When we are rested and spiritually renewed, we are more patient parents, more loving partners, more attentive friends, and overall kinder humans.
And, it’s possible to find this rest—through observing the weekly sabbath.
With sabbath, we get to pause and ground ourselves, to draw our families close, and to focus on what truly lasts—meaningful connection with each other and with our Creator. When we do this our souls get refreshed so we can share strength and love with those around us.
And this kind of rest isn’t just optional; it’s a core part of how we were designed. Yeah, sabbath rest is hardwired into our very DNA by the One who formed us.
What is sabbath?
When God made the Sabbath, He did so by ceasing His work. Sabbath was God’s crowning act of creation. Simply by resting, God established the very first Sabbath—a sacred pause that has echoed through every generation since. Sabbath is rest and fellowship and worship.
So how do we enjoy the sabbath?
First, throw out any ideas of sabbath being a checklist of rules or empty rituals. Think of it instead as a joyful gift—a glimpse of heaven on earth—crafted to bring us delight, restoration, and peace.
Second? Throw out any ideas of sabbath being a rigid duty. Rather think of it as a gracious invitation. An invitation to adopt a weekly rhythm that stands in stark contrast to the world’s restless striving, and instead aligns our hearts with the rest God lovingly planned for us.
As this sabbath begins, may you hear and accept the invitation to:
Find your rhythm.
Take time to step back from the chaos.
Replenish your spirit.
Spend meaningful time with your loved ones.
Spend meaningful time with yourself.
Remember the One who calls you to rest.
Spend meaningful time with God.
Shabbat shalom.
Sharing one of the best, modern day explanation of why practicing a weekly Sabbath is so good for us:
Like what you see? To never miss a post click HERE👈 to subscribe & follow the blog. I love hearing from you, so remember to “like” & comment. For more content start HERE👈
God initiated it! Shabbat Shalom: It’s Worship Time!
God initiated the Sabbath and He also initiated worship!
Sabbath is for rest and it’s also for worship. And worship takes place wherever, whenever and how-ever like while:
Watching the sun go down, but not before it colors the clouds an autumn orange and the river a golden glimmering tint.
Standing on the bank of the river transfixed, in awe of all creation bustling around me.
Hearing geese honking, hissing and cackling as they waddle up and down the shore, till they fly off to their resting place for the night. Or,
Seeing a father and son skipping stones on the river; and a small child running around his mom as the cutest little Pomeranian chases him, tugging excitedly against the restraint of his leash.
In these moments while I’m standing by the river experiencing life around me by observing laughter, familial chatter and play, and expressions of love it all directs my heart to God. In essence, God revealed Himself—and I worshipped.
The word “worship” itself is not in the Bible but there’s evidence of worship from Genesis through to Revelation. How do we know this? By knowing how worship is defined and seeking reference to that definition in the Bible.
Worship comes from two Old English words: weorth, which means “worth,” and scipe or ship, which means something like shape or quality such as the -ship in friendship that denotes the quality of being a friend. Worth-ship then is the quality of having worth or of being worthy.
On the banks of the river as I ascribed and attributed all that I observed to God and in saying/in knowing that God is worthy—in that moment, I worshipped. Or as the Bible puts it—I praised God.
Worship that expresses the heart
I didn’t speak. I didn’t lift my hands. I didn’t bow, prostrate myself or even close my eyes for there is a worship that expresses the heart.
There is also a worship that involves the mind. And a worship that involves the body. There is a worship that is giving praise upward. And a worship that is receiving instructions from above. And there a worship that carries out instructions in the world around us. And above all, God initiates it!
So, God initiates worship and He does this by first revealing Himself.
Let’s think about it. God is beyond our scope of understanding. So how can we know His worth much less declare it, unless He reveals Himself to us?!
It’s when I see God revealed in His awe-inspiring-make-everything-from-nothing GREATNESS, His all-might-almighty-to-save POWER, His don’t-want-anything-in-return-kind-o’ LOVE, His flawless-perfect CHARACTER—then, and only then, do I begin to understand His worthiness.
This stands to reason then that the better I know what God declares about Himself is the better that I can declare His worth and the better I can truly worship.
Worship is therefore my response to God’s initiation in revealing Himself and I declare Him worthy—I worship—with and from my entire being—my heart, my mind, my soul, my strength—and with and in sincerity.
This is how Jesus explains it. He says:
… true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:23-24
In essence, what was Jesus was saying? The most essential attribute of worship is sincerity. The externals do not matter if the heart isn’t right. If our attitude is wrong then we can sing the right songs, quote the right scriptures, even hold our hands in just the right way but it would mean nothing to God. For if our heart isn’t in it, it isn’t really worship.
And so God reveals Himself first—for He always takes the first step—He’s the initiator-God. Then He goes seeking to find worshippers—those who respond to His revelation of Himself by declaring His worthiness.
There is so much to say about worship than just one post won’t do. So join me next week as we dive more into the wherever, whenever and how-ever of worship.
Shabbat Shalom. May you find the joy in knowing the God who ceaselessly reveals Himself to you, and may your response to His initiation of revelation be one of worship.
God Shabbat. Yes, God rested. He showed us rest before he “commanded” it. In His rest there is power to be aware, to actively hope and to shift perspective to a new way of living.
And, He goes on to explain that He wants for us to work throughout the remaining 6 days, like He did when He created us, humans, and all that we’ve come to enjoy in the natural world around, above and beneath us. And when we’re complete with the tasks of those 6 days, then to rest purposefully like He did (Exodus 20:8-11).
When His creation was complete, God Shabbat/rested. In fact, the exact quote is God “rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:11).
Not that He rested on the day, but that He rested theday.
In that kind of rest, there is power!
His work was complete, He paused to enjoy the beauty of His handiwork and to commune with His creation. I imagine Him chatting up a storm with Adam and Eve, exploring the bounties of this newly created world, and enjoying fellowship.
And this is why I love the Sabbath.
First, because it reminds me in a tangible way that God is creator.
Second, because I enjoy the freedom in focusing primarily on God and all He does for me. And,
Thirdly, because on a weekly basis I can rest with purpose—to actively and purposefully choose to remember, to take an active stance to refocus so I may better see and appreciate what God is doing in my life that might not be visible at first glance; and to recenter my life.
Throughout the week I’m pressed with work and though I spend time with God it’s not as dedicated as it is on Sabbath. And then, there’s just something about Sabbath rest.
Sabbath rest is more than refraining from work. It’s giving myself permission to enter into a mindset of completeness, to rest the day.
As my mom always tells me when I’m up late at night trying to meet one deadline or the other, “work is never done”, she’d say. But, on Sabbath, in coming to a sense of completeness—accepting that I’ve done all I can do for those 6 days—I shift my focus.
This means my focus is not on my goals, work deadlines, housework etc. All these are given a less important position in my mind and frees me up to simply enjoy what’s around me. To shift my focus to God and spending time with Him. It’s our weekly Daddy-daughter date. And I love meting up with my Daddy!
Shabbat Shalom. May you find the power in sabbath rest—a shift in perspective to a new way of being.
I’m a big fan of David. The David of the Bible. Yes, that prolific spoken word artist who was also a master harpist, a warrior King and a murderous adulterer.
So bloody were the hands of David from warding off assailants while he fled a jealous crazed king and from wars he waged to secure his rule when he himself became king, that God forbade him to build the famed temple of Jerusalem (first built in 957 BC).
Yet and in spite of all this, when God described David, He didn’t look at the externals. Instead God said, I sought after David because he’s “a man after my own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).
It’s no wonder, because David was all heart. Whether he fought or he loved, whether he schemed or he wrote, he was 100% heart.
The record we have of David’s life showed that he never really had a season of peace. For much of his early adulthood he was fending off attempts on his life by a wildly out of control king. Then when he became king, he was constantly warding off attacks on his kingdom. Yet amidst the tumultuous times of his life, David wrote.
He wrote poetic lines like: “commune with your own heart and be still” (Psalm 4:4).
In other words, rest in stillness and undertake/arrest your thoughts in awareness.
If David could find mindfulness—to be in a state of active, open, intentional attention on the present—while all around him is unrest, then certainly so can we.
I’d like to share just 3 lessons I’m learning on this journey to living in the moment:
Being intentional to stop doing and focus on just being. Writing is one way to help me do that.
Knowing that I am not my thoughts. I try to observe my thoughts without judging them and this way I don’t get lost in my mind and I’m able to appreciate the living present.
This I know to be true: worrying about the future and ruminating about what’s past is one sure way to squander what precious moments I am granted in life.
“I have known a great many troubles”, said Mark Twain, “but most of them never happened” he concluded.
Shabbat Shalom. What better day than today—Sabbath—to rest in stillness. Give your mind a break from the rat race of this week.
A collection of writing by Dominic Riccitello — intimate conversations, personal essays, and poetic reflections on relationships, loss, and self-discovery.
Poems & More 