Serenity Retreat Bellville – 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]

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.

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

A Mother—and Daughter’s—Restoration Journey

Written by Tiffany Pardue on May 7, 2026. Posted in Serenity Blog, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on A Mother—and Daughter’s—Restoration Journey

by Claire Benington

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24

In the dark days of marriage, abuse, divorce, and motherhood through it all, I can now see that even when I felt completely alone, God was moving — putting people, resources, and invitations in my path. This is an excerpt from my life’s story, one in which Serenity Retreat has provided hope and a safe place to heal for me and for my most cherished gift — my daughter.

A Dear Friend, Stephen Ministry, and Serenity Retreat

In the last months of 2024, God sent me a new friend, Ava Foster, a lifelong Episcopalian, who became a lifeline. She listened, believed me and in me, and served as my Stephen Minister — a trained lay caregiver who walked beside me through my pain and acrimonious divorce. She sat with me, prayed with me, and gently reminded me that God’s heart was for my freedom, not my bondage. Through Ava, God gently and persistently called me to come into the light. It was she who opened the door to Serenity Retreat and to Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM).

“For at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8

Serenity Retreat Bellville is a place set apart — quiet, beautiful, and saturated with prayer and the grace and glory of God and His son, Jesus Christ. It is a place where God speaks and transforms through TPM. TPM is Serenity’s gentle, Spirit-led process that helps uncover the lies we come to believe and hold about ourselves, others, and God, and invites Jesus to speak His truth into those very places.

As I began TPM, God’s light started to shine into places I had kept in shadow for years. Bit by bit, the fog lifted, truth was revealed, and clarity grew. What I had been living through was not “normal conflict”; it was calculated and deeply harmful—and God’s heart was not in it.

Even after my first experience with TPM, which was at The Preserve, Serenity’s Houston location, I knew something profound had shifted. I heard God’s truth and felt the power of His love and light in a way I had not in years, so I went back a second time.

I shared with Barbara Rolen, Program Director of Serenity Retreat, how I felt transformed by hearing God’s truth and feeling His love. I thirsted to learn more. She told stories of people of all ages—including teens—who had experienced the healing work of TPM. In that moment, I then knew Serenity Retreat was not just for me. It was also for my daughter, Wren.

A Mother–Daughter Retreat

“Mothers pass down faith, strength, and love.” (2 Timothy 1:5)

As a deeply spiritual mother, one of my deepest wounds was seeing someone diminish God and His glory in my child’s eyes.

I wanted her to experience something completely different: a place where God’s presence felt gentle and safe, where questions were welcome, where tears were honored, and where truth and faith did not come with fear of punishment or manipulation.

So I invited Wren to come with me to Serenity Retreat Bellville. Like many teenage girls, she gave me a bit of an eye roll and wasn’t thrilled about being away from friends and missing dance, but after thinking it over, she agreed.

At Serenity Retreat, I stepped back, focused on my own healing and relationship with God, and gave her space to have her personal experience. Just being there — in the natural beauty of the property, the thoughtful spaces, and the presence of warm, Godly people, there seemed to be an instant sense of peace about her. A peace and perhaps serenity, that I had not seen in years.

In the stillness of that private place, during TPM, she had space to be her authentic, vulnerable, whole self. She could bring her fears, hurt, confusion, and questions — everything she carried on her heart — to the Lord. She didn’t have to perform or be “the kid in the middle.” She was allowed, and in fact encouraged, to be simply Wren, deeply loved by God through and through.

True to her nature, afterwards, she didn’t share in detail with me, but I could easily see that God was whispering His truth into her heart. I imagined His words:

You are not the problem…

You are not too much…

You are enough and perfect as you are…

I, your Father, am not like the version of Me you’ve been shown — I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. (Matthew 11:29)

As a Christian mother, there is nothing more sacred than watching your child encounter the true Jesus — the One who protects, heals, and restores — who never condemns and controls.

This is where — in this still, divine, appropriately-named place — God whispered His truth into both of our souls. As His daughter, and especially as a mother, I am deeply grateful for the sanctuary we have found in Serenity Retreat.

“Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

To every woman and mother who needs encouraged today — He is faithful. If you need space and a place to connect with Him — consider Serenity. May God bless you and your precious children.

Happy Mother’s Day!

A Mother’s Day Blessing

To every woman who has ever mothered a child, a friend, a dream, or a hurting heart, including her own,
To the mothers who are joyful and the mothers who are exhausted,
To grandmothers, spiritual mothers, stepmothers, foster and adoptive mothers,
To the women who long to be mothers, and the women who have lost children,
To the women quietly holding families together in the shadows of confusion, conflict, or hidden abuse.

May you hear this: God see you. God hears you. God values and loves you.

*all names have been changed for privacy

When the Mountain Becomes a Molehill: Reflections on Our First TPM 201 Immersive

Written by Angela Miller on February 9, 2026. Posted in Serenity Blog, Serenity Retreat Bellville, TPM 201, Transformation Prayer Training. No Comments on When the Mountain Becomes a Molehill: Reflections on Our First TPM 201 Immersive

by Barbara Rolen, Program Director at Serenity Retreat

“The role-plays and the live demonstration minimized the mountain I had made of TPM.”

When one member of the cohort shared this insight after our first TPM 201 Immersive in Bellville, it reminded me of the way we humans many times approach new experiences, me included. We build up these mountains in our minds—mountains of complexity, mountains of fear, mountains of “I could never do that”—and then the Holy Spirit gently shows us that what looked insurmountable was actually an invitation to step forward.

On Jan 29 – 31, 2026 (with several of us lingering through Sunday morning), we gathered in Bellville for something that was just an idea from the Lord last fall: a condensed, intensive format for TPM 201 that would allow people to grow in their understanding of TPM and have multiple encounters with the Lord in practice sessions, without the challenge of sustaining momentum across six weekly classes. What unfolded was a community of believers sharing life together: lots of laughter and tears as we witnessed and experienced encounters with the Lord leading to transformation again and again.

But the journey didn’t begin when we arrived Thursday evening. It started weeks earlier, when participants began their pre-coursework…

Part One: Laying the Foundation—Weeks of Intentional Preparation

The journey to Bellville didn’t begin with packing bags or making travel arrangements. It began weeks earlier, when each participant received access to their pre-coursework—a carefully designed progression through seven modules that would prepare their hearts and minds for the intensive weekend ahead.

Over those weeks, participants were reading key chapters from The Principles, Purpose, and Process by Ed Smith and Joshua Smith, watching key teaching videos, and engaging with the content through Discovery Guides. They were learning the core TPM principles—we perceive what we believe, we feel what we believe, we do what we believe, we believe what we are persuaded to believe—and beginning to recognize patterns in their own lives. We also asked each person to complete three TPM sessions before arriving, giving them hands-on experience with the process they’d be learning to use.

Some engaged deeply with the pre-work, joining us for our three Zoom check-ins to discuss what they were learning and to experience the prayer process of TPM. Others did what they could, showing up with just enough foundation to begin. And that was okay—because what we discovered is that the immersive format has room for people to enter at different levels of preparation.

The pre-work served its purpose: everyone arrived with at least a basic shared vocabulary and some personal experience of TPM. But the real breakthroughs? Those would come during our time together, when teaching met practice, when understanding became experience, and when the Holy Spirit showed up in ways none of us could orchestrate.

Part Two: Three Days of Deep Transformation

Thursday: Setting the Atmosphere

We gathered around the table over a charcuterie dinner while sharing what brought us to this immersive experience. The honesty in the room was palpable—some eager, some nervous, all expectant. The discussion continued as we dove into the first component of the Purpose of TPM: faith-refinement.

After a brief orientation, focusing specifically on the Emotion Box, where every TPM session begins, everyone enjoyed a live demonstration. Watching someone demonstrate self-TPM made it feel… possible. Approachable. Real.

Angela Miller, one of our coaches, later reflected: “The TPM 201 Immersive reminded me how powerful it is when people gather together in-person, sharing meals, engaging in meaningful conversation, and learning about a prayer process that has lasting effects on our spiritual life. We create space to go deeper into our own stories while also bearing witness to what God is doing in the lives of others.”

Friday: The Rhythm of Breakthrough

Each workshop began with a playful or meaningful warm-up exercise designed to focus on an aspect of TPM. The first workshop of the day was focused on the Memory Box and Belief Box, exploring why it matters where our beliefs are stored (head versus heart) and how the Holy Spirit works to renew our minds.

The teaching sessions weren’t just lectures. We broke into small groups with coaches for role plays, working through scenarios like “Sarah’s Stressful Situation” and “Angie’s Anger.” These weren’t theoretical exercises—they were practice runs for the real sessions happening between workshops.

One participant captured it perfectly: “I loved the community that formed in the 36 hours we were together. I love how knowing the Lord and knowing others know the Lord gives us a strong kinship. I loved that people were serious about learning TPM and their hearts were really engaged in it.”

By Friday afternoon, we were tackling the Anger Box—learning to recognize anger in all its disguises and understanding that our anger always is fueled by a belief underneath. Friday evening brought us face-to-face with Solution Indicators—those protective behaviors we’ve developed to avoid pain, the ones that feel so right but keep us stuck.

And between every workshop? Practice sessions. Real prayer ministry. Real breakthroughs.

“I had a great prayer session when one of the participants prayed for me,” one attendee shared. “The most impactful time is watching the Holy Spirit breakthrough in someone’s life and givethem a new truth.”

Saturday: Integration and Transformation

Saturday morning we explored the Solution Box more deeply. This is where many participants had their biggest “aha” moments. One person wrote in her survey: “I realized I have spent my life in the solution box, thinking it was a good answer, thinking these behaviors were the right and logical truths. And my mind has been renewed. My beliefs are not correct, God’s truth is the right solution. I’m on a new path now in my thinking and how I perceive and believe. It feels like freedom and I actually felt lighter and dizzy, something left.”

Another shared: “I’ve spent most of my life thinking I am alone and isolated, and in my TPM session I realized that was a self-protection tool, and that I can depend on God in those places around me and feel safe and loved and cared for.”

Carol Schwartz, another coach, observed: “Being part of TPM 201 team was such a gift. The immersive setting gave us the chance to really slow down and walk with people as they practiced, asked questions, and grew in confidence. It was powerful to watch the material click in real time and to see the personal growth happening right alongside their hands-on learning.”

Saturday afternoon brought us full circle with a “Coaches Panel”—a time for participants to ask any lingering questions. Then came our closing ceremony: the Transformation Commemoration. Each person wrote on a river rock one lie they’d believed when they arrived—something Jesus had replaced with truth over these three days. One by one, they threw their rocks into the water, releasing what God had set them free from. Then they received cards to write down the truth God had given them in place of the lie or anything else the Lord wanted them to walk away with. It was a genuine celebration of what we’d witnessed God do.

A few of us lingered into Sunday for additional fellowship and reflection time. There’s something sacred about those unhurried morning hours after an intensive experience—time to let it all settle.

Part Three: What We’re Learning About This Format

The survey responses are still coming in, but certain themes are already clear:

The immersive format works differently than weekly classes. The concentrated time, the meals together, the ability to have multiple practice sessions in a short span—it accelerates both learning and transformation. Angela, who helped facilitate this intensive, put it simply: “I genuinely love this model and cannot recommend an immersive highly enough. Even if you have participated in a six- or eight-week training, there is something uniquely rich about the immersive experience that is well worth stepping into.”

Role plays and demonstrations demystify the process. That participant who felt the mountain become a molehill? She wasn’t alone. Watching real demonstrations and doing hands-on practice made TPM feel accessible rather than overwhelming.

Community matters. Being together in person, sharing meals, laughing over icebreakers, witnessing each other’s breakthroughs—it creates bonds that go beyond typical classroom learning.

The Lord shows up. One participant noted simply: “Still digesting everything, the skits, the workshop discussions were fantastic.” But beneath that digest-time is the reality that minds were renewed, lies were replaced with truth, and people encountered Jesus in tangible ways.

Part Four: Your Invitation

We’re offering more TPM 201 Immersive opportunities in 2026, and after experiencing this first one, I can’t recommend it highly enough. Whether you’ve never taken TPM training before, or you completed a weekly format years ago and want to go deeper, this condensed format offers something special.

You’ll arrive with some pre-work under your belt. You’ll spend three days learning principles, practicing skills, and experiencing personal ministry. You’ll leave with new tools, new freedom, and new friends who’ve walked this journey with you.

And maybe, like our participants, you’ll discover that the mountain you imagined was really just an invitation to step forward and watch what God can do.

If you’re interested in a future TPM 201 Immersive, reach out to us at Serenity Retreat [email protected]. We’d love to have you join us for the next one!

A New Season in Bellville: Welcoming Tiffany Pardue

Written by Angela Miller on January 15, 2026. Posted in Serenity Blog, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville. No Comments on A New Season in Bellville: Welcoming Tiffany Pardue

by Cynthia Wenz, Interim CEO and Board Member

We are grateful to share that Tiffany Pardue has stepped into a new leadership role at Serenity Retreat as our Retreats Director and Community Partnership Liaison. This transition marks a meaningful new season for Serenity Retreat Bellville, and one we are entering with deep gratitude and confidence.

In these past months, as Tiffany has stepped more fully into this role, we have already seen the fruit of her leadership. She has helped maintain, develop, and strengthen the rhythm of retreats and ministry respites on the land, while also collaborating closely with the broader team to imagine what could be next. With creativity and wisdom, Tiffany has brought fresh insight into how our retreats and hospitality team can continue to serve individuals, ministries, and communities with care, depth, and intentionality. We’ve already seen the collaboration in action with our training team in our recent TPM 201 Immersive and how the Lord is positioning Serenity Retreat for the new wine to come!

Tiffany carries both a reverence for what God has already established at Serenity Retreat and a thoughtful openness to innovation, holding the mission steady while helping us grow with clarity and purpose. Her leadership helps ensure that the retreats, gatherings, and trainings hosted in Bellville continue to be places where people can encounter God in safety, truth, and love.

As Serenity Retreat Bellville continues to grow as a place of rest, prayer, and restoration, this role helps cultivate an atmosphere where Transformation Prayer Ministry can flourish and where individuals and groups can step away from the noise to listen, heal, and be renewed in God’s presence. The land in Bellville remains a place set apart, a place to come away, to be still, and to receive.

As Scripture reminds us:
“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31)

If you are sensing an invitation to step away for rest, prayer, or healing, we would be honored to host you at Serenity Retreat Bellville. To inquire about a personal retreat, group retreat, or ministry respite, please email [email protected] or fill out our Retreat Information Request Form.

We are deeply thankful for the way God is assembling leaders for this next season at Serenity Retreat. Please join us in welcoming Tiffany and praying for her as she continues to serve with humility, wisdom, and a heart fully yielded to the work God is doing here.

Collaborating For More: Group Retreats, Now With TPM®!

Written by Tiffany Pardue on November 25, 2025. Posted in Prayer Ministers, Serenity Retreat, Serenity Retreat Bellville, Transformation Prayer. No Comments on Collaborating For More: Group Retreats, Now With TPM®!

by Tiffany Pardue and Barbara Rolen, Retreats and Program Directors

While Christian groups have gathered to experience the Lord at Serenity Retreat Bellville for years, God is doing is something new and exciting with Transformation Prayer Ministry (TPM).

Here’s What’s New

This fall, in planning meetings with group retreat leaders, discussions about what it might look like to incorporate TPM sessions increased. Leaders began showing an interest in our prayer ministers providing TPM to their groups—from 10, to 15, even 17 at a time! With our typical Personal Healing Retreat format, that’s just not feasible.

So, we sought the Lord and began to book group retreats that include one TPM session per participant. The response has been extraordinary—Serenity Retreat partnered with church small groups and ministry teams to provide TPM during group retreats is a Kingdom match made in heaven!

The Experiment

Our first group, Dream Makers, had ten participants, seven of whom received prayer. We scheduled two prayer minister teams to serve them, and when illness hit mid-retreat—we didn’t cancel, we pivoted. Four sessions were provided via Zoom to the group gathered at Bellville. Thank God that the Holy Spirit is not constrained by space or screens!

Then came our second group, Restored Wives with 17 ladies. We brought in three all-star prayer minister and intercessor teams to provide TPM to 16 young mommas and wives over the course of 24 hours. You should have seen it!

By the end of the retreat, they stood facing the pond, hands clasped and lifted high in celebration of Jesus and what He had done among them—collectively and in each of their hearts. So much restoration and love.

The Lord has moved in ways we’ve never experienced through these group retreat collaborations. With all our hearts turned to the Lord for wisdom and guidance, 23 women have experienced TPM through this new format, almost all of them for the first time. That’s 23 women who have given the opportunity to have an encounter with the Lord resulting in more freedom and transformation.

Why This Matters

Here’s what we’re discovering: this format makes TPM accessible to groups who might not otherwise experience it.

Let’s say your men or women’s ministry wants to introduce TPM to your leaders, but asking everyone to commit to a full individual retreat isn’t realistic. Maybe your small group has been walking through increasingly difficult circumstances and you know you need to create space for everyone to lean in together—a space where all can gather, and also experience quiet, sacred moments with the Lord, including a TPM session—you’re wondering how you can make this work for a larger group? Or perhaps the Lord is inviting your group of friends or ministry team to go deeper together in Him—and one TPM session per person feels like the perfect starting point.

This new option? It’s opening doors and so many possibilities.

It Takes a Small Army (of Prayer Ministers)

I need to tell you something: this only works because of our prayer ministers’ hearts for this ministry. They want as many people as possible to encounter the Lord and walk in freedom! When we asked prayer ministers to serve these two groups—first two teams for the group of ten, then three teams for the group of 17—many said yes without hesitation. They all agreed it was such a joy to come together and serve so many women at once. Their willingness to serve, their hunger to see people set free, their faithfulness to show up—that’s what makes this kind of multiplication possible.

Is This for Your Group?

If you’ve been thinking about how and when you can bring your ministry team, small group, even family or friends to Bellville, and what it might look like to receive ministry together—this might be exactly what you’re looking for.

We are thrilled to collaborate with you to create a Group Retreat experience tailored to your needs, with or without our new one-session-per-participant option. Email [email protected] to start the conversation and see what the Lord has in store for you and your people in2026!

Grateful for All That God Is Doing

This Thanksgiving, as we think of these 23 women, many whose lives have been deeply impacted and changed, we say THANK YOU.

Thank you to our powerful, big-hearted prayer ministers, and thank you to every person who makes the space, investing time and resources to step out in faith, believing that God will encounter you with His truth. Thank you to all who are praying for Serenity Retreat, supporting this work, or cheering us on—thank you for being part of what God is multiplying here. And thank you, Jesus, for doing what only You can do!

We have so many reasons to be grateful and so many to whom we give our thanks. God has been good to Serenity Retreat this year, and we are excited and expectant to see how He leads us through the holidays and into the new year, together. Happy Thanksgiving, Family!

PRAYER MINISTERS – One prayer minister was so inspired by reading this post that she is ready to sign up to join the TPM explosion happening in Bellville. Anybody else want to join? Don’t let 16 sessions scare you, or even 5 sessions for one team. Prayer teams are not always compiled of the same ministers. Mentors and Intercessors serve as they’re available and then tag the next team.

Contact [email protected] to be added to the “Ready Retreat Team”. When the need arises, you’ll be contacted. If you can serve, great—if not, we’ll call you the next time. Thanks and we hope to hear from you soon!