Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Review: Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity



Keri Wyatt Kent's latest book contains practical advice on how to honor and observe Sabbath (whatever day that might be for you).

The writing is warm and personable, filled with examples from her life and the lives of others, making it eminently relatable. Suggestions on ways to begin implementing Sabbath observance helped make the practice accessible, and all of her suggestions and examples were completely non-legalistic and non-guilt-inducing. .

Her emphasis on what is restful for me, and why Sabbath is relevant today was thought-provoking. I appreciated the author's remarks that Sabbath may be very different for you depending on your season of life,

Highlighting the blessings of rest was inspirational, and challenged me to focus on what I could do the other six days of the week in order to enjoy God's gift of Sabbath rest.

On a more personal note, I grew up in a church that was EXTREMELY legalistic, and keeping the Sabbath (on Saturday only, anything else was an abomination) included a lengthly list of do's and don'ts and quibbling over what was and was not permissible. Although I left that church years ago, I still initially cringe when I hear the term Sabbath because of the negative connotations it brings. Kent's book was wonderfully reassuring and motivated me to try and reclaim the word and the concept and institute some rituals/traditions/habits that bring me closer to God.

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