Heart of Sonship House Retreat - Tennessee

What are the words I could use to describe this past week? Life-giving, life changing, revolutionary, redemptive, restorative, hopeful, electric, love-filled, unifying, joyous. . . and I could keep going.

Katie and I spent the last week at the Heart of Sonship Retreat in the home of John and Lori Banks - nestled along the Cumberland River in Tennessee. For me, being on a farm was like a home-coming - bringing back fond memories of growing up raising all sorts of animals, building all sorts of barns and run-ins and fences, and enjoying nature in a way you just can't experience in a city or town.

Since Carthage is only about an hour away, we are also visiting Katie's family in Nashville. I type this from the sunroom of her grandmother's house as a light rain taps on the roof to provide a soothing morning soundtrack.

There are a few things I would like to share about the school to give you more of a picture of how good our Heavenly Father is to His children.

The first is the uninhibited, all-access hospitality the Banks extended to the team and students. Hosting 33 people each day and 18 people each night is a herculean task that this family did with ease  - making every person feel like they belonged and were a part of their family. I do not include that as a nicety but as a truth. The Banks live out their faith in a tremendously accepting, loving, and warm way. They created an environment in which it was easy to minister to students because God's presence was tangible and thick throughout their home. The Banks define John 13:35: 

'By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The second is the unity that I experienced with the Shiloh Place team. Whenever that many people live in the same space for more than a couple of days, things can get tense to say the least. It was a beautiful picture of the love and humility of Christ as the team worked together to deal with conflict as it came up so it wouldn't become divisive, stood in the gap for each other, ministered to the students in unity and understanding, and put each other's needs before their own. This was our first Encounter outside of Myrtle Beach and I can say without exaggeration, Katie and I loved every second of it.

The third is how God moved in the lives of students and team members alike. On Wednesday morning a student came to Katie with tooth pain that was going to require a visit to the dentist and was so severe it was distracting the student from the teaching. Katie found me, we prayed for the student to be healed and the pain went from a 10 to a 3. After lunch, the student told me the pain was completely gone! Praise Jesus! I heard stories of experiences like they were out of a movie - terrible things that I won't share due to confidentiality. I can say that by Thursday there was a student in my small group whose very countenance had changed; visibly changed! Students shared how God was revealing His unconditional love to them, which led to a level of trust that enabled them to embrace and pursue forgiveness, healing, and restoration.

There are more stories I will save for future posts, but to sum things up I will say this week was astounding because God is astounding.