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“Host a REST Event”
As you may know, my newest book, REST:
Living in Sabbath Simplicity, will release
in January. To celebrate, we’re currently
setting up some REST events for January and
February.
Here’s what we’re hoping each event will
look like: They can be held in bookstores,
churches, even homes. They’ll begin with
Keri giving a talk on “Living in Sabbath
Simplicity.” There will be giveaways of free
books and other goodies. And each event will
include a book signing.
The best part: Keri is waiving her
speaking fee for them. (although if you are
not in the Chicago area, we’ll ask you to
pay her travel expenses).
If you’d like to host one of these
events, here’s what we’d like you to do:
send us an e-mail talking that answers this
question: How has God been working in your
heart and your community lately to call you
toward living in Sabbath Simplicity?
Let us know the details of what type of
event you’d like to do: would it be a coffee
and dessert night at church? A ladies night
out at a local bookstore? An outreach
luncheon in your community? Special
consideration will be given to groups that
can get a local bookstore to sell books at
the event.
The events must be held in January or
February 2009.
So grab a few friends, start dreaming
about what kind of event you’d like to plan,
go visit your local bookstore and ask them
to get involved. Then send us an
e-mail telling us why your event is one
Keri should come to. Your e-mail must be in
by December 1. We’ll select three events.
Also, the first ten valid entries will also
receive a free copy of REST when it
releases.
Winners will be announced in the December
issue of Connecting.
Outside my office window is an absolutely
amazing tree, which has been changing color
slowly over the past two weeks. It began
with the leaves on the uppermost branches,
which, seemingly overnight, turned a
brilliant crimson. Slowly, the yellow,
orange and red colors have spread, top down,
so that now only the lowest and inner-most
leaves are green.
Fall is my favorite season—here in the
Midwest the colors are spectacular, and
we’ve had mostly warm weather. I played
tennis outside the other day, which in
November in Chicago is a rarity. It could
snow this weekend, though. It’s a season
that keeps you on your toes, and I never
take beautiful days for granted.
Everywhere I look, even as I drive past
the gas station or the strip mall, I see the
unexpected beauty of a red or gold maple
tree. But in a week or two, the colors will
fade. Already, many of the leaves have
fallen. More and more, I see bare brown and
grey branches, testifying to the fact that
winter is coming.
I love this time of year not just for the
scenery, but for the anticipation that is in
the air. Things are changing, the holidays
are coming, and it’s early enough that I am
excited, rather than overwhelmed. I resolve,
as always, this will be the year I’ll keep
things simple, get my shopping and baking
done early. That I will do less shopping, be
less frenzied. Keep things simple. (Feel
free to check back with me in mid-December,
it’s possible that I may feel differently.)
With the economy feeling a bit pinched,
I’m really trying to find ways to focus ways
to make the holiday season less expensive
but more meaningful. Perhaps like me, you
deeply desire to avoid the holiday insanity,
and keep things simple.
The term “simplicity” is a popular one in
our culture. Look at the magazines for this
month, many of them contain tips on how to
“simplify” your holiday gift-buying or
entertaining.
But simplicity is also a spiritual
discipline, that has little to do with
organizing your home. Rather, it is an inner
reality, which occurs when we are focused on
Jesus. When we “seek first the Kingdom of
God, and his righteousness.” When we
practice simplicity, we begin by seeking
God, and putting our energy there.
When we are seeking God, looking for
Christ in the Christmas season, being truly
thankful at Thanksgiving, our hearts begin
to be transformed. That inner reality is
likely to realign our outer lifestyle. We
can learn to say the word that is the secret
to simplicity, one quite unpopular in our
culture: “enough.”
Could you tell yourself: I have enough
stuff, enough ornaments, enough holiday
plates. Could you convince yourself that you
really don’t need another animated dancing
Santa statue in the living room? Enough is a
word that leads to contentment—a rare
commodity these days.
A few of my friends and I have decided to
put a $5 limit on Christmas gifts for each
other. Which means they will be getting
loaves of zucchini or pumpkin bread from me,
most likely. And we are all fine with
that—simplicity brings a freedom.
Often, the holidays put us into debt.
What if you decided now to set limits, which
will actually bring you freedom—freedom from
the stress and fear that comes with debt.
Rather than buying your kids a lot of
toys, plan to give them some time. Buy some
pre-made sugar cookie dough, let them cut
out and decorate cookies with you. Take them
with you to pick out gifts for a needy
family. Go to the library together and pick
out some Christmas books to read together.
Give time, rather than stuff.
If you are tempted to overspend and
overstress during the holidays, call a
trusted friend today, and ask them to be
your holiday accountability partner. It may
help to just having someone willing to talk
some sense into you when you think you need
to have five Christmas trees, each with a
different theme and homemade ornaments.
My new book REST talks about living in
Sabbath Simplicity, a concept I first wrote
about in BREATHE. Sabbath Simplicity is a
sanely-paced, God-focused life. My prayer
for you in the next two months is that you
will live in Sabbath Simplicity now.
Don’t wait for things to settle down after
the holidays. Choose life, choose
simplicity, even in the midst of the
busyness.
The season of Advent begins on the fourth
Sunday before Christmas, which this year, is
November 30. The word Advent literally means
“arrival”—we are watching and waiting for
the arrival of the Christ child. One
practice that keeps me on track is to read
my favorite Advent book, Watch for the
Light, which contains essays from great
Christian writers, from Bonhoeffer to
Yancey, to reflect on.
What will you do to simplify this season?
How do you live in Sabbath Simplicity during
the holiday season? I’d really love to hear
from you about how you’re doing that. I’ll
post the best suggestions on my
blog in the coming weeks.
Book Reviews
The Circle of The Seasons: Meeting God
in the Church Year
By Kimberlee Conway Ireton
Retail: $15.00
Our Price: $10.20
If you are not from a
liturgical tradition, you may be mostly
unaware of the church calendar, beyond
perhaps a vague understanding of Advent, the
Christmas season.
This lovely book not
only explains the seasons of the church
year, but also invites us to find God in
every season. Kimberlee is a wonderful
writer, and she weaves personal stories with
practical tips on what she calls “living the
season.” You’ll learn about the common
ground of diverse Christian traditions, even
if your church doesn’t pay much heed to the
Christian calendar.
The church year begins
with Advent, then moves on to Christmas,
then Epiphany. Later in the year, we have
Lent, Easter and Pentecost. In between these
two triads, we have several weeks known as
“Ordinary Time”—time that is not a holiday
season. But God is just as present in the
simple “Ordinary Time” as in the holidays.
The author points us to the significance of
each season in our own spiritual journey:
“In the circle of the
church year, Advent follows a long season of
Ordinary Time in which the busyness and
dailyness of our lives can distract us,
making us forget to pay attention or to
remember that we are living in expectation
of Christ’s return. That is why we need
Advent—it reminds us to pay attention, to be
on guard, to keep watch that we might be
ready for Christ when he comes again.”
I am giving away a free
copy of The Circle of the Seasons.
Just be the first person to
e-mail me asking for the book, and it’s
yours!
Quotable
“Was there a moment,
known only to God, when all the stars held
their breath, when the galaxies paused in
their dance for a fraction of a second, and
the Word, who had called it all into being,
went with all his love into the womb of a
young girl, and the universe started to
breathe again, and the ancient harmonies
resumed their song, and the angels clapped
their hands for joy?”
--Madeleine L’Engle, in her essay “A Sky
Full of Children,” in Watch for the Light
Deeper Connection
Simplicity, which many
of us long for, begins with saying “enough.”
That’s a hard word to say this time of year.
Where do you find it hardest to say
“enough”? What steps can you take to
simplify your holidays, to avoid debt and
stress? Where do you need to say “enough”?
Connecting with Keri: Speaking
Keri will speak at the First Church of
God in Hoopeston, IL on November 13.
Keri will speak at MOPS at Immanuel
Lutheran Church in Crystal Lake, IL on
November 18.
Keri will speak at Covenant Presbyterian
Church in West Lafayette, IN on January 30.
Keri is currently accepting speaking
engagements for January 2009 and beyond. You
can see her full speaking schedule at
www.keriwyattkent.com
Connecting with Keri: Web
Check out Keri’s blog, Deep Breathing for
the Soul, at
www.keriwyattkent.com/soul/
You can read Keri’s latest musings on the
connection between faith and real life, you
can post a question about any of her books
or other writings. And this month, we are
giving away free books every week, so stop
by often to learn how you can win a book.
If you are a parent or work with kids,
and feel like you are always pouring out,
click over to Keri’s “For Your Soul” column
http://www.christianitytoday.com/childrensministry/articles/
and get filled up. This column, written for
those who minister to children, will give
you encouragement and practical help with
nurturing your own soul.
Print
Pick up the
November/December issue of Today’s Christian
Woman, to read Keri’s article on fighting
sexual trafficking.
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