Tell Your Man to Leave

… On a Men’s Retreat!

Have you noticed your man is more relaxed after he’s spent time with his buddies? Guys need time to just hang out without trying to meet someone else’s needs! And when they can celebrate hobbies together, that makes everything better!

Tips for Planning Men’s Retreats

Start with a theme. Center it around March Madness or a NASCAR race, hunting or fishing, bowling or baseball… A theme is a good way to break the ice and create opportunities for conversation.

Add in quality content. Devotionals abound for men in themes of sports, fishing, hunting, and work, as well as tips for being a great dad. Target one theme and let it be the springboard for everything else. Guys have to work harder at being relational, so set them up for success by fostering opportunities around a campfire and in small groups. Sometimes it can be less threatening to talk while working. Maybe that can happen while at a worksite for Habitat for Humanity or on a ropes course, doing team building exercises? Conversation skills can be learned in a shared environment that is non-threatening. And when guys connect, they find a support system that will help them navigate the rapids of life!

Add a location. Whether your retreat is for a whole weekend, or just a night of fun at the bowling alley, the location will equip you for the next question.

What about the food? Maybe the ladies would help prepare tasty treats to center around the theme? Steaming chili for a snowmobile outing or hoagies for a golf excursion? Or check on prices for catering from a local restaurant and figure that amount into your retreat expenses.

Will you carpool? Rent a bus? Shared transportation adds to the camaraderie of the adventure, and will figure into the bottom line. Tally all of your expenses together and assemble your advertising. How will you get the word out? Email, facebook, flyers and posters all help. But most of all, the best PR is still word of mouth. When guys are passionate about their team, do they keep it to themselves? NO! They tell everyone! So get them excited about doing “Guy Stuff” and let the macho out!

Prefer to have Someone Else do the Planning?

Look for local conference centers, like http://www.odosagih.org/
Or book someone to bring the retreat to you, like http://www.toddbraschlerministries.com/Men'sRetreats.htm

Where’s Sally Now?

Can you hear me whooping ‘n hollering? Last night, I finished the first draft of Dawn Samuelson’s book! As Randy Ingermanson says, I have tackled a work of staggering genius!! It is an amazing feeling to see those words streamed together into sentences and continued into paragraphs. A week from tomorrow, I leave for the American Christian Writers Mentoring Retreat in Nashville, where I will work with Holly Miller and a team of writers to take that manuscript apart and reassemble it into even better prose! Stay tuned for more info.

May your day bring refreshing retreats from the routine and glimpses into the eternal!
Sally

Sally Ferguson

sallyswords@windstream.net

979 Southwestern Drive
Jamestown NY 14701

(716) 488-1254

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