Press

The Martin City Telegraph

Extreme (Internal) Makeover – “Timber Creek Edition”
Drexel retreat house transforms guests from the inside out
by Lysa Allman Baldwin

Driving along the undulating asphalt on Junction 00 between Holmes Rd/Highway D and Highway O is an apt metaphor for life: Sometimes the road is sunny, dry and flat; other times steep and slippery peaks and valleys.

On the horizon, is Timber Creek. Set on 80 spectacular wooded acres in Drexel, Timber Creek Retreat House feels like a world away. A place where you don’t do anything – you just be.

This 501(c)3 non-profit is the dream of founders/directors Tom and Beth Jacobs, spending almost two decades laying the groundwork for this contemplative home.

Their time-honored dream to build a place where people from all walks of life could get off the merry-go-round of life’s ups and downs, to discover their deeper purpose, embrace their own gifts, and be transformed, was supported by many family members and friends. Literally, only a pencil drawing in existence and not a single shovel of soil yet overturned, $36,000 in monetary gifts were given at their 1996 wedding planted the first tangible seed. (Additional support was generated every year since at their annual benefit concert fundraisers.)

In June 2012, the Jacobs’ welcomed the first guests into this awe-inspiring, 10,800 square-foot place of rest and reflection that truly lives up to its mission: Renew, Refresh, Return to Life.

“Timber Creek is a retreat house, not a retreat center,” Tom explains. “Retreat centers have multiple rooms and conduct conferences and multiple workshops. Timber Creek was designed and placed in nature to emphasize an environment that’s intimate, cozy, private, and quiet.”

 

435 South Magazine

Breathing in the Woods by Kimberly Winter Stern

“Driving into the sticks of Missouri – with the aid of a GPS, of course – I make a mental note to have the tires aligned. The car seems a bit wobbly. Unbeknownst to me, that theme will repeat itself as I unfurl mind, body and soul during a weekend at Timber Creek Retreat House – a destination nestled in the woods outside Drexel that encourages a transformative and emotional state of mind.”