The 60-Second Sabbath

rest

  • Simplicity and Innocence

    In the second half of life,there often arisesthe yearning to returnto simplicity and innocence.  Have you felt it?Do you feel it now? It is the yearningto see with wide-open eyesand an equally wide-open heart. That seems to us a paradox:How… Continue reading

  • The Rhythm of Rest

    God rested God's selfand it was good.     We are called to the same. God exhaledand was refreshed.     We are called to the same. God took delight,smiled and surveyed the fruit.     We are called to… Continue reading

  • Prayer at Bedtime

    Grant me a dreamless night,without image and emotion,a night of simple, vacant rest,a night of blessed blankness. Quiet my questioning, processing, remembering, striving mind. Tonight, let me sleep empty,like a desert calm beneath the waning moon.  Text and image ©… Continue reading

  • And God Created Rest

    One Jewish traditionsuggests that God,on the seventh day,didn't collapse of exhaustionand say, "That's it;six days and I need a break,"but rather,on the seventh day,still generative, still spinning forth,created tranquility, serenity, peace and repose. Having finished with spaceGod turned God's attention… Continue reading

  • Safety

    Stop advising.Lend your chest;let me therein silence rest Wrap your arms;hold me tight;that's my simpleneed tonight. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.   Continue reading

  • Advent 14

    Like Scrooge's trinity of ghosts,the Beloved takes my handand flies me skywardamong dark Winter's stars,beyond my sapped vision,beyond this succession of pea-sized moments,beyond my desk of dust and yellowing paper,    endless analysis and digitized disorder…and for one brief momentreveals… Continue reading

  • Rest

    All by itself         rest is a form of prayer– necessary prayer. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.    Continue reading

  • Day of Rest

    A headline in last weekend's Denver Post read, "Day of Rest Good for Soul, Even to the Nonreligious." Turns out the constant flow of information and our endless busyness is actually making us sick, physically, emotionally and mentally. It interferes… Continue reading

  • Sabbath

    We all need Sabbath:recovery, reconnection, reconstruction.Our vocations inflate like balloonsnear to bursting.Our avocationsevolve into obligations.Social media demandsinstant responsiveness.We are not built for this. Stop. For a day,  or two hours, or just 15 minutes…for God's sake,for your sake,for the sake… Continue reading

  • Stop Trying So Hard

    "Stop trying so hard,"says my cat,pausing while grooming,left hind leg still extended upward."We're not going to love you any lessbecause there's dust on the credenza." Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.  Continue reading