I wanted to jump directly into the Word this Sabbath, “green lettering “the Gospel of Mark. And as fast as I opened my Bible, I had this leading to first pause, in the silence and solitude and just be present. So, I closed my Bible and my eyes and sat in my lawn chair, just listening…

The sun rises further East now. It’s a different view of the sky. I love the cool of the morning and the anticipation of what the day will bring. It might sound cliché, but every morning is a gift. There the “first surprise” of what the sky looks like that foreshadows the day. Then the “second surprise” (and beyond) arrive as the day unfolds. I wonder how people approach the morning? On a Sabbath morning, especially when the weather is beautiful, I can intentionally practice Sabbath as Delight and enter into Worship.

Solitude. I must be quiet, in my mind and feelings. If Sabbath is about setting apart time to honor Jesus, then Solitude is entering into the quiet to be with Jesus. In this, I am led again to explain the Why of the Practices.

These Practices of Jesus are designed to affect the inner formation of your heart. They allow you to more naturally be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what he did, for the sake of others. I iterated on our spiritual formation model as I shared with you on Easter Sunday. And with much thanks to Jill who lent me her graphic design gifts, here’s what we have to illustrate our spiritual formation model:

These Practices of Jesus are designed to shape the inner formation of your heart. They help you grow in a way that allows you to more naturally:

• Be with Jesus
• Become like Jesus
• Do what He did
• for the sake of others

As I shared with you on Easter Sunday, I’ve been refining and iterating on our spiritual formation model. I’m excited to share this new visual that helps illustrate the heart of our journey together.