bette nordberg

Retreat Topics:

Like most writers, I am moved by my own life experiences. When something hurts, or doesn't make sense, I try to understand it. Often, that curiosity or pain or observation develops into a book. Many of my retreat topics develop from books and Bible Studies that I've written over the years. For that reason, I have more topics to present than many other speakers. Having so many subjects enables you, the retreat coordinator, to choose the topic which most suits the needs of your group.

1. A Daddy You Can Trust:

Because today's families struggle, many of us entered adulthood with an unbalanced sense of fatherhood. All of us have some wounds. Some of us have deep scars left from an imperfect earthly father. Few of us have an accurate portrait of our Heavenly Father. In this retreat, we'll see how a fiction writer uses Scripture to get a new and surprising picture of God the Father. Ladies will see, perhaps for the first time, that the God of the Old Testament is a Father they can trust with their deepest needs and darkest secrets.

2. Life in the Waiting Room:

At some point in every life, we find ourselves facing an unbearable circumstance. Though we try, we are unable to change anything. No amount of work, or charm, or determination will bring the results we need. We buy the self-help books, we pray the prayers, we listen to the "gurus." But nothing happens. We find ourselves helpless, stuck in "the waiting room." Soon we are faced with four overwhelming temptations. Though we don't realize it, the choices we face in the waiting room will determine the course of our future. What are the temptations? And how can we overcome them while we wait for God to do what only he can do?

3. Overcoming Christians:

Years ago, a friend of mine was asked by a famous missionary group to help them with a new and disturbing trend. After years of training, their recently dedicated missionaries finally arrived on the field only to give up and head home, some within months of their arrival. What was happening? Why did these committed missionaries fail? I helped write the book to answer these important questions: Why do some Christians flourish in the face of difficulties while others give up? What can an ordinary person do to strengthen their ability to face difficulty without turning tail, giving up or giving in. In this retreat, you will discover the qualities of "overcoming" Christians, and learn to put their secrets to work in your own life.

3. The Importance of Friends:

I've had the joy of living in the same place for the last 32 years. Over the last 22 of them, I've walked with the same group of women, five days a week. We've planted a church together, raised our kids, loved our husbands, managed jobs and ministries and households. We've been through the best and the worst. In many ways, these relationships have saved me. I believe that my friends have helped God make me into the woman I am. In this retreat we’ll look at the importance of relationships in the Christian walk. We’ll answer important questions like: How can we find and nurture friendships? What about conflict? What happens when your friend makes a self-destructive choice? And, In this busy world, how do we find the time?

4. Big Acts; Small Consequences:

I've been a Christian a long, long time. And lately, I've noticed how popular it is to speak and publish on the idea of "dreaming big for God." Everyone, it seems, must have a big ministry, a big dream, a big influence. And I began to ask myself this question: How does God feel about a Christian culture where BIG is always BETTER, where good Christians are constantly challenged to do "big" things for God? What if you don't have "big" in your dreams? Are you a second-rate Christian? In this retreat we’ll look at the “small acts of obedience” that changed the course of Bible history.

 

 

 

Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul ...healing to the bones. (Prov. 16)