Be Still Retreats

“You guys have created something so wonderful here! Thank you for sharing your space and intentionally developing a place that is perfect for renewal. I needed these days! What a huge HUGE blessing. I drove 5 hours to get here, and I am so glad that I did. May God bless you.” K.F.

“This was, I believe, the best and most fruitful retreat I have experienced at Be Still. I have been struggling of late with depression and determined it has been Gods’ gift to bring me to another level of surrender to experience His sufficiency. I am so grateful!” J.C.

“Thank you so very much for the opportunity to get away from our hectic schedules and rest our minds and bodies for the work that awaits us in our ministry back home. Thank you too for your encouragement to focus on being spiritually revived as well. You’ve set this retreat perfectly to allow for a spiritual reset, and we so appreciate you're doing that for us and so many others. May the Lord bless you.” [...]

“I serve with Cru to reach not just college students in WI but in Bangkok Thailand. Thank you! I so enjoyed resting a bit before I leave for Thailand on Monday with 22 students and 8 staff. I did the withdraw guide and it was fire! So good! Thanks for blessing me so I can bless them in the power of the Holy Spirit.” A.S.

“We had a wonderful time of simply resting and relaxing. The setting here is fantastic. We so enjoyed the lake and watching birds between the cottage and the lake. We slept in, relaxed, enjoyed conversation together, relaxed, played table games, prayed together, read extensively, and did I mention relaxed? This is just what we needed! Thanks for your generosity in blessing us with our stay here. May God continue to richly bless you. In Christ’s [...]

“What a gift and blessing it was to celebrate our 12 year anniversary while here and enjoy quality time, rest and fun together after such a busy ministry year. Highlights: quiet time with the Lord on the patio, walks on the trails, and fun taking the bikes out to see the beautiful farm fields nearby. Thank you for your continued hospitality and ministry in this place.” L&L. K.

“Im leaving here so rested and refreshed – thank you! In a season where staying faithful to my calling has felt difficult without space to breathe, this place offered just that. I’m deeply grateful for your generosity to ministry families like ours. Thank you, Urbans.” A.F.

“This has been a restorative time for us here. Both in our connection with God and each other. We hadn’t realized how much we needed to pause from the hectic pace of ministry and parenting. Thank you for providing this place of solace and rest. You may never realize the eternal dividends of how this opportunity provides for our needs and revives our hearts. Praying Gods blessings over you both and this ministry.” C.P.

“Theres just no place like this in the world! We’re so thankful for your hospitality. We came with some big decisions on our hearts and it was priceless to have these days to pray and think and process while away from distractions. Praise the Lord, He gave direction for our next step. The Lord bless you all!” S&M. K.

“What an amazingly beautiful and relaxing week we have had here. Our family has thoroughly enjoyed the activities and wonder that Nature’s Nook has provided. We have experienced the joy and blessing y’all have given. Thank you for blessing our family with this needed week of rest and time together. From the amazing fishing, boating, swimming and campfires… it's all been great. May the Lord continue to bless this place. Shalom!” V family

“Thank you for the labor of love and hard work in service to our Lord and His church! May God graciously bless your family for your faithful obedience to His calling! God is using you and this place in ways that you will never know – restoring weary hands and hearts, renewing callings and visions, refreshing discouraged spirits and reminding us that ministry is all about Him and FOR Him. Thank you! Stay faithful.” N.C. [...]

“Heaven only knows the impact of your ministry. How many families and local churches would be led by tired, worn-out leaders if not for your humble and yet far-reaching efforts here. I needed to meet with God yesterday, and He met me in love, as He does. Thank you for curating spaces and trails of peace! My church and my family will be better led because of this retreat. May God multiply every effort that [...]

“Be Still…I’m blessed every time I obey His command. Thank you for your extreme generosity that aids me in obedience. May you get a glimpse of the fruit your ministry brings. Our God is a good God who calls us to serve one another… Thank you for your obedience.” K.S.

“We are so grateful for the opportunity to come stay here again. It was 3 years ago I was transitioning from a difficult ministry and the Lord used our time here to lead us to plant a church. Here we are again, able to rest, pray, read and talk about what God has done and discuss how the church plant is growing. We look back and see His hand of direction and are so grateful [...]

“Thank you Be Still for another incredible encounter with our Risen Lord! I used this time to study for a sermon series I’ll be preaching in the fall on spiritual warfare. Not only was my excitement for God’s word running over, but the Holy Spirit blessed me with insight into my own history and patterns. All this to say this has been a tremendously healing time. Thank you!” B.V.

“It’s been a lovely visit for us. We had a chance to walk the trail and saw beautiful purple flowers abounding. A thunderstorm came through last night and transformed the sky…we paused and watched it roll on. We are so thankful to have this time away and celebrated 22 years of marriage. Appreciate having a place just to Be Still even if it was together this time around. Looking forward to the next visit already.” [...]

“Thank you for this space to be quiet, to slow down, to be reminded that I am loved and valuable; not because of what I do, but because of whose I am. What a joy to be able to unplug, sit in quiet and just be. Thank you Be Still for making this space available. You truly bring so much blessing to us pastors and our congregation by this ministry. Thank you for your generosity.” [...]

“Thank you so much for your hospitality! It was wonderful to be able to have this special set aside time with Jesus as I discern future ministry and a potential move to another country. He spoke so much, and I slept well here. And thanks for coming to fix the power! Very prompt and kind. Blessings to you guys – thank you for this beautiful place.” N. B.

“Finding the time to get away has always been difficult, but you all have made it so much easier to rest and be at peace! It was so quiet…. almost too quiet in comparison to what I’m used to. Praying that others continue to join you in this space of rest and recognize that God really is in control of all things, and that we can enjoy the gifts he has given us. Thank you!” [...]

“So grateful! The quiet and comfort exceeded our expectations. Coming from an intense ministry season in an urban environment overseas that is spiritually dark, physically crowded and noisy, this was so refreshing. We had to keep reminding ourselves this place was a free gift, not an expensive resort (it could be its so beautiful). Next time we are on home assignment we want to come back. Thank you to all who give their finances, time [...]

“Thank you! Self-care is hard for me. I take care of everyone else but myself. This has been a year of healing from past trauma. This retreat was part of my therapy “homework”. I needed a break from constant crisis. My own therapy, caring for my dad, running my salon studio, caring for my in-laws. It was too much! I booked this spot over a month ago, to escape. Gods timing is always perfect. My [...]

“What can I write that hasn’t been said? Thank you. Thank you for this space to come out from the joy & burden of ministry. Thank you for the opportunity to come and just be. To walk the trails and listen. To quiet all the needs and just be present. Even when I get nothing done on my ‘to do’ list…. probably because I am able to get nothing done on that must do list… [...]

“Thank you for the opportunity to get away from the hustle & bustle of life & ministry. Being able to come and Be Still with my wife far exceeded what we could have hoped. The time to rest was well needed as we rest in the finished work of Jesus, but to also take time to rest from all the happenings in life. Truly grateful!” C.F. “Thank you, Jesse & Lindsay, for answering Gods call [...]

“Thank you Jesse & Lindsay for being courageous and faithful enough to follow the Lords’ calling to create this space. I pray continued blessings for you, your family and for your personal relationship with Jesus. In the 8 years we have been together in our ministry to help people further their relationship with the Lord in recovery from alcohol and drugs; we have never taken time to refill like this. The demands are around the [...]

“God was, no God is, all around and in every breath, every cell. Thank you for the retreat space to see and experience Him in nature. We give you everything.” E.S.

“Thank you! I truly can’t put to words on paper how much this meant to me. Be Still…. I was. And it confirmed that He is indeed God and to be exalted. My soul is refreshed.” C.F.

“It’s a little difficult to articulate how much of a blessing this place/ministry has been for us. Restful, refreshing, timely, quiet. The ministry you have here has built up our marriage and family and has also been a refuge during a very difficult season. Lindsay, thank you for being a listening ear and for understanding the hurt we have walked through. May God continue to use you and Jesse for the building up and strengthening [...]

“For many pastors, the weeks leading up to Christmas are full of delights, the capstone of the year. For me, along with certain delights and traditions… I emerge, post-Christmas: exhausted. So, we always take this week entirely off between Christmas and New Years… and Be Still gives us a perfect combination of distance from home and solitary rest as a couple. Jesse & Lindsay, again thank you for this wonderful refuge! This year our pleasures [...]

“I came knotted and tangled this visit. God was very patient with me through the detangling process. I learned that I have some habits from the fast pace of life that surround me, and I came to recognize Jesus’ compassionate invitation to me to ditch those habits and establish some new ones where I find my worth in Him only. Thank you for your prayers and care over the souls that come here. It is [...]

“What a blessing to be here at this sweet still retreat. It was great to get away from everything to be quiet before the Lord after a very tough ministry year. This place was an oasis of peace. Thank you for the over and above hospitality and warm welcome. I can’t wait to come back.” K.B.