I am taking a risk by sharing this not because it is surprising or appalling but because I do not know if we (I) will follow through with it. This is how we discovered the life-rhythm that we are going to try and keep:
I picked up Living Prayer by Robert Benson because after Jeremy Bell spoke at our church I really wanted to connect with God and some books just do it for me. In the book Benson talks about how praying through the Book of Common Prayer accomplished a work in him because he prayed it regularly and the practice of it changed him in a way that he didn't expect. He mentioned that many of us put great importance on prayers that are spontaneous and passionate while we miss out on the transformation that comes with praying regularly whether we want to or not. Especially praying prayers that are shared by believers all over the world. Also, the rhythm of praying at certain times of the day marks the passage of time so that you are more aware of your day and more present in it. I mentioned this to Dan, the idea of starting and ending the day with prayer using a prayer book and he seemed immediately excited about it. I ordered Phyllis Tickle's The Divine Hours for Spring and Summer. Benson and one of my favorite women, Barb Mutch, have both commented on how much you feel the absence of a rhythm of prayer once you've lived it for a while.
I remembered that my friend Brendon had given me a book called Living the Christian Year. It fit well because it outlined the seasons of the Christian calendar and had weekly meditations but it didn't have daily prayers so it seemed appropriate to use it as an overarching guide.
After hearing Joyce Rees speak at our work retreat, I felt that it was important to re-instate the practice of Sabbath. For Dan and I, Sabbath runs from Sat midnight to Sunday midnight. We do this so that we are more productive, rested, joyful and so that we remember that we are not God (a thought that is still a shock to me).
This is our rhythm: daily morning and evening prayers, weekly Sunday readings throughout the Christian year, a full Sabbath day.
Yesterday was our first Sabbath day. Sat was full of good productive things that didn't really even feel like work because they were so enjoyable and I felt ready to take a day of rest. Sunday was church day, followed by a lunch of big unhealthy burgers with friends afterwards. I had a long unexpected nap in the afternoon while Dan played a video game. I read a lot and then I started to feel anxious because there was nothing that I really had to do and also because I'm not used to there being such a clear separation between days of work and obligation and days of rest and life-giving things. A somewhat unhealthy supper of Velveeta shells. Then we walked the trail through the trees by our house while Dan kicked a soccer ball and we talked about how natural it felt that we were together and how we couldn't imagine being married to anyone else. I think that's a good way to celebrate if Sabbath is a day of celebration.
We are only a day into the week and already I am having trouble keeping Sabbath free for next Sunday. Keeping the day free means that errands and housework need to be done either on Fri or Sat, which inevitably means that we can't agree to do the 6(!) things that we were invited to do this weekend, which of course means anxiety for me. But also we're introverts so running constantly for two straight days usually results in exhaustion, strained ways of relating to each other and distance from God. And also I'm pregnant so I'm purposely doing even less than normal. Have I even typed those words yet? To my 5 blog followers, I'm pregnant! The one thing that I'm actually looking forward to on Sunday is that Steve Roadhouse from Gull Lake camp is leading worship at our church and I'm really excited because both times that I've been in contact with him I've been incredibly blessed.
So there you are, the rhythm of our life for however long we can keep it.
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