Is it really a Happy New Year for you? I mean, we all hope for one, but the reality is that you might want to replace the H with a Cr. Maybe it’s because you’re starting off with a Stressed New Year, a Burned-Out New Year, an Exhausted New Year, a Health-Challenged New Year, an Overworked New Year, an In-Debt New Year.

“Stress Statistics and Facts in 2024,” an article by Forbes Health, backs that up—even though we don’t need stats to confirm that hurt, brokenness, and stress are piling up. We see it in our own lives and in the lives of people around us.

This month is a great time to watch (or rewatch) Pastor Mike’s sermon series Reset on Time of Grace. And as part of our reset, we might want to consider using rest as part of our reset. Again, not that we need stats, but research shows that regular rest is essential for our physical and emotional well-being. After all, that’s why people who work out take rest days. Our muscles can’t rebuild and repair if we work them every single day.

So maybe we should consider looking at the biblical idea of rest (also known as sabbath) to restore our bodies and minds too. But where do we start? Well, instead of me offering the Top 6 Tips for a Sabbath, how about considering these six questions:

• How might a sabbath help reset your relationship to God?
• What habits prevent you from taking a sabbath?
• What activities could you do that are restful? Maybe for you it’s playing board games, hiking, reading, napping, enjoying a hobby, baking, working in the yard, meal prepping. My daughter will sometimes clean her dorm room because it helps her feel settled for the upcoming week.
• What activities could be done on a different day? (Honestly, your not-doing list might look like some of the restful ideas for other people.) Maybe you don’t make a meal, work in the yard, or fix your car. Perhaps you put your phone and laptop away, don’t check email, and don’t do homework if you’re a student.
• What planning steps need to be done to make a sabbath possible? Cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, or grocery shopping might have to wait for a different day. Either plan ahead or know some things can be put off until later.
• How might you observe a sabbath without feeling guilty or getting legalistic about it? After all, Jesus said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). Because God gave you and me a sabbath as a blessing, we enjoy it as a good gift and don’t stress about “rules,” which would miss the point.

Just a reminder: You are already perfect and holy in God’s eyes because of Jesus, so observing a sabbath won’t make you a “better” Christian. It’s simply an opportunity to enjoy God’s good blessing of rest.

Have you practiced a sabbath rest? I’d love to hear about it!

Linda Buxa is a writer and speaker who enjoys sabbath naps—and seven-minute naps and football naps and pre-bedtime naps and road trip naps and any nap in general.