God touched each and everyone of us in His own way. Starting with the car ride to Tahoe. The group of seven ladies from Central were Paula Barber from Valley Bible, Jo, Ginger, Nedia, Valerie, Kayley and Diane. Ginger drove with Paula and Jo. Valerie drove with Nedia, Kayley and Diane. Each lady overcame obstacles of their own through fellowship, understanding, and inspiration that they gave each other.

Diane, Valerie & Kayley

The outside of our conference room.

For those who don’t know, our very own Ginger Hohm was the guest speaker for the weekend. Have you ever heard Ginger preach? God truly used her to reach out to every woman during this retreat. Starting on Friday night, preaching on “Lies.” Ginger gave us the elements of a “Good Liar.” Satan wants to stop God’s plan for our lives and he uses lies to get to us. Lies will cause us to react, by hiding. Ginger said that the way we defeat them, is by replacing the lies with the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth & the life. Ginger touched the hearts of so many women when she preached on lies.

We had a time of worship & prayer. The Holy Spirit filled the room and helped the women to release themselves of the lies that Satan had been telling them, and replacing them with the truth of God. Which is, that God created us in His image and were are wonderfully made.  

Saturday morning, a lady named Pam shared her testimony about how she lead a hard life of drugs & alcohol. When her 17 yr. old daughter got sick, and later found out that she had a rare and advanced form of intestinal cancer, she decided to turn her life around. She gave herself to the Lord and has been working on getting in better shape physically and teaching others to do the same. She explained the importance of being healthy, eating right and exercising. She took the ladies outside to show us some stretching.  

After exercising, we played a few games.

The goal of this game was to get all their M&M’s (I think 42 total) from one cup on one table, to their individual color cups on another table first. There were 2 ladies playing. It was fun watching them run from one table to the next. Sometimes putting the m&m in the wrong cup and having to switch it….quickly. (lol)

This game required vaseline and cotton balls. (lol) Without using their hands, these 2 ladies had to dip their noses in vaseline. Then use the vaseline, on their noses, to pick up cotton balls and carry them over to another table. The lady with the most cotton balls at the other table, won.

We sang a couple of worship songs, then Ginger preached about “Fears.” Fear is a stronghold. It can shatter dreams, paralyze progression and will prevent relationships. Sometimes we let our feelings take over and fear sets in. We cannot let fear run our lives. Ginger gave us some steps on overcoming fear. Not only do we seek God at those times in our lives, but we have to see our God as bigger than our problems. Then we can allow God to reveal Himself to us and we can get back to doing what He called us to do. 

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

We had a five hour break. Many small groups formed to fellowship and bond. Some went shopping. Some hung out at the beach. Some got massages. Some slept. Some played games. And some reflected on the messages that Ginger brought us.

The ladies of Central went to Starbucks, Jamba Juice & did a little shopping.

Ginger rode on a Gondola to the top of the Summit.

When we got back, we had dinner. Then Church on the Hill had a “Talentless Contest.” There were a few groups of contestants that performed, showing us how “talentless” they were. (lol) At the end, we were all dancing around the room.

When we all settled down, the Holy Spirit lead Ginger to worship. She played songs that touched her life from her cd. Pastor Sandy, requested she play “Hello, It’s Me.”

A few of the ladies from COTH got up to sing “Hello, It’s Me ” with Ginger.

Ginger’s last message was on “Insecurities.” Insecurity distorts how we see ourselves, others & God. We all have insecurities and we sometimes let them get the best of us. Ginger gave us the elements of insecurity and how to overcome them. She encouraged us all by reminding us that we should be focusing on what God has called us to do, instead of on ourselves. It’s like we get caught up hiding in our own “baggage” (insecurities). If we want to come out of that “baggage,” we need to first recognize it, and then be willing to do the work to overcome it. Then God can be able to take us to dreams we never thought of.  

More fellowship followed after the evening closed. Ladies, in groups, were hanging out in their rooms, the lobby, the conference room, just talking and bonding. It came to light, that Ginger really touched the lives of so many, and we were able to show “The Real Me” to our sisters in Christ.

On Sunday, we had worship and communion. Then Pastor Sandy opened up the floor for women who wanted to share testimonies. So many testimonies were shared, tears fell, and laughter brightened the room.

As the cars were being loaded and the women were getting ready to head back to reality, it started to rain. We all know that God carries our burdens when we look to Him for help, perhaps He was helping us shed those burdens when He gave us rain?

During the weekend, strong bonds were made. Not just those of the seven ladies from Central Assembly….but bonds made between these women, Church on the Hill women, and God. Our God is awesome and deserves our Praise everyday! Many of the ladies are already looking forward to next year to see what God has in store for them.

Thank you to Church on the Hill for inviting Ginger Hohm and Women of Hope to join you for this enlightening & enriching retreat, and helping us find “The Real Me.” 

Check out our ~Women of Hope~ Fan page on Facebook to see more pictures!

Contact Nedia at  nedia@restoringhope.com if you want to donate items and/or donate your time.

Teri then shared with us how we can put on a “new self” or be transformed by the “renewing of our mind.” She had the ladies replace their “clothing” with new ones, like: Humility, Love, Patience, Kindness, Forgiveness, Happiness. Turning anger into forgiveness and depression into happiness.

 “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances yo may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” ~Colossians 3:12-14

 It’s easier said than done to just put on the new “clothing.” But Teri said we need to first recognize what we’re wearing before we can take on trying to change it. Then arm ourselves with the Word of God, and fellowship with other believers for encouragement. Teri said the best way to clean out our closets/mind, is by doing it one rack at a time. 

Special thanks to the women that made this event possible: 

To Nedia, for “Spring Cleaning” us and guiding Teri Herndon on her vision, Ginger for bringing us Colleen Epperson, Mai for the decorations, Jo for organizing the kitchen and food, and Valerie for the advertising. Last but not least, thank you to all the women who enjoyed being “spring cleaned”.

or RSVP with an email to:

nedia@restoringhope.com

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, ESV