Introducing our Personal Spiritual Refreshment Day Guide

In last week’s blog, Dan Steel invited us to consider the importance of building retreat into our rhythms of soul care. (i) This week, we want to introduce you to a new resource we’ve developed to guide you in retreat day – or as we’ve called it a personal spiritual refreshment day.

The theme of the refreshment day guide is ‘Resting in the love of God’. We’ve chosen this theme because the love of God is upstream of all our ministry activity. Love is foundational to who God is – and to who we are. Before we are anything else, we are the beloved of God, completely known and fiercely held in love. This truth profoundly shapes not only how we see ourselves, but also how we relate to the ministry God has called us to. We do not work for his love, but we work from his love.

In the guide you’ll find:

• Scriptures about God’s love for you to read and meditate on

• Reflection questions for the start and end of the day

• A brief talk on resting in the love of God and questions to help you reflect and respond

• A short reflective piece and exercises for further reflection and response

• Two Spotify playlists with songs to aid your meditation and worship

• Tips for making the most of a retreat day

You can download the guide here. We want to make this resource as accessible as possible so it is available for free, with the option to donate.

Whether you use this refreshment day guide or not, we encourage you to consider how you might build a retreat into your summer. In the midst of the busyness and demands of ministry, Jesus invites us to “Come away with me to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31).

What might it look like to set aside a day, or more simply to meet with Jesus in an unhurried and undistracted way? What might he do for you and in you as you make space to be with him?

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(i) If you haven’t read his excellent blog post yet, here’s the link: https://www.livingleadership.org/post/time-to-retreat