By Lauren Hunter
Staff Writer
Franciscan University hosted a community-wide retreat on Feb. 2-4 called the Behold Retreat. Alumni Jake and Heather Khym, cofounders of Life Restoration Ministries, helped assist throughout the retreat that focused on Jesus and the Eucharist.
The women’s session took place on Feb. 3 at 11:45 a.m. in the Finnegan Fieldhouse, hosted by Heather Khym and author Debbie Herbeck, founder of Pine Hill Girls’ Camp and Be Love Revolution.
At the start of the session, the attendees were led in praise and worship before Heather Khym and Herbeck began to give their talk.
Afterward, Herbeck opened the talk by saying, “We’re an army God is forming and wants to kind of shape us today.”
The speakers proceeded to deep dive into a few passages from the Bible, including Mark 10:17-27, as part of “basic training,” as Herbeck called it.
The purpose of the Bible passages was to take a look at one’s own life and see what is holding one back from deep relationship with God, according to the speakers.
Heather Khym and Herbeck then went through a list of different things that could be where one has met hinderance and asked those that related to it to stand up.
Most of the women in the room stood in acknowledgment.
Once this was realized, Heather Khym shared several stories of her own life in which she could now see in hindsight God working despite the Devil trying his hardest to get her far from Jesus.
The next part of the talk was about reclaiming one’s identity, specifically as a daughter of God.
“We need to tether ourselves to God and His Word … it can be a firm foundation for us as we move through life because you are going to find yourself faced with a lot of lies, and a lot of fears, a lot of difficulty,” said Heather Khym.
“Your fundamental identity is a beloved daughter of God,” Herbeck said. “Open your eyes … the Lord wants to show you.”
Herbeck followed up her comment with a reference to the Bible passage Matthew 3:16-17 about Jesus’ baptism.
Towards the end of the session, Herbeck and Heather Khym led the group of women in a collective vocal renunciation, through Jesus’s power, of the demons and spirits that were holding on and feeding them lies. The list of things renounced included anger, lust, a sense of inadequacy and fear of failing.
The speakers did not dwell on the darkness. Once they had completed the renunciation, they spoke the truth of God over the women to fill in goodness where the lies had been removed.
The talk ended in praise and worship to “celebrate,” as Herbeck stated.