Fall Retreat

     Let me tell you, I love nothing more than cold weather, great friends, and praising Jesus. This years fall retreat was absolutely one for the books. I could not have envisioned a better way to experience the love of God. For those of you who are not aware, fall retreat is a trip that my youth group takes annually. It is usually held early in October. We travel to different camps and spend a weekend relaxing and praising God. This year we went to Timber Creek Camp. Timber Creek is my absolute favorite camp in the world. I promise it's as close to heaven as you can get. We all brought our eno hammocks and set them up in what was later named enotopia. It was truly a sight to see. This retreat was also student led. Our youth group started a youth council this summer. I am fortunate enough to be on it. The theme of this retreat was Mask. We all have them. We talked about how we can take them off and shared a little bit about our own mask. I can truly say that this weekend was as close to perfect as you can get. It reassured me that no one is asking me to be perfect and that its okay to not be okay. Sometimes, in today's society, we tend to put on this mask. For some it may be a mask of perfection, of being okay when in reality you are absolutely broken, or something as small as a mask of happiness. We all wear them and if you think about it, it is stupid that we do. God made us to be a beautiful and wonderful person. We should embrace that with all that we are. However I cannot say that I felt this way before this weekend. The whole week before I had a rough week. I was sick and very bogged down with the constant talk of college. But going to fall retreat and being surrounded with a bunch of beautiful souled people made every day of pain and heartache okay. Life is hard sometimes but IT'S OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. I am so blessed beyond belief in so many ways. My youth group is just one of those many blessings. My prayer for all of you is that you will take off your mask and realize that God will love you no matter what. You are loved.

Below is a compilation of pictures and videos from over the weekend. So make sure you watch until the end ;)

Thanks for reading!!!

XOXO, Emma Rose