Living Intentionally.  Living Thoughtfully.  These are two ideas that seem to be coming up in conversations lately.  Which is why the book by Norman Wirzba, Living the Sabbath, was so thought provoking.  The entire book is built around the idea that Sabbath is not just a day, but is a state of wholeness that must exist throughout all areas of our lives.  Wirzba spends his time reflecting on bringing wholeness and restoration in some controversial places:  Work, Education, Technology, Food, Families/Homes, Sunday Services, and Economics.  Living properly (God-honoring) within these arenas of life will take what Wirzba calls, Sabbath Observance. “The key to Sabbath observance is that we participate regularly in the delight that marked God’s own response to a creation wonderfully made…As we begin to cast a Sabbath light on the whole sweep of our activities and routines by looking for occasions to be thankful and to celebrate, we may yet catch glimpses of God’s sustaining presence and abiding goodness in places we never thought possible…The Sabbath is not a break from life but rather a profound theological lens that enables us to get a better look at all of it.”  Wirzba argues for a Sabbath concept that is much larger than just a day of resting on a couch.

I’ve been really challenged by this book and would recommend it to any professing believer.  Wirzba’s message is hard-hitting and even controversial at times, but I believe it is only so because most of us live unintentionally in many areas of our lives.  Living the Sabbath is helping me take a giant leep  in the direction of living intentionally.  I know this will be one of the few books that I continually come back to in the years to come.  If you do choose to read this book, feel free to email me, call me, or comment here.  I’d love to engage you.  May we live intentionally, may we live in delight, and may we see the world through the lens of the Sabbath.

Buy the Book on Amazon – Click Here

From time to time you’ll see me writing about growing up fatherless.  I do this for many reasons, but one of them is to share my experiences with those struggling through the issues that come along with this.  Over the years I’ve found forgiveness and redemption in something that once labeled me, but this is sadly not the case for most people growing up without a father.  The statistics are mind blowing, and I know a part of my life in one form or another will always be dedicated to being an advocate for these people, and the single mothers as well.

I was speaking with a friend yesterday who is struggling to find his identity, which is the typically the single biggest issue facing “the fatherless.” He grew up with a father who is very selfish even to this day.  His father left his mother at a very young age and since that moment he’s struggled through many of the issues that come along with growing up fatherless.  He’s much older today, in fact only a few years younger than I.  However, he continues to struggle with identity issues, and a path has never been made clear to him.  This has led him to a life of fleeting passions and values.  Fathers are supposed to provide wisdom, teaching, love, and guidance for their sons and daughters.  Christian fathers are called to train their children in God’s ways, helping them down the particular path that God has set out for them.  As I think about my friend, I realize that no one has ever trained him, equipped him, or given him guidance and wisdom.  I wonder how God is possibly calling on me to provide this in his life.  God gives us our identity as sons and daughters that we so desperately need to accept.  However, how will the fatherless ever accept this identity if there is no one to tell them…no one to advocate?

If you’d like to read more about growing up fatherless, I encourage you to pick up @JohnSowers book called “Fatherless Generation” here,  and look at this website – http://www.thementoringproject.org to see the great things that he, Donald Miller, and others are doing to point people like myself to our true identity.

A Genuine Disciple…finds their identity as God’s child