Be Our Guest! - 17th Annual QMCC Ladies Fall Retreat 2016

What a wonderful weekend we had for the 27th Annual QMCC (Quartz Mountain Christian Camp) Ladies' Fall Retreat!  The theme was, "Be Our Guest".  The theme scripture was Hebrews 13:2, along with the popular pineapple quote of "Be A Pineapple".

The speaker had great lessons and devotional for our time together.  She was an inspiration to all who were there, telling about her life experiences and sharing God's Word. 

My friends and I were in charge of crafts and activities. We had wooden pineapple shapes for people to paint, do nail art, or decorate. Ladies were so creative in so many different ways!

I love putting craft supplies out and just seeing what people come up with because everyone always has such unique ideas!

The t-shirt was super cute!!  Love the design!

Look at that shading on the top of the pineapple!

My friends helped the ladies make a pineapple scrub from coconut oil, crushed pineapple, and sugar.  It smells wonderful and good enough to eat - which you actually could eat (if you wanted to...)!

Some glued burlap pineapple shapes on top of their wooden pineapple and also used paper.  So unique and pretty!

A simple paper bag journal with added scrapbooking paper and supplies made quick little gifts for friends.

The table decor was beautiful!

Simple framed art just made from computer printouts.  So smart!

For one activity we made "Blessing Bags". These bags are to be given to those in need. I'm going to keep some of mine in the car for out of town trips to the "big city".  I always encounter people there and wish I had some made up.

A few congregations gathered items for the bags which included mini soaps, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, Bibles, toothbrushes, toothpaste, gum, disposable water bottles, etc.  It was a great activity that will be a blessing to others.

It's a blessing to come together for times like this.  I know I needed it, and perhaps others did, too.  It's always good to be renewed and recharged - ready to get back to the Lord's work, but as the speaker reminded us, it's also good to be still - and enjoy the pleasure of God's company.  We need to be HIS guest....and just sit with Him.

QMCC 2016

Friday was the end of our family's week at Quartz Mountain Christian Camp. It was a wonderful week!

My husband and oldest son directed the session together again for the second year. The theme for th year was PURSUE, using 2 Timothy 2:22, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Joe and Zachary did a great job! Of course, I know my husband could do it, but seeing an almost 20-year-old take a leadership role like this - and do it well and for God's glory - makes this momma proud and thankful. 

For a last night of camp banquet, we had a glow in the dark/blacklight reactive theme. It was so much fun! The kids really enjoyed it!

The highlight of the week, though, had to be the fact that six souls gave their lives to Jesus, as they obeyed the gospel and were baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins! What a wonderful thing! We praise God for His work in the lives of these teens! 

We already can't wait to go back to QMCC next year! 

QMCC Ladies' Fall Retreat 2015

One of the highlights of fall each year is getting to go to the QMCC Ladies' Fall Retreat. This year was no exception.

I was trying to figure out how many years I've attended the retreat, and think this was probably the 15th year....maybe even the 17th or 18th. A long time!  It's been going for 32 years, but I didn't even know about it until that first time I went.  I'm thankful I found out about this wonderful retreat at the camp that's very close to my heart!

Two sisters-in-law and a niece attended the retreat, so that was special to get to be together a little while.

This year the Elm and Hudson church ladies from Altus hosted the event and did a wonderful job.  Name tags hung from a brach as you registered, which also had number on the back to be used for door prizes later on.

The ladies had pooled together their fall decor to make beautiful table arrangements for the tables.

Since fall is my favorite season, I loved the decor!

I love the colors of fall. They are my happy colors!

For a snack, the ladies had a popcorn bar. There was a caramel popcorn, a pumpkin spice popcorn, plus a few other varieties, and candy corn, chocolate and peanuts.  They had little brown paper sacks to put the snacks in. Very cute!

 Craft time was fun. They had stations to make fabric pumpkins, pumpkin magnets from jar lids, cinnamon/orange simmering project (in the jar above) and a pumpkin made from canning jar rings.

This is a favorite time for everyone!  Ladies, even those who claim not to be "crafty", seem to enjoy making something! 

Thank you to the E & H ladies for a spiritually uplifting time at the retreat.  Studying God's Word together, singing together, praying, laughing, sharing together....it's all a part of what makes this retreat so special.  Looking forward to next year already :).

QMCC 2015

Last week our whole family was at Bible camp when my husband and our oldest son directed the session for 7th-12th grade. It was a great week studying the book of James and using the theme, "Under Construction".

The counselors and staff for the week met early Sunday morning for breakfast, worship, a meeting, and lunch, then we decorated the mess hall and got ready for the campers to arrive.

It was fun getting it ready and organized in advance, and made the check in time a lot less stressful!

Sunday was spent getting the campers into their cabins, organized into families, and introducing one another to each other and the counselors.  

Later that evening they had a devo on the bigger mountain near camp.

There's just something about being out in nature and worshipping God.  There's nothing else like it, actually!  I'll share more about the week later!  It was a GREAT week!

The Chronicles of Biscuit - Pros and Cons

The Chronicles of Biscuit: Stories about our younger son whose nickname is Biscuit.

Decisions and choices are hard for anybody at times, but for a 12 year old, they can be really tough.

Our younger son is at the right age where he can still go to the younger kids' session of Bible camp or to the older kids' session. The whole family will be at the older session, where only a few of us will be at the younger one.  He was planning to go to both.

But then we realized that there was a conflict with the younger session week.  The BIG Texas-Oklahoma Junior Golf Tournament (T/O) is scheduled the same week this year!  Biscuit wasn't sure what to do.  We didn't care, since he was already going to camp the next week. If he hadn't been, we certainly would have chosen for him, but since he had the option, we let him chose.

Fast forward a few weeks:  Biscuit's next older brother is going to be a counselor during the younger session. When he came home after a camp meeting, all excited about the week and its activities, Biscuit began to second-guess his decision.  Bigger brother encouraged him to make a list of the pros and cons of going to each, which he did.

(Pros)

After Biscuit made the lists, he still wasn't sure. I told him to go to bed, pray about it, and that God would help him make the best decision.  He wasn't in bed long (not long enough to sleep, but long enough to pray), but soon came and told me he was going to camp.  He had made his decision.

(Cons...*And a not about the 'fights between a family member'....It's not our family he's referring to!)

I wasn't sure the decision would stay the same the next day, the next week, or even especially after the first golf tournament of the summer (which was Tuesday), but it has. He hasn't wavered in his decision.  I'm pretty sure it's because he knows which decision was directed by God and is most important, spiritually.  There are worldly things at camp, no doubt, and he even lists some "bad" that can be found at camp just the same as it can be found anywhere, but there are many things that are at Bible camp that you can't find anywhere else.  You can't grow spiritually the same way anywhere else.  There's something about Bible camp that makes you feel even closer to God than anywhere else.  Biscuit knows that, and he knows the fun that's there, as well.

We would have been proud of Biscuit no matter what decision he made because he thought about the choices and considered the aspects of each.  I actually was a little sad that he wasn't going to do the golf tournament, but that's selfish of me!  I was sad to not be going to the younger camp, too, because I've been a counselor there the past two years!  Conflicts aren't fun!

But we're extremely proud that Biscuit chose the better.  He chose the best. He chose spiritual over worldly.  That's the best decision anyone could ever make.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

QMCC Ladies Fall Retreat

Last Friday and Saturday was the 34th (I think) annual Ladies' Fall Retreat at Quartz Mountain Christian Camp (QMCC).  The theme was, "Turning Over a New Leaf" and was hosted by the ladies of the Sayre, OK, church.

 After planning and decorating for this retreat many years, it's always interesting to see how others work with a theme and make it "theirs". That's what I always enjoyed...getting so many different people involved from different places and seeing it come together with everyone's personalities and talents showing throughout the whole event!

 There were several crafts for the retreat. One was painting small canvases in a fall theme.

 ...another was making mesh wreaths.

 Sabrina Wood from Stillwater was the speaker for Friday evening and Saturday morning, as well.

 My favorite part of the retreat is always seeing different generations of people enjoying visiting and getting to know each other better.

 The wreath-making station was very well supplied! I made a Christmas wreath - as if I needed any more Christmas decor! Ha!

 The fall canvases were so cute!

 I really liked the polka dots on this one!

 Pretty, isn't it?  The colors were great together.  And Bridget happens to match her wreath!

My finished project.  I didn't get to stay for the crafts the next morning, but they had little paper sack journals. I really like doing those. I will show how to do them some day. 

Maybe you're in a season of life that has you a little down.  Maybe you need to turn over a new leaf in some area of your life.  It's never to late to start!

"What is Your Shape?" QMCC 2014

This year's teen session of camp, I served as "nurse" and "craft lady". As far as experience goes, I have more experience as craft lady, but my seven years of working for an ophthalmologist did teach me a lot about the medical field! We had no ER visits (thankfully) and not much blood (yay!). :)

One neat thing that introduced into this year's session was, "Why Can't We Be Friends?"  Each morning, for about 30 minutes, a teen would have to meet someone new and talk to them. It was fun watching them visit and play together.  Many of them enjoyed this "new" thing! Of course, there were a few shy ones who didn't! But maybe they found a new friend during that week, anyway.

The theme for the year was, "What is Your Shape?". Games were brought in to go with the theme. Our daughter served as counselor and is playing "Plinko" to choose what her Family group will clean up after lunch! That was fun!

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law made this big Sequence board, which was a lot of fun to play during free time!

I had a man make these letters and shapes, then we lit them up to go with the theme. It was neat, except a few of them kept falling down in the wind...busting the lights! Oh, well! It still looked good.

 "Warm Fuzzy" bags are designed by each camper and serve as a way for campers to communicate with each other and send one another "warm fuzzes".

 One of our sons got to play, "Win, Lose, or Draw" and show his drawing skills!

 This answer was "Pie in the Sky"! Good job, Jacob!

 BIG things was key with the afternoon activities.  These soft blocks were fun - even for teens!

The BIG foam dice made for a fun game of "Farkle". I would have liked to be able to play!

 Our niece got in on the "Minute to Win It" cup-stacking game. She was the most successful at it, but they tumbled down at the last few seconds!

This was by far the best moment of the camp week - when she gave her life to Christ and put Him on in baptism. Being baptized by her dad was an extra bonus!  Just as the gospel of Jesus is His death, burial, and resurrection, MaKenna was buried an unforgiven sinner, was buried in baptism, and raised to a new life, born again...forgiven!

"Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his." Romans 6:3-5
                                                   
 For the last evening meal, I decorated the tables in Family Groups. Everyone got a HUGE card for a placemat, and the teens thought of a great idea: They had campers sign their cards as a fun memento for this year's session!  Brilliant!

For centerpieces we made "shape" guys from cardboard shapes and the foam blocks. (Robin, notice YOUR styrofoam circles for the bases?? Thanks!)

 Later on that last evening, the directors had some of the teens from each Family play "The Price is Right". Of course, there were some who didn't know what was going on, but for many of us "TPIR" fans, it was great!  I would have liked to play this, too!! Ha ha!

 Another highlight from camp was our oldest being awarded with the male "Christian Leadership Award".  He's such a good kid, even though he's my son! See his humble attitude break a little smile?

And then as his uncle talked about his humble spirit and deserving this award, he did a big smile....bug with his head down :).  Love that boy!  I'll save my other "thoughts" about him for later in the month. He's turning 18!!

It was a GREAT WEEK at QMCC!