Road tripping to Joshua Tree - Part 5

Our sabbath rhythm as a family is to rest a day a week, 2 days a month, 1 week each spring, and three weeks each year. We've had people tell us over the years that it seems really rigid. They're right. It's extremely rigid....i.e. non negotiable. We've cultivated this spiritual practice for nearly 16 years and in the midst of ministry life it continues to be life giving. People over the years have also said that 3 weeks sounds like too much time and they could never do it. I think everyone should take more vacation than they think they need....but lazy, yes it's VERY lazy -- we camp, we climb, and we hike....very restful sabbath practises for the White family. The difference between people who experience sabbath rest and everybody else, is that the people who know how to rest are experts at saying no. Sabbath is an act of saying no to our own drivenness, desire to succeed, need to produce, and addiction to the feeling that busyness give us.

During the final days of our spring break trip to Joshua Tree, we spent our time rock climbing, hiking, eating, and watching sunrises and sunsets. Sabbath stuff. 

Our campsite was at a place called Indian Cove. It was truly an amazing place. The campsites are tucked into the rock formations that offer endless opportunities to scramble, boulder, and climb with ropes. 

In the evenings we'd tell stories, eat smores, laugh and lounge. 

During the day, Indian Cove is a place with endless climbing opportunities!

One of the last hikes we did as a family was called the Boy Scout Trail. It is a beautiful 8 mile point-to-point trail. It features amazing wild flowers and only ascends 1700ft. It's a great way to get the true Joshua Tree experience. We highly recommend it! 

After our hike we found some boulders to climb and a cave to enjoy out of the sun. 

At the end of the day we enjoyed PIZZA. Pizza is the perfect post-hike food, I think! 

In the evening we found an amazing place to watch our final sunset in Joshua Tree National Park. Every sunset is a reminder that it's OK to hit the reset button. You can leave yesterdays worries in the past and look ahead to tomorrow -- a new opportunity to trust God. 

Every time we focus on sabbath, we are teaching our kids that a successful life is not defined by how much you accomplish for God, but by becoming more aware of how much God does for us.

The wise old man who wrote Ecclesiastes, now reflecting on his storied life said at the end of his book, "After all this, there is only one thing to say: Have reverence for God,...because this is all that we were created for." 

Sabbath grows reverence for God. 

These are good days

Making time to exhale

Heidi and I foster a very important rhythm of rest. We have walked with hundreds of people over the years through our process, and we'd like to do it here for you. It's our secret sauce, our game changer, the constant in our life amidst all the other things that are constantly in flux.

We think it's important to have daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly rhythms of rest. These are habits designed to create space for you to exhale. We think you need that. You need to exhale! Sometimes when I rock climb I notice that I'm holding my breath during hard moves. This is true of life. When you're striving and struggling and trying to achieve, it's easy to stop focusing on what restores you. Rhythms of rest help you re-focus and renew your strength — they help you exhale.

Once a day, when the kids go to bed, we have made a habit of stopping important work. We stop cleaning, and preparing, working, and the endless other set of tasks that never seem to get done. Once a week we take a Sabbath day. If you've followed our blog for any length of time you have heard us talk about this. Then once a month we take a two day Sabbath. We string together a Saturday and a part of Sunday to be at the beach. Then, once a year we take four weeks to rest outside of the town in which we live. That's it! That's our rhythm of rest.

It's time to exhale, friends.

Work 6 Rest 1

Once a week we take a sabbath day. 

We work 6 days a week and rest 1.

Sabbath is just a fancy word that means "cease" or "stop".

We stop creating so we can remember that we are not the creator but the created. 

On Mondays we turn off our internet and turn off our phones. Our day starts in the garden (that's where we pray) and ends up in the hills (that's where we play).  Then, it always ends in a date night.  It's not perfect (we have kids)...it's not unique (millions of people keep sabbath)...

...but it is IMPORTANT.  Do you keep sabbath?  

Recently we went to a lake and just sat.

We listened to God

We prayed

We sang

We read

We are the created...made as human beings...not just human doings.  

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Hiking & Playing in San Simeon

It's our practice to work 6 days a week and then rest 1 day a week.  We call this day of rest, "sabbath".  Our sabbaths are TRUE sabbaths.  We don't use the internet, we turn off our phones, and often we get outa' town in the hopes of being on a hike or skiing on a hill.

We do this for most of the month, but for the last couple years, we have taken a double sabbath once a month.  For example, once a month we take a Friday evening to Sunday morning sabbath.  This 40ish hour sabbath has been a blessing to us in this season of church planting and community development.

Recently we went to San Simeon on the central coast for our two-day sabbath.  Here are some pictures:

There is something powerful about watching your kids play without inhabitation.  We somehow can loose this as adults.  The fear of "being watching" of "being judged" and "being silly" can become paralyzing for adults.  When I watch my kids play....I learn what Jesus meant when he said, "to such as these the Kingdom of God comes."

One of the reasons we love San Simeon as our place of rest is because it is ALWAYS beautiful.  This no filter ^^ picture...is a normal night in San Simeon.  The earth truly declares the glory of God.

...we are starting to look old...but we FEEL young...and ALIVE!  

These are good days.  

Sabbath keeping is our joy!

 

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Don't neglect the small things

Heidi and I are both high-capacity, high-functioning people.  We can pack a lot in....for many months...and many days without burning out.  We get a lot done...we are efficient, productive & type-a achiever types.  But sometimes that is all people see.  They think we don't stop.  We certainly do work hard....but for 12 years we have obsessively focused on cultivating habits of rest and renewal.  For instance, each week we take a real sabbath, each month we do an extended sabbath (2 day sabbath) and each year we take a month off.

...but that's not even the half of it.

....there are more habits (weekly, monthly, yearly), but that's for another blog post. 

On this sabbath day we spent some time at the river, together as a family.

Nothing to achieve

Nothing to produce

Nothing to accomplish

Just rest & renewal as a family

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No objective necessary

Heidi and I are planners.

We have a financial plan, a ministry plan, a daily plan, a yearly plan....and for the most part...we stick to it.  But every Monday...we put our very planned-life on the alter and ask God for something new.

The day started out with God crying on us.

....but as the day improved we knew that the moment the kids got out of school....the thing God had for us was an adventure.  Adventure is mostly a state of mind.  It has very little to do with a destination and isn't limited by difficulty or whether something can be achieved.  It's simply the mindset to explore, learn, and stay attentive to the things that matter.  

About 35 minutes from where we live is a 14 mile trail that follows Millerton Lake named the San Joaquin River Trail.  We didn't need to do 14 miles....we did just enough to find the adventure we were looking to receive from God.

We explored rocks, played in mud, got messy, hiked uphill for 1.5 miles, got rained on, threw sticks, and kept our kids from falling down steep slopes.

Near one of the summits along the trail...the rain stopped just enough for us to catch a glimpse of the sun.  There are always rewards along the way to an adventure.

....can you see us looking like the oak trees around us (below)? 

As planned people...we need days when there are no objectives and nothing to achieve -- days when all that is necessary is a mindset for adventure and gratitude...no matter what the outcome.  

These are good days

....good days we get to enjoy together.

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Rock climbing and Sabbath keeping

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a little bit of "extra".  Sabbath should have a little bit of "extra" in it.  Maybe that's a date night, or your favourite run, or hanging out with your favorite friend.  When you keep a sabbath, consider doing something that fits these criteria:

1. It brings you life and puts you at ease
2. It creates avenues for you to worship Jesus
3. It connects you to other people (sabbath is not a lonely experience, its a communal one)

Today my brother and I kept sabbath by climbing at Tollhouse Rock.  It continues to be a great place to keep sabbath.

It always feels good to knock out 4 pitches before lunch only an hour away from Fresno. 

Jameson's a good climber -- strong, fluid, safe, and confident.

We loved watching the clouds roll-in and roll away.  Half way up the climb the clouds engulfed us and decided to stay.  

It's always fun to climb in a cloud....it feels like reading a good mystery. 

Summit shot!  We made it! 

At the top, we enjoyed watching the clouds roll past us, carried by a gentle cool breeze.

Sabbath is about connecting with God, enjoying God, and enjoying the fellowship that God provides.  

Climb on and keep sabbathing! 

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