A GUIDE TO OUR RETREATS
Getting Started
A GUIDE TO OUR RETREATS
Getting Started
A GUIDE TO OUR RETREATS
Space and Pace
Find or create some space where you can settle in and reflect in silence without distraction. Disengage from technology. Choose or create space that helps you naturally begin to breathe more deeply. Some people find that lighting a candle at the beginning of retreat helps create a sense of sacred space and reminds us of the Presence of God within us and all around us--the God who is Light, within whom there is no darkness. It can also be helpful to return to the same space for subsequent retreats. Soon the very act of returning to this space will begin to help you settle into God’s Presence.
Begin to slow your pace as you enter into retreat. The goal is not to “get through” the retreat. The goal is to allow the retreat to “get through” you. You are not traveling along a straight line in retreat (the shortest distance between two points). You are meandering; wandering; pausing; stopping; retracing; returning.
If you find yourself hurrying, press pause. Look out the window. Listen to some music from behind the Music and More button. Go for a walk. Take a deep breath. Slow yourself down.
If you find yourself falling asleep at some point during retreat, then congratulate yourself when you wake up! Remember that God did some of his most creative work when the first man was sleeping. Trust that God is doing creative work in you — maybe some of his best work — when you are completely at rest in His presence.
Freedom to Choose
In this space we are building a collection of seven personal retreats for you to engage with as you choose, when you choose, for the length of time you choose. You might choose to engage with a retreat for an hour; for a half day; or create an entire day away with Jesus drawing from the content as a guide. You might also choose to take three different days to engage with one retreat, section by section. The retreats build upon one another, so you will want to move through them in order.
Each Retreat Contains:
A First Reflection.
Text, video and questions for a 30-minute to one-hour retreat.
Further Up and Further In
More content and direction for those who wish to engage further.
Further still.
More content and direction, for even deeper engagement.
A Special Journal
You may wish to set aside a special journal for this experience. It might become a pandemic keepsake, a record of God’s faithfulness when the world was turned upside down.
Friends for the Journey
Consider asking a friend or friends to travel with you through these retreats, engaging individually, and then stopping along the way to process your experience together.
Questions for the Journey:
If you choose to travel with a friend or friends through these retreats, engage with the retreats individually, then take time to connect between retreats and process your experience together. This process time is not a time to critique the retreats, which can be our first impulse, but to move beyond that impulse and notice the movement of God in your life in the presence of a trusted friend. Here are a simple set of questions you might choose from:
#1
When were you most aware of God’s movement within you during this retreat? What did that movement feel like? What was your response?
#2
Look through your retreat journal and notice where you sense God’s energy and encouragement. Explore what you notice with a simple question: I wonder what that was about?
#3
What did God reveal to you about yourself during this retreat? What did He reveal to you about Himself? What are the implications for you, moving forward?
