Three Steps Forward...two steps back....

You know I have never liked that saying..until I was reading in Beth Moore's book "So Long Insecurity" and read this:

"Maybe we're all just sick to dath of taking three steps forward and two steps back. Call me a math wizard, but isn't that still one step forward?...and if we don't lose that ground, aren't we on our way somewhere new? Willing to take three more steps - even if we lose two?

She is so smart! There is so much going on right now that I feel like I'm taking two steps back for anything I do....but she reminded me that I still went one step forward. Thank you Beth!

So yes I finally picked up the book again - I do that sometimes. I have too many good books I want to read and I start all of them. Not the smartest because I don't finish any of them! So I'm back on track and starting over again with it.


Also on my book list was this book called "Sabbath keeping" by Lynne M. Baab. I picked up the book when Fred and I were at the Emotionally Healthy Spirituality conference in New York. Keeping with their healthy lifestyle both Pete and Geri (leaders of the conference) make a point of keeping a day of rest on their schedule. It intrigued me to learn more about this, so when I saw this book I had to get it.

The author was great - she offered several suggestions on how to make the most of your sabbath, as well as, explaining the importance of taking one.

"Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day." Exodus 20:8-11

What is the sabbath? A weekly day of rest and worship. A day to cease working and relax in God's care for us. Its an interesting thought to take one day and stop all work and not feel guilty about this. But rather take the time to relax and enjoy God's beautiful creation all around you. In Hebrew the word sabbath means "Stop" which is also translated to "rest". But to me the word "STOP" is more powerful.

The author had spent time in Iran and Israel with her husband and that is where they discovered the sabbath. There the culture is focused around taking the sabbath (Saturday). Work ends mid day Friday, errands and preparations are made and then by 6pm all things stop -- stores close, public transit stops and people observe a day of rest. They quickly came to appreciate this day and embraced it. When they moved back to America and realized they missed the 24hours of rest and decided it was something they needed to put in their schedule.

For me this book was a good reminder not to get focused on setting rules to follow on my day of rest. But rather it helped me to determine things I wanted to avoid and things I can do while resting. For some gardening and spending time with family and friends will be a good day for rest. Others it may be shopping and not cooking, or grabbing a book or a bible study. Whatever it is the author suggests trying it for at least 3 months to see its effects in your life.

Also I thought it was interesting when the author mentioned that for those of us who have a hard time stopping on that day - we should ask ourselves why. Do I feel that if I stop for one day everything will fall apart? Are the works that I do so important?

"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God - not the result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

If you are at all interested in bringing the sabbath into your schedule I would strongly recommend reading this book.

"Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth" Psalm 46:10

"So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God's rest also cease from their labours as God did from his. Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest." Hebrews 4:9-11