Hopetown Highlights - Retreat #4

“One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 3:13-14

Our 9th and 10th grade retreat sure was a special one. We discovered the “Hopetown Way”, celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, completed a 6 mile bike ride, and practiced a lot of gratitude and worship.

We began the week learning about the “Camino Way” and what we thought the “Hopetown Way” was. Ultimately, the Hopetown way is remembering that we all affect one another, creating a safe space, and contributing to the authentic community we find here. It was a great foundation to lay as we kicked off our week.

The next day, we read Philippians 3 and talked about how we all have things from the past we want to forget about or leave behind, but often we can find ourselves stuck because of those things. God doesn’t want us to be stagnant, but rather he helps us move onwards and upwards!

Some of the things that keep us from moving forward are:

• Comparison

• Holding grudges

• shame

• Fear

• Misplacing our value

• Rejection

• Past words

• or events that hurt us

The group of campers were incredibly honest and aware when sharing what they want to leave behind in order to move forward. We spent lots of time in small groups getting to dive deeper into what strongholds exist in our lives that we need God’s help to let go of.

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ.”

Then we got to talk more about what is holding us back and what we want to throw away. To make it more tangible, we got to write out what we wanted to throw in the garbage on a piece of paper and throw it in the actual dumpster at Hopetown. It was such a relief to be both literally and metaphorically rid of those things that can keep us from going onward.

The next morning was very unique and was quite a reflection of the way the Spirit moves at Hopetown. We sat down for meeting and Melissa asked the group, “Who is Jesus to you?” Each person in the group was personally asked who Jesus was to them and it was so special to get to hear each person’s answer. Some of the responses were:

• Our Savior

• God in human form

• He took my debt

• My comforter

• The only constant

• My brother

• My best friend

• The best listener

It would be such a neat question to ask your family and get to hear everyone’s perspective of Jesus.

Towards the end of the week, each camper got a backpack with their name on it. We got to discuss what we wanted to take out of our backpacks and what we wanted to carry with us. After that, we got to have our time called “The Chair” where each camper got to sit in Melissa’s chair and ask the group, “What’s something you want me to take home in my backpack?”

Then they got to choose three friends to specifically encourage them. It was a really uplifting way to round out the week.

Hopetown Highlights - Retreat #3

All Boys week began this week with a full capacity in the bunk house. Many of the guys were returning campers while there were at least 6 new campers.

After arrival, greeting old friends and making new ones on Monday, the group ventured into Murray for dinner. After dinner, we returned to Hopetown and watched the documentary about the 1936 rowing team called the Boys of ’36.

This set the theme of our time together for the rest of the week. The theme unfolded as the guys met and discussed what it looked like to be a competitor or a companion. They reached deeply into the concept of TRUST - trusting in their own healthy community and companions and in the One who is ultimately trustworthy: Jesus Christ.

They discussed what “need vs. want” looks like, bearing one another’s burden, crafted a paddle as an object lesson for the week, learned how to face the thought of scarcity, and how to answer the voice that says “I am not enough”.

As Melissa finished teaching one session on Luke 5, we all ventured onto the deck where two paddle canoes were sitting. Melissa offered the invitation asking the guys “if Jesus invites you into the deep water, who will say yes?”

One by one, they all contemplated the call to say YES - I will go and be a servant wherever HE calls them. The thought of being a “strong and humble servant” under-girded the week as well as one teaching time concluded all of these concepts are met in the One who said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many”.

In Loving Memory of Edgar Arnold

Edgar Arnold poured into Daystar in a way that will forever impact hurting children in Nashville. Daystar is honored to receive gifts in his memory. Click here to do so and be sure to write his name in the “In Memory Of” box.

Learn more about Arnold by reading his obituary below.

Edgar F Arnold peacefully entered into the presence of the Lord on June 29, 2024. Edgar is predeceased by father Edgar F Arnold Sr. and mother Sara Nerissa Coleman. He is also predeceased by a beloved aunt and uncle, Carlos and Harriet Arnold Lively and granddaughter Rebekah Lindsay Ware.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Darla Sims Arnold, daughters Ellen Arnold Ware of San Diego CA, Martha Arnold Oman (John) of Nashville, TN, and Elizabeth Harriet Arnold of Nashville TN.

He is also survived by granddaughters, Catherine Oman Hendrick (Paul) Boca Raton, FL, Christine Ware Lott (Brian) Nashville, TN and Elizabeth Oman Jasarevski (Mirza) Brentwood, TN. His family is grateful that Edgar was able to know his four great grandchildren, Elizabeth Theodora Hendrick, James Henry Jasarevski, Benjamin Allen Jasarevski, and Matthew Oman Jasarevski, to whom he was affectionately known as "Eggie". Also surviving are sisters, Nicky Hamm and Lynn Airheart of Wilmington NC.

Edgar grew up in Atlanta and then moved to Oak Ridge, TN where he graduated from high school in 1955. He then attended the University of Tennessee where he was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and captain of the UT tennis team. After graduating from UT, Edgar received a master's degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh. He served in the army for two years before moving to Nashville where he spent the next 50 years in the brokerage/investment business.

Edgar was a devoted servant of Christ, a great encourager, and gentle soul who loved people well. He had a great wit and keen sense of humor and could tell a story at any given moment. He loved sports of every kind, sports trivia, SEC basketball, and could recall scores and statistics at any given moment. He was always interested in those around him, and the sports that they had played and in the sports that their children and grandchildren were involved in. But his greatest joy was teaching the scriptures throughout the years in various bible studies whether at church, home, or the workplace and the long-lasting relationships that developed.

After suffering a stroke in 2018, Edgar was asked to lead the weekly devotional time at NHC The Trace where he was a patient for almost 6 years. He was also visited weekly by lifelong friends for a Friday morning men's Bible study for which the family is very grateful. The family also wishes to express their deepest gratitude to the devoted friends and staff from The Village Chapel who called and visited weekly as well as all those from NHC-Trace who loved and cared for Edgar so well.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, July 12 at 1:00 pm at The Village Chapel, Nashville, TN, followed by a reception at the church. The family would ask that any donations made in Edgar's memory would kindly be made to one of the following ministries: The Village Chapel, PO Box 121954, 2021 21st Ave S, Nashville, TN 37212, Daystar Counseling Ministries, 2801 Azalea PL, Nashville TN 37204 or Community Bible Study, 790 Stout Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80921.

Hopetown Highlights - Retreat #2

“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.” - Romans 12:1-2 MSG

This week, we got to host an incredible group of middle school girls for our All Girls Retreat. We had a tea party, worshipped authentically and sincerely, relaxed at the “spa”, played on the lake, and enjoyed being together a whole lot. It was a really sweet and delightful time full of joy.

We started off the retreat diving into the themes we saw in the movie we watched: Inside Out 2. It was such a great conversation starter and was so applicable to all of us, but especially middle school girls. We got to discuss how we all have a lot of conflicting thoughts and feelings like joy and anxiety. However, we want to be anchored in truth when our emotions are a swirling mess.

Melissa asked the girls what one truth was that they wanted to hold onto throughout the week. They got to have a lot of small group time to discuss their emotions and how God’s truth speaks into all those spaces. They had some really insightful truth to share in our meetings:

• “God wants to hear from me, and He wants me to hear from Him.”

• “Jesus loves me, and I am never alone.”

• “I can talk with Him anytime.”

• “He can help me not to be jealous.”

• “He won’t be shaken or abandon me.”

• “My emotions are normal and I don’t need to feel bad for feeling them.”

• “God has a path for me even when I can’t see it.”

Then we read Romans 12 in the Message and were reminded of how God’s truth changes us from the... inside out!

Throughout the week, we spent a lot of time in small groups discussing Romans 12. We got to practice giving our lives to God by writing our names on rocks and bringing them to the foot of the cross we have in our prayer garden at Hopetown. Each camper also got to write their burdens on a rock and place them at the foot of the cross. We learned to recognize that we need Jesus to help us carry our worries, fears, doubts, and hurts.

After bringing our burdens to God, we talked a lot about joy. In the movie, Riley calls joy, and joy comes. We, too, can call on joy through all kinds of things like worship, prayer, gratitude, or giving to others. We practiced all those this week in many different ways, like singing worship songs at the end of each day or giving beads to each other to symbolize qualities we admire in one another!

On our last day of camp, each girl got a new backpack full of reminders of their identity in Christ. While we placed our burdens down, we got to carry packs full of the truth of who we are in Him! We even got to give Christmas gifts to one another as a reminder of the Joy to the World that Christ is. And, we got to read scriptures about what Christ-like joy looks like:

• “For the joy of the Lord is your strength.” - Nehemiah 8:10

• “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.” - John 17:13

• “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” - Romans 12:12

It was an incredibly warm-hearted week full of unity and depth. It’s so refreshing to see a group of middle school girls be so kind and sincere with one another, and we feel very grateful to get to witness their authentic joy. God used them to teach us all so much!

Hopetown Highlights - Retreat #1

“Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.”

“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

- James 4:8 The Message/NIV

Our first retreat of the summer is always so special, and this week we got to have a remarkable group of high schoolers and recent graduates. They entered Hopetown ready to receive God’s word and eager to give encouragement and support to one another.

As many of you know, Melissa recently returned from a 200-mile walk on the Camino de Santiago. We heard some incredible stories and insights from her pilgrimage through Portugal and Spain. We started off the week learning about how sometimes Melissa was so tired and worn out after a day of walking, all she could pray was, “Yes.” Then we turned to James 4:8 and learned how we all can learn to say a quiet yes to God.

Then, Melissa told us the story of a time she got lost on the Camino. We can all get lost sometimes, but we learned this week that we need to know where we are to get to where we are going. Saying yes to God means choosing Him and being honest about where we are with Him. He honors our yes because He is faithful! Eugene Peterson wrote this prayer that we prayed over our week:

“God, give us the eyes to see the wideness of your world, shimmering with beauty and holiness.
Stimulate our imaginations, infusing us with courage and hope. Surround us with friendship.
Plant us as seeds of resurrection.
Amen.”

Saying yes, having faith, often goes hand in hand with imagination. It was a beautiful way to start off our week and would be an incredible prayer for your family to pray together!

Next, we talked about what saying a quiet yes really looks like. It can be different for every person but some of the ways we discussed saying yes were:

• Believing He is real.

• Trusting what He says is true.

• Believing my identity is in God alone.

• Trusting Him even when I don’t understand His ways.

• Desiring to love others more than myself.

• Trusting His will for my life instead of asserting my own.

• Believing the cross covers my guilt and shame with grace and forgiveness.

And so many more beautiful ways we can say yes to God. What does your quiet yes look like today?

The next morning, we returned to James 4. We talked about how sometimes we think we have to have it all together or be in control before we say yes to God, or we feel overwhelmed or put more faith in our fears than in God. Often, things in our past can make it really hard to trust God or people.

In Judges 6, we saw how Gideon questioned God in the same way so many of us do: “If God is with us, why has all of this happened to us?” We were reminded that it doesn’t matter where we are in our faith, we are just called to go out in the strength God has already put within us.

Melissa showed us the many different types of shoes she considered wearing on the Camino. We learned that God calls us to put on our shoes, get ready for our pilgrimage, and trust in Him.

Paul reassures us in 2 Corinthians 1, “Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.”

To end the week, we got to feel how heavy the backpack was that Melissa carried with her on the Camino. We all carry around a backpack of burdens such as doubts, shame, fears, and pain. In Galatians 6, we are called to carry our own burdens and help carry each others’ burdens.

Each camper got a turn to help carry each other’s burdens and unload some of their own. They got to sit in Melissa’s armchair and ask, “Will you help lighten my load?” Then they could choose three people to specifically encourage them and help shoulder their burdens. It’s so life-giving to hear what people have seen in them that week.

Lastly, Melissa taught us how important it is to take our shoes off. He tells Moses and Joshua to take their shoes off when they are standing on holy ground. After a long day of walking, when we are at the end of our own strength, we can rest in Him, honor Him, and taste and see his holiness.

“Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”- James 4:10