For a summary of what I’m hoping to accomplish in this blog series (in the second week of every month of 2018), I recommend reviewing my explanation here.
In this post for our DAY IN THE LIFE series, I take a look at something that should not have taken me ten months to write about, because it’s really where everything begins, not ends. It is not the byproduct or the result of the work I do elsewhere, it is the preparation for all of that other work. And yet, I waited until now to talk about it. Why? At least two reasons. First, the idea is horribly misunderstood by many and to start there would have been confusing for some. Second, because when I’m fully present in these moments, the last thing I’m thinking about is trying to shoot some video!
What am I talking about? I’m talking about SABBATH and PERSONAL RETREAT DAY (PRD).
SABBATH
For years, our family has made the Sabbath a non-negotiable priority. Now, before you read too much into that statement, you need to know that I’m not jumping across the table with a legalistic interpretation of Sabbath and what it is. Not at all. We have found a deeply compelling narrative in the practice of Sabbath and it’s become a fabric of our family life. Since this comes around once a week, no series on my daily life would be complete without it.
So what is it? Quite simply, it’s a day where we quit working and producing — no matter what the to-do list looks like. It’s a day of rest and of fun; it is a day that reminds us of what is most true about ourselves. It is not a day that comes AFTER a week of work; it is not a practice of recharging our batteries. No, this is a practice where we tell ourselves the truth about the world, about God, and about ourselves.
If you were to ask my children, “What do you do on the Sabbath?” they would tell you: “We rest. We play. No work. God loves us.” When I was trying to teach my children about Sabbath, I didn’t want to teach them a bunch of theology. I wanted them to understand something so simply that they could own it as a two-year-old. So we came up with that statement and it became a mantra for our family. First, we rest. Second, we play. One thing that isn’t allowed is work. And why do we do this? To remind ourselves that we are loved by God, not because of the work that we do, but simply because we are.
On these days, you’ll catch me sleeping in. You might see me enjoying the outdoors or spending time with the family. You might see me catching my favorite college team play ball or playing a video game. The one thing I will say is that I go through “Sabbath seasons.” Sometimes, I will need to spend time with my family and you’ll see me spending time with the family for a few months, but then that starts becoming a chore and it loses the ability to tell me the right story. So then I might go into a season where Sabbath is about my own self-care and doing things that I enjoy. But then that becomes selfish and starts to get in the way, so hunting season rolls around and I spend time in creation, close to the Creator.
Want to read more about Sabbath? There are incredible books out there by Heschel, Brueggemann, Bell, Winner, Sine… I wrote about it here and I talked about it here.
PERSONAL RETREAT DAY
So if you do Sabbath as a family, what is the PRD?
A PRD is a requirement for all staff at Impact Campus Ministries. Once a month, we are each supposed to take a paid work day and remove ourselves from the normal and usual workflow. It is a day for listening and changing our perspective. It’s different for everyone (for lots of different reasons), but the purpose is the same. We have come to talk about it in terms of a dance.
Imagine that ministry (or your job, whatever it might be) is a dance in a ballroom. You do a lot of things to make sure you are a good dancer. You study the art of dancing and you practice. You invest in your development as a dancer. But most of the time, you dance. You are engaged in the art of dancing. Tangibly, directly, immediately engaged.
But what do you think would happen if once a month, you stepped off the dance floor and joined God where He sits up in the balcony? Would the change of perspective be helpful? Not only would you enjoy rest and relief from stepping off the dance floor, but I imagine you would begin to see and notice things that you weren’t able to see when you were fully engrossed in the work of dancing. I would imagine you might be able to hear God’s voice a little more clearly when you are sitting next to Him in the balcony, versus being fully engaged in the work itself.
The balcony is certainly not where we are called to live; it is not the work we are called to. But it is important to the work that we are called to.
I made this short video to talk a little about my experiences on my own PRDs.
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