Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity | Date: 28 April 2011, 04:55
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Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity
By Keri Wyatt Kent
* Publisher: Zondervan
* Number Of Pages: 224
* Publication Date: 2009-01-01
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0310285976
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780310285977
Product Description:
Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity explores what it means to live in “Sabbath simplicity” by focusing on six aspects of Sabbath as spiritual practice: resting, reconnecting, revising, pausing, playing, and praying. Readers learn to slow down and find joy and meaning in the midst of their hectic lives.
Summary: aaahhh....
Rating: 5
When Rest arrived in my mailbox, it was with some discipline that I refrained from delving into the pages, simply taking a peek to see the layout & chapter titles had to suffice. I completed reading the final pages of a book in one night & eagerly jumped into this book the next day.
My eagerness in part was due to previous experiences with this author. Although, I have never met her outside of books & email, I have a sense of camaraderie. This is the 5th book that I have read that was written by Keri Wyatt Kent - I have recommended her writings extensively & lead small group studies using 3 of the books with a dear group of women. They have helped to shift my relationship with Jesus increasingly toward relationship & away from religion. While I have found her writing style easy to follow & "do-able" as a mom of young children, I have also found that it challenges me to grow & change, as a daughter of Christ, wife, mother & leader. So starting to read this new book was a bit like sitting down with an old friend that I haven't seen in a while & jumping into conversation where we left off a year ago when we were last together.
In the book Keri invites us to place Sabbath practices into life, not just on one day set aside for Sabbath, but throughout each day. Upon recently re-entering the work force outside my home, I have found the suggestions helpful getting through my most intense days of work.
I am eager to delve into this book with a small group of women. Keri Wyatt Kent's style is one that has been very readable even for moms who proclaim that they are "not a reader".
What I found most striking about this book though is that it is written to a broader audience than primarily mothers in the earliest of this authors books that I have read. My husband has enjoyed portions of it & would no doubt benefit from reading it in it's entirety. I would recommend this book to all individuals interested in being challenged to consider & broaden their Sabbath practices - female or male, single or married - Enjoy this inviting conversation.
Summary: Finding Rest & Simplicity
Rating: 4
" . . . what if you took God up on His offer to enjoy a day with Him?"
Living in Sabbath Simplicity is the type of book you will want to read slowly, gleaning ideas and encouragement from - put away - and go back to later. First, I will state very strongly, this is NOT a legalistic book of does and don'ts. It's about REST and SIMPLICITY as we learn to honor God, with compassion - not a set of rules. It is not a book of step by step directions, that you have to follow to make the perfect Sabbath Day. The author, Keri Wyatt Kent, shares how the Sabbath means to stop, to focus on God, and celebrate and enjoy Him, and each of us will do it differently.For her, it means not writing or turning on the computer, but playing games with her children and weeding her garden. I laughed at this "weeding the garden" because for me, that IS work! But she enjoys it and finds it relaxing and time outdoors with God. I've appreciated the encouragement from this book to not look for rules in it, but setting it apart:
"Sabbath simplicity: a sanely paced, God focused life."
"Sabbath allows us to rest, to reconnect with our faith and each other, and to revise the very order of our lives. It invites us to pause, to play and to pray. "
Keri shares some on Jewish tradition, though not in great detail, yet showing how we are not under the law of the Jewish practices, the gift from God to stop, to celebrate and worship Him, and to enjoy the rest He has set aside for us. I love her quote from Mark Buchanan in the book:
"Sabbath is not the break we're allotted at the tail end of completing all our tasks and chores, the fulfillment of all our obligations. It's the rest we take smack-dab in the middle of them, without apology, without guilt, and for no better reason than that God told us we could."
In Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity she discusses the debate when the Sabbath should take place - when it should start - going by Jewish tradition and what Christians have done through the years. She does not give an answer but encourages her readers that if we are not practicing the Sabbath at all or don't stop to rest ever - it is more important to make that first step in stopping and resting rather than which is the proper day for Sabbath.
I enjoyed this book. It gave encouragement to look at our Sabbath day differently, and to set some more peaceful goals, including spending more uninterrupted time with my children, starting more traditions on Sunday/Sabbath, and making a peaceful, relaxing, restful home. She gives ideas such as lighting candles to set some traditions in setting the atmosphere. There were two little things that "bugged" me in this book. One, was she quoted Rob Bell a few times which made me want to quickly read past his ideas, as there is numerous things theologically I do not agree with him on. She also made a comment about finding it difficult to live in the way she wishes she could in loving God and others throughout the week. I know what she is saying as far as taking more time with God and my family, children, in a peaceful way, yet God does not tell us to love one another only on the Sabbath! These are minor, comparatively to the idea of the idea of REST and SIMPLICITY on the Sabbath.
Summary: Rest, Reconnect, and Revise Your Life
Rating: 5
The back cover asks the question, "Is it possible to learn how to rest so that we have the energy and focus to live a meaningful and joyful life?" I was hoping the book would provide an answer to the overwhelming nature my life has taken on recently. And it may have. It definitely gave me a lot of great ideas that I'm planning to try out.
The book goes through six different aspects of the practicing the Sabbath, each piece tied into the big picture of just stopping for a moment (or a day) to regain our strength and push through the next week. Each of the six aspects was covered in a chapter with a good explanation of the concept, examples of how other families made it work for them, and best of all, real life suggestions for making it work for you. Some people can't take an entire day off so she suggests just a couple of hours to start. A lot of great examples and suggestions made me feel as a reader that this was something I could do.
I'll admit, Sundays are the Sabbath for me right now but I could do a lot better with making it more of a defined rest day. I don't go shopping, run errands, or workout. Anything that would be forcing someone else to work, I don't do. But there is so much more I could do to make the day more restful and peaceful, a day to rejuvenate for the coming week. Maybe then I wouldn't feel so burnt out by the end of the week.
So overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love Kent's style of writing because not only did she provide facts (e.g., there is a pause between each of our breaths), she also provided every day examples of ways to incorporate these ideas into each of our lives. And even if you're not religious at all, I recommend this book to anyone because all of us can benefit from the reminder to just take a step back and take a break so that you can keep moving forward.
Summary: Creating an Oasis in a Crazy Week
Rating: 4
For years I've struggled to find a way to ma
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