I’m preaching at my church on Sunday. The delightfully narrowed topic which my pastor assigned to me was “Sabbath.” When I asked him for a Scripture passage, he helpfully informed me that I got to choose which passage to preach on.
Now, I am highly J on the Myers-Briggs. I do NOT like lots of options. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it. If you tell me how to do it, that’s even better. Telling me to preach on Sabbath is like giving me a 500-page menu and expecting me to order dinner – for 300 other people. Aaaaaaack!
Luckily, I’ve known about this sermon since July, so I had plenty of time to read good books about Sabbath and still write a sermon that covered a hair’s breadth of the subject. And since my sermon truly will only scratch the surface of Sabbath, I feel it incumbent upon me to point people to other resources. Here, then, are some very good books on Sabbath:
Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest by Lynne M. Baab. Lynne is a friend of mine and my writing mentor. She writes clear, lucid prose, and hers is the most practical Sabbath book I’ve read.
Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives by Wayne Muller. This book is written in the slow, restful pace of Sabbath, which is part of its appeal. It has short chapters and lovely Sabbath keeping ideas at the end of each chapter.
Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity by Keri Wyatt Kent. Keri spoke at a retreat here in the Northwest last May and gave up her Saturday afternoon to hang out with me, tell me bits of her story, and give me some fabulous writerly advice. She’s lived Sabbath keeping with little kids and now she’s navigating it with teenagers, so her book is especially helpful for parents.
As part of the Adult Christian Education (ACE) team at my church, I get to plan events like our upcoming weekend with Jerry Sittser. We’re trying to build grassroots support for Keri Wyatt Kent right now, so we can have a good turnout when we bring her to Seattle to speak for a weekend. As part of that effort, I have 10 copies of Rest to give away to 10 lucky blog readers. (I figure most of you go to Bethany anyway. But even if you don’t, you’re welcome to enter.)
All you have to do to enter is comment on this post. The first five commenters will get a copy. After that, I’ll have my random number generator (his name is Jack) choose five numbers between six and however many people comment.
Jack will choose the winner next Thursday evening, so be sure you comment before 6 p.m. on October 22. I’ll announce the winners in next Friday’s blog, so check back for instructions on how to claim your book.
