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I’ve been on a journey with this whole Sabbath thing since last Spring when I was preparing a talk for Sr. High. It challenged me a good deal and I even bough a book on the topic (yet to finish). This whole notion of keeping the Sabbath holy and a need for balance in our lives has been really close to my heart over the past several months.
As someone who is always on the verge of an anxiety attack or battling back the endless demands of ministry, the idea of rest has always been a bit foreign. To me, rest meant finally collapsing on the couch with an episode of Scrubs at about 11:30PM. I’m starting to see things a little differently.
I’ve decided to chronicle my journey as I start to take it to the next level. Adventures in Sabbath Keeping will be the title I use to keep track of these thoughts. I want to use this as a chance to share a bit of what I’m learning as well as make notes of any changes in lifestyle and character that this “experiment” will have on me.
I’ve been reading a little bit on the decline of introduction free space in our culture today and the negative effects this is having. So I want this adventure to be about two things: The first, Sabbath Keeping as described in the bible as setting one 24 hour period apart from the rest of the week and keeping it holy. This will be a process of learning and understanding what the Hebrew Sabbath was all about and trying to incorporate as many elements as that as possible. The other will be about bringing a Sabbath principle of balance into my daily routine and trying to set aside time each day for an interruption free creative pause. Whether this be a time of reading, meditation, exercise, or prayer I am recognizing a need in my life for this kind of pause.
My hope is that through this I will bring a sense of Shalom (wholeness, peace) to an otherwise unbalanced, chaotic, and messy life and maybe inspire others to do the same. Our culture is just so fast paced and demanding. This is NOT something we should just submit to. Kingdom building is about bringing the culture of God to the culture of this world and demonstrating a different and better way to live. What sets us apart is not that we hide from the world but that we offer something completely counter-cultural to our world.
Thanks,
