By Greg Goodale

Sometimes you enter church activities expecting, "This should be a fun experience."  Sometimes, as a father or mother, you enter activities thinking, "This should be great for my kids."  No matter what you go in expecting, it always seems God has something different in mind.

I went into the family retreat with both of these expectations.  And, as always, God had other plans.  He went beyond my expectations of family fun.  I reconnected with my step-daughter.  I saw my wife's eyes open to new views of Jesus that really resonated with her.  I experienced others treating my son like Jesus would, with open arms and warm hearts.  I had an honest and real encounter with God right when it was needed.

“Retreat” is such an appropriate term for the weekend we had.  Retreating from my iPhone.  Retreating from the television.  Retreating from the honey-do lists.  Retreating to a place of just family, friends, and time well-spent getting to know Jesus at every stage of His life.

It seems in every good movie when the troops yell "Retreat!" they regroup and at some point yell, "Charge!"  After the retreat, we're now refocused, recharged, and ready to get back into the battle.