The Rhythm Of The Christian Life

Most of us think that if we could simply balance our lives better, we would be happier. But what we actually need is to rediscover the rhythm. As Christians, our whole life consists of loving God and loving others, just like Jesus did. In this book, Wright invites us to find true joy as we embrace these two core realities and discover how they are meant to work in tandem. Explore The Rhythm of the Christian Life and recapture the joy of life together as God always intended. Book jacket.

Discover Life as God Intended Hurried and exhausted, we are looking for a better way to manage all the demands in our lives. We think that if we could simply learn to balance everything, we would be happier. But our problem isn’t balance. What we actually need is to rediscover the rhythm. God has created a pulse for our lives, and for centuries Christians lived into that intentional rhythm, one that has been all but lost today. In this book, Wright invites us to find true joy and wholeness as we embrace the two core realities that every person experiences in life: •moments alone: times of solitude when we are with God alone •moments together: times of intentional fellowship with others In our efforts to maximize our time, we often set unrealistic expectations for our “quiet time” and our social relationships. The result is a failure to hear the ancient rhythm that shows how these dimensions of our lives should complement each other. Embracing the rhythm of the Christian life, and living it wholeheartedly, is the task of all believers, not just some of us. As Christians, our whole life consists of loving God and loving others— just like Jesus did. Explore The Rhythm of Christian Life and recapture the joy of life as God always intended.

In this classic bestseller, acclaimed author and speaker Matthew Kelly offers inspiring, take-charge strategies to help you discover your deepest desires, identify your unique talents, and lead a life filled with passion and purpose. Do you ever feel that if you weren’t so busy you would be happier, healthier, more effective, more fulfilled...and maybe even a better person? The Rhythm of Life will help you to bring into focus who you are and why you are here. Through this book Matthew Kelly will help you discover your legitimate needs, deepest desires, and unique talents—and become the-best-version-of-yourself. He helps you bring into focus who you are, why you are here, and what possibilities stand before you... Everything is a choice. This is life’s greatest truth and its hardest lesson. It is a great truth because it reminds us of our power to live the life of our dreams. It is a hard lesson because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now. The measure of your life will be the measure of your courage. Fear stops more people from doing something with their lives than lack of ability, contacts, resources, or any other single variable. Fear paralyzes the human spirit. Life takes courage. With this groundbreaking guide, Kelly cuts through the stifling clutter of our everyday lives and delivers a clarity that is both refreshing and liberating.

"Abide in me," Jesus tells us, "and you will bear much fruit." Yet too often we forget that fruit needs different seasons in order to grow. We measure our spiritual maturity by how much we do rather than how we are responding to our current spiritual season. In Spiritual Rhythm, Mark Buchanan replaces our spirituality of busyness with a spirituality of abiding. Sometimes we are busy, sometimes still, sometimes pushing with all we've got, sometimes waiting. This model of the spiritual life measures and produces growth by asking: Are we living in rhythm with the season we are in? With the lyrical writing for which he is known, Mark invites us to respond to every season of the heart, whether we are flourishing and fruitful, stark and dismal, or cool and windy. In comparing spiritual rhythms to the seasons of the year, he shows us what to expect from each season and how embracing the seasons causes our spiritual lives to prosper. As he draws on the powerful words of Scripture, Mark explores what activities are suitable or necessary in each season--and what activities are useless or even harmful in that season. Throughout the book, Mark weaves together stories of young and old, men and women, families, couples, and individuals who are in or have been through a particular season of the heart. As Mark writes, "I pray that this book meets you in whatever season you're in, and prepares you for whatever seasons await. I pray that it helps you find your voice, your stride, your rhythm, in season or out. Mostly, I pray that you, with or without my help, find Christ wherever you are. And that, even more, you discover that wherever you are, he's found you."

Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of spiritual disciplines, Ruth Haley Barton takes you more deeply into understanding seven key spiritual disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life.

A gentle new way for church leader’s to survive stress and burnout Bruce Miller debunks the idea of balance—basically trying to have it all, all the time. Most churches and their pastors try to do everything at once and feel guilty if any one aspect (worship, ministries, outreach, etc.) is neglected. He replaces the exhausting concept of balance with the idea of rhythm: churches, like people, need to give attention to different programs and ministries at different times, basically by attending to their seasons and cycles. Offers an innovative new model for church leaders Miller has been influential in the formation and promotion of “Church-Based Training” as in international movement Offers a proven method for avoiding burnout for church leaders and members by doing the right things at the right time The author offers much-need help to overwhelmed leaders and shows them how to apply Miller’s seasonal/cyclical approach to church life.

Spiritual transformation is not a one-size-fits-all journey—we each need distinct spiritual rhythms that align us with our unique identity and calling in Christ. In this practical book Alastair Sterne shows how we can craft a life of more intentionality, offering fourfold rhythms that point us upward to God, inward to self, withward in community, and outward in mission.

How do we find balance between our sense of calling and the call to rest? Spiritual director and "recovering speed addict" Alan Fadling leads readers in a meditation on the unhurried life. Following Jesus' earthly life, this revised edition from Fadling shows how the work of "unhurrying" ourselves is central to our spiritual development.

Life is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. These well-known words of wisdom remind us to pace ourselves in the journey of life so we reach the finish line with no regrets. Pacing yourself is not as easy as it sounds. Life tends to take on a pace of its own which when left unchecked, will drive us toward burnout and fatigue. We can easily become driven by care, worry, and ambition rather than led by the Holy Spirit. We may tend to think of burnout as a modern problem, but we can see that people in Jesus’ day felt their own kind of spiritual and emotional fatigue. Why else would Jesus have said these comforting words? Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly (Matt. 11:28-30; The Message). Even though he spoke these words more than two millennia ago, Jesus’ call to rest and peace seem tailor-made to fit this generation. Author Kerri Weems had let the pace and rhythm of her life get out of control. At first the consequences were only physical, but they quickly impacted her spiritual life. Since then, God has been teaching her to walk in time with him; he is teaching her to be led rather than driven. In this book, she opens up her life and shares this journey with the reader. God’s best for each of us is that we go the full distance of our race, and not just crawl exhausted across the finish line. God wants us to enjoy the race and cross the line with our heads held high, a smile on our faces, and our arms lifted in a double fist-punch! Getting to that moment is all about learning the rhythms of grace and pacing ourselves for the long run.

With the help of your own rule, you can get control of your household, grow closer to God, come to love your husband more, and raise up good Christian children.