Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Fueling your faith retreat


This past Sunday afternoon Jane and I took part in the 'Fueling Your Faith' retreat put on by the local YMCA. This is the blurb from their Facebook page:
Fueling Your Faith includes a four-hour retreat at beautiful YMCA Camp Potawotami (7255 E 700 S, Wolcottville IN, 46795) where participants are given training and time to put into practice renewing Christian principles of rest, solitude, silence, and reflection.

Checkin is at 1pm
Retreat begins at 1:30
Dinner is at 6pm
Campfire & s'mores at 7pm

The training will be led by Brenda Janks, the founder of Run Hard. Rest Well. It is a ministry that teaches people how to restore margins in life in order to be refreshed to love, care and serve.

I believe there were supposed to be around 60 people registered for the event. The only ones I knew were Jane, Tim (who organized it), and the CEO of the Y (who sat with us at our table). I was glad there was only one exercise where we had to share around our table - just because I don't like doing this in general unless it's among people I'm comfortable with. We sat with Marty, Tim & Flora(?), and Tabitha.

I can't really say that I learned anything new, but it was a worthwhile endeavor. Personally, resting well is something I have probably been fairly well attuned to over the past few years - what with coming through my own episode of burnout. So even though I may not have learned a lot, I can attest to the value of the things being taught.

I liked that there was a good mix of teaching time - and all the notes were printed out - as well as time to get outside and practice. There were two "get outside" times - one for 20 minutes and one for an hour. I found those times especially helpful, and I think they would be even more so for people under much greater stress than me.

I had two big take-aways from the retreat:
  1. I need to make more time to write. By that, I particularly mean blog writing. I need to spend more time at it. More than merely writing about my day, I need to do some actual WRITING. I believe that is what feeds my soul. I think I've had a tendency to think it is wasted time (or that others see it as such), but this retreat seemed to point out that it's how I best renew and rejuvenate myself - regardless of how well I write.
  2. I also think I need to force myself to get outside more. Not necessarily to do yard work, but to simply take in nature. It doesn't need to be for long, but even five minutes could do wonders.
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Some of the notes I highlighted: 

1.) Not sure of the source, but the instructor shared how healthy rhythms have been removed from the fabric of our society in these ways:
  • Prior to 1897 invention of the light bulb = sleep was protected ( 2 1/2 hours each night)
  • Prior to 1960s, US economics honored Sabbath rest = rhythm was protected
  • Prior to 1980s, children's activities were confined to afternoons = evenings were protected
  • Prior to 1990s, access to information was limited = boundaries on work were honored
  • Prior to 2000s, people weren't accessible 24/7 = sanity was protected
 (Can you say 'tower of babel'?)

2.) "GREEN ZONE" - a study supporting the health/wellness benefit of going outside at least 5 minutes/day - especially by water.

3.) Anxiety assessment - p. 6 of notes

4.) Paradigm shift exercise (how to draw a circle with a dot in the middle without lifting the pen off the page).

5.) Camp Lutherhaven (Albion) daily retreats for free. Consider doing one every 6 mos. or so.

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So, all in all, I'm glad we went. The only real negative was the food. I would probably skip the meal the next time. We did skip the s'mores this time, because a campfire in near-90 temps didn't seem all that appealing. :)

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