Hospitality – Serenity Retreat

When A Well Nurtured Woman Retreats

Written by Tiffany Pardue on September 4, 2026. Posted in Group Retreat, Hospitality, Ministry Partner, Serenity Blog, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Team Building, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on When A Well Nurtured Woman Retreats

24 hours at Serenity — lessons in stillness, receiving, and what God can do when we become quiet enough to hear Him.

by Dr Bibi Ajayi, PharmD.

We knew why we were going. At least, we thought we did.

In July, two of our “Keepers of the Well”, as I like to call our Well Nurtured Woman (WNW) leadership, spent 24 hours at Serenity Retreat. During our time at Serenity, we quickly recognized that this was to be the first of many retreats. Our intention was simple: step away from the noise and busyness, spend time with God, and create space to hear His heart for the WNW mission.

While we’d planned for four to attend, only two of us were able to go. Looking back, I don’t think that was accidental.

Although my friend and I have known each other for years, something shifted in that uninterrupted time together with Abba Father. God deepened our relationship while also meeting each of us personally.

Almost immediately, the quiet of Serenity Retreat became part of the experience. My friend later described walking from the sleeping quarters to another part of the property and hearing almost nothing except the stillness and the gravel underneath her feet.

That description stayed with me because it captured Serenity Retreat perfectly.

The property was beautiful, comfortable, peaceful, and remarkably well cared for. Serenity staff were warm and hospitable. Although other guests were present, there was an unusual sense of solitude.

For women accustomed to nurturing, leading, helping, and carrying numerous responsibilities, that kind of environment does something…

The noise begins to fall away and you realize how rarely you are truly quiet.

Someone Had Prepared for Us

One of the most meaningful parts of our experience was the intentionality behind it.

We each received a personalized folder containing our room information, itinerary, prayer ministry time, Bible study, and other details. There was structure, but not rigidity. We could flow with what was happening rather than feeling pressured by a schedule.

Now, Tiffany, the Retreats Director, had prepared for us in another way.

She had prayed before we arrived. She spent time asking God what He wanted to say to us and to the vision called Well Nurtured Woman and our mission. She prepared Scriptures and reflections specifically for our visit.

There is something nurturing about knowing someone prepared a room for you before you’ve entered the room. Even more powerful is knowing they prepared their heart for you and I could see that so clearly.

God Met Me There

Our stay included an optional Transformational Prayer Ministry experience. This was facilitated by two precious ministers and I could sense they had also prepared the room for me. After explaining the process, what surprised me the most was how little they spoke.

They weren’t there to tell me what was wrong or manufacture an emotional experience. They simply created space, asked questions, and helped me listen. I remember wondering about all the things in my life God might want to address and thinking and laughing to myself “There’s a whole lot, Lord have mercy.”

So, when I was asked what the Holy Spirit was bringing to mind, I marveled at how one specific thing became immediately clear. I didn’t have to search for it. God met me there.

He brought an area I had not completely yielded to Him to the surface, exposed the tension beneath it, and some of the lies I had believed around it.

Then came the exchange. I laid down the lies I had believed to fully and wholeheartedly embrace what God says is true.

What Is in Your Hand?

This question framed much of our time at Serenity Retreats. During the Bible study time Tiffany had prayerfully prepared for, she took us to Exodus 4:2, where God asks Moses:

“What is that in your hand?”

A staff — something ordinary, familiar, and easily overlooked.

Yet God knew what He could do with it. That question became really personal. What have I been carrying that God may now want to use? A skill, relationship, experience or even a wound He has healed?

As I sat with the question, I began thinking about my own story of exhaustion and the experiences that eventually gave birth to the Well Nurtured Woman vision. I sensed God reminding me:

You are the Well Nurtured Woman.

I am not simply being called to create something for other women. God wants me to embody what He is birthing through me. I realized that some of the very things we would prefer to remove from our stories become instruments in God’s hands once they are surrendered to Him.

Moses saw a staff and God saw what He could do with it.

We Came to Retreat. We Left With More.

Something else unexpected happened during those 24 hours. As Tiffany spoke with us, she used language remarkably similar to words God had already been developing within the Well Nurtured Woman vision, despite knowing relatively little about it.

She shared a sense that Well Nurtured Woman could one day help connect weary women with places like Serenity, spaces created for respite, restoration, and encounter. We continue to hold that possibility prayerfully, but it resonated because we were experiencing exactly why such places matter for a Well Nurtured Woman.

I recognize that women need rhythms of rest and retreat embedded in their lives. A time to step away long enough for the noise to settle. A time to receive instead of produce. To be ministered to instead of always ministering and to hear God clearly without competing voices.

We were at Serenity for only 24 hours, from one afternoon to the next. It felt both incredibly full and far too short. We arrived wanting somewhere quiet enough to hear God.

We left having encountered Him personally, having grown closer to one another, and carrying questions that continue to shape what God is building through Well Nurtured Woman.

Perhaps that is what stillness can do. It doesn’t necessarily give us something new.

It may simply make enough room for us to recognize what God has been saying all along.

What is already in your hand?

I went to Serenity thinking I was stepping away from work for 24 hours. Instead, God met me at the well and reminded me that before I can help nurture other women, I must continue allowing Him to nurture me.

God’s Ministry: TPM & Around the Table

Written by Tiffany Pardue on September 4, 2026. Posted in Hospitality, Prayer, Prayer Ministers, Serenity Blog, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on God’s Ministry: TPM & Around the Table

Weekend Reflections from Bellville

by Carol Ann Schwartz

Looking back on this weekend, I can clearly see how God orchestrated the guests around the table — ten women sharing a special moment in time. He had brought them together to be alone with Him, and to experience Him together as a group.

The conversations were so rich, especially around the breakfast table. It made my heart SO happy and joyful. I’m incredibly grateful for this land in Bellville that has been set apart for His people to hear from Him.

On this weekend, I was serving as a Prayer Minister with Kate Moorman, and the two ladies we met with were truly ready to hear from God. During TPM, they received the words He spoke through tears — His precious and beautiful truth. One of the sweetest moments was hearing the bell ring loudly after one lady’s first session on Friday night. Then, Saturday morning after her second session, she said, “I’m gonna ring that bell again.” It brought tears to my own eyes hearing that bell ring again, witnessing her worship after releasing the pain and a faulty belief she had carried for so many years.

And then there was also another profound experience during a session. Without sharing details, the Lord ushered one of his daughters from a place of darkness, where things had been hidden and painful, into a place where He began to reveal Himself. To witness her receive His light was truly amazing. You could almost see the darkness giving way to light. The light and love of Jesus. It was beautiful to see.

In between sessions, I met another lady who shared that a relative had a dream that she was supposed to come to Serenity Retreat. At the breakfast table, she shared how simply being on the property created a shift in her. She felt God leading her to paint, which is something she never does. As she sat there crying and sharing how God was meeting her in such amazing ways, I was overwhelmed by the goodness of God and how He was speaking so personally to each woman.

And aside from all of this, God continues to show me things about my own walk with Him. This weekend was no different.

One example was something God used to speak to my heart. One of the ladies we met with had the same name as a woman who mistreated me years ago at work. Afterward, I found myself asking God, “Am I still holding anything against her?” During the session, I couldn’t even remember the woman’s name. It was almost as if my mind wanted to forget what had happened. But God used that experience to gently show me that yes, there is still something I’m holding onto.

How amazing is He?!

I’m just so grateful to have been a part of what God was doing this past weekend — to witness Him meeting these women right where they were, while also continuing to show me areas of my own life where I need His perspective. I’m sure there was so much more that He was doing that I didn’t even see. All I can do is praise Him!

I’m so thankful for the team at Serenity, for the work done every day to make this possible. And I’m equally grateful for all of the donors who support Serenity Retreat and help provide these moments and make this ministry available for God’s people. What a beautiful thing we’re all a part of. What a beautiful God we serve.

Would you like to meet with the Lord on retreat in Bellville? We’d love to have you! Click here for more information on our individual and group retreat opportunities located just west of Greater Houston. If you’re in the area, email [email protected] to schedule a tour today!

Would you like to join Carol in helping to provide prayer ministry in Bellville — whether once, once monthly, or quarterly? Email [email protected] and let us know!

“Come and see” — John 1:39.

Encountering Jesus

Written by Barbara Rolen on August 7, 2026. Posted in Hospitality, Prayer, Prayer Session, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on Encountering Jesus

It’s usually a surprise to our guests. They come to a TPM session expecting to talk about what they’re feeling and how to feel better about their situation. Instead, they discover that they can actually view their painful emotions (fear, anxiety, overwhelm) as “friends,” because we feel what we believe. Those emotions are like a warning light on the car dashboard. When a situation causes you to feel one of those hard emotions, it’s alerting you to “check under the hood.” Something you’re believing isn’t in alignment with God’s Word. Once you identify what that belief is, the Holy Spirit is ready to do His job: persuade you of the truth.

That’s the moment TPM guests describe as the turning point — not when they figure something out, but when Jesus meets them in it and shows them what’s actually true. A married couple from a recent Personal Healing Retreat in Bellville shared what that looked like for them:

 ”I didn’t understand why I needed to feel my feelings for most of my life. They just get in the way. But with your help, I have experienced that it is the false belief I have that was in my way of transformation, not the feeling itself.”
-G.T. 

“The belief that I need to act a certain way or nothing gets better really gets me stuck in seeing the belief as true because it feels true. And this is where TPM is different. When I present that belief to the Lord and ask Him what He wants me to know, it may take a while for breakthrough and that can feel discouraging. But the TPM guide [Mentor] just visits that feeling next and we start again. They aren’t there to tell me what to know or do. The breakthrough will come if I keep learning the art of listening for God and testing what I hear against scripture. It’s gotta line up. And that is when breakthrough happens!” 
– K.T.

Contact Tiffany Pardue to book your own retreat today: [email protected]

When God Gives More Than We Are Expecting

Written by Barbara Rolen on July 2, 2026. Posted in Hospitality, Prayer, Prayer Ministers, Prayer Session, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on When God Gives More Than We Are Expecting

What Happened When I Came to Serve—and Found Myself Set Free

About 12 years ago, I was introduced to TPM through a training in Fort Myers with Ed and Josh Smith. Over the years that followed, God continually nudged me back toward this ministry. I read the books (and even had the privilege of helping edit them), but if I’m being honest, I never got very far in applying TPM to my own life.

About three years ago, I knew it was time to fully respond to His invitation. After reaching out to Ed, he directed me to Serenity Retreat for a few TPM sessions by Zoom. The breakthroughs I experienced in just those three sessions were so profound that I immediately enrolled in TPM 101, 201, and 301 (twice!). That journey eventually led to becoming a Mentor in Training and now a Mentor.

Because I live in Florida, my entire TPM journey had taken place over Zoom. Although I had formed deep friendships through a computer screen, it felt like God was inviting me to take another step—to come to Serenity Retreat in person and serve.

My schedule was exactly what I expected: full. Over three days, I would be mentoring and interceding in six sessions. What I didn’t expect was how much I would personally receive during my time there.

The retreat grounds were everything I had imagined—peaceful, beautiful, complete with a stunning lake and even wandering miniature horses that reminded me of home. But what impacted me most weren’t the surroundings. It was the people and the unexpected ways God met me through them.

In a way only God could orchestrate, my rental management business took an absolutely crazy turn just one hour before my very first in-person mentoring session. Feeling overwhelmed and triggered, my friend Barbara gently asked, “How does that make you feel?”

And just like that, we were off.

The Lord graciously revealed a vow I had made years earlier—one I wasn’t even consciously aware of. As a younger version of myself, I had determined that I would always fight so I wouldn’t be taken advantage of. Within minutes, an incredible session unfolded. God replaced old beliefs with His truth, and I walked into my very first mentoring session with greater freedom and a God-given love for the Mentee than I could have imagined.

A couple of evenings later, while having dinner with another Mentor staying at the retreat center, I found myself unexpectedly triggered again. As she shared about the joy and peace she had found in her marriage—even though her husband hadn’t changed one bit—I realized I was feeling anger toward her.

One of the beautiful gifts of TPM is having relationships where you can honestly say, “I’m feeling angry toward you,” knowing that it’s simply the starting point for discovering what God wants to reveal. Through another beautiful session, the Lord uncovered deeper beliefs about my own marriage—areas where I genuinely thought He had already finished His work.

Apparently, He wasn’t finished yet.

On my last full day in Bellville, I was blessed once again by attending my first in-person Community Chat. What a difference it makes to gather around a table, share a meal, and simply be together. Learning while eating, laughing, and sharing life was a completely different experience than gathering over Zoom.

I was deeply touched by the conversations that unfolded so naturally as we shared what God was doing in our own lives and encouraged one another in the work of mentoring. Together, we discussed how to better walk alongside those seeking freedom, so they, too, could encounter His truth and experience the life-changing freedom that comes from believing it.

Before coming to Serenity Retreat, I assumed I was there primarily to give—to mentor, to pray, and to serve others. While that certainly happened, God also lovingly served me.

I don’t believe it’s necessary to have your own sessions while serving at the Retreat Center. But I do believe God delights in arranging just the right circumstances to uncover deeply buried beliefs—not to make us uncomfortable, but to set us free.

That’s exactly what He did for me.

Scripture tells us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I discovered something else as well: when God allows us to do both at the same time, it’s an incredible gift.

Thank you, Serenity Retreat, for allowing me to serve—and for serving me through His love and His Truth.

Honoring & Caring Well: A Community Chat at the Waltons’

Written by Barbara Rolen on July 2, 2026. Posted in Hospitality, Prayer, Prayer Ministers, Transformation Prayer Training, Transformation Prayer Training. No Comments on Honoring & Caring Well: A Community Chat at the Waltons’

The Community Chats that began last year at restaurants around the greater Houston area have been so refreshing. It’s wonderful to hug a fellow prayer minister who we usually see in a Zoom window or whom we miss out on seeing in Bellville because we’re serving on different days. It’s special to have discussions in person as we refine our mentoring skills.

However, there’s something different about sitting around a table in someone’s home — and then in their living room — that moves the conversation in a more intimate and vulnerable direction. That’s what the group — Daniela Barrett, Taylor Gahm, Kim Grant, Marnie Paffenroth, Carol Schwartz, Kathy Walton, and myself — experienced on the afternoon of June 26 as we gathered at Kathy and Scott Walton’s house in Bellville for our first summer Community Chat.

We started with lunch and table conversation, then moved into the den, where Daniela led us in a sweet, rich time of worship, including one of her own compositions. There’s a particular kind of hush that settles over a room full of prayer ministers when the singing starts — and that afternoon was no exception. None of us wanted it to end!

Carol Schwartz, a new core team member, led the group in a discussion of Honoring & Caring Well by Providing TPM With Excellence. And her core message was disarmingly simple:

“The most loving thing we can offer a mentee is to stay out of God’s way.”

Less Us, More Jesus

Carol reminded us of something foundational to everything we do — Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor. Transformation comes through His revelation, not through our insight, our wisdom, or our intervention.

“Our role is to serve the mentee well enough in the process that Jesus has room to do what only He can do.”

Our job, she said, is actually less than we think it is — and more restful than we make it.

She was honest about where we drift, and why. Most of us don’t drift because we’re careless. We drift because we care. When a mentee struggles, something in us wants to help. We feel their discomfort. We think we see the path forward. We want the session to move.

That impulse isn’t wrong. But inside a TPM session, acting on it can shift a mentee’s focus from hearing Jesus to hearing us.

So what does excellence actually look like? Not perfection. It looks like staying anchored to the process, and knowing what to do when we feel lost, which we got good tips for.

Taylor put words to it in a way that stuck with the room. When asked what this looks like in practice, he said simply that it starts with being “faith-filled and doing his best”. We all agreed that we need to learn to “be present” and be “comfortable with quiet”. Two great reminders are there is “nowhere to get” and the guest in front of us was already walking with Jesus before they ever came to us for help. It’s a good reset. The mentee’s relationship with Jesus doesn’t typically start in the session, and it doesn’t depend on us.

Refining Our Skills Together

From there, we addressed a question that had been submitted in advance about how to handle a Solution Within a Solution. Everyone got to practice recognizing the solutions and how to maneuver from one solution to the next one. By the end, the prayer ministers felt more equipped to recognize and manage this dynamic better in future sessions.

An Answered Prayer, in Her Own Home

This kind of gathering means something a little extra this summer, since one of our own traveled a long way to be part of it. Marnie Paffenroth, one of our prayer ministers based in Florida, flew in for a full week of serving alongside us — which meant she got to trade Zoom squares for actual faces and actual hugs with ministers she’d only ever met on a screen. (You can read more about her week in her own words on serenityretreat.com.)

Kathy, our host for the afternoon, shared her reflections of the gathering in her own home:

“My aha was more Jesus, less me. So many times I just want to ‘say’ something and I realized that is often ‘me’ wanting to be heard and often could be interfering with what Jesus is doing. Love the vision of Jesus being so big in the room and me being so little.

It was an answered prayer to be in community together. I have been praying to be a part of an honest, authentic, not afraid of truth, loving community. Thank you, Lord.

Hosting is also an answered prayer. This is God’s house so any time it can be used to grow and benefit His kingdom — I get super excited. Hearing the praise echo through the walls where I live — ain’t nothing like it! So grateful!!!” ❤️

What Stays with Us

Carol closed the afternoon with a line that’s easy to remember and hard to fully live out:

“We are exceptional prayer ministers. And the most exceptional thing we can do is get out of the way and let Jesus be Jesus.”

That’s the heartbeat of what we’re all learning together — not to fix, not to lead, but to make room. And afternoons like this one, around the Waltons’ table, remind us we’re not learning it alone.

What’s Next?

Whether we gather in a home or at a restaurant, a Community Chat will be coming your direction this summer — Sugar Land/Richmond area, Houston, possibly Spring, and of course on Zoom for our prayer ministers out of state and out of the country. If anyone would like to open up their home for the next chat, contact me at [email protected].

And this fall we’ll be back at the Waltons’ home in Bellville. She said we are welcome anytime, so we’re taking her up on it.

Walking In Serenity

Written by Tiffany Pardue on July 1, 2026. Posted in Community Support, Hospitality, Prayer Ministers, Serenity Blog, Transformation Prayer, Transformation Prayer Training.

by Daniela Greer

I’d like to say I found Serenity Retreat but Serenity totally found me.

My first experience with Serenity Retreat came through my amazing friend, Cynthia Wenz. She invited me to play piano and help lead worship for a Table Host event before Serenity’s annual fundraiser. I had originally declined because I was supposed to be on vacation in New Mexico, but my travel plans fell through. At the time, I was deeply disappointed and honestly embarrassed by the circumstances and the reason. Looking back, I can see God was redirecting my steps and I ended up going!

I couldn’t have imagined the Romans 8:28 story He was already writing… on 8/28.

I had no idea what Serenity Retreat was or what Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM) even meant.

That night, I ran into another dear sweet friend, Tiffany Pardue. As she explained TPM, she said something that woke me up.

“It’s a prayer process that honors your emotions. The starting point is simply asking, ‘What are you feeling?’”

Immediately, something inside me responded.

“Oof… this is why you’re here.”

It felt like my body was finally getting an answer to cries for help my mind kept ignoring for years.

As I listened to people’s “ringing the bell” stories, I couldn’t help but wonder if this “effortless transformation” was too good to be true.

Another part of me more loudly thought, “But for real… I NEED this kind of breakthrough.”

Although I’m generally a positive, optimistic person, I was carrying an unbearable emotional load from all the trauma, betrayal and abuse in the last six years. That wasn’t a part of my life prior and I couldn’t stop ruminating on the all daily injustices and offenses that kept piling up. Forgiveness always felt like a shallow work. No matter how hard I kept trying to forgive, it never felt lasting or permanent… I HATED that. Eventually the emotional weight began showing up physically. I had become so accustomed to suppressing my emotions that I didn’t know what to do with them anymore.

Then came TPM.

Over the next few months, I began receiving prayer sessions, joined Serenity’s hospitality team, enrolled in the TPM 201 course, attended my first immersive retreat, and began serving as an intercessor. I just recently finished the 8 week 301 course and training to be a mentor! And I’ve been getting LOTS of breakthrough!! Too much to say.

Somewhere along the way, Serenity stopped feeling like a place I visited.

It became family.

One concept from 201 has stayed with me ever since I heard it: “We perceive what we believe. We feel what we believe. We do what we believe.”

I remember thinking, “Ooooh… we feel what we believe!”

Instead of asking, “How do I stop feeling this?” I began asking, “What am I believing?”

As all of this growth was taking place, I was also navigating a separation that would eventually lead to divorce.

Looking back, I can clearly see God’s kindness.

Before I ever knew how desperately I’d need community, He had already provided it. He had already introduced me to TPM, surrounded me with people who loved Jesus, and began teaching me how to bring my emotions to Him instead of burying them.

I often say God knew I’d be going through a major life surgery, so He prepared everything I’d need ahead of time to stay ahead of the pain.

TPM gave me tools.

Serenity gave me community.

Together, they carried me through one of the hardest seasons of my life.

It took about eight to ten prayer sessions before I really felt the needle begin to move.

One of my greatest breakthroughs came when I realized I hadn’t been honest with myself about where my anger was actually directed (or that I was even angry). Being angry with myself felt much safer than admitting I was angry with God.

Then, during one prayer session, after finally admitting it, I sensed the Lord gently say, “I want an honest relationship with you.”

That changed everything for me. Including my relationships with others.

Instead of striving to fix myself, I learned to slow down, become curious, and ask, “Jesus, what do You want me to know here?”

Again and again, I found Him faithful.

Today, I have the privilege of serving as both an intercessor during TPM sessions and as a Mentor in Training. It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to watch God speak personally to His children.

When I look back over this past year and my involvement with Serenity, the thing that stands out the most is God’s kindness faithfulness to me…

If you’re considering visiting Serenity Retreat or beginning your own journey through Transformation Prayer Ministry, my encouragement is simple: come with an open and honest heart.

The more honest I’ve been about what hurts, the more room I’ve given Jesus to heal and transform me. And I’m happy to report ruminating thoughts are very rare for me now! My heart and mind is a SIGNIFICANTLY more enjoyable place for me, and I legit enjoy the overwhelming majority of my thought life. I’m so full of gratitude for the countless ways this ministry has and continues to bless my life!!