The second week of September - searching for sanity already?
SEARCHING FOR SANITY AGAIN ALREADY?
You shake the last of the sand from your sandals, recall the sun and the sea, the sunburn and the swimming pool … remember the siestas and the sangria … empty the last souvenir from the suitcase … and settle back into September sanity and normality.
And the possibility of a clean slate.
"January is the official start of the new year, and I always get a burst of renewed zeal at that time, but September also gives the same feeling of an empty calendar and a clean slate. The air seems charged with possibility and renewal. Back-to-school is a time of self-evaluation and reflection."
So writes Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project. Maybe it's the same for you. SEPTEMBER: A new start, a clean slate, time for something newer and stimulating? Searching for sanity again already?
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That need for self-evaluation, for reflection, for renewal, can be something which stirs us to greater things, to a desire to draw nearer to God and start afresh with renewed vigour in our relationship with him. So this September - shake up your schedule and set a time for intentional seeking of God!
You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” (Ps 27:8 ESV)
Set a new schedule - now , while you think about it and before everything else takes over! Set a time for those extra moments to seek his face.
And set a date to come on retreat. Even if it’s not something you would normally do! Choose chocolate - or a prayer walk - or writing ....
Plan to spend a couple of nights away, a time for renewal of the energy which gets sapped over the autumn, summer energy seeping away.
Spend a night or two at The Vine at Mays Farm.
NEW CALENDAR - NEW RETREATS
There’s a new calendar up on the website and new retreats with new themes and ideas.
Retreats for introverts and extroverts.
For those in full time ministry.
For chocolate lovers, plants and flowers and garden lovers; for writers and thinkers, for times of Advent and Lent.
And plenty of time for those who want a little peace and quiet and reflection time but don’t want total silence and appreciate chatting over meals, playing with a dog, curling up in front of a log fire.
Time for individuals, time for small groups, time for leaders, time for anyone who wants to come.
So – take a look at the calendar and book soon! Bring your small group, your leadership team, your prayer triplet. Bring yourself.
Come for renewal and reflection and refreshment.
The Vine offers you the comfortable, comforting space for a re:FRESH re:NEW re:TREAT. It’s a home away from home that isn’t home – hot water bottles and roaring log fires for the cooler evenings, aromatherapy to comfort and relieve, deep comfy beds and fluffy towels, home cooked local produce whenever possible …. and a rhythm of chapel prayers, candlelit compline (last thing before bed) midday meditations - oh, and breakfast in bed. What's not to like!
What are you waiting for? We’re here when you need to come -