Sabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest

By Lynne M. Baab

Book Overview

Let's give ourselves an A for effort.

We keep our minds so preoccupied with work projects that we act and think on autopilot. We keep our kids so occupied with activities that they need day planners before grade school. We keep our schedules so full with church meetings and housekeeping and even entertaining that down-time sounds like a mortal sin.

When we fail to rest we do more than burn ourselves out. We misunderstand the God who calls us to rest--who created us to be people of rest. Let's face it: our rest needs work. Sabbath recalls our creation, and with it God's satisfaction with us as he made us, without our hurried wrangling and harried worrying. It also recalls God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, and with it God's ability to do completely what we cannot complete in ourselves. Sabbath keeping reminds us that we are free to rest each week.Eighteen months in Tel Aviv, Israel, where a weekly sabbath is built into the culture, began Lynne M. Baab's twenty-five-year embrace of a rhythm of rest--as a stay-at-home mom, as a professional writer working out of her home and as a minister of the gospel. With collected insights from sabbath keepers of all ages and backgrounds, Sabbath Keeping offers a practical and hopeful guidebook that encourages all of us to slow down and enjoy our relationship with the God of the universe.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830832580
• ISBN13: 9780830832583
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: IVP Formatio
• Length: 132 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Already reading it a second time

Great introductory book on keeping the Sabbath. Just as in her book "Fasting," Lynne M. Baab mixes a lot of scripture with a lot of testimonies, leaving you yearning to try out the Sabbath for yourself.

Great Book!

This book challenged and inspired me all at the same. The author's candid thoughts regarding her own experience with the Sabbath helped me embrace the idea of starting this ritual on my own. It is a great book and worth reading!!

Creative Sabbath keeping

This is a terrific book. I especially liked Lynne's example of how she tries to fast from "words" as part of her Sabbath-keeping, since much of her work entails reading/writing/speaking words. I've taken that to heart, and am experimenting with ways to implement it more fully in my Sabbaths.

Great, life-changing book.

We as Americans have gotten so far away from even the thought of taking an entire day to rest, regroup, and be refreshed. It seems to be beyond our imagination that taking such a day could actually make the rest of our week go even better and that we will be not only more productive, but happier and peaceful. I am so grateful to Lynne Baab for writing this book because it helped confirm that having a day of rest is really imperative for our spiritual, emotional, and physical well-being. Since I started my Sabbath days I can truly notice a difference in every one of those areas of my life. And I love how Lynne is not legalistic about how we should conduct ourselves on our personal Sabbath day---that everyone has different needs and styles. Also that our Sabbath practices will change over the years as our circumstances change. I intend on giving away copies of this book to all of my stressed friends who have been raised in this culture to think that if we aren't frantically running around PRODUCING and multi-tasking then we aren't doing anything of worth. We need to stop, take a deep breath, and enjoy a weekly Sabbath where we will find treasures and joys we never knew we could be experiencing! See Isaiah 58:13-14 for a great scripture concerning the Sabbath.

A wonderful way to understand the beauty of the Sabbath!

This book is an easy read, but packed full of practical wisdom about keeping the Sabbath. It helped me to see how the ancient tradition of Sabbath-keeping can benefit us in the fast-paced world we live in today. Lynne recognizes the vast differences in each of our lives, and has ideas and suggestions that we can each apply in the way that works for us. If you want an easy way to understand how observing the Sabbath can bring joy to your life, just set aside a morning to do nothing but sit on the couch with this book and a cup of coffee or tea. You'll be changed after the experience!