Doors into Prayer -Part Two- Camp Arcadia, Michigan

Camp Arcadia brings together 

long-time friends and new friends to be made.

 Sometimes it is cousins, and sisters, 

and sometimes it is sisters in faith.

 Doors into Prayer- 
our Heavenly Father meets us in all sorts of ways.
We learn to pay attention, become child-like, 
cry for help, practice Sabbath, 
and watch and give thanks.

Sometimes those prayers 
end up right in our Bibles.

The Camp Arcadia Women's Retreat

 had a section of break out sessions.

Visual Faith Coach Valerie Matyas

 led a break out session on Scripture Doodles

 using Portal of Prayer devotion 

and the Concordia Publishing House calendar.

A great way to process and remember words 

and highlights from a Bible reading or devotion.

What does it LOOK LIKE when our prayer life 

becomes a visual story?

Visual Faith Coach Candice Schwark

 led a breakout session 

on making a paper bag journal

 to use to collect your retreat experience.

 The paper bag method can be used 

as a processing resource

 for all sorts of Visual Faith projects.

                                                                                                                              photo credit- Candice Schwark

Working on the 

Doors to Prayer - Paper Bag Journal

Here is the youngest attendee 

with her lovely paper bag journal.

Saturday evening included great music

 from the talented brother duo-Brothers Mogan.

They had us up and dancing.

Sunday morning worship

 by the lake was a highlight of the weekend.

So was the gathering of this team

 of Visual Faith Coaches.

Left to Right- Candice Schwark, Pat Maier, Connie Denninger, 

Katie Helmreich, and Valerie Matyas

We form online relationships and friendships

 as teammates for Visual Faith ministry.

What a joy to actually meet in person!

This was a best gift of the weekend.

Doors into Prayer-Camp Arcadia, Michigan- Part One

There are some things that are iconic

 about Camp Arcadia Michigan.

Worship on the edge of Lake Michigan

 and this cross is one of them.

So is crystal clear water and blue

 as far as you can see.

 The tree-lined shoreline

 and the bluffs of distant Frankfort are another. 

 Then there is the Walter League history

 of a nearly 100 year old camp.

History and artifacts galore.

A blessing of the weekend 

was reconnecting with fellow CUAA-

Concordia University - Ann Arbor friends and alumni.

Thanks Debbie and Sharon for making

 this weekend reunion so much fun!

Doors into Prayer was the theme

 for the 2018 Camp Arcadia Women's Retreat-ONE.

Show and Tell for the gathering.

Index Cards and

five minutes in prayer.

Time to slow down, pay attention

 and deal with distractions.

And an honest conversation 

about our prayer life 

with our Heavenly Father.

What wonderful music with Brooke!

Thanks to dear friend and 
Visual Faith Co-Founder- Pat Maier
 for the opportunity to bring Visual Faith practices 
to this wonderful group of Christian women.

Part 2-
more details

A Day at Vintage Grace Studio

The English District- 
Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod 

came to visit Vintage Grace studio.

Sarah, Kathy and Wendy 

came in from Pittsburgh for the day.

Joanne Fink bags 

held the goodies from the day.

On this day we shared

 the journey of Keep the Faith projects.

Tried out some things with an 

introduction to Visual Prayer.

Spent some time 

with a variety of mediums and processes 

and Bible Journaling.

And WOW- 

what a fun thank you gift basket.

Can't wait to explore this!

Maybe time to spend

a day in the studio?

Visual Faith Gathering- Northern Virginia

FaithArt 101was held

 on Saturday, May 6, 2017

 at New Hope Church in Lorton, Virginia.

65 women of all ages gathered to worship, 

learn about Visual Faith, and explore the topic of TRUST.

Director of Women's ministry - Karenna Rowenhorst 

and her retreat team did an awesome job 

of inviting area churches

 and welcoming all attendees.

I was blessed to present 

with artist Diane Marra-

who has mentored me

 in Visual Faith practices for the last nine years.

An opening devotion of Proverbs 3:1-8

shaped the framework for our day.

The morning was an overview 

of Keep the Faith and Visual Faith projects like:

Prayers for my Children, 

Counting Gifts and Prayers by the Month journals.

We then explored prayer roadblocks, 

Secret Code prayers, 

and praying Scripture.

Visual and Kinesthetic?

The makes sense for how many of us-

 connect and process.

New Hope sponsors 

her ministries for women:

honoring, equipping and rejoicing.

There was a Show and Tell 

table for sharing ideas.

A display table of Bible Verse Coloring books

 let you look through them 

and find one that would best suit you!

Then take a photo to remember 

the cover and author and order online.

There was also a table filled 

with resources for purchase

 from some of our favorite 

Visual Faith authors and practitioners:

 Lisa Hickman, 

Sybil MacBeth,

Shannon Noel, 

and Joanne Fink and Regina Yoder.

There were also some great door prizes

 and even a Journaling Bible give away. 

After a wonderful lunch and conversation, 

it was time to get messy  and dive

 into a study on TRUST-

led by Diane.

A flat canvas gave us a place for hidden journaling

 that was then covered with papers to collage.

  Once again - Proverbs 3:5-6.

TRUSTING- to spill our fears 

and say it all right there on the canvas.

 TRUSTING-

 when we can't see where we are going.

TRUSTING-

 when we are rushed 

and can't plan things out to perfection.

TRUSTING-

when we have never done this thing before.

TRUSTING-

that our Lord has "got this"-

 with the covered- up mess 

 on our canvas.

TRUSTING-

that my walk will look like no one else's-

and that's BEAUTIFUL.

Always something new to learn-

the Greek batach- means to hide for refuge.

Loving that image.

And maybe we will just be reminded

 that God wants us to live a more careless life-

that is- one without fear and no worry.

Not a bad take-away

 from our one day retreat.

A special thank you to all 

who took the time in busy schedules

 to live this one day TOGETHER.

Visual Faith Retreat at the Villages- Florida

Praying in Color:

Illustrating My Faith

Feb 24-25, 2017

we gathered at 

Amazing Grace Lutheran Church

at the Villages, Florida for a retreat event.

They had prepared for and prayed

 over this gathering.

The local newspaper had shared the story.

Things look a bit different in this part of Florida.

Amazing Grace Lutheran Church

 has four legged neighbors 

on two sides of their property.

I think there are more golf carts

 than cars in this area.

And I looked for the alligators.

There was great welcome 

and hospitality here in this place.

Preparations made to gather them in.
 112 participants for this event.

Visual Art graced the sanctuary

 and gathering area.

 Highlights:

A welcoming space,

supplies for each person in a 
handmade cloth bag tied with a bow,
 a well-done skit,

new friends, and great conversations.

A look at Sybil MacBeth's introduction to 

Praying in Color.

A simple way to use any piece

 of blank paper for prayer.

Visual prayer:

ways to slow down, 

pay attention and deal with distractions.

Graph paper for prayer time.

Simple shapes for teaching

 the petitions of the Lord's Prayer.
Graph paper prayer-
with our words.

Everyone received 

Sybil MacBeth's Pray and Color book.

Other resources were given as door prizes-
like Lisa Hickman's- Writing in the Margins.

Praying for our children and grandchildren-
 a way to bless others.
We talked about ways to use the product line
 of Joanne Fink for Visual Prayer. 

Journals from our Junk Mail.
Psalm Summaries with wine cork
 stamps and magazine cutouts.
Black ink tangles to make 
individual prayer cards-
 and keep them in a 
baseball card holder from Staples.

Gratitude Journals- One Thing a Day-
Day after Day.
Prayers by the Month and
Advent and Lent Visual Journeys.
Baptism and Confirmation Story books- 
ways to bless and conversation starters.
Tools to use in our own families.

A blessing to be with Arleen Bohlmann
 from the Southeastern District.
  Edith Walton - wife of LCMS Florida-Georgia 
District President Rev. Greg Walton
 joined us on Saturday.
And time to make a whole lot of new friends.

The women came in colorful attire to the 
Praying in Color Retreat.

Show and Tell tables
and 
Resources and supplies.

 Time to check things out
 and ask questions.

Pray about personal spiritual practices.

Bible Journaling was introduced.
Time to read, reflect and respond
in the margins of our Bibles.

Telling the story of the intersection
 of God's Word and our World.

Sharing the VRSLY app on the iPhone 

may have created a whole team of

Deployed Digital Missioners.

Time with a very special friend from
 Concordia College- 
Ann Arbor, Michigan days.
Cathy Driller trusted a friendship
 from 42 years ago 
and the nudges from the Holy Spirit 
to bring together 
a celebration of faith, 
prayer and spiritual formation.
A retreat covered in grace and connections-
 and we Give Thanks to the Lord.
And we can't WAIT
 to see what Kingdom fruit grows-
and to hear the STORIES.

And if you can't remember
 how to reach me to tell the story, 
or can't find the card you took,
 here you go.


 A VERY SPECIAL thank you to Thrivent 
for 2 ACTION GRANTS that blessed this gathering.

Some had asked for the link to the Youtube
 of the flip- through
 of the Gospel of John
 in my Journaling Bible- here it is-
The Gospel of John