PERSONAL RETREAT GUIDE              

While many people go on retreat with a group of people engaged in an organized program, another option–maybe the best of all–is a private retreat that is tailored just for you. The guide which follows is intended both as resource to you in planning your retreat before you come and as a personal guide once you are on site.

Time away.  Setting aside time away from the pressures of the world for communion with God has been a fruitful practice for Christians down through the centuries. Some group retreats are set up for this purpose with extended times of solitude and silence for the participants. Other people undertake an individual retreat for this purpose, with or without a leader to assist them in their time of retreat. This Personal Retreat Guide was prepared for individuals coming to Easy Yoke Ranch for a time of individual retreat. It is designed as a do-it-yourself guide for anyone coming to spend time with God.

Many options.  There are an unending number of different ways to organize a time of retreat and you may already have an approach in mind. We are not encouraging you to abandon your prior plans and pursue an approach we are offering you here. But if you are looking for assistance, here are some of our suggestions. This Personal Retreat Guide contains a number of different ideas. Do not expect to use all of them on a given retreat. In our go-go world there is a tendency to try to cover “a lot of ground,” rather than take time to reflect and pray about whatever “ground” we are on at the moment. What particular plan you choose to follow is not as important as being sure to allow lots of time for meditation and prayer within your approach, whatever that may be. “Less is more” applies to your time of retreat.

Spiritual conversation.  The primary communication during a personal retreat is between the individual and the Holy Spirit, but often the individual also would like to have some communication with another person for a period of time. It is common for retreat centers to have people available for this purpose. Traditionally and most commonly referred to as a spiritual director, in today’s culture the best label for this person may be a spiritual friend, spiritual guide or spiritual companion. Such spiritual directors usually are available at Easy Yoke Ranch if you would like to meet with one. Typically you would meet with this person for a half hour to an hour on a given day, or all of the days you are on retreat. This person is not only a “listener,” but someone who can offer valuable suggestions of “next steps” during your time here. Simply ask and we will attempt to make this time of conversation available.

BIBLE READING

Get personal.  For many people, reading scripture is the foundation of their retreat time. While many of us have a history of studying scripture in an intellectual way that involves careful study of the meaning of words and analysis of the precise meaning of passages, we would urge you in your retreat time to reflect on the personal meaning for you and the implications for how you live your life. This probably means reading, reflecting, rereading, reflecting some more, etc. – possibly one short passage – over an extended period of time, possibly even days. A retreat is an opportunity to listen to what God is saying to you, in your current circumstances at this point in your life.

Reflect and reflect some more.  Reading scripture in a reflective manner, of course, goes back to when scriptures were first written. There is a specific technique for doing so, however, which we recommend to you. It has been around for many centuries and goes by the name of lectio divina. It consists of four stages:

1.                  Reading – slowly and repeatedly.

2.                  Meditating – after taking it in, “ruminate” on it.

3.                  Praying – dialogue with God about what it means in your life.

4.                  Contemplating – resting in the presence of God, who loves us.

A more complete description of lectio divina from an article in Discipleship Journal (a Navigator’s publication) is available to retreatants at our center.

What to read.  Thus far we have described approaches to reading scripture. We also have some suggestions of portions of scripture to reflect upon during your time of retreat. The first suggestion would be any of many passages that focus on the process of our inner transformation, sometimes called spiritual formation. In his superb book on the topic, Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard suggests a number of passages of this type.

“The passages we have in mind are very well known. Of course Matthew 5-7 heads the list, but properly understood it really goes no further than familiar passages in Paul’s letters, in those by Peter, James, and John. And there are similar, though on the whole somewhat less penetrating, passages in the Old Testament. We might cite in this connection Romans 12:1-21, I Corinthians 13, 2 Corinthians 2:12-7:1, Galatians 5:22-6:10, Ephesians 4:20-6:20, Philippians 2:3-16 and 4:4-9, Colossians 3:1-4:6, 1 Peter 2:1-3:16, 2 Peter 1:2-10, 1 John 4:7-21, and so on. Perhaps Micah 6:8 could serve well as an Old Testament point of reference. Deuteronomy 10:12-21 would also serve. I urge the reader to plan a full day in silent retreat to read and reread these passages meditatively.” (page 221.)

We like the suggestion of a full day retreat to read and reread these passages, but would also suggest you consider selecting some of these passages in your initial reading for more intensive reflection and devote your rereading to selected passages, possibly with the use of lectio divina.

Read and pray the Psalms.  Our second scripture suggestion is the Psalms, sometimes referred to as the “prayerbook of the church.” The Psalms express the cry of the human heart as found in almost all circumstances and with the full range of our emotions. Here we can find help in expressing what we may otherwise be unable to express fully to our God.

OTHER READING

Devotional reading.  A retreat is a great time to read the reflections of other disciples of Jesus Christ and benefit from their experiences and insights. Our retreat center library has a number of such books that are available to you; they are set aside in a section labeled Retreat Resources. Among these books are a number by Henri Nouwen. Widely read among both Protestants and Catholics, his books have much to offer the person pursuing spiritual formation. Many books with great potential benefit have been written over the centuries and we would suggest a “sampler” in the form of a book entitled Devotional Classics prepared by Richard J. Foster and James Bryan Smith. It contains an excerpt of about four pages from each of more than 50 people who wrote about the spiritual life between the fourth century and the present. This book is a real delight itself and it may lead you to seek out the more extensive writing of one of the authors.

How-to-do-it.  In addition to these writings about the spiritual life itself, we suggest another book that is a bit more on the how-to-do-it side, Soul Feast, by Marjorie J. Thompson. It addresses many aspects of spiritual formation and some of its chapters may be a starting point for you in developing some new habits or practices in your everyday life.

PRAYER

No barriers.  Fortunately we have access to God in prayer without any concern about what we say, how we do it, where we are located, our posture or any other external consideration. God hears us regardless of such matters or our ability to express ourselves. Many followers of Christ over the centuries, however, have found various kinds of helps for their prayer life. We have already mentioned the Psalms which have been used as a prayer book and as a stimulus for people expressing their personal prayers. It is resource number one.

Varied approaches.  If you wish some suggestions of different ways to approach your personal prayer we would suggest one of the chapters in Marjorie J. Thompson’s book, Soul Feast, which is found in the Retreat Resources section of our library. Chapter 3 of this book, Communication and Communion with God: Approaches to Prayer is a helpful resource. Chapter 6 in this book, Of Conscience and Consciousness: Self-Examination, Confession, and Awareness describes approaches to self-examination that can be the starting point for both significant reflection and prayer. In both chapters she suggests a number of activities that would be good to pursue while you are on retreat.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

With all that has been suggested up to this point, it may seem that there is no need to suggest other activities. Certainly enough has been suggested already to occupy all of your time on retreat, but it is well to note also that we have not come close to exhausting the many possibilities.

Slow down.  Sleeping, napping and staring at the passing clouds and birds can be part of a time of spiritual refreshing. Wasting time with God might be a way of expressing it.

Journaling.  Journaling is a part of some of the activities mentioned in the Soul Feast book in our Retreat Resources area but it deserves a separate mention. There are many forms of journaling and they have had an important place in the lives of believers over the years. We commend it to you.

Walk and pray.  Finally, we would suggest walking and praying. They really can go together. Praying while walking through places of natural beauty–and while sitting on a rock or log along the trail–can be an important part of your retreat time.