The Biggest Winner

I recently attended a Ladies Retreat in Gatlinburg, TN. The theme was The Biggest Winner and we had about 7 ladies speak. Sarah Terlecki, Miranda Morton, Tiffany Dresser, Jennifer Ellis, Melea Smith, Susan Aragon, and Donna Woodall. While I was there, I learned some very good and important lessons from them.

Just a few of the topics that they spoke on were:

• Adversities
• Bible Study
• Fellowship
• Encouragement
• Exercise in Faith

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Adversities-

At the time, adversities can seen pretty tough. But just remember, God is with us and will help us through our hard times.
Philippians 4:13- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Bible Study-

Bible study is a great thing. Whether it is once a week with your family, or every day by yourself, it is a good thing in general. It keeps us focused on our goal even during the toughest of days. Also, it brings us closer to God when the world is trying to suck us in. It doesn't take a lot of time necessarily, so try to find at least SOME time once a day or two to study God's word.

Fellowship-

In my opinion, fellowship is a great thing. It encourages us. It helps us not to be so afraid knowing that we have good Christian friends to help us along our journey to Heaven. I think that we should look for any times that we can to have fellowship with our Christian friends. Also, if your church doesn't do a lot of that, be the first one to start a monthly devo, or just some way to encourage others to get together.

Encouragement-

While I was at the Ladies Retreat, we had an activity where we each made a bag with some decor on the outside and whenever others got the chance, they could right encouraging notes to one another and stick it in their bag. I thought this was a great idea. Sometimes people are a little scared to go up to someone and tell them something encouraging. But the truth is, if we can get past the shyness and just open ourselves up to people, it makes us more confident and the person you are talking to, can feel a little better about themselves also.

Exercise in Faith-

This is where "The Biggest Winner" comes in. Here are a few steps on how to become the "Biggest Winner".

• When someone is trying to lose weight, they exercise. Sometimes a lot, and sometimes little steps at a time.

Our journey to Heaven can be like that. Sometimes, we are REALLY trying and might work at it a lot. But sometimes we just take small steps at a time. As long as we are heading in the right direction and staying on the right path, we will reach our final goal.

• Eating Healthy is another big part in losing weight. You are putting things into your body that will help you on your journey through losing weight.

Again, if we are trying hard to go to Heaven, we will try to take in as much information about the bible as we can because, we know that everything we take in and have taken in will help us on our journey to Heaven. But, every once in a while, a brownie will try to tempt you to stop on your journey.

Homework Reading: Philippians 1 and 2. If you want, you can go ahead and read Chapter 3.