Category Archives: retreat

Re:treat 2016: The Giveaway

At Re:Treat our hearts were stuffed with joy, and our registration bags were filled with goodies! A huge thank you goes out to our sponsors who provided so many wonderful things for all of our gals, including our speakers and volunteers. And this is your chance to win everything! EVERYTHING!

Here is a pic of today’s giveaway!

World Help: Water bottle and Defining Moments by Vernon Brewer
God Behind Bars: Freedom necklace
POTSC: People of the Second Chance by Mike Foster
C3Global: Discount for PKVacay
Lifeway Women: Armor of God by Priscilla Shirer
A Woman Who Doesn’t Quit by Nicki Koziarz
Redeemed by Angela Thomas-Pharr
Blessing Ranch Ministries & Beyond Her Story: Beyond Overwhelmed eBook download
Different Drummer: Believe hat
Fearless Mom: Prayer guide and pen
Three Avocados Coffee: pound of coffee
Propel: Propel Curriculum
Hepz: Pants
Harvest House Publishers: Rebuilding a Marriage Better Than New by Cindy Beall and One Minute Prayers for Women
Ethic Goods: Necklace
A2Z Promotions: Leading and Loving It Laptop Case
Leading and Loving It tote bag

In order to have a chance to win these, please answer the following question in the blog comments: What has been one of the most impactful things you’ve experienced in your ministry during the last month? Everyone is eligible to participate.

The 2 winners will be drawn Friday night and will be notified by email.

On your mark. Get set. Go!

**Comments have been closed! Winners will be notified by Monday, November 7th.**

Re:treat Week Is Here!

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Our team looks forward to this week ALL YEAR LONG.

No Joke!

So, we are taking the week off from blogging to focus on this amazing event. We will be back next week and there will be two giveaways!

I know!

Also, if you were not able to make it to re:treat this year in 2016, please make plans to come next year from October 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada! You seriously won’t regret it. #promise

I’m Bringing Beauty Back

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by Noel Yeatts

We all came with bags packed and overflowing … not just with our cute and sassy outfits that we were waiting to wear in Nashville. But we also came with “baggage”. Bags packed to the rim and overflowing with hurt, pain, hard years, tough transitions, struggling marriages, pressing questions, identity crises and so much more.

A friend told me recently that in leadership we have to show people the beauty … help them find the beauty. And I believe that is exactly what Leading and Loving It is doing. It is restoring hope and bringing the beauty back to life in ministry for thousands of women.

Re:treat allowed us to leave our baggage at the altar and come home with bags overflowing with new friends, advice, resources, truth … Oh, and lots of new t-shirts! I think I literally have one for every day of the week now!

Most importantly we are going home with beauty restored. Our problems cannot disappear overnight but our perspective certainly can. And now we have the opportunity to share this beauty with others – our congregations, our workplace, friends, husbands and our families.

I believe the greatest injustice facing our world today is not hunger or disease. It is not extreme poverty, abuse, abandonment, fear, anxiety or depression. No, the greatest injustice is hopelessness. Because when you have no hope, you literally have nothing.

And I also believe that the beauty of life in ministry comes from one thing – hope. Our most important job as women in leadership is to be hope bearers to a world in need.

I was so encouraged by the hundreds of women who heard the message of Rescue at Re:Treat and were inspired to respond – to be the hope bearers to underprivileged children around the world. Not only did the ladies of Leading and Loving It raise enough money to rescue three babies in only a matter of two days, dozens also expressed interest in personal fundraisers and sharing the story of Rescue at their church by hosting the Children of the World choir.

I wasn’t able to meet all of the women in attendance but I was able to hear just a glimpse of their stories. Women who so desperately needed to be filled, but found it in themselves to pour out just a little bit more and for that I am incredibly grateful.

While one of the most important jobs as a woman in ministry is to be hope bearers, let’s not forget the difference hope can make in our own lives. The hope we have in Jesus Christ helps us tackle whatever comes our way today, tomorrow and every day after that. And when you truly embrace that truth, you find the beauty in ministry and in our faith once again.

Noel Yeatts is the Vice President of World Help and a LALI partner. She shared at Re:treat and brought the Children of the World Choir with her. If you are interested in having Children of the World at your church please call 800-541-6691 or click here- https://worldhelp.net/children-of-the-world/schedule/.

Re:treat Recap – Part 2

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After starting re:treat with worship led by Natalie Grant and the amazing Cross Point team, we went straight into a message from our leaders, Lori Wilhite and Brandi Wilson. Can I just say that I was incredibly moved by their message? Like, seriously. These two have spent the better part of 6-8 months planning re:treat and they were still able to come up with a message that inspired us. They challenged us to unlock things in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. Things like community, confidence, peace and healing. At the end, we had such a special moment of taking our little locks and locking them on a metal fence signifying that we were taking a step toward freedom. Our lasting reminder from their talk came from a necklace with a key that had the word “FREE” stamped on it.

If you’ve never heard Lisa Harper speak, find the next event she is at and be there. Her wit will entertain you and her understanding of the scriptures will leave you stunned. She is the queen of hilarious one-liners and is as down to earth as they come. One of the things she talked about was navigating the highs and lows of ministry. Ain’t that the truth. We certainly need to do that. What a blessing it was to hear her challenge us to get in the Word and know it intimately.

We had amazing breakout sessions on Wednesday by many of our team members. The ladies also got to hear from parenting guru Julie Richard. She is equally wise and funny…something we all need along this parenting road. I love hearing her talk because it encourages me to keep fighting for my children. Not only that, she has helped me so much when it comes to raising my children as they approach adulthood.

On our final day, we had the awesome privilege of hearing from a legend in ministry. The very cool and wise, Lisa Young, of Fellowship Church. Y’all. When she talks, people listen. Wisdom just oozes from her. Lisa said, “God uses unlikely people and unlikely circumstances to build His church.” Can I get an amen? Don’t we all feel unlikely? She taught about the temptation of Jesus and how we handle being in the desert. She said that we could actually thrive in the desert. Wow. A transformational message indeed!

And last but certainly not least, Dr. Tara Jenkins brought it all home. Her message entitled “Put Your Foot Down” was all about taking a stand. She said, “Life can come and shake your stand so you’ve gotta have some war clothes on. It’s a battlefield, not a beach.” That slapped me across the face…in a good way. She truly knows how to deliver a spirit-filled message. It was outstanding!

We would love to hear what some of your favorite parts of these messages were. So please, tell us in the comments!

Re:treat Recap – Part 1

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If you spent any amount of time on social media this past week, then you probably saw all of the posts from our 5th annual Leading and Loving It re:treat in Nashville, Tennessee. We had such an amazing experience with our 19-member team and all of the women who attended. How many were there, you ask? There were 668 pastor’s wives and women in ministry in attendance from three countries: Zimbabwe, Canada and the United States. We were astounded!

Each year our re:treat gets better and better and this year did not disappoint. From our outstanding speakers and breakout session leaders to the moving stories shared on video to the amazing movie we saw to the songs we sang with the amazing Cross Point worship team and Natalie Grant. Oh, and of course, the comedic routine of our very own team members, Lisa Hughes and Heather Palacios. (Don’t worry. There are videos on social media. Look for ’em.)

If you were unable to attend re:treat this year, please make plans to come next year to Las Vegas, Nevada. For those who did attend, we know you didn’t get to hear all of the breakout sessions. We did record the sessions from re:treat and will have them available at the beginning of 2016 for you. We will be in touch with those links.

Whether or not you were able to come, we wanted to recap the re:treat with some pictures below. Make sure you come back on Wednesday for part 2 of the re:treat recap.