The Denver, Loveland and Colorado Springs, Colorado, ladies hosted the 2011 Colorado Women’s Retreat in the Rocky Mountains near Allenspark, Colorado, on the weekend of July 29-31. The theme for the retreat was "Becoming God’s Precious Jewels." A total of 32 women (and 6-week-old Wyatt Hines) met together for a wonderful and inspiring weekend in one of most beautiful settings imaginable.

Presentations included "You’ll Never Walk Alone" by Vikki Wilke; "Peace During Trials," an interactive discussion led by Julie Zutz; "Becoming God’s Precious Jewels" table topics led by Sheila Wagoner; "Jewel of God–Works in Progress" by Pam Beckett; "What Will We See When Our Eyes Are Opened" by Heather Curry and "How Brilliant Are You?" by Carol Szymkowiak.

Arthur and Marsha Suckling joined us for Sabbath services. The service included three special music selections: "As the Deer," a solo by Pam McMaster; "A Medley of My Shepherd’s Love," an instrumental piece by Heather Curry, Mary Curry and Sandy Korthuis; and "We Will Glorify," by the Front Range Ladies’ Choir. Mr. Suckling gave a thought-provoking sermon on emotional maturity.

On Saturday night the ladies gathered around an outdoor campfire where Sandy Korthuis led a panel discussion titled "Generational Gems." The panel was made up of six ladies representing six decades. The youngest on the panel was Heather Curry, age 20. At the other end we had Marilyn Magoon representing the golden years. As the youngest member, Heather was open and shared valuable insight from her age perspective.

On Sunday morning, Julie Zutz presented a special session titled "Resolving Conflict as Christian Women." Julie covered biblical principles of being a peacemaker and shared a specific tool developed to help effectively deal with conflict. Ladies broke up into groups and practiced using the tool. They had a great deal of enthusiasm about learning to use the tool and developing peacemaking skills.

The most remarkable aspect of the whole weekend was the amount of group participation, sharing and bonding the women enjoyed in an atmosphere and setting of peace. We feel that God truly blessed our time together.

Those of us from Colorado would like to extend a special thanks to our sisters from Lubbock, Texas, who once again made the trip to join us. Ladies from four states attended. We would also like to thank and acknowledge Beth Bradford for coordinating the planning and putting so much time and love into making this such a joyous event.