Retreat

Camp Greystone - One of my favorite retreats growing up!

Around the holidays is one of my favorite times of year because it allows for loads of unstructured time. Time to spontaneously have a 4 hour long conversation with your Mom, time to play bananagrams (and get whooped by your sister if you're me), time to just chill. I'm guessing for most of us, we're typically "go-go-go" all of the time, and these moments of rest are relatively rare. One of my favorite things about these chill times are to take some time myself to think about the ways the Lord has worked in my life over the past year and to pray about how I hope he'll work in my life the following year. It's a good time to take stock of things and retreat with the Lord. I'm so lucky that this year, I've already been blessed with some great retreat time with my family, as well as the lovely Victoria Foxgrover and Laura Hohnsbeen!

I love how in the old testament, they do this on the regular! They have so many times set aside to honor the Lord, from Sabbath to Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. I like how this section in Deuteronomy reflects on how these times can be used to remember God's law and promises. 

And Moses commanded them, “At the end of every seven years, at the set time in the year of release, at the Feast of Booths, when all Israel comes to appear before the LORD your God at the place that he will choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”

~Deuteronomy 31:10-13

And let's forget, JC, the man himself, who also loved some good God-time:

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 

~ Mark 1:35

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. 

~ Luke 5:16 

So my challenge for us at the end of this holiday season is to find a few free hours, some good coffee (or tea), and retreat!