by Gene Bolwes

     Over a twenty-four hour period on April 11^th and 12^th, 2008, 25 United Methodist couples gathered at The Lodge at Simpsonwood to attend a Couples’ Spiritual Retreat sponsored by the United Methodist Men of North Georgia.  From the opening session on Friday evening to the fifth and final session on Saturday afternoon, the Holy Spirit’s presence was felt in a mighty way by all those present. 

      Each session began with praise and worship led by Vaughn Stafford of Mt Bethel UMC in Marietta.  He was ably supported by a talented group of young musicians and singer Celeste Jonson.  The music prepared the men and women, who came from throughout North Georgia, for the messages to follow from the dynamic husband and wife team of Wes and Joy Griffin. 

        The theme of the retreat was, “Press Toward the Mark,” based on the scripture from Philippians 3: 14, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

      The intention of the retreat was to lead husbands and wives to each grow in their Spiritual Walk, by going deeper in gaining intimacy with God,  seeking the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying transformation and power He brings.

      This was not a marriage enrichment encounter, although the subject of one of the sessions was Family Priority and each couple exchanged with each other, the five ways that each liked for the other to display their love.  This retreat was more along the lines of the Annual Men's Spiritual Retreat held by UMMen at Rock Eagle in September, - filled with praise and worship followed by good practical messages based on Scripture. 

      Both Wes Griffin and his wife Joy are excellent leaders and presenters.  They founded the International Leadership Institute (ILI), an organization which offers advanced training to more than 10,000 Christian around the world.  Joy, in particular, brought stories of some of her action-packed experiences in the mission field, - examples of how God is still working through the Holy Spirit to bring the Gospel to the harvest fields around the world.

      This was the first couple’s event sponsored by United Methodist Men of North Georgia for a number of years.  It was an experience well worth the time and modest expense required to spend twenty-four hours at the beautiful setting of Simpsonwood.  The only negative comment heard from those attending was, “It’s a shame that more Methodist couples did not take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.”