Over the years it has been exciting to see the Lord working in the lives and hearts of young people as they have attended a Journey to the Heart and encountered the Lord through spending time seeking Him. It also has been encouraging to see dads and moms who have attended Men’s and Women’s Journeys. On May 5–12, 2018, the Journey staff hosted their first Family Journey to the Heart at Eagle Springs in Skiatook, Oklahoma. Entire families were able to come seek the Lord together rather than attending Journeys individually.

This first Family Journey was held at the beautiful, 700+ acre Eagle Springs campus. The first Family Journey participants were two families with children ranging from 19 to 5 years old, who came with a sincere desire to seek the Lord and deepen their relationship with Him. This was the goal of the Family Journey to the Heart: to facilitate an environment and time that the whole family—from dad and mom all the way down to younger children—could seek the Lord and learn to meditate on His Word.

Spending personal time meditating on Scripture was encouraged in the schedule. People took advantage of the opportunity to have quality time in a quiet, scenic setting, digging into God’s Word and cultivating an intimate relationship with Him. Whether it was a dad walking down the road memorizing or repeating God’s Word to himself, or a mom sitting on a chair on the porch and quietly taking time to pray or meditate on Scripture, or a young girl sitting in the grass and reading the Bible open on her lap, it was a thrilling sight to witness families getting to know their Heavenly Father more intimately on the Journey. 

One young lady testified that she had always struggled with fully trusting God. She would read verses like Proverbs 3:5–6 but feel a prick in her heart that she couldn’t fully trust the Lord. As this young lady spent time with the Lord on the Journey, He showed her how much He loved her and she realized that she could trust Him.  Knowing Christ more leads us to trusting Him more. 

Bitterness, murmuring, and pride were among the topics studied during the Journey. One of the sessions was about the lies people believe about themselves. The Journey workbook listed lies that individuals may be believing. One father began talking with his 7-year-old son about lies. As a result, this young boy was able to identify a lie he was believing. The father and son discussed the impact and invalidity of the lie, and the boy was able to hear and believe truth instead! How exciting to see these lies being confronted and dealt with while this boy is still young so, as he grows older, they won’t hinder his walk with God.

As the Journey was coming to a close, the two families seemed to sense that they were going to be encouraging each other to continue meditating on the Word of God in the days to come. The parents of one family shared: “We certainly enjoyed

For more information on Journey to the Heart, whether for your family, church, or individuals, please visit our website at lifesrealjourney.com.