Shipshewana

This weekend I was able to attend a woman's retreat for our church. We left yesterday afternoon and headed back home later this afternoon... maybe not quite long enough for me, but it was still very enjoyable.

The retreat was held in Shipshewana, IN. I hadn't been there before and I'm pretty sure I'll be back there soon. The town was packed with Amish people. If you know me, you know I love Amish. I was so excited when we arrived in the town- horse and buggies were literally everywhere! It was neat to see the Amish laundry hanging on the line in one of the large yards of a farm. We even saw horses pulling some type of farm equipment through the field. I felt like a little kid at Disney World! It was so cute to see the Amish (or maybe even Mennonite) families out and about. The bearded men, the bonneted women...

Needless to say, I plan to head back there in the (near) future. The one day spent there was not quite enough for me. It seemed it only whet my appetite to want to see even more. So I took some brochures home and I told Jeff that we will be going back there- he and I, and it will be soon. (I can't wait!)

The retreat's theme was "Beauty through Brokenness." The speaker (Laura Rife) was amazing. She didn't tell funny jokes or anything really to grab our interest. But she spoke to us about God's word, and He (God) most certainly used her. I know I was not the only woman that left the retreat feeling refreshed and reassured that God loves me- no matter what. My job now is to wake up every day and say "God, I'm right here... You can love me today."

I had a chance to sing a song with my sister at the retreat- during our group worship time. We sang a song by Selah... it's called "Unredeemed." My sister, Jessica, picked the song and I just nodded my head and agreed with her it should be fine going along with the message for the weekend. Little did we know just how perfectly it went with the entire weekend. Praise God that He takes away our hurts, our sins, our pasts, and not only forgives us for them but loves us despite them.

And did you know that you don't need to clean up your act before you run to God? You don't! He wants you just the way you are- broken in pieces. I was thrilled to pieces (yes, pun intended) to find that out. I don't need to get my life together and be perfect (or feel perfect) before I can come before my Savior. No! He wants me just as I am. It got me thinking of the new Amy Grant song- "Better than a Hallelujah." When we're falling apart, when our lives are a big mess, God want us to run to Him... to CRY to Him. He can make a melody out of our misery. He sings over us- blessings we can't even imagine. Praise God!

Anyway; as you can tell- the retreat was wonderful. I would've liked to sleep in this morning, and possibly stay longer than less than 24 hours. But it was wonderful and I look forward to going back to enjoy the beautiful town and the Amish community.

We ate at an Amish restaurant today. Mmmm! They know how to cook! It was amazingly delicious. Possibly too salty for me, but amazing none the less. We also spent some time shopping in some of the Amish shops. I didn't find anything great or grand- just a Shipshewana key chain and a few other (non-Amish) little things. Jessica found Amish paper dolls for her girls (I was debating whether or not to get a set for myself, and then I realized I should probably grow up and stop buying myself kid's things). She also found Amish coloring books for them. How cute!

You're not supposed to take pictures of the Amish. It is against their beliefs. But I did break the law (so to speak) and take a few. I did get this really cool photo of a horse and buggy in the parking lot. Nobody was in it, so I felt safe doing it.