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Sabbath from the Hustle and Bustle

By

Ps 92-4

I had to run to Costco today to pick up a few things for our family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Walking past the first checkout line with no less than 20 people in it, I said audibly into the air “this might have been the worst idea I’ve had all day.”  I knew we wouldn’t be rushing in and out like I’d planned. And then, as these things go, I’d get caught in rush hour traffic, and have to rush to finish dinner, and because that would be running behind we’d be rushing to get into bed too.

Maybe the hustle and bustle is energizing for you, but day in and day out, hustle and bustle isn’t sustainable for healthy people…or healthy organizations.

As we move into this season of Advent and begin turning our hearts towards a Silent Night where a Holy God came into the world, I find myself wanting to buck the hustle and bustle and instead just lean into the sacred to refuel and recharge.  I find myself longing for deeper Sabbath to more intimately engage the holy.

The word Sabbath means “rest.”  It began in the very Beginning when on the seventh day God himself sat back to admire all that He had done.  It continued all throughout the Bible as generations of God’s people sat down their plows, scythes, hammers and nails and they spent a full day of the week simply resting and reflecting on the goodness of God and recharging for what was to come.

Somehow our culture has trained us that Sabbath is a waste of a day…or a waste of valuable time.  But anyone who has walked in the hustle and bustle long enough knows that if you never slow to recharge or step back enough to reflect, the hustle and bustle will run you right over.

Allume began in 2010 as a space for Christian bloggers, authors, writers, and kindred spirits to gather and recharge…to equip and encourage one another in our online spaces, and to refresh our spirits with the vision that can come only from the Creator.  The vision has continued and the space has always remained true not only to be a space to gather, but to be a space to really learn to live out the callings that God has on each of our lives.  It is our greatest pleasure and honor to cultivate this space where year after year we see God move in mighty ways both at the conference and in the online community.

And as we enter our seventh year of the conference, our entire team has continued to hear the word “Rest.”  We have all been considering Sabbath and what it means to step back to reflect long enough to fill our hearts with gratitude for what God has done.  But we want to create enough space to listen for what God might want to do ahead as well.

Part of what makes Allume so special is that the majority of our team members are volunteer.  The planning and work that goes on to create the space is the most beautiful labor of love throughout the whole year that most people don’t even see. Because our leadership believes in listening to the Holy Spirit and creating space for the Lord to move, we are going to take some time off to create that space.  From the time one conference ends, we are already fully planning the next, and so it goes…the cycle continues…and the hustle and bustle catch up.

So as crazy as the business world would say it is, and as crazy as conference planners have told us we are, and as much as we wonder sometimes “what will happen if….”, we have prayerfully and confidently arrived at the decision that for the Allume organization, 2016 will be a year of Sabbath.

Over and over at the conference we heard so many of this community saying it too… “I’m so tired… I need a break… I feel like life is running me over and passing me by.”  It seems that for so many, Sabbath or sabbatical may be in order.  So while it seems perhaps a little crazy for an entire organization to step back, that’s what we want to do not only to create the space for ourselves to hear the Lord, but also to set an example and give you permission to do it too.

We will still continue to share a few things on the blog here and there and cultivate community in relationships in the online community and in real life, but we will be taking some time off from the conference as we celebrate this seventh year of Allume.  We want to step fully into the things God is setting before each of us in this next season and we want to fully engage the life and people around us as we take time to rest and reflect.  This isn’t goodbye, this is so much better….because this is Sabbath and we invite you to step into it with us.

All our love,

Logan Wolfram and the Allume Team

Comments

  1. Well done, team. Allume has been a catalyst for so many women and it feels like the 7th year is just the right year to take a break. I’m so thankful for the work you have done to date. As confirmation, I thought I’d share one thing I learned this year. We often see the 7th day of rest as God’s day of rest after his work, but it’s also the first full day for Adam on earth where God had to teach him rest FIRST before he taught him how to work. So, this 7th year could feel like an end to the last years, but also God preparing you guys for new, good work. Enjoy it!

  2. Congratulations. You have taken the hard step of being boldly courageous and choosing to be obedient to what the Holy Spirit has told you to do. That may be harder than putting on a conference, but oh so much more rewarding and fulfilling, and have a bigger impact on all the lives of the women who are watching and learning. You are an example to many. May they now have the courage to rest. To take the Sabbath and keep it holy. To listen to the still small voice inside them and say “I surrender all…whatever, wherever.” May you hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. We look forward to having you back, better and stronger because of your obedience!

  3. Brave, bold, and beautiful. Your courage will reap a harvest of rest and intimacy with the Father in the lives of all those who touch as well as your own. Bravo.

  4. Obedience is always hard when it flies in the face of logic, but I’ve found that’s where God’s craziest blessings pour out. Cheering you on in this year of Sabbath, and I can’t wait to see what He has in store for Allume and this community in the coming years!

  6. Awesome. Allume has been a gift and encouragement to me these last couple of years. Since I too have been hearing the word REST, I’m in! Love all of your willingness to live by faith & trust the Lord with this rather than do what’s normal or expected. God bless you in this season of rest!

  7. And how beautiful that your Sabbath comes in the seventh year. How significant that number is. I don’t believe it is at all a coincidence that God would lay this season of rest upon you now. He is a God of order, and His ways are beautifully poetic. I’m proud of all of you, though I will admittedly miss seeing you next fall. But I eagerly anticipate watching the next steps unfold!

  8. This is so freeing. It is really encouraging to see that bold confidence to step out bravely and trust the Lord in what he calls our hearts to do and not to do. To discern that together as a team is such an encouragement to me as I continue to seek the Lord in sifting good from best in initiating and leading big things in my sphere. Blessing to you as He refreshes your hearts!

  9. Beautiful obedience to rest. Oh how we all need to take this as a reminder to slow down and listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. Following God’s leading and instructions will reap the sweetest fruit. Praying for the Allume family during this season of rest.

  10. There is a HUGE amount of wisdom here and I admire and respect you and your staff for recognizing it. Not sure I’ll be at ALLUME 2017, but I would bet it will be one incredible conference! God bless you, Logan and entire Allume Team!

  11. Logan, this topic of Sabbath is my constant filter and it’s so counterculture. I’m extremely thankful that you guys at Allume are giving testimony of the kindness of God in this manner. What a way to celebrate and acknowledge the plentifulness this sabbatical year will have for you all. It’s good when the world (and the Body of Christ) can see evidence of the things that we say we believe. Sabbath is about grace, not about the grind that tries to high jack abundant and unfrenzied living. This rest is where shalom is nurtured, so nurture on the shalom, and I look forward to attending my first Allume in 2017.

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