With the closing of this past year, and decade, we thought it would be fun to take time to {look back} at the past 10 years of Art & Faith Creative! We wanted to share photos from the past 16 retreats God has allowed us to host. Yes, 16 retreats in the last 8 years and we can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store going forward. This one is going to be a LONG one, so grab your coffee and stay a while.

But before we start with the first retreat we did back in 2012, I want to go back a little bit further in time… 10 years back, to 2009.

My husband and I took at trip to Europe for our 20th Wedding Anniversary that was paid for with our American Express miles that we SAVED FOR 20 YEARS! Yes, true story… We decided early on in our marriage we would save our miles and then blow them out on an amazing anniversary trip. And we did! But one place that we weren’t able to use the miles for was Bellagio, Italy. When we were planning for this trip, I asked Lance if we could splurge on coming here because I had seen a Travel Channel show with Samantha Brown that showed her flying right up to the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni on a Sea plane. I don’t remember when I saw that show but I know I tucked that away as a “DREAM” vacation spot to go to. So as part of our two week European trip, we splurged on staying there. I could talk for hours about that trip, but needless to say Bellagio had my heart the second I stepped into that special little town in Italy! And I NEVER, EVER thought I would be back after that trip. (and I cried when I left there)

This is where the GOD PART comes in… because what God has for us, our PURPOSE, or how He is going to orchestrate His will in our lives takes time to see. But when we open our eyes and our hearts and let go of our own will and let His will take hold of our lives… ANYTHING is possible! And that’s the story I want to share with you today.

In 2009 I didn’t know that what He had planned for my life… gathering women together for His purposes and to glorify Him, was going to be in my future. In 2010 and 2011, all I knew was that He allowed for us to take our girls back those following years and He worked it out in AMAZING ways. (If you ever come on one of our retreats I’ll share in detail how that happened each year and what our BIG dream is for this place we call home).

But it wasn’t until the summer of 2011 when we were sitting right here by the pool below, that the idea took root:

My husband and I were talking by this pool and he was saying “We can’t keep coming back Laura… it’s an expensive vacation and we can’t keep doing this” and then this:

“If you feel like this is a place you’re supposed to come back to, then find a way…”

THAT my friends was all it took. I don’t remember hesitating for a moment. I got up from that lounge chair and went upstairs to the Concierge desk and asked this friendly man named Luciano if they had an event room! Yes, they sure did… and they showed it to me right then and there.

What I don’t want you to misunderstand is this: THAT WAS NOT ME. I am not a go getter, outgoing, take the bull by the horns kind of person! I was a stay at home momma who occasionally taught scrapbooking classes and worked for a few companies in that industry. THIS WAS OF GOD. Did I know it at the time? Not a clue. But God doesn’t tell you the ending from the beginning… He asks us to trust and He prepares us, and leads us and slowly we see how it can all be HIS idea from the beginning.

So from that day forward I took time to pray about it, think about it, plan it and work hard at it. Nothing comes easy and it still isn’t easy. It has been quite a journey and I’m still learning and growing and seeing His hand it all… and I am in complete AWE of how God shows us His amazing plan for our lives!

In September of 2012 we had our very 1st “A Kiss on the Chic” Creative Retreat in Bellagio, Italy.

I had NO idea what I was doing! It was probably the most nervous I had felt since being a new mom and taking our first child home from the hospital! hahaha I had to fly across the ocean without my husband (my oldest daughter Victoria came with me at the last minute) and I had to organize a WEEK of classes, excursions, meals and everything else that comes with this kind of undertaking! I had asked a couple friends in the art industry to teach with me: Lisa Pace, Tammy Tutterow and Stayce DeWid and I know we all probably winged it as we went. I feel bad for these lovely ladies that were sort of “guinea pigs” for our first ever retreat! But a lot of them have been back multiple times, so I guess we did ok…

Then came 2013, when I hosted our 2nd retreat in Bellagio, but this time it was in the summer.

This retreat was even bigger and you’ll notice a few faces from the first retreat are back! Plus this time I had two of my daughters to help me and we stayed a little longer afterwards to relax after the retreat was over. I asked Teresa Collins and Jeanne Oliver to join me on this retreat. This was the year we surprised everyone at the finale dinner and even though I’d love to share the story with you, I don’t want to ruin it for you if you ever come on a retreat with us! But I will share that this was also the summer our daughters met two young men from Bellagio that they are still friend with to this day. And if you ever met Rebecca… ask her to tell you the story about how she was invited to a Tower for dinner!

In 2014 I had 3 retreats back to back! The first one was with Heidi Swapp and Rebecca Cross. It was so fun and creative to have two big scrapbook names in the industry to join me and we scrapbooked for days… but of course we still had time to explore the beautiful lake and have wonderful meals together. We also were taught the art of taking “selfies” that year by Michelle Duke and we couldn’t stop doing it wherever we went! hahaha

The next retreat was right after this one was over, and it was a “mini retreat” with only myself as the teacher/guide/host. But it was with a couple ladies who had already come on past retreats and brought friends with them and they wanted to come again for a casual week of playing, and it was a special time of just that.

The 3rd one was a little different because I hosted a retreat for someone else. Jeanne Oliver wanted to start her own art retreats and asked if I would host her first one in Bellagio. So I organized the week for her and she took care of teaching the art. It was a fun collaboration and not the first time actually… because in 2013 I organized a business retreat in Bellagio! I don’t consider this retreat one of my retreats, because it was for my husband’s business, but it was another fun way for me to be back in Bellagio, share it with others and get to know this place I love just a little bit more.

Here’s the Summit Club retreat in 2013:

and the Living Workshop for Jeanne in 2014:

Around this time I was feeling the Lord show me that it wasn’t just for fun and games. That there was more to it and there was more PURPOSE in these retreat than I was seeing. I starting praying about this and seeing that there was something that was changing in me too. But I was nervous about what that change meant.

In the past retreats I had made it about the art. It was about enjoying being creative in a beautiful setting. I was good at showing them how to do that, I had it all set on where we would go, what excursions we would go on… it was becoming easy! I was content with how people were finding out about the retreats and more people were wanting to come on the retreats. But in my heart I knew that wasn’t what God was calling me to do. Just continue as is, and not grow deeper…

So through 2014 I knew that it was going to get harder, because the Lord was showing me that these retreats were really about… HIM. That these retreats I was planning were actually meant to gather women together to draw them closer to the Lord. That is wasn’t just about Art, but the connection between our CREATOR and CREATING. And how that connection can deeply change lives.

But wait…

The fact that these retreats are in Italy and they aren’t easy to get to… they aren’t in everyone’s budget, and they aren’t everyone’s “thing” and if I’m looking at it as a business… now I’m making my “market” even smaller by saying it’s a FAITH based retreat? Come on Lord… really?

Yes… I knew I was being called to change these retreats to Art & Faith Creative Retreats.

A much smaller “market” for these retreats, and I was probably going to make some ladies decide not to go now because they didn’t want anything to do with the faith part. And yet, I know that was what I was being asked to do. So I did.

And in 2015 we did our very 1st retreat in Paris, France! It was SO incredible to host a retreat in a new place… and a place that I also deeply fell in love with many years back.

We kept it small because I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to escort all of us around a big city. And I still love the small retreats where everyone really gets to know each other! I now do a Paris retreat every other year and we like to keep it around 12 people total for all of those reasons.

After this retreat we flew straight to Italy and met my husband and our other daughters there. We had time to ourselves to relax together and then we invited my husbands side of the family to join us, and we had our first DiLiberto Family Reunion in ITALY! It was so great to have extended family with us in Bellagio. To get to show them around and introduce them to our friends… it was such a JOY! We spent a couple weeks doing that and then we were back to work.

Our 1st official Art & Faith Creative Retreat was in July of 2015:

That’s where this photo came from. You may have seen this photo before… it’s been shared many, many times. I love it so much because it speaks to what my heart is for these retreats. The hands gathered together from all ages and ethnicities, sharing a connection through art and now our faith. It was so beautiful to witness! I knew from this retreat that I would never go back. I would always go forward seeking the Lord’s will as He continues to show me how to give Him the glory through these retreats. It makes me cry just thinking of how much deeper these retreats have become. How much more of a connection the women have. How quickly the women who join us feel safe to share their lives with us and become a family that goes home blessed by what we have shared together. And it’s ALL because of what the Lord wants done in and through these retreats, this ministry He has given us.

In 2016 we hosted two more retreats! One in the summer with Cory the Reset Girl…

This was a fun “Planner Girl” retreat and Cory was great showing us how to use even our planners for the Lord!

In September of 2016 we had Shanna Noel and Junelle Jacobson join us for a retreat in the beautiful fall weather. Shanna Noel started Bible Journaling as we know it today and I was SO excited to have her come and teach us how to journal in our Bibles!

2017 brought more change. Little did we know at the beginning of 2017 that a simple devotional my husband and I did together would turn into a life changing move from California to Colorado! That’s a whole other story, but 2017 was a year that saw us continue to hear the Lord moving and changing us. I traveled SO much in 2017, so we only had one retreat that year. It was in the summer in Bellagio, Italy and I had asked Stephanie Ackerman and Jeanne Oliver to come back again to teach with me. It was our biggest retreat to that date, and we had families join us on this one. It was the first time we had whole families come along and it changed the dynamic a little, but it was wonderful to meet some of the families of friends we had known for years through the retreats. We had some stormy weather that week and my husband wasn’t feeling well, but it was still a great retreat and the Lord blessed us with another great group of people. It is such a joy to grow this big family of people that don’t just come along on a retreat, but we get to know them and watch them connect with the other people on the retreat and then see them share their lives together and go on to have deep friendships with each other. There are so many stories of this, I could take up this whole blog post just on that. I am so moved by how the Lord brings the people that He wants to connect to our retreats, again… for His purposes!

In 2017 the Lord brought us home from Europe early, due to some health issues with my husband and my mom at home. Looking back now we see God’s hand it, to direct us down a new path. Late 2017 we felt the Lord leading us to buy land in Colorodo! It was so out of the ordinary for us California natives. This wasn’t even a thought in our heads a few months before this happened, but we knew the Lord was showing us to build a Gathering Place and host more of these retreats and whatever else He is calling us to do with that land. It has been an incredible discovery of waiting, trusting and asking the Lord to show us what His plans are. We are only a couple months away from living on that land, and the next step it so build a barn that will be the Gathering Place, so stay tuned on that!

Then in 2018 we hosted THREE Retreats! And this was all while we were packing up our house in California, putting everything into PODS and then leaving for Europe for 5 weeks, literally the day we moved out of our house. YIKES. We say we were homeless in Europe… and actually, we were! We had no place to live in Colorado and our house in California was SOLD. So our plan was to travel and do the retreats and then come back to California and drive our cars out to Colorado and look for a rental to live in. Whew… that was a busy year for sure!

The first Art & Faith Creative Retreat in 2018 was in the summer in Bellagio. It was a small one and again, we are still learning and growing in what the Lord wants for these retreats. There have been many people who have asked me how I do these retreats, how do they work out financially, and a whole host of other questions. I think I need to start a side business just on consulting! hahaha But in all honestly, there is so much that goes into planning and praying about each retreats and we don’t always have the answers. They don’t always work out the way we thought they would. The Lord is faithful though and even when the enemy seeks to “Steal, Kill and Destroy” (John 10:10) the Lord sits on the throne and His will is always ultimately fulfilled. There have been some hard lessons I’ve had to learn through this journey, but I wouldn’t change it for a moment. God meets us in those moments and changes us for the better.

The 2nd one was in Paris & Bruges! We added Bruges to this retreat and that made it our very 1st 10 day retreat! The 10 days gave us an opportunity to see so much more, spend more time together getting to connect and share our lives and we were able to spend more time in God’s Word as well. It was a BLAST! We took bike rides, a cooking class, a chocolate tour, had a picnic on the Seine, went to museums, did devotions out by Notre Dame… so much fun!

Then we came back to the States, moved to Colorado, found a rental, settled in and then I was off to another retreat! This time by myself because all three daughters were busy with life. In the end, this was one of the most soul defining retreats for me personally. It was by the Grace of God that I traveled alone (I hate to fly) prepared everything on my own, and remembered everything on my own. (I actually have a horrible memory…) And that is why I say God gets all the glory!! These retreats are born out of God’s will in my life. It has become a women’s ministry that my heart knows I am called to. And at this retreat the Lord gently spoke to my nervous heart about ALL of it. I am one person. We are all human, we make mistakes, and we can’t do it all. When I was at this retreat and had to do everything pretty much on my own, except for the loving help of friends who were so kind to always offer help when I needed it, I realized that I didn’t HAVE to do it on my own! That the Lord is the one who had ordained this ministry, who truly brings the women who need to be there, who goes before us and watches over us.

At this retreat He showed me that it’s my role to “Set the Table” but He does the real work.

He moves in each ladies heart, He draws them closer to Him and He speaks to them. My role is just to gather and set the table! I have to say it took so much pressure off of me. Because in my own desire to make these retreats the best they can be, I worry about getting it “right” each time. Or making sure I talk to each woman and have a deep conversation with them. I still want that each time… but the Lord showed me it’s not about ME. He will guide the conversations that He wants, He will work the details out and He will change hearts and lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. Wow, this was a life breathing retreat, and I wouldn’t have wanted to share it with anyone else but my dear friend Sheila Atchley, who I had the pleasure of asking to teach with me and become dear friends with through this time. I’ve asked her to teach with me again, and again and I’m so blessed to say she keeps saying YES!

This group was such a joy! Not everyone is in this picture and I apologize if you’ve been to one of these retreats and you’re not in one of these photos… I tried to find photos from each retreat with everyone in them, but it wasn’t always possible.

So now we are here… at the end of 2019.

What a beautiful, hard, growing year for me personally and for our Art & Faith Creative Retreats!

2019 was a milestone year. We only did 2 retreats this year because we are currently building that home on our land and about ready to build the Gathering Place soon too! So I really felt I needed to be home more for that and the Lord brought together two amazing retreats this year. The first was in the summer in Bellagio, Italy… BUT… we turned that one into a 10 day retreat as well and took the ladies that wanted to extend it to Venice, Italy first! Then we met up with the rest of the group in Bellagio and it was the largest group to date! I wasn’t sure how that was going to go, but God knew. And Ruth Chou Simons and her family were such a joy to have join us!

This was such a gift of time that we all shared together and I think I can safely say everyone felt that. We became like a family and I know so many beautiful friendships started from this retreat that the Lord brought together. This is why I see God’s hand in these retreats and His Spirit guiding them, and I am continually in AWE of it all!

The most recent retreat was also a milestone because it was in the United States! It was the very 1st Art & Faith Creative Retreat this side of the Atlantic Ocean! hahaha… I don’t know why the Lord waited so long to bring them here, but I am so thankful for this first one, and praying there will be many more! It was in one of my favorite places in the U.S. Woodstock, Vermont. It’s where my husband I spend a few days of our Honeymoon 30 years ago, it’s where we spent time with our kids, went back for anniversaries and just felt like it was the perfect spot for a fall retreat. And it WAS.

The Holy Spirit truly met us there. I know each one of these ladies would agree with that, and it started from the moment we met in a little room downstairs at this hotel. This retreat was only a 5 Night retreat and yet, we bonded instantly and shared deep and hard things together. It was perfect weather for our exploring, taking in the the absolutely gorgeous Fall Foliage, and for the meals and excursions we went on. But most importantly it was a time of true Worship and Praise to the Lord for Great Things He Has Done! The devotional time, the classes, the moments of connection, the sweet time with Sheila by my side teaching and preaching… it was ALL just incredible.

I can’t help but look through all these photos and just shed mountains of tears. It is so hard to put into words how these retreats have changed my life, and I know I haven’t done enough to explain what God is doing here. But I hope you see that ONE person IS enough. Like I said when I had to go it alone in 2018 and I was just one person… God showed me that it’s not about US. It’s not just us, because it’s US + GOD.

He is the author and sustainer of life… of PURPOSE… of working out all the details of our lives!

So don’t look at what I’m doing as anything special. Anyone and Everyone can (and may I insert SHOULD) ask the Lord “What is Your will for my life” and seek after that. He has SO much He wants to do through a willing heart.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared BEFOREHAND, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

This verse JUST came to me as I was ending this blog post. What is so crazy to me is not that I believe this verse 110% but that my “One Little Word” for 2020 is in THIS verse! The Lord woke me up yesterday in my devotional time to a word. Each year I pray about the New Year and a word that Lord wants to bring to mind. This year has been the word Purpose and boy has He shown me that is SO many ways! But I wasn't sure if He was showing me that next year was about learning, growing in knowledge of His Word… and then this word was brought to mind:

PREPARE.

Ladies, my hearts desire is to work unto the Lord, and I will do these retreats as long as He calls us to do them. I am blessed beyond measure that my daughters want to take a role in this with me, and I look forward to seeing what God has for Rebecca after she graduates from college and continues with a Masters in Biblical Counseling, and how that helps our ministry.

So I will “Prepare” for the 2020 retreats, for our Gathering Place in Colorado and continue seeking what the Lord wants in and through them. I hope YOU will prayerfully consider joining us on one some day… we’d love to meet you and spend time connecting with our Creator together!

May the Lord Bless you and Keep you as you enter a New Year, a New Decade and all that He has for you in them!

If you’ve come to the end of this post… PROPS to YOU! I know I can write “books” instead of blog posts (maybe that’s why I am actually writing a book…) and this was probably the longest one yet!

We mentioned on our IG that we were going to do the BIGGEST GIVEAWAY EVER, and now is the time to share what that is:

We are giving away:

1 set of Class Kits from this year

AND…

1 HALF PRICE SPOT in a future Art & Faith Creative Retreat

to 1 LUCKY WINNER!

This is HUGE! We have never given this big of a discount on a retreat and we are so excited to finally be able to! In order for your chance to WIN, here’s what you need to do:

1. Follow us on Instagram @ artandfaithcreative

2. Like this Post from today on IG

3. Share our IG Post on your Story

4. Comment on this blog post which retreat you’d like to join and why.

Hugs and much love,

Laura McCollough

Hebrews 10:24-25:  “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”