The Mountains Are Calling…

John Muir said it best years ago…

The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go!

As I reflect on the upcoming 6th annual Yosemite Summit, I am amazed at all that God has done in my life and in the lives of so many men who have traveled with me to this amazing place over the past five years.

Many have asked me, “How long will you keep doing this?” I usually answer, “at least until next year,” because I don’t ever want to assume to plan ahead of the Lord (James 4:13-15).

But I know this:  I need this time away, and I have seen the incredible impact it has had on other men.

Let me just share a few of the things the guys last year shared with me:

The greatest impact was hearing God’s voice and calling me to a personal mountain top experience.  This experience allowed God to change my life there at that moment.  He drew me close to Him, and there He freed me from the bondage that filled my soul.  This spiritual impact has allowed me to continue on a journey daily to be in complete oneness with God.

The biggest “take away” is there are 7 guys that love me for who I am.  We all came with different things going on in our lives personally and spiritually.  God changed us together and because of that has made each of us stronger and what I would call a “band of Christian brothers” forever.

My highlight was the morning at North Olmstead Point when I heard God’s voice calling me to the top of a mountain.  It was a place that God brought me as close to Him as possible and broke me.  He drew me to this highest point to share His love with me and then freed me from all the bondage that was weighing me down and quenching my Spirit.

I really needed this Summit. I came home with a greater sense of peace and hope than I’d ever had before. I have a greater sense of who I am as a follower of Christ and what my personal mission is.  I realize that the “trail” I’m on is one that God has designed for me and I need to continue to learn and enjoy it. (Even the hard stuff) He opened my eyes to some things right before me that I need to focus on in a better way.

To those considering Yosemite Summit, one guy wrote:

You need this time more than you’ll ever know. Taking time to unplug and get away with a group of guys that God brings together is priceless.  Experiencing the beauty of God’s creation, spending time in his Word are times that prepare you for eternity. I believe in Yosemite Summit and it’s opportunity to really re-create someone and allow them a fresh start in life and ministry.

Since I started Yosemite Summit in 2008, men who hiked with me have gone on to create their own Summits, inviting other men to join them on similar retreats. Two of them do a similar retreat in Yosemite, in lodges right near “mine” during the same month. This Summit is reproducing itself.

WHY? Because those who come are changed, and they want others to experience it as well.

YosemiteSummit.org is filled with REPORTS linked at the top of the site from 2008 to 2012 with pictures and a highlight video. If you go through the blog, hitting “Previous Posts” at the bottom, you can travel back through time and read stories of guys whose lives have been changed, why they went, and other encouraging posts.

Here are a few highlight posts you may enjoy:

But in the end, it is up to you.

This is a small “band of brothers” – I only take five guys, and one spot is already taken, so that leaves only four spots left.

Imagine that!

There are many amazing conferences that fill banquet rooms and auditoriums with hundreds, some thousands, of children’s ministry leaders singing, listening, learning, and enjoying wonderful fellowship – there is a place for that.

But imagine spending a week with just five other guys, hiking, sitting under some of the highest granite cliffs in the world, at the foot of the tallest water falls in the world, seeing the sun rise and a vista appear that literally takes your breath away, live animals – we’ve seen a bear every year!  (and let me mention GOOD home cooked food, including NY Strip Steak!) and through it all experiencing God through prayer, some manly hymn singing, and awesome fellowship in a trusting setting like you may have never experienced before.

And only four more can come in 2013.


Will you be one of them?

Register ASAP – before the waiting list begins again.

If God is nudging you, don’t resist.

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