Friday Art & Faith Talks…
Last Friday I introduced a new blog post theme…
We’re taking a few weeks to talk about our retreats from the perspective of your questions, and having fun answering them in a way that hopefully shares a bit more about what we do at our retreats and why we love having you join us!
They’ll all been great questions about many different things:
~ What does a week at an Art & Faith Creative Retreat look like?
~ What type of art do we create? Do I have to have artistic skills?
~ Do I have free time during the week to do my own thing?
~ Can I bring a friend or spouse with me, and what does that cost?
~ How much of the time is creating art & how much is faith based?
~ What is my faith and does it line up with yours?
~ What’s it like to come alone and not know anyone?
~ Where do I fly into and how do I get to the retreat?
~ Why does it cost so much and is it worth it?
~ Will I really feel refreshed and go home with renewed purpose and new friendships?
~ How do I know if God wants me to go on this retreat?
There are many more that have been asked over the years, so I want these Friday’s to be like a conversation between friends.
If I was having coffee with you at a cute little cafe, these are the things I’d love answering for you, and I hope after you read these posts you feel like I just gave you a great big hug that made you feel welcome and loved. So let’s get to this weeks questions. (And feel free to add your own to the comments each week)
Last week I discussed the cost and luxury part of our retreats…
This week I want to talk about the FAITH aspect of our retreats.
What does the FAITH aspect look like at an Art & Faith Creative Retreat
Over the years I’ve had just about every person of faith ask me about this part… and this is what I tell them.
Everyone is welcome. You are free to be a part of our retreats no matter where you are in your faith or what church you attend. Know that we will be studying from the Bible, and that is where the faith aspect of our retreats is rooted. Those who have come to a retreat and didn’t hold to that standard for their faith have either joined in and listened, or opted out and came to the classes after the devotionals were finished. I will say that the faith aspect is the thread that runs throughout our retreats, and it’s what weaves us together as believers in Jesus Christ.
Let me go back a little and share my story with you..
I grew up in a Christian home with a biblical world view. I went to a Christian school all my years growing up, until I was thrown into the proverbial “lions den” in a secular college! It was a rude awakening for sure. I was the ONLY person in Psych 101 that believed in God (back in the late 80’s mind you) or at least would raise my hand and defend Christianity.
My views on faith were formed in a World Religions class in High School, (where we had to study all of them) the church I grew up in, which was in the Reformed denomination, and what I read in God’s Word. Fast forward meeting my husband, who was going to a non-denominational church that was very popular in the 70’s-80’s in So. Cal. (You may have seen a movie about it last year…) We went to that non-denominational church for most of our married lives, raised our kids there, and even had two of the three go to the college it’s affiliated with. We’ve since, in the last couple years, changed to different non-denominational church (that is a step back towards a more “Reformed” theology) and I’ve been on a deep dive into doctrine and the differences in denominations, etc. etc. ever since then. It’s been so eye opening, so helpful in my walk with the Lord in ways I would have never imagined, and helped me to not only understand God’s Word more, but defend it and stand on it like never before. In the end, I have prayed for the Lord to “increase my faith”… and He has been SO faithful to do just that!
What I want to make clear in this post for all of you who may go to a different church than I do, or may wonder what the “faith” part of our retreats means, I can tell you that I believe in the doctrines of biblical Christianity that will never change. These are the essentials of the faith I stand on:
The Trinity. There is one eternal God, our Creator, who has revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Salvation is by grace alone, though faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Everyone who trusts in Jesus as their Savior will receive forgiveness of sins and is reconciled to God forever.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the Gospel message, Jesus came to die in our place, so that all who believe in Him might be saved and have eternal life.
There is much, much more than just these 3 foundational truths of Gods’ Word (which I believe is the Holy, inspired, inerrant, sufficient authority for all believers) but these are what hold historical Christianity together as “The Church.” There are many different denominations for even more reasons, but as a faith based retreat (that is not a specific denomination, like you’d have at your own church) this is where we begin, what I hold firmly to, and what I want to make clear today.
Art & Faith Creative Retreats are Bible Study Based…
There are not many retreats out there that incorporate faith into them. In fact I don’t really know many that do. Most are “spiritual” or “new age” or they may say they are faith based, but don’t really spend time in the Bible or integrate their faith into every part of the retreat.
I want to make sure you know that the retreats my daughters and I host are first and foremost about your relationship with God. That is the WHY behind what we are doing, why God has allowed us to continue doing them for so many years, and the heart and center of our retreats.
My deepest desire for you, is that you will grow in your FAITH at our Art & Faith Creative Retreats, and they will:
~ Allow you the time and space to be strengthened in your faith and your understanding of God’s Word.
~ That they will bring you peace for your weary heart
~ That you will find community and connection with other like-minded women
~ That you would be encouraged in what God has for you next
~ And, that you would go home with a renewed sense of hope and purpose to be the salt and light of the world!
We have seen this happen over and over again…
We have seen lives changed, friends made, peace and joy restored, (in incredible ways) creativity sparked, and women go home with their faith refreshed in only ways that God alone can do! And it is God alone that gets ALL the glory for great things He has (and IS) doing!
Friends, if you are looking for a place to rest, to cry, to create from a place of faith, to adventure and have SO much fun… AND seek Jesus in the middle of it all… you are in the right place!
I pray every single time for every single women the Lord wants to bring to our retreats… and He does bring them… in incredible ways! I share story after story of His faithfulness (as you’ve probably seen in past posts) and I know He will continue to do that as long as He wants us to do these retreats!
I want you to walk away from our retreats with the AWE of God in your life. That you see afresh how much He loves you, how He tenderly has you in the palm of His hands, and He knows every hair on your head.
The Creator of the Universe created YOU and I to be the light in this dark world, and He will equip us for EVERY good work He has already planned for your life and mine! So let’s do this TOGETHER FRIENDS!!
Hugs to all,
Laura McCollough
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:4-10