175. Practicing Sabbath with Shireen Eldridge
“Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest,” Hebrews 4:11a (NIV)
*Transcription Below*
Questions We Discuss:
Will you both define Sabbath and also give the biblical background for it?
What sets us up for frustration especially as moms when we think of Sabbath?
What conversations can we begin to have with our family to prepare for this day of rest, worship, and deligh
Shireen Eldridge is the Associate Women’s Pastor at Lifegate Church in Omaha NE. She is a mom of 4 school-age kids and married to the Associate Lead Pastor whom she has ministered alongside with since they were married 17yrs ago. She loves sharing about living life in Jesus whether by teaching to many or a one-on-one chat over tea!
Connect with Shireen on Facebook or Instagram.
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Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”
Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”
Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”
Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“
Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
*Transcription*
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Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.
[00:00:17] <music>
Laura Dugger: Leman Property Management Company has the apartment you will be able to call home, with over 1,700 apartment units available in Central Illinois. Visit them today at Lemanproperties.com or connect with them on Facebook.
What is Sabbath? What does the Bible have to say about it, both in the Old and New Testament? As busy parents, what does this actually look like in modern times? If you've ever thought about any of those questions before, you're going to love what my guest, Shireen Eldridge, has to share on today's topic. She's going to explain how the Sabbath is both a gift and a guardrail for us, and ultimately, a practice worth implementing into our lives to stay connected to God.
Here's our chat.
Welcome to the Savvy Sauce, Shireen. [00:01:18]
Shireen Eldridge: Hi! So excited to be here!
Laura Dugger: Well, I can't wait for this chat. But just to get started, will you tell us a bit more about yourself and your story?
Shireen Eldridge: Yeah, I'd love to. So I am in Omaha, Nebraska. We are originally from Georgia. That's where I grew up. My husband and I met at the University of Georgia. We both felt called into ministry, and we worked on campus for a couple years there.
And then God just started kind of moving things in our hearts. I ended up going to nursing school and then had a baby, and then God called us out of campus ministry there and moved us to Omaha, Nebraska. God called us to a great church here. We've done young adult ministry here. We really only thought we were going to be here for like a couple years, right, and then something else would move on.
But He kept us here, and things just kind of evolved, and He opened more doors. [00:02:20] We did campus ministry for a while, had more kids, lots of kids. I was a stay-at-home mom during that whole season with four kids and back-to-back.
Then my husband stepped into being a campus pastor, and now he is on track to become the new lead pastor in a couple years. I am on staff now, funny enough. After thinking I was going to go back into nursing after having all my kids, God opened the door for me to be on staff at our church, and I love it. We love doing ministry together. That has always been our heart.
My kids are a little more grown up now. I'm not in little kid phase, which is weird because I felt like I was in it for so long. They are fourteen, twelve, ten, and eight. That's where we are. We love doing ministry together and even as a family. We're just doing that church life here in Omaha. [00:03:19]
Laura Dugger: Well, and Sabbath has been a big part of your life in recent years. So will you both define Sabbath and also give the biblical background for it?
Shireen Eldridge: Yes, yes. That is something that we honestly discovered a little too late in life and really, I thought it wasn't something that could be done with kids or family. I quickly discovered it is a beautiful gift for all of us. So, yes, I love to talk about Sabbath. The word Sabbath (Shabbat) actually means to stop, to cease, to completely stop everything you're doing in your life for a full 24-hour period. That was God's design.
In Exodus 20, you can read through the commandments, and it is actually the hinge commandment. Many scholars believe it's right there in the middle because it connects the first few, which are pointed more towards God, our relationship with God. [00:04:20] And then is the commandment of Sabbath. And then right after Sabbath, it's all these other commandments that are about our relationship with others.
So I love to think of it as a picture of a hinge on the cross, right? Right in between the two, our relationship with God, this vertical relationship with God, and then this outward, outstretched relationship with others. Sabbath is what helps us with both. That's why people call it this hinge commandment.
So if you go to the Ten Commandments and you read through it, one of the words you'll see is "remember". God says that a lot, actually, when he's talking about Sabbath in Exodus and reminding the Israelites about Sabbath. He uses that word a lot. Remember the Sabbath. Remember to keep the Sabbath.
I think that word has kind of a twofold meaning. First, if you know the story of the Israelites, they had just come out of 400 years of slavery. [00:05:23] All they knew through their whole life was work for generations. And He knew that they would be prone to forget, they would be prone to going back to that type of lifestyle. Because it was natural, it was what they knew, it actually became comfortable for them. And He had to say, remember, remember to keep the Sabbath. This is so important. Don't forget because you will be prone to forget.
I think that's still an important word for us today. Remember the Sabbath because we can also be prone to forget. We can also be pulled into the ways of our world and our culture. Then the other thing is that word is a nod back to creation. Remember. Remember what I did early on, back in the beginning. Remember that story. And I love it because then it sends you back to the creation story in Genesis 2, where God just spent this whole seven days creating this beautiful earth. [00:06:28]
And then at the very end, He creates man and woman and their first day on earth with God, walking in the garden, enjoying creation, was Sabbath. Their first day on earth was a day of rest, of stopping, of enjoying. They walked through this new creation with God. And God just got to point out, like, look at this. And they're going, wow, you made that? What is that? That's amazing. You know? And I just picture it as, wow, what an amazing way to start a life.
I think the other really great place to go after you look at it in the Old Testament is we always want to go and say, what does Jesus have to say? Because He came to fulfill everything. And He's got something to say about Sabbath.
And I love what Jesus says. When He's talking to the Pharisees, He reminds them man was not made for Sabbath. Sabbath was made for man. [00:07:31] Sabbath is a gift to us. We were not created to keep Sabbath. Like, it wasn't actually a law that we had to keep to earn salvation, to earn God's love. No, it is a gift that God gave to us. It's actually more of a freedom commandment when we look at it that way. And I think Jesus was trying to kind of change our thinking in that.
Those are great places for people to start. That's just like a drop in the bucket. And maybe people will want to go back and reread those and kind of dive more into those. But that's where I have always started and what has really stuck with me when I dive into understanding this scripturally.
Laura Dugger: Well, like you said, you're a mother of four and you're active in ministry. So I'm assuming that a lot of parents can relate to that. But when you think back, Shireen, when and why did you begin getting intentional about practicing Sabbath? [00:08:35]
Shireen Eldridge: I had heard people talk about it a little bit growing up. It wasn't something that I had heard many people talk about. And you hear the word rest. Because of culture, I had learned that, you know, you have to earn it. You have to get to the end. And I'm naturally kind of a striver and I lean more towards just wanting to get the things done first and then I can relax.
Especially, I think, as a mom, right, when you have all these people and you have to provide for all them, it's natural that we think, Okay, I have to get all this done, then I can put my feet up. When actually, you know, when I started learning about it and thankfully even coming here to this church that we're at, there is a culture of rest that we learned from. The harder part is actually practicing it, right? It's one thing to put it into your mind and to learn about it. It's another thing to actually start doing it. And it is a hard practice sometimes to put in place because you have to make adjustments for it. [00:09:35]
I think for us, the why, like the reason we finally gave in is we realized we needed it. We realized in our hearts, in our spirits, in our bodies, with four kids doing ministry, doing the work we were doing, we absolutely needed it and we were going to run ourselves into the ground if we didn't make effort to practice Sabbath. So about seven years ago, a little bit before that, we were talking about, we were reading about... my husband actually was like, "I really think we need this." I think because we knew that it was something, a gift God had for us.
And eventually as we grew into it, because we keep saying it, it's a practice, that we knew it was something the longer we gave time for it, took time to learn and grow in it, that we would get better at it.
Laura Dugger: Well, and if I'm doing the math correctly, that means that you were starting approximately the time that your kids were seven, five, three, and one. [00:10:34] And then you've got these next seven years of experience. Just thinking of that from the lens of a mother, what sets us up for frustration, especially as moms, when we think of Sabbath?
Shireen Eldridge: I think one of the things is, I think we think a lot of times it's just about us and getting a break. I know I did. That was my first thought is like, you mean I get a break? Oh, yes, I'm in. And then I quickly realized with a baby still and changing diapers and still need to feed people, it's not a full break the way I wanted. I wanted like a sit by the pool break. I don't know what I was thinking. That is not what Sabbath is. And to remember that it isn't just about us.
When you are a mom, when you're married, even before kids, when you're a roommate, but especially when you are a wife and mom and have children, you have to remember you're practicing Sabbath with other people. [00:11:34] It's different if one person is just starting out on their own.
Like if you're single and you live alone, you know, it's easy to kind of be intentional and really structured with your Sabbath. When you are someone who lives at home with five other people, you have to start by thinking differently. This isn't just about you and getting a break. It's more than that.
When you understand the biblical understanding of Sabbath and understand that it's rest in Jesus, it's realigning your heart and your thoughts and your mind and your body and your emotions towards him. It becomes more than just I need a break.
I think once we change our thinking on what it is, it helps for moms and their expectations. Right? We can set up our expectations and then we'll just get crushed or we can have realistic and really reframe our expectations for what this is. And that can help us. [00:12:31]
I think also as a mom, I know for me, especially if you're a stay-at-home mom, but even moms who work outside the home, you come home and it's like, oh, I still have to work. Like this is still my job, taking care of these kids and cooking and cleaning and all these things. And sometimes what I had noticed for myself is I had seen my kids as a distraction to the things I needed to get done during my day. I needed to get laundry done. I needed to clean my house. I needed to prep for groceries and cook dinner and do all these things.
And sometimes my kids were like a little bit of a distraction. And what I think we have to do is reframe that and say, wait a second. The actual distractions are these things we do, like the laundry and the cleaning and the dishes and the bills and the yard work can actually be the distraction from refocusing, seeing our children as part of this gift of rest. [00:13:35]
And when you see them that way, it kind of changes your perspective. When you remove all of those daily distractions and work out of your life, your Sabbath will naturally just start to look different. You'll see your kids as, yes, you'll still have to change diapers, yes, you still have to feed your kids. But if you do the planning and you remove the actual distractions, then you're setting yourself up for a day that really is a little bit more restful and rewarding to everyone in the family.
We say in our house Sabbath is rest, worship and delight. And when you remember that, that what's restful for our kids is different from what's restful to us. What's delightful for one person is different than what's delightful for others. And you kind of have to work through that as a family.
And then to remember it takes a little effort. You know, I don't love to say that Sabbath takes work. I like to use the word "effort". But it does. [00:14:38] It takes some effort. And it takes a little planning and you have to learn to prepare for it. Once you get into that rhythm, you'd live your other six days differently and then Sabbath really does become a day of rest for you.
Laura Dugger: So then even involving our family in that process, did you sit everyone down and ask them what would it mean to be restful and worshipful and do something delightful?
Shireen Eldridge: Absolutely. We did this. Now, early on when you have littles and you have these conversations, you got to remember where they are. I think it's still really good to have these no matter what age your kids are. You know, even with your toddlers, you can start teaching them some really, really simple basics about Sabbath. You can explain to them that rest to mom and dad looks like taking a walk as a family. [00:15:36]
Even if the kids don't love it or it means that you guys are going to play quietly together and mom and dad are going to sit and sip their coffee and tea and read a book without some interruption, even if it's 15 minutes. You know, little toddlers can handle a 15-minute. And you can teach them those things and talk to them about it.
But then listening to what is delightful to them. Delightful to my toddlers early on was me sitting and playing house for a little while. Even for my still my 8-year-old daughter, she wants me to play House with her sometimes, you know? And for me to remember that is delight for them.
When you remove your other distractions, when you maybe even take the distraction of your phone away for 24 hours, you can spend that uninterrupted time with your kids and you don't feel guilty. And it actually can be refreshing. I have learned to reframe my thinking into, wow, that is actually a refreshing time. [00:16:37]
And then let me tell you this, my kids, they look forward to Sabbath because they know they get mom and dad uninterrupted and they get us without distraction. You know, we start our Sabbath with family movie night and they love it and they know they get our full attention. We do popcorn and M&Ms and we are fully engaged with just us as a family. Just started off and kick it off. It's celebratory and everyone's excited about what the next 24 hours hold.
I think having those conversations. And you have them in every season because things change. You know, what is delightful in one season with your kid is going to change the next time. You know, now what's delightful is throwing the football with my boys. It might not be as enjoyable for me, my husband loves it, but I get out there with them and they think it's the greatest thing in the world. You know, when mom comes and throws the football with them and it turns out to be way more fun than I always expect. [00:17:34]
But then they also understand that I love to sit and read a book. Or in the summer, I love to work in my garden. And they know that. And sometimes they'll get in there and do it with me because they know it's time with me. So when you have these conversations throughout with your family, it just gets more and more rich and they start to understand it. You start to have understanding of what they enjoy as well. So I think they're great conversations to start with your family for Sabbath.
Laura Dugger: I think that's very practical and a great place to start. But I love how you realistically set us up with the expectation that there is effort required. So for your family, what does that look like logistically to actually make this possible to have a day of rest?
Shireen Eldridge: It is preparation. I'm a planner so it comes a little more naturally to me. And I know some people and friends that I know of who aren't as natural planners and it does take a little more effort for them. Or they're okay with Sabbath not being as planned or their house not being all picked up. That's fine. [00:18:42] Do you in that way.
For me, my kids know for mom to be able to rest, I need my house a little bit cleaner. So we have what we do on our Sabbath clean on Friday. When the kids come home from school, we have Sabbath clean time. And they love it and they've gotten into it now because they know what comes on the other side. And I love it because I know what comes on the other side, a more restful, engaged mom.
So we finish up laundry through the week and we do our quick little clean at the end of Friday. And then during the week for me, because I know Sabbath's coming, I work hard to make sure our laundry is done. You know, a family of six, I'm doing laundry almost every day. And I get it done and we don't do laundry at all on Sabbath. Unless there's an accident and you got to do the laundry. You know what I mean, right? We have had those days.
But for the most part, I plan my week. I think about meals ahead of time. [00:19:42] I think about what's going to be easy for us Friday night and Saturday, what will be less work for me. Sometimes it's like I don't want to cook. And so we plan ahead of time and we have either a pre-prepared meal or something I just picked up at Costco, or we do like a quick charcuterie board. My kids love it. They love to help set it all up now and put all their favorite things. We set the board out and people just graze through the day on Sabbath. You know, part of Sabbath is enjoying food. That's part of delight historically and now, I think.
And, you know, Friday nights for us, we order out. Every kid, we rotate who gets to choose where we get to order Sabbath dinner. A lot of times we do pizza. And we make it easy. But we prepare for it. And whatever that looks like for you and your family, depending on the day. I make sure, you know, all my emails are answered, you put in your out of office, if that's what it means. [00:20:41] You let your people know that you work with, like, "Hey, I'm taking these 24 hours off. If you need me, if it's something that can wait, it can wait." Those 24 hours, most things can wait.
Prepare the people around you. You prepare your calendar. You look ahead and say, okay, you know, we know Sabbath is coming. I don't know that we want to do that birthday party that day, or, you know, go to that event that day. Or maybe we do want to incorporate those things in your Sabbath. You just kind of have to learn what you like to incorporate on Sabbath. And you have to think ahead and you have to prepare for it.
I always tell people it's plan, it's prepare. And then you have to protect it. And you have to let people know so that you can protect those 24 hours as much as you can. You know, things come up. You don't hold it too hard and fast. But you do what you can to plan, to prepare, and to protect it.
Laura Dugger: Let's take a quick break to hear a message from our sponsor.
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Laura Dugger: Will you also just give some examples of the moderation that's required then between the planning to make this possible and also holding this loosely when it doesn't go as planned?
Shireen Eldridge: Right, right. You know, I love the example in Scripture when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. You know, He was accused of not keeping it because He was healing. I think we have to remember that's a great example. We have to remember that Sabbath actually is for healing. I think that that was part of the example. It was twofold, right? To kind of say, hey, wait, there's more to Sabbath than what you think it is. It's not rule-keeping, but Sabbath is about healing. It's about healing us personally and it's about others. It's about community. It's about giving even to others.
So when we hold Sabbath kind of loosely, yes, you plan, yes, you prepare, and yes, you work hard to protect it, but things will happen. This is life. People will get sick. Kids will get sick. Someone will need your help. Something will come up. [00:24:39]
Here's what I always say is, if you have planned well, if you have prepared for it, then you have the emotional, the mental, and hopefully even the physical space to absorb that a little bit easier. So I share about Sabbath in general on social media.
But one time I did share about this making space, and I had a mom reach out to me and say, you saying that helped me when we had prepared... She prepared the whole week. Like they were so excited about Sabbath and they got to the Sabbath day and they had, you know, these things prepared. And she had a young kid and they were headed out to like an event that day, they were taking their whole family and her kid got sick in the car. The worst. Puke in a car seat is literally the worst. And they were so disappointed. They were so discouraged. [00:25:34] But, you know, then you go back home.
And she was like, "We went back home and we realized, well, we don't have anything else planned for the day. I have space to clean this up without getting frustrated. I have space to sit and hold and snuggle and care for and watch a movie with my sick kid. And I have mental and emotional space to do this today. And my husband's home and he can help." And she was like, "It was actually really freeing. And I responded so much better to my children because of that space that I had made and because of planning and because of preparing."
Laura Dugger: Again, this is so helpful to hear the practicals. I'm just going back to the conversations that were initially having to get this started. What are some questions that we can begin to ask ourselves and the people that we live with in preparation for Sabbath?
Shireen Eldridge: Right. I think obviously starting with what we had said earlier of what is restful to you, what is delightful to you, what reconnects you to God, right? What becomes worshipful? [00:26:46] I think actually the act of Sabbath is an act of worship. But what can I incorporate to refocus my heart, my mind, my thoughts on God? What helps you do that?
I've heard people say this, like it's a day of pleasure stacking. What brings you pleasure? If you could plan a dream pleasure stacking day, what would you do? And making a list of that. I think thinking about what are distractions? What are my usual daily distractions? Maybe it's notifications on your phone and you need to turn those off for a full 24 hours. What are distractions in my sight? What can I see in my house?
Maybe your house is being renovated and you cannot Sabbath while your house is being renovated. You can't look at the destruction around you because it doesn't feel restful. You need to go to the park for the day. You know, you need to take your family and go visit grandparents that day and rest and relax at their house. [00:27:56]
So I think asking yourself those questions, you know, what can be distraction for me on my Sabbath? What is restful? What is delightful? And having these conversations first personally and making those lists, but then having these conversations with the people you will Sabbath with. You might Sabbath with friends. I think practicing Sabbath in community is super important.
You might Sabbath with roommates. You might Sabbath with your parents or extended family if it's a family day. I think asking those questions and then having those conversations as a community are really, really important. And you'll learn from other people. And I think it'll even enrich your Sabbath journey when you have those conversations with other people. So those are a few good questions to ask.
Then I think as you grow in your practice, you'll realize and you'll go back to those questions, you always should go back to them and reevaluate because in different seasons, it's different things that bring refreshment and rest and delight and different ways that we connect with God. [00:29:04] You know, in one season for me, like in winter, I'm like, I can't go outside. It's so cold here.
So I have to reevaluate my connection with God and what that looks like. I can't sit on my side porch as much. So sitting inside and finding the quiet place there that I can connect with God on my Sabbath. And maybe in one season it's worship music and maybe in another, it's really just diving deep into studying scripture and you get to do that longer on your Sabbath. So asking those questions is really important, not just one time, but over time as you practice.
Laura Dugger: I love how you keep emphasizing the word practice because that steers us away from perfectionism. It's just a reminder that this comes up every week. And like you said, we're going to learn and grow. I believe it was your pastor who said it's less of a list of what not to do, and now it's what we get to do. [00:30:01]
Shireen Eldridge: Yes, I love that. I think that's a great picture when we frame it that way.
Laura Dugger: I'm just wondering, for someone who's hearing this and just thinking, "Wow, that is a lot of effort. I've already got a full to-do list. I don't know what I could cease for one day," what encouragement do you have for them, for the reward that comes that makes it all worthwhile to put in this effort on the front end?
Shireen Eldridge: Yeah, listen, that was the way I said it from the beginning too. I think first you have to realize start small. This is a practice that, like I said, you don't jump on a road bike and start biking miles and miles. You got to start small.
So for many people, you'll look at your life and you'll look at your schedule, and you'll look at your calendar and say, I don't know what I can stop or what I can give up. And maybe right now, you can't change your work schedule or your calendar or your kids' sports, but you can look forward and you can say, You know what, I do want to start this. So maybe we're gonna pull back on some kids' activities. [00:31:02]
Maybe I change kind of my work hours, if you're able to flex those. Maybe something simple. And I tell people this, especially now, one of the most simple things you can do, especially to clear our minds, is put down our phones for at least half a day right. Turn off your notifications. Take off the social media apps that distract you, or the news apps. Maybe don't watch the news for a full 24 hours and let your mind be refreshed. Don't open your computer if that is your place of work and things that it will kind of start your mind back up, like really, get those wheels turning again.
Doing small things sometimes can set your mindset to a place of Sabbath rest first and then slowly, the preparation and the planning and the clearing of your calendar might follow, because you get a taste of it right. Like, if you can just say half a day I'm gonna plug my phone in, I might even turn it off. Like, imagine that if we just turned our phones off. [00:32:12]
But if you can't do that, you know, just plugging it in away from you for, you know, half the day saying this portion of the day, I'm going to just listen to worship music, and I'm going to take a walk in nature, and I'm going to look and notice the things around me that remind me of who God is.
Sometimes small, simple things on a day that still maybe you can fully clear your calendar can enter you into a mindset, a heart of Sabbath rest. The beauty of this gift is, when you get a taste of it, you kind of want more. Jesus designed it beautifully. God designed it beautifully. That way is when you get a little taste of it, when you get to enjoy that like you want more, and you'll want more.
It will become your favorite day of the week. I can promise you that. When you start really getting into this practice, and you do it rhythmically and you plan for it, you will look forward to this day. [00:33:14] And your whole family will. My kids do now so very much.
And like I said, they don't even mind the Sabbath clean part, because they know what's coming. And so sometimes just starting small, getting a little taste and doing what you can to remove your distractions, can be a great place to start and not feel overwhelmed with just saying, "Okay, I have to dive all in. I have to clear my calendar. I have to start like this." No, you got to start small. No, you got to start small. Training wheels are okay.
Laura Dugger: How did you find out about The Savvy Sauce? Did someone share this podcast with you? Hopefully you've been blessed through the content. And now we would love to invite each of you to share these episodes with friends and help us spread the word about The Savvy Sauce. You can share today's episode or go back and choose any one of your other previous favorites to share. Thanks for helping us out.
And let's even go bigger picture now. Are there any beneficial daily and weekly rhythms that you also practice where Sabbath becomes more of a lifestyle rather than just a one day? [00:34:17]
Shireen Eldridge: Yes. Everyone is going to be different. I think for me I've realized how much just mentally and emotionally and spiritually I need Sabbath. Not as much, sometimes physically, right, because I do more with my mind, and I'm sitting in front of a computer and things like that, and working with people.
And so for me, I've learned I need those mental breaks, actually throughout my day as well. You know, I can't just go, go, go, go, go all week long and then just crash and burn at Sabbath. That's not refreshing. So for me I've learned I actually have to be more thoughtful of my daily rhythms as well. And then I'm not entering Sabbath with like... you know, you think of the person who sprinted to the finish line, and they just like collapse at the end of the race, and then you can't even enjoy the fact that you finished the race. [00:35:08]
I had been doing Sabbath like that. And I realized I'm getting to this rest day, and I can't even enjoy it and get the fullness out of it because I am so exhausted. I pushed myself too hard to get here. And it wasn't even about earning the rest. It was like I got to do all the things to make this day great.
And instead, I realized, wait a second, the whole point is to remind myself I don't have to strive. And so I need to incorporate things in my daily and weekly life reminding myself that I don't have to strive, not just once on this day, but throughout my week.
So, for me, I take breaks from social media. My husband and I, we try to put our phones down. We learn this from another pastor. We put our phones to bed. And we try to do it at nine o'clock, and then just have time that's just the two of us and we converse. Or my oldest will stay up now like late with us, and we get great conversation time with her during that time. [00:36:09]
You know, I try to make sure from the time my kids are home from school and start of evening I put my phone away then too, and I'm engaged with them, and I'm helping them with homework or, you know, having conversations about their school day with them. I try to make sure I remove those distractions at certain times of the day.
I spend a lot of time with the Lord, and I try to do that in the mornings. I try to get up early. I'm not as good about it. My husband is great. And he gets up early every morning. And for him, that's his time. Like he needs that quiet, rhythmic time with the Lord. And then on Sabbath, for him, it's a more extended time with the Lord, you know?
So I think when you get that taste, that weekly taste on Sabbath, you will also start realizing, Wait, it's not even just breaking that day and learning I don't strive and I don't have to earn. It's throughout my day, and then it becomes this lifestyle for you, I think learning that this life isn't about striving. I have limits, right? Like Sabbath also teaches us we are human and we have limits. [00:37:20]
And when I go to bed at night and I'm kicking myself because I didn't get it all done, it's okay. I have limits. And God is still pleased with me when I put my head on my pillow that night and I didn't get my to-do list all the way done. That's not all He's looking at. He's pleased with us no matter what. I think that's a good reminder as well for us on the daily.
Laura Dugger: I think that He can definitely teach us humility and the faith required to put this into practice. This conversation reminds me of an ancient phrase, but it's something that seems to be discussed more in recent times, and I would just love to understand it better. So will you share more about rule of life?
Shireen Eldridge: Yeah. I haven't dove as deep into this as my husband. We kind of had discovered this a little bit before he went to seminary. But when he was in seminary, his school really talked a lot about this. So my husband and I both started reading more about rule of life and realizing that, okay, it was this ancient practice developed by these monks, that they put these basically practices, these rhythms in to practice in their daily lives, in their weekly lives, in just a rhythmic practice that they knew would set foundations for their growth in God. [00:38:52]
The picture really for rule of life is the picture of a trellis. That's what it is. It's a word picture for this idea of building this trellis. That, if you can imagine, in a garden, a trellis, it's a structure that you build with layers, and you know, these vertical posts, and then these horizontal posts, and you have these plants that can vine up them, and that can climb up. And if you didn't have this trellis, this vine, really wouldn't be able to climb and reach the potential and bloom in the way that it was designed to bloom.
And so you have to put these posts in this trellis in place to allow this plant to grow and bloom and produce fruit. What a perfect biblical picture of our walk with God, this example of this garden of farming, of, you know, this plant. It's the example Jesus uses about the vine. [00:39:49]
What our role is is to help with that growth God does most of it, but we can put some things in place, partnered with Him, and some practices that will help these vines grow, will help our life, our heart grow over time towards Him.
So what these practices can be, and what many of them are, and even historically, and when you... I mean, listen, you can just Google rule of life, and you'll find all kinds of different perspectives on it and different ways people go about developing it.
But for us, we think the base three practices to kind of build that foundation, that first layer, are really Sabbath, prayer and Scripture. And I think we see this in Jesus's life. He paused and he rested. He did practice Sabbath. It looked different than the way the Pharisees expected people to practice.
But he brought a new spin to it and said, Remember. He was nodding back to this is what it's for. [00:41:00] It's made for us. He practiced prayer. He prayed to God. He communed with God. And He knew Scripture. He studied the Scriptures. He knew it.
And it's something for us, foundationally, that I think are important practices for us on the Daily, but also that set this foundation for us, for our vine to really root and to grow deep before we start adding these other layers.
The other layers for rule of life can be so many things, both of us, my husband and I have developed a rule of life. And it's not something that's like... you think the word "rule" and you think this is structured it, I make it once, and I stick with it. No. You can change it over time. In fact, it's meant to be changed. And you go back to it, and you change it over time in different seasons. You kind of have your foundational pieces, but then other pieces you can change.
For us, some of it is nature, being outside, and being in nature. Another part for us that's so important is community, being a part of a church, being in a small group with people that we share life with. [00:42:09] We've actually changed some of our Friday night Sabbath practices to being with friends, and that's important to us, and that's an important practice that we want to keep in our life, we see Jesus do it.
I think one of the main things with rule of life that you can develop it and kind of pick out practices, is by looking at Jesus's life, really. A lot of people who develop their rule of life, you can study and just look at the way Jesus lived. He was outside. He enjoyed community. He enjoyed good food and fellowship and fun even. Those are the things we can include in our rule of life that keep us focused and pointed in our lives, directed toward Jesus.
You know, if we make it about these things that we're doing, and we forget why we're doing them, then it will just become religion. You'll eventually start striving towards that. I think you have to remember that it's all pointing us, if it's not growing you and pointing you more towards becoming like Jesus, becoming loving, this cross-shaped Love is the way my husband and I say it, then maybe we've gotten a little off with it. [00:43:17] So all of this, you have to remember the goal is to point us to Jesus.
Laura Dugger: I love that summary. Just makes me think of John 15, just the reminder and that call to remain in Him and to keep that the main thing. But Shireen, you still have so much more you could share. Where can everybody learn more from you online?
Shireen Eldridge: Well, I just share my life like everyone else on social media. I love Instagram. Listen, that is my that's my fun space, and that is where I've learned that I take that app off for Sabbath and try to be off for 24 hours, usually even the whole weekend. I try to kind of take a break. But I love to share about it just there.
I think I like sharing it on social media a lot, because I can just share the everyday, ordinary parts of it. I have taught on it at church and with small groups and with women and, you know, MOPs groups and some of those messages I've linked on my social media, and it's on our church website. But really, I just like to share it with just our everyday lives, because sometimes it goes well, and sometimes it crash and burns. [00:44:24] And it's good to share those moments too.
It sounds all perfect and beautiful here when we talk about it this way, but let me tell you when I just share about it and say, "Hey, the last Sabbath we had was terrible. You weren't here how it went?" And I think it diffuses some of the expectations we all have. So yeah, anybody who wants to follow me on that journey, I love it. That'd be fun. But also I do teach about it with different groups and with different people, and some of that I've linked online as well.
Laura Dugger: Wonderful. We will link to your social media handle in our show notes for today's Episode. You know what we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" is synonymous with practical knowledge. And so is my final question for you today, what is your savvy sauce? [00:45:11]
Shireen Eldridge: Ooh, so I feel like this can change in different seasons. Every time you're in a new season of life, your savvy sauce can change, right, the little practical things that kind of keep you going. And I think for me right now, it's walks with my husband. I think cultivating a good marriage is something both of us have had to work hard for. Right now we take almost daily walks together.
We did this even before the pandemic. I know everyone became walkers during the pandemic. But we were doing this on the daily when we realized we could leave our kids at home. Finally, they were at ages that they could handle being home and we could take a neighborhood walk by ourselves, it was like a moment of freedom and date night. And not only was it beautiful for us to practice just being together and got us exercise, but we were out in nature, and it has become what keeps us afloat sometimes. [00:46:10] Because our lives are so full with four kids.
And it's our time to connect. Sometimes we talk practical things. Sometimes we just talk about life and dreams. And sometimes we talk about our frustrations and things that are hard. But it has become one of the joys of both of our lives and has connected us in a really sweet, sweet way in this season of life. So I would say that's my savvy sauce, our savvy sauce right now.
Laura Dugger: I love that. Shireen, you're just such a ball of joy. It's so obvious that this intentional practice of Sabbath is something that Jesus is using to fill you to overflowing. I feel like today we're just reaping that good fruit of your intentional seed sown in living out what God does recommend in the Bible. We know that He says, one of the ways that we show that we love Him is by obeying Him. Yes, you've just modeled that so well in the way that you've designed your life around Sabbath. [00:47:11] So thank you for sharing your savvy ways with us. It was wonderful to get to host you as my guest.
Shireen Eldridge: Oh, well, thank you so much, Laura. I'm just honored. It's fun to share, and I hope it was beneficial for people.
Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.
This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute.
This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. [00:48:13] That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.
We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. [00:49:14]
If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.
At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?
First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.
Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.
We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. [00:50:14]
Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.
If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.
Welcome to The Savvy Sauce
Practical chats for intentional living
A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.
They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!
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