KARYN LIM
27-29 JULY 2021
3D2N SILENT RETREAT, MONFORT CENTRE
TESSA
CULTIVATING RESILIENCE RETREAT, MONTFORT RETREAT CENTER
Alfred's sharing has been very encouraging and insightful and spoke a lot to me. My mom is bedridden and I've been caregiving for past 2 years.
Been a lot of pain and heartaches for the family. the latter part of the Serenity Prayer spoke to me, where it's truly living one day at a time and accepting hardship as the pathway of peace. accepting that trials and tribulations are definite and it will come,
Just a matter of when as in 1 Peter 4:12. At the same time, to adopt the posture of gratitude, giving thanks for things that we so easily take for granted, e.g. the ability to see, hear, eat, walk, turn on the bed, etc. having a biblical worldview is important, as we align to God's truth on life and suffering on earth, it also helps us to rely on God, and endure hardship as a pathway to holiness.
This retreat gave me some time to center on the Lord, and truly appreciate all the sharing and planning that went into it.
Thank you very much.
God bless you all.
MARION
PAUSE RETREAT, ORCHID COUNTRY CLUB
A much-needed PAUSE was given to me through this retreat. I am grateful that I have experienced God thru this activity and had more clarity in life.
As I did the suggested walk, I had an epiphany.:
1. We all have a destination in this life.
2. We can get lost (especially if we do not know how to read maps) but God will send people to help us along the way.
3. We just gotta ask.
4. When your reach your destination, savor it. Be in the present moment.
5. Then we move on
God really works in mysterious ways. A simple event can make a whole difference. We just have to keep an open heart for the Lord every time.
Thank you again for your time and help. Truly enjoyed it.
JOE
CULTIVATING RESILIENCE RETREAT, MONTFORT RETREAT CENTER
I found myself exhausted by my daily chores. When sister Winnie recommended me to attend “Cultivating Resilience Retreat”, my first response was curiosity. The world has endless wonders to discover. My life’s resistance tried to stop me, but I chose persistence, because life’s resistance will try to stop me. Thank God for this given opportunity to experience what is a silent retreat all about.
In contrast to being swamped by my daily anxiety, at “Cultivating Resilience Retreat”, I was given a good chance to enjoy a proper rest and refreshment, to experience what is sitting "at the feet of Jesus". It's a real quiet time, for me to search for Him to speak to me.
To me, now after the retreat, I came to know being resilient, does not mean that we don’t experience stress, or emotional upset, but demonstrating resilience includes working through emotional pain and suffering.
Not everyone is like me. As for me, life is hectic and stressful. Resilience teaches me that every now and then, I must choose to take action, to slow down, to make an opportunity to make things better. Everyone need restoration and renewing of our body, mind, and soul.
We have to learn to cope with and work through very challenging life experiences. This retreat uniquely crafted out for us to spend quiet time with God for most part of the day. During this scheduled quiet time, we are suppose to be still, and focus on getting connected to God. Most importantly, we must engage in prayer, and wait patiently to hear for Him.
During this quiet time, as per most people does, I also tried to find a place to sit down, read the Bible and pray. But I can't sit still to do meditation, so I took a walk around the garden and around the compound to admire His Creations. I took many photos of the different flowers, the different leaves and the different type of fruits. It is in this silence that I felt God is speaking to me through the differences among the different individual flowers, leaves and fruits.
This silence helps me to relate them to human life.
His small soft voice seem to reveals that, when God creates a person, it is from a plan that He has developed before He began forming us in our mother womb. He not only knows what He is going to make, He actually knows us as the person as though we have already been made, just like those flowers, leaves and fruits. He is sovereign over our personality, our gifts, our talents, and all our physical attributes. He plans us according to His purposes for us and His plans are to glorify Himself by our lives.
After spending the extended time with God at the retreat, I felt grateful for what He had for me, I just need to trust and obey. I just has to accept the things I cannot change, and must have the courage to change the things I can. Don't think so much just live one day at a time, enjoy one moment at a time, accepting hardship as the pathway to has His peace, trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His will.
GRACE
CULTIVATING RESILIENCE RETREAT, MONTFORT RETREAT CENTER
This was my first time participating in a silent retreat, and like many who shared yesterday, I was quite apprehensive. But the pre-read notes provided was really useful, and also helped me manage my expectations, and guide me on what to pray for before the day (So, thanks for the materials!)
I’ve discovered that i can actually sit in silence and enjoy God’s peace - amazing discovery ! Clearly the verse “With God, all things are possible” really covers ALL things, since this was one of my key prayer points before the day.
The retreat notes also provided good guidance, and especially useful as I was seeking guidance in a particular area in life. And many times during the retreat, I am reminded again and again to put Christ first and trust Him; and I will ! I’ve got clarity on the decision, and will be relying on Him to see me through :)
SERENA
SABBATH REST TO THE LORD RETREAT, MONTFORT RETREAT CENTER
Are you in the rat race or are you living life according to the rhythm of His Grace?
During my recent silent retreat, I spent some time on the above 2-seater swing with Jesus. I kept company with Him n as our swing began to gently rock back n forth, the verses below in The Message version came to my mind.
Matt 11:28-30
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
Dear Friend, meditate on the above verses. What is the Spirit of God saying to you?