Demands on leaders' time and energy don't seem to end. We reason: because there are needs, we are the ones to meet them. That false logic prevents us from following God's command to take a day of rest, and enables us to reject Jesus' invitation: come to me and rest.

What does Sabbath look like? Could you practice it? Can your soul afford not to? Here's a peek into my family's practice of a day of worship and rest. It's not perfect, but it is essential to ministry. (This essay first appeared on my blog, Deep Breathing for the Soul. Come by and visit anytime.)

Fire, fierce and warming, glows in the worn brick fireplace in my family room. The washing machine swishes steady in the background.

Sabbath is over, but glows like an ember in the early darkness of an autumn evening.

Sabbath crept in unannounced at sundown Saturday, as we had dinner with friends at their home. I'd helped those friends by watching their kids for the afternoon (although I adore those kids so it was joy for me to do so). ...