The Silent Strain Burnout doesn’t always arrive with a bang.Sometimes it creeps in quietly—masked as “just a busy season,” disguised by a packed calendar or a growing to-do list. Whether you’re leading a business, a church, or a nonprofit, the weight of responsibility can build slowly until one day, you realize you’re no longer leading…
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THE POWER OF RETREATS Understanding Retreats: The Value of Retreating for Personal Well-being In today’s fast-paced world, where the demands of work, social life, and technology often leave us feeling overwhelmed, the idea of retreating can sound like an oasis in the desert. A retreat isn’t just about escaping from responsibilities; it’s about taking a…
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Renewed & Ready: Filling Your Soul For The Year Ahead – Week 5 Sabbath Rest “Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work …”. – Exodus 20:8-10 If keeping…
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Renewed & Ready: Filling Your Soul For The Year Ahead – Week 4 True Friends A few days ago, I sat around a table at lunch with six colleagues of mine. We meet once a month to share life together. We laugh a lot, catch up on each other’s latest stories, and pray for one…
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Renewed & Ready: Filling Your Soul For The Year Ahead – Week 3 Paying Attention to Delight “Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” –Philippians 4:8 NRSV…
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Renewed & Ready: Filling Your Soul For The Year Ahead – Week 2 Another Day of Gratitude “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever.” – Psalm 107:1 NRSV Several months ago, a friend invited me to engage in a new practice. “Take a few moments each…
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Renewed & Ready: Filling You Soul for the Year Ahead | Week 1 Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; there’s a future in strenuous wholeness. –Psalm 37:37-38 | The Message How is your soul? My favorite trout stream is in northern Michigan. It’s a small stream that isn’t as famous…
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I have a friend who likes to walk long distances so much so that he takes pilgrimage walks. Last month, he was in Germany walking for days with some friends he invited to join him. He came across a quote not long ago about walking, a quote that has stuck with me. When you walk…
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One of the favorite phrases we use on an Altar retreat is pause, look, listen and observe. Giving attention to what and who is around us is what makes life special, fills it with meaning, and helps us connect to the present moment. Thinking of mindfulness and attention, several vignettes come to mind: Relationships, with…
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We heard about Jim for the first time from his wife, Dee, late last spring. She had seen something online about Altar Fly Fishing which sent her to our website. Once there, she reached out to us with a note wanting to know if our retreat in Colorado had room for one more because she’d…
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There is one question that I get more than any other from family, friends, people from the church where I, Eric, pastored, or from other acquaintances who know my story of starting Altar Fly Fishing, “So, how is the fishing going?” At first, if I were being honest, I was a little put off by…
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Part 6 in the Series And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. –Colossians 3:17 If you think about it, life can be broken into a few major chunks of time: Of those three broad categories,…
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Part Five in the Series: What is your default speed or pace of life? Perhaps, like me, you have two speeds–on or off. You’re either doing or sleeping and your doing is at a pretty aggressive pace throughout the day. Perhaps your personality drives it, the achiever in you striving daily to see what you…
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Part Four in the Series Hang with me when I ask this question, What do you think went through God’s mind on the first seventh day after creation? Read Genesis 2:1-3: Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work He had…
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RHYTHM: Remember Part Three in the Series I’m a list-maker, always have been. If I don’t write something down, I tend to forget it. The most-used app on my phone is one that contains daily to-do lists. If I know I need to make a call today, purchase a birthday gift tomorrow, send a friend…
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RHYTHM: Cease PART TWO IN THE SERIES Last month we introduced the 2023 retreat theme of RHYTHM and underscored several key points: We also debuted an important equation: R = 6 + 1 where Rhythm equals how we live 7 days per week. From the Bible to new articles in social sciences, healthy people tend…
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(PART ONE IN THE SERIES) Each year Altar introduces a theme for its retreats and guidebooks, intending to hit the relevant and core needs, hopes, challenges, and desires of people–no matter their background or platform. In 2022, we focused on building a resilient life. This year we will focus on RHYTHM and why this may…
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One of my favorite lines about fly fishing is a quote from John Buchan. He wrote, The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. Every time I cast a fly onto the surface of a stream, it is another in…
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Over the years I have read many articles about the power of the outdoors, nature (creation), and/or fly fishing from prominent papers and magazines like Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, and most recently, Fast Company. I am always surprised by the impact these articles have on people when I thought the information was common…
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My favorite trout stream is in northern Michigan. It’s not the most famous trout water in the state—it probably wouldn’t even make a top-ten list. But it’s the stream I learned to fly fish on many years ago, and one I have faithfully fished ever since. With those years have come a familiarity. I know…
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As I write this, the first day of August, I considered the mindset that I too often fall into… rushing ahead as if we were already there. From back when I was in school, the Fourth of July was a waypoint marking that summer was half over. Dread! And somehow, while still in the middle…
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This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16) As I sit at a Colorado lodge after just ending our Soul of a Pastor Retreat and preparing…
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In recent years, I’ve broadened my understanding of spiritual practices to include fly fishing. For most of my life, my list of spiritual practices included the traditional ones we all think of like prayer, Scripture reading, weekly worship, and sabbath keeping. But thanks to the guidance of some of the great teachers of our faith,…
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I am not sure I could add up the miles I have run in my life but I am sure it is in the 10s of thousands. What started out as a means to get fit, quite surprisingly became a rhythm of my life. Running shoulder to shoulder with someone brings me great joy. It…
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Mend! Mend! Mend! I don’t know how many times I have heard those words from the fabulous river guides I have had on float trips. They weren’t being critical, they were helping me, pointing out that my flies were not floating properly. Either they were dragging in the current or my fly line was getting…
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Spring is starting to emerge and so is the most powerful season of the Christian faith–Easter. Different church traditions prepare for Easter in different ways. Regardless of the tradition, I (Eric) am inviting YOU and the Altar community on a journey that begins with two questions that have the power to change everything–at least for…
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Next month Altar begins its fishing season with a Spiritual Resilience Training for Special Operation Forces personnel. Resiliency is the major theme for the year because, well, we all need more of it. As we finalize our content for this first trip, we wanted to share some snip-its that may help you build or strengthen…
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Altar’s founder and president, Eric Camfield, is the guest on the Deeper Still podcast. LISTEN HERE
“What shapes our lives are the questions we ask, refuse to ask, or never think to ask.” — Sam Keen Read that quote again. It was in December I came across this quote again, yet this time, it made me pause and reflect upon these words for quite awhile. Perhaps in light of the strange…
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There is something exciting about arrivals. I remember as a kid watching out the window waiting for grandparents from a distant state to arrive for a rare visit. I remember (often) arriving at new fishing destinations, watching the water, and imagining the epic days I would spend on those streams. I remember (and still get…
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Almost five years ago I pulled into a retreat center in Colorado one month into my first sabbatical. At that point, I had been in ministry for almost 20 years without ever having a break other than family vacations, which often entailed going to see family. After completing two graduate degrees over a ten-year period,…
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Jesus was doing something amazing…He was walking on water. The disciples, watching with amazement in the secure confines of their boat, heard Jesus call Peter out of the boat. This was not an invitation to wet-wade. Water was too deep and the waves tumultuous. It was a step of faith. I (Eric) often wonder what…
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Altar kicked off its 2021 fishing retreat season with our Soul of a Man Retreat in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin. The time away was amazing, as the men worked to read the waters of their life and their soul in a deep way, through meaningful time of personal reflection, laughter, fellowship and amazing food.…
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Just over a year ago when we were sent home to work remotely, when stores and restaurants began to close, and we were forced to stay home, I remember sitting on my back patio with excitement and almost a child-like giddiness thinking “I prayed for this!” To be clear, I did not pray for a…
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That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies. —1 Cor 15:36 It is the Easter season and the Christian faith is centered on this one historical, beautiful event that changed the course of human history. From the very beginning of time, God ordained this day in order to save His followers…
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As you consider the paths of your life, with all the awareness and perspectives this past year has offered through its interruptions to life’s rhythms, let me ask you two questions.
When gratitude becomes a regular practice in our lives, we begin living differently. We begin seeing things in our normal, ordinary days differently. We become more aware of God and his presence. Our whole disposition becomes lighter as we journey through our days.
I have seen it countless times on retreats, fishing trips, vacations, or moments of quiet solitude and reflection. I call it a return to joy. Perhaps you can relate to this scenario.
Simply put, to NOT look back and understand the roads you have traveled is to NOT know who you are and where you are going…Our passion is to create new stories in the lives of people helping them flourish with God (faith), themselves (soul), and their most valued relationships.
Have you ever stood in a river, been on a hike, or experienced the outdoors when you felt a little nudge deep within you that said, Pay attention, I’m showing you something about YOU?
As we look forward to celebrating fathers this month, I have been reflecting on what it means as a father to leave a legacy. My reflection has not centered around what I hope to leave behind at the end of my life, but around the question of “What do I do each day to live out my legacy?”
Wilderness. It is a word that evokes something within us. There is a sense of both adventure and danger. The wilderness is untamed and demands respect. Wilderness also describes the hard or wandering times of life.
Then I remembered my friend’s words. I took an entire walk looking up, and a world emerged. Creation shouted to me with its wonder. God was more present. It was awesome!
There is something about the wilderness that has the power to unwind the soul…Does it surprise us that Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days?
It was several years ago when I returned home from a little league baseball game and my wife asked me a question. My son was 10 years old and I was his coach. As a former professional baseball player, I enjoyed giving back to the game and seeing my son grow in his own skills. …
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We discover something good in being still (Psalm 46:10)—to sit, breathe, to listen to the sound of a stream, or perhaps to read, pray, and reflect while enjoying a hot cup of good coffee or tea (stress good). Unfortunately, these times are more rare than I would like.
Sometimes the greatest gifts come in the simplest forms. Let God with us sink into your soul and may your presence with another bring a gift to someone special in your life.
I had one of those “moments” this past week when two things converged. First, we experienced in our area the first cool week of fall weather announcing that summer is coming to an end. By the way, I love the cool fall days! Second, in the Trout Unlimited Community Newsfeed, someone posted dates for the…
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Like water cutting into banks over time forming the character of a streams, so our character is formed over time. The difference? We can bring intentionality to how we are formed.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Matthew 11:28-30. 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my…
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The question has been asked, “Why the name Altar Fly Fishing?” Great question. Altars carried great significance in the Bible and for the people who experienced altars. Altars were places: Where people offered a variety of sacrifices for a variety of reasons They represented and often created significant moments marking people’s lives (remember Abraham and Isaac, Elijah,…
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I have been blessed to have fished with several different guides in several different fishing situations: trout, steelhead, salmon, wading, drifting, high lakes, spring creeks and large rivers. Many of the stories I remember and tell come from the guides and people I have fished with. Stewart is a guide in Colorado that has been…
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Rivers and streams are full of life that often goes undetected. Every day this ecosystem is alive with aquatic life from flies to fish (and much more). As fly fishermen/women we are trying to solve the puzzle in our part of the stream on a specific day so we can present our best cast with…
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I could not believe that I did it again! Coming upon a great hole on the stream that HAD to hold fish. Eager to peer into the clear water I walked up to the spot beside the stream and BOOM…fish scattered everywhere. I had committed one of the fly fishing cardinal sins…I had blown up a hole. …
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