Win a FREE Retreat for Writing About Retreat

Susan prompted me in the comment section. We’ve almost got the email ready to go out to High Calling Bloggers, but here’s a preview:

Win a FREE Retreat!

I’m pretty excited about this! This month’s Group Writing Project is sponsored by Laity Lodge, and they are offering us some big discounts and prizes. Here’s what we’ve got on the table:

• 50% off selected retreats for participating members of HighCallingBlogs.com.
• 25% off for YOUR READERS if they mention HighCallingBlogs.com.
• AND one blogger will win a FREE retreat for a married couple or an individual.

The discounts are worth $75-$400 depending on which retreat and which discount. And the free retreat is worth $390 to $780 depending on whether you come as an individual or a married couple.

Since we aren’t quite ready to send the email to our bloggers, here’s the actual writing project for people who want to get a headstart. We’ve got a quick turnaround on this because our first retreat option comes at the beginning of June. So you have to post by Friday at noon to be entered in the drawing for the FREE retreat. (ALL CAPS ARE FUN!)

Write About the Importance of Retreating

This month we’re writing about the importance of retreat. Getting away. Doing the Walden thing to simplify, simplify, simplify. Learning to hear the still, small voice of God.

I’m not just talking about vacations. I’m not even just talking about short term mission trips. (Those things can be a kind of retreat though.)

I’m talking about Elijah in the wilderness with ravens. I’m talking about Jesus in the garden early in the morning. I’m talking about L’abri. And Yaddo. And Walden. And that Tom Hanks movie where he’s stuck on the island talking to a soccer ball.

Well, maybe not that last one. But you get the idea.

Write about the importance of retreat. If possible, think of a specific retreat you took. Where was it? What happened? What did you learn about yourself and your identity? What did you learn about the world and your priorities? What did you learn about the heavens and the person of God? (Don’t feel compelled to answer all of these questions. They’re just to get the juices flowing.)

L. L. Barkat, author of the new book Stone Crossings, even made some cool logos for the writing project that you can use in your post..

Because Laity Lodge is sponsoring the writing project, we ask that you link to them. And Chris Cree is compiling all of the entries at his blog SuccessCreeations. If you want to be included in that list, you’ll need to link to him too so he’ll know to add you.

In the interest of full disclosure, you should know that Laity Lodge and HighCallingBlogs.com both fall under the umbrella of the H. E. Butt Foundation where I work. That’s how we got them to sponsor the writing project. It’s also how I know that Laity Lodge is really the most incredible retreat center I’ve ever been to. And I’ve been to a bunch of them… Nothing beats swimming in the headwaters of the crystal clear Frio River bubbling up in a deep water hole between cliff walls. (You can see a picture of the stairway down to Blue Hole in the bottom of the picture above.)

So, members of HighCallingBlogs.com, watch for that email in a bit. Bloggers who might be interested in what we do, now is a good time to join the network! And readers of GoodWordEditing.com, you can receive 25% off the Buddy Greene retreat, the Marva Dawn/Mark D. Roberts Retreat, and the Couples retreat, just because you read my blog.

Check back for details on getting your discount in just a bit. I’ve got to go edit a Eugene Petersen video for a minute. Too many hats this week…