#32 Rediscovering the Power of Sabbath for Body and Soul

Sunday LivestreamBecoming Whole

22 Jun

Written By Anna Kettle

YouTube Video of the Church Service

Rediscovering the Power of Sabbath for Body and Soul

Time Stamps

00:02:04 - Talk Begins: Ancient practice of Sabbath as an antidote to modern busyness
00:05:00 - Biblical foundations: What Genesis and Exodus teach us about Sabbath
00:07:00 - Debunking Sabbath misconceptions: It's not legalism or just a day off
00:13:48 - How Sabbath supports mental and physical wellness in our digital age
00:16:00 - Practical ways to implement Sabbath in your busy life
00:31:33 - Conversation Street: Real-life examples of Sabbath practices

Bible Verses Referenced

Genesis 2:1-3 - God rested on the seventh day and made it holy
Exodus 20 - The Sabbath as one of the Ten Commandments
Isaiah 40:28 - God does not grow tired or weary
Mark 2:27 - "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"
Isaiah 58:13-14 - Calling the Sabbath a delight

Rediscovering Why We Need Sabbath

Have you noticed how being busy has become a badge of honour in our culture?

We wear our packed schedules and lack of free time as if they're accomplishments to brag about. Deep down, though, we all recognise this isn't healthy. The skyrocketing rates of burnout, anxiety and mental health challenges tell us something's seriously off with how we're living.

That's why the ancient practice of Sabbath feels more relevant than ever.

But what exactly is Sabbath? For many, it's simply become shorthand for having Sundays off. The biblical concept, however, is far richer and more life-giving than that.

More Than Just a Day Off

Sabbath begins in the very first pages of the Bible. Genesis tells us that after six days of creating, God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. This wasn't because the all-powerful Creator of the universe was knackered and needed a break. Isaiah 40:28 makes it clear that "the Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not grow tired or weary."

So why did God take a Sabbath? He was modelling a rhythm of rest for us right from the beginning. The Creator knew that we, as created beings, would be prone to overworking, striving, and losing sight of what really matters.

Later, in Exodus, Sabbath appears in the Ten Commandments - right at the heart of God's instructions for living well: "Six days you shall labor and do your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord."

What Sabbath Isn't

Before diving into how to practice Sabbath, let's clear up some misconceptions:

Sabbath is not about legalism. Jesus challenged this when he healed on the Sabbath, stating, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." It's not a rule to follow but a gift to unwrap.
Sabbath doesn't have to be Sunday. While many Christians gather for worship on Sundays, biblical Sabbath was observed from Friday evening to Saturday evening. The specific day matters less than the rhythm.
Sabbath is not passive. It's not just about zoning out in front of Netflix. Biblical Sabbath involves actively engaging with God, other people, and creation.
Sabbath is not optional. It's a practice designed by God for our spiritual, mental, and physical thriving. We're simply better when we Sabbath.

The Mental Health Benefits of Sabbath

In our age of constant digital connectivity and overwhelming pace, Sabbath offers a powerful antidote:

For anxiety, Sabbath helps us release our sense of control and trust God instead of trying to manage everything ourselves.
For burnout, Sabbath provides a sustainable pace of life that's preventative rather than just occasional rest after we crash.
For digital overwhelm, Sabbath creates sacred spaces that are tech-free, allowing us to unplug and reconnect with ourselves, God, and others.
For low self-worth, Sabbath reminds us that our value isn't tied to productivity or achievement, but to being God's beloved creation.

Research shows these benefits extend beyond just the Sabbath day itself, carrying through the entire week. The real question isn't whether you have time to Sabbath, but whether you can afford not to.

Making Sabbath Practical

So, how do you actually incorporate Sabbath into your busy life? First, remember that Sabbath isn't earned – it's a gift of grace freely given by God.

A typical day of Sabbath might include:

Worship: Time to connect with God, alone or in community
Rest: Creating physical and mental spaces of pause
Delight: Enjoying God's good gifts through nature, music, art, food, or time with loved ones
Gratitude: Remembering and giving thanks for God's blessings
Contemplation: Reflecting on what truly matters beyond productivity

If you're just starting, here are some helpful tips:

Start small: Begin with manageable Sabbath moments rather than a full 24 hours
Plan ahead: Put it in your diary as protected time
Create boundaries: Minimise disruptions, especially from technology
Focus on purpose over rules: Remember the key principles rather than getting stuck in legalism
Develop Sabbath thinking: Cultivate rhythms of rest throughout your entire week

Sabbath will look different in different seasons of life. For a new parent, it might be snatched moments while the baby sleeps. For others, it might be a whole family day or a morning walk in nature. The key is being intentional and focusing on the heart rather than adhering to rules.

Real-Life Sabbath Stories

During Conversation Street, the team shared their personal experiences with Sabbath:

Will described a recent Thursday evening when, instead of staying in after a tiring workday, he and his wife went sea swimming at high tide, followed by fish and chips, and watching the sunset. This combination of physical activity, connection with his partner, engagement with nature, and enjoying good food provided a deep sense of rest and renewal.

Anna shared how her family typically observes Sabbath on Sundays – attending church in the morning, enjoying lunch with friends, and spending quality family time playing board games. For her, the key was having unstructured time without screens where genuine connection could happen.

Matt reflected on how understanding Sabbath freed him from productivity guilt. As a driven person who feels he should always be "doing something," embracing Sabbath as God's gift helped him release the pressure to produce and achieve constantly.

The Heart of Sabbath

At its core, Sabbath holds this incredible truth: we are loved not for what we produce or achieve, but simply for who we are as children of God. Knowing this gives us the freedom to rest in Him, trusting Him with all that's left undone.

This counter-cultural practice challenges our "always on" world and offers a more truthful, more honest way of being human. In reclaiming biblical Sabbath, we discover that stopping isn't just permitted – it's commanded by the One who created us and knows exactly what we need.

So why not try introducing some element of Sabbath rest into your life this week? Start small, have fun with it, and discover what feels restful and life-giving in your context. The key is being intentional and focusing on the heart behind it, not just following rules.

Looking for more resources? Check out "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" by John Mark Comer for a deeper dive into Sabbath living, or Anna's devotional "Sand Between Your Toes" for daily reflections centred on rest.

What one small step could you take this week toward creating space for Sabbath in your life? Whether it's a tech-free evening, a mindful walk in nature, or quality time with loved ones, remember that Sabbath isn't just another obligation – it's a gift waiting to be unwrapped.

Join us next week as we continue our Wholeness series with Dave Connolly speaking about emotional resilience – another vital aspect of living well in our challenging times.

#32 Rediscovering the Power of Sabbath for Body and Soul
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Matt Edmundson: [00:00:00] Good evening. Welcome to Crowd Church. My name is Matt. Beside me is the beautiful, we'll sat with
Will Sopwith: Good evening. Oh, lovely to see you. It's nice to have a little bit of slightly cooler weather today to say sweltering this week if you've been sweltering to in the uk. Uh, yeah, I'm, I hope you've enjoyed it.
I've, my colleague actually from, uh. Works in Barcelona and she came over to the UK for a course and she was like, oh, finally, some, some like normal summer weather and she got off the plane in, in London going, it's hotter than at home. What am I doing here?
Matt Edmundson: Yeah, we've had a, we've had an amber warning.
That's how, uh, that's how serious it's been. Ironically, since they gave us the amber warning, it's been cooler. I dunno if you noticed that. It was really hot and we got the amber warning, they said. Yeah. So, um, it's just a thing we do in England, by the way, if you're outside of the uk, when the weather, we just always talk about the weather.
It's like weather and football. The two things we talk about pretty much. And beer maybe. I dunno. Um, anyway, we're [00:01:00] actually a church, believe it or not. So very warm. Welcome to you. It's great that you are here with us all the way from the Amber warning capital of Liverpool Broadcasting live around the world.
Yeah, we're, which is just, it's quite staggering when you think about it. Uh, but today we are talking about Sabbath, uh, and rest specifically. And to do that. We have the very lovely Elle who's gonna be speaking. Is that right?
Anna Kettle: I am, yeah. I'm starting now. Am I?
Matt Edmundson: No, no, no. Because we've not, I need to do the whole limbo, warmup, intro.
I was just
Anna Kettle: checking. It's like, want me to go now? We're so slack slick, aren't we as ever Exactly. Say slack. Slack, yeah. More like it. Slack
Matt Edmundson: and slick all at the same time. Uh, so yeah. Sorry, that was my bad. That was really poorly done. Uh, Anna's gonna be talking to us about Sabbath, uh, which is gonna be great.
So grab your notebooks, grab your pens, and of course you can write any [00:02:00] questions, any thoughts, all that sort of stuff in the comments as we go along. I. Um, and do, do that. 'cause after the talk we have conversation. Straight, straight. Conversation, Street. Even
Anna Kettle: struggling with our words tonight. Hey. Oh, just, just,
Matt Edmundson: we should just, let's just stop the live stream and study.
It must be the heat. It's the amber warning. Uh, so yes, we are, um. I'm gonna have Conversation Street. So do write your questions in the comments and we will hopefully be able to answer them for you. Uh, as we go through. Will and I and Anna are gonna be back after Anna's finished doing a talk, we're gonna do Conversation Street.
So yeah, if it's your first time with us, by the way, uh, very warm, welcome to you. This is just kind of how we do it. We just. Ramble on a little bit at the start, Anna's gonna do the talk. Then after we have something called Conversation Street, which is where we go through your questions, your comments, all the stuff you put in the comments.
Um, and so yeah, I always look, I always look forward to Conversation Street. I actually prefer doing Conversation Street than to doing the [00:03:00] talks, but it takes a lot less prep because you can't really prep for the questions. Um, but yeah, it's, uh, it's good. So anyway, without further ado, let's bring on the very lovely, very beautiful Anna Kettle.
Anna Kettle: Thank you.
So I wonder, have you noticed how being too busy has kind of become like a badge of honor in our culture today? Why is it that, how packed our schedules are and how little time we have has kind of become something to brag about? I. I think if we're honest, deep down, we all know that this kind of bit over busyness isn't too good for us.
Um, we live with such high levels of stress, burnout, anxiety, overwhelm. I. And mental health challenges are just skyrocketing. That's why I'm so passionate about this subject of Sabbath rest. You know it's name ancient practice that's [00:04:00] rooted deeply in scripture, and it offers us a really radical counter-cultural antidote to the pressures of modern living.
I wonder what the first thing that comes to mind is when you hear the word Sabbath, though I think for many people it's probably just become shorthand for having a day off, and usually in all Western context it's a Sunday. But over the next 50 minutes or so in this talk, I want to wrap it a bit more and show you that Sabbath is so much more than this, choosing to practice Sabbath.
That is taking one day off in seven to stop and rest. It's a profound statement of our trust in God and his provision, and it's a declaration that we believe our worth is not found in productivity alone. Practicing Sabbath reminds us that our identity and value is not just tied to our productivity or achievement and our success alone, but it's grounded in who we are as God's.
Beloved Creation [00:05:00] Sabbath reminds us that we matter simply because we are his. So what does the Bible actually have to tell us about this idea of Sabbath? Well, let's start at the beginning, shall we? Literally, let's start in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. In Genesis two verse is one to three. The Bible tells us that God rested on the seventh day after six days of creating the world.
It says, God bless the seventh day and made it holy. He rested from all the work he'd done in creation. Now, do you ever wonder why this is, I mean, it was obvious that God wasn't tired and he didn't need a break. You know, the Bible makes it very clear that God doesn't need to rest the way that we do as humans.
Isaiah 40 28, for example, says that the Lord is everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not go tired or weary and his understanding. No one can fathom. So why did God take a Sabbath then? Well, personally, I think that he was modeling [00:06:00] Sabbath as a rhythm of rest. Uh, an example of how we could live.
Right at the start of creation story, he was giving us an example of how to live well. Setting aside one day in seven that wasn't just about work, but was about being holy to God, the creator, God obviously didn't need to Sabbath, but maybe he knew that we needed to. Maybe He knew that as creator beings we're prone to striving, to overworking, to losing sight of what's really important in our busy lives.
The idea of Sabbath is something that appears again in the following book of the Bible in Exodus, when God introduces 10 Commandments to the A Israelites. In Exodus 20, the commandments are kind of introduced as a set of rules and principles to live by sort of principles for living well, really. And Sabbath is right there at the heart of it.
It says, in Exodus 26 days, you shall labor and do your [00:07:00] work. But on the seventh day is to be a Sabbath unto the Lord. So Sabbath is connected again to this idea of pausing. Pausing from work refocusing. Taking time for worship and having time that's set apart in our lives for God. And then throughout the Old Testament Sabbath, just recurs as this theme.
It's a tool to help the Israelites remember who they are as a people. So even when they're enslaved in a foreign land, Sabbath is a time for them to recall their identity, to remember that they're God's people first. And then when we move forward into the New Testament in the, in the more recent part of the Bible, we learn that Jesus practices Sabbath tea, but not just as a Jewish law that he followed, not just as a cultural kind of tradition for Jesus, the whole purpose of Sabbath.
It's linked to this idea of human healing and flourishing and wholeness. So when some religious leaders come, for example, and question him about why he's healed a man on a Sabbath day, shouldn't he be resting in [00:08:00] mark two? 27, he replies this, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So here Jesus is challenging the idea that practicing Sabbath is just about keeping a rule.
He, he's showing that it's so much more than just Sabbath for Sabbath's own's sake. And actually it's about spiritually serving us and others around us. So I wanna quickly look at a few of the misconceptions that exist around Sabbath that have grown up in contemporary Christianity. And just consider for a moment what Sabbath isn't.
Firstly, Sabbath is not about legalism. You know, some Christians might say, I don't practice Sabbath anymore because it's all fashioned, or it's a bit legalistic. Actually, as we've just seen in this scripture just now, it's not God's heart for, for us at all, quite the opposite. In fact, Sabbath is meant to be a gift which supports our human flourishing and our healing and our wholeness.
We don't [00:09:00] have to Sabbath as a rule, but we get Sabbath. It's a privilege, a blessing, and a gift. Sabbath is also not just about Sundays now, although many Christians do gather together and worship in churches, particularly on a Sunday. It doesn't have to be applied be a Sunday. It can be applied on any day and actually for Jewish people and, and, and in the culture that Jesus lived in, it was actually practiced from a Friday evening to a Saturday evening.
Thirdly, Sabbath is not passive. You know, it's not just a day off. It's not a day of checking out of life, zoning out in front of Netflix or just chilling on the couch all day. It's much more proactive. The biblical idea of Sabbath is about actively engaging with God, with other people around us and with God's creation too.
So really, I'd also say Sabbath is not actually just optional for Christians, you know, it's something that God's given us and designed. To be more than just an occasional thing, something to squeeze in life when we can manage it, it's [00:10:00] meant to be a regular PR practice, a discipline, a regular rhythm of life, which is necessary to help our spiritual, mental, and physical health and thriving.
You know, we're better when we Sabbath. And as we alluded to before, we live in this kind of mental health epidemic right now. But the good news is that Sabbath is actually a gift that can help us offset some of the worst impacts of what always on digital culture. In reclaiming Biblical Sabbath, we can actually begin to learn a more truthful, more honest way of being human in a world that's largely forgotten.
How to stop and rest. Rest well. So here's a few examples of how Sabbath can support our mental and. Um, and physical wellness. Firstly, anxiety. You know, anxiety is rife in our culture right now, but Sabbath helps us to release our sense of control and to choose to let go and trust God, to be in control rather than trying to manage everything ourselves or fix everything, provide for ourselves.
Burnout [00:11:00] Sabbath also provides a sustainable pace of life that's slower and more manageable. It's a preventative way of living rather than just about occasional rest. After we crash and burn. It can help us manage digital overwhelm. So Sabbath can help us create sacred spaces that are tech free in lives, in our lives that are really overwhelmed.
Uh, you know, it's an opportunity where we can unplug and reconnect with ourselves. With God and with one another in a more auth, authentic way. It also can help us look at low self-worth. So Sabbath can help us regain perspective and remember who we really are as people and what really matters in our lives.
It's not just about being tied. Our worth isn't tied to who we are in terms of how much we earn what we do, but it's about god's and changing love for us when it's all said and done. Um, incredibly as well. Research is starting to show that these kind of Sabbath benefits don't just extend to the [00:12:00] day itself, but they can extend right through the whole working week.
So the restoration carries on throughout our whole lives. So when you really think about it like that, the question shouldn't be, have I got time to Sabbath? But really, can I afford not to Sabbath? Okay, so maybe I've convinced you that this idea of Sabbath offers us plenty of benefits and is a good idea.
In theory, but how do you actually put it into practice in our lives, week in and week out? How do we do that? You know, for many of us, we think of the chance to stop as something that we earn after a hard work. You know, like a bit like a holiday after six months of real hard slog. But that's not what Sabbath is.
It's not a reward for hard work. Sabbath is a gift of grace. It's freely given to us by God. And so it's a, it's not a job. It's not earned for a job well done. It's just a gift. For some people as well. I think the idea of Sabbath can feel a bit of a burden at [00:13:00] first rather than a gift. It can seem like one more thing to do or cram into our already busy lives.
But actually in Isaiah chapter 58, verses 13 to 14, the Bible called Sabbath a delight and not a chore. It says this, if you call the Sabbath a delight, then you'll find your joy in the Lord. So maybe try beginning with that. As your starting point, if you're thinking about this idea of Sabbath, you know that it's a gift and a joy.
And with this in mind, here's a few things to consider if you are trying to unpack this idea of Sabbath, and maybe it's a bit new to you. You know, a typical day of Sabbath could include any of the following things. It could include worship, so time to connect with God, whether that's alone or in a corporate setting, like a church.
It could in, it could include rest. So creating physical and mental spaces of pauses in your life. It could include delight, so enjoying God's good gifts to us, whether that's nature, music, art, food [00:14:00] celebration, meals with family time with quality friends. It could include gratitude. So things like remembering God's good gifts to us and being thankful for what we have.
And it could include contemplation, so reflecting on what truly matters beyond productivity and work. Now, although dedicating a specific data Sabbath is biblical, the concept of Sabbath thinking can actually begin to permeate our whole lives and begin to transform a whole outlook and our whole weeks.
Here's a few more examples of some tips you could think about exploring. You know, if, if Sabbath is a new idea to you, you could start small. You know, just begin with ma manageable sabbath moments. Taking regular pauses in your week, maybe starting with a half day or even just an hour. You don't have to start with a full 24 hour window.
Um, another tip I'll give you is just plan ahead. So put it in the diary and make sure that rest is protected time in your life and that it's regular, it's a regular rhythm, [00:15:00] that it's, it's diaried, you know, and you know when it is. 'cause it's easier to stick to a set day or a set time. Try to create some boundaries.
So prepare to minimize disruption, especially from technology. Switch your phone off, unplug your devices. It helps. And also remember to focus on the purpose over the rules. So it's less about legalism, as we said, and it's more about trying to remember the key principles. So trusting in God's provision, practicing gratitude, delighting in his presence, all of those things we just talked about before.
Finally try to. Develop Sabbath thinking as a whole thinking. Um, throughout your week, try to cultivate rhythms of rest that, you know, go beyond just the Sabbath day, but actually you're part of your whole life. You know, personally, I've also learned that Sabbath can look different in different seasons, um, and different stages of life.
For example, when I was a new mum. [00:16:00] You know, Sabbath really looked nothing more than snatched moments when a baby was sleeping. But now that my son's a bit older, it looks like a full day off as a family often. Sometimes it might also be a morning like going for a walk or just putting some intentional pauses in my working week too.
So maybe a good place to start is thinking about what works in your context, in your life stage, and basically I'd really encourage you to just have a little bit of fun with it. To really try some different things out and see what feels restful and life giving and helps you to flourish in your life and your context.
The key for me really is about being intentional and also focusing on the heart, not rule keeping. I think in conclusion, I just wanted to revisit that incredible truth that we began with, though that Sabbath holds at its core. You know, it's the truth that we are loved, not for what we produce or achieve, or succeed at, or what we do at all, but who we are simply as children of God.
Knowing [00:17:00] this truth that we're loved by God gives us the freedom to rest in him, to trust him with the things that are left undone and to prioritize his presence. Over endless productivity and work, and isn't that just an incredible gift that we all get to live in? And unw wrap? I want to end this talk by just challenging you to discover or maybe rediscover if you've tried it before, and then kind of given up that gift of Sabbath for yourself this week.
I. You know, if this idea is totally new to you, then perhaps just think about one way you could introduce the idea of Sabbath rest into your week this week. You know, you could even come back, um, next week and tell us how you got on with it and tell us, you know, what you did. In a minute I'm gonna open up to Conversation Street.
Um, we're gonna have a chat as a team about how different ones of us practice Sabbath, rest in our busy lives and how it looks for different ones of us. So do stick around for that and post your questions 'cause. We are really happy to answer any you've got, but I just [00:18:00] wanted to finish just by plugging a couple of books as resources as well, if you're interested in delving into this idea a little bit more.
So two books I really love about, um. That whole idea of Sabbath and rest. The first one is called the w, ruthless Elimination of Ha. It looks something like that. You can get it on Amazon or any good bookstores, and it's by John Mark Kamer. And it's just a really good deep dive into some of what we've been talking about now, like if you want to learn more about the theory and more about the practice of Sabbath living, it's a really great meaty read.
And the other one I wanted to recommend, it's a bit of shameless plugging here, but this is a book that I wrote myself called Sand Between Your Toes. And it's a devotional, like, so it's a collection of daily Bible reflections. Basically a hundred of them in total that kind of all centered on the seam of rest and resting and, and like leaning into God.
And, um, it's just very light, you know, five minute read a day. So if you just wanted to start with something really small and [00:19:00] manageable, you could just take that and, um, just use it as a sort of reflection point. Um, you don't have to do it every day. Even if you did it once a week, it would be good. Um, so yeah, two, two examples of some resources you could use.
But obviously there's loads of great books out there on this subject, and I think we're gonna unpack it a bit more now as a team, aren't we as well? I'll pass back to Matt at this point.
Matt Edmundson: Very good, very good. So, I, first question, why is it called Sand Between Your Toes? Love that title.
Anna Kettle: Um, because it's, it was a bit of marketing, isn't it? It's a beach themed durational. So sand between your toes.
Matt Edmundson: Ah, okay. Very good. And why did you write the book?
Anna Kettle: I wrote it because I was a busy mom working in marketing.
I knew mum at the time and I was wrestling a lot with this very subject. In my own life, I. Wanted to understand how I could continue to live [00:20:00] in God's rest in a season of life that was very, very busy, both at work and at home. Um, I wasn't doing it very well, so I kind of started writing the book by just wrestling with scriptures and spending time asking a lot of these questions myself.
Yeah, so it's some of my reflections out that season of life actually.
Matt Edmundson: So were you, um, I find this fascinating because. Were you, well, I, let me just preface, preface all of this. You were a pastor's kid, right? So you grew up in church talking about Sabbath. Yeah. And rest. So you had this conscious knowledge that maybe Sabbath was a, was a good thing, but that you weren't experiencing it, um, when you were a.
When you were having the kids, so were you quite active with your practices Sabbath before Ben turned up, or was it just a case of Actually my life is just in desperate need of rest right now?
Anna Kettle: Yeah. No, I, I think it was the latter. I don't think I've ever been very naturally good at this, which is why it's quite funny that I've written a book on it [00:21:00] of all things I would, I didn't write this book as an expert.
I wrote it as a learner. Um, in all honesty, I wrote it 'cause it was a book I needed. Um, so it's my kind of learning and practice. Um, no, I grew up in a Christian household, so we always went to church on a Sunday, but my dad was a pastor, so it wasn't his day off. It wasn't really, our family day off was probably a Saturday if we had any.
So, no, it wasn't modeled very well in my childhood. Really. We, you know, we, Sunday was a church day, but it wasn't a not busy day 'cause dad was working. So, um, so yeah, that I, I didn't really think about it much when I was. Younger, I guess it is only that I went through a season of real busyness. It's like I literally can't take any more on, I can't work and be a full-time, full-time employee and a full-time mom and wife and all of the things you know, and have church commitments and some kind of semblance of friendships and social life and all the other things that we all try and juggle.
Without learning how to do this better. [00:22:00] And I think I was kind of, yeah, it was interesting that intersected, like that book came out the year that we went into lockdown and COVID, the COVID Pandemic, which was interesting timing. 'cause suddenly we were thrown into this period of life where life actually slowed right down for a lot of us.
So yeah, it just, it was a season of life and yeah, I definitely. Definitely. It was definitely like, I need to learn how to do this rather than I've always been good at it.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. No, that's great. And what was, going back to when you wrote the book and you started to put these devotionals together, what was the moment that it all clicked?
What was that? Or was there a moment where it all was just like, and now I, now I get it. Now I understand.
Anna Kettle: I don't know if there was one moment. I think it was little by little. It was like learning new behaviors, new rhythm. Like we talked about rhythms of rest, didn't we? Rhythms of Sabbath. And I think it was about just like a lot of change [00:23:00] in our lives.
It was putting good practices in little by little. So like Sunday will be a day, which is more of a family day and we will look at, you know, not, not turning on the laptops or looking at work today or, you know, think more consciously about it. Uh, yeah. So I think it was little by little. It was, um, yeah, I, I don't know if that really answers it, but I don't think there was a, there was a moment or a big revelation.
I think it was much more bit by bit Yeah. Making, yeah. Which is quite often how God does it. Right. Making small changes like a lot of areas in life. Yeah.
Will Sopwith: And I mean, there's, there's so much in. In what you've unpacked there in Sabbath? Much, much more than I've really thought about it, to be honest. I think I'd, I'd probably use that shorthand of a day off and, and, and not think about the intentionality of it in quite the same way.
And, and, and what you do with that time rather than just, just resting. There's [00:24:00] actually, you know, there, there's crashing out rests, isn't there? And there's. Gratitude and joy and all those things, and community and, and investing actually, which, which sometimes takes more effort. Mm-hmm. And, and, and I like your challenge of, of actually thinking about it a bit, having some fun with it, thinking what, what would this look like?
And, and trying to. Yeah, trying to put in those rhythms.
Anna Kettle: Yeah. And I think what's really interesting is rest doesn't look the same in every season of life, and it also doesn't look the same for each of us. So I can't tell you what I do and you just transpose it on your life. 'cause what's restful to me might be like yours, nightmare.
You know? Like, like my husband loves to. Go for a long run. That's how he like has time out. He prays, he, you know, winds down, he thinks he gets headspace. I hate running. That's my worst nightmare, you know? So we are all different, aren't we? Like I might sit there with a good book or something else. You know, for me, I'm quite relational, so rest [00:25:00] is quite often spending time with people.
But for an introvert, again, that's the opposite of rest. That's hard work to them. So I think it's about knowing yourself and. Yeah, like you say, playing with it, seeing what works for you. That's
Will Sopwith: great. Did I think you had a slightly different background, didn't you Matt? Did you have any kind of concept of Sabbath as you were growing up, as as a family?
Was uh, was Sunday just like any other day or was there a sun kind of a day in the week that was a bit different?
Matt Edmundson: That's a really good question. I. When I grew up, it was the nine. I mean, when we grew up, it was in the eighties, right? So I'm, I'm not as, not just me, everybody on the stage. Um, we grew up in the, in the seventies and the eighties, and I think back then, um, it felt like life was slower.
Do you, Do you know what I mean? I, yeah, I, I wouldn't have used the word sabbath. I wouldn't have used the word dead rests. I didn't grow up in a Christian House, so it was not language that we necessarily would've used, but it did feel [00:26:00] slower. The cars were slower. Mm-hmm. The pace of life was slower. Kids knew what it was to be.
Bored. I was bored a lot. Do you know what I mean? And so when I, when I was get to
Will Sopwith: boredom,
Matt Edmundson: get you traveled in a car, what did you do? You look out the window, that's what you did, right? You didn't have iPads tattooed to the back of the car seats and stuff. And so. I think with all, I mean you talked about the digital side, didn't you?
With all the tech that we have now, the big difference for me is all the things in life that are supposed to make life easier have made us more busy. And I think that expectation of productivity you talked about is much more powerful. Now, I obviously, when I was a kid, I think you view the past differently anyway.
Mm-hmm. If I asked my mom and dad, maybe it was crazy. Back then. Mm-hmm. But it, I don't know, it just felt slower. So I had a different upbringing. We, we didn't have a necess, we didn't necessarily have a day off, but we didn't work the weekends. Mm-hmm. Do you, I mean, so, and
Anna Kettle: it, and it was things like shops were, had a closing time on a Sunday, didn't they like.
We shop [00:27:00] lots of, I remember when the shops started entirely. Yeah, yeah. So you had had to stop and there was no online shopping then, was there? So was there, there was a whole discussion about Sunday
Will Sopwith: trading, which, you know, went through, went through parliament and it was a big deal and there was a massive, and I, I remember, yeah, my parents talking about it because they were kind of very pro not having shops open on the Sunday because it was the Sabbath and because it was a special day.
I don't think I really understood why, but, but you, you kind of look back and go. Yeah, there, there was something I, I remember there's something about having a day that was different in the week.
Yeah.
Will Sopwith: That somehow affected, it definitely affected our family life. I mean, my, my parents did sort of play with it and try different things and we weren't allowed to go to birthday parties on Sunday.
That's the kind of Oh, wow. Because it was a family day and that, that was quite a challenge. That was, um. And try to explain to your mates at school that you couldn't come to their birthday party. Yeah. Sabbath. Because it was a Sunday and it was like, what? But I can I, being a parent now, I get what my parents were trying to [00:28:00] do of like, no, there's a day that that's different.
And, and I, and I, to be honest, I look back and think about the family walks that we went on after a roast dinner. You know, the kind of classic. British Sunday. And actually I really value those times. I really value those connections with my parents and, and my siblings. Um, I, I don't think I really appreciated the time, but there's something about, and you, you talked about this again, about the, the intentionality, that there's something about.
Putting something in that makes it happen because it, and I think what we saw with the, with the shops being open and, and the digital side and Sunday, is it, it's just been eroded that sense of Sunday being any different from any other day and even even that work expectation of like, no, no, you, you'll be on your emails on Sunday because Monday's a big day.
And, and that whole, that has been eroded and, and it, it feels like it's something to, to fight quite hard for. But it's, it, you have to put in some sort of rhythm to help that fight. Otherwise it just [00:29:00] continues to get eroded and, and so making, making a mark, whether it's not going to parties or, or whatever it is.
But I, I, you know, as I say, I get what my parents were trying to do. Yeah. They were trying to put things in which, which made it different. Um, and,
Anna Kettle: and for me, like. You are absolutely right and I, I think like it's not about, Sabbath isn't about doing nothing, it's about doing something different. Yeah. It's about, like, for me, it's not, it's not about stopping doing everything I.
It's just about doing something that's different to, yeah, the rest of the working week, you know, that looks different to the rest of life. So yeah, it's, I don't know. 'cause it can sound a bit boring, can't it? Like I'm not someone that likes sitting still for a long period. So, you know, again, rest, I dunno, it sounds lush
Matt Edmundson: to sit still for.
Not gonna lie.
Anna Kettle: And it can't, and it can't always be sitting on a beach, can it? 'cause you know, it's so, times a year can do that.
Matt Edmundson: Yeah. One day of the year. Yeah. We missed it. It was the amber warning
Anna Kettle: back then, right? It was last week. No, but, but yeah, for me it's like, it's less [00:30:00] about, it's not just about physically stopping, it's also, it's about that mental stopping.
Yeah. Mental shift. And that's something I've really realized. It's like kind of. Yeah, it's about refocus. Yeah. It's not about, you know, emptying my brain and just mindlessly like watching Netflix all afternoon. 'cause that doesn't, that's doesn't actually like pseudo rest. It like ends up being, I don't think it does anything.
Your soul does it. No, it doesn't feed your soul. Whereas like, moving from like work to focusing on something else, like family, friends, celebration, delight, those things that bring life to you, you know, exercise, whatever it is. But those things. That's restful for the soul, I think. Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: When, um, when you read the gospels.
Uh, you look at Jesus' life, so many of the healings he did ironically were on a Sabbath. Mm-hmm. And wherever he went, and he would heal people, the religious leaders would moan at him for healing people on a [00:31:00] Sabbath, which I just still think is the most ironic thing. Right. Uh, I, how the goal, I just don't know, but it's like, like you say, it's not, Sabbath is not doing nothing.
And Jesus' response to this was to say. The Sabbath was made for man. Mm-hmm. Not man for the Sabbath. And it's that kind of, it's this belief and understanding that actually it's a good thing that God's put this in place for us. Um, so let me ask you a question. Let me pull the ques, the ques the questions up here.
Um, what are practical ways Kalamas, we can prioritize taking a Sabbath over working to pay bills and look after children?
Will Sopwith: Hmm. Uh, yeah, it, it, I think this is part of that erosion that when we are in a place where there's an expectation, say that, that Sunday is like, or a Sabbath, every day is the same. And many cultures [00:32:00] have this, that every day is a complete, full on working day.
Um, imagining anything different becomes quite difficult, and it's quite a brave. Step to say, I'm not gonna do that on one day. I'm, I'm gonna take seriously this Sabbath. But I think with so many as, with so many things in God, he says, when you take that step of faith, embrace risk. I think it was talked about this morning.
Yeah. Um, God can do the unimaginable. Uh, and so I, I, I think for something like, certainly in terms of earning, it's like I, I can't afford not to have seven days of earning in a week. Um, I. I just say, you just need to try God out on that. But it's not gonna happen, you know, it's not gonna happen until you take that step of faith and say, I'm gonna, I'm gonna set aside some time.
It may not be a whole day to begin with. I'm gonna set aside some time that's different. Um, and, and see what God will do. But, but when we stay in that place of like, I can't [00:33:00] possibly do this, it, I don't think we'll ever prop properly see the reality. Um, and, and I think with, with kids. The, you know, trying to apply my upbringing then to having children in a completely different age and a very digital age and everything else.
Um, yeah, it's something we, we've, we've struggled with. Um, and we've had some, some good ideas and some bad ideas, I think. Um, but what, what I find in that, and it's kind of linked to that same, that same question, is that when you create the space, when you make the decision tonight, this is gonna be different things happen that you could not possibly imagine.
And, and it's, and it's interesting with kids 'cause they go, okay, well we've not got any plans today to, for, for this or that and that what we normally do. So what are we gonna do? And you go, let, let's, it's the boredom in the car bit, a little bit, Matt. It's like, just allow ourselves just to be still for a bit or just to.
Hang out, just be around. And isn't that kind of hanging out, that that things emerge [00:34:00] and things happen and conversations start that you wouldn't have any other time? And, and, but there's gotta be, again, that, that step of creating something, which I, I love that what you say is like, maybe God thought, you know, we need this.
I, I'm gonna instigate this so that we can discover what that looks like. Um,
Anna Kettle: it's, it's like, um, it strikes me as you're talking like the whole idea of creating that margin of rest in our lives. Like being what we need, like as human beings. And for me it's sort of like, it's almost like a confession of like, you know, it goes back to that idea of God, I trust that yeah, you'll provide for me and step into the gap that I give.
I do this much and work hard six days a week and I trust you with that last bit. Mm-hmm. So similar to the principle of tithing in a way, with all the money, it's like tithing some of your time back to God, like this time's separate and it's for you and it's for. Other things. It's the spiritual things.
And you know, that believing God would eat more with less because he's a [00:35:00] miraculous God. Well, I love the, there's an element of trust, isn't it?
Matt Edmundson: There is. And I love the story of Mark Mitchell in all of this. So Mark Mitchell is a friend of mine. He owns a car dealership, Lexus, Chester. Chester Mazda. Chester, Chester, Skoda.
There's like three of them. Um, but he doesn't open on a Sunday. It is what he's actually known for. He actually closes, if you think about a car dealership selling three brands of cars, and he closes it on what is probably the biggest sales day of the week, which is on a Sunday, and he just puts a notice up saying, yeah, we're not here on a Sunday.
We're at home with our family, and he is very big on, there has to be at least one day a week for everybody here. They might not be Christian to go spend time with their family. And he lost a dealership. He used to be, um, a dealer for Mitsubishi and he lost that because he refused to do Sunday trading, which is interesting.
And then he gets Lexus and he gets, or I can't remember the order, but he gets Lexus Mara and Skoda's got one of the most profitable dealerships in the country. [00:36:00] Right. And they are. Well, I dunno if they're still killing it, but they are definitely killing it, right? So you could argue that if they opened on a Sunday, they'd sell more.
I would argue if they opened on a Sunday, they would sell less. But even if they did sell more, I think Mark is like, well, I can trust God with, like you say, with those six days. Right. And, um, I think it's quite remarkable what he does. And there's something about this world in which we live about being remarkable about making those kind of decisions.
So I think, yeah, take the chance. It's, it's being recognized, isn't it?
Will Sopwith: There's a lot of talk about the four day working week at the moment, and, and it's kind of linked with the mental, mental wellbeing. But, but that for me is like the, the world grappling back to. Sabbath. It's like recognizing that people are more productive when they've had some space and, and rest and ability to kind of explore other things in their lives and, and just, yeah.
All the stuff you've been talking about that for me is, is a clear sign that no, we are, you know, the Bible says we are made in God's image and God created eternity [00:37:00] in the hearts of man. That, that there's an imprint of God in us. And so when we stop listening to. His word and his patterns and his rhythms that there's, there's something that we're kind of missing in ourselves and, and it, and it's interesting how.
You know, completely from a non Sabbath, non-church angle, that whole thought about maybe, maybe people are working too many hours. Um, and you know, there's lots of research there that four day weeks have become more productive and companies have started, you know, not convinced they're doing better. But
Anna Kettle: as an employer, I'd love a four day week.
Matt Edmundson: But it's a case of, I I I God works six days rested one. Right? Yeah. And it's not a, I, I think this idea of taking Sabbath is not an idea of working less. Um, I think, I think there are some people out there that probably should just work. Do you know what I mean? It's, they take like six day Sabbath, one day work, and I think that balance is just as wrong as, as as overwork.
Do you know what I mean? And I think the Bible talk talks a lot about working hard. We're [00:38:00] gonna come to this much later on in the, in the Wholeness series. Um, but I, I do get the principle and I get the theory of it, you know, and I've even thought about it. Do we turn our office into a four day work week?
And I'm like, that's a really interesting idea, but. For me, what would I do with those other two days? Do, do, do you see what I mean? Mm-hmm. Um, anyway, what was, uh, when was the last time you felt properly rested, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally? What made that time different?
Will Sopwith: I can do that.
'cause I had some of that this week. Um, so, uh, my wife and I got to Thursday evening. Was it Thursday evening or Friday, the Thursday evening. It was the beautiful amber warning heat wave. It was sunny. Um, I. Tiring days at work. And it was like, should we, should we go out? Should we just stay in? Should we do something a bit different?
And, uh, my wife's big into, uh, [00:39:00] sea swimming and, uh, it goes over to, to Lisa Bay, which is just over, over the water on the whi here in Liverpool. Um, very flat beaches here, so it's quite hard to find any swimming in the sea. But this one is like slightly shelved. So at right at high tide you can swim any other time.
You have to walk like a mile across the sand to get to the sea. Um, so we thought, oh no, let's do it. Let's, um, let's make the effort. And, and so we went out, you know, there was the most amazing evening, 26 degree heat. Had a lovely swim in the sea. We swam in the sea for an hour in, no, no wetsuits or anything, just had a really nice swim.
Walked back across the sand, got some fish and chips, watched the sun go down from the sea wall. So that was like, that felt like emotional. It was connection with partner. It was, uh. Activity, you know, it was physical, but that, that felt real risk. And I think a big part of it was that doing something a little bit different and just allowing us senses actually to, to respond in a slightly different way.
And, and although all the same stuff was going on, the same thoughts, the same [00:40:00] conversations we needed to have, we could come at it from a slightly different angle. So yeah, that, that was mine.
Anna Kettle: What about you? Um, I would say earlier today actually, because like. S generally our family tend to Sabbath on a Sunday.
Yeah. So like, we came to church this morning, which was good. Just quite good to spend time with friends and engage with God. Yeah. Um, and you know, and it was, yeah, it was challenging in a good way. Um, and then we had a friend over for lunch, so that was just. Nice quality time, good conversation. And then we were kind of like, oh, we've got a few, like I knew I had to come here at six to six ish to like sort of set up for Crowd Church, but it's like, oh, I've got like.
Three or four hours and nothing really to do. Like we have nothing planned in. And he was like, what should we do? And, you know, said to Ben like, no more screen time. Like he'd already spent a little bit of time on YouTube. Um, so he's like, what should we do? Let's get a [00:41:00] few board games out. Let's play some games around the table in the kitchen.
And so we just did that for a couple of hours and it was just really relaxed, really fun. Just some good quality family time and nothing complicated, you know, it was just, had some food, some drink, some. What's
Matt Edmundson: your, what's your board game of choice?
Anna Kettle: Um, well today we played Connect four and, um, avocado Smash and also one called Ticket Ride, I think.
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Will Sopwith: That's a good game. Yeah. Game.
Anna Kettle: Yeah. That's what we played today. But yeah, it so,
Will Sopwith: so talking about rest being different for different people, so, but I like the idea of ball games. We used to play quite a lot of ball games. I know you are big into ball games. Yeah. In fact, a lot of our board gaming has probably come from your kids through our kids, but.
But thinking particularly in lockdown actually as well. Sometimes when I, I've even put some photos on Facebook of like trying to do a family ball game is just the stressful thing. Just the combination of our kids' [00:42:00] characters and, and whatever. And maybe we just picked our timing really badly, but that's not my kind of reach for, for a relaxing time.
Matt Edmundson: No, it's interesting 'cause in August we're gonna do, um. A little mini break, uh, from this series we're gonna do something about holiday. So in the UK especially August is the time we all take holiday and, um, there's this growing amount of research about how the way our holidays work is not really working for us, that we work crazy for work for the year.
Spend more money than we've got to spend on a big holiday, but the whole organization of that holiday is stressful. We get on the holiday, it's still stressful if you go on holiday with somebody with your, uh, partner and your relationship's a little bit rocky. Do you know the search term for divorces peak, uh, late August when people get back off holiday?
It's extraordinary, right? So these practices that we've, we've put in place, these sort of [00:43:00] substitutes. Aren't working. So
Anna Kettle: it's not surprising, is it when you think how much people fork out for the average family holiday now? Oh, it's crazy. The cost of watching, especially if you have to go in school term time, like out of term time.
And so just the sheer stress of the outlay of the cost puts a huge pressure on having to enjoy yourself. It is, yeah.
Will Sopwith: And I don't wanna preempt the holiday series here, but, um, but I think, think you said about Sabbath looking different for different people and, and I think. And I think this is one of the ways where the, the kind of counterculture of setting a day, um, actually holiday possibly i, is also counterculture.
You know, it, it's, it's tempting to get sucked into the, this is how, this is how people do holidays. This is the expectation. If we do this, it'll all be wonderful rather than actually back and thinking. What would suit us? What, what would be, um, a, a good way for us to do holiday may. Maybe it's not that big stress.
Maybe it's not the, um, the, the big expense. Maybe it's something [00:44:00] very much more low key. Maybe it's something more active, I don't know. But, but being bold enough to say, I, I can live my life differently from the rest of the world. Yeah. Um, is an important step.
Matt Edmundson: It is and figuring out what works for you. Um, Sharon's put here in the comments, I like the idea that Sabbath is partly, uh, partly a time to take joy in the things in our lives and to be thankful for what God has given us.
I think that whole thing about gratitude, yeah, just slowing down and just being grateful is super powerful
Anna Kettle: because when you're always moving and always onto next thing, onto next thing, you forget. There's no reflection time is there. Yeah. Yeah. There's no margin for thankfulness. You have to create time for it.
Yeah.
Matt Edmundson: No. No. Uh, Ellis says, uh, the only other shop I know, um, that closes on a Sunday is a kid's toy shop in town. The entertainer. Yeah. Yeah. Same. Always thought it was weird, but now I'm starting to understand it more after you mention it. It's, it's, it's a Christian, yeah, same thing. And actually I think him and Mark are quite good friends, right?
Um, I, well, maybe not good. I think they know [00:45:00] each other and so I think there's a, there's a commonality there, um, around that. So. Um, that'll be why. And I think if I owned a retail shop, I'd disclose it on a Sunday. Uh, my warehouse is closed on a Sunday. Um, I think that Sabbath points us to Jesus because he gives us a deeper inner rest and freedom.
Mm. I think it's such a powerful thing. So, couple of questions to think about, and in closing, if you've got anything to throw in here guys, how do you know when you are running on empty? What are your warning signs? And for those of you who maybe are a little bit like me, how many of you feel guilty when you are not actually being productive?
Because I think there's two, there's there's, there's different types of people, isn't it? There's people that just like permanently on Sabbath that need to sort their lives out. And then there's people who are just permanently switched on and actually to switch off and not be productive. Um, and not stereotyping, but I think men especially can feel.[00:46:00]
Guilty if they need to provide more for their family. Talking. You know what Callum said earlier that that guilt of not being productive, I think for me, when I understood Sabbath, it freed me from that, if that makes sense. Because if you just took time off for the sake of it, then I'm like, oh, I should be doing something.
I should be, I could make money. I could do this. Right? Yeah.
Anna Kettle: I, I feel like that was a big one for me. And you know, it go back to where we began, which is, you know, this idea that. Rest and Sabbath didn't come easily for me because I'm quite a driven type of person by nature. Yeah. I'm like, you know, if you take any of the personality test type things or the Enneagram, I'm like a type three, which is an achiever, um, like a real doer.
So it's not my natural lean to do nothing, but then that's not necessarily what rest is. So that, that was a helpful. Understanding point to come to you that it's not about doing nothing per se, it's about doing something different and not just [00:47:00] constantly being driven by the need to achieve and tick something off a list.
And do, do, do, um, what was the other question?
Will Sopwith: It's about how, how do you, how can you tell when you're feeding, running really town? Oh yeah. I've What signs? I definitely
Anna Kettle: know this one, and my husband will attest to this too. When I am like a bit worn around the edges, I quite quickly like get quite f chy and lose my temper and just have a much lower threshold with people around me, particularly my family, which I don't think is probably that unusual.
But I also, my thinking about it, it's like that's the indicator that like I really need to rest. But actually the whole point of Sabbath is irregular rhythm, so you never get to that absolutely worn down point. Like it's supposed to be preventative, not waiting till you crash. Yeah. So I'm trying to rest through the week rather than wait till I get to that point of like.
Yeah. Being a nightmare to live with.
Will Sopwith: Yeah. [00:48:00]
Matt Edmundson: And, and is
Will Sopwith: grateful when you do that.
Anna Kettle: Yeah.
Will Sopwith: I, I, I think, I think that that diminished capacity, I dunno whether that actually is the definition of burnout or not, but, um, it's probably part of it, but that sense in yourself that you've, you not got, you know, the lower patience.
Um, and I think that's similar for me, but, you know, being a, a natural introvert, it, it's around people that if, if someone then. Engages me with any kind of topic that needs any kind of thought or, or decision, or even just engagement sometimes on a kind of emotional level. And I just like, I just can't do that.
It's like, okay, yeah, you really need to just stop and, and, and maybe get some space. But I, I, I had the immense privilege of having a sabbatical from work. They don't call it sabbatical, they call it career break and they don't pay you. But, um, but I had two months and I then could go back to my job. Um, back in autumn and, you know, off a really, really busy time and, and that I found really hard to do Nothing.
I, I, I, [00:49:00] the first week I had like, right, this, this is my plan for my, my two months. Like two months. Wow. That's so much time. And I had this plan and by the end of the kind of first week, I was just really struggling to kind of implement this plan then feeling bad about it. And it took me a month. A month of literally just getting up in the morning and having nothing to do.
It took me a month to get to the point of like, huh. And it was really at that time that then I could properly start engaging with people, with friends, with family, and just like I just had time for people, had time to, I. To think about where they were at and kind of walk with them, which is kind of what I wanted outta the time.
But I was astonished it took so long. And, and that was, you know, and again you say you need to put it in and my wife's saying that all the time. You need to put it in regularly so you don't get to that point. Um, but but that was a real, yeah, a really strong sign for me by the end of that two months. I was, and, and people notice this, like, you are really different.
It's like I'm kind of engaging with you at a much deeper level, much quicker, just 'cause I have that kind of. Emotional mental capacity. Yeah. [00:50:00]
Matt Edmundson: Every, um, oh, hang on. We've got some more comments here. They're all coming in thick and fast. I love that. We just keep going. Shall we just keep, uh, Lee Davo? Leo Davo, I assume that's Lee.
Uh, we've been intentionally practicing Sabbath for the last year. Not always easy, but has been transformational, trying to Sabbath with others. Um, and he's put here opportunities to giggle with others. Um, and that's helped me to start recovery from burnout. Yeah. Great. Yeah, good stuff. Have some fun. Yeah.
Yeah. I think that's the, the thing, isn't it? Sabbath is not meant to be done in isolation. No. And I, there's a lot of things in life that we think, oh, I just, I need more me time. If there's few phrases I could eradicate from the dictionary, me time would be of them wouldn't on that one. Um, it's not about me time.
It's about. Focusing on the goodness of God and reconnecting with God. And that is done often in community with others. Now, I appreciate if you're an introvert, that sounds like a nightmare. Um, I'm not saying [00:51:00] you Sabbath has to be done with other people, but it can be, and probably for most of us should be at least some of the time.
Mm-hmm. Um. Really good Anna. Getting off the treadmill is so easy to find yourself on. Uh, and as you say, the Sabbath is a gift to recognize. Yeah, love that. And what is this life if full of care? And I think it's, um. It's such an important point and I, I'm just gonna in close and lemme just take the opportunity just to say that, like I said, in August, we're doing a little look, um, in our non-live, live stream.
So we practice what we preach and preach what we practice. To quote Simon from this morning, um, uh, in August, we don't do live streams. We don't. Uh, we don't do the host thing. All the talks we put out are prerecorded talks. We call them the non-live, live stream and, and Crowd Takes the month of August off just to rest, just to be with family, um, and to focus.
And we find that really powerful. [00:52:00] And, and this August, the non-live, live streams will be messages about holiday and looking at it from a biblical point of view because. Like the way we do our time off, like the way we do our Sabbath, it's not working. When it's, if it, if we go with the, oh, it's me time and it's a four day work week, I, I, I, I think we're gonna end up with the same problems.
But when we do it from God's point of view, uh, from God's directive, life becomes quite different. And this letter's on a little rabbit trail around holidays. And what does the Bible actually say about these things? And the Bible has these seven festivals. Mm. And I just, you know, we went on a fest, went to a festival for the first time this year, and I just loved it.
But there's these seven festivals in scripture that all have very different purposes. Mm-hmm. Um. We're gonna dig into a few of those and say, right, well how can we extrapolate that? What does that mean for the modern culture? What does that mean for the modern world? And let me tell you, having looked, having done the notes, having gone through the [00:53:00] teaching, it is so life giving.
And you just sit there and you just read God's plan and intention and you go, this is, you know. It Bono would read that and he'll go, I have found what I am looking for. Do you know what I mean? Uh, that's how good it is. So make sure you do stay connected with us. Uh, you have to be of a certain age to get that joke.
Um, you must have been born
Anna Kettle: in the eighties.
Matt Edmundson: Certain musical taste as well. Yeah. Show my age and my musical taste. Um. I was, uh, it's a total rabbit trail here, but I was walking down the street and I had it on in, uh, the phone. Um, listening to U two's, I still haven't found what I'm looking for, and I thought about getting that.
On the back of a t-shirt, do you mean? I thought it'd be really, anyway, another story. Uh, so yeah, do stay tuned for, um, August next week. Lemme tell you what's coming up next week. We have the right Reverend Dave Connolly, who's gonna be with us talking about emotional resilience, which is a bit of a [00:54:00] hot topic, I'm not gonna lie.
You'll love it or you hate it. It's gonna be Marmite. So come find out which one do come join us next week. Um, I, I'm really looking forward to hearing what Dave's got to say about this. It's gonna be fantastic. You are hosting, I think, next week as well, so you'll be back. Yeah,
Anna Kettle: I am. So I'll be back here to quiz Dave.
Matt Edmundson: Yes. So make sure you come join us and give Anna all the questions to quiz Dave with, because Dave loves it with the difficult questions. Uh, but yeah, in closing guys, um, anything you wanna say in closing?
Anna Kettle: I mean, I've probably said enough already, but just, just, yeah, just have a go. Just have some fun and let us know how you get on.
Will Sopwith: Yeah. Similarly, just that thought of SA being a gift, that this is something that you are loving, heavenly father understands that you need. And take some time to think about what it looks like and, uh, and try a few things out. Some of them may be awful, some of them may be good, but, [00:55:00] but stick at it because, uh, yeah, it's a gift.
It's a gift to you. And, and as, as we've said. I dunno what he said on Crowd or, or whatever. But you know, when, when God gives a gift, we need to then take hold of it. Yeah, we do. If, if it just sits there unappropriated to use a big word, but take hold of it and Sabbath is one of those, take hold of it, practice, uh, play with it.
And uh, and yeah, just allow something slightly different to emerge out of that, uh, time and process.
Matt Edmundson: Very good. And I'd say that just to these ancient rhythms. Sacred ancient rhythms, they, they're there for a reason. God knew what he was doing. And when you walk in obedience with that, it's amazing how much better life feels.
And so we're talking about wholeness and whole. People know what it is to Sabbath and to rest and to do that well. And I think. If you're not Sabbath in, I, I don't understand how [00:56:00] you can attain wholeness. I just don't, I, you know, if it's good enough for Jesus, I've got, you know, that argument. Anyway, I. All of that said, thank you so much for joining us.
Have a fantastic week wherever you are in the world, and thank you for coming. Thank you for your comments. Love the stories, love the, the statements. Um, like I say, do come join us next week if you want to hang around, um, and come join us in the Google meet afterwards. So. Uh, Zoe, if we got that in the, in the, it's in the comments that it'll link, uh, GOC Crowd Church slash mee ET.
Um, come on, come online, come and say how's it? We'd love to talk to you. Uh, we'll be on there for like five or 10 minutes. It's no big deal. It's just like hanging out after church. We just do it on Google meets. Um, it'll be great to see you in there, but if not, have a phenomenal week. God bless you. That's it.
From the beautiful Anna, from the equally beautiful will, uh, and from the equally beautiful me. Have a great week. We'll see you next time. Bye for [00:57:00] now.