b'envelope each morning of the three-day event thatStories contains two Names of God. Whether theyreW hen possible, we try to include learning about Jehovah Rapha (The Lord Whosessions on personal journaling. Heals) or El Shaddai (God Almighty)a nameAmy, who is a strong advocate for with which many people are familiar, thanks tothis exercise, often teaches these sessions to help Amy Grants song by the same namethis activityparticipants sort through their emotions and encourages guests to develop a wholistic under- thoughts in a healthy way.A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a Bible passage, or simply words of encouragement. Speaking a blessing is an opportunity to declare truth over someoneGods truth!standing of who God is and what He can do.Throughout the retreat, participants are given Another idea to help people realign withmultiple opportunitiesin a nonthreatening way their identity in Christ is to speak a blessing to voluntarily tell their stories. This part of the over them. Somewhere along the line, religion,process must happen organically, initially through for the most part, has lost sight of this ancientconversations away from the group. spiritual practice. A blessing can be a prayer ofAll of this unpacking clears the way for the next commission, a Bible passage, or simply words ofkey retreat elementhealthy imbalance. encouragement. Speaking a blessing is an oppor-tunity to declare truth over someoneGodsImbalance truth! After my son finished college and beforeG uests should be encouraged to embrace he headed out on his own, I took him on a hikethe imbalance theyre ushered into dur-to a mountain lake. During the hike I outlineding retreats. The outdoor setting is ideal our unfortunate family history. At the midpointfor interrupting equilibriums. A lot of the guests at I began to speak about changes his mother andthe Hope in the Gate retreats have never slept in a I have implemented to break destructive genera- tent in the woods, but they do at Amys working tional cycles and encouraged him to do the same.beefalo farm. Theyll walk on uneven surfaces, be As we sat on boulders overlooking the water, weasked to trust other people, interact with animals, enjoyed some lunch, and I gave him a letter I hadget their hands in the rich soil, and hear sounds written declaring the gifts God had given him.theyre not accustomed to, such as insects chirp-Then I prayed a prayer of blessing over him, and,ing, owls hooting, andsilence. To help break finally, I presented him with a ring inscribed withold habits and prepare guests for life outside your Jeremiah 29:11. Ill do something similar withwatch and care, put guests into environments with our daughter. How many of the people you serve,activities designed to create imbalance. would you suppose, were ever blessed by theirAn example of one of the many activities we do fathers (or by anyone, for that matter)?is one in which participants are asked to line up 38 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022'