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Welcome to 2022, Friend.

We are ready to begin writing a New Year into our stories. As we begin 2022, let us be sure that the story we are writing is the one God has designed for us from the foundation of the world.

In January, the Lord called me to give Him this year as a Sabbath Year (see Leviticus 25). It was to be a year of no work, of rest, of discovering my vocation/purpose in this world, and of falling helplessly at the feet of Jesus. And it has been all of that and more.

This year, my husband and I began a series called Practicing the Way with Bridgetown Church. We started incorporating Spiritual Rhythms into our lives and began seeing Jesus not only as Lord, Savior, and Redeemer but also as Rabbi and Teacher. He lived His life on this earth as the perfect human and invites us to follow Him, abide in Him, become like Him, and do what He did on this earth. Steven and I took that invitation.

Through the year, I have realized that although I've been a "Christian" all of my life, I have not been a disciple. In 2020, I began to see that my Christian walk was shallow. It was formed more around church culture, family culture, and an allegiance to country and state than around the actual teachings of Jesus we see in Scripture. I wasn't living the abundant life Jesus promised. Although I believed He was the Christ and I worshipped Him as my Lord and Savior, I wasn't a disciple; I was part of the crowd.

Going into this 2021, my year of rest, I realized what it takes to be a disciple. To take up your cross and follow Jesus. And it has been challenging and beautiful, amazing and terrifying. But as 2021 comes to a close, I realize how this year has revolutionized my life. Although it is easier to be in the crowd, I wouldn't trade being a disciple for anything. I am yoked to Jesus. I am surrendered - my whole life - to His leading, and I am finally experiencing the freedom He has promised and the abundant life He is ready to give.

One of the ways that Steven and I have formed our lives around apprenticeship to Jesus is through The Spiritual Disciplines. Through the practices of silence and solitude, Sabbath, prayer, contemplation, Scripture meditation, fasting, community, journaling, and more, we have purposefully made time to abide in our Savior and follow His pattern of doing life on this earth.

Below are a series of resources that Steven and I have dove into headfirst to help us discover how to put the spiritual disciplines or rhythms into practice. These books, websites, and podcasts have helped us on our journey. The Lord has given us His Word, primarily, along with these resources to help us lay a foundation and to show us how to build our lives around apprenticeship/discipleship to Jesus. We hope they are a blessing to you.

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