Solo: Creating Space with God

As a spiritual director and pastor for over 30 years, I find this book to be packed with practical advice. The “Soul Wheel” (chapter 6) is a great tool for examining our current living. I highly recommend Solo!

I used this book on a solo retreat with God and found it very helpful. I got a lot of insight from the State of the Soul exercise in the book as well as the suggested outline. Recommended!

For as Oswald Chamber says, “The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to Him. It is never ‘Do, do’ with the Lord but ‘Be, be...”[2] We can huff and puff and do great things in the name of Jesus, yet all the while miss out on experiencing His love for ourselves.Indeed...and this book speaks of the gift and the practice of experience His love for ourselves. The authors compare learning how to retreat to learning how to fly fish - something you may always want to do, but aren't exactly sure where to start - and thus you need a guide to begin. This book is that guide for spending a solo day with God. Extremely encouraging and practical, this book not only explains the benefit of retreat and why we need it, but also the nuts and bolts on how to do it. I would highly recommend it!

Having been on group retreats led by Stephen Smith, I looked forward to reading his most recent book. Here are just a few things I loved about “Solo”:• Smith and Ivey provide practical tips for scheduling and preparing for a day away with God.• The authors provide a framework of recommended activities for the day away. I love how it includes recommendations for not only prayer and spiritual reading, but also physical activity, rest (naps!), food and creative expression.• The partial picture of "The State of My Soul" assessment, which covers the vocational, emotional, physical, relational and spiritual dimensions of the soul, gave me another honest window into my life. I also love that I can use this tool over time to help me track changes in my soul.If you’ve been looking for a practical guide to spending a day with God, look no farther!

This book was written with a clear approach on how to create opportunities to be still and recognize the presence of God. From the introduction of ancient practices such as Lectio Divina and The Daily Examen to new tools like the State of my Soul Wheel, the book is filled with practical steps for making a solo retreat less intimidating, purposeful, and hopeful. Spending time in retreat with the Father most importantly serves to strengthen our relationship with Him, but also serves to strengthen many of our other relationships by creating renewal and rest in our soul. It's not often in our culture that it would be encouraged to slow down, spend time alone, and listen to the voice of Jesus, but Peter and Steve teach us the power of creating space with God our creator.

This book gives some very helpful and needed encouragement to spend a day with God. I have been serving in full time Christian ministry for 16 years and counting, and I found the ideas very fresh and practical. I especially like the chapter about how to schedule the day, including prayer, rest and even a possible Napio Divina (holy nap). I also like the State of My Soul resource, which was very approachable and helpful. Seriously, I think Peter Ivey and Stephen Smith help take the apprehension and barriers out of spending a day with God and make it very doable and inviting. I'm already making plans for my next one and I will be consulting this book. Thank you for this resource!

This is a fantastic guidebook that takes you step-by-step on a solo, personal retreat. Getting away and disconnecting is so important in today's world....but it can be daunting too. The authors help make the process both sacred and attainable. I imagine that my copy will be worn down in the coming years as I use it on my own solo days. The "State of my Soul" chapter is a highlight and helps you realize the reality of your life. It's powerful!

I have been on a personal journey of seeking the Spirit of Jesus and prioritizing my “inner life” these past few years; this book came at the perfect time for me to take my next step into solo time with Jesus. I am immensely grateful for this field manual of helpful ideas for how to spend personal time with Jesus. I have already recommended this book to several people and plan on taking our staff through this later this year.