Returning to Awe

“I had lost my awe of God in the busyness of ministry. I am so refreshed to be reminded of His perfect love of me and that as I surrender to it, this awe of Him returns to my life.”  

--Becky Austin

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It's Time to Celebrate!

The Springs retreat was started in 1998, and we've met twice a year in Redlands, Sierra Madre, and for the last 10 years at St. Anthony's in Three Rivers, California.

To mark our 10th anniversary at St. Anthony's, we thought it would be fun to have a little reunion and invite everyone who has ever been to the Springs in northern or southern California to come a day before our fall retreat. We want to catch up with each other and to celebrate all that the Lord has done in our lives.

If you can, please join us on Tuesday, Nov. 1 for our 10th Anniversary Celebration. We are going to have a great time!

Go to www.newim.org and click on Events to learn more -- or on Store to register.  Cost is $80 for 1 night, private room and bath at St. Anthony's, 3 meals, and the program.

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April 2016 Retreat

April 2016 Retreat

The weather was perfect as 22 gals gathered at St. Anthony’s for a retreat focused on Psalm 25 and God’s lavish love for us. Track 2 focused on “listening to Scripture.” Several gals came in a day early to settle in before the retreat began. The small group prayer time was very meaningful.

How did the Lord use this time at The Springs?

“The Lord deepened my understanding of His love for me in this beautiful place.”

“He reminded me that I am he “beloved” daughter. I can come to Him “just as I am” anytime, anywhere.”

“He calmed my mind. Allowed me to rest in His presence after a very long time. I feel so refreshed and so loved. I am truly blessed. I am His Beloved and He is mine.”  - Supriya Sargunaraj

“The time of personal quiet time and solitude was centering for me. I feel as if I’ve experienced a “divine appointment.”  My favorite Bible verse is Psalm 46:10 about being still and quiet, so that we can “hear” God. This verse has “come alive” for me at St. Anthony’s retreat. I have experienced its wisdom for me personally.” – Charlotte Jones

“The Lord taught me to be alone because truly you are never alone. God is always there. I learned how to keep a journal and that you should pray before you start the day. Also, we all go through seasons.” – Brianna Mills

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Devotion

It's amazing how in love I can be with the Lord, and then one morning, I decide I need to do some work, and then the next morning there’s something else I need to do, and before I know it...my whole devotional life is shot. I've reduced my relationship with the Lord to a business partnership. 

My challenge is that I can think I have decided to love God by preparing to lead a Bible study or work on a neighborhood BBQ. But ministry is not always the same as loving God. Sometimes it may be, but most of the time ministry preparation is studying and writing and organizing...not receiving the truth of Jesus’ lavish love for me.

Devotion comes from remembering He is drawing me and has invited me to come be with Him.

Devotion comes from knowing His love and choice of me, even in my brokenness.

Living passionately in love with the Lord every day begins with putting up a hedge and not letting work creep into my devotional time. It's so tempting for me to give up spending time just being with the Lord, focused only on loving him when I need to get stuff done. The focus of my quiet time is very different if my goal is to increase my love for the Lord than if my focus is to get stuff done.

It takes intentionality to return to practices that can seem like wasting time just loving God, especially when I don’t feel like it. Spending ten minutes receiving the truth of God’s love for me is essential to having a vibrant relationship with Jesus, but what a challenge it is to have work, especially Christian work, become secondary. However, drawing away to be loved by Jesus for ten minutes will awaken my love for Him. And it isn’t long before those ten minutes are the sweetest time of my day.

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