This weekend I had the amazing privilege of teaching at the Perinton Community Church’s Womens Retreat (Rochester, NY). What a fabulous group of women…
We laughed, we cried, we shared our stories. But mostly, we feasted on God’s Word and immersed ourselves in what Jesus says about forgiveness in Luke 15—all while looking at these three parables through a middle eastern lens, which is life-changing.
They all read A Million Little Choices before the retreat, so we did a deep dive into that dual timeline story, too—the characters, the setting, the themes of marriage and infidelity, and I shared where God met me on the page as I wrote and rewrote that story.
I’m so grateful to my dear friend Polly Alexander (no relation, we just happened to both marry boys with the last name Alexander) for inviting me to lead the study time. Polly and I go way back to high school. We roomed together at Harding University, too…
Then were each other’s maid of honor at our weddings…
Gracious, how the years have flown. I’m so grateful for our friendship—and for all of our laughter this past weekend…
And if that wasn’t enough, the week before that I got to see Karen Schurrer, my former editor from Bethany House, who was in Nashville. But we forgot to take a picture together! Ugh. So when I realized that, I texted her and said, “Quick, take a pic, and I’ll put them together.”
So here we are last week…
And here we are in 2007 at the RITA Award when Revealed won in the historical romance category. Again, how the years have flown…
Karen and I worked on nine books together. She really is so incredibly gifted, and I’m grateful to have benefited from her talent (and to still be benefiting from it). 😊
My cup overflows with fabulous sisters in Christ, and I’m still thanking God for all the time together in recent days. But now I’m back at my desk, razor-focused, working to finish this current novel that will release next year. I’m eager to make it the best it can be and am almost to the finish line!
Have you had some special sister time lately? Any special gatherings? retreats? Are you still connected with high school and college friends? It’s an incredible blessing to do life with women in the Kingdom of God, isn’t it? And that includes our fabulous community here at IBL&F. 🤍
Much love from Nashville—and that’s no foolin’!
Tammy
Tamera Alexander
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I enjoyed reading about your friendships and the great memories you’ve made along the way.
I love any time I get to hang out with my gal pals! Our church ladies retreat is the first weekend in June this year, and I’m looking forward to time away with them to connect, refresh, and grow spiritually. I also always enjoy connecting with writers at writing conferences, but it’s a different dynamic than the strictly spiritual retreats. There’s wonderful benefits to both!
Agree, Deena. The spiritually-focused retreats are such a gift to experience with sisters in Christ. Nothing else like it. I’m praying right now for your retreat the first weekend in June—a time to connect, refresh, and grow, indeed! Thanks for sharing today!
I’m sure you were a huge blessings to the ladies at the retreat. And how fun to have it all come about through a long-time friend! Those types of friendships are the best!
Amen, D’Ann, those friendships are such treasures. I’m still relishing the conversations and seeing the “ah ha” moments on faces (same as mine when I first heard it) when learning the real meaning behind the Luke 15 parables. So different from our Western Lens. Studying God’s Word is so exciting, transforming, eternal. We don’t have to dig and scrape for crumbs or morsels. We’re not orphans. We’re daughters and sons of the Most High, grafted into the Vine, and if we open our mouths (live lives postured to hear), God fill our mouths with such good things!
What an awesome post! And so great to connect with friends, new and old. One is silver and the other gold. I loved seeing all the photos.
Thanks, my friend. It was a really good weekend. But as always, it is wonderful to be back home.