Daily Archives: July 3, 2009

In 2005 Keri Wyatt Kent released a book entitled Breathe: Creating Space for God in a Hectic Life. The subtitle is important there, because her emphasis is not on finding space for God, but creating it. The difference is intention. Spending time with God is not an accident; it’s not just a happening. If we want it to happen, we need to make it a priority. We must be purposeful.

Kent’s newest book Rest follows this same line of thinking, but takes it a step further. She encourages readers not only to create a space for God, but to rest in that space. She calls it Sabbath Simplicity. By setting sanely paced, God-centerd rhythms of work and rest we can renew our energy, boost our joy and heighten our impact on the people around us.

Sounds great – right? We’re all tired all the time. We all have too much to do and not enough hours in the day. How can we alleviate the hectic schedules of our lives? How can we find true rest, the kind that rejuvinates and actually makes us more effective?

This book expounds upon six aspects of Sabbath — WAIT! I know some of you are freaking out just a bit at the word “Sabbath.” We’re NOT talking about lists of activities we can and cannot do on a specific day of the week. We’re not even talking about which day of the week. That’s not the intention of this book. Rather, it’s about recognizing Jesus’ teachings of rest, understanding the examples He set for rest and Sabbath, and then seeing how we can emulate those practices in our lives. What benefits can we find from regularly practicing biblical rest patterns?

Now, this book expounds upon six aspects of Sabbath as a spiritual practice:

• Resting
• Reconnecting
• Revising
• Pausing
• Playing
• Praying

Reading through this book I was reminded that Sabbath is not about what you do or don’t do, but relationships. It’s an appointment to stop and know God, to remember who I am in light of who He is and all that He has given me. My identity is not found in what I do or what I wear or where I go. And while I spend all week working to keep a clean house, meet deadlines with writing or my kids or ministries at church, these are not what is most important to me. When I stop, when I rest, I discover what is most important to me.

Only when I remember these things can I truly evaluate how I’m doing. Yes, my kids are memorizing their verses, but are they capturing the meaning behind the rote words? Yes, I’m praying, but am I really communing with God? Yes, I’m busy, but am I effective? Am I fruitful? Yes, my life is abundant, but am I experiencing the joy and peace Christ intended for His disciples?

This book doesn’t set forth a lot of rules. To the contrary, it invites readers to freedom! To the joy of experiencing rest. Throughout the book you’ll find stories of different families and the various ways they celebrate Sabbath. These real-life examples challenge and encourage. It’s a great introspective book, one that I want you to read.

Let me give you Rest! I have a copy of the book I would like to give to you for FREE. You don’t even have to pay shipping. In the comments section below, simply tell me how you practice and teach rest OR why you need more rest. I’ll randomly select a winner on Sunday night (9PM EST), so be sure to enter before then.

A few of you frequently complain that you never win anything. If you’re one of those, just go to Amazon and buy the book via THIS LINK. It’s currently selling for $10.19 — 32% off the cover price! (This book is also available in Kindle format for recent converts.)

Learn more about the author at her site: www.KeriWyattKent.com.

Read author interviews and more reader thoughts when you visit other stops on the blog tour.