Episode #142 Practice A Sabbath

Three Problems

• The Sabbath will never find its place in our lives unless we make space for it.
• The Sabbath often feels like a trust fall, and we will not be able to experience its goodness without equal parts faith and intentionality.
• We often underestimate the impact of weekly family rhythms.

Five Principles

• Even apart from spirituality, the practice of the Sabbath makes us healthier.
• The knowledge that a day of rest is just around the corner empowers us to live out the final days of our week with greater endurance.
• The Sabbath isn’t merely the ceasing of work but the embracing of what matters most.
• The goal of the Sabbath is not perfection but peace.
• Paradoxically, we can accomplish more in six days than in seven.

Five Practices

• Prioritize practices within all four movements of the Sabbath (as outlined by author Marva Dawn): cease, rest, embrace, and feast.
• Establish some Sabbath rhythms that are just for you and others that are shared with those who mean the most.
• As much as you are able, spend an entire day each week with your eyes off the clock and your phone put away.
• Creatively cultivate rhythms of reflection that are unique to each day, each week, each month, and each year.
• Change your phone screen to grayscale so that bright red notifications are not quite so distracting.

Two Publications

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• Keeping the Sabbath Wholly by Marva Dawn