When dreams really do come true...without Disney.
Welcome to our March/April issue of For your Heart and Home. Hints of spring are slowly filling the air bringing renewed hope and rebirth. Spring offers us the opportunity to refresh our space with old favorites we've packed away for winter and new finds we've discovered. There's so much inside this issue to warm your heart and encourage you, while inspiring your creativity with ideas for your home. In this segment, I want to focus on a seed God planted in my heart one spring several years ago...that I got to see fulfilled this past November. It was a big God sized dream with a big God sized adventure starting in Branson...literally years in the making.
My husband and I travel to Branson, Missouri several times a year. Our first visit was on our honeymoon 34 years ago. Later, we began taking our three daughters to Branson on summer trips and during Thanksgiving. One of my daughter's has such wonderful memories of Branson, she named her son Bransyn. This beautiful town that sits along Lake Taneycomo holds a special place in my heart filled with so many memories. As the years progressed it seemed Branson was slowly dying. The things that people once loved were not as popular. Many of the small local places were becoming run down and in poor shape. Even our visits were now just once a year during Thanksgiving since our girls were no longer at home. It was sad seeing the small once thriving lake front cabins become desolate and unoccupied.
Then, on what we were considering to possibly be our last visit...there was a Vision Board from several business partners that were planning on revitalizing the city. To all outward appearances, the Vision Board seemed almost laughable. It showed one hundred plus retail locations and eateries lining Lake Taneycomo where the small dilapidated cabins and trout docks now sat. In addition to all the businesses on the proposed brick lined street, the Vision Board boasted two large hotels, one being a TWELVE STORY Hilton with a convention center! We actually joked saying...'that will never happen here!' It seemed impossible. But, over the next few years, one of the most visited areas in the Midwest took shape, Branson Landing. It turned out to be exactly as the Vision Board had predicted. Through determination, hard work, and perseverance, Branson changed from being a dying community to a dynamic city offering some of the best retail and dining places in the Midwest, even attracting Food Network stars opening restaurants on the brick lined Branson Landing. It is an amazing place! It's wonderful they were able to save the historic downtown just beside Branson Landing. Visitors get both historic and new. I am always amazed that the place where we used to tell our daughters to watch out for duck poo (sorry, but it's true)...now boasts amazing shops and eateries...the ducks have moved up by the bridge and still get plenty of love.
I am so glad that we never stopped going to Branson and got to see renewal along Lake Taneycomo that I truly did not think possible. I didn't know it, but God, had some plans there for me too. His plans were not on a Vision Board, but He whispered them in my heart. They too were something that I thought was impossible (but then that's how His plans always are)...a Woman's Retreat...in Branson. I was casually deciding if I wanted to take on this giant size task (something you probably shouldn't do when God calls you to do something...decide if you are willing). Then one day...while we were in Branson after my husband returned from a golf outing, he had somehow (we know how) discovered a little church in the woods. He told me I would love it and he wanted to take me to see it. That's when I discovered...Sycamore Log Church in the Ozark hills just outside of Branson. There, on the beautiful mountainside, covered with pine trees and sunshine beside a beautiful stream...was the Sycamore Log Church. I peeked in the windows that were covered with rain streaks and a little dirt and discovered the little one room church was still pretty much as it had originally been built. Used for generations. It spoke to my heart.
My husband and I travel to Branson, Missouri several times a year. Our first visit was on our honeymoon 34 years ago. Later, we began taking our three daughters to Branson on summer trips and during Thanksgiving. One of my daughter's has such wonderful memories of Branson, she named her son Bransyn. This beautiful town that sits along Lake Taneycomo holds a special place in my heart filled with so many memories. As the years progressed it seemed Branson was slowly dying. The things that people once loved were not as popular. Many of the small local places were becoming run down and in poor shape. Even our visits were now just once a year during Thanksgiving since our girls were no longer at home. It was sad seeing the small once thriving lake front cabins become desolate and unoccupied.
Then, on what we were considering to possibly be our last visit...there was a Vision Board from several business partners that were planning on revitalizing the city. To all outward appearances, the Vision Board seemed almost laughable. It showed one hundred plus retail locations and eateries lining Lake Taneycomo where the small dilapidated cabins and trout docks now sat. In addition to all the businesses on the proposed brick lined street, the Vision Board boasted two large hotels, one being a TWELVE STORY Hilton with a convention center! We actually joked saying...'that will never happen here!' It seemed impossible. But, over the next few years, one of the most visited areas in the Midwest took shape, Branson Landing. It turned out to be exactly as the Vision Board had predicted. Through determination, hard work, and perseverance, Branson changed from being a dying community to a dynamic city offering some of the best retail and dining places in the Midwest, even attracting Food Network stars opening restaurants on the brick lined Branson Landing. It is an amazing place! It's wonderful they were able to save the historic downtown just beside Branson Landing. Visitors get both historic and new. I am always amazed that the place where we used to tell our daughters to watch out for duck poo (sorry, but it's true)...now boasts amazing shops and eateries...the ducks have moved up by the bridge and still get plenty of love.
I am so glad that we never stopped going to Branson and got to see renewal along Lake Taneycomo that I truly did not think possible. I didn't know it, but God, had some plans there for me too. His plans were not on a Vision Board, but He whispered them in my heart. They too were something that I thought was impossible (but then that's how His plans always are)...a Woman's Retreat...in Branson. I was casually deciding if I wanted to take on this giant size task (something you probably shouldn't do when God calls you to do something...decide if you are willing). Then one day...while we were in Branson after my husband returned from a golf outing, he had somehow (we know how) discovered a little church in the woods. He told me I would love it and he wanted to take me to see it. That's when I discovered...Sycamore Log Church in the Ozark hills just outside of Branson. There, on the beautiful mountainside, covered with pine trees and sunshine beside a beautiful stream...was the Sycamore Log Church. I peeked in the windows that were covered with rain streaks and a little dirt and discovered the little one room church was still pretty much as it had originally been built. Used for generations. It spoke to my heart.
I snapped this photo the day I saw the Sycamore Log Church. It caught my heart from the beginning. How awesome I got to share it with my sister's in Christ at our first women's retreat in 2022.
I think it was then, I began to wonder if it would ever be possible to bring a group of women to this sanctuary and let them see all God had prepared. I begin to dream of bringing women together in Branson, during the Christmas season...where among the lights, music, food, and so many festivities...we would find this amazing log church that had such an awesome story behind how it was built, and the church family that now worships there.
I contacted the church leadership and they were only too happy to open up the Sycamore Log Church for women on a retreat. I absolutely love how God orchestrates things. In reality, although the retreat planning took a year...I could see God's handiwork almost 100 years ago...as the one room Sycamore Log Church was built. He knew that these women would travel from 5 states, to meet Him in the hills of the Ozarks in a log church...creating a sanctuary in their hearts that would leave lasting memories. Our time at the Sycamore Log Church was amazing. We sang, we shared stories of how God was working in our lives, we worshipped God, we felt His presence. One of the ladies joining our retreat was from England and she read scripture with a beautiful English accent. It was heaven on earth...in the Ozark hills, in a tiny log cabin church, built almost 100 years before our planned retreat.
I realized that afternoon, as we sat there in the one-room church, warmed by the stove...how powerful God was and how He had brought this together. I knew how reluctant I had been and all the planning that had went into the women's retreat. I felt like someone should pinch me...because I saw God's plans come to life...just like the Vision Board brought life back into Branson...God's plans brought life back into many of the hearts of these women.
We had an awesome women's retreat in 2022 and Allied Travel and Tour has helped us plan another women's retreat for 2023...A November to Remember - A Branson Christmas. We'll again visit the Sycamore Log Church, see the amazing new production of Queen Esther at the Sight and Sound Theater, enjoy The Texas Tenors Deep in the Heart of Christmas show, visit the Titanic Museum, dine at Paula Deen's Family Restaurant, be footsteps away from the awesome Branson Veteran's Day parade, and enjoy beautiful lodging and breakfast every morning at the Hilton right on Branson Landing! We hope you'll pray about joining us for our second women's retreat, November 9th - 12th. We'll share devotional time, prayer, shopping, dining, touring, and fellowship with our sisters in Christ as we prepare for Christmas in our heart.
I know it's almost spring and the women's retreat seems like a long way off, but the renewal experienced in November warms my heart just as much as the renewal of spring around the corner.
Below are a few photos below from our 2022 women's retreat. You can find out more about our 2023 women's retreat by clicking here. We like to keep our group small so that relationships can be formed. Our 2023 trip is already half full. Please prayerfully decide if this is your year to join us for...A November to Remember...A Branson Christmas.
Although I am anxious for spring...I can't wait to return to Branson in November with several of the women from our last trip and to make new friends too. God renews every day...not just during springtime. Blessings, Shelly
I contacted the church leadership and they were only too happy to open up the Sycamore Log Church for women on a retreat. I absolutely love how God orchestrates things. In reality, although the retreat planning took a year...I could see God's handiwork almost 100 years ago...as the one room Sycamore Log Church was built. He knew that these women would travel from 5 states, to meet Him in the hills of the Ozarks in a log church...creating a sanctuary in their hearts that would leave lasting memories. Our time at the Sycamore Log Church was amazing. We sang, we shared stories of how God was working in our lives, we worshipped God, we felt His presence. One of the ladies joining our retreat was from England and she read scripture with a beautiful English accent. It was heaven on earth...in the Ozark hills, in a tiny log cabin church, built almost 100 years before our planned retreat.
I realized that afternoon, as we sat there in the one-room church, warmed by the stove...how powerful God was and how He had brought this together. I knew how reluctant I had been and all the planning that had went into the women's retreat. I felt like someone should pinch me...because I saw God's plans come to life...just like the Vision Board brought life back into Branson...God's plans brought life back into many of the hearts of these women.
We had an awesome women's retreat in 2022 and Allied Travel and Tour has helped us plan another women's retreat for 2023...A November to Remember - A Branson Christmas. We'll again visit the Sycamore Log Church, see the amazing new production of Queen Esther at the Sight and Sound Theater, enjoy The Texas Tenors Deep in the Heart of Christmas show, visit the Titanic Museum, dine at Paula Deen's Family Restaurant, be footsteps away from the awesome Branson Veteran's Day parade, and enjoy beautiful lodging and breakfast every morning at the Hilton right on Branson Landing! We hope you'll pray about joining us for our second women's retreat, November 9th - 12th. We'll share devotional time, prayer, shopping, dining, touring, and fellowship with our sisters in Christ as we prepare for Christmas in our heart.
I know it's almost spring and the women's retreat seems like a long way off, but the renewal experienced in November warms my heart just as much as the renewal of spring around the corner.
Below are a few photos below from our 2022 women's retreat. You can find out more about our 2023 women's retreat by clicking here. We like to keep our group small so that relationships can be formed. Our 2023 trip is already half full. Please prayerfully decide if this is your year to join us for...A November to Remember...A Branson Christmas.
Although I am anxious for spring...I can't wait to return to Branson in November with several of the women from our last trip and to make new friends too. God renews every day...not just during springtime. Blessings, Shelly
A letter from Dyann, who went on our retreat last year AND she's going again this year! "The 2022 Retreat was a wonderful experience! Being in the company of 23 sisters in Christ was a feeling of kinship from the start of our journey. Spiritually I felt a sense of being buoyed with love & affirmation from Christ. I didn't necessarily realize the depth of my complacency prior to the retreat. Our casual, but deep devotional times as well as testimonials & times of sharing were just what my heart needed. I came home with such a feeling of renewal & empowerment in the Lord! Not to mention the magnificent production at the Sight and Sound Theater, lifting our voices in song to the Lord while visiting the historical Sycamore Church, the lights of Branson, shopping & very good dining were absolutely the icing on the cake! All of these experiences were orchestrated to be enjoyed at a comfortable & somewhat flexible pace. And I loved how Shelly, our (fearless) leader/tour conductor shared how the Lord was obviously with us & giving us so many special blessings: sunsets, traveling mercies, no schedule conflicts, nice winter weather...So many blessings & such a fulfilling time."
The Notebook Cafe Women's Retreat in front of Sycamore Log Church in November 2022.
Enjoying lunch at Smith's Restaurant on the way to Branson...home of the worlds largest tenderloin!
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Inside the Sycamore Log Church enjoying fellowship, reading Christmas scripture, praying, and sharing our hearts.
Paula Deen's Restaurant located on Branson Landing. The service and food was exceptional!
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Some of the ladies enjoying fun at 417 Vintage after some great shopping!
A few of the women posing on Branson Landing while enjoying some time at all the shops.
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