WHY RETREAT?

 

This time next month I will be in recovery mode. I know I will probably be exhausted, because running a writer’s retreat is not quite the same as going on one. Or is it? I know that despite the tiredness I will have been blessed, encouraged and inspired. And that is the point of a writer’s retreat isn’t it?

Last year when we ran our first Writing Kingdom Stories Retreat, none of us knew what we were doing. I had never even been on a Writer’s Retreat, or any kind of organised retreat before. I just knew that God had invited us into the adventure of running one. And He blessed it beyond our expectations. By the time we invited our intrepid first attendees, we had a good idea of what we wanted to provide for them, and an inkling of what God might want to do. We were actually blown away by what God did during the weekend, and by what He launched from that first retreat. More than we could think or imagine. Funny that. When you pray, when you step out in faith, when you submit to Him. He does far more than you expect! (Eph 3:20).

So we are doing it again this year, and hopefully next month my MTW blog will be full of wonderful ‘take homes’ from our time away. We have more people coming this year and a bigger team, and we are daring to expect even more from God. We are certainly acutely aware of our need of Him, in every part of the planning and organising, and preparation. And we are praying… lots. Your prayers would be appreciated too!

Jane Walters wrote about investing in our writing in her most recent blog. One of the ways we can do that is to pay to go to retreats and organised writers events. And there are many ACW members who run these type of events.

I wonder, have you been on one? And if you were going to pay to go to a writer’s retreat, what would you want to get from it? Rest? Quiet? Time away from distractions? Space to write? Inspiration? Useful information? Networking? New writerly friendships? All of the above? What would make the price you pay worth it, for you? I know that what we all got from last year's retreat was priceless.

Our retreat has a specific theme. We want to encourage Christian writers who want to write stories that carry the truth and life of the Kingdom, that are Holy Spirit inspired and point people to Jesus. Faith based fiction and non-fiction, imaginary and true life stories. As we received the feedback from last year’s retreat we got a good idea as to what people had received from their attendance. Based on that information, this year we asked those booking to answer the following question.

Do you have any expectations of the Retreat? What are you hoping for? Please select all that apply:

The opportunity to spend time with like-minded writers

Space to write, or inspiration to write more

Inspiring teaching and thought provoking content

Spiritual refreshing

A rest from everyday life in a beautiful place

Being released to write for the Kingdom

Being inspired by other writers and making God connections

Let’s hope they get what they hope for and more!

I'll let you know...

More about our retreat and Kingdom Story Writers can be found here

www.kingdomstorywriters.co.uk

 Joy Margetts writes Christian Historical Fiction. Her debut novel 'The Healing' was published in March 2021, and her second ‘The Pilgrim’ in July 2022. Her third novel 'The Bride' was  published 20th October 2023. She has also recently published her first non-fiction book, an Advent Devotional entitled 'Christ Illuminated'.

 Joy makes her home in beautiful North Wales and takes her inspiration from its rich spiritual history and stunning landscapes. She is also wife, mother and grandmother and a lover of the Word of God. Her personal blog and more information about her books can be found here www.joymargetts.com