Our ladies beach retreat is a weekend that I look forward to all year. Each and every year, without fail, it’s always a special time of fellowship, worship, and rest. Caswell is truly a dream for “getting away,” tucked away between Oak Island and Southport, surrounded by the Creator’s canvas. There’s something so soothing about being by the ocean.

This trip was a big milestone for me because it’s the first time I’ve ever been away from Landon overnight! It’s crazy to think that he’s never even spent the night at my Mom’s house once in the past 11 months, but since I’m still breastfeeding, we just haven’t tried it. He did great, took his bottles like a champ (thank God for frozen breastmilk, amiright Mamas?!), and had a fun time being spoiled absolutely rotten by my in-laws!

We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather from the time we arrived on Friday until we packed up to come back home on Sunday. It was sunny and breezy and ideal for shorts and sweatshirts (my FAVE)! We stayed in a new house this year and all fell in love with it. It was closer to the water (the houses in Fort Caswell are set up in kind of an oval shape on a peninsula surrounded by water) and we left the windows open at night so we could fall asleep to the crashing of the waves and wake up to the seagulls… ahhh!

The theme of this year’s retreat was “Lavender Spa” and we studied the Psalms together. There was a white sheet hung on the wall where we each added words or phrases at different times throughout the weekend, leaving us with a beautiful visual reminder of Jesus’ faithfulness and abounding love. The most meaningful and profound exercise for me was when we got eyeliner pencils and wrote a lie that we have believed about ourselves at some point in our lives on the palm of our hands. Then, we talked about how Satan tries to make us believe those lies, but if we fill our spirits with Truth and cling to Jesus and His Word, we know that those lies have been washed away. We got a wipe and cleaned our palms completely, leaving no trace of the lie that once hindered our ability to live fully for Him, and then each took turns going up to the sheet on the wall and wrote the Truth that took the place of that lie. To see “unworthy” replaced by “I am His daughter and He will never leave me” was powerful.

We ate good food, laughed until late into the night, and spent time investing in sweet, sweet friendships. These girls are all so precious to me! Already looking forward to next year!