Welcome back to another trip recap series! I don’t normally have this much travel/lifestyle content to post all at once, and I suspect I won’t like this for a while, but I’m grateful for all the opportunities I had this last year to explore more of the country. I hope you’ve been enjoying some of this unique content, and during this series, I’ll have more faith content to share since this trip was for a Christian retreat. There’s more good news, too: this series will only be two parts! Each post will be similar in length to my other travel posts (about 200 images/post, and I wonder why my web hosting storage is almost gone) and about 45 minutes long, SO I don’t expect you to read every word of these posts. Feel free to skim and peruse them as you’d like with whatever piques your interest. Otherwise, buckle up for the ride!

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I also figured out how to add a table of contents, so you can skip to whichever parts of the post you’re most interested in!

Table of Contents

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We flew out to Nashville Thursday evening and stayed till Sunday evening. The retreat began Friday night and continued all day Saturday. We flew out Thursday night because there wasn’t a flight that would get us to Nashville in time before the retreat started on Friday, and I wasn’t about to complain.

This retreat was officially the “Delight Leaders Regional Retreat” for our student ministry on campus. I took this trip last February during the middle of the month, so I’m about a year out from recapping it, UGH. I’ll do my best to remember every detail, but for your sake, it’s probably better if I forgot some so the posts aren’t as long!

Anyway, Delight Ministries is the name of the nondenominational student Christian ministry I was involved with during college my senior year. I haven’t mentioned Delight on my blog before, so basically, it’s a women’s ministry for young college students across the country. It was founded in Nashville at Belmont, I believe, when the two founders were in college, and it expanded to universities across the country. As such, each chapter has a regional director who flies out to visit us once per year to help the leaders in each chapter, and our leader at the time, Emma, hosted this retreat for us in Nashville, where she lived.

I am so grateful I found Delight. I was involved in another Christian organization for most of my time in college that was honestly a series of ups and downs. It eventually got to a point where I knew I needed to pursue something else, and I’ll talk about that in future posts. Delight ended up being much better suited for me, and I got the chance to become a leader! Our chapter had five leaders total including me, from our team/chapter leader, events coordinator (in charge of planning social events outside of Delight for us girls to attend together), “Delight dates” coordinator (in charge of planning little get-togethers one-on-one with girls in Delight to get to know each other better and hang out outside of Delight), service events coordinator (in charge of planning community/volunteer activities we could do as a chapter), to our book coordinator (in charge of selling our “curriculum”/Bible study books to go over every week) and worship leader (in charge of planning worship activities).

All of us talked about going to this retreat together back in the fall before Emma even finalized the details. Our team leader, Josie, hoped she’d have it in Nashville since that’s where she and Delight headquarters were located, and then we could all go together. I thought it would be awesome. When Emma texted us details, Sophia, our Delight dates coordinator, asked if we were interested in going. Unfortunately, Josie and Addie, our events coordinator, weren’t able to make it work, but Yvette, our service events coordinator, and me, responsible for book sales and worship activities, wanted to go! The three of us started texting about it more seriously then.

I didn’t know if we would end up going or not, but I was interested. Who could turn down a trip to Nashville? Plus, I figured Emma would be willing to help us with how to make it affordable. I was also blessed with a hefty financial aid refund I saved, so I had some money I could use for the trip. I’d never traveled before in college like for studying abroad, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do something like that before graduation. Sophia really wanted to go, and Yvette was serious about coming, too. We booked cheap flights with Allegiant out of Des Moines, and Sophia found us an Airbnb motel we decided on. For a while, Emma was going to see if we could stay in a house with other girls who planned on coming since this retreat was for all the chapters in her region, but the three of us decided it would be easiest and best to stay somewhere on our own since we were flying out a day earlier. I’m grateful it ended up that way because the three of us got to know each other much more, and I personally don’t like being around tons of people at once, especially when you’re trying to get to know them, because I feel like you can’t get to know that many people when there are so many.

One change about this post series from the way I’ve recapped my other trips is that usually I save the “debrief” with my lessons in faith and life for the end, but this time around, I’m going to sprinkle them throughout the posts where I learned them. That will work better for this series because I learned so much at the retreat itself, so it makes sense to share those lessons when we get to that part. It will save words at the end, too, but I will share a brief recap of everything I bought like I’ve done in previous posts.

Okay, I think that’s enough information for now. I’ll fill you in as we go. I’m really excited to recap this trip because Nashville is somewhere totally new to me, and I’m excited this series has more faith content in it. I’ve felt guilty not sharing as much of that lately, and I really do have some exciting, valuable lessons to share. Thanks for joining me again!!

Day 1: Flying to Nashville, Going Downtown & Exploring Broadway

Wednesday night, I was up late packing and stressing over my free “personal item.” I was trying to save money by not purchasing a carry-on—when you go with the cheaper airlines like Allegiant, all that stuff must be purchased separately, but I was struggling to fit it all in my school backpack. I emptied it out of everything normally there, but I planned multiple outfits for each day down to all we planned on doing. I bought a pair of cowgirl boots from Altar’d State brand new off Poshmark, a brown style with white hearts they didn’t sell anymore. Those took up so much space, and I still had to pack my Bible, beauty products, and the like. Finally, I called it and just bought the carry-on bag, and I needed to. It wasn’t that much more expensive, and I had the money to do it. I definitely needed it—you’ll see how full it still was!

We decided I’d drive everyone over to the airport the next day. I let my professors and work know I would be gone and took my time getting ready Thursday morning before heading out to pick up Yvette and Sophia, respectively, at their apartments.

You know how I always seem to struggle with something before a trip or on a trip? Well, this one wasn’t any different. Part of that is life. I’m going to sound like a broken record saying trips don’t change that or make all your problems disappear. This time around, I was going into the trip obsessive about guys. Earlier in the week, the Delight headquarters team announced a live “webinar” for Valentine’s Day for single girls, and they were also doing this live “matchmaking” portion where you could fill out a questionnaire, and they were going to have a couple single guys they knew on there, go through the applications, and match each guy with one of the girls who applied. As you can imagine, there were way more girls applying than the number of guys they had to match us with, but they started introducing the guys on their social media the week leading up to this webinar. Of course, it was taking place the night we landed in Nashville, so I planned on checking it out as soon as we landed and prayed we’d land in time.

There was this one guy in particular I thought looked like the sort of guy I’ve long been attracted to, so really, I was doing this for him. I wanted to meet this guy, especially since I figured they wouldn’t pick him as one of the guys if he wasn’t a Christian. Even then, I figured the odds of me being selected to “match” with him were pretty slim, and I was praying for God to help me not stress about it because He knows what’s best and already has the guy He wants for me, but I had nerves about it.

Then, on the drive over, we talked about things we wanted to do like checking out bars on Broadway. Full disclaimer: this post, a first of its kind, will include some drinking content, and I want to be 100% transparent with you about what I did and didn’t do with a biblical perspective on it. I tried to be prayerful about all of it. I turned 21 the first week of February, so this was going to be my first time even going to a bar. The only other time I went was for work in Okoboji as a marketing intern where I hung around our company’s bars to record content for social media. That gave me a little taste of what to expect—and I didn’t think I was missing much—but I’d still never been to a bar on my own outside of work. We were a little apprehensive bringing it up in our group chat, since after all, we’re Christians, and that’s kind of a taboo thing for us to want to do, but we wanted to check out the live music most of all and see the overall environment of that in Nashville. Sophia and Yvette were also of age and had drank before, but I never had the desire to drink.

You know what I always worried I was missing out on by not frequenting bars? The guys.

I always thought girls had to meet guys at bars and you’d get hit on. I even asked some girls I got to know the previous school year who did go out frequently if that happened, and they told me not really and that most of the guys at bars aren’t very nice or the kind you want to date. Still, I guess I wanted to see for myself, and I just didn’t understand, especially because I feel like you do hear of people my age meeting each other at parties and the like. Plus, I’d been influenced badly by the hockey players I liked over the years and all the girls they followed; it always seemed to me like the only girls that could meet hockey players were the kind who went out and that’s how they met them. It always held this allure for me, even though the reality of it was always a let-down, and I had no desire to be with a party guy.

Then, when I was talking to Sophia and Yvette, they said they had experiences at bars where guys were trying to flirt with them. I felt super anxious, like that needed to happen for me tonight, because I’ve already struggled for the longest time feeling like guys don’t give me attention or care about me.

At the Des Moines Airport

We had a good drive; the sun was shining all around us. I didn’t have any trouble navigating the airport, and we parked in the same lot Mom and I did when we went to Vegas so it cost less. We circled that lot several times before parking in the boonies! We couldn’t get close to any of the booths for the shuttles, but once we got to the booth, we didn’t have to wait long for a shuttle. And we’re off!

Meet Yvette, left, and Sophia, right! I got to know Yvette through Delight this year—she was new to the team like me—and I actually met Sophia once my first year in college when she reached out to me through social media. We hung out one time and lost touch after that. When I saw she was a leader at Delight, I thanked God for the opportunity to reconnect with her again! She’s so sweet, and we continued to get to know each other during the year.

We made it through TSA okay and started walking to find our gate. It felt weird to be here without Mom again, and I still didn’t buy that snow globe! I loved this view of the Des Moines skyscraper.

I don’t think I had lunch, so I bought some Cheetos and a sandwich that was much better than the sandwich Mom and I shared from the Minneapolis airport!

We had to wait for a while since it didn’t take long to check in. Our flight was around five. I forgot we sat by this guy who was nice and friendly and chatted with him about what he does. He works for the National Guard, and they wanted to set me up with him, and then they were trying to set him up with Josie, since we’re the only two single leaders in Delight…but then we found out he was married with a baby. I was fine with that.

Flying to Nashville

We finally got to board the plane! I was anxious to see what an Allegiant jet was like. It wasn’t too different.

When we bought tickets, we all called each other to buy them at the same time. They didn’t care where they sat, so I was blessed with the window seat there and back!! Even though it had been sunny, clouds descended on us as the sun prepared to set.

I called Mom before we left, and Yvette and Sophia were going to listen to music on Spotify. I didn’t know they could do that without data, but with the premium plan, you can download songs, which I hadn’t done before, so I hurried and tried to download as many before the plane actually took off as possible. It actually downloaded a lot of them in time! My bloated backpack was able to fit under the seat thankfully, too; I had to stuff my purse in it.

Thank God I found a pair of ancient earbuds in my purse before we took off, too!! I needed to listen to music to unwind and relax and stop thinking about guys.

We turned around to taxi down the runway. I had a beautiful view of downtown Des Moines as we took off! I’ll have to make a vlog of this trip, too. Most of the landscape looked barren and brown for winter, but the sunset was golden along the horizon.

Look below in the distance…doesn’t the smog or steam flowing into the sky look like a tornado?! That was cool to see! Don’t worry, I’m not a global warming fanatic.

We flew with the clouds for a few moments, but once we burst through them, it looked like heaven opened up!

We glided along the top of the clouds for a while like we were in a dream world cushioned by puffy pillows below with a new layer of sky above us. We couldn’t see any landscape below. The sky nearest the horizon looked so minty blue and brilliant as it blended with butter yellow.

As we got higher, the clouds below looked more like water rippling, and the wavelengths of color stretched across the sky with the clouds above. One of my new favorite Scripture Lullabies, “Plans I Have for You,” played. That was a beautiful track for this view and what I needed to remember.

Before sunset began, I looked through one of Allegiant’s magazines that featured Las Vegas hotels and content. Vegas always has a special place in my heart now! I continued listening to music while the sun cast prolific colors across the sky. I couldn’t wait to see another sunset from a plane and the city lights.

We were over Illinois here. I loved seeing whatever river this is.

Here’s another interesting sight: can you see what looks like two fires with smoke in the center below? I wonder what that is!

It almost looked like lava or something from the air.

As darkness descended, I got the perfect mix of a fading sunset with the sprinkling of city lights! I spent most of the ride with my head leaning against the window.

I find flying so relaxing. I love all the sights from the air.

We’re landing in Nashville! I have several beautiful videos of all the twinkling lights as we made our descent. At night, the terrain looks like one big bumpy ball with glittering points adorning it. You can see the downtown in the center horizon here by the glowing telephone pole! I was mesmerized, and we got there much earlier than I thought, around 6:30. We were still in the same timezone!

The bokeh…

We’re on the ground!! Josie and I texted about the webinar since we were both going to join. She had a guy she liked, too, but she didn’t apply for the matchmaking. I was ready to join as soon as we got in the airport.

At the Nashville Airport

As soon as we finally got off the plane, it was almost seven, the time of the webinar, so I joined on my phone, muted my mic, and started walking with it on. Yeah, great plan! The airport was neat and had touches unique to Nashville. My mom wanted me to take lots of pictures, and I tried, but talk about overstimulation. I was doing WAY too many things at once. I was excited to be here, though!!

Basically, I’m lagging behind Yvette and Sophia (thank God they seemed to know where they were going to get the Uber) while looking at my phone on Zoom with the Delight founders, these guys, and the hundreds of girls online. I had my video on, so I was nervous about that, too, because I’m still talking to the girls as we’re walking, and Josie is texting us in the group chat about trying to find me online and how it’s going… Thank God they were going to announce the matches first!!!

It was busy, and the airport was clean and beautiful!

I thought this guitar was a cute touch!

Getting Our Ride

We hiked to the ends of the earth to get out by the rides. We went on one of those trams and even a little bus that went between spots outside. I don’t exactly remember what it was, and I didn’t take pictures because it was SO congested with people; we were all sandwiched into each other with our luggage, and I was trying to hear the webinar. I kept putting the phone up to my ear to hear them announce the matches. They actually did my guy first, and as soon as I heard them announce a different girl, I felt the disappointment straight to my gut like I was falling. Then, when I actually looked at this girl on Zoom, she had bleach blonde hair and looked like the classic “influencer” or “sorority” type, and I remember feeling sick to my stomach about that. To be fair, this guy totally looked like a frat guy, too.

It was a judgmental reaction because I ended up finding her on Instagram later, and to her credit, she sounded sweet and godly; she didn’t post immodest pictures that I could see and was expecting like many girls who look like her do. It still hurt my feelings not being selected, and I got off the webinar as soon as I learned that—and good riddance. It certainly wasn’t the time or place for that. I tried talking to God about it through the craziness, and I was of course texting my mom every emotion that went through my mind, too. She texted me back that she had no doubt whatsoever that I’d get married, but I went through seasons like this in college where I felt uptight about it and insecure.

We waited by all these cars on this mix of asphalt like a parking garage. I’m so thankful Sophia knew what she was doing with the Uber app, including finding reputable drivers (though some of ours were still a bit questionable) and took charge of that! I’d never used it before. She directed us to the right car, and we didn’t have any issues with that. I have a story with pretty much every Uber driver we had. I probably won’t remember all of them now, but I remember our first one was a nice black man whose sister supposedly modeled for Rihanna’s lingerie brand. He was social and friendly and told us we were in a nice, richer neighborhood, which I never saw, as you’ll see, but it went well.

As we drove to our Airbnb, we had a pristine view from the interstate alongside the downtown skyscrapers. They looked magical. We also went by several high-rise apartment buildings that looked like the coolest places to live, ever, especially with how they were lit up at night. I might be moving to Des Moines soon, and we really don’t have that level of city high-rise living I’ve always wanted!

As we got closer to our motel, I began having doubts about the neighborhood. Look!! In hindsight, I still don’t think it was the nicest neighborhood—I never saw the “rich” he said we were right by, but it wasn’t a totally impoverished place, either. We were safe the whole trip, and that’s what matters, so I thank God. Sophia kept talking about how much better it was than the neighborhood she stayed in with her family when they came out the month before for HER 21st birthday trip!! I’m like girl, where did you stay then… She said it was really sketchy. I’m not huge on the Airbnb scene, but this one worked out well. I feel like a lot of times, you hear of them being in sketchier places. I’d rather pay more for the peace of mind.

Arriving at the Iris Motel in Nashville

Once we arrived at the Iris Motel, despite my reservations about the neighborhood, I thought the motel was super cute and nice! We got dropped off right in front of it, and it comes right off the interstate exit. It was two stories, and we had a room on the second floor (yay!) in the back. We wandered around a bit at first to find it, so I got this awesome shot.

I thought the clouds were pretty! This was the view from the front.

The room was adorable and clean! We had two full beds with lights behind the headboards, a TV, mini fridge, trash, and nice but tiny bathroom. At least it had a shower! There was also a bunch of storage under the TV with various shelves. I was pleased! I think I was freezing when we got there, though.

Getting Ready for Dinner and Broadway

Since it was late, we needed to find a place to get dinner, and we also wanted to check out Broadway. I couldn’t wait to try my first bar, especially in a place like Nashville, where I heard people on the plane comparing its party scene to Vegas! I thought surely I’ll find some cute guys at the bars, and I was hoping something fun and romantic like what happened a million years ago on my trip out west to Canada did when I was only 16! And since Yvette and Sophia said that happened to them before, I wanted it to happen to me.

I packed a special dress for the occasion and was excited to break out my new cowgirl boots! I also redid some of my makeup to include lipstick. The girls changed into their outfits and got ready, too. This room had great lighting! The neutral colors made for a chic, cozy room.

The beds were against the left side of the room walking in, and straight ahead was the view of the sink and shelves. The bathroom was hidden to left around the corner.

All these shelves were perfect to store our luggage, extra shoes, and dirty clothes!

Yvette took this picture of us! We had to figure out where we wanted to eat and wait for our next Uber. I sent some places to try for dinner—some hotel had this really nice restaurant with great views of the city—but we decided to try Hard Rock Café downtown near Broadway instead, probably because of its proximity. I was okay with that! I heard about Hard Rock out in Vegas with Mom, so I was excited to try it.

Driving Downtown

I don’t remember much about our next Uber driver, unfortunately. We had a lot of people from Chicago driving out here. I was so excited taking in the views again!

Eating Dinner at Hard Rock Café Downtown

It was surreal driving into the city. There were so many glimmering high-rise buildings. We got dropped off near the tail end of Broadway close to the river and lit-up bridge. This was the view across the street from Hard Rock, like this old farm building that was a bar. Basically, all the bars in Nashville are on a street called Broadway, and it’s where a lot of big country music artists have bars named after themselves. I was glad it all seemed to be in one place that was populated.

Inside Hard Rock, the lighting was muted but warm, creating a romantic, moody vibe. There were prominent guitars framed all over the walls by different artists, which was cool! Pictured below is a guitar from KISS, and the plaque features their signatures. We got seated at a small table near the middle of the floor.

There was lots of artist memorabilia framed throughout the restaurant!

Here’s some stuff from AC/DC.

I didn’t want anything crazy to eat; I felt like my classic chicken tenders, as plain as you can make them with my midwestern ranch! To be honest, I wasn’t crazy about the food. As far as chicken tenders go, these weren’t my favorite, but I think the girls liked what they got. They waited to order drinks until we got to the actual bars on Broadway. Neither of the girls were going to get drunk, but they were looking forward to having a few drinks. As a Christian, I tend to stay away from drinking, but I know it’s not a sin to drink unless one gets drunk or abuses alcohol, such as consuming it underage (Ephesians 5:18; Proverbs 20:1; Romans 14:20; Psalm 104:15). I did plan on purchasing my first legal drink sometime during the night because what better time to do it than in Nashville?

This was a cute café. We went to the bathroom here before walking farther down to Broadway.

Walking Downtown On Broadway

This was the view coming out of Hard Rock. I loved these skyscrapers! They almost look like apartment buildings. Agh, that would be so fun to live there. I was hoping to get some awesome pictures with the cityscape.

We saw these little illuminated carriages going by several times!

I had to take my winter coat with me, of course, but I left it unzipped. It was COLD! It was warmer in Nashville than it was in Iowa, but I’m pretty sure on this night, it was still in the 40s or low 50s.

This was the neat exterior of Hard Rock!

They had Broadway blocked off with tons of police surveillance, which made me feel much safer and better about exploring it, just the three of us, so late. It was around 10 p.m. when we started.

Okay, this AT&T Building is going to make an appearance about 10 million times in this post. I hope you’re laughing by the end of it with how many pictures you see of it. It’s so cool!

Right away, I asked the girls to take my picture with some of the skyscrapers in the background…

As soon as we got to the main stretch of bars, there were people everywhere, which I was thankful for, even though it was crowded. Everything was lit up well, too, and looked fun and festive.

I thought I’d be doing you all a disgrace if I didn’t share these photos of my big mouth pointing where I wanted pictures.

Welcome to Broadway!!

Here’s Luke Bryan’s bar!

Here come all the pictures of the AT&T Building!!

You don’t believe me about this building, do you?

We were going to check out Jason Aldean’s bar first. That’s the one I wanted to see above all because of its awesome rooftop and the pictures I saw people took there.

They have lots of fun merchandise we’d come back to browse, too!

Jason Aldean’s Kitchen + Rooftop Bar

Crowds huddled outside the bars, but there were several bouncers. It felt surreal and unnatural getting my ID ready. I felt like I was mentally still five, but I got in with no problem, which was a strange feeling but kind of fun. My first true bar experience accomplished!

We made our way to the back where the stage was. Of course, Jason Aldean wasn’t there, but all the music we heard was good. Yvette and Sophia bought drinks here. I wasn’t ready for one yet.

First impressions? It wasn’t like some crazy club environment. There were a decent amount of people, but there was still space to move on the dance floor in front of the bar. Most people were kind of swaying in place together. Of course, I saw this one couple right away that caught my attention: a somewhat attractive guy wearing a Nashville Predators hockey jersey with his tall, blonde girlfriend that looked like the typical Instagram girl, and they reminded me of the sort of hockey player couples I’d seen online. They were dancing together, like actually dancing, and I remember that poked at me.

The actual bar was neat to see, though. The golden center created a nice backdrop for the stage.

More people started dancing to the fun hits the band played while we were there. There were lofts from the second floor with balconies overlooking the stage. I looked up there a lot, certain I’d find a guy I thought was attractive, but you couldn’t really tell from a distance. That’s pretty much all that was on my mind, unfortunately.

The dance floor got a lot more crowded, and we stuck around to listen to some songs, which was fun. Then we made our way upstairs. I think this bar has three floors! There was classy wood and brick detailing along the stairs, and the stairs were also wood panels with golden lights underneath.

We went straight to the rooftop! It was super busy up there and claustrophobic with people coming and going and basically rubbing against each other.

The views were the best, hands down. I was in love.

We had a perfect view of the rest of Broadway.

The rooftop has an indoor and outdoor portion. Indoors, it’s truly a club environment; you’re smushed inside the crowd, and obnoxious electronic music plays. There are strobe lights and steam; it gets intense. There’s a bar behind it where all the TVs are right before the balcony, and there are numerous places to sit outside with little tables, chairs, and couches.

I had to get my city pictures!

The girls got another drink at the bar up here. I think I was too overstimulated the way it was to think about drinking, and honestly, I was disappointed because no guys were hitting on me yet, and I was trying to find one I liked, and it was consuming me. Here’s my building, though!

After that, we immersed ourselves in the club crowd near the front of the stage. They didn’t have any artists up there, but people could go and hang up on the stage. Neon lights flashed constantly, and the girls danced a little bit. I was recording all of it and trying to take it in. I ended up being even MORE disappointed because I started recording (at least, I thought I was…I had my phone out and the camera open like I was recording) while we walked back, and I thought I heard guys going by and being rowdy, but you know me, little stand-offish introvert. Yvette yelled and asked if I saw this guy who acted like he was posing and trying to be in my video as they walked by. I said no, and she said she was trying to get my attention because I guess he was trying to get mine, and she willed me to acknowledge him or say something, but I was oblivious. She said he looked like my type, too. It’s frustrating because usually I feel like I’m the person who notices everything and doesn’t get noticed in return, but this time, that wasn’t the case. I didn’t even get to see this guy who supposedly looked like my type. I thought for sure I had him on video, but when I checked, I hadn’t been recording! I was so bummed and kept thinking about it.

We hung out on the balcony again for a while and got lots of awesome pictures!

A sweet lady offered to take our picture, which was much appreciated! The flash really did wonders for the photos, too.

This is probably my favorite picture from the trip! And look! I was able to ditch my winter coat for the pictures!!

THE BUILDING IS BACK! So is my coat!

They had these glorious heaters under the roof by the bar. I spent some time here.

We moved on to another bar a little before midnight. We saw these gigantic, stereotypical, and cheesy country trucks going by… There’s an abundance of these in Iowa, too! After Jason’s bar, I was ready to go with the flow and see what else the girls thought looked interesting.

Honky Tonk Central

I think the next bar we checked out was Honky Tonk Central—it wasn’t a specific artist’s bar, but it was long and spacious with a stage up front, tables along the windows, and an equally long bar. The girls got more drinks here (it sounds like they were drinking constantly, but I think they can hold their alcohol pretty well, haha, because they didn’t get drunk). We laughed because Yvette spilled hers on our table right away!

We had an interesting encounter at this bar. Some guy dressed up as a video game character for a bachelor party sat at our table with us. He was in Sophia’s face right away, saying these weird pick-up lines I’m not going to repeat but I still remember. At this point, she was coming out of her shell and giving him a lot of sass back. I have the most hilarious pictures of them leaning across the table staring into each other’s souls. Any time we look at those photos, we all crack up.

It was weird because he was all over her at first, and then I think he was trying to hit on Yvette, but she was sitting farthest from him closer to the windows, and I don’t know if he was saying stuff to Sophia about me, but Sophia was saying all these funny things so seriously, like, “If you don’t love Jesus, you can get out!” because I won’t be with someone who doesn’t… He tried to talk to me a little bit, and I was not prepared for it. I just laughed because I didn’t know what else to do or how to respond. He said the weirdest thing to me, too, that was still kind of flattering, but he was different. I tried not to engage with him, to be honest. We were actually concerned for him because he seemed way past drunk and out of it. We found the rest of his party by the stage since they were all dressed the same, and those guys seemed a lot more with it. We wanted them to keep an eye on this guy because he didn’t act right. Anyway, we were lucky nothing more came of it than that. When he first started hitting on Sophia, I was frustrated because I’d been wanting that to happen to me, but once it did, it was uncomfortable and awkward. I felt guilty for even wanting that kind of attention or being in an environment that attracts it.

It didn’t help matters that he was drunk, but it still affirms what people have told me about it being hard to make meaningful connections at a bar. I’m sure people do find love at bars—they do, we know that; my parents met that way. Some people do meet when they’re drunk and still develop a relationship, and some aren’t drunk but meet while drinking, but the thing I realized is that I’m never going to be a drinker, so how can I expect to find a guy who shares my values in an environment like that? The best I could hope for would be to find someone being dragged there with friends or just checking it out on a vacation like I was, and that would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Honestly, I think the whole process of trying to find a spouse is that way, which is why I’ve always thought you can’t just go find them. Never mind how desperately I’ve tried! In fact, the more I’ve tried, the more I’ve realized you can’t. I won’t, anyway. Not like that.

Another thing that happened made me think twice. This guy tried getting close to us physically, which was unsettling. Nothing happened, and we were in a crowded enough environment where it wouldn’t have had a chance to, but it made me realize okay, he was drunk as can be. Obviously, no matter what a person does, they are responsible for their actions at the end of the day, but it made me realize how sketchy these environments and lifestyle can be. How can you not be courting disaster when you put a bunch of drunk people together? Again, I’m not justifying bad behavior because someone is drunk, but the whole point of getting drunk is that it removes your inhibitions and more rational thoughts and clouds your judgment. I think our culture has such a fixation with this lifestyle, but it’s toxic with the potential for so much harm, and a lot of people do get harmed by it, yet they still try to justify it.

I couldn’t help but feel a bit dirty while I was there, even though I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Still, I kept wondering how anything I was doing and surrounded by was honoring to God? There was one Bible verse that played in my head while I was there: “‘I have the right to do anything,’ you say—but not everything is beneficial. ‘I have the right to do anything’—but I will not be mastered by anything” (1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV). That’s what Paul said in response to people using their freedom to do things that maybe weren’t sinful but still not helpful to their souls. I don’t know; it made me think a lot. I wouldn’t condemn anyone for exploring bars—as mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be drunk—but I felt like as someone who is serious about their faith, what really is there at bars for me? If anything, I was just bored.

Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row

It was getting late—now one a.m.—but we decided to try one more bar, and I decided to finally purchase my first drink. Here’s the thing about me and alcohol—all moral and religious biases aside, I just hate it. From a taste standpoint, it absolutely repulses me. My family fries fish that we catch and uses beer as part of the batter, so one time when we were making that, I took a sip of a Busch Light, I think, and I couldn’t even swallow it. It was so putrid. I like the smell of booze, I will say, which is kind of odd. I think it’s because it makes me sentimental for hockey games and the like—those places always have the smell of alcohol wafting through the air, almost like cologne.

I also went to church with my grandma when they were having Communion one time. I’ve never had Communion with actual alcohol before and figured this wouldn’t be any different, but I noticed the color of the “juice” wasn’t red like normal; it was like an olive green. We drank it as soon as we took it at the front of the church, and I about gagged in front of the congregation. I thought how old is this juice?! Then I realized the Germ-X taste meant it probably wasn’t juice, but I kept it down.

I debated what drink I thought I’d like. I saw the different drinks Sophia and Yvette bought, and I decided on a “Dirty Shirley” because it was red with cherry flavoring, and I like that flavor with ice cream, plus vodka. I know NOTHING about alcoholic beverages, really. I don’t come from a family who drinks, thank God. My parents had their history, but that was pretty much done and over with by the time I grew up. I never “learned” to drink, and I certainly didn’t have any peer pressure to influence me since I barely had any friends. I’m thankful it was that way, though. I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything anymore. I bought a drink more so because I was legal, and it seemed like a “bucket list” sort of thing to do.

Anyway, I took some pictures of and with the drink—$14 later…—and tried to take some sips. This one tasted like a permanent marker. I couldn’t do it. I think I managed three or four sips before letting Yvette have the rest.

They had a good band playing, so we spent quite a bit of time in front of the stage listening to the music. Sophia really enjoyed it.

Are you laughing about the building yet?

Kid Rock’s Bar

I could’ve sworn by the looks of these photos that we went back to Jason Aldean’s bar, but I checked the coordinates, and we were actually at Kid Rock’s. I’m not including the full name of his bar because there’s a swear word in it. It looks just like Jason’s! Anyway, we had great rooftop views again!

At this bar, we talked to some guys dressed in camo. I think one of them took my picture or held a light on me for one of the girls to take my photo—very polite at first, and that’s how we started talking to them. There was this one younger guy in particular around our age I thought was cute in his own way, and they were in town for this big turkey hunting convention happening over the weekend (who knew?!).

I tried talking to him like a normal human being about hunting because the boys in my family live for that, and I think he had his Instagram page related to that, and I asked if my brother follows him because I didn’t know if my brother had heard of him or not. Well, he didn’t, and then this guy called him something my brother totally would have said, and he was full of it and obnoxious, so I stopped talking to him because I could tell he was trying to be all macho, and it’s like how am I ever supposed to connect with a guy when they’re acting like that? Yvette and Sophia kept talking and joking with him—they had enough alcohol to be around the same level socially, but I had none, so I went off by myself against the overlook and took pictures. It’s not my scene, to say the least!

My true love!!

I can’t even.

After that, we wandered a little bit more, but it was getting late. I think the bars stay open until three or four. I have a story to tell you between this bar and the next one we stopped by that is embarrassing on my part. By this point, I was over everything. I’d been disappointed all night long as far as guys went—I didn’t get matched with the cutie on the webinar, I missed potentially a great-looking guy who was trying to be in my video at the first bar, and we saw other guys flirting and talking, but none of them felt like what I was hoping for, and they certainly didn’t vibe with me personally. Drinking probably only is fun if you’re drunk or drinking a lot, but I had no desire to do that.

Well, there was this guy loitering outside the bar. He seemed nice as he approached us, wanting to ask some questions. I found it odd, but he explained that he’s curious about people and likes to learn about them. I don’t remember as clearly now, and to be honest, I didn’t care. I was in no mood to converse with strangers, especially men. He was innocent enough; he ended up asking questions about our faith—he said he was agnostic—so the girls had a chance to testify about God and what He’s done for them, and he was so receptive and appreciative! That’s why I’m embarrassed—I wanted no part of it.

I walked down to the corner where a bunch of other people were. I was overstimulated, exhausted, and moody, and it was my own fault. That, and did you know there’s also a ton of weed in Nashville, too? You’ll know how I felt about that in Vegas! There was a dispensary for it on Broadway! That reeked while we were there, and I told my friends I had to get away, which wasn’t a lie, but it was the tip of the iceberg. I’m embarrassed I wasn’t more willing to talk to this guy who was genuinely curious. It made the girls’ night, and they talked about it at the retreat, too, and I have to live with being too stuck-up and self-absorbed to care. Thank goodness God forgives, but I wish I would’ve behaved differently.

At two a.m., we briefly stopped in another “honky tonk” bar, Nudie’s. It had a cool, vaulted ceiling with awesome vintage items, and it extended a ways back. There weren’t many people in here at this time, and Broadway seemed to be winding down. Yvette wanted to check on this lady we passed and thought she said she was being followed. I didn’t want to do that, either, because I thought if she actually was being followed, there were police right outside she could talk to, and I didn’t want us getting involved with some crazy person—we were hardly in a position to defend ourselves. What can I say, I’m just heartless. We did anyway, and she ended up being fine—we misheard her, thankfully.

After that, we decided to head back to our motel. I enjoyed seeing Broadway, but nothing miraculous happened like I hoped it would in terms of meeting people or finding a guy. I think seeing the views of the city was my favorite part, and the music can be fun, too. I felt bad I was so moody towards Sophia and Yvette. I can easily get that way when I’m tired and overstimulated. I texted Mom a lot of my feelings, too, so I could confide in someone and process it all. And, of course, I prayed a lot!

Our Uber met us on the corner right around the block at the end of Broadway on the opposite end from where we started. We ended up down by the arena where their hockey team, the Nashville Predators, play!!

Back at the Motel

I don’t remember much about our drive back or what we did the rest of the night—I’m sure we went straight to bed! Yvette took the bed closest to the door, and Sophia and I shared the other bed. They were nice beds, and they had a convenient nightstand with charging options right between them. Overall, I needed to relax. Tomorrow was a new day, and I would have a better attitude about it.

Day 2: Exploring Nashville, Finding Local Shops & Night 1 of the Retreat

I apologize in advance—this post has the same amount of images as my Vegas posts, but it has much more text because I’m going to recap the whole second day, too, which was Friday. We slept in till 10:30 and took our time getting ready. There was a Walmart right down the road from our motel across the intersection. It wasn’t worth taking an Uber at all, so we decided to walk down there and get some basic snacks, breakfast food, and groceries. The skies were downcast; it was a gloomy day that nonetheless felt closer to spring than winter because of its temperature in the 50s. I wore only a long-sleeve top under my winter coat, and the grass was turning green.

Also! Look what was right beside our hotel!!! Thank God it didn’t smell… I was like figures.

I was excited to begin exploring the city beyond Broadway!

Thankfully, they did have crosswalks, or I don’t know how we ever would’ve made it through this intersection.

Grocery Shopping at Walmart

The Walmart looked pretty nice! We also found this adorable little creek with a bridge over it for us to cut through on.

The entrance was cute and appropriately themed!

Once inside, I was delighted by their vibrant assortment of swimsuits in every color of the rainbow. Its layout reminded me more so of Target’s. We spent a lot of time by the bakery and produce section before wandering the aisles for more specifics. I didn’t get much; I got some Lunchables for snacks, some adorable Minecraft apples in an attempt to be healthy, Reese’s EGGS (not just cut out like an egg but the actual three-dimensional shape of an egg—my faves EVER since they have even more gooey peanut butter!!!), water bottles, a chocolate milk for breakfast, and some Kleenex and wet wipes I needed for my beauty routine. We split the cost of breakfast food.

This was a cute spring spot!

This is the road that would lead us around onto the main interstate to go downtown.

Our motel had the cutest mural on the side of it! It was fitting for the weather.

Chick-fil-A for Lunch

About a half hour later, we booked another Uber to take us to a nearby Chick-fil-A, which we all love, for lunch. Once again, the neighborhood was nice enough, but I never saw it as a rich area by any means. When we passed a legit Ethiopian restaurant, I chuckled because it reminded me of a line on my favorite sitcom, King of Queens, where Arthur makes fun of Spence for wanting Ethiopian, and I’d never seen an Ethiopian restaurant before! I sent it to my mom with the line, but I don’t know if she understood it. She doesn’t have the show memorized like I do. “I’m not in the mood for gazelle, thank you!”

They have a bunch of White Castle’s, too, which was always mentioned on King of Queens.

Chick-fil-A was good, but Sophia and I felt bad because Yvette hardly ate and wasn’t feeling well. She was quiet on the ride home, too, and unfortunately, this is where one of our memorable Uber experiences happened! I sat in the back with her, and poor Sophia was up front bearing the brunt of this guy’s constant monologue about his driving and all the people who have left him bad reviews and how every time he’s had to prove them wrong to continue driving, like one time he took a drug test because someone wrote that he seemed to be on drugs…and I couldn’t really tell from the back, but Sophia said his driving was scary and that there were several times she was nervous. I would never want to be an Uber driver with people reviewing my driving, but this guy was on a rant about everything. He told us his whole story about switching from one driving company to Uber…and Yvette recorded herself feeling crappy on Snapchat and wrote a caption saying how bad she felt and then he’s ranting to us… It was comical in hindsight.

Yvette was going to lay down and try to nap, but she didn’t mind if Sophia and I continued exploring before the retreat started. We found some cute shops and areas to explore based on TikTok videos they saw. I wanted to find some cute boutique Nashville merch and stores unique to the area with that preppy, colorful southern aesthetic I’ve seen. I think we succeeded!

We got another Uber, and this time when I walked outside, the clouds had parted for the sun to stream down and reveal a deep blue sky. It felt glorious!

Shopping Local Boutiques

Here is our view leaving the motel area.

On our way to this cute little road filled with a stretch of quaint shops, we passed some nice houses! I don’t know if I’d call them mansions, but they were beautiful. I don’t know what exact neighborhood we ended up in, but we weren’t far from Belmont University.

Stoney Clover Lane

Our first stop I absolutely had to see was Stoney Clover Lane!! I remembered hearing about them somewhere but couldn’t place them until I finally remembered Target used to have a Stoney Clover Lane line that was adorable. There’s a one-piece swimsuit I never bought from it but still want. I saw a TikTok video from the girls about the store, and it looked amazing, bursting with girly colors and fun designs. Just looking at it, I was in heaven!

They had this adorable photo op!!

This store was GORGEOUS! They represented every neon color of the rainbow. They sell so many fun accessories! The store was so feminine, glamorous, and colorful. There were so many things that called to me, and I wish we had one here.

I didn’t purchase anything, though, despite how tempting it was. I didn’t need another bag, as adorable as they were. We continued walking the street and went inside some more local boutiques, but I couldn’t quite find the style I was looking for. They also had beautiful murals Nashville is known for!! You literally can book a tour with photo ops for different murals around the city. I’m grateful we just stumbled upon these!!

Finding More Shops

They had a couple chain stores I recognized, but I was looking for more eclectic stores unique to the area. There was a beautiful Altar’d State we wanted to check out along with some other stores nearby in an area not too far from where we were. Sophia got us another Uber (props to her for being the “mom” of our trip—she took care of all the logistical things so well, and I appreciate it a ton!!). This was our first female Uber driver, and she was nice.

We ended up going through Belmont University on our way to these stores!! It looked gorgeous and was so cool to see in person. I’ve heard good things about this school. In fact, I had some regrets at Iowa State at one point, thinking maybe I should’ve come here instead because they’re Christian and have much more publishing and travel opportunities, like placements and study abroad trips in NYC and LA. I think everything works out for a reason, though; I chose what I did with a lot of thought.

I was VERY jealous of this, though!!! They have a Chick-fil-A on campus!! How I wish Iowa State would’ve had one as part of the campus, where I could’ve used my dining plan and not “real money” to eat there constantly!!

Molly Green

We got dropped off by this dainty-looking store that also had a sweeping, beautiful mural alongside it. I looked up Molly Green now, and it looks like they are a family-owned boutique local to the area, though we found another one on our trip. This is exactly the sort of vibe and style I was searching for!

I made a purchase here! While I didn’t find any specific Nashville merch that caught my eye—they had more clothing reminiscent of an Altar’d State, glamorous and fun and trendy—I did buy an adorable pair of nude flats with little bows, a classic feminine wardrobe staple, especially as I transition into the professional world, I thought, and a big hair clip with pink flowers surrounding little pearl centers. I’ve yet to actually use that in my hair, mainly because I’m terrible with styling it, especially putting it UP—I feel like I don’t look good that way…but I don’t regret buying it; it’s adorable.

Altar’d State

Just down the road, we stopped in Altar’d State! All of their stores have absolutely phenomenal visual merchandising and decorations. This one had a little atrium in the middle of it!! I could always buy stuff here, but I didn’t this time. They have great sales, but for full price, their stuff is definitely more expensive. I’m so glad we peeked in, though.

We continued walking and stopped in the store called Posh, which was SO fun! They had so many trendy, edgy, and glamorous pieces. I was tempted to buy several things but showed restraint for some reason. I also called my mom to update her and see how her day of work went while we were down here. She enjoyed hearing about Nashville!!

We ended up down by Molly Green again, where this bubbly pink side of the building was! The sky was clouding up again, but this infusion of color made for perfect pictures.

What a beautiful, majestic horse!! People who create these are sooo talented. I can’t fathom that level of artistic ability. Mine is purely linguistic and digital.

There was this fun mural on the side of Posh, too!

That being said and done, we needed to get back to the motel to get ready for the retreat! It was around four, and I believe the retreat was beginning around 5:30-6. These are some of the nice houses we passed on the way.

I changed my clothes because Emma—I love her for this—said the dress code for the retreat was comfy and casual, specifically sweatshirts and sweatpants, so that’s exactly what I wore. I love my loungewear; I pride myself on not buying the basic crap like from Lululemon 90 out of 100 college girls wear to class (although I did recently splurge on a pair of Lululemon joggers I’ve been wanting for literally years…more on that in my St. Louis post). I buy pink sweatpants and sparkly ones (are we surprised…) in line with the rest of my style, and sometimes I think those outfits look better than my normal ones. By the time we were ready to go, it started raining! I waited upstairs under the roof until the Uber came.

The retreat was taking place at a church not too far from us.

Delight Leaders Regional Retreat

On our way to the church, we passed SO many mansions finally. They were fun to ogle and dream about; I took numerous videos when my dumb camera would focus past the raindrops on my window. The neighborhood we were in looks like it’s Lombardy near Lipscomb University. It was beautiful and chic.

Then, when we pulled up to the church, I didn’t even believe it was our church. It was HUGE—this expansive, tan brick building with numerous levels and tons of rooms. We took an elevator upstairs and made our way into this room that actually took my breath away when we stepped in. Pink balloons peeked out into the hallway, and the warm fairy lights invited us in. All the blush pink DELIGHTed me!!! The name of our retreat was “One Thing.”

The room was big enough for a mini stage and a decent-sized audience of chairs, and behind all the chairs and this little fun, festive area, was much more space with couches and tables, eventually leading into a little kitchen area next door. Everything about it was adorable and inviting, and I was happy to see this retreat wasn’t going to be some massive, overwhelming debacle but truly a more intimate, relaxing gathering of fellow Delight leaders around our area of the country.

We set our things down by our seats. We’d been given assigned seating so we could sit by new people, which I appreciated. I brought my Bible and journal along with me, but then I saw we all received a book, mini water bottle, and gift bag with a journal provided for us!! I was in love. Every detail was perfect. Emma and her team did such a wonderful, thoughtful job with this retreat. It really was a delight.

I was so excited, I rushed back to the area where most of the balloons were scattered. I had a vision in mind for a photo I wanted of me with the balloons, like something I’d seen out of a magazine. I don’t know, but I’m letting you see some cringeworthy photos of me in the process. Yvette and Sophia tried to help me get it, haha! I’ll let you decide if we pulled it off or not.

Behind the area of blankets, balloons, and poufs, they had this gorgeous table set up with Delight merchandise, from newly-designed hoodies and t-shirts to stickers and their devotional book! Yvette bought a bunch of merchandise; I think she bought both designs! I was tempted to buy the hoodie, but I stuck with the brown tee and Delight devotional, which I’m currently going through. It features devotions written by Delight members and leaders across the country, and they’re written specifically for college women and issues pertinent to them, but I find it applicable even out of college now.

There was also a table set up with fun stickers to decorate our journal covers and pink and red Starbursts! I loved the Valentine’s theme.

I LOVE pink balloons. I always wanted to incorporate some in my senior photos. I’ll have to plan that for another photoshoot. Can I also say how much I love this white pouf?! I’ve been dying for a white, gold, or pink pouf for my room for YEARS, but every time I find one I like, they’re actually so much more expensive than you’d think!!

I LOVED the Delight banner and projector slides! I was thankful to be sitting near the front off to the left, so I had a great view. This room was so dreamy.

Emma was SO excited to see us! We ended up being the group that had to travel the farthest, I believe. The other chapters were close enough to drive, though many had long drives. Most of them had visited Nashville before, too. I’m so glad we came, though.

The food was also top notch!! There were several Papa John’s pizzas with lots of snacks and healthier plates, as well.

I tried to take some veggies, but I love Oreos, Chips Ahoys, Ritz crackers…all the poison my generation has been bred to crave so we’ll probably get cancer in our 30s! And those chocolate chip cookies were wonderful, too. Hey, a retreat is definitely the time for comfort food!

These protruding little stickers made my journal look adorable.

We kicked off the retreat with a fun game where we were split into groups and tasked with one of us being a model and the rest designing a wedding dress out of toilet paper. I am so thankful no one in my group wanted to be the model, so I volunteered, because if I haven’t made my hatred clear for hands-on crafts, arts, and projects, here it is again, even in a playful environment. The only time I like to use my hands for work are clicking a keyboard and holding a pen. I’m a priss, I know. A sedentary priss. I’ve been that way since I was a baby. My family makes fun of me because I was never in a hurry to walk; I just wanted to lay on my back and look into the heavens. I’ll have to post a picture of me doing exactly that. Not much has changed! I am definitely a “sloth.”

Anyway, this was fun. It was also timed, and there were other requirements I don’t remember now, and then we were going to get judged to determine a winner. Yvette was the model in her group, too! I thought my group did a great job, but I think another group won.

Session Notes from Night 1

After the fun games and eating, we had worship, which was simple yet moving and beautiful, and a speaker. I wish I remembered more details about what exactly we did each day—that’s my fault for finishing this a year later—because I know we also played a giant game of rock-paper-scissors, where we partnered up and whoever won kept going to the next winner, and the “losers” would rally behind the person they were beat by until only one winner remained. We might’ve played that the next day—I don’t remember. I was doing pretty good, too! I’m pretty good at that game, even though it really comes down to luck, haha. I know Emma also emphasized quiet time with God this whole retreat where we would break out across the room and go sit somewhere with our Bibles, books, and notebook and just be still with Him while they played such soothing instrumental music (William Augusto!). That might’ve began the next day, too. I know we did have a speaker this night because I have notes in my journal with this date, and it was powerful right from the get-go—reminders I needed.

The message was over “lies we believe,” and even on this trip, I was believing many of them. Here’s a list along with the notes I took from each…

• 1. Being single means something is wrong with you (such as not being pretty or outgoing enough). This is a lie that haunts almost every young woman in America (and maybe men, too!). I specifically wrote how she listed not feeling pretty or outgoing enough as reasons we think we’re single. Those are probably two of the things I’ve worried about most. With social media, you can compare yourself and your looks to pretty much anyone in the world, and Instagram itself is like everyone’s modeling book. Then, there’s being outgoing. I’ve said it before, but I am not an outgoing person naturally. I’ve learned to be more outgoing with age and as jobs require it, but I am an introvert through and through. And when it comes to guys, I’ve always believed they should make the first move, but in today’s culture, women act so forward, flirty, and seductive that I’ve always wondered why a guy would be interested in me when there are girls like that throwing themselves at them? Even though I like who I am, it’s made me doubt my personality and feel like it’s not desirable to a guy. These could be their own blog posts, but they are lies. Singleness is not a curse. I didn’t realize how much we’ve been brainwashed to think that until recently as I’ve listened to how girls—myself included—talk about it, like nothing else matters. That’s actually demonic and not what the Bible teaches at all. I emphasized the word “demonic” because that is what the speaker said. The devil is holding so many people captive with this lie and encouraging them to make disastrous decisions out of fear. The Bible doesn’t say marriage is everything. Actually, the apostle Paul encouraged believers to stay single and thought it is better to be single than to be married because you can focus on God more and aren’t worried about pleasing your spouse (1 Corinthians 7:25-28).
• 2. We have to be who culture says we are. This is similar to the previous point when I said I’ve struggled with feeling like I need to be more outgoing because that seems more acceptable and praised. The speaker said if you’ve ever tried to make a shoe fit that doesn’t, such as acting some way that isn’t naturally you, it leads to burnout, discouragement, anxiety, and isolation. I have some embarrassing moments I could share with you when I’ve tried to act like a flirt, and it was so awkward for me, and I knew what I was doing was inappropriate and not me. The solution, she said, is to spend time in the “secret place” with God (basically, any place where you can be still and quiet with Him, free from other distractions) for the renewal of your spirit. Again, know your identity in HIM! It’s not always bad to want to change things about who you are as God calls you to develop more for Him, but if your personality is one way, you don’t need to fit this “image” of what society says a young woman should be like. Be how God wants you to be. She also said, “What’s for you won’t pass you.” This quote is becoming a little cliché nowadays, but it is true. So often, we try to make ourselves fit what we think is best, but how often are we wrong? Only God knows what is best for us. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it, but you must keep trusting Him and be patient for what He does.
• 3. We’re not qualified to do what God has called us to do. For any Christian, this seems to be a fear at one point or another. God often calls us to do hard things that seem scary, but He equips who He calls. It’s not about what we do but what we allow Him to do through us, which simply requires our obedience. It’s about His work, so take the pressure off. I wrote specifically how she said God called many people later in life, with many of the most influential people in the Bible not stepping into their callings or actually fulfilling them until they were older. I’m sure you can imagine why that gives me encouragement. You guys, if I had it my way, I was going to be a famous published author by the time I was 12. Clearly, that hasn’t happened yet. You can imagine all the talks I’ve had with God over the years and still do… But that’s when I remember His ways are not our ways. It doesn’t mean He isn’t going to use me. I also LOVED that she said we don’t need to feel like we must get our dream jobs and figure out what to do with our degrees by the time we’re 22 because God will show us. I just turned 22, and I can still feel a little lost. The summer after graduation was rough for me in one particular way, and we’re going to talk about that more when I recap my trip to St. Louis next. It was a great learning experience, though, and I can say this is true. Also, if you worry that something has already been done, these verses always encourage me, and she shared them, too:

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

1 Corinthians 12:12-13 NIV

Lastly, I appreciated how she said action removes a lot of anxiety and fear, so do things you’re passionate about. We could be waiting on God when He’s waiting on us to let go of our fear of what people might think if we step out of our comfort zones and do something new for Him, or maybe it’s fear of failure and things not working out the way we plan that makes us think we’re better off not attempting anything. Been there, especially with the latter! I’m still battling that. I can definitely say I’ve never regretted trying to achieve something, but I always regret not trying at all. She said sometimes you need to step out in faith to go somewhere or do something, and He’ll bless and guide you as to the next step. She said we must get out of our way and follow God’s path, remembering He won’t withhold any good thing from us (Psalm 84:11).

We were there till about nine. We took some pictures as a group before leaving, and there will be more to come!

Heading Back to Our Motel

This church was a neat place, and we saw lots of cute decorations adorning various doors for Sunday school classes. We had to wait for our next Uber to take us back to the motel, and I wish I would have taken more notes about each Uber driver we had because I knew I wouldn’t remember otherwise. I still remember the most notable ones.

The Rest of the Night

I’m glad the retreat got done at a decent time so we could clean up for the next day and have some down time in our motel room, especially since we’d be getting up early the next day. We did think about going to the bars again, but the girls decided not to because of that, and I thought that was smart. We thought maybe we’d go out again the following night before leaving.

I think we all took showers that night—actually, I know we did, because the girls went first since I told them I take an hour with shaving my legs, and in between that, Yvette and I tried to order a midnight snack on Doordash from Sonic! I guess we do have some Sonic’s in Iowa around Des Moines, but I’d never been to one, and the items looked delicious. Sophia didn’t want much and thought we were crazy for doing it—she was ready for bed, haha—and I kept waiting and waiting for the driver to be on their way, only to find out they were closed! Well, thank you for telling me that an hour later, Doordash! Sophia kept reminding me I could’ve been in the shower and done numerous times before it got canceled… I think I finally did take one in between waiting.

After that, we didn’t want to give up, so we tried McDonald’s, which stays open late. I want to say Yvette was watching Young Sheldon, which she’s obsessed with, and she and Sophia kept bantering each other about it because Sophia thought it was dumb. I believe we also watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, which I love because of how good Matthew McConaughey looks in it. Anyway, the lady who delivered our food was nice, but McDonald’s literally messed up everything possible. I think I just ordered fries and a McFlurry, and Yvette got a nugget happy meal. Well, the nuggets were burnt, they gave us no straws, napkins, or utensils for our drinks, and being in a hotel, we didn’t have any of our own, and they either didn’t give her the second order of fries she ordered or my fries I ordered, but she let me have one of hers. That’s why Doordash sucks, even though it technically wasn’t even their fault, but when something (or EVERYTHING) is wrong like that, you can’t take it back. We still managed to eat some of the meal, and I got a refund for most of it, but that sucked. Sophia wasn’t surprised!

Alright, over an hour later, that concludes the first part of this post. In the next part, I’ll share everything else we did, from the rest of the retreat and more valuable lessons and time with God, another night on Broadway, shopping, local gems, and flying back home and a BRIEF takeaway from it all since I’m summarizing most of the lessons I learned as I go. Thank you so much for following along! I do have a full-time job, which is why I haven’t been as active, but I’m starting to get in a routine with that, too. I’m praying for all of you! Leave a comment below, and let me know what you’ve been up to. Have any of you been to Nashville? What lesson spoke to you the most from the retreat?