green lake, wisconsin

hmmm...today is tuesday and i'm a couple days out from a really great weekend that i need to write about so i don't wait too long and forget it all! for years, greg has been wanting to do some kind of continuing education. he's kicked around a lot of options, but landed on a program for pastors called CECL. (they pronounce that "cecil" but i don't like that so i call it "ceckle", at least i do at our house.) if you'd like to know more about CECL than i'm going to go into here, check out http://cecl.glcc.org/ . it's held at green lake conference center in wisconsin, and greg will be there several weeks over the next couple years. this past week was the week in the program that we were invited to come with him. he left tuesday and the boys and i met him there thursday night. i had no idea what to expect and neither did the boys, really. we were looking forward to it, though - time away from home/work/school/church to be together in a beautiful place - who wouldn't look forward to it? as soon as the boys got home from school thursday, we were off to the airport for our 6:00 flight. we had a couple hour layover so we were able to get something to eat and because God loves me so, there was a starbucks in our concourse so i got to have some coffee! we landed in appleton and were driven to green lake where greg was waiting happily for us. we had a suite with plenty of room for us and all our stuff. waaaaaay better than the cabin we stayed in last time we were there....another blog, another time. (OR NOT!) anyway, next morning we were up bright and early for breakfast - an endless buffet...and it was that way for lunch and for supper....i really don't think buffets are good for us. OINK. didn't keep us from eating though. our intake gradually declined because we were perpetually full. trust me, at home we do NOT eat full meals 3 times a day.
greg and i joined the other pastors and their spouses for worship led by katie nelson and scott troyer and teaching led by dan and mary southerland. the sessions were about the importance of our marriage and our family and the effect that being in ministry can have on us. it was so good for us to hear the things they had to say. very encouraging and also very challenging. friday night we were entertained by mad dogs and englishmen (http://www.maddogsenglishmen.com/). these guys are hilarious. we know them from our days with continental singers, so it was good to reconnect with them. our boys had a lot of time with the other "preacher's kids". they were given a laid back, relaxed weekend. on sunday, they were led in talking with each other about the pro's and con's of being preacher's kids. we were so glad they got a chance to do that, and to hear their same feelings and concerns expressed by the other kids. it showed them they aren't alone in this! on sunday morning, the pastor's spouses met in small groups. i normally avoid this type of activity...i'm not sure why but i just have never been interested in doing any of those pastor's wifey things. if you know me at all, you'd know i'm not the "typical" wife of a pastor. as a matter of fact, i've been told that on multiple occasions. (hey, i'm just me!) but this setting was different for me somehow. our husbands are participating in this program for a common purpose, with great desire to grow closer to the Lord and better learn how to do ministry that is Biblical and relevant. our families seemed to mesh very well together. i felt completely comfortable with these women, and in sharing our concerns for our husbands and families and ministries, we found so many common threads. i just loved it. i'm grateful to God for the opportunity He gave me to be there. our whole family is blessed to know these people. another BIG plus in the time at green lake was the amount of time we got to be together just the 5 of us. we did some fun stuff. and the boys' friends from home weren't there, so they couldn't be too embarassed by us! we played frisbee golf. ever done that? the men in my bunch were great at it. i STINK. i did tell them that they wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much if i'd been good at it. i provided many opportunities for laughter. luke even hit the deck one time. he knew he was in danger. to say my aim is bad would be such an understatement. see the red dot in that picture of bushes? that's my frisbee being retrieved by my husband. we climbed the hill to judson tower then we climbed judson tower's 121 spiraling very small steps. we were introduced to carpetball. sounds fun, huh? i looked at that table and thought "what a stupid game!" but the boys insisted and we played. it was fun! and quite the competition between my 4 men. no testosterone trouble there! and one evening, after playing all afternoon, we all just flopped out on the beds in the room and did nothing. we had such a good time with each other. we said goodbye to everyone on sunday afternoon and were driven back to the airport to come home. gotta love delta - appleton to atlanta to charleston. a LONG afternoon and evening. we got home about 11:30 pm and it wasn't long til we were all fast asleep. i forgot to mention that our nephew drew stayed at our house while we were gone. the house and the cat and the fishies were all very well taken care of. (thanks again drew!)