The 14th Purpose By Design Retreat for teenage girls-Art Worship

 20 girls from Chicago, Fox Valley Christian Center and Decatur traveled to Tennessee for a weekend retreat of empowerment with the theme "I am you and You are Me." The Maker's Space provided a time of art creation and reflection. See their art!Speakers on careers, nutrition, financial literacy, resilience, fitness and art creation continued for 3 days along with free time, swimming lessons and a store to purchase donated items and practice banking.  Once again, the girls time alone with God doing art was profound.  The medium was acrylic abstract painting. the warm up exercise was to imagine the last time they met with God or the last time that they experienced peace and well-being and to paint that feeling or that place.  

The next painting on the second day, was to practice listening to God and to hear what He wanted them to paint when focusing on shapes of the concepts of hope, change and thankfulness.  At each stage of the process, there was a writing time of reflection.

This year, the art presentation was held at Beck Cultural Exchange Center, a real gallery featuring exhibitions of local artists and a museum storehouse of African American history in the Knoxville, Tennessee area. The art was amazing and spoke to them and to the leaders of the things that they were experiencing in the past, present and soon to come.  It was a very rich time of sharing, learning to speak to their peers and receive encouragement from women who love them and want to see them flourish.