Wow. wow. WOW. When Jonathan “dared” me to put this retreat together I thought it would be just that, a group of women getting together, having fun, creating and eating yummy food in beautiful Point Reyes. It was SO much more than that. I left this weekend feeling full of LOVE, new friends, and moments I will NEVER forget. As the ladies drove away I couldn’t help but tear up at what God had done in this beautiful tree house over the short weekend. We laughed until we cried, we created beautiful pieces of art, we made life long friends, we learned more about what God had done in our lives and those around us, we painted, got messy, had fun and so much more. It was one of those weekends that we will never forget, but it hard to put into words exactly what happened.
A small group of women from all over the country gathered in this beautiful tree house in Point Reyes California. Although some of us are friends online most of us had never met before this weekend! When I arrived at the house I saw that Stephanie Ackerman had beat me there. Right from the get go she rolled up her sleeves and helped me get the house ready for all the ladies. Tracey (my sweet friend and AMAZING chef) arrived shortly after and quickly started prepping all the yummy food for the weekend! I am so thankful these two ladies were my partner in crime during this amazing weekend together. As everyone started to arrive it was VERY obvious that it was going to be an amazing weekend as we all made QUICK friends!!!!
Stephanie taught the most lovely class full of paint, texture and inspiration. If you ever get a chance to take a class with Stephanie JUMP on it!!!!
I also taught a class on illustrating your faith. I shared my testimony and we listened to a sermon together, wrote in our journals and had a time of reflection. After that we just had fun playing in the margins of our bibles together!!
Casie took some of the techniques that Stephanie taught us and covered her bible!!! LOOK how amazing it turned out!!! <3 Now we all want to send our bibles to her so she can WORK HER WONDERS!!
We had the most amazing sponsors send the ladies the SWEETEST gifts!!!! A HUGE thank you to EVERYONE who made this the most amazing weekend!!!!
Bella Blvd. | Studio Calico | Heather Greenwood Designs | Freckled Fawn | The Reset Girl | Val Marie Paper | White Peach Pottery | OraDale Handmade Lovelies | Mercy & Melons |
Over all it was just the most wonderful weekend filled with moments I will never forget. These ladies filled my bucket with meaningful conversations under cozy blankets on the house and huge laugh tell your cry sessions over the yummiest of meals (THANK YOU TRACEY!!!!)!!! God moved some HUGE mountains this weekend and I am so excited to see what else comes from these new friendships!!! LOVE YOU LADIES!!!!!
Keep your eye out, after this weekend we will FOR SURE be planning more retreats in 2016! <3
xox- Shanna
What a beautiful weekend!
Oh I would LOVE to get in on something like that! Thanks for sharing what you did. It looked amazing!
After this one I am sure we will have more, it was just WAY TOO MUCH FUN!!!
How much did this event cost? I’m new to this whole concept but it’s something the Lord is making ways for me to learn and I need it. If love to do this retreat one year, but I am on a limited budget and would need quite some time to save, especially if it would require traveling from St. Louis to California. Just having an idea of how much this one cost will give me a ball park to start the saving now. Thanks!!
Hi there Amber this retreat was $475 :)
Amber, are you coming to the workshop in STL the end of May?
Shanna & Stephanie,
Thank you for the most amazing weekend!!! I am so HONORED &BLESSED and inspired by the way God is working through you via art!!! Thank you for sharing your gifts with us!!!
Tracey,
Your food was awesome and those cookies were memory worthy!!!
Love all you ladies so so much!!!
Now we need to start to plan a reunion retreat next year same time, same place so we can all get together again in 2016.
Oh to rewind time and go back! Unforgettable experience for sure. Thank you Shanna and Stephanie for the most amazing weekend…. and thank you so much Johnathan for that dare that started it all!
Hoping to see more retreats like this – especially in TEXAS……I’ve been going to scrapbooking retreats for years but this kind of retreat would be much more rewarding!
I’m with you, Susan. Fredericksburg, TX would be the perfect place for a retreat such as this. I’ve been to PT. Reyes, CA and there’s a beautiful place. Texas has the hill country. It’s mighty nice.
God is Love.
Linda