Women's Retreat

April 27 - 29 = 5 women drove into the mountains, far away from children, men, and cell phone towers. The perfect time of rest and relaxation, away from distractions. Time with the Lord and healing.

5 women stuffed into a cabin of 4 bunks. The bathroom was a short walk away. Moose lodge - bathrooms, showers, couches, sun, guitar, warmth.

Lisa's April 28th morning run. Wonderful beauty.

Morning run trail. Lisa was hoping to run into their camp bear, but nope. It was just serene, an occasional chirping bird, and the Lord's presence during the jog.

Saturday hike (after the run) with some of the women. Some wanted more time alone with the Lord. Perfect time with friends and the Lord. Chats without interruption. Prayer without interruption. Reading without interruption.

Sunday morning hike, up Mt. Cedar (?). The highest point gave us reception to call home and let others know we are OK. We couldn't figure out how to scramble to the very top, but we were fine with that.

Pikes Peak in the back. Lisa didn't even want to get up, but it was worth it to hike up and see the beauty, created by our Lord.  So glad for the time with women friends.

Less than $1.25 per person a day

Our small group had been going through www.live58.org, and as an attempt to empathize with the poor, our family decided to go from Monday to Friday, eating $1.25 per person per day.  We did all the wonderful research on what one can eat to stay awake and be able to do normal things. Basically beans and rice and rice and beans was the main staple for our week. We had rice and red beans, rice and green beans, rice and pinto beans, rice and potatoes and onions and one tomato once. That tomato was so good!


The first two days were probably the hardest as the parents had headaches from the lack of caffeine and fatty intake. Meat and fat and chocolate was all that we craved, but those things don't exist on $1.25 per person per day.


Our two kids tried to partake as much as they could, but we'd let them add food into their diet because we didn't feel it was nice to force them into this role. It was more the idea that yes, people live like this everyday and they don't have a choice.


In the end, we realized how very spoiled we are as Americans. When we were able to eat like a "typical American" again with our small group on Friday, we had chicken and bread and fatty salad dressings and pie and cookies and ice cream. And it was all in abundance.  The first foods that were NOT beans and rice were so good to our palate. We had missed rich foods. How quickly we became picky again when we were in a place of abundance.


I just pray that we won't easily forget this experience and not take our privileged lives for granted...

And yes, we still do eat beans and rice, but it's usually with some meat and dessert.