Our prayer is that On Retreat will help you break from habituated patterns of mind and frantic activity, make more space for God, and step into a new way of seeing, believing, and abiding. Each retreat will focus on a healthy body, a serene mind, and a powerful spirit. Your devoted guide will be modern day Christian mystic, Betty Skinner.

Affirming the Hope Hidden Within You,

~Cathy and Kitty

Change and Growth

A Healthy Body

Do a few simple stretching exercises to energize your body, then silently integrate the inner peace of your practice for a few minutes.

A Serene Mind

Begin this portion of your time with God by sitting with a warm cup of coffee, tea, or water with lemon in a comfortable chair in a quiet place with your Bible close. Light a candle as a symbol of God’s presence with you.

Opening Prayer

Let Betty’s lovely Centering Prayer video help quiet and refocus your mind or read it on page 53 of our book, The Hidden Life Awakened. Listen for His voice in silence for ten minutes.

For Reflection

There is within us all this strong desire for the freedom to live and be whole, but it takes enormous courage and discipline to make the choice to trust God and do the difficult work this requires. We must be willing to look at our entrenched behavior patterns that we innocently created from our self protective fears and perceptions of life. Once we are aware of them we can name them, so we can begin to tame them. These habitual ways of being are so hard to break because they are deeply rooted in our childhood wounds. Taking those initial steps toward change can be frightening and painful.The old voices in our head tell us it won’t work, things will only get worse, and we’re wasting our time. But the new Voice in our heart tells us that if we don’t change, we won’t grow. Change and growth are synonymous. Gradually as we develop new patterns, the work becomes easier, and we will slowly begin to see our life bear fruit. Failure to dare to change will keep us trapped, so dare to let go, trust God, and make the choice to change, regardless of how hard it is. The Hidden Life Awakened

A Reflection from Betty

I had to be open to everything if I wanted to grow in the love and knowledge of God. Fear kept me clinging to old habits and old ways of doing things. I had to continually turn off the head tapes that had programmed me for so long and return to my First Love. That required trust and faith—not knowing where I was going but with Whom I was going. Faith brought me to love. Faith brought me to joy. Faith brought me to wholeness. I had to let go of the old trapeze, float through that never-never land, trust God, and grab for the new one. I had to remind myself that God is a God of love and His timing is perfect, so He would not let me fall. That’s growth, and all of this led me to the deep, deep joy that comes from the freedom to love purely.

A Powerful Spirit

Spend a little time now, letting the Living Word speak to your heart.

Divine Reading

Psalm 91  Good News Translation

Rest Quietly with God

Use your imagination to visualize Jesus sitting there with you or in any other setting that brings you peace. Will you tell Him about that one behavior or way you are with others that you have been afraid to look at and ask Him to help you change it? You might also watch Betty’s short video entitled Name it, Claim it and Tame it on the website.

Reflective Writing

Journal every thought that arises without censoring as a child would. This is the indwelling Spirit speaking truth to you. Trust this for now.