Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Retreat 2-off to a GREAT start!!!

Seven families arrived for Retreat 2 yesterday ready for a well deserved week at the beach!! One of the families even got to go to the beach for the first time EVER! What better beach than the Emerald Coast of Florida with the white sand and clear water? The summer is off to an amazing start!






Sunday, May 29, 2011

Kicking off Retreat 2, 2011

We are down here at Gulf Place, Florida and ready to start our first summer retreat of 2011!  We have 9 retreat families that will be arriving tomorrow, to be loved on and served by our fabulous volunteers.  Also, we are grateful to have 9 good-looking college students that are serving as Summer Staff this year!!!  They have been in our office in Norcross, GA for 2 weeks training and helping prepare for our summer retreats.  8 of them are helping with this retreat, and then they will split so that half are working in the office, and the other half are at retreats.  Our creative Summer Staff have come up with many new and fun ideas and are ready to implement them on retreat 2!!! We can't tell you what all their cool new ideas are, but just know that everyone is in for many surprises, especially if you have been on retreats in the past. We look forward to seeing God's love poured out in many different ways to these families through our Summer Staff and volunteers this summer!!! Stay tuned.

Some of our summer staff in the office taking a quick break for a photo op.

Summer staff after hiking to the top of Stone Mountain.


Monday, April 11, 2011

Is It Time For The Next One, Yet?!?

I knoooow I speak for the entire community of families, volunteers & staff who were on last week's Spring Break retreat when I say "I wanna be back at Lighthouse!"

I've pondered how to express, in a way that truly captures it, what we really experienced there. But the daily blogs can't possibly wrap around the heart and soul that goes into each new friendship, every exchange of trust, all of the bursts of laughter, even the occasional tears.

There's no way to adequately describe the holy ground of opening up and sharing, to those who intimately understand, what has not been previously spoken.

I can't tell you how special it feels to hold a child who clenches you in return with fierce affection, courage and joy, despite his or her history of pain and oh so premature wisdom.

Our pictures can't do justice to the sense of family that grows - inexplicably through common things, like laundry, food prep, waitressing, childcare, listening - within each partnering of volunteers with men, women and children who have endured too much.

So I'll just say this: I hope that each of you decides that you would like to dig your toes into the sand alongside others who will surely melt your heart and change your Life.

I hope you come on down, come on over, come on in to the Lighthouse! It's worth whatever it takes to get there!

Now it's time for me to sign off as Spring Break blogger. Thanks so much for tuning in to share the incredible Lighthouse Family Retreat experience. Be sure to check back in late May for Week Two! Another blogger is eager to introduce you to a few very special families... maybe you'll even be there!

Until then... SEE YA LATER! :)  


A Few Pictures, Videos & Chef Jim's Spaghetti Recipe

You asked for each: here they are! :)

First of all, here is a link to Nicole Baring's incredible photos shot last week: http://bit.ly/g5riw0

And a few of my faves:


















































And now... for Chef Jim's fabulous Spaghetti Bolognese:

He says this will feed 8 people - he fed a few more than that last week! :)

1lb of ground beef
1lb of ground Italian sausage sweet/mild
24 oz of tomato sauce
12 oz tomato paste
24 oz diced tomatoes
2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced bell pepper
2 cups of fresh diced mushrooms
4 tbsp of minced garlic
4 tbsp of olive oil
4 tbsp of sugar
2 basil leaves
¼ cup of Italian seasoning
½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1-     Brown ground beef and Italian sausage in a little olive oil.
2-     Sauté garlic, onion, mushrooms, and bell peppers.
3-     Add meat, tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, spices, and sugar.
4-     Simmer two hours routinely removing grease from the top of the sauce.
5-     When ready to serve, stir in Parmesan cheese to thicken sauce.
6-     Serve and enjoy!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Day Five - Happy & Sad!

It has been a long - but oh so short! - week together and it's tough to believe that soon we'll be saying our "See ya later's!" Many of the parents have shared that their time in Common Ground has forged close friendships and a fresh perspective to carry home. I've been told by some that they wish they could have ANOTHER week together - right now! Thank you, Eleanor and Buck, for your loving guidance and nurturing hearts!

It has been a great week for kids, siblings, vols & staff, too! What a fun-filled stretch of games, crafts, swimming & just hangin' out! Next week will come waaaay too soon - back to work, school & challenges that don't involve putting on enough sunscreen or whether to choose the brownie or lemonade pie. We are newly reminded, though, that God is in each step that we take and holds us tight through every hurdle!

Last night, when I was talking with a family who sometimes feels overwhelmed, a song that I learned long ago came to mind:

It's me, again, Lord.
I've got a prayer that needs an answer.

It's me, again, Lord.
I've got a problem I can't solve.
I don't mean to worry You, but here I am, facing something new...
I need help that only comes from You.

It's me, again, Lord.

There are times when I sing this song under my breath and, for some reason, it comforts me. Because I know that, no matter what I bring to Him, He has an answer and a solution that is beyond anything I can ever control or create.

His plan, no matter how different it might look from my own, is always perfect.

Thank You, Lord, for letting me come to You, no matter what. I am never - ever - alone.