Hello to all!

It’s been a while since I did a “Love, Tuesday” post so for today I thought I’d take some time to say Hi to everyone who is new here and spread some LOVE! 

This past week we’ve had so many new women follow us on social media and check out our website and I have to say… It’s such a JOY to have you here.

My hope is that I/we can inspire and encourage you in your walk with the Lord through these little squares of IG (and our blog).

So a little about me... My name is Laura McCollough and I am a wife of 31 years to a man that encourages my dreams and I’m a mother to three beautiful girls who continue to amaze me as their faith is lived out in ways that inspire me. I was born and raised in So. California and lived 49.9 years of my life there, until God was calling us to move to Colorado to build a “Gathering Place” for His purposes three years ago. We are almost done with that God-sized dream and excited to see what He does with it! I am a new “Grammie” and enjoying the benefits of having all our children, and grand baby, close by. About 10 years ago I started hosting art retreats in Italy and YES, if you’re wondering, it is a dream job! But it wasn’t until about 7 years ago that I realized they weren’t supposed to be just about art and that was when I knew the Lord was calling me to make them about Him. Since then my desire has been to create a community in which our creativity connects us to our Creator. ❤️

Art & Faith Creative is actually a mother/daughter team and over the years all three of our daughters have taken on a creative role at one point or another. I love that they have all wanted to be a part of this ministry we feel the Lord has given us to do. My oldest daughter Victoria is married and a new mother so her role is now more of a behind the scenes encourager. Our middle daughter Rebecca is the one that has been helping me the last few years and she is my partner in this creative endeavor. She just graduated with her Bachelors in Biblical Studies and is going on to get her Masters Degree in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling. For now she helps at our retreats when she’s not in school and we are hoping her degree will be an added blessing to our retreats in the future in some way. Our youngest daughter is still in High School and she loves to help in the summer time when she is off from school. She is in Theater Arts and is very creative, so I’m sure she will also continue to help in our retreats when she is able to.

We hosted our very first Creative Retreat in Bellagio, Italy in 2012 & we’ve had a heart to explore this world with other women in creative ways ever since! A little back story… when Victoria and Rebecca were 3 & 7 we took a year off, sold our home, car and just about everything else and and we traveled the world! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that we still talk about to this day and it has shaped the way our girls look at the world and other cultures. We are SO thankful for all the people we met and became dear friends with along the way and even though we didn’t know it at the time, I know the Lord was opening doors for the next steps in our lives, including our future retreats.

We hosted our first Art & Faith Creative Retreat in 2015, also in Bellagio, Italy and that is when amazing things really started happening. It’s been incredible to watch how the Lord brings each woman who needs to be there and how He works all the beautiful details out.  He has Purpose in all of it (& for each one of us), and it is for GOOD and for His glory! It has been such a blessing to witness the Lord move in ways we could never do on our own and it is a complete joy to come alongside and encourage each woman to draw closer to the Lord through Art & Faith.

Just look at these hands right here.

They are all so beautiful and I’m so humbled to get to gather women and point them to Jesus, His life & His example in the creative ways God has given us to do.  It has been one of the greatest joys of my life to bring together women from every corner of the globe & share the love of Jesus with them!

On the more personal side, I have been writing for many years on my blogs, Instagram and through Bible Journaling and other outlets. The dream of writing a book has been with me since I was a child… I just never had the confidence to really think it could happen. Even though I’ve been blogging and posting on social media, it was hard to feel like I was a legitimate writer and could claim that “title.” But the Lord is so good and gently shows us what He is calling us to do, and so I feel like my prayers were answered last week when I became a part of a writing community that has already been so encouraging and motivating! I finally realized last week and now have the confidence to actually say… I AM a writer.

So you will find me writing more each day and learning the process of how to publish a book. In fact I just printed out my *in progress* manuscript a few days ago and it was a huge moment for me. You see, a few years ago the Lord was calling me write what He has done in my life, and He actually gave me the title and chapter titles of a book on a short plane ride to California! It’s a crazy story, but one I hope to put into words that glorifies Him and all that He has done in my life, SO THAT others may know Him. Thank you to all the Hope*Writers who are coming alongside me in this journey. I can’t wait to get to know you better and encourage you as well!

I hope you enjoy this blog and our Love, Tuesday posts. This month we will be talking each Tuesday about LOVE since we are in the “month of love” and I thought I’d share a different perspective on love each week. I hope you’ll come back to check it out!

This week, I’ll start with this great reminder on LOVE in Romans 12:9-10:

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in LOVE. Honor one another above yourselves.”

This verse doesn’t mince words, does it? This is the calling on all of our lives. I know this isn’t always easy to do, I know we mess this up a lot… but the Holy Spirit will guide us if we turn to Jesus & ask for help living this out daily. And I get that you may not share our same faith, and you may not share our same biblical world view, but I have said this before on my posts, and I will say it again to ALL who are new here… I want you to know YOU are welcome here. My little squares on IG, this blog and our retreats are a place to share our lives together, be creative together and draw closer to the Lord together through Art & Faith, so you feel loved and refreshed by God. ❤️

One of the most powerful quotes I’ve read recently is this:

“Be the reason someone loves Jesus. Not the reason they hate Christians.” Toby Mac

So please know that you are loved, and welcomed here.

Here’s another verse on love AND the inspiration and motivation behind our retreats.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says:

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to LOVE and good works, not neglecting to {GATHER} together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” 

Our hearts are to come along side women, to gather & encourage each other to live a creative & faith filled life, and to spur each other on towards what God is calling you to do. With this pandemic that hasn’t been easy. All our 2020 retreats were postponed a year but we are hopeful that this year we will be able to connect in Italy and France with those that signed up last year. If you want to join us and find out more about those retreats (we have 2 spots available for each one this year) you can check them out in the SHOP section of our website. We also have retreats in the United States and our hearts are to have more local workshops and gatherings in the U.S. (in addition to our wonderful retreats in Europe and beyond) and we are excited to share with you where those retreats will be held soon!

Thank you for coming here and learning a little about what we do and who we are. We can’t wait to be back to welcoming you at our retreats, getting to know you and your story and sharing in our lives together in a way that gives God all the glory for GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE! 

We hope to meet you some day as we combine Art & Faith to experience the world and God’s Word in a truly unique way!

Have a GREAT day everyone!

Hugs,

Laura McCollough