Pursuing God: A Pilgrimage of Faith, Worship, & Joy

October 24th - 25th

In the midst of busyness and obligation, our hearts have unfulfilled longing, our minds hope for something more. Join us as we pursue the source of why we were created, the source of our fulfillment, Jesus. Check-in begins Friday at 9am. Retreat begins at 10am on Friday and concludes Saturday at Noon.

Remember

Each room has a living room and bathroom with almost half of the cabins having a kitchen. Not everyone will have a kitchen, but everyone has access to one. Bedding, pillows, and towels are provided. There is also the option of staying in the convent or camping. We suggest bringing warm clothes and comfortable shoes for the walk between the retreat center and cabins. You can also bring snacks and games to share on Friday night.

Where

San Damiano Retreat Center is located on the banks of the Ohio River within the Shawnee National Forest in Golconda, IL. Take Rt. 13 East through Marion to Harrisburg. Drive through Harrisburg and turn right onto Rt. 34/145 going south.  After 1 mile, turn left to keep on Rt. 34 (by Shawnee National Forest Building).  Follow Rt. 34 southeast for about 23 miles.  Go straight through the stop sign at Rt. 146.  After 2.6 miles, turn left at San Damiano sign and follow road to the retreat center.

sandamianoretreat.com | 618.285.3507

Register

Registering & paying will reserve your spot at the 2008 Women Retreat. Space is limited, so we will accept registrations until the retreat is full. If you have any further questions feel free to contact the Vine offices at 618.351.VINE(8463). Call Terry Kessinger at the Vine office (618.351.8463) for accommodation arrangements if you are bringing a nursing baby.

Have you ever felt God’s nudge? Well, lately I’ve felt God nudging me to share my experience as a working mother. We have all read plenty of articles about the latest version of how to be a supermom and how to organize your entire house in one weekend! Yet none talk about the everyday internal struggles working moms have. I want to share the struggles I have faced, because I know I’m not alone and that a lot of women are experiencing the same thing.

Whether or not to work is a choice all mothers (and their husbands) must make, and it wasn’t an easy one for me. There is no one answer for all women, and we made a decision that was right for me and my family. I struggled for about a year after my first son was born on what God wanted me to do, and when Drew was a year old, God gave me an awesome opportunity to work at SIU. The job I was offered was working for another working mother who completely understood that I would need to be off to care for my kids from time to time. She was great about giving me flexibility so I didn’t have to choose ‘work or family’. Even after I started in the job I’m sure God provided me, I still felt twinges of guilt when I heard of other mothers staying home with their kids. What I finally realized, after lots of prayer, was the guilt I felt was not from God. I allowed myself to feel guilty because I felt like others thought I should not be working. I let what others thought of me cloud what God wanted me to do.

Once I accepted that I was supposed to be a working mom, things should have been great. But something was still wrong. I had what has been called the Super Mom Syndrome. I felt like I should be able to do it all and I would get upset and feel the anger rise when I wasn’t able to follow through. Society has determined that working women can and should keep a spotless house, prepare a healthy dinner every night, have perfectly disciplined children that are always clean and well-mannered, have all laundry done and folded daily, and the list goes on and on!. There are not enough hours in my day to do all those things! I was finally able to see what God was showing me. He had given me help! He provided me a husband who helps with household chores. He also gave me female friends within the Vine who support me. If I had tried to keep it all under control and not been transparent, if I hadn’t shared my struggles with other women at the Vine who go through the same thing, I would not have made it.

When I’m grouchy because my house isn’t as clean as I think it should be, or laundry isn’t put away, or toys are everywhere, I try to re-focus on the one who gives me strength. Jesus never gives me more than I can take, and has blessed me beyond my wildest expectations. Jesus reminds me to laugh instead of cry when our mornings are crazy. He reminds me to read a bedtime story instead of folding the laundry. And if I can stop and listen to Him, He also tells me to lower my voice, and take 5 minutes to explain something to my child, rather than barking out an order. It’s not always easy for me to relax with the kids when there’s work to be done, but it’s what I’m called to do. Having a clean house should not be my focus.

My primary role is to be a wife and mother, but God has also called me to make a difference in my workplace. Sometimes I fail, but Jesus gives me the grace and mercy of a new day. It is a constant juggling act to find a balance between time for myself, my children, my husband, and spending time with other women in the church. I have found that when God sets up an opportunity to spend time with another woman from the Vine, or when I get up early to pray and start my day off with God, I am always amazed that I have more patience, compassion, and love for my family than if I hadn’t done it at all.

Proverbs 31 talks about the wife of noble character. She provided food for her family, buys and plants a field, speaks wisdom, etc. If you read on, she doesn’t do it alone, she has help. In v.30, the author writes about the most important part, “…but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” If I can keep my eyes on Jesus the rest will fall into place. Will I still struggle to have enough patience with my children, to fix healthy dinners, struggle to get the housework done? Yes, but God will give me the strength if I keep my focus on Him.

by Connie Gregory

Then the time came when the risk it took

To remain tight in a bud was more painful

Than the risk it took to blossom.

- Anais Nin

When I came across this quote in the opening pages of Captivating, I marveled at how beautifully and accurately it captured my own journey. I was hopeful that in the coming pages I would find truth and encouragement for my heart. In the end, I was not disappointed.

Captivating is the effort of John & Stasi Eldredge to unveil the mysteries of a woman’s soul. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that as women we would need someone to unveil our own soul to us? Unfortunately, we did not grow up in the perfection of Eden as God intended and our hearts were wounded, often to the point that we no longer desired or even recognized our uniqueness as women. It is John and Stasi’s belief that every woman’s heart longs for three things: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty. As I read this book, I found Jesus gently guiding me back to these true longings of my heart and revealing that He is the fulfillment of each. He is the ultimate Romancer, He does have a role for me to fill in His great adventure, and as I allow Him to take down my walls of self-protection I will unveil His beauty to the world.

I think this book is relevant for women of all ages and seasons of life. Because we are each unique and at different states of the journey, there will probably be parts that resonate more with some than others. Personally, I found the greatest treasures in the last few chapters of the book. So if you don’t love it right away, I strongly encourage you to keep reading until the end. Each of us was created in the image of God as a woman and therefore what we have to offer the world is different than men. It is not more or less, but it is necessary. For too long the enemy has warred against our hearts and kept us in hiding. I challenge you, perhaps through reading this book, to let Jesus lead you to places of truth in your heart so that you may be whole in Him and able to give from yourself what the world around you so desperately needs.

Ever have those moments when life’s flurry melts away,

and you realize

an emptiness so deep

it stops you in your footsteps

to wonder why you’re feeling so down and out of sorts

when moments ago you were laughing?

Then you recall how long it’s been since you

connected with Him

In an answer so swift

Then truth so sweet and a longing so strong

snuffs out the melancholy drizzle

of forgetting

if even for an hour

what it’s like to be with Him…..

I had that kind of moment today. So I wrote Him a letter……and, upon the tablet of my heart, through knee-mail…I felt His answer scripting across my soul…. Maybe it will minister to you, but mostly, I hope it causes your spirit heart to take pause, and the lungs of your soul to breathe deeply

of Him

and live again

in His presence

in unbroken communion.

. . . . . . . . . . .

Dear King,
It was bloody and brutal and I cannot imagine you having to die without honor so willingly.

. . . . .

Dear Princess,

I was humbled and honored and I could not imagine me having to live without you for eternity.

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4  cup granulated sugar

Cream butter and confectioner’s sugar together until light. Sift flour & salt together and

add to creamed mixture. Add vanilla and blend thoroughly. Gather dough into a ball, wrap

in wax paper, and chill 4-6 hours. Roll out chilled dough to 5/8 inch thickness. Cut out

cookies. Sprinkle tops with granulated sugar, if desired. Place cookies on ungreased cookie

sheets & refrigerate for 45 minutes before baking. Bake for 20 minutes in preheated oven,

or until just starting to color lightly; cookies should not brown at all. Cool on a rack. If

desired, dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and place on parchment paper. Chill in

refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Terry Kessinger, Christmas 2005

2 c rice crisp cereal

2 c dry roast peanuts

2 c M&Ms

1 c Light corn syrup

1 c sugar

1&1/2 c creamy peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla

Combine 1^st four ingredients in large bowl. Set aside. In pan, bring syrup and sugar to boil, stirring often. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter and vanilla. Pour hot mixture over cereal mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Spread into greased 15 x 10 pan. Cool and cut into bars.

Shannon Nolte

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 ½ pounds semisweet chocolate candy coating, chopped

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the flour, milk and vanilla; mix well.  Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.  Shape in to 1 inch balls; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets.  Loosely cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until firm.

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating, stirring often until smooth.  Dip balls in coating; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets.  Refrigerate until firm, about 15 minutes.  If desired, remelt remaining candy coating and drizzle over candies.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yield: 5 ½ dozen

2 pkg (8 ½ oz each) corn bread/muffin mix

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup milk

½ cup plain yogurt

1 can (14 ¾ oz.) cream style corn

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

In bowl, combine corn bread mix, eggs, milk and yogurt until well blended. Stir in corn and cheese. Pour into greased 9×13 dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 18-22 min. or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cut and serve warm. Yield 12 servings.

Shannon Nolte

1 box (0.3 oz) sugar-free lime-flavor gelatin

¼ cup boiling water

2 containers (8 oz each) key lime pie-flavor light yogurt

1 container (8 oz) frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

1 prepared 9” reduced-fat graham cracker pie crust

1. In large heat-resistant bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water.  With wire whisk, stir in yogurt; with wooden spoon, fold in whipped topping.

2. Transfer mixture to prepared crust; refrigerate overnight, or at least 2 hours.

Nutrition Info: 148 calories; 3.5g fat, 1g fiber

2 bananas, peeled & sliced ½” thick

1 mango, peeled, stoned & cut into 1” chunks

1 cup pineapple, cut into 1” chunks

1 pint strawberries, hulled & halved

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp. dark rum

2 Tbsp. sugar, or to taste

1 bunch mint, leaves only, coarsely chopped

Tiny sprigs of mint, for garnish

In a large glass serving bowl or picnic container, combine all the fruits and toss very gently to mix. Sprinkle the lemon & lime juices, rum (if using), sugar and mint over the top and again toss gently to mix. Garnish w/tiny mint sprigs before serving.

Used at Tabitha Matuska’s Bridal Shower, 2004

Terry Kessinger