Author: Michael Tino

“It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.” -Brene Brown

 

Say yes to rest today.

It’s okay to rest before you are tired. Rest is a necessary precursor to action. -Jess Hunt (CLF)

 

Rest before you are tired today.

We were created not for labor, but for rest. For ease and leisure. To enjoy the wind in the trees, the smell of honeysuckle while sitting on the front porch. Taking in the beauty we didn’t have a hand in creating. -JeKaren Olaoya (CLF)

 

When have you stopped to experience life around you?

This month, we will explore rest. Rest as a spiritual gift. Rest as a divine right. Rest as something we need to approach with reverence. Rest as something we have been taught to avoid, even when we need it most.

What is your relationship with rest?

 

Theologians Rebecca Parker and Rita Nakashima Brock examine the harm done by the Christian theology of redemptive suffering in their book Proverbs of Ashes.  Many Christian theologies are based in a particular view of redemptive suffering—that the suffering of Christ on the cross was mandated by God to atone for the sins of humanity. This understanding has led many to embrace the harmful theology that suffering brings humans closer to God.

How can you reject theologies that ask you to atone by suffering?