Stewarding Time
I am a wildly curious person.
I always have been. I want to know how things work. Why they work. What’s behind the thing behind the thing. I can start reading one article and somehow end up three topics away, fully invested in something I didn’t even know existed an hour earlier. I’ve been known to crack open broken phones and computers just to see what I can learn from the inside. I’ll disassemble an article of clothing to understand how the pieces fit together. Growing up, I read the encyclopedia and the dictionary for fun.
You can say it. I’m a nerd.
My youngest son is wired the same way. The two of us can chase a question for an entire afternoon and feel like five minutes passed. I genuinely love that about us. I think having a healthy sense of wonder and curiosity, and following it, can be an act of worship.
But lately I’ve been thinking about time differently.
The Crucible staff recently had a session with “The Time Boss,” Andrew Hartman, who challenged us to think of time as currency and our schedule as a personal budget. That idea has been sitting with me.
Because if time is currency, then I overspend. I run a deficit with yesterday, last week, last year.
I don’t overspend on bad things. I spend on interesting things. On fascinating things. I borrow from tomorrow. I stay up later than I should. I push into dinner prep time. I edge something important aside because I got pulled into something compelling.
And while curiosity is a gift, it still needs guardrails.
One way I’ve been processing Andrew’s seminar is this: the woman I believe God is calling me to be should drive my time budget.
Psalm 90:12 says, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I don’t hear pressure in that. I hear invitation.
Number your days. Pay attention. Decide how to spend your time on purpose.
I don’t want my hours to just disappear into whatever grabs my attention first. I want my calendar to reflect what I actually value: the people I love, the work I’m called to, the rest my body needs.
Wonder is welcome. Curiosity is still a gift from God. But wisdom asks me to steward even good things well.
We’ve been given 168 hours this week.
How will we spend them?
Testimonial from recent attendee:
“The Crucible became my desert place, the space where I met the God of the universe and faced the anxiety that had been flooding my life. I came desperate for clarity and relief. There are still deeper roots to uncover and tend, but in His infinite faithfulness, God has given me not only a new name, but a new way of being. I am beginning to experience peace like a river. The journey continues…”
We want to hear from you! 📋 Fill out our weekend survey!
Coming Up
Explore the opportunities ahead to deepen your journey, serve others, and invite new participants into the Crucible experience.
2026 Retreats
February 20-22: Initial Weekend in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
March 6-8: Initial Weekend in Houston, Texas
March 27-29: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
April 11-13: Initial Weekend in Bergton, Virginia
April 24-26: Initial Weekend in Centennial, Wyoming
June 5-7: Initial Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
June 12-14: The Mission Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
August 14-16: Leadership: Dark Side in Andover, CT
August 14-16: The Mission Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 16-18: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 23-25: Initial Weekend in Empire, Colorado
November 13-15: Initial Weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Trainings
If you have a desire to participate in facilitation trainings in 2026 or 2027, but don’t see a date or time that fits your needs below, please fill out this Google Form so we can plan how to best meet the training needs of Redwoods: https://forms.gle/KxYXFaeogSX4nxgh8
Register Now for Upcoming Trainings:
Advanced Process Training: Sovereign & God-Split, Risk Manager & What’s at Risk
Note Adjusted Start Date: 3/12/26
Thursdays & Fridays 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM Central Time for 8 class meetings
Class Dates: 3/12, 3/13, 3/19, 3/20, 4/2, 4/3, 4/16, 4/17
Advanced Process Training: Sage & Predator, & Shadow Reversal
Note Adjusted Start Date: 4/30/26
Thursdays & Fridays 9:00 AM -11:00 AM Central Time for 8 class meetings
Class Dates: 4/30, 5/1, 5/14, 5/16, 5/21, 5/22, 5/28, 5/29
Introduction to Facilitation Training
(Rescheduled from the Spring to the Fall) Start Date: 9/10/26
Thursdays & Fridays 9:00 AM-11:00 AM Central Time for 8 class meetings
Class Dates: 9/10, 9/11, 9/24, 9/25, 10/1, 10/2, 10/8, 10/9
Cost of each training is $350. Cost to repeat the course is $50
Contact us for more info.
Register Here
How You Can Stay Connected
- Join the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community and Private Facebook Group
- Join a Group or Lead One (scroll to the bottom of the groups page for info on leading groups)
- Check-in Wednesdays from 12-1pm on Zoom. For updates about specific meeting dates, join the Wednesday Lunch Bunch group in the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community.
📋 Fill out our weekend survey!
🎧 Let these songs take you back to moments of the weekend - check out our Spotify playlist.
A Moment Worth Celebrating: Welcoming Two New Certified Retreat Leaders
As we begin 2026, I’m excited to share an important milestone in the life of our women’s community: It is my honor to share that Jolynne Turner and Lina Reed have been certified as Crucible Retreat Leaders.
With their certification, our community now has five Certified Women’s Retreat Leaders, up from three. This growth is not just numerical – it reflects years of faithful investment, determination and discernment within our leadership development pipeline. Moments like this invite us not only to celebrate who has been affirmed, but also to reflect on how leadership is grown among at the Crucible Project.
Leadership that is fostered, not rushed
Becoming a Certified Retreat Leader within Crucible is a years-in-the-making journey. It cannot be rushed, fast-tracked, or achieved through skill alone. Certification reflects demonstrated proficiency across every dimension of retreat leadership – planning and execution, shepherding lead teams and staff teams, holding participants, and stewarding the spiritual and emotional arc of an entire weekend.
Equally important is the unseen work: ongoing personal formation, participation in second-level retreats, long-term soul group engagement, and a willingness to be known deeply over time. Leadership here is not conferred lightly. It is discerned communally, tested faithfully, and entrusted with great care.
I have had the privilege of walking alongside both Jolynne and Lina through this process, witnessing not only their competence, but their character—their humility, courage, and teachability; their capacity to receive challenge as a gift; and their commitment to lead from a grounded and integrated place. Their certification represents the confidence of their local communities, the Retreat Leader Team, and elder women within our movement that they are ready to carry this responsibility.
Celebrating Jolynne Turner
Jolynne Turner lives in Perth, Western Australia, with her husband Dale (also a Redwood), and has been pioneering soul work for many years. Empowerment has long been a guiding value in her life, shaped in part by her work with adults with special needs, where connection, encouragement, and faithful presence were central.
Jolynne has been instrumental in growing the Crucible women’s community in Perth and in helping bring Crucible to women across Australia. During COVID, she helped lead an online Crucible women’s weekend for the women of Perth, creating a pathway for enough women to complete the work so that—once restrictions lifted—the community could host their first in-person women’s weekend. It was a milestone many years in the making, requiring creativity, perseverance, and deep trust in the process.
She has traveled to the United States multiple times to deepen her leadership formation, serving on weekends and participating as both participant and staff in the Leadership Dark Side pilot weekends. In my experience, Jolynne is a woman deeply committed to integrity in all areas of her life and continually seeking to grow in safe leadership, loving others well, and stepping into greater confidence.
This certification recognizes not only completed requirements, but Jolynne’s steady courage, relational strength, and long-standing commitment to empowering others through soul work.
Celebrating Lina Reed
Lina Reed lives in Tenancingo, Mexico, where she and her husband Matthew serve as full-time ministry workers. Matthew is deeply involved in Crucible’s men’s work in Mexico, and together they have faithfully poured themselves into the growth of this community.
In addition to her on-the-ground ministry, Lina serves on Crucible’s Board of Directors, offering leadership and discernment at the organizational level. She has played a vital role in translating Crucible materials from English into Spanish and in bringing the women’s weekend to Mexico—helping ensure that our work is accessible to Spanish-speaking women and culturally rooted in the communities we serve.
Lina brings a powerful, grounded presence to leadership. Her certification recognizes not only completed requirements, but her ability to bridge cultures, hold complexity, and faithfully steward Crucible’s transformational work across languages and borders.
Notice what stirs within you
As we celebrate Jolynne and Lina, I’m aware that moments like this often stir something in the wider community: both admiration and a heart’s whisper: Could this be the path for me too?
If so, I want you to know – leadership within Crucible is about first leading yourself, within the community God has placed you in, and faithfulness over time. This path remains is open to women who are willing to do the work, stay in relationship, and grow under loving challenge.
Today, though, we pause to honor what God has already brought to fruition.
Please join me in celebrating Jolynne Turner and Lina Reed—and in giving thanks for the way they have said yes, again and again, to the long obedience of leadership.
Blessings,
Lisa Modrzejewski
Testimonial from recent attendee:
“I was born into a life of trauma and abuse. I have been stuck in a fight or flight cycle for 41years. I don’t even know what peace felt like, but I prayed it was possible. My initial weekend was incredibly hard, and I had to open wounds that have been buried for years- but it was worth it! I received healing and peace I don’t even know was possible. My family constantly says how much they can see a difference- like a huge weight has been lifted. I am forever grateful for Crucible - it changed, and saved, my life.” – Colorado Women’s Retreat Attendee
We want to hear from you! 📋 Fill out our weekend survey!
Coming Up
Explore the opportunities ahead to deepen your journey, serve others, and invite new participants into the Crucible experience.
2026 Retreats
February 13-15: Initial Weekend in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
February 20-22: Initial Weekend in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
March 6-8: Initial Weekend in Houston, Texas
March 27-29: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
April 11-13: Initial Weekend in Bergton, Virginia
April 24-26: Initial Weekend in Centennial, Wyoming
June 5-7: Initial Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
June 12-14: The Mission Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
August 14-16: Leadership: Dark Side in Andover, CT
August 14-16: The Mission Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 16-18: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 23-25: Initial Weekend in Empire, Colorado
November 13-15: Initial Weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Trainings
If you have a desire to participate in facilitation trainings in 2026 or 2027, but don’t see a date or time that fits your needs below, please fill out this Google Form so we can plan how to best meet the training needs of Redwoods: https://forms.gle/KxYXFaeogSX4nxgh8
Register Now for Upcoming Trainings:
March-April, Thursdays & Fridays 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Advanced Process Training: Sovereign & God-Split, Risk Manager & What’s at Risk
May-June, Thursdays & Fridays 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Advanced Process Training: Sage & Predator, & Shadow Reversal
Register Here
How You Can Stay Connected
- Join the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community and Private Facebook Group
- Join a Group or Lead One (scroll to the bottom of the groups page for info on leading groups)
- Check-in Wednesdays from 12-1pm on Zoom. For updates about specific meeting dates, join the Wednesday Lunch Bunch group in the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community.
📋 Fill out our weekend survey!
🎧 Let these songs take you back to moments of the weekend - check out our Spotify playlist.
The Gift That Still Warms Me
December 2025
Dear Women of The Crucible Project,
Recently, the group of Crucible women that I meet with weekly decided to do a group project that uses old sweaters. In preparation, I went through my stash of fabric and old clothes and found within a walk down memory lane: A cashmere and silk sweater set.
I was a young teenager when I received it — I was the oldest of five kids, spending most of my days working on a dairy farm. My feet were often wet, my clothes selected for durability and practicality, my life full of responsibility. And at the same time, I was an aspiring pianist and student with an eye for beauty, music, and the finer details of life. Somehow, my Grandma Bev noticed.
That Christmas, she gave me a deep magenta sweater set: a sleeveless mock turtleneck and a cardigan with deep pockets and a deep V, made of a cashmere-and-silk blend. It was soft, substantial, and clearly chosen with care. I remember unfolding it and feeling not just surprise, but recognition — as if someone had seen something in me and named it without words.
The gift wasn’t about leaving farm life behind. There are deep dignity and goodness in that work. But Grandma Bev seemed to understand that I had my eye set on something else, too — that my heart was drawn toward music, learning, and new possibilities. That sweater helped me trust that I could move through the world with confidence and competence. It helped me feel like my voice and contributions mattered.
A few years later, at sixteen, I got a job as a bank teller — and I loved it. I loved the responsibility, the trust, the sense of being capable. At eighteen, I received an academic and music scholarship for undergrad that opened even more doors. I can trace a quiet line back to that Christmas gift: the affirmation that I was allowed to pursue my interests, to go for it, to become who God had made me to be. I continued to wear that sweater set for years, beyond college and into womanhood and motherhood. (Christmas 2013 with my husband and three littles pictured)
At Christmas, we celebrate the ultimate act of affirmation: God entering the world in the vulnerability of a child. Jesus didn’t arrive with status or credentials. He came close. He saw people clearly. He spoke identity into fishermen, women at wells, tax collectors, and children — calling them beloved, capable, chosen.
Many of us have received gifts like that along the way. Maybe not a sweater, but a word, a gesture, a presence that helped us see ourselves more clearly. This season, I invite you to reflect: Who has spoken life into you? Who planted seeds that shaped who you are today?
And then, just as importantly, consider this: Who might God be inviting you to bless?
You don’t have to be perfect or have it all figured out. You simply have to notice. A thoughtful word. A small act of generosity. A moment of attention. These are not small things in the Kingdom of God.
This Christmas, may we remember with gratitude — and may we give with intention. You never know which simple gift will become someone else’s turning point.
Lisa Modrzejewski
Women’s Ministry Director
Coming Up
Explore the opportunities ahead to deepen your journey, serve others, and invite new participants into the Crucible experience.
- To register as a participant, visit www.thecrucibleproject.org and click on “Attend a Weekend.”
- To apply to staff, log into the Redwoods-only section at www.thecrucibleproject.org/redwoods and select “Staff a Weekend.”
- To register for a training, log into the Redwoods-only section at thecrucibleproject.org/redwoods, scroll to the "I Want To" section and select “Training."
2026 Retreats
Click here to see open staffing applications and apply to staff a retreat! Don't see a retreat listed that you would like to staff? Staff applications are opened when the Retreat Leader is ready to begin receiving applications. Keep an eye on our initial women's Facebook page for staff application announcements!
* Denotes that staff application is open
*January 16-18: Unshackled Second-Level Retreat in Tulsa, Oklahoma
February 13-15: Initial Weekend in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
February 20-22: Initial Weekend in Valle de Bravo, Mexico
*March 6-8: Initial Weekend in Houston, Texas (Now accepting staff applications!)
March 27-29: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois (Now accepting staff applications!)
*April 10-12: Initial Weekend in Bergton, Virginia (Now accepting staff applications!)
April 24-26: Initial Weekend in Centennial, Wyoming (Now accepting staff applications!)
June 5-7: Initial Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
June 12-14: The Mission Weekend in Limuru, Kenya
August 14-16: Leadership: Dark Side in Andover, CT
August 14-16: The Mission Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 16-18: Initial Weekend in Saint Charles, Illinois
October 23-25: Initial Weekend in Empire, Colorado
November 13-15: Initial Weekend in Andover, CT
Trainings
We’re compiling a list of people (men & women) who wish to participate in facilitation trainings this year. Please fill out this Google Form so we can plan how to best meet the training needs of Redwoods.
Register now for these upcoming trainings:
- January-February, Thursdays and Fridays, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Advanced Process Training: Lover, Tombstone & Switch
- March-April, Thursdays and Fridays, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Advanced Process Training: Sovereign & God-Split, Risk Manager & What’s at Risk
- May-June, Thursdays and Fridays, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM: Advanced Process Training: Sage & Predator, & Shadow Reversal
Click here to register online for these trainings.
Testimonial from Recent Attendee
“I walked away with clarity, confidence, and a deeper understanding of myself. This retreat helped me face things I’ve carried for years and finally process them in a healthy, honest way. I left feeling lighter, stronger, and more grounded in who I am — as a woman, a wife, and a mother. It gave me tools to move forward with purpose instead of staying stuck in old patterns.” - Kiara
How You Can Stay Connected
- Join the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community and Private Facebook Group
- Join a Group or Lead One (scroll to the bottom of the groups page for info on leading groups)
- Check-in Wednesdays from 12-1pm on Zoom. For updates about specific meeting dates, join the Wednesday Lunch Bunch group in the Crucible Women WhatsApp Community.
📋 Fill out our weekend survey!
🎧 Let these songs take you back to moments of the weekend - check out our Spotify playlist.