GroshLink

“Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.  I’ll show you how to take a real rest.” (Matt. 11:28 MSG)

On Sunday, the Disciples Fellowship Group at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ discussed Chapter 4, Part 2, of Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity (Keri Wyatt Kent. Zondervan. 2009).* Building upon

• "Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity" Discussion: Intro/Chapter 1
• "Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity" Discussion: Chapter 2
• "Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity" Discussion: Chapter 3, Part 1
• "Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity" Discussion: Chapter 3, Part 2
• "Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity" Discussion: Chapter 4, Part 1

Theresa prepared the below material to facilitate the conversation (Note: study posted in PDF here). You'll note how our fellowship group's consideration of Rest has themes similar to what is found in Theresa's God at Work Testimony (6/19/2011).  Feel free to share your thoughts with us by comments, email, personal conversation ...

Rest

By Keri Wyatt Kent

Disciples Fellowship Group   Summer 2011

Chapter 4: Revising: A Shift from Rut to Rhythm, Part 2

“Life has seasons.   Sabbath-keeping is a spiritual practice that has some flexibility.  The outward practice must be shaped by the inward reality of your relationship with God, but it’s also shaped by your circumstances.” (p. 108)

No matter what season of life you are in you have obligations that you cannot let slide, even for one day.  “But you can revise the space between those obligations.   And you can, for one day, choose to approach those things more mindfully, more slowly.”  On your Sabbath you can take care of those same obligations but being mindful of serving Christ while you do it.  (p. 109)

Even with small children we can practice Sabbath if we are willing to adjust expectations and let go of the “ought to” list.  Examples: going to bed earlier on Sat. night so that everyone is well-rested on Sunday morning.  Husband and wife work together to get children ready for church.  Going to church on Sunday morning.  Stop doing things you don’t like to do (laundry, errands) and start doing things you like to do (cuddling with kids, reading Sunday paper).  Go for a half hour walk alone or sit and read for half an hour.  Nap.  Just because it’s not an entire day of rest, i.e. you still have obligations, does not mean there is nothing you can do to practice Sabbath.  (p. 110)

What are some practical tips you’ve tried to implement to set apart your Sabbath?  Or what would you like to try?

One coupled mentioned in the chapter spreads out their Sabbath over the weekend, interspersing each day with several restful and/or rejuvenating activities.  They also choose to do things together as a family instead of the usual “divide and conquer” game plan. (p. 112)

Do you find yourself tempted to be legalistic?  Does your church support your efforts to practice Sabbath?  It’s easy to focus on the prohibitive practice of Sabbath (what we say no to).  “We are much more likely to embrace a practice that invites us to exercise freedom and invites us to say yes.  When we let go of legalism, we can say yes to joy, yes to connecting with the people we love.  We can revise our schedules so that Sabbath is a day when we are free—free from doing housework, free from being a consumer, free from the stress of watching television news.” (p. 113)

“Don’t expect perfection, but be consistent…Speak intentionally to your children about why we do this.  This is not merely a day off of work and cleaning.  This is our day to slow down and let God talk to us and for us to listen in return.” (p. 114)

“Rituals: regular practices that serve as anchors in time, that hold us steady when things seem confused…The word ritual is embedded in the word spiritual: spiritual.  A ritual can be something we do to get our minds and bodies to shift gears or to mark events or occasions.  They often help us to be mindful in our spiritual practices.”  (p. 116)

What are some rituals you have?  Or would like to start?

Sabbath rituals don’t mean that every Sabbath is the same, but they are ways of setting the day apart, of being intentional.  (p. 116)  A lot of rituals center around food.

Advance decision making—deciding ahead of time rather than in the moment that you will do something and arranging your life around that decision.  Example: exercising or going to the gym.  You decide ahead of time which days this will occur and you arrange your life so that you can carry out the plan.  We can do the same thing with Sabbath.

Decide to make shared family meals a priority a few days a week.  Say no to over scheduling so that you are free to say yes to family time.  (p. 119)

Sundays often are full of religious obligations but not rest.  “Churches must see the importance of rest and allow it.”  At sundown on Saturday “what are you doing to prepare your heart for worship?”  One symptom of our being overscheduled is that Sunday afternoon is the only time church committees have time to meet!  Practically speaking, if church members are on teams (e.g. worship team) they can share the responsibility.  Some churches have a potluck meal on Sunday evening so that you only need to bring/prepare one dish.  (p. 121)

Practical considerations:  “If you are going to change how you do Sundays, you’ll have to change the rest of your week…Sundays are much more restful if the house is clean.”  This requires the house to be cleaned at some other point during the week.  The same is true of laundry.  And grocery shopping, yard work, etc.  (p. 122)   Preparation is key.  Make sure the kids have their homework done before Sunday night.

If your life is too full and it’s spilling over into Sunday, you may need to cut out some activities.  Before saying yes, ask, “How will this affect my Sabbath?”  (p. 125)

“Saying no brings tremendous freedom because it opens up the opportunity to say yes to things that really matter…Saying yes to one thing means you’ve said no to alternatives.  Choose your yeses carefully.  Learning the word enough will also simplify your life.”  (p. 127)