Logos Book Award Winner

Align the Rhythms of Your Life with God's Presence and Purpose

Do you long for a deep, fundamental change in your life with God? Do you desire a greater intimacy with God? Do you wonder how you might truly live your life as God created you to live it?

Sacred Rhythms invites you into a spiritual journey that nurtures your soul while aligning your daily life with the presence of God. Drawing from the monastic tradition of creating a rule of life, this book equips readers to integrate spiritual disciplines into their everyday routines, paving the way for authentic spiritual transformation that can only be brought about by God.

In Sacred Rhythms, Ruth Haley Barton takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for incorporating them into everyday life. Each chapter features practical exercises designed to help you integrate the practices, whether on your own or in a group setting. The final chapter weaves everything together, helping you structure your life for meaningful spiritual transformation.

In Sacred Rhythms, you will



- Understand seven key spiritual disciplines: solitude, Scripture, prayer, honoring the body, self-examination, discernment, and Sabbath.

- Learn to integrate these disciplines into your daily life, with practical exercises for both individuals and groups.

- Create a rule of life that makes space for God's presence in your daily life.

- Reflect on principles and practices for living a life of spiritual growth and transformation.

Sacred Rhythms invites you to deepen your relationship with God through establishing your own sacred rhythm of life with God. Begin transforming the rhythms of your life today!



Ruth Haley Barton (DD, Northern Seminary) is founding president of the Transforming Center, a spiritual formation ministry to pastors and Christian leaders. A trained spiritual director (Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation), teacher and retreat leader, she has served on the pastoral staff of several churches, including Willow Creek Community Church. A sought-after teacher, preacher and consultant to leadership teams, she is currently adjunct professor of spiritual transformation at Northern Seminary.Educated at Wheaton College, Northern Seminary and Loyola University Chicago Institute for Pastoral Studies, Ruth is the author of numerous books and resources on the spiritual life, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence, Sacred Rhythms, Longing for More and Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership. She is also the author of an online resource titled eReflections, spiritual guidance via e-mail. She contributes regularly to Conversations: A Forum for Authentic Transformation.

Introduction


1. Longing for More: An Invitation to Spiritual Transformation


2. Solitude: Creating Space for God


3. Scripture: Encountering God Through Lectio Divina


4. Prayer: Deepening Our Intimacy with God


5. Honoring the Body: Flesh-and-Blood Spirituality


6. Self-Examination: Bringing My Whole Self Before God


7. Discernment: Recognizing and Responding to the Presence of God


8. Sabbath: Establishing Rhythms of Work and Rest


9. A Rule of Life: Cultivating Rhythms for Spiritual Transformation


A Note of Gratitude


Appendix A: Journeying Together


Appendix B: Leading a Group Experience


Appendix C: Choosing Spiritual Disciplines that Correspond to Our Needs


Notes