Hi Friends! 

Welcome to March! What’d ya say we read a book together this month? This is essentially what Haley said to us at the beginning of February.  She sent us an email that read, “Let’s start a family book club this year. Let’s read a book together quarterly.  I’ve picked the first book, and y’all’s 3 copies will be delivered tomorrow.” And then she inserted the link. 

Here’s the book she picked:

I’m four chapters in and loving it. I’ve got to the end of the month to finish it, and I thought I would bring y’all along with us. 

I think we can all agree we are living at an unsustainable pace these days. It’s go/go/go ALL. THE. TIME. So much so that in culture we’ve equated busyness with importance. If we’re busy with super full schedules, then we must be important. The book refers to the pace of our culture as “hurry sickness.” 

Can I be real honest here? 

Y’all, I think this is simply a lie from the enemy that we are slurping up with a spoon. If he can keep us busy, distracted, and exhausted all the time, he knows we’ll eventually hit a wall, and our good intentions will stay just that … good intentions. 

Yes, we were created to bear MUCH fruit. But our family and community need the BEST of us. Not ALL of us. And the only way to give our BEST is to get REST. (And no, I didn’t mean to rhyme that!) As our Pastor said in a sermon earlier this year, “Taking a break is about trusting God.” This was part of a sermon series called Decade Defining Decisions, and this was one of the very best sermons I have ever heard on taking a Sabbath. Pastor Aaron knocked it out of the park, and I beg you to take 30 minutes and watch this! I know we’re two months into the year already, but it’s not too late to make practicing/taking a Sabbath one of your resolutions for 2020. I promise you, it’ll be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. I also love how Aaron reminded us that taking a Sabbath is a command; not a suggestion. And his illustrations of this in his sermon is hysterical. Seriously, GO WATCH. 

It was only a week or so after this sermon that Haley sent us the book, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry.” Of the four of us, I’m probably the one that has the thickest boundaries when it comes to “downtime.” I have to have it. I can’t function without it. I have to unplug on a regular basis. So the whole idea taking a Sabbath is super important to me. However, I probably need to take it to another level this year, and go “device free” on my Sabbath. 

All this to say, I’d love for you to watch Aaron’s sermon, and then read this book with me this month. I think it’ll do us a world of good both personally and for our families. Here’s what I’ve learned in the last few years… if we don’t actively fight against the pace of life, we’ll certainly get swept up in it.  

Who’s with me?