Weekend at Camp Cherry Lake - Be still and know that I am God

For those of you who know me, you can agree that I’m always on the go. I lay out my clothes the night before to save time, I eat lunch while I’m running to pick up the kids I nanny for, and I am always pulling something new on my plate. At times it can be extremely tiring, and I constantly feel the Lord tugging on my heart to slow down.

Afternoon quiet time

This past weekend, I left my bubble of copious movement, and snuck away for the weekend to spend quality time with the Lord at Camp Cherry Lake, with 200 other college students.  The Catholic College group for FSU teams up with Flagler College and we take over about a dozen primitive cabins, and a beautiful lake for the weekend. Usually when I go on a weekend retreat, I pack for 23 people and their grandmothers. Seriously, I’m an over packer. This weekend, I knew I needed no distractions. Therefore, I packed light. No phone. No watch. No Make-up. No hair dryer. I was going to make sure that I was giving the Lord my full attention this weekend.

Katie and I after our Women's Session

“Be still and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46

This weekend, the Lord so very clearly whispered this bible verse on my heart.

I spent a lot of time this weekend resting in God. Sometimes I feel as though I need to talk to God constantly, but just being quiet and resting in Him is even more powerful. 

 I quietly said this prayer,  “Lord, I love you. Lord, I trust you. Lord, I need you,”  and then was quiet. God gave me so much peace, and He knew that in that moment that was exactly what I needed. 

One of my favorite parts about this specific retreat is Perpetual Adoration. Perpetual, meaning occurring for a long period of time, and Adoration means the act of adoring and worshiping. From 10pm-7am, the meeting hall served as a chapel and was candle lit. As Catholics, we believe that Jesus is present through the Eucharist. During Perpetual Adoration, the Eucharist is displayed and it is a time to pray, reflect, read your bible, or just rest with God. It is literally such a powerful experience! Friday night/Saturday morning, I randomly woke up at four am and made my way to the chapel, in my pj's. Even at four am, the chapel was filled with people worshiping the Lord. 

Things I did this weekend:

- Journaled Journaled Journaled

- Jumped off the diving board and into the lake, and found a baby turtle swimming beside me!

- Spent some quality time with the Lord through silence

- Prayed for my future husband and his faith journey

- Met a nun who was a former professional football player

- Built some incredible new friendships


xox
Angie

    

   

Morning prayer on the dock