In the middle of Lent, I found myself without my children or my husband in an unfamiliar city in Germany. My mind is often filled with caring for other people and tending to the things that need to be done that there isn’t much space to wander and so I wasn’t really sure what to do with this time.

I walked city streets thinking about all of my clergy colleagues that are leaving ministry right now. I thought about every other parent burned out and worried about the state of the world. I wondered about how to be in this place myself and allow myself some grace which led me to some old, familiar prayer practices as I tripped over cobblestones. (I am clumsy, always.)

It made me wonder about the power of place and those thin places the ancient Celts named. The idea, as I understand it, is not that you have to travel to some distant, remote place where you can finally feel God’s presence but that God finds you in the magic of place. Any place. Any where in the world. Definitely somewhere down the street. Or maybe even right here right now. Even if that’s not what the Celts meant, it’s what I want to find because most of us don’t have the time or resources to escape to far-off lands to find the connection we so need. Most of us have a few hours or maybe a weekend to give ourselves to find renewal and rest.

I started imagining these retreat resources to explore that place. In 30 pages, I wanted there to be everything that might be needed for someone to spend some time in a place of their choosing and have a guide to discover what their soul needs most. Each downloadable retreat has scripture, prayers, reflections and simple practices to engage with that particular place. I am so excited to release these materials in my shop on Dandelion Marketplace.

Though I started drafting a retreat for the city on the train home from my time away, I came home to focus on a Retreat to the Garden. It was Lent, after all. There is lots to ponder in that garden as Holy Week begins but there is so much to consider from what Jesus teaches us about seeds and planting whether this time is spent in a local botanical garden or a neighbor’s garden.

As you can see from the accompanying podcast playlist on Spotify, I drew inspiration from Michael Pollan, Debbie Blue, Wendell Berry, Robin Wall Kimmerer and many more. There are invitations to pay closer attention to the creatures in the garden. Though I think most of it is written a bit too much for when the garden is in full bloom, there is fodder to consider how we tend to the gardens of our own souls including what names we call ourselves, who we lean upon and how we listen to the world around us.

Retreat to the Beach explores another kind of place that might be on the edge of the sea, the ocean or even a lake. I wanted to release this for summer because this is the time of year we often flock to the beach. It might be a time of chasing children and soaking up the sun but in that time there might also be a few hours to contemplate the mysteries of the tides.

I offer a short list of suggested beach reads to spark further curiosity along with a series of meditations and prayers that explore the power of voice. There is a song in every place and the sea has its own melody that might encourage us to tell our own stories. Inspired by the folklore of sailors, I created a series of journaling prompts to deepen awareness of how God’s story is unfolding. This retreat follows a similar format to Retreat to the Garden with scripture, prayers, reflections and some simple prayer practices all written by me.

These are so fun to write and I am so excited to offer them to all those tired people out there that just need some times and space to remember who God is and what makes them come alive. I also offer the opportunity for one-on-one spiritual direction on Zoom while on these retreats through my growing spiritual direction practice.

I am already busy writing three more of these retreat downloads including into the woods, the city and the mountains. There may be other places too and if there is one you would like to explore in your backyard, please let me know.

I hope that these resources are indeed a blessing.