Alyson Pryor brings a breath of fresh air into an evangelical world often obsessed with activity and achievement. With her training as a spiritual director, including a Master’s Degree in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care from Talbot’s Institute for Spiritual Formation, she is making a big impact. Her perspective counters our cultural tendencies to push ahead without refueling—a relentless push that can lead to burnout.
So I’m thrilled that Alyson has published an important book about stepping away from the chaotic noise of the world and into the rest of Jesus in “Come Away and Rest: A Guide to Personal Spiritual Retreats.”
The publisher really captures the importance of this work, saying:
Do you feel inundated from all sides, your soul overwhelmed by endless consumption, constantly absorbing relentless content wherever you go? Yet does your soul still feel hungry and satisfaction seem out of reach? What you’re longing for is solitude with God. Come Away and Rest invites you to step away from the noise of a hurried world and into the sustaining presence of God.
Alyson Pryor gently guides you on a healing, life-giving path of spiritual renewal through personal retreats of silence, solitude, and intentional rest. This thoughtful guide offers step-by-step instructions for customizing six types of personal retreats that you can practice from anywhere. Whether you’re new to the idea of retreats or looking for fresh guidance, this book will be a nurturing companion for your spiritual growth.
This topic is important—and needed. So, I was very glad to offer an endorsement of Alyson’s book:
Alyson Pryor nails a reality that transcends the physical and invades our spiritual, emotional, relational and other aspects of life. We are hyper-driven and desperate for peace. In these pages Alyson not only shows us the importance of times of solitude, silence, and rest; she shows us just how to go about it in practical and specific ways. This is a book for our time.
“A book for our time”—that really captures the reason this book matters today.
So let’s get a taste of what this book can help us to see with 20 truths from “Come Away and Rest.”
20 Truths From ‘Come Away and Rest’
“Yet, it does not seem that the accessibility of biblical content has correlated to a rise in holy living. Knowing more has not produced better lives. We have found ourselves in a unique time and place in history where it is possible to be both overweight and malnourished.” (6)
“We are told, ‘Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed’ (Lk 5:16 NIV italics mine). The only One whose actions could save the world regarded retreating as vital as his work.” (13)
