Windsor, CA, USA Retreat - June 16 - 20, 2013

[rev.tim]

Hello fellow members of the Divine Love Movement. Here are a few memories and my report on our recent DL Retreat:

Wow! What a blessed time we all had at the Windsor, CA, Divine Love Retreat! Four full days of praying, Divine Love music and singing, conversation, and sharing our Love and hugs with each other, not to mention lovingly prepared lunches and dinners.
First time retreat go-ers Marga McCrady and Joseph Babinsky were a delight to be around, and we all enjoyed sharing their amazement. Special guests Eric Crumley and partner Shona, and Cliff DeDora, joined us for the opening Sunday morning prayer circle AND a demand performance of “The Truths Brothers” with the Divine Love Choir. Eric and Tim on acoustic and electric guitar and bass with Cliff on percussion brought down the house with their Love songs, rock, and gospel music! Yeah!
Michael Foley and Mary Foley (Tim’s brother and sister) were with us for the morning prayer circle and field trip to the town of Sonoma. And our younger sister in Christ, Jessica, and her dear daughter, Savanah, blessed us with their presence and happiness on opening day, Sunday, as well.
Each prayer circle was preceded by a hymn—either from “Songs of the Soul” hymnal or from Carolyn and Michael’s songbook. We all enjoyed the soulful singing before each prayer. And each prayer-meditation ended with singing, as well, to share the joy and blessings and Divine Energy we all had just received. The singing made it extra special for me and everyone else in attendance.
We went on three wonderful and invigorating field trips, each enhanced by scenic drives along the way.
First was to Armstrong Redwoods Park near Guerneville. After a stop at Subway (!) for healthy choice sandwiches, we enjoyed a picnic-table lunch and then were totally awed as we trail-hiked through the majestic coastal redwood forest, stopping for a photo shoot with the 310 foot tall Col. Armstrong tree—1,500 years of age and such a monument to God’s Greatness. A minute or two further along the trail we met a happy father and his 3 day-old daughter, peacefully sleeping among the giant trees on her daddy’s shoulder. Did I mention the awesome scenic drive to and from?
Tuesday it was off to the historic town of Sonoma. After a stop at Vella Cheese, where we sampled house made cheese in the 1902 stone building that houses the naturally cool air retail store, we drove to the scenic picnic area of Bartholomew Winery for lunch with a view of the rolling hills, massive oak trees and vineyards. Then it was back to the town square and the 1923 Mission San Francisco Solano, where we had a mid-day prayer circle in the cool temps of the chapel there, holding hands and listening to the piped-in choir music. We visited two awe-inspiring art galleries, and then drove back through gorgeous Valley of the Moon.
Wednesday we headed for the coast after yet another awesome prayer circle. We again drove the wonderful, scenic River Road, Hwy. 116, past Guerneville and then to the Pacific Ocean and Goat Rock Beach. Wow! What a sight!! Joseph was determined to “wade in the water” and some of us joined him while watching two cold water surfers, rock hunting, and just letting our visions expand at the never-ending sight of it all. A late picnic-table lunch on the shore of the Bodega Harbor preceded yet another scenic drive back to retreat HQ.
What can I say? It was an “awesome” retreat—the prayer circles and channeled messages especially! We were told by spirit Bernadette (St. Bernadette?), “The great abundant out-pouring of Divine Love some of you were asking for? It’s here now!” And wow! Did we feel It!! Beyond description…so I won’t attempt one. We were also told that, “If you could see the difference in your souls’ condition—the shining light of your souls—between when you first arrived and now, three days later, you would be amazed!”
We are all so lucky to have found Divine Love and to have a Divine Love Community of blessed souls to spend time with, to share, to enjoy not just the Love but the knowing that we are all together in the Love and one with the Father each and all of us and all of us together.

brother Tim
Group Leader, Sonoma Divine Love Prayer Circle
06/13

[Geoff]

Dear Tim,

What a great time you had! Not unexpected of course, and thank you for the wonderful feedback, it's always great to read of these,

Hugs
Geoff

[Joseph]

Dear Tim,

Thanks for the great report! And so positive and uplifting!

You don't know this but you were one of my "hero's" during the Retreat. Except for the one nearly sleepless nights that you had, and a bit groggy the next morning, nearly every day you had the biggest smile for everyone. During prayer circle you always appeared totally "with it." At times I would get restless, sometimes not feeling the presence of love, yet, when I looked over at you you appeared at peace and enjoying the presence of God's love. This encouraged me to begin again and it usually worked. To me you were a tower of strength and your willingness to stay "in the spirit" always helped me. I guess I "watched" you more than I should have, yet for a newbie to Divine Love gatherings you were my main source of help for staying focused on the Presence of Love.

Thank again for the report. I hope to see you again soon Rev. Tim!! And when you next see your brother Michael and your sister Mary please greet them for me. And keep strumming on the guitar and writing songs! I enjoyed your music and singing. And also greet Eric and Cliff for me, please.

With much love and a hug,

Joseph

PS Thanks for the book and the inscription inside. I haven't started to read it yet but I promise that I will.

[michael]

Aloha Tim,
Thanks for the awesome summary! You and Joan did a great job organizing the event and many thanks to Holly for providing the condos!
The prayer groups were wonderful and I really felt a strong connection with our Heavenly Father. The Celestial messages were inspiring and uplifting and will hopefully be released soon. It was refreshing to see that everyone's attention was on our relationship with our Heavenly Father and moving forward as brothers and sisters in the Love. I had some wonderful spiritual experiences that keep me wondering what will be next. I believe we all have much to look forward to in the coming years. It seems that the Celestials have been working overtime with us all. Historical walls and boundaries are coming down and the love abounds. Souls who have known about the Love for many years are coming back in search of fellowship and recognizing the extraordinary gift of God's Divine Love, like Jessica and her daughter Savannah. Victor Summers even came through with a message of encouragement. It seems that we are entering a new dawn where we all work and pray together regardless of our past affiliations.
I wanted to mention that Dr. Dave Lampron received a well-deserved award and recognition for his many long years in disseminating the Father's Truths. He has been and continues to be a wonderful example in the Love.
I look forward to future retreats and hope to attend next years retreat on the east coast. I'm sure the retreat in England will be wonderful and will introduce the Truths to many new souls, both on earth and in the spirit world.
Blessings and love,
Michael (Nedbal)

P.S. Good to hear that you are back in the groove Joseph. Perhaps you had a healing and a release from your time in the water

[Terry Adler]

This is my first opportunity to read about the Windsor gathering, and I am thankful to all who posted about the event for a glimpse of what a loving, nurturing time it was! It brings me happiness vicariously to imagine the singing, the prayers, the honoring of dear David Lampron, and of one another in the time you spent together! I hope to meet you at the Retreat in Washington in 2014. With thanks, and love, Terry xxxooo

[Marga M.]

Thank you, Tim, so much for that beautiful positive overview of the Divine Love Retreat. Because this was my first, it really made an impact on me so much so that 98% of my drive home was praising and thanking God for the wonderful inflowing of His Divine Love while we were praying as a group. I could literally feel how tangible that in-filling was.

Wonderful, life affirming, empowering are only a few adjectives that would described how I felt. Tears welled up in my eyes, and ran down my face, along with getting spiritual jolts of power, as I recalled finally being able to praise and thank God in an assembling of Divine Love Followers for the first time. Don't know IF you were able to actually feel the power that was showered down as the praises went up. And it was recalling these memories again and again (in my head) while I was doing the over 7 hr. drive home that helped me arrived home with only few short times. I was like so high on the Divine Love of God!

Nevertheless, I do owe you all an apologize for being so loud and passionate when it appeared that the majority of you preferred the quietness of silent prayers while experiencing the power that comes from collective soul longings going out to the Father. But when I truly love somebody, it is hard not to say it out loud so that the whole wide world knows it. I love, love, love, love our Heavenly Father, and our big brother, Jesus of Nazareth. Add the fact that, we could tangibly feel the presence of the Lord in the room. It's hard not to embrace and revel in it. I was also grateful to have been able to have come into this knowledge and acceptance of the Divine Love on this side -- and fellowshipping with like minded believers.

Thank you, Joan, Tim, and Holly so very much for inviting me. It was such an unique experience: The group prayer sessions, Holly's beautiful timeshare, the food, and, of course, meeting all of you long time Divine Love Followers. Not to meniton the site seeing and finally having the opportunity to finally meet Rev. Tim Foley. We both have been members of FCNB for years, but had never met in person. It was great to also meet the two David's, two Michaels, Carolyn, the majestic and regal Joseph Babinsky, Mary Foley, Chris and Clint. Last, be not least, it was a unique experience to hear channeled messages through Carolyn.

BTW: Hope you can forgive me for being so pentecostal in a Catholic setting. Something like a bull in a China shop!

Luv and hugs,

Your sister in Christ, Marga

[Sandy]

Hi Marga,

it is very nice to meet you on the forum. You are just expressing what I am so excited about these days ... a joy in various outer expressions or forms of prayers which on a soul level reach out to the Father alike.

At another Divine Love retreat I once met a lovely lady who expressed her deep love for God in solemn dancing. Oh, and there are so many artists among us who touch my heart deeply with their various arts.

Feeling most attracted to the quieter expressions myself (with candles, incense, spiritual background music etc.), it would be kind of monotonous to ONLY pray in that setting, wouldn`t it? Plus it would not give me very many chances to turn to God at work or in the city or in nature, right?

I also love loud joyous praise & worship music & dancing ... but naturally this is only an option when my below- and next door neighbors are not at home.

When I first started to read Padgett, I put my old traditional prayer books and rosary away with a teenage feeling of disgust (and, I need to admit it here, superiority) for all kinds of formality in my praying ... only to revive their use a dozen years later, adapting their wording to my beliefs in Divine Love.

When my buddy comes to visit me, he often takes me to chant concerts and yoga, and yes, I find much Love there.

When my new vintage style rug was in the mail my coworker was joking around whether I intended to convert to Islam getting myself a prayer rug. Noooo. But that didn`t keep me from standing on it and bowing down in deep respect towards Mecca which accidentally is the same direction as my little balcony from my living room where the rug found its place.

There`s a philosopher and musician in the Rhein-Main area, Danny Bober, who I greatly admire for his genuine love for God and devoted work for interfaith relations ... each year he closes an open air interfaith prayer service singing and playing the most beautiful Heveno Shalom you can possibly imagine - with the whole audience singing and clapping their hands along. This is simply magical!

I have added "prayer triggers" to my daily life such as a ring with the saying "God is Love" on my finger, memo stickers and framed postcards with inspirational words at various places around the house that remind me for short seconds here and there to reconnect.

And to combine the spiritual with the mundane, I meditate/pray whenever I am cleaning the dishes or ironing clothes, whenever I am on one of my walks or on cycling tours, whenever I am with family and friends, whenever I open my bedroom window in the morning getting a little peak of a view of the skyline of Frankfurt in the far distance and whenever I close it at night and the lights of the city catch my eyes again.

A slightly adapted translation of the Prayer for Divine Love has become my constant companion even though unlike so many of you I could never memorize it completely. (Any suggestions to learn anybody?)

The Padgett Messages as well as reading in other spiritual books are sure "prayer triggers", and whenever we dare to read out aloud, surely there is a soul or two around listening.

And I am so very excited to see the churches and groups of the Divine Love momevent to get in touch and to share and to pray to the Father in as many different voices and forms as there are souls of us here. What can I do but say out loud ... HALLELUJAH!!

With sisterly love, Sandy

P.S.: "See" you later at another prayer session .......

[brother dave k.]

Sandy, so very good to hear from you. Thank you for sharing your experience(s) and practices. They are a good reminder for us all. i'm pleasantly surprised to find such a long post from you, as it seems that your habit in the past has been brevity.

much love to you sister,

dave k.

[rev.tim]

Hello Sandy,
Dear it was so nice to find your reply to our experiences at the Windsor Retreat. A lot to read over and respond to, but for now I'll just add a couple reactions:
Marga's out loud expression of the joy she felt during one of the prayer sessions was truly amazing and deeply felt by many of us there. It was for REAL!..like a waterfall flooding the room. Good to know that you can relate to those kinds of expressions.

Good to know that music, dance, and other art forms have touched your soul, Sandy. It was a joy to see the expressions on the faces during our Divine Love music show at the retreat. I'm smiling just remembering it. Do you listen to gospel music? I mean when the words don't get in the way? Here's a link to a live performance of "Move Upstairs" with its powerful choir and lyrics that are right on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDzQoHAPZ6E

Never called them "prayer triggers" (I like that!) but to do have those in different rooms of my house, as well--one from American Airlines with a big heart, saying, "Feel the Luv"
= )

Thanks again for your great posting and sharing. God Divine Love you!
Rev. Tim

[Terry Adler]

Dear Sandy,

I love what you have written, and I love the openness you have to the diverse ways humans have of expressing their soul longings and love for the Creator! You recognize in each form of expression, the true intent of the soul to connect with its Source. And I see in the examples you give of your "prayer triggers" so many similarities with my daily practices to keep connected, and when I lose focus, to re-connect to the ocean of Love that we swim in but too often are blind to. No wonder I am drawn to you!

I am increasingly aware of the role our cultural conditioning plays in the way we relate to our Creator. For example, the language used in the Padgett messages sounds very Christian to my Jewish ears, though that doesn't prevent my soul from recognizing their truth. I think because I grew up as part of a minority culture, and during my adulthood worked closely with the indigenous people and other marginalized groups here in Canada, I became conscious of how our upbringing shapes our world view and how we tend to view it as the "right" or "only" one, whereas there are muliple worldviews, with diverse ways of relating to and expressing yearning for our Creator. I truly believe our Creator welcomes each one; after all, we were created unique, and out of our uniqueness, we in turn created unique ways of living.

The unifying element is the truth of the Love and our free will choice to seek it. I imagine our Creator is delighted at the many ways His/Her children express themselves in relationship to Him/Her!

Each Retreat will be singular and special since it is a gathering of unique individuals. Those who work with groups know that each group has its own "personality", the collective expression of the contributions of its members. The Windsor Retreat sounds like a delight, shaped by the talents and cultures of those who attended, I am grateful for these glimpses of it and for the discussion generated, and I hope to have the blessing of attending as many future Retreats as possible. It is evident that each one "gifts" those who participate in wonderful, unique ways.

With love,
Terry xxxooo