Art and Faith Creative's Vermont Retreat

You may remember how that, last year, I was invited by my friend Laura McCollough to teach art in Bellagio, Italy.

Believe it or not, I was equally as excited to be asked to teach again, only this year, the destination was “Autumn In New England” (which also happens to be the name of the CD that has been my family’s favorite for over 20 years)…Vermont, in the fall.

But first, meet Laura

Laura has a heart to connect women with the heart of Jesus with their practice of art. She holds creative retreats for artists all over the world, and this woman knows how to pick a venue. And it is also my hope and prayer that she feels like she also knows how to pick her artist-teachers. ::smile::

Next, get a look at where we all stayed…the Woodstock Inn, in Woodstock, Vermont:

When the Preacher and I left our home in Knoxville, TN week before last, it was summertime. It was high 80’s and low to mid 90’s and had been for weeks and weeks. But this is what we arrived to. A bona-fide, official New England autumn. We were giddy as school children. I wanted to sniff pink erasers and carry a back pack.

Oh, wait. I did carry a back pack. Never mind.

Laura gathered 17 or 18 artists from all over the country, and we made art, drew closer to Jesus, made new friends, and frolicked on a covered bridge named…

…wait for it….

….you won’t even believe it….

“Middle Bridge” in Woodstock, VT - photography by Tim Atchley

“Middle Bridge”.

I know, right? Here I am, a woman “in the middle”, with a decades-long established ministry and word of challenge and encouragement to women “in the middle”, and God woos and pursues me to Vermont, and meets me on Middle Bridge. I got the proverbial charismatic goose bumps - which is no surprise, since I am, after all, a chaser of the “wild goose.” I will go so far as to say we all need to be. (And praise Jesus for my church!)

The Preacher and I had a moment on that bridge…a God-moment.

The whole week went by like a dream, and the feedback I’ve gotten has been so encouraging to my heart. Laura brought her portion of Christ as well, teaching women about Travel Journaling, collage, and the importance of recording their own thoughts as well as the things they feel God is saying to them - which is another of her real strengths, and an area where she and I are on the exact same page. Oh, write it all down! Thank you, Laura.

I poured my heart out on what it really means when Scriptures say, “A word in due season - how wonderful it is!” (Proverbs 15:23) The Spirit of God truly took control of my mouth and my heart. I felt a real zeal and an unction and an ease in bringing my part (both in word and in art) that I had not felt before. There were lots of tears, and I aggressively shared the “platform” with all the attendees, going around the room to hear their heart as to where they are, presently, creatively - and where they feel they want to go.

That felt like holy ground.

There is so much I could say about this time in Vermont, about these women, about the creative intersection between art and faith and “Art and Faith Creative Retreats”. How about some eye candy, to give you a small idea? They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

We rode an old fashioned train through the Vermont countryside, at peak leaf season!

The conductor himself told us “Please keep your extremities inside the car at all times.” The Preachers sat back down, waited about a minute, and hoarsely whispered to me, “Is he gone yet?” When I nodded a wide-eyed affirmative, this is what he did next. Clearly, this man is a rebel.

dinner at Simon Pearce Glassblowers. We were so lavished here!

our dinner in Woodstock Inn’s legendary Red Barn. Over-the-dang-top!!

That picture, just above? It’s why I spend weeks and months preparing. It’s why I pray and make art and angst and pray and make art and write and think and write and pray and make art. These women, and more - many more - like them. They have my heart. I know where they are at on the inside, I know what they are feeling, I know what “the middle” feels like. I know they need someone who has been there, who can be something like a “covered bridge” for them - a safe place, a sheltered place, to help them navigate across the chill, sometimes treacherous, fast water of midlife. I don’t want them to go it alone. Mostly, I want to point them to our friend Jesus. Anyone who will allow me to bring who I am to the table, that is what I want to do: be a witness to who they are becoming, “in the middle”.

I am so grateful to Laura for this dream come true, and for trusting me on so many levels. And I can hardly believe what I am about to say:

The Preacher and I look forward to bringing our portion of Christ, and seeing you next year in Bellagio, Italy - for a destination marriage retreat! (sorry, this retreat sold out in DAYS)

Ya know…just us girls…casually having our minds blown by how much God loves his daughters!