On October 14 and 15, dozens of women from Faith will gather at Camp Gilead for a retreat. The whole thing is the brainchild of Lee Dusing.
The Idea for a Retreat—about Talents (Gifts)
Last spring, Lee went with some other women from Faith to a ladies’ retreat sponsored by the Sunshine Baptist Fellowship and held at Camp Sparta in Sebring. She says:
“We had just gone to that retreat at Camp Sparta. I’ve been here almost five years, and I said, ‘Hey, how come we haven’t had a retreat?’”
Lee says that’s when she learned she should have kept her mouth shut—the retreat was her idea, so she was asked to head it up, along with Jill Osborne.
The theme, “God Gives Good Gifts,” came from Lee’s realization that, in her words, “the church is so loaded with talent, it amazes me. I was thinking about what we would do, and that’s when the idea of the talents came up.” She says that a good way to view the retreat is “some to use their talents and gifts in presenting various workshops and presentations, and others to find their talents from those.”
Lee says there are several goals. “Number one,” she says with a smile in her voice, is “for the ladies to get away.” She then points out that many women don’t realize they have talents. They think that if they are not musical or artistic, they don’t have a talent. She hopes women will attend the retreat and “look inside and see where the Lord can put them to work.” She points to herself, saying, “I have to stick to my birds and my computers and loving the Lord” as her talents. Lee does not simply enjoy bird-watching; she has a web-based ministry through which she shares the gospel, God’s Word, and, of course, birds. Lee blogs here on The Fountain as well as at her own website http://leesbird.com/.
In addition to her responsibilities as the retreat’s coordinator, Lee will be leading two workshops, one on bird-watching (no surprise there) and one on E-Sword, a Bible study program.
Lee’s Bird-watching Workshop
Lee previously lived in the Ft. Lauderdale area. She says:
“There were all kinds of birds right by our house—we had a lake. I started seeing them, becoming aware of them. There was a little park nearby. The naturalist there took me under her wings and trained me. She got my interest piqued. I’m not an expert, but I enjoy watching God’s creatures.”
Lee’s E-Sword Workshop
Lee is a fan of E-Sword and recommends it. But she learned from experience that people she recommended it to don’t always know what to do with it past a certain point. So for this workshop she will have her laptop set up, show learners how to load the program, how to download the options, and go from there. E-Sword lets users find Bible words and verses in a variety of translations and provides access to dictionaries, commentaries, and other resources.
Retreat Registration and Costs
The last day to register for the retreat is Sunday, Oct. 2. Twenty dollars ($20) is due at registration, with the balance due on Oct. 9. You can register on Sundays at the Information Desk in the church foyer or simply by sending us your name and which ‘plan’ you would like to register for. Various plans are available:
- $65—Cabin accommodation, one night + meetings + 3 meal
- $45—No overnight accommodations, all meetings + 3 meals
- $35—Saturday meetings only + 2 meals
- $20—Friday meetings only + 1 meal
Related Posts:
- God Gives Good Gifts: A Ladies’ Retreat
- Ladies’ Retreat – Workout Time & Break-Making Workshop
- Ladies’ Retreat – Scrapbooking & Encouragement Through Card-Making
- Ladies’ Retreat – Parenting & Prayer Journaling
- Ladies’ Retreat – Couponing & Organization Workshops
- Ladies’ Retreat – Joy in Trials & Singing Workshop
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