Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, the call went out for this church to keep a Holy Lent by giving up some time. That is a hard thing to do, no doubt, but when we give up time to rest, and to delight in what God has given us, we discover order in our lives where there was once chaos.

Sabbath doesn’t mean coming to church on Sundays. It originally meant to cease work to rest and, in doing so, to delight in the things God has made us to delight in. So here’s the challenge, set aside non-negotiable time each week to rest, whether individually or, preferably, as a family. When that time comes, and it’s tempting to give it up because obligations press in, don’t. Keep the time set aside.

The idea is to experiment with giving up this time. Commit that, weekly, you’ll set aside time for rest that’s non-negotiable through Lent. Then, on April 12, Easter, evaluate if it was worth it. There’s no time quite like Lent to try out this spiritual discipline to see what, if any, effect it has in our lives.

That’s the challenge. And I want to hear about it! I’m eager to hear about your experience. Text me, email me, call me, talk to me at church. Full disclosure, this is part of my doctoral project, what takes the place of a dissertation. So I’m doubly eager to hear about it so I have something to report! But, more than that, I care about you and I care about how frazzled I see many of you, how much I hear from you that life is chaotic, how much I see how abundant life could be if only more of us would set aside time for sabbath. 

-Ted