Write like the River:
follow our flowing hearts and find our untold stories
with John Roedel
Our hearts are like rivers. Always in motion. Constantly flowing. If we let it, the current of our hearts will lead us to the most beautiful places that we would have never discovered on our own. We can learn to write from places of vulnerability and authenticity if we have the courage to let our hearts carry us around the unseen bend. When we allow our hearts to flow without fear of where it may take us – our writing pen seems to always follow.
This is an experience for any writer or wide-eyed human who is ready to ride the waters of their heart and explore the uncharted parts of their own story they have never thought about before.
This will be a soul-searching adventure of a lifetime!
October 15-23, 2022
This unique writing retreat will consist of daily writing prompts and evening reflections provided by poet, John Roedel. We will spend our days letting the river and the profound natural wonders on land (that we will be exploring) provide us with a masterclass on storytelling.
8 days, 45 miles of canoeing, daily writing instruction,
delicious food, 16 participants max.
Guides: John Roedel, Lauren Bond
Pricing: $2195, payment plans upon request
Meet John Roedel
Writing Instructor & Author
John Roedel is an improv comedic who “stumbled” into writing a few years ago as his life began to fall apart all around him. During his dark night of the soul, John began to have fake conversations with “God” on Facebook to poke fun at his spiritual and personal crisis.
What began as a flippant way of making light of his doubts in the Divine turned into something he wasn’t at all prepared for: God wrote back.
Since creating the popular “Hey God. Hey John.” blog on Facebook three years ago, John has tackled such topics as his journey to mental health wellness, his lack of faith, the joy and pain of raising a child with autism, and grief, all in the form of a simple conversation with “God.”
Eventually, these conversations transformed straight into poetry that has touched people all around the world.
John has published four books:
- Hey God. Hey John.
- Any Given Someday
- Untied
- Remedy
Untitled Poem
By: John Roedel
lately, when I need to pray
I go to the church that
has no doors
and where the walls are made of carved granite ~
I sit under it’s moving roof
on a pew that smells
like fresh pine
and fold my hands quietly until God joins me ~
here in this most ancient of churches,
I watch a dozen fat rainbow angels
dance in the baptismal font
and wonder when I too will be made anew ~
there is a special kind of holy quiet here
that rings much louder than any fat
church bell I have ever known
and the silence often rattled my ribs ~
it’s choir loft is high up in a birds nest
and it’s confessional is a breeze
that asks me to speak my sins
and I do, and then they are carried away ~
the longer I sing psalms in this church
the shorter my memory for all of
my past mistakes become
and that is when I hear the voice of Love speak
“oh tired light, oh wounded heart,
oh my child of crumbling grace,
come plant your feet in this Eden,
come rest in this sacred space
oh weary traveler, oh somber fire,
oh shaking heart that is prone to fear,
come lay in My ribboned water
come to fully know that I’m right here
oh wilting daisy, oh dying star
oh broken song that needs a name,
come sit with Me among the wild,
and then you’ll never be the same”
God and I take turns
saying all we need to say
to each other
I speak in short heavy jagged breaths
and the Divine replies in thin long pauses
this goes on until the sun begins to set ~
that’s when it’s time to leave
and even though I go home
I’m always still there
in the antiquated church
of trees and valleys
where foxes are lectors
where horizons are steeples
where clouds are vestibules
where campfires are incense
where time is a gospel
where the great flow is a sacrament
where forests are community
where a little piece of me always still remains
talking to the voice of whispering Love
as I watch trout be slain in the spirit
and I can’t stop marveling at the altar of creation ~
-John Roedel