In the Agradecida (Thankful) retreat theme, you’ll find thoughts, ideas, recommended scriptures, activities, songs, and more which will help you learn to feel gratitude no matter your life circumstances.
Feel free to use the ideas you need and leave the rest…or use them all. As always, if you have ideas to add, please comment in the comment section below the post or send an email to julie (at) lovingchristministries (dot) com.
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT NARRATIVE
The process of how we each demonstrate and feel thankfulness has many variables especially since we come from varying backgrounds and cultures.
The environment in which we grow up, whether from the same town or from a different country, impacts our level of gratitude. Comparison of what others have that you do not can hinder your ability to be fully grateful for your circumstances.
Contentment is a quiet and subtle way to feel thankful. As 1 Timothy 6:6-7 states, “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
Let us focus on the meaning of contentment as a way of being thankful in our lives.
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT SCRIPTURES
Philippians 4:12-13 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
1 Timothy 6:6-7 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Proverbs 14:30 A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT ICEBREAKERS
Marooned
Break into groups. Imagine that you and your group have been marooned on an island.
Decide together upon 5 items you would have brought with you if you’d known you were going to be stranded.
You will have 5 minutes to decide what your items will be. Write them down on the paper provided.
When 5 minutes is up, you will all share your answers.
52 Card ‘Pick’ Up
Prior to the retreat, create a list of questions/actions that will be fun for the ladies. Some ideas are: ‘show us your best dance move’, ‘where are you from?’, ‘tell us your name backwards,’ etc. Let your imagination go wild in creating your list.
Then individually tape each question/activity on the number side of a card.
At the retreat, let the ladies take turns picking a card from the deck and answering/doing what it says.
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT ACTIVITIES
Garden Stones
Paint large stones which can be placed on display or in a garden when finished.
Common words to paint on the stones are hope, faith, or love. However, let the ladies decide what means the most to them.
They might want to paint what they’re thankful for, or they could paint their favorite verse.
20 Purposeful Activities Shared by Women’s Ministry Leaders
In the post 20 Activity Ideas, you’ll find many activities shared with me by women’s ministry leaders throughout the United States. You’re bound to find one or more you’ll love to use!
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Do you feel you are content with your life? Does being content mean you can’t strive for more?
- How does the way you grew up impact the level of gratitude you have?
- Are you prone to comparing yourself to others and wishing you had what they have? What can you do each day to focus on being more thankful for your life?
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT CRAFTS
Plaster Gauze Masks
Check out this activity of creating masks from your own faces. It will be symbolic of being thankful that God created unique features for each of us!
Beautifully Broken Things
This unique craft from A Loving Christ signifies being thankful for our lives even with the challenges we face.
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT SONG SUGGESTIONS
Exalted One – by Elevated Worship (listen to it on YouTube HERE)
10,000 Reasons – by Matt Redman (listen to it on YouTube HERE)
Satisfied – by Chris Tomlin (listen to it on YouTube HERE)
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT DOOR PRIZE IDEAS
The 90 Day Contentment Journal
Be Still and Know Scripture Necklace
Grateful, Thankful, Blessed Magnet
AGRADECIDA – THANKFUL RETREAT CLOSING PRAYER:
Dear Lord, we are so appreciative that we had this opportunity to get together to remember how thankful we are for your blessings. Being able to share our experiences coming from different places physically as well as emotionally and culturally provides new ways for us to understand things that we’ve always seen in the same way in the past.
It’s always important to remember that you made each of us to be unique. And with that, comparing our lives is like comparing an apple to an orange. It serves no purpose. It only brings about unhappiness and discontentment. Let us take the things we experienced here and use that to live our own unique life to the fullest and continue to praise you for your blessings. Amen.
Looking for more Thanksgiving theme ideas?
Enter His Gates with Thanksgiving
101 Retreat Theme Ideas for Christian Women
Want to remember this? Post this Agradecida – Thankful Retreat Theme to your favorite Pinterest board!
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