In our frenzied culture, the possibility of living in balanced rhythms of work and rest often feels elusive. This rings especially true for pastors and leaders who carry the weight of nonstop responsibility. Most know they need rest but might be surprised to find within themselves a deep resistance to letting go and resting in God one day a week, let alone for longer seasons of sabbatical.
The journey to a meaningful sabbath practice is slow and gradual, and it is a journey we need to take in community. Sharing her own story of practicing sabbath for the past twenty years, Ruth Haley Barton offers hard-won wisdom regarding the rhythms of sabbath, exploring both weekly sabbath keeping as well as extended periods of sabbatical time.
Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest grounds us in God’s intentions in giving us the gift of sabbath, providing practical steps for embedding sabbath rhythms in churches and organizations. Each chapter concludes with “What Your Soul Wants to Say to God,” an opportunity to reflect and engage God around your own journey with the material. Sabbath is more than a practice-it is a way of life ordered around God’s invitation to regular rhythms of work, rest, and replenishment that will sustain us for the long haul of life in leadership.

“Come away and rest awhile.” Jesus invites us to be with him, offering our full and undivided attention to him. When we choose retreat we make a generous investment in our friendship with Christ. Truth is, we are not always generous with ourselves where God is concerned. Many of us have done well to incorporate regular times of solitude and silence into the rhythm of our ordinary lives which means we’ve gotten pretty good at giving God twenty minutes here and a half an hour there. And there’s no question we are better for it! But we need more. Indeed, we long for more. In these pages Transforming Center founder and seasoned spiritual director, Ruth Haley Barton, gently and eloquently leads us into an exploration of retreat as a key practice that opens us to God. Based on her own practice and her experience leading hundreds of retreats for others, she will guide you in a very personal exploration of seven specific invitations contained within the general invitation to retreat. You will discover how to say yes to God’s winsome invitation to greater freedom and surrender. There has never been a time when the invitation to retreat is so radical and so relevant, so needed and so welcome. It is not a luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual life.

Ruth Haley Barton brinda sabiduria, sanidad y ayuda concreta a las personas que estan prontas a recibir <> de Dios en medio de sus multiples ocupaciones y desean hallar la manera de reordenar su vida a fin de recibir la presencia transformadora de Dios. Con toda claridad, la autora presenta un excelente ritmo de practicas espirituales tradicionales que nos ayudan a estar abiertos y dispuestos a la accion transformadora de Dios en nosotros y entre nosotros. Las practicas propuestas estan fundadas en nuestros deseos mas profundos y conectan nuestros deseos con el bienestar que Dios desea para nosotros. Resultan de gran inspiracion las experiencias de su lucha como cristiana, que la autora comparte con toda franqueza. Barton ofrece sugerencias utiles para usar el libro con grupos de personas que buscan crear mejores condiciones en su vida para poder recibir la presencia transformadora de Dios.

Do you long for a deep, fundamental change in your life with God? Do you desire a greater intimacy with God? Do you wonder how you might truly live your life as God created you to live it?
Spiritual disciplines are activities that open us to God’s transforming love and the changes that only God can bring about in our lives. Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a “rule of life” that allows for regular space for the practice of the spiritual disciplines, this book takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life. Each chapter includes exercises to help you begin the practices–individually and in a group context. The final chapter puts it all together in a way that will help you arrange your life for spiritual transformation.
The choice to establish your own sacred rhythm is the most important choice you can make with your life.

En Una invitacion al silencio y quietud, Barton le ofrece al lector una guia espiritual para su viaje, de modo que pueda escuchar claramente el llamado de Dios, y le muestra una manera concreta de decir <>.

Ruth Haley Barton, ganadora del premio Christianity Today 2005 por su libro, explica como descubrio la presencia real de Dios, ese Dios que se hace presente a traves de la practica del silencio y la quietud.

Su libro es una invitacion a tener un encuentro pleno y profundo con Dios, lejos de las exigencias y el ruido de la vida cotidiana. Es un llamado a la aventura de vivir una transformacion espiritual; una aventura que lo llevara a ser libre y autentico y le permitira llegar a ser esa persona que Dios en su designio creo.

Much of our faith and practice is about words?preaching, teaching, talking with others. Yet all of these words are not enough to take us into the real presence of God where we can hear his voice. This book is an invitation to you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life. It is an invitation to solitude and silence.
The beauty of a true invitation is that we really do have a choice about embarking on this adventure. God extends the invitation, but he honors our freedom and will not push himself where he is not wanted. Instead, he waits for us to respond from the depths of our desire. Will you say yes?
This expanded edition includes a guide for groups to use both in discussing the book content and in learning to practice silence together.