Family Traditions

We have the most amazing Women's Ministries team within our region.  Our church camp is phenomenal, and the most wonderful programs take place there.  This past weekend Harmony and I got to visit Camp Au Sable for our first ever Mother Daughter Retreat.  They put on an amazing program.  The Women's Ministries ladies really have a talent for making everyone feel special.

As we walked up to the main building for registration we were greeted by a fun row of colorful pinwheels and a ladybug light lined roof adorned with those fun party banners with the little pointed flags.  We entered the lobby to a 1950's diner setting where we signed in, made fun, polka-dot themed name tags, crafted a picture frame, and entered our names into drawings for the opportunity to win prizes.

Upon entering the main auditorium we found ourselves in the audience of the set of a 1950's home complete with beautiful turquoise-blue kitchen appliances, old school black and white checker board flooring, and the type of sewing machine my grandmother used to use.  We chose our matching aprons and posed for a picture.  The stage had been set for the weekend very effectively.



As things unfolded we learned about the value of being a woman in today's family.  The mother and daughter speakers did a wonderful job of teaching about tradition and how the Jews celebrate various things throughout the year.  Their personal experiences were insightful and refreshing, and they did a wonderful job appealing to the vast age range of participants.  We were in the company of daughters, granddaughters, mothers, sisters, and grandmothers.  It was a beautiful mix of women and future women.

The big topic of discussion was tradition, and this is a subject dear to my hear.  I long for tradition and so regret that I've not done a better job of instilling the importance of tradition within my children.  Guess it's time to work on the next generation.  We are carrying on some traditions of old and creating some new ones within our family.  Since we get to participate in a round two of parenting, there's no better time for us to learn from the past.

Current Traditions in Our Family -

Special Birthday Meals and Dessert
One on One Lunch Out with Mom on Birthday - Kid's Choice
First Day of School Photo Shoot
Annual 4-H Fair Dollar Day
New Year's Eve Indian Fry Bread Tacos with Friends
Christmas Eve Music Service with Mom and Looking at Lights
A Whole Month Break from School for December
Sledding and Hot Cocoa in the Winter
Lighting Candles for Sabbath in the Winter Months
Christmas Dinner with Mom
Nacho Bar, Taco Soup, and Tres Leche Cake with the Family for Christmas
Make Ornaments for the Grandkids
Read Stories at Bedtime


Traditions I'd Like to Add -

Annual Family Campout at Our House
Annual Family Vacation
Jesus Tree
Tamales Christmas Eve
Thankful Tree or Thankful Box at Thanksgiving
Special Plate for Birthday Meals
Celebrate Baptism or Baby Dedication Day
Decorating a Tree for Wildlife in the Winter
Last Day of School Pictures
Visit a Tree Farm for Christmas
Attend a Local Fall Festival
Friday Night Supper - same each week
Family Night - popcorn and a movie or game
Annual Photo Book - view on New Year's Eve
Make Resurrection Cookies for Easter

Some of the benefits of family traditions include fostering a stronger family connection, providing a feeling of security to the children, fostering a sense of belonging, imparting and reinforcing values, and helping children to become happy and generous adults.

Road Trip Therapy

There is nothing, I mean NOTHING, like a road trip with a good friend.  I am feeling blessed in so many ways.  The Lord has been teaching me abundantly lately, and for the most part I have been receiving the lessons with open and willing arms.  It is so freeing when we just go with the flow and do not force life into our own skewed idea of the way things are supposed to be.

That being said, I am learning to let go.  Let go of my ideals.  Let go of my agenda.  Let go of my expectations.  Let go, and be free.  What is more fitting than a road trip with no real agenda?  Part of it is planned, loosely.  As a Seventh Day Adventist woman that resides in Michigan I am richly blessed to have an amazing church camp.  This weekend marks the first of three weekends this month that Camp Au Sable will host Women's Ministries.  It is an amazing opportunity to feed your soul.  Women, Adventist and not, gather from all over Michigan and beyond to fellowship together.  We eat, we laugh, we cry, we worship, we learn, we connect, and we grow.  There is so much beauty at Camp Au Sable, in the natural surroundings as well as the people.

So, the Women's Ministries Weekend is the planned part.  Well, loosely.  Normally I am packed and ready to go by now, but alas that is not the case for me with this journey.  I just determined when check-in is last night, and I've no real clue what the real topic of the weekend is, or what the seminars are, or what the schedule is, or what the special plans are, or what I want to do in my spare time.  I mean nothing.  I just made my packing list last night.  Last night!  Our washing machine is broken and will not be fixed until next week, so I still have to go out and do laundry.  This is SO not me!  But, I am okay with it and just going with the flow.  It is almost surreal.  It's like I'm looking in from the outside wondering who it is that I am.  In years past I would be so stressed in this circumstance.  Not now.  It is what it is, right?  It will all work out.  It always does.  No biggie!

So, the super unplanned part begins when we leave Camp Au Sable for our return journey home.  Guess what?  Not going home!  WOO-HOO!!!  This mamma needs a break, and my best gal pal and I are taking one.  You have no clue, or maybe you do, just how much I am looking forward to a full 24 hours to do just as I please.  See, we extended our weekend through Monday evening.  Yippee!  What do we plan to do?  I am really not sure, and that is uber cool!  Will we leisurely browse through a used book store?  Will we eat lunch while gazing out at Lake Huron, will we lounge around at a hotel as long as possible, will we find a cool cottage somewhere, will we, will we, will we?  I have no clue, and it is SO beautiful.

My time has been consumed with illness, school lessons, house cleaning, errand running, bill paying, cooking, and the slew of other things that have landed in my lap.  Responsibility has reigned, so I have spent ZERO time planning for my much anticipated extended weekend of freedom.  How refreshing!

A quote worth pondering:

God is looking for imperfect men and women 

who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit. 

Christians who have come to terms with their inadequacies, fears, and failures. 

Believers who have become discontent with ‘surviving’ 

and have taken the time to investigate everything God has to offer in this life.

- Charles Stanley

May your weekend be richly blessed, 
your soul wonderfully fed, 
and your spirit lifted high.

Away for the Weekend!

This weekend marks the first of three Women's Ministries weekends that will be held at Camp Au Sable. This is an amazing annual event that has grown over the years from one weekend to three! It is the most wonderful weekend for women that consists of seminars pertinent to life as a woman, life in Christ, family, food, and friendship. They really do pull out all the stops, and I look forward to it every year.

It is tradition, a tradition that started before I joined in the fun, with the ladies I will be traveling with to leave first thing in the morning and stop at Birch Run for breakfast, shopping, and lunch then head the rest of the way to Grayling. God has blessed me immensely by the women he has been putting into my life. The majority of the friends I seem to make are usually 20 years my senior, and what a gift! There is so much to be learned from a mature, Godly woman that has traveled 20 years before you. Oh, the wisdom!

I will most cerainly have things to share upon my return. In the meantime, keep stopping by. If you never have checked out my archives, have a look. I'm headed toward my 200th post, so there's bound to be one that will speak to you. Have a wonderful weekend, a Happy Sabbath, and be sure to hug someone you love.