It is so important to make it a practice to break out of the work week and responsibilities with something different, relaxing and refreshing.  Our recommendation is a little time in a quiet and peaceful small town with super friendly merchants, the Tallgrass Preserve, fishing lakes and the Flint Hills Trail. Our guest enjoy all the comforts of home, spacious rooms, king size beds, and even a complimentary hot breakfast.  A perfect weekend begins with sunset at the overlook on Scenic 177 south of Cottonwood Falls, snacks, games, reading, visiting around town, lunch on main street, hiking the Tallgrass Preserve and another one of our local establishments for dinner.  Sunday morning is a perfect time for church on main street or one of the other gatherings, and lunch at Chef Stans.  

We offer a four season getaway and the fourth weekend is free.   Come enjoy every season.  You will be glad you did.  Please be our guests!  Call today to book your stay.

We had such a marvel0us time at the annual Kansas Authors Dinner last Thursday evening.  It is always a lovely time listening to their journeys and how they came to be authors.  Such an honor to get to visit with Beverley Olson Buller.  She was a featured author together with Jim Hoy a few years back and we have their books at the Spring Street library.  This time I added the story of Mary White daughter of William Allen White.  And these other stories by Tim and Cathleen Bascom, Kris Clink,and Justina Neufeld.  
 
Spring Street Retreat is a great place for writers.  Our retreat season is perfect for this.  A lot could be accomplished in this wonderful and interesting home and charming town.  I picture a retreat beginning Sunday evening and a good nights rest, hot breakfast and conversation, cozy rooms and desk for much writing, soup of the week and fresh made salads for lunch, a hike at the Tallgrass Preserve and dinner at one of the local restaurants.  Check out Friday morning after a great week of writing and camaraderie.  We have a special winter rate when the 5 guest rooms are booked.  Gather your writing friends together and make plans for a writing retreat.  

Spring Street is also a great place for a Book Club getaway.  These retreats begin Friday evening with sunset at the overlook, hot breakfast, book discussion, meet the merchants and lunch on main street, a hike at the Tallgrass Preserve and dinner at another local restaurant.  We have many cozy places for reading and relaxing.  

Spiritual Gifts are what we have when we allow Jesus into our hearts and we have His Spirit.
Heart is our desires and passion.
Abilities are the natural talents and the skills learned.
Personality is your unique way of acting and communicating.
Experience and the things that have happened to us.  

Rick Warren, master teacher, and pastor to thousands, based in Orange  County. identified these and has done numerous teaching on these concepts.  This author and researcher has studied these things and  the evidence of these   put into practice.  

Our Book Retreat Weekend will be an opportunity to discuss all these things.   Rick Warren presents "What the Bible says" in his teaching.  These will be accessed and included in our discussion time. 
 
This is a great retreat especially for young people in search of what to do with their lives.  It will be a great time maybe for family, a youth group, any group desiring to encourage one another in how to use their SHAPE in the very best way.   

Christian counselor John Eldredge has some great ideas how to gain sanity in our insane world.  This is a great Weekend Retreat!  Together with others we can discuss, share and learn.  His practical help will bring rest to your weary soul.  

Each Retreat Weekend begins with Friday evening sunset, snacks and games, an introduction session, a great rest in a king size bed, a hot breakfast, morning discussion, meet the  merchants and enjoy lunch on main street, afternoon discussion, hike the Tallgrass Preserve, dinner at another great local eatery, evening discussion, another great night's sleep, hot breakfast and discussion, a local church service of your choice, and a final lunch and farewells.  

Bring your family, your coworkers, your friends, and enjoy a Weekend Retreat and Getaway in this charming town.

I cannot say enough good things about this book.  This listening strategy is a great skill to know.  Very helpful in family and community life. 
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P for pause
L for listen
E for echo
D for disarm and understand
G for give your thoughts and feelings
E stay engaged in the communication process

Personally I think the most challenging step is the "disarm and understand".  At this point time has been taken to  "pause" and maybe a  time to "cool off".  We have "listened".  We have "echoed" what we have heard.  And now it is time to understand why this person feels the way they feel.  It may require a prayer to be able to do this.  Usually it helps to be sorry for what has happened.  It may require not thinking about what you want.  I am told that when a person feels heard they experience a great sigh of relief.

We would love to host PLEDGE Retreats.  Books will be included.  There will be time to learn and to discuss and practice.  Call today to book your business or group for a Weekend Getaway and to learn this communication strategy.   

Spring Street Retreat is the perfect place to gather for a retreat.  A place and time  set aside to gain new information and inspiration.  This home is an inspiration.  When we found it -it was ready to be turned into the home that it was created to be.  The previous owners had worked to restore this home to its original floor plan while living there for 30 years.  Our vision was to make it a comfortable place for guests and to enjoy all the wonderful things happening in the Flint Hills. 

One of our favorite books is A Pledge to Remember by Mark Oelze MA.  In this allegory he utilized the steps he found to help many couples and families over 40 years of marriage counseling.  These steps are all about how to communicate effectively.  And these steps are helpful for all situations.

Mark identified the best way to love someone is to listen to them.  He identified these steps of pausing, listening, echoing, disarming and understanding feelings, giving your story if asked, and engaging this process over and over.  

Bob and I are looking forward to learning more together with guests who gather  to receive this book and spend a weekend learning and discussing it together.  Our five guestrooms are perfect for 5 couples.  

The beauty and peace of this iconic home is a natural place to let the "peace and quiet" open a place in your mind for new thoughts and ideas.  A small respite from  all the cares and concerns of daily life.  And we welcome you to take some time do this. 

Upcoming in the weeks ahead I will be introducing "books" that have  been impactful in my life and one that we would like to share with you some weekend when there are others who would like to begin this journey.

These  books are proposed as wonderful Retreat Weekends and a time to learn, grow and build relationships.   Your Weekend Getaway will begin with Friday night sunset, snacks and games, and an introduction to the featured book.  After a good nights rest we will gather for a hot breakfast and another session and time for discussion. 

We will explore main street and enjoy lunch.  We will meet for another session and discussion and then enjoy the Tallgrass Preserve hiking trails.  We will gather for dinner at another one of the excellent restaurants.  And meet for another session and discussion. 
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We will meet again for hot breakfast and enjoy one of the wonderful local church services.  We will meet one last time  for lunch and our final discussion before returning to our normal lives.  I guarantee you will feel refreshed and ready to face the challenges in your life.  Thank you for your consideration and I hope you will reach out soon to schedule a retreat at Spring Street Retreat. 

It is going on 10 years that we found Spring Street Retreat.   Taking on the project was certainly scary.  But, I am so pleased how it turned out.  We have hosted many guests.  And all have been so wonderful!  It has been a pleasure and joy to meet our guests and to prepare a hot breakfast for them.  It is wonderful and unique home that is a joy to care for.  And perfect for people visiting the the Tallgrass Preserve and enjoying some time in the beautiful Flint Hills of Kansas. 
 
Thank you to all of our guests and the amazing community.  It is a community full of "community spirit", love, care and concern for neighbors.  It is the merchants, restaurateurs and artists working hard and risking capital and time to provide a delightful stroll down the iconic main street finding made-in -America treasures.  It is the people living and working to provide an excellent education.  It is the people working to provide medical care.  It is the city and county workers taking care of community property and people.   It is an agricultural area with much work and investment yields its bounty each year of cattle and grains that are enjoyed all over the world.  It is solid rock that has been used to build many structures and roads.  It is all the others who have found a variety of livelihoods and a safe place to live. ​
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We wish all our neighbors and guests the best and many blessings this year.

Twice each month musicians gather on Friday evenings to play and learn together.  It is even more than that.  People love to come and listen and enjoy their talents and skills.  

Last meeting was also celebrating 25 years of Friday night music.  It was a super special evening honoring Sue and Monty Smith who were the first host at the Emma Chase cafe and Bennie Holtsclaw a well known musician who joined in for many years.  It was wonderful to again hear Bennie's traditional closing song the Lighthouse.
Annie Wilson shared with me her comments which were so well spoken that I wanted to share with you in this blog.  
“Culture” is a funny word.  When I was a kid, I wondered:  what does it really mean?  I’ve learned through life, it’s pretty simple:  It’s what people do with their lives, and how they do it.  This event has become part of the culture of the Flint Hills - a gathering of people to create and enjoy homemade music by local musicians.  It’s not rehearsed, not commercialized, not broadcast – we just come together and it happens.  In this day and age, that’s pretty special.  People have told us:  “There is nothing like this – anywhere else.” 
Together, we have created a “culture” – and a really positive one at that.
What has this event done for us?
We hope for our audiences, it has given you an authentic experience seeing performances that may not be perfect but are real. Musicians from this region sharing their love of music with you.  We hope you are entertained!
For us musicians, it gives us a chance to perform – in front of a kind, respectful, appreciative audience.  This isn’t like playing in a bar, where people are talking while you play, are barely listening, and seldom clap at the end of songs.
Instead here, people are quiet and listen, and even if you messed up a little, they smile and clap at the end of your song.  It means the world to us musicians – most of whom are actually pretty nervous and shy.  
So thanks to all you listeners for coming and supporting us.  If it weren’t for you, this would not be happening.  In fact, can I take your picture here for a minute? [snap photo]
So musicians, let’s all give a hand to thank our Friday Night audiences –the best in the world! [applause]
Another thing this event has done for us musicians is allow us to learn musically from others – new songs, new instrumental and singing techniques.  This is the best music classroom in the world.  

What a wonderful weekend it was as all the participants and their families gathered to celebrate another year of inspiration.  We gathered at the School for Rural Culture and Creativity.  As always there was a wonderful locally grown and prepared meal.  Also great music on the lawn and the children enjoying the playground.  Applications are due this week!

​I enjoyed Kelly's comments so much and asked permission to share these.  ​"this event comes around every year, it creates so many good excuses to pause and
reflect on the state of things. We’re in the middle-end of fall harvest season and reaping the
fruits of labor from the year; we’re usually on the cusp of a transition to crisp and chilly
weather; Friends an d neighbors have shown up in a big way to make the events of this day
happen. There’s a lot to celebrate today and it feels big. But, in many ways, Matfield Green
is also characterized by its smallness. 49 residents, last I heard. Here we are, people
gathered in one school gymnasium in rural Kansas in a county that doesn’t have a grocery
store. What’s the significance of what we’re doing here today?
According to the Geneva Academy’s website, they are currently monitoring at least 110
armed conflicts, worldwide. Many of these we don’t see in the news, but what we do see is
devastating. More than any other time in history, we can witness the pain of people on the
other side of the globe, directly from the palm of our hands. We can see in real time
someone’s livelihood being consumed by flood waters. Regardless of how the talking heads
choose to analyze and spin narratives around these events, what remains powerful, I think,
is the direct connection to those individual stories of real people. I also think it’s hard to be a
mindful human in the world today, with overwhelming access to so many stories when so
many of them involve real loss and heartache. I do also want to acknowledge that we’re
gathered today on the ancestral lands of the Osage, Sioux and Kickapoo peoples and the
stories of this place that we’re adding to today in many ways start with the dispossession of
land. But, I guess I’m saying all this because these stories don’t flow one way. We receive
news and stories, but we also create them. If we have the ability to learn about someone’s
community on the other side of the world, then chances are they have the ability to learn
about ours. I believe that small movements can lead to big changes, and small communities
can model more sustainable ways of living.

Whether we’re revisiting history or family legacies in light of our own experiences like Averi
Israel , Canese Jarboe and Colleen Thurston; delving into the relationships between self and
place like David Wayne Reed, Poppy DeltaDawn, Kayla Romberger and Madeline Cass; or
creatively casting vision for new futures like Christopher Williams and Veronica Anne Salinas
– I believe this is important work and what we’re doing here today matters quite a lot."