Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Saludos, Hermanos y Hermanas en Cristo!
Hello, friends! – welcome to May, and finally some real warmth, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere, which is certainly not all of us: we’ve had quite a number of signups recently from distant locations. In fact, non-USA signups have been significant enough that we’ve just started to keep some separate member lists for certain countries and areas, specifically: Canada, UK, Australia, the Philippines, and Latin America. The hope is to eventually provide opportunities for those folks to meet and fellowship, online and perhaps in person. If you are from outside the US, and want to be sure you are added to the appropriate list, drop us a note with your email address, and the country you are in. If you would be interested in participating in a country-specific forum, or even hosting a meetup, let us know that also. Just email: staff@biblicalfamilies.org Onward to some time-critical information:
The important news for this month is our upcoming North Carolina mountain retreat and it’s new date of July 2nd-4th. We made this change after consulting with folks by email and in the forums, the holiday weekend seemed to work for most – and we apologize to those who it causes a problem for. But we didn’t have much choice, we had not found a suitable location for the 9-11th, but we have reserved what will be a GREAT location for us over the holiday weekend. We have hotel-style rooms, dormitory-style rooms, and family cabins available, with a community kitchen/dining-room setting, and a separate large meeting hall, at very reasonable rates. There are hiking trails, waterfalls, and more on the property – and it will be easy to have some special activities for the children (I know I’ll be taking them for a hike when I’ve had too much adult interaction! – Nathan). This will be a great time of fellowshipping, encouraging, and relaxing in the mountains (north of Asheville a bit), and we have already heard from many who are planning on making this retreat. If you can get away, don’t miss it. We don’t post details here or online, you need to drop us a note at: retreats@biblicalfamilies.org Do it now, if you are at all interested – the information email will go out in a few days, and the date is just 9 weeks away! If you are uncertain if you can make it at this point, but are interested, just let us know that, too.
A special note for single ladies regarding the July retreat: There has been a lot of talk lately, on our forums, on the radio show, about the best way to meet a suitable Godly man or family. We want to state clearly: we believe Biblical Families retreats are one of the best environments to meet a number of families - no pressure, no perceived obligations, and a very safe setting, with many other ladies to spend time with and give you the type of honest observations that can be lacking in online relationships with no outside input. If you are serious about Christian plural marriage, you owe it to yourself to consider coming to this retreat. But don’t take our word for it, here’s some feedback we received from a single mom who attended the New Year’s retreat (we’ve asked permission to share what was a private note):
“I was a pile of nerves going to the retreat. I was not sure what I was going to encounter in that meeting room, I thought all I was going to see was a bunch of prairie dresses, even though that is not the sense I got from the forum. I had an idea what type of people everyone is online, but meeting that many people in person... that's hard! I have to say, all of my fears were released the second I walked in. Every single person there made me feel like I was the most important guest there. Everyone was so welcoming, I could not believe I spent so much energy worried about the kind of people that would be there. Cindy and Cecil are true angels on earth. Julie has the softest and kindest demeanor about her and was so sweet to me. Nathan and Doc, incredibly entertaining! LOL
The families that were there and ready to add someone to their family, seemed very committed to their beliefs. I know some wives were still getting used to the idea of ‘sharing’ their husbands... I don't blame them, not an easy task. But most were very passionate about their beliefs and commitment to living a HAPPY plural life. I'm sure I could meet a family anywhere if I look hard enough, but my focus is on the members of Biblical Families. I know there's very good people here.
The fellowship was so uplifting to me. I was touched to see that polygamy was not the priority there, God was. I was inspired and revived. An hour into it, I felt regret for not bringing my children, they would have loved running around with all of those beautiful kids. Amy took such wonderful interest in spending time with the kids outside and showing them the wonderful creatures God has made for them! I have spread the word about Biblical Families to everyone I know in the plural marriage community. Yes, online forums may not be for everyone, but the fellowship is present in every post.
So I'm returning in July, with my children, because of the quality of people! I had a fantastic time and I know my children will make some wonderful friendships (and me too), that I hope they will cultivate for a long time to come!”
I don’t think we could add anything more to that. If you are desiring to come, but finances are an issue, please write us – we have a small ‘scholarship fund’ available to help some who might not be able otherwise, to make it to this retreat. Everyone else, if you’d like to help grow this fund, you may send a gift by paypal – we don’t want anyone to not be able to participate because of finances.
There is adequate accommodations, not unlimited, at our location - and we may be approaching ‘full’ for this retreat; plan on getting your reservations made this month! See you there!
Biblical Families Radio is on a weekly roll, every Sunday night at 8pm EDT, 5pm PDT. Tonight (5/2/2010) it’s our 2nd Ladies Night, ladies be sure to call in and participate! Next week (5/9/2010) it’ll be time for “something completely different” – no, not a Monty Python sketch, but an extemporaneous radio drama featuring the ‘Defense of Lee Walters’. Lee, of course, recognizes the Biblical acceptability of plural marriage, and we’ll see how that works out for him. If you haven’t listened to all the past shows, they are available online, including the last 3 weeks episodes on Plural Marriage and Singles, the Left Foot of Fellowship, and Sharing your Beliefs.
Hello, friends! – welcome to May, and finally some real warmth, at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere, which is certainly not all of us: we’ve had quite a number of signups recently from distant locations. In fact, non-USA signups have been significant enough that we’ve just started to keep some separate member lists for certain countries and areas, specifically: Canada, UK, Australia, the Philippines, and Latin America. The hope is to eventually provide opportunities for those folks to meet and fellowship, online and perhaps in person. If you are from outside the US, and want to be sure you are added to the appropriate list, drop us a note with your email address, and the country you are in. If you would be interested in participating in a country-specific forum, or even hosting a meetup, let us know that also. Just email: staff@biblicalfamilies.org Onward to some time-critical information:
The important news for this month is our upcoming North Carolina mountain retreat and it’s new date of July 2nd-4th. We made this change after consulting with folks by email and in the forums, the holiday weekend seemed to work for most – and we apologize to those who it causes a problem for. But we didn’t have much choice, we had not found a suitable location for the 9-11th, but we have reserved what will be a GREAT location for us over the holiday weekend. We have hotel-style rooms, dormitory-style rooms, and family cabins available, with a community kitchen/dining-room setting, and a separate large meeting hall, at very reasonable rates. There are hiking trails, waterfalls, and more on the property – and it will be easy to have some special activities for the children (I know I’ll be taking them for a hike when I’ve had too much adult interaction! – Nathan). This will be a great time of fellowshipping, encouraging, and relaxing in the mountains (north of Asheville a bit), and we have already heard from many who are planning on making this retreat. If you can get away, don’t miss it. We don’t post details here or online, you need to drop us a note at: retreats@biblicalfamilies.org Do it now, if you are at all interested – the information email will go out in a few days, and the date is just 9 weeks away! If you are uncertain if you can make it at this point, but are interested, just let us know that, too.
A special note for single ladies regarding the July retreat: There has been a lot of talk lately, on our forums, on the radio show, about the best way to meet a suitable Godly man or family. We want to state clearly: we believe Biblical Families retreats are one of the best environments to meet a number of families - no pressure, no perceived obligations, and a very safe setting, with many other ladies to spend time with and give you the type of honest observations that can be lacking in online relationships with no outside input. If you are serious about Christian plural marriage, you owe it to yourself to consider coming to this retreat. But don’t take our word for it, here’s some feedback we received from a single mom who attended the New Year’s retreat (we’ve asked permission to share what was a private note):
“I was a pile of nerves going to the retreat. I was not sure what I was going to encounter in that meeting room, I thought all I was going to see was a bunch of prairie dresses, even though that is not the sense I got from the forum. I had an idea what type of people everyone is online, but meeting that many people in person... that's hard! I have to say, all of my fears were released the second I walked in. Every single person there made me feel like I was the most important guest there. Everyone was so welcoming, I could not believe I spent so much energy worried about the kind of people that would be there. Cindy and Cecil are true angels on earth. Julie has the softest and kindest demeanor about her and was so sweet to me. Nathan and Doc, incredibly entertaining! LOL
The families that were there and ready to add someone to their family, seemed very committed to their beliefs. I know some wives were still getting used to the idea of ‘sharing’ their husbands... I don't blame them, not an easy task. But most were very passionate about their beliefs and commitment to living a HAPPY plural life. I'm sure I could meet a family anywhere if I look hard enough, but my focus is on the members of Biblical Families. I know there's very good people here.
The fellowship was so uplifting to me. I was touched to see that polygamy was not the priority there, God was. I was inspired and revived. An hour into it, I felt regret for not bringing my children, they would have loved running around with all of those beautiful kids. Amy took such wonderful interest in spending time with the kids outside and showing them the wonderful creatures God has made for them! I have spread the word about Biblical Families to everyone I know in the plural marriage community. Yes, online forums may not be for everyone, but the fellowship is present in every post.
So I'm returning in July, with my children, because of the quality of people! I had a fantastic time and I know my children will make some wonderful friendships (and me too), that I hope they will cultivate for a long time to come!”
I don’t think we could add anything more to that. If you are desiring to come, but finances are an issue, please write us – we have a small ‘scholarship fund’ available to help some who might not be able otherwise, to make it to this retreat. Everyone else, if you’d like to help grow this fund, you may send a gift by paypal – we don’t want anyone to not be able to participate because of finances.
There is adequate accommodations, not unlimited, at our location - and we may be approaching ‘full’ for this retreat; plan on getting your reservations made this month! See you there!
Biblical Families Radio is on a weekly roll, every Sunday night at 8pm EDT, 5pm PDT. Tonight (5/2/2010) it’s our 2nd Ladies Night, ladies be sure to call in and participate! Next week (5/9/2010) it’ll be time for “something completely different” – no, not a Monty Python sketch, but an extemporaneous radio drama featuring the ‘Defense of Lee Walters’. Lee, of course, recognizes the Biblical acceptability of plural marriage, and we’ll see how that works out for him. If you haven’t listened to all the past shows, they are available online, including the last 3 weeks episodes on Plural Marriage and Singles, the Left Foot of Fellowship, and Sharing your Beliefs.