Courtney Ellis

I love reading and talking and learning about spiritual practices. From prayer and fasting to studying Scripture and offering hospitality, the faith-based disciplines we read about in Scripture are a gift.

But here’s the thing: I don’t always make time for them. My spiritual life can feel ad hoc at best, cobbled together from the few free minutes I have, interrupted by kiddos or phone calls or church emergencies, enjoyed for days and then forgotten just as quickly.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an opportunity for a contemplative retreat? Someone to help walk with you along a quiet path, showing up with an invitation to drink deeply of the love of Jesus?

Enter Field Guides for the Way. 

My friend Kristen (a fellow Wisconsin native–go Badgers!–and author of A Good Way Through) and her friend Stephanie just launched a brilliant, thoughtful, artistic project: quarterly spiritual practice guides, sent to your home to help you connect with God.

Each piece is lovingly and thoughtfully crafted, offering daily invitations to reflect on Scripture, be still before God, and pause long enough to remember how loved we are.

In a busy world where I often feel guilty my devotions are so rushed and hurried, Field Guides make me want to slow down. Each day’s practice is unique – some are artistic, others are reflective, all offer an opportunity to drink deeply of God’s living water.

From Kristen and Stephanie’s description:

Field Guides for the Way are seasonal spiritual practice kits delivered to your home. They offer the intentionality and practice of a contemplative retreat woven into your everyday life. Each beautifully curated kit contains invitations and supplies for a journey deeper into your relationship with God, your own heart, your life.

We have access to far more information than we know what to do with, but the spiritual journey is one of transformation, not information. Field Guides for the Way invite the integration of our knowledge into lived practice through tactile, creative spiritual practices rooted in the Christian tradition. They are an invitation to explore the terrain of God’s infinite love.

Subscribe and you will receive four spiritual practice kits, one each season for a year. Each kit will contain materials for a creative, contemplative journey: reflection prompts, stories, poems, instructions and supplies for practices, and tangible reminders of God’s love for you.

You guys, I love these. So far I’ve only dug into the mini kit (a 5-day journey), but I look forward to exploring one of the full kits soon.

They’d also be great for a contemplative practice as a small group, perhaps as a break from an in-depth Bible study as a few weeks to rest and refresh and listen to God.

You can get 10% off Field Guides through August 15 with the code ELLIS10.

[I was given a free mini-kit to review for this post. I rarely-to-never endorse products on this blog and I receive no compensation for any kits ordered. I simply wrote about them because I love their awesomeness. Kristen and Stephanie have created something intensely practical, super helpful, and totally beautiful.]