Nashville

There was some point early on in 2013 that Natalie and I realized that being a pastor's wife can be exhausting (though I adore being the wife of my pastor). After planting our campuses at the start of the year, we discovered that our new roles in ministry were much different than the roles we'd played before. While being incredibly fulfilling and rewarding, it is tough. Natalie mentioned in passing one day that she'd heard about a pastor's wives retreat happening in the fall, and we longingly talked about how great that'd be to go together to learn and recharge. We dreamed and then we just kinda let it go, as we do with many of the wonderful trip plans we come up with. The subject resurfaced a month or two later as I was talking with Aaron one day. He told me, "You and Natalie need to do this. You really should go." I went back and forth between giddiness and doubt--should we or shouldn't we? But with a lot of encouragement and support from the guys, we were able to go!

The Leading and Loving It Retreat was in Nashville Tuesday to Thursday, so we decided to leave on Sunday afternoon and make a week of it. Our first night, we stayed in Howe with my parents. Monday, we drove on and stayed in Little Rock for the night. We spent the evening walking the River Market District and ate fried green tomatoes and fried chicken at Gus's, and it was great!

On the road in Arkansas

My first fried green tomatoes in Little Rock. Heavenly!

Tuesday morning, we got on the road early and headed for Nashville. We went straight to the retreat and, despite finding out that they sat us at two different tables (on purpose), had a wonderful first day. I was touched by a lot (which I may or may not unpack here at a later date), but I really loved hearing Lisa Harper speak. She was funny and engaging and she spoke truth that I am still chewing on, even now. Once day one was complete, we went and checked into the house we had rented just down the street from the retreat. It was a suite in the back of a house downtown, and it was a great place to stay.

I was happy to discover that Natalie and I basically run on the same schedule. We generally got tired about the same time, and we both woke up pretty early. (Although, before the trip, I'd had grand visions that I would be sleeping in late every single day since I didn't have kids there to take to school or to wake me up hollering for a towel because they forgot to get one before getting into the shower. But alas... I just wake up early--kids or no kids.) All of that to say, we were up and ready pretty early on Wednesday morning, so we decided to drive out from downtown Nashville a bit to try the Loveless Cafe, which Nat had heard wonderful things about. I want to confirm that all of these wonderful things were true. Except we didn't see any famous people. Which I was bummed about. But the biscuits and hash brown casserole more than made up for it.

Day two of the retreat was good, but not my favorite. I really enjoyed the worship though, and there was a session or two that I really enjoyed about marriage and ministry.

Breakfast at the Loveless Cafe. Yummy!

Someone suggested the Loveless Cafe in Nashville, and it was amazing!

They gave us tons of free stuff at the beginning of each day of the retreat!

That night, we decided to go explore Nashville a bit. We walked downtown and took in the "flavor" of Nashville. We walked wide-eyed down Broadway, it was something to behold. There were neon signs everywhere, a band playing in nearly every window, and music coming out of every door you walked past. It was pretty cool. We stopped for a nice dinner, and then walked some more, but by then we were absolutely frozen and tried to get back to the car as fast as we could.

Broadway in Nashville... there's a band in almost every window!

Day three started off with coffee and a pumpkin scone at Starbucks, and everything about the retreat that day was spectacular. Truly. In so many ways. Natalie Grant did a concert and spoke to us some. I had some great conversations with my table group. And Holly Furtick gave a talk that really touched me and stuck with me. Oh, and as a bonus, Nat and I both won prizes in a raffle--back to back. The retreat was over at noon, and we left feeling encouraged, equipped, and knowing that we were not alone in our unique struggles. We hopped in the car and headed south (first to lunch in Franklin--where I spilled tomato basil soup all over myself--and then to the coast of Mississippi). We had a lot of good conversation on that drive unpacking all that we had heard and all that we felt like God might be speaking to us. The last bit of the drive was a bit interminable, but we finally made it to our hotel in Biloxi and went straight to bed.

Friday morning, we got up early and got on the road. By that  point, we were just exhausted by all the travel and all the emotion of the week.  We stopped at the beach in Biloxi to put our toes in the sand and take a few pictures, but we were pretty ready to see our husbands and kids, so we didn't stay long. We drove homeward, singing along with the radio (or iPod or whatever) nearly the whole way, and decided that crossing the Texas border may be one of the most discouraging things ever. You feel like you're home and then you realize that you're still hours and hours from home. But we made it home late Friday afternoon and we were received by incredibly happy husbands and kids who missed us maybe as much as we missed them, and it was the perfect end to an amazing week!

A stop at the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi

I feel so incredibly lucky to have Natalie & Jason who, even though they are at a different church, are walking through the same things we are. I think it's a rare thing. It was also good to see that same truth on a broader scale, being in a room of 400 other women in ministry.

"We get to work for God. Who gets to do that?!"

-Holly Furtick

It was a great trip, and I am thankful on so many levels that I got to have that experience AND that I got to do it with Natalie! She's such an amazing woman/sister/friend and I am immensely blessed!