A couple of months ago, Amy and I took advantage of a rare opportunity to get away for a few days. Waving goodbye to our 4 kiddos, we drove south of Indianapolis a little over an hour to the beautiful hills of Brown County. Our destination? Twelve Stones Ministries. ”Twelve what?!?” you may ask. Twelve Stones. It’s a counseling center located on beautiful property in rolling southern Indiana – what a perfect place for a retreat! In addition to counseling, TS offers what they dub ‘the Mountaintop Marriage Retreat’. It’s a 3-day, 2-night self-directed marriage retreat. Upon arrival we parked in front of our private cabin. Inside, we found it to be cozy and well appointed. There was a full-sized pillowtop bed, 2 comfy recliners in front of a large stone fireplace, a kitchen with all the amenities, a dining room table and a very nice bathroom. And that was it! It was snug and quaint – perfect for a few days alone with each other! The kitchen was stocked with the most amazing spread of fresh ‘purchased that day’ fruits, veggies, salads, breads, lunch meats, cheeses, chips, dips, eggs, bacon, ice cream – it was incredible! We did go into town for dinner each night, but we wouldn’t have needed to – the provided food would’ve been more than enough! As for content, TS provided a notebook with a suggested schedule. Amy and I chose to follow it and found it perfect – not too much and not too little. There was a mixture of videos by Gary Thomas (author of Sacred Marriage), audio CD’s by Paul Tripp and a 2-part video by College Park Church’s pastor Mark Vroegop that tied it all together with very helpful application points. In short, we had a blast! The pace was just right. We talked a lot and spent a good amount of time ‘working’ on our marriage. We planned too. We prayed. And there was plenty of time left over for hikes, going out in the evenings, etc. When it came time to leave neither of us wanted to go. It was that good.
Interested yet?!? If so, check out my photos below and read more on Twelve Stones’ website. The cost is only $300 – that’s for 3 nights in a fabulous cabin, all the food you can eat and all of the materials. Honestly, it’s a bargain. We hope you take the time to schedule your own Mountaintop Marriage Retreat during your next home assignment!
