daddy4ms

No, I am not talking about retreating from Halloween.   But instead, I set aside the day today to spend in prayer and planning for the year ahead.  Today, marks the end of my 5th year at Hesston MB Church.  I am looking forward to many more years to come.  So, I use the retreat as a day to pray and listen and read the Word and listen and worship and listen.  Notice the pattern.  I find that I am so busy during my normal routine, even with morning devotions, to listen much.  Today's retreat gives me that wonderful opportunity.  I had several items to pray specifically about, but I also give a lot of time to go where the Holy Spirit leads.  I love these days as they are an encouragement to me and help me grow as a follower of Jesus.  After today, I have better direction regarding upcoming preaching, summer trips, finances, VBS, Hesston MB, and much more. I would encourage everyone to take a half day retreat to do the same which brings me t...

Do you like to get away from home? Do you enjoy times when you can leave the kids with someone else and get away with your spouse? Do you love vacations? I know I love getting away from the routine of life every once in a while. So, do we also need a spiritual getaway? I would say the answer is yes. I am talking about a retreat with just you and God. Today, I had the privilege of getting away for the day to Stutzman Cabin. I have been here three other times and I am blessed each time. You may ask, "Why are you blessed? Because I spend the whole day with our awesome God. No phone calls, email, books, or projects to be finished. It is just me and God. What do I do for a whole day? Here is what works for me. It may not work for you, but you will never know unless you try. I start the day in praise and adoration. I read Scripture and sing my heart out to God. Today, I took by iPod and sang worship songs along with it. I have found it is very important to start my re...

A quick update on my retreat. I would recommend that everyone take the time to spend some time in silence every 4-6 months. During this time, spend time in prayer asking God for His direction for the future as well as evaluating the last few months from His perspective. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the cabin last Friday. During prayer, God revealed some things to me through Scripture. He challenged me on areas in my personal life as well as ministry. It was also a good time to pray for an extended time for needs of those around me. Here is a humorous situation related to the retreat. We had a lot of rain the night before and many creeks were flooding on Friday morning. As I drove out to the cabin, I wondered what the lake beside the cabin would look like. When I arrived, the drive to the cabin was covered with water. I tried to go around the trees the most direct route and it was full of standing water. So, I decided to go the long way around the lake. I went through tal...

I am just going to post a little today. I am headed out to a prayer retreat today at Stutzman Cabin (cabin owned by Hesston College for retreats). I have been there twice before and have been blessed both times by the time spent with God. I usually seek the Lord regarding the last few months and evaulate and pray for guidance about decisions for the future. Maybe I will share some of my experience in a later post. Then to end the day, I have a date night planned with my beautiful wife. We have not been out on a date for several months now. I am really looking forward to it. Thanks Rosemary for watching the kids!