Why We All Need To Renew


This weekend six ladies from Calvary went to the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp 2018 Renew Conference. It was an incredible two days of studying, learning, sharing, worship and lots of fun.


More than 500 women from across Iowa and several surrounding states gathered for music, worship and workshops. Everyone had God-bumps as we sang together in harmony. The chapel was a beautiful setting for our sessions.


The camp is located right on Clear Lake, and the mornings are absolutely beautiful. 


New this year was a walking path with prayer stations. We were given a booklet with prayers, Scripture and prompts to focus completely on our relationship with God. It was a great way to start the day.


We also got spoiled - big time. After arriving and registering, we were treated to a popcorn bar with lots of sweet treats.


And the crafty folks among us made wood pumpkins with a gorgeous fall theme.


And then there's the fun stuff! Right in the middle of camp is the tower, which has rock climbing on one side and the 700-foot zip line on the other.


One of our favorite activities, though, is the pallet maze. It's the biggest, most jumbled thing ever, and it's so easy to get completely lost and turned around. Thankfully there was a teenager jumping around on top of the pallets - sometimes guiding us in the right direction, but mostly laughing at us.



This is the result of trying to find all four corners of the maze. At least we have a map to follow next year...


The kitchen staff was such a blessing, feeding more than 500 women three meals. It was great to not worry about meal prep, cooking and serving for a couple of days. And the food was SO good.


While the weekend was so much fun, what was more important were the messages we heard about prayer, contentment, Bible study and Bible application. We spent hours going through the Great Commandment from Mark 12, learning how important giving our all and expecting God's all in return really are. We can't give God our leftovers and expect to grow in our relationship with Him. How wonderful to have these distraction-free hours to grow together and grow closer to the Lord.

If all of this sounds wonderful, next year's Renew Conference will be October 6-7. I would love to share all the details with you so you can go with us!

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