There are spots left, Erin!

Thus read the body of an email two-time LAC volunteer alumna Joleen sent me on August 4, 2023, mere days after her most recent international experience, in Panama. She'd attached a flyer for the 2024 Northern Colorado Ladies' Retreat she'd been talking up. 

I was going to be on home service...I didn't have anything that weekend...I knew I had other contacts in Colorado...

...so two weekends ago Joleen, fellow Panama volunteer Debra, and I joined 20+ other Lutheran women for a weekend in the Word against the backdrop of a canyon carved by the Fall River. 

We took a circuitous route so Joleen could show off her home state, stopping first at Red Rocks (OK, first for a bathroom and coffee)...

There I go...

And here I come!

...then at the 7,300 ft. Lookout Mountain...

Golden, CO, home of Coors, is nestled on the far left side of the photo. 

Buffalo Bill's final resting place sits atop the peak. 

...then for lunch in downtown Golden. 

THEN we started our ear-popping climb. 

Made a wrong turn but found some friends. 

Turns out we hadn't gone far enough; Fall River Lodge, our home for the next two nights, was a few streets down. 

The three amigas bunked with Amanda, a fellow member of Joleen's church - and our ride for the last leg of the journey. 

No shoes inside. I've never wished more that I lived someplace cold enough to merit owning slippers.

Rev. Will Weedon unpacked the eight godly habits in his book Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey for us during keynote sessions beginning Friday night and wrapping up Sunday morning. Much like when he spoke at the 2023 LAC regional conference, his clear enthusiasm for his subject made it easy to pay rapt attention.

A wind advisory and flurries meant you could usually find me here during breaks, despite the scenery. 

I enjoyed it just fine through the living room's picture windows, thank you very much. 

Our time together concluded with a Divine Service. 

Joleen and I dropped Debra at the airport first; my much later flight meant I got to have one last dinner with dear friends I don't see nearly enough. 

I initially wrote off Joleen's gushing about the retreat, but I'm oh-so-grateful she pursued and eventually convinced me. Three presentation-free days in the mountains were just what the doctor ordered amid a month with very few. I thought I'd be the outlier that wasn't from CO, but the variety of places attendees came from speaks to the deep desire for events of this nature. They represented the entire gamut of ages and stages, and of course it didn't take long to find acquaintances in common with most anyone I had a chance to talk with in depth. Mark your calendars for the weekend after Easter, 2025!

Until next time, blessings in Christ!

[P.S. Current location: Chicago, IL {layover @ MDW!}]