SABBATH by dan b. allender
Dan B. Allender's SABBATH is an inspiring book about a journey you can
take one day every week for the rest of your life. This day is the
SABBATH. This one day chosen by GOD for man is not to be filled with
legalisms. The Sabbath is like a fine dessert eaten after other heavy
meals. The other heavy meals are activities done during the other days
of the week. During the week trash is taken out, clothes are washed,
school papers are graded, homework is scrutinized and moaned over,
drivers try our patience by slowing down instead of speeding up on the
highway. Fun activities are just plain boring. The fatigue is so heavy
inside like the honey in a bee that it is impossible not to yawn through
television and sleep while we read a book. This means sitting in a
favorite chair at home and zonking out. Family and friends think this is
relaxation. Really, a class is needed on how to relax because the
world is spinning faster and faster. The only way to survive is to hold
on tightly for the ride of our lives.
In SABBATH, the author writes this special day of the week is for play and pleasure, a day of exploration, a day of surprises. Truly, I yearned to celebrate this day too while reading the book. By the way, there are rituals and symbols to make the day special. In Jewish homes the Sabbath is greeted like a queen. There are two lighted candles and a special Shabbat meal. In order to truly delight in the day preparations are made before the day arrives. Earlier in the week there is time to think about how you will choose to spend your play day with the CREATOR and your family and friends. Every Sabbath becomes an improvement as new ways of joy and pleasure become a part of that day.
Neither is this day for only the wealthy. The Sabbath is not restricted
by economics. Dan B. Allender writes about Sabbath keepers in Africa. "My
best Sabbaths have been in the homes of those in Africa who were
working to combat the sex slave trade. They are often poor.....but their
sacrifice is far better than if I were drinking an expensive bottle of
wine."
This brings to mind what I liked the best about SABBATH by DanB.
Allender. I liked his examples of how he and his wife have kept their
Sabbath days. For example, the author chooses this day to use his
favorite things."One symbol of abundance for me is an exquisite Montblanc fountain pen. I write with it only on the Sabbath."
It is all about living high by truly enjoying the good life with GOD's
strong permission to back us up. Sabbath keepers do not work on this day
because that would take away moments where they might play by taking a
walk around a lake, enticing friends with a new dessert or observing a
painting a little longer than usual or reading a poem a little bit
slower or just looking up at the sky for a while to enjoy the changing
colors of a beautiful round bowl much bigger than any one we have held
in our hand.Dan B. Allender
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