Let us be found faithful…

That was the theme for this year, and just as I wrote the devotional with a heart to share the truth about the faithfulness of God…

God WAS faithful.🙌🏻

And I’m here to say it again… He is always faithful friends, even when we are not.  Even if we don’t see it at first. And even if we never understand it, this side of heaven.

You see, these retreats I’m blessed to host are a big responsibility, and I’m not always faithful to do them perfectly well.  Learning to let go of the desire for perfection, (or my own will for them) has not been easy.  But it has been a growing, sanctifying process for certain!

Every year the theme for the retreats has been prayerfully chosen, yet “balanced” with my own imperfect nature…

But God.

What powerful two words are more lovely in our language I cannot fathom. Thank you, Lord! We all fall short of the glory of God… yet He still chooses to work His sovereign will through imperfect people, like us! Isn’t that incredible to think about?!

So I hope you’ll follow along this week as I share the stories that tell of His faithfulness to a little group of women who gathered on the shores of Lake Como.

I’ll be blogging most days this week, so you can follow along here. If you’re on my email list, you’ll also get these stories in your inbox. And you’re not going to want to miss out on these stories… because they all point to the hope (and peace) we can have when we put our trust in Jesus!

Day One:

Day one of this retreat, I noticed my voice was going fast.  As I welcomed the women I thought it was so strange that my voice was getting lower and very hoarse.  I was only able to welcome the ladies and have dinner with them and then I was off to bed, worried about the next day and praying for better health the next morning.

But God… He knew beforehand, just as the words He helped me write said on Day 1 of the devotional. (I’ll share a snippet from Day 1 down below)

I wasn’t better… I was actually really sick.  And He prepared a way for others to step in and help.

My dear friend Rita was perfectly able to do what she does, and she showed the women her beautiful Bellagio, just as planned. She took them to the lunch I had catered in the hamlet of San Giovanni and the ladies thoroughly enjoyed their first day in Bellagio with the afternoon to relax by the pool or stroll the gardens of Villa Melzi.

Then Luigi took over for dinner, and not only did he pick them up, but he shared his passion for food with them, and as always, he also entertained them the whole evening! Grazie mille Luigi!

And it was yet another reminder of God’s faithfulness, that continues throughout all of humanity, that perfectly shows He has everything in His hands and we can trust He will work it all out.

Tomorrow I’ll share what happened Day 2… (and yes, I will still very sick)

Here’s a snippet from Day 1 of the Found Faithful devotional I wrote for this years theme:

“This statement is one of the foundational truths of the Bible, and in this study we will unpack the truth of this claim.  I know some of you will have an easy time believing this to be true, and some of you are struggling to believe it.  Wherever you are in your  journey of faith, I want you to know that it’s ok. God is faithful, even when we are faithless, and He is also patient and loving. (2 Peter 3:9) 

My heart in this study is to point you to scripture, encourage you to look deep into what God’s Word says about faithfulness, and realize how understanding these truths can bring immense joy and peace into your life.  And, I know it will strengthen your faith in the process.

So let’s start here:

“Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”  Hebrews 10:23-25 

These verses in Hebrews 10 have been the inspirational foundation for our retreats.  They are the WHY to my heart's desire to gather women together, in Jesus name.  My hope is for us to encourage and motivate each other to love others and go forward in the things God is calling us to do.  And my prayer is that you leave feeling refreshed and renewed in your faith, inspired to share the gospel message with those around you. 

And I know that He who promised is SO faithful to do just that!  
Our calling in life is to share the story of God’s faithfulness with others.  As creatives we can look to our Creator, and Creative God, first.  How do you think that should influence what we do creatively?”

I hope this blesses someone on this Monday morning!

Hugs to all,

Laura

P.S. I have only a few more devotionals left in my shop. I’m going to try to figure out how to put them up on Amazon soon though.