This morning, I am oozing with a tender feeling of being loved and encouraged. I sat quietly on the couch for an hour or so reading all the notes of encouragement that I brought home in my note bag from our weekend retreat.

Reading these notes was like opening a box of chocolates....and binging on the whole darn thing. LOL Except without the getting sick part. =]

As I looked into the bag, I thoughtfully chose which delicious chunk would be the next to bite into. Knowing that they were all heavenly. And thankfully, I knew there would be no orange creme's or rasberry gels.=]  Each card and piece of paper I pulled out  was a precious note of encouragement and blessing from my girlfriends on our retreat. Some wrote two!!

What did I do with that kleenex box anyway??

I was reminded of our topics of sharing, encouragement and freedom. I was reminded of intimate conversations I'd shared with friends of old and new. I was reminded of dancing and laughing and crying and hugging and hiking.....and even that really special moment that I did that cannonball right in the middle of all my girlfriends beginning there morning water aerobics class. What are good friends for anyway????  What fun we had!! What memories we made!! What friendships we forged!

I am absolutely, unquestionably, and unswervingly convinced that all women need a retreat. We need to take a weekend atleast once a year to simply get away....out of the normal surroundings....away from the daily schedule and routine....far away from the pile of laundry and dishes that call to you every time you pass by.  Whether we retreat alone or with girlfriends (and there is a need for both), women need that time to refresh, refuel and recommit their hearts to their calling. Let's be honest. It's good for our families too!

As a matter of fact, I am convinced that women need a retreat atleast once a month....even every day. And I mean guilt-free too.

Monthly, we should find the time to go out with some girlfriends and get charged up again....a reaallll  Girl's Night Out. Healthy facetime with girlfriends can reach down into our soul and pull out second-wind energy that we all know husbands are simply not designed to offer much.  It's not the same. It's not a good or bad thing.....it's just a different way.

Daily, a woman needs to take the time to literally kick her feet up, and be still, purposefully. Read a book. Read a magazine. Read the Bible. Take a power snooze. Pray. Listen to your favorite music. Eat some dark chocolate. Go away from the computer, the phone, and the kids. And take 20 to 30 minutes to simply rest. Guilt-free. Worry-free. Stress-free.

We call that a little mini-retreat. =]

Back to my box of chocolates.....I am so blessed with the sweet girlfriends that I have. My husband would say they've helped to save my sanity! Hey, they're the cheapest therapy you'll ever find. I was challenged this weekend to make new friends, invest more heart and time into my friendships (they're worth it!), and to be an authentic friend.  Friendships won't get very deep if we can't learn to be real in them, you know?

Thank you Lord, for giving us girlfriends the ability to break past the pretentions, and get to the things that really matter. Thank you for designing us to be emotional and giggly and not afraid to tear up sometimes. Thank you for the way you've created us to energize eachother, and then like a sponge, to ring it back out....all over the ones we love. Thank you for our "other halves"....or Honey's back home....who love us enough to let us go.

To any Girlfriends that are reading this.....have a Chocolate-Covered Day!