"A day to gather my thoughts... that sounds nice."
These words might seem familiar, because you've thought them yourself. Or perhaps you read them and instantly find resonance.
We often can find pockets of time to steal away from requests and to-do lists -- a few minutes in the corner of a coffee shop, a quiet commute without music or podcasts, or even just taking advantage of the Do Not Disturb setting on our devices. But perhaps we need more than that.
Any of us would benefit from regularly taking some kind of personal retreat day, whether once a year, once a quarter, or even one a month. It's a day to consider who we are, and how we are doing. It's a time to look back and how things and been going, and imagine forward who we would like to be.
In spiritual direction, I often suggest the idea of a personal spiritual retreat. It is usually received with eagerness, but also with caution about how to find the time to do it, or what to do with that time.
I'm thankful to offer you a free guide for taking a spiritual retreat day. It comes from my own experience as a pastor and a Christian spiritual director. I believe it can help set you up for planning and experiencing a meaningful personal retreat day.
When you request this free guide, you receive a link to the guide that includes:
- A simple format that can easily be printed or viewed on any device.
- Practical tips for planning your retreat in advance
- A days' worth of prompts for guided journaling and reflection
Without solitude we are dangerous in the human community and in the Christian community, because we are at the mercy of our compulsions, compelled by our inner emptiness into a self-oriented, anxious search for fullness in the next round of activities, accomplishments or relationships.
-- Ruth Haley Barton
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