only about an hour away but I took four hours to drive and cache. More about that on my geocaching blog.
I arrived about 5:00 PM and went to the fire pit where everyone was meeting and talking. About half the men were still out playing golf, which is the kickoff event of our retreats. Since I do not golf, I show up around dinner time.
After an hour or so of pleasantries, we went back to the cabin to prepare dinner. James wanted to kick the retreat off in style so steaks (on the grill) were on the menu, along with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. After dinner and clean up, we headed back to the fire pit area, lit a nice bonfire and had some worship and fellowship until about 9:00 PM.
After worship, I grabbed a shower and then joined some of the men and watched, "The Bucket List" which is a great movie (with the exception of the language) with a great message. After the movie was over I decided to go up stairs and try to get some sleep. We had 20 men in two large rooms (each room slept 20 people) so we had room to spread out a bit. There were still a lot of people up so I did not get to sleep until about midnight or so.
At 4:30 AM, woke up, unable to go back to sleep. I got up and got dressed and headed out to the fire pit area for some "God time". It felt really good to be out under a starry sky away from the city lights and noises. After about an hour, I went back to the cabin and chatted with a couple of the other early risers until the son came up, then I went back to the fire pit and read my bible until breakfast was ready.
After breakfast I helped clean up (I washed dishes) then got ready for our morning devotional/message. All in all the speaker did a good job, although I am not a fan of his style. Mind you, that is just me...there is nothing wrong with being outspoken and charismatic, but it is not me. I am a little more reserved.
After the first message and a small break, we gathered back in the great room for the final message. This one was rushed a bit since the first one ran over the alotted time so I did not enjoy it as much. We went directly from the message to preparing lunch, which was burgers on the grill with all the fixin's. While I was still kinda full from breakfast (pancakes, grits, bacon, eggs, and sausage) I still ate a couple of burgers. I helped clean up a little (cleared the table, put away leftovers) then wnet back to sit down, maybe take a nap.
We had a large block of free time that many of the men were going to use to play yet another round of golf. Since I had not been to this area before, I took my geocaching equipment and went out on a geocaching expedition. More info about that on my "Geobloggin'" web page.
Once the men who went golfing had left, it only left about 10 of us back at the cabin and over half of those just went home early. A few stayed back and played cards, ping pong, and chatted. By the time I got back at 5:00 PM, I was a bit hungry but I did not want to put the pizzas in the oven since the majority of the guys were not back yet, so I waited. Once they returned we put four of the six pizzas in the oven and ate in record time. It was getting late and the we were supposed to be out by 8:00 PM. It was about 7:30 PM or so and James called us all together to recap the weekend. It got a little drawn out but I was able to leave by 8:30 PM and was home by 9:30 PM. I was sweaty from the geocaching that afternoon and I needed a shower before going to bed so after I unpacked, I hopped in the shower and slept like a baby.
Sunday morning I woke up refreshed and ready for church. Dr David Reagan from Lamb and Lion Ministries was preaching and since I really enjoy his energy and message I was not going to be late. As expected, the sermon was great and we were able to chat some as well.
The rest of the day was filled with a nap, a quick meal, our "Voice of Faith" service that evening, a phone call to mom, and walking of the dogs...oh we are dog sitting Kelsie again.
One interesting thing that was mentioned during the conversation I had with mom was that my sister and her husband are buying some land and are buildin a house. They want mom to move in with them but the are not biulding a "mother in law" wing, they are just giving her a private bed and bath. Mom is not too keen on that idea and asked them to put a small mobile home on the log (it is in the country) for her. They are not real keen on that so it looks like I will have to call them and help move the idea along.
I am glad mom is sticking to her guns. My sis and her hubby smoke (in the house) and he swears like a sailor. Mom is a Christian like me and my wife are so she does not take kindly to that sort of talk. Also they have a boxer and mom has a little Shitz-zhu and they do not get along. Since mom is not is bad health, I think it is kind of degrading to have to live with someone if you do not have to. I want mom to keep her dignity.
No comments:
Post a Comment