Rhythm Of Rest Retreats
Catering primarily to: Foster Parents, Pastors, Non-Profits, Marriage Retreats, Women's & Men's Retreats
It's important to establish frequent & consistent times of rest, sabbath, and rejuvenation. It's important to establish a Rhythm of Rest. Often times high capacity leaders & community servants are the worst at carving out time which allows for the sharpening of their own saws. . .which would ultimately enhance their impact both at home & in the community. When God created the heavens & the earth, even God rested on the 7th day.
Groups of people that often neglect their self care in deference for others will be identified and rewarded with time away via the Rhythm Of Rest Retreats. The retreat experience includes lodging at a resort type home for up to 3 nights, plus some catered meals or restaurant vouchers, snacks, childcare and at times even special events & outings, but mostly the ability to unplug and rest! Partnering with groups like Angels Foster Care Network, etc. . .helps us serve these populations. We invite you to partner with us by giving to our non profit entity, Community Builders in order to help sponsor a group to be blessed with a Rhythm of Rest Retreat at no cost to them.
You can either scan QR Code to donate by clicking on the 'donate via QR Code' button below, you can use credit card by clicking on the 'donate via link' button or you can send donation through Venmo @CommunityBuildersFund. If you would like to take a look at some of the homes that will host our deserving groups for their Rhythm of Rest Retreats feel free to click 'photo gallery' to look at photos or click 'take a tour' buttons below to explore via a 360 degree virtual walk through.
It's important to establish frequent & consistent times of rest, sabbath, and rejuvenation. It's important to establish a Rhythm of Rest. Often times high capacity leaders & community servants are the worst at carving out time which allows for the sharpening of their own saws. . .which would ultimately enhance their impact both at home & in the community. When God created the heavens & the earth, even God rested on the 7th day.
Groups of people that often neglect their self care in deference for others will be identified and rewarded with time away via the Rhythm Of Rest Retreats. The retreat experience includes lodging at a resort type home for up to 3 nights, plus some catered meals or restaurant vouchers, snacks, childcare and at times even special events & outings, but mostly the ability to unplug and rest! Partnering with groups like Angels Foster Care Network, etc. . .helps us serve these populations. We invite you to partner with us by giving to our non profit entity, Community Builders in order to help sponsor a group to be blessed with a Rhythm of Rest Retreat at no cost to them.
You can either scan QR Code to donate by clicking on the 'donate via QR Code' button below, you can use credit card by clicking on the 'donate via link' button or you can send donation through Venmo @CommunityBuildersFund. If you would like to take a look at some of the homes that will host our deserving groups for their Rhythm of Rest Retreats feel free to click 'photo gallery' to look at photos or click 'take a tour' buttons below to explore via a 360 degree virtual walk through.
Why Establishing a Rhythm Of Rest Matters
Rest is so crucial to our wellbeing. If we don’t get enough of it, we can experience long-term health problems and a shortened life expectancy. God wove rest into the fabric of creation. The world runs on a very specific rhythm. A year is divided by days and seasons. The world around us operates in relationship with this natural clock, and we, as part of creation, need to as well.
Rest isn’t just about gaining our strength, but it’s also about trust. By allowing ourselves to rest, we demonstrate the belief that God will provide for the details of our lives, and we don’t have to strive in every waking moment.
But there’s more to the topic than getting enough sleep and down time. As we examine how the Bible addresses rest, we realize that it isn’t simply physical. Every one of us longs for a spiritual rest from the struggles of daily life.
Here are 3 Bible passages about rest. Let’s take a look at them and see what they might tell us about the importance of slowing down.
1. God rests from His work (Genesis 2:2-3)By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
Was God so exhausted from the act of creation that He needed to lay down for a day? No. He recognized the importance of creating a cycle of rest and renewal. In talking about the Sabbath, Jesus told the Pharisees that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath was instituted for our benefit. He modeled the importance of rest and instructed us to make it part of our weekly rhythm.
2. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy (Exodus 20:8-10)Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns.
Creation has built-in rhythms for rest. Plants have a natural cycle of production that includes a season of dormancy. Bees and ants harvest in specific periods. Bears have a hibernation schedule. But humans have the ability to work and produce outside of the created order. For instance, the creation of electric light has made it possible for us to ignore the natural rhythm of the sun. We can work until the wee hours of the morning if we want.
It’s essential to recognize that God instituted the Sabbath before Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the garden. It wasn’t a penalty. It wasn’t to counteract something broken by our disobedience; It was an instruction given to us as a safety measure. It’s as if God was telling us, “You have the creative ability to adapt and work outside of the natural order, but I’ve created you with a need to recharge. Be mindful of your need for rest.”
3. There remains a Sabbath-rest for God’s people (Hebrews 4:9-11)There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.
In the garden, God commanded humans to be mindful of the Sabbath. This devolved into a bunch of rules about what constituted “work.” Could someone carry something? How far? Could someone light a flame? Extinguish one? This led to prohibiting behaviors like separating good fruit from spoiled fruit or braiding hair. You couldn’t even climb a tree because that might lead to breaking limbs or damaging leaves, which could be considered “reaping.”
Jesus cut through all those rules and became our Sabbath rest. We enter into true rest when we enter into Christ. He satisfies the requirements of the law. He reconciles us to God so that we’re no longer striving to make peace there. He deposits the Holy Spirit inside of us so that we can know the peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:7).
