Serenity Blog – Serenity Retreat

Still Under the Chisel: Why Warren & Pam Said Yes to Made for More

Written by Angela Miller on September 4, 2026. Posted in Fundraiser: Made for More, Prayer Ministers, Prayer Session, Serenity Blog, Transformation Prayer Training. No Comments on Still Under the Chisel: Why Warren & Pam Said Yes to Made for More

By Barb Rolen

If you’ve known Skip Koshak for as long as I have, you might do a double take when you read this post. That’s because Skip goes by his given name now — Warren. Old habits die hard, so forgive me if I slip back and forth a little.

I’ve had the privilege of doing life with Warren and Pam for nine years now — six of those really doing life together. They were my life group leaders. We’ve taught Sunday school side by side. I’ve even watched their precious German Schnauzers while they were on vacation. (If you know, you know — that’s a level of trust reserved for real friends.)

So when our staff learned I had interviewed Warren and Pam for my book, Raising Truth Seekers, it didn’t take long to decide who should write this post.

Pam found Transformation Prayer Ministry first — she was in a T-Group I led in Katy back in 2019–2020. Warren watched what began to change in her, and eventually decided to see for himself what all the fuss was about. What happened next between them is the kind of story that’s almost too honest to read comfortably — which is exactly why it’s worth reading.

This post is about the marriage that had to be rebuilt before any of the rest could happen. Here’s Pam and Skip’s story, in their own words, from Raising Truth Seekers.

The Sculptor’s Gentle Chisel: Pam & Skip’s Journey

When false beliefs take root in a marriage, they can create walls that seem insurmountable. For Pam and Skip, these beliefs led to ongoing tension and mistrust. They each became defensive, which hurt their relationship and their parenting.

“I was always on the defensive, believing that I had to protect myself,” Skip shares. “I did not see my spouse as a partner or co-equal because I believed she was not putting my interests before her own or that she was even capable.”

Meanwhile, Pam carried her own burden of false beliefs. “I thought I had to ‘become something’ before I could let my guard down. I was convinced my husband was not ‘for me,’ and I didn’t trust him.”

This lack of trust created a difficult cycle. Arguments became common, and their ability to work through life together started to disappear. Their parenting reflected these same struggles.

“I thought I had to ‘protect’ our children from my spouse’s flaws,” Skip admits. “It was a way to keep control. This controlling behavior stifled our children’s ability to grow.”

The Turning Point

Pam was the first to discover Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM). As Skip watched the change in his wife, he decided to pursue TPM himself. When they both began practicing TPM regularly, something wonderful started to happen. The Holy Spirit began revealing God’s truth in areas where false beliefs had taken hold.

“TPM helped me see God’s perspective,” Pam shares. “He loves me, and nothing I do will change that. This understanding lets me accept my husband’s love.”

This shift in perspective changed their approach to communication and conflict resolution. They created a common language and framework. This helped them handle tough times with grace instead of being defensive.

“TPM has given us a grid to look at feelings honestly and ask the Holy Spirit why,” Pam shares. “If and when we become angry or triggered, we have given each other permission to ask ‘What’s going on? What are you feeling?'”

The Transformation

The transformation in their marriage has been profound. Where defensiveness and control once reigned, tenderness and patience now flourish.

“I am now more tenderly present, more willing to connect deeply, and more trusting in God to protect me (He is the only One who can),” Skip reflects.

Pam adds, “I’m calmer, more peaceful, and have a reliance on the Holy Spirit that is more intentional.”

This healing has extended to their parenting as well. Skip describes how TPM has granted him “the ability to be more discerning and sensitive to the move of the Holy Spirit. I am better equipped to be empathetic toward our children. I am able to be more objective and much less controlling.”

A Continuing Journey

Perhaps most beautiful is how they view their ongoing transformation. Skip describes it this way: “The Lord is a Sculptor, chiseling away my ‘old self’—the false beliefs and behaviors. This process is loving, yet painful at times. In the end, He transforms me into His vision of my new creation.”

Rather than seeing the process as complete, they embrace it as a lifelong journey of refinement. “The longer I submit to His refinement, the more I realize there is more to be done,” Skip shares. “I am more patient with myself and others during this lifelong process of transformation.”

For families thinking about TPM, Pam and Skip’s story shows what can happen when false beliefs are replaced with God’s truth. Their marriage and parenting changed not by their own efforts, but by inviting the Holy Spirit into their deepest wounds and beliefs.

As Skip puts it, “I am open to His loving gaze as He searches me to find anything within me that is causing anxiety and/or separation from Him and His Truth.” This posture of openness has yielded beautiful fruit in their family—trust where there was suspicion, tenderness where there was hardness, and freedom where there was control.

Pam and Skip’s transformation created a new foundation for their marriage and their parenting. But sometimes the most powerful ripples come not from what we say to our children, but from what they witness in us. When children see their parents authentically pursuing God’s truth—not perfectly, but honestly—something shifts in their hearts. They learn that transformation is possible, that emotions don’t have to control us, and that there’s a way through pain rather than around it.

Closing

“The longer I submit to His refinement, the more I realize there is more to be done.” Warren wrote that about his own marriage — but honestly, it could just as easily describe the last several years of his life at Serenity Retreat.

After finishing TPM training and his internship, Warren and Pam began serving together in one-hour prayer sessions — and also serve in Bellville, many times on different weekends, so their precious German Schnauzer, Lillie Belle, gets taken care of at home. Warren went on to co-lead training and is now coaching one of our Mentors in Training. He completed a Truth Summit simply because he wanted to be the best mentor he could be. Recently, he was asked to join our Board of Directors — though honestly, he’d already been offering assistance with grant writing and other areas he has expertise in as a retired engineer from Shell.

That’s Warren. Not just changed — but committed to seeing more people changed.

Which is why we’re so glad Warren and Pam agreed to serve as our event chairs for this season’s fundraiser: Made for More: More People, More Transformation, More Often coming October 14.

Here’s what I’ve learned about Warren in nine years of friendship — six of them doing life together: when he commits to something, he goes all in. He and Pam don’t just give financially to Serenity Retreat — Warren made sure those gifts would be matched by Shell. That’s not a one-time favor. That’s a man who goes looking for ways to multiply what he’s already given.

One of my favorite things about Warren is this: he’s given family and close friends permission to call him out when behaviors don’t line up with who he is as a believer in Christ. He’ll tell you himself — no matter how painful it is to look honestly at his own “stuff”, he’s committed to doing exactly that. And if you try to compliment him on how far he’s come? He’ll turn it right back around and tell you it was the Spirit in him all along.

That’s the man who will be reaching out to you between now and October 14. Not a polished spokesperson with a pitch — a friend, still under the Sculptor’s chisel, still being made for more, inviting you into the same story.

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]

The Posture that Receives

Written by Barbara Rolen on August 6, 2026. Posted in Prayer, Prayer Ministers, Serenity Retreat Bellville, TPM 301, Transformation Prayer, Transformation Prayer Training, Transformation Prayer Training. No Comments on The Posture that Receives

Early in every TPM 301 Immersive, Brooke asks the room to picture a filing cabinet.

Every drawer full — scripture verses, teachings, techniques, the things you’ve learned to tell yourself when your heart hurts. It’s a good cabinet. Years of faithful discipleship built it. But when someone arrives with every drawer already packed, there’s nowhere left for anything new to land. They’re so busy matching what they’re hearing to what they already know that they can’t actually receive it.

Then the question is asked that lays the foundation for the weekend: What if God doesn’t want to teach you something new — He wants to give you what you already know, in a fresh way?

Not a Better Immersive. The Same Posture, Still Working.

If you were with us in May, you know that what God did in you then was real, and it was good. This isn’t a post about how July improved on May. It’s a post about what happens when a team — and a room full of people — actually live the thing we teach, rather than just teaching it.

Because here’s what’s true: we could have opened the same folder in July that we used in May. Nothing would have required us not to. But a posture that receives doesn’t stay still. When you’re actually listening for what the Spirit wants to do next, you stay ready to move when He redirects — not because the last thing failed, but because obedience has a next moment, and you’re still paying attention to it. May was faithfulness to what He was doing then. July was faithfulness to what He was doing now. Same posture. Different day.

Here’s the part I almost left out: the coaches’ drawers had to open too. Months and years of our own faith being refined, our own minds being renewed, left room for the Spirit to fill with more than there was before — not new information, just space for something different. What came out the other side wasn’t just fresh content. It was the principles, purpose, and process of TPM finally integrated, instead of taught as isolated talks and exercises the cohort had to piece together on their own. They could see the whole thing work together, not just hear about each piece separately.

That’s true of us as leaders. It turned out to be even more visibly true of the cohort.

Confidence Isn’t Something You Practice Into

Nearly every person in that room walked in Thursday afternoon tentative about the idea of mentoring anyone. Some were openly anxious. By Saturday, those same people could see themselves as mentors, ready to keep building toward it.

Some might think that shift came from repetition — enough practice sessions and eventually the nerves wear off. I don’t think that’s it. What actually happened is closer to what Saturday morning’s teaching named directly: You are not responsible for transforming yourself. You are only responsible for staying close enough to the fire to let Him.

Their confidence wasn’t manufactured. It was overflow. Every person who walked out more ready than they walked in had spent three days being the one who receives — sitting in the mentee’s seat, letting the Spirit persuade them of something true about themselves and about God. Not just hearing that we’re meant to “be transformed by the renewing of our mind” (Romans 12:2) — experiencing it. You don’t stay afraid of holding space for someone else’s process once you’ve encountered the Lord yourself as someone else held space for yours.

That’s not a technique. That’s fruit.

One Room, Every Starting Point

Joel first learned this work years ago under an older name — Theophostic Prayer — and came back to receive it again in its current form. Julia, Sarah, and Debra arrived at three different points in their own training. Kim had already been mentoring faithfully for three years.

None of them were behind. None of them were ahead. Carol has a picture for this: the stakes driven in beside a newly planted tree, holding it steady until its own roots take hold. Nobody’s expected to stand on their own before they’re rooted enough to. You’re not on your own until you’re actually ready to be on your own — progression happens at each person’s pace, because the goal was never to get everyone to the same place at the same time. It was to meet each one where they were.

Kim’s story is the clearest picture of it. A year ago, I asked her to consider co-leading our 201 course. She said no, not now. This week, she called — not because I’d asked again, but because somewhere in this Immersive, God showed her she was ready. I didn’t do that, and neither did our material. Something in her actually received what He was offering – His truth and perspective – and it changed what she believed was possible for her to carry.

What the Pictures Show

At our last gathering, I looked around and saw small clusters of people deep in conversation — two here, three there, four more out on the porch — the easy, unhurried kind of talk that only happens after three days of being honest with each other.

That’s not something you can build into a schedule. It’s what tends to show up on its own, once people have spent a weekend actually receiving from God and from each other instead of performing for one another.

Meeting You Where You Are

Not everyone reading this is ready for a 301 Immersive — and that’s exactly the posture this whole weekend was about. Meeting people where they are, not where we wish they were.

Never experienced TPM? Sign up for a session.

Don’t know what TPM is? Start with TPM 101.

Ready to begin learning TPM for yourself? Start with TPM 201.

Ready for the principles, purpose, and process of TPM to make more sense? Join our 8-week TPM 301 Zoom course.

Curious to experience an immersive for yourself? Fall 2026 and 2027 dates release in September.

Contact: Barbara at [email protected] or 346.388.3632.

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.

A Nation at 250, A Remnant at 25

Written by Tiffany Pardue on July 1, 2026. Posted in Prayer, Serenity Blog.

250th Anniversary, America, be still, come and see, gospel, healing, hope, Prayer, Remnant, Serenity Retreat, transformation, Transformation Prayer Ministry, USA

by Tiffany Pardue, Retreats Director

I can’t help but see the math.

250 years since Independence Hall. 250 candles on a cake none of us were there to watch as they began being lit, one by one. And somewhere in the middle of the fireworks and flags this year, a quieter number kept surfacing in me.

25.

This fall, Serenity Retreat turns 26. A tithe of our nation’s history, given back to the One who gave it. One-tenth. It felt too specific to ignore.

So I did what I tend to do when a number won’t leave me alone—I went looking for what it means.

Here’s what I found, and it spoke to me: British historian Sir John Glubb spent his later years studying roughly a dozen empires—Assyrian, Roman, Ottoman, British among them—and found that most lasted around 250 years, or ten generations, before the weight of their own success caught up with them. He traced a shape to it: Pioneers, then Conquest, then Commerce, then Affluence, then Intellect, then Decadence—that last stage marked less by weakness than by wealth without character, spectacle replacing conviction, and a fraying willingness to sacrifice for something bigger than ourselves. Historians still argue over whether Glubb’s pattern is destiny or coincidence. I don’t need it to be either. I just need to ask what it’s pointing at.

We are standing on it.

Not behind it, looking back at what was. Not past it, coasting on what’s certain. On it. The precipice. The place where a nation either becomes the exception or becomes a paragraph in someone else’s history book.

I don’t say that to alarm. I say it because I believe the Lord puts numbers like this in front of us—250, 25 to 26, one-tenth—not necessarily as omens or prophecy, but as an invitation to ask of Him.

What is required of us now? As a nation. As the people of God living inside it. As individuals kneeling in our own kitchens at 6 am or/and midnight, wondering if our prayers are doing anything at all.

I’m not sure how much the answer changes from age to age. It rarely does. Though that doesn’t mean His response—His Word isn’t still all we ever need.

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” —2 Chronicles 7:14

Humble. Pray. Seek. Turn. Four verbs standing between a nation and its healing, and not one of them requires an election, a headline, or anyone else’s cooperation. They only require us.

The Lord has never needed a majority to move a nation. Scripture is a long, quiet argument for the power of the remnant—the few who actually listen, actually agree, actually worship Him in spirit and truth while everyone else argues about who’s right. Gideon’s army was cut down to three hundred before God would use it. Elijah, certain he was the last faithful man standing, was told there were seven thousand who had not bowed the knee. He just couldn’t see them yet.

Is that still true?

I wonder if the remnant God is gathering right now looks less like a movement and more like scattered rooms—retreat centers and living rooms, houses of prayer and prayer closets—full of people finally still enough to hear Him.

I keep coming back to that tithe. One-tenth of a nation’s life, and Serenity has spent every year of it doing one thing: making space for people to reconnect and realign with the truth of God. Twenty-five years of retreats, prayer sessions, tears at the pond, walking the land, freedom that didn’t show up in a headline but showed up in a marriage, a mother, a father, a mind finally quiet enough to hear its Maker.

If a remnant is what heals a land, I believe Serenity and Transformation Prayer Ministry are positioned for exactly this hour—not just for our nation, but for the nations beyond her, who are watching what America does with what she’s been given. No other nation in history has been used to carry the gospel further or faster than this one. That is not a boast about us. It’s a stewardship placed on us. We have been blessed to be a blessing—that’s true of America, and it has always been true of this ministry.

Which is part of why I’m asking you to pray with us in a very specific way right now.

Serenity’s Board and staff are in the process of discerning our next Executive Director—the one who will carry the mantle into whatever this unprecedented next chapter holds. We don’t know everything that’s ahead for this nation. Only God knows that. We don’t know everything that’s ahead for Serenity either. But we know the same God who has carried us for twenty-five years is the one entrusting this next leader to us, and us to them. Please pray over that process with us. It matters more than most people watching from the outside will ever realize.

What is ahead for America? Again, only God knows.

What is ahead for Serenity? We are in the midst of discovering that week by week, confident that He who began the good work will carry it on to completion in Christ Jesus. Otherwise, all I can tell you is what I told you back in February when I was wrestling with the Serenity Prayer and its centennial: we cannot quiet the nations, the news, or the naysayers. We can only quiet our souls, humble ourselves, and let Him do what only He can do.

So this Fourth of July, as you watch whatever fireworks light up your sky, I hope you’ll do a little math of your own. Count the years you’ve been given. Pause and give thanks to our Savior. Count the years this nation has been given. Pause and thank Him again. And then ask the only question that has ever really mattered:

Lord, what do You require of me, in this hour, on this precipice?

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” —Micah 6:8

We are exceedingly blessed to be a blessing. May we spend the next 250 years—and the next 25—responding rightly to the calling and favor of the Lord.

Happy Independence Day, Family of God. We love you, and we’re praying for you as you pray for us.

My favorite spot in one of my favorite places in the world — Serenity Retreat Bellville — a little slice of heaven right here in Texas.

If it’s been a while since your last Transformation Prayer Ministry session or retreat, perhaps it’s time? Click to schedule your One-Hour Session and inquire about a Respite or Personal Healing Retreat today. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer as we search for our next Executive Director and continue to grow our team in preparation for more.

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!!

Would you like to schedule a One Hour Prayer Session? Click here to see our Greater Houston locations or schedule Transformation Prayer Ministry today.

The Bellville Effect

Written by Barbara Rolen on June 4, 2026. Posted in Prayer Ministers, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, TPM 301, Transformation Prayer Training, Transformation Prayer Training. No Comments on The Bellville Effect

by Barbara Rolen, Program Director

Three Days. Six Workshops. The Place Where It All Finally Clicks.
A reflection on the TPM 301 Immersive at Serenity Retreat’s Bellville Center.

Something shifts when you leave the city behind and drive into the quiet of Bellville.

You don’t always know what it is — not yet. But somewhere between the familiar hum of Houston traffic and the stillness of the retreat center, your shoulders drop. Your grip loosens. And you start to wonder if maybe this is exactly where you were supposed to be.

That’s how the TPM 301 Immersive begins. Not with a syllabus or a schedule — though both exist — but with a charcuterie board, an unhurried meal, and the kind of easy conversation that happens when people who love the same things find each other in the same room.

More Than a Course — It’s an Experience

If you’ve already completed the TPM 301 online, you know the framework. You’ve learned the MAP. You understand the boxes. You’ve watched the teaching, taken notes, maybe even practiced a session or two on your own.

The Immersive is something different.

One participant put it this way: “There’s another depth that comes from in-person training that is kind of hard to put into words — but it makes going in person worth it.” That depth is what we’re after. Not just knowing the process, but being inside it — as a student mentor, a student observer, or as a mentee doing the meaningful internal work.

The 301 Immersive is our third of its kind this year — following successful Immersives for TPM 101 and 201 earlier in 2026. What started as an experiment has become a clear pattern: something happens in person that simply can’t be replicated on a screen.

Over three packed days, you’ll move through six workshops and six practice sessions, with meals and margin woven in between. It’s a full immersion in the truest sense — purpose, principles, and process held together in a rhythm that works even better when you’re all in the same space, breathing the same air.

The People in the Room

One of the things that makes the 301 Immersive distinctly Serenity is the coaching team.

Brooke Wallace brings a grounded, well-thought-out teaching style and Keever Wallace leans into interactive teaching, which one participant confessed was “a bit stressful” — and also deeply effective. “Even though it’s a bit more stressful as a participant, it also is very helpful for both focusing and learning.” Carol Schwartz brings the personal touch — teaching from her own story in a way that reminds you this isn’t just methodology, it’s a lived journey.

And together? One participant said simply: “They came together really well. The overall experience works.”

This is equipping, not just instruction. These coaches aren’t walking you through material — they’re walking with you through it and giving you opportunities for application.

What the Practice Sessions Actually Teach You

Here’s what no one tells you before you arrive: the practice sessions might be where the most significant learning happens.

Not because they’re polished — they rarely are. That’s the point. You’ll sit in the mentor seat and feel the weight of following the process in real time. You’ll make a call, get stuck, wonder what box you’re in. And then a coach will pull alongside you — not to take over, but to help you see what you almost missed.

Cheryl described an aha moment that came mid-session when Keever stopped and coached her in real time. “I got a new and important insight regarding solution indicators” — the kind of insight that doesn’t come from a video, no matter how many times you watch it.

Another participant noted something just as instructive: watching other cohorts run their sessions. “I learned a lot — most perhaps — from that.” There’s something irreplaceable about seeing someone else navigate the exact moment you’ve been afraid of.

Margin, Meals, and That Impromptu Worship Moment

Let’s talk about the other part — the part that doesn’t show up on the outline.

One evening, dinner moved outside to the pavilion. Open air, green fields, good food, easy laughter around the table. It’s the kind of meal and setting that also feeds the soul.

The meals throughout the weekend were genuinely good. Tiffany and her team pour themselves into the hospitality, and it shows in every detail — the plentiful snacks, the inviting spaces, the care that makes you feel less like a student and more like a guest. And if your room doesn’t have Wi-Fi? One participant was openly grateful for that.

“Loved the meals and the impromptu worship session,” wrote one participant. “The experience works as it is.”

That spontaneous worship moment — unplanned, unhurried — is a good picture of what happens when you put a group of people together who are seeking the Lord and give them a little breathing room. The schedule is full, yes. But there’s something underneath the schedule that the Spirit tends to fill.

A Word to the Mentor Who’s Been Away

Maybe you completed your TPM training a few years ago and life just happened. Ministry got heavy, or a season came that required a different kind of attention, or you simply needed to step back and let yourself be a recipient for a while.

This part is for you.

The 301 Immersive isn’t a re-certification. It’s a re-immersion. You don’t have to have it all together to come. One participant arrived carrying what she described as significant internal chaos. She said she found everyone “generous to give time to my healing.”

That’s the culture here. You can be a learner and a leader in the same weekend. And sometimes — often, actually — the most important thing that happens in Bellville isn’t what you learn about the process. It’s what the process does in you.

What Happens When You Show Up

Here’s the simplest version of what we can tell you:

Show up. Even if you didn’t get a chance to finish all the precourse work. Even if you feel rusty, uncertain, or like everyone else is further along than you. Show up, participate, and let the process do what it does.

One of our participants completed TPM 201 and 301 last year. She could have kept learning from her living room in California. Instead, she was so intrigued by the great deal that she booked a flight to experience it in person.

“It is worth the time and expense,” Jana said, “because so much more just clicks and falls into place.”

When asked what could be improved for the next immersive, Taylor said, “I honestly can’t think of anything, I had such a great experience. The affordability was key for me. Price point was right sized and very reasonable. I was really moved by the whole weekend. Brooke, Keever, Carol, Barb (and Daniela who led that spontaneous worship moment) all did fantastic. It was very meaningful.”

Three Immersives in. Three times we’ve watched people walk in carrying questions and walk out carrying something they couldn’t have found on a screen. We’re not stopping here.

The next TPM 301 Immersive is coming — July 30–August 1, 2026.

This Immersive is designed for students who have completed prerequisite training. Not sure if you qualify? Reach out — we’d love to help you figure out your next right step. Ready to jump in? Click below.

Contact: Barbara at [email protected] or 346.388.3632.

Register Here