From a woman who attended the Springs North in April

How grateful I am for my time at the Springs.

To be honest, I went this time without any great expectations. I was at one of my lowest points, and could see no way out of some circumstances. No one knew what I was going through; I was actively serving in ministry, very busy and involved. But the Lord knew my deepest needs and what I experienced was a truly life-changing encounter with Him. A series of events that I never could have orchestrated. He had called me to come away with Him, and my simple Yes of obedience opened the door to transformation. During those 3 days, He would answer a heart's cry that had almost grown hopeless.

With all the distractions of life removed for a moment, and embraced by His loving presence, I was finally able to stop and honestly look at my life, in all of its mess and need. Step by step He broke through my calloused heart, brought incredible healing, gently led me to a place of acknowledging my sins, in all their ugliness, and receiving the cleansing that only He could do. He started me on a path of discovering true and complete freedom, a freedom that has only come from experiencing His incredible, infinite, intimate love for me.

>

Transformation

The goal of the spiritual journey is the transformation of self which requires knowing both our self and God -- if we are to discover our identity in Christ we must know both.

I would think that it would be much harder to know God than to know ourselves. But since the fall, we have become masters at hiding. We tend to create a public, idealized self that we disclose to others. Deep down inside, we believe that our value depends on what we have, what we can do, and what others think of us. It's not so much that we tell lies about who we are...we live the lies.

The only way to unmask the lie is a radical encounter with the truth.

Experiencing the love of God gives us the courage to peak behind the curtain and see our true self. Spending time at The Springs focused on experientially knowing God's love for us, leads us to confession and transformation.

As John Calvin wrote: "There is no deep knowing of God without a deep knowing of self, and no deep knowing of self with a deep knowing of God." This deep knowing can occur at The Springs.

>