On my first visit to Laity Lodge, when I was told not to turn left at the Frio River but in the Frio, I knew I had reached the Land of Oz. After my first few days there I knew that, more even than Oz, it was a holy place. The high hills spoke of it. The river spoke of it. The “blue hole” where we swam spoke of it, as did Betty Ann Cody’s a cappella singing of “There Is a Balm in Gilead,” which left my face streaming with tears and which I will remember till the end of my days. I don’t believe I have ever known a place as full of human kindness and openness and grace as I have found in virtually everyone I met there. It is a joy to have Howard Hovde’s rich and loving account of how it came to be and of the men and women who helped create it, including himself and Carole. I doubt that I will ever get there again, but it will always remain part of the best of who I am.

—Frederick Buechner
Author of Godric and The Sacred Journey

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If you’ve never been to Laity Lodge, let Howard Hovde’s authoritative book be your invitation to a unique spiritual adventure. Its pages evoked memories of the Frio River Canyon where God and ordinary people meet.

—Diane M. Komp, M. D.
Author of The Healer’s Heart

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Laity Lodge transports participants back to Eden. God’s presence and refreshing come with every breath of Frio River Valley air. Storyteller Howard Hovde is uniquely gifted to tell this story, since he resided in this Eden for eighteen years, and has himself been the agent of transformation for hundreds. He has lived the dream.

—Stephen Clapp
Dean, The Juilliard School

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This beautiful story is so many things at once. It’s a wise template for retreat ministry, and an excellent portrait of the incomparable hearts who birthed Laity Lodge and shaped a dream. But then, surprisingly, in the powerful telling of the story, the dream and the changed lives become “tinder set aflame” for the reader’s own journey.

—Paula D’Arcy
Author, Speaker, Retreat Leader 

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Laity Lodge and all the ministries like Layman’s Leadership Institute, which found their roots in Laity Lodge, have had a profound influence on my life and work. A terrific array of speakers, peers, musicians and staff members were the first to convince me that I had a calling from God that was as legitimate as the ordained clergy. Much of the work I’ve done through Leadership Network with churches and through Halftime with influential laymen has its roots in my early exposure to Howard and Barbara Dan Butt and their wonderful ministry along the river in Central Texas.

—Bob Buford
Chairman, Leadership Network
Author, Halftime and Finishing Well

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Laity Lodge, now nearly a half a century old, is one of the Christian world’s best kept secrets. Personal maturity in Christ is what it was and is about, and its ministry goes from strength to strength. Here, briefly and beautifully, past director Hovde tells the story so far.

—J. I. Packer
Professor of Theology
Regent College

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Laity Lodge director Emeritus Howard Hovde paints a wonderful picture of a place described as “like going to heaven without having to pass through the Pearly Gates.” Hovde shares background stories of the Holdsworth and Butt families that united through the marriage of Mark Holdsworth to Howard E. Butt, Sr., founder of the HEB grocery company. Together, they created a nonprofit foundation to “help meet the needs of families, children and the community.” The foundation eventually purchased a 1,900-acre ranch near Leakey for children to enjoy. Their oldest son, Howard Jr., expanded the dream to include a retreat center where lay people could learn about “integrating faith and love into everyday living.”

Hovde intersperses philosophy, organization and history with interesting stories of people who influenced the direction of Laity Lodge. For good measure, he adds heart stories of those influenced by the center, including author Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle in Time) and The Message translator Eugene Peterson, who wrote while staying at Laity Lodge. A valuable appendix, including leadership tips, poems and a list of significant books, completes the work.

Inspiring stories turn what could be a dry history into a quick read.

—Kathy Robinson Hillman
former president Women’s Missionary Union of Texas, Waco