Finding Your Sweet Spot

by Larry Iverson and Lon Buss
November 16, 2019

Twenty-seven men found the sweet spot of beautiful fall weather on Friday and Saturday, November 15 & 16, at Good Earth Village (GEV) Bible Camp near Spring Valley, MN.  The event was organized by the SE MN Lutheran Men in Mission Team and GEV staff. The team would like to extend a Special Thank You to Nick Nikoley’s Estate. Their generous gift allowed us to offer reduced registration fees.

We shared good conversation, good food, some coffee and snacks, and we explored the “Sweet Spot” in our call to discipleship in our lives. Jim Troe from Albert Lea led us in an exploration of how we can identify what Jim termed our “bandwidth of genius” utilizing our unique God-given gifts. Then we looked at what God is calling us to do with those gifts with a passionate pursuit of that calling, and then the key is to identify the “doors” of opportunity to bring all of these different aspects together to find our “sweet spot” that will bring us to become the very best servants of God and find joy in that fulfillment.

It was an intense and provocative over-night retreat, but stimulated our thinking and Christian growth as men.  We also enjoyed a morning Bible study and had some time to hike some of the trails at this beautiful setting of 500 acres. We even spotted a few deer walking the hills and woods and staying in the safe boundaries of the grounds to avoid hunters.

We also had the Lutheran Men in Mission national Executive Director, John Sundquist, with us to share resources and encouraged us to get involved in other men’s opportunities across the country, such as the One Year to Live Retreat “Experience” (OYTL) and BOLD Gatherings.  OYTLs are three-day retreats held in many areas of the country, including Iowa and Wisconsin.  BOLD Gatherings–held a couple times a year–are 3 hour events streamed live from the host church for individuals and local groups. The next event closest to southern Minnesota will be the “BOLDER” Gathering on September 18-20, 2020 near Omaha, NE (hosted at Camp Carol Joy Holling). Other resources, such as men’s Bibles, to support your local men’s ministry can be found at www.lutheranmeninmission.org. The latest foundations newsletter can be found on the Resources webpage.  The site also includes information for USVI hurricane recovery volunteer opportunities for men and women as individuals or as a group.

It was a good time to grow and get to know other men from southeastern Minnesota.
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For information from the SE MN Lutheran Men in Mission Team, go to semnsynod.org/lmm.  If you have any questions or want more information, feel free to contact Lon Buss at 608 516-7875 or lonabuss0406@gmail.com.