I’ve read several books about rest and sabbath lately, and I love the fresh perspective takes in looking at work and rest through the lens of Belovedness. He offers some good challenges and points of reflection while looking at Bible passages and sharing personal stories. My favorite quote of the book is, “I think that’s the heart of truly good work. Far from being a way to prove I am worthy of love, good work flows from Belovedness.”

A great read about what we value. Justin does an incredible job of bringing us along with his stories of parenthood, being a boy, and working in ministry. I laughed out loud multiple times in the first several pages.

Justin McRoberts is an author, coach, speaker, and songwriter. "Sacred Strides: The Journey to Belovedness in Work and Rest" is, at least for me, both spiritual guide and memoir that encourages in a fresh way finding a balance between work and sabbath rest.

As a full-time artist and spiritual guide, McRoberts documents clearly his own experiences in dealing with the tension between "The Hustle" and "Self Care." In a world that seems to stress the value of one or the other, McRoberts leans into the idea of gaining an appreciation for both.

Justin says, "My natural posture is not work, nor is my natural posture rest. My natural posture is belovedness, and both work and rest spring from my belovedness, and return me to it."

If I struggled at times with "Sacred Strides," and I did, it was because at times it feels to me like McRoberts writes from a knowledge and experience that others may not have and doesn't always meet the reader where they are.

For example, "What is belovedness?" It's central to "Sacred Strides" yet by the end I found myself still struggling to identify how McRoberts sees it and its relationship to how both work and rest spring from it. I nearly always got the sense that McRoberts understood it himself, however, it never came to life for me and, as such, the core of "Sacred Strides" often feels like a vague concept rather than living and breathing spiritual discipline.

Now then, does this mean I didn't enjoy "Sacred Strides?" Not at all. I would like to think that a 4-star rating indicates that despite some core challenges in relating to the material that I found myself engaged with and appreciative of "Sacred Strides." In fact, it speaks volumes about McRoberts that despite my occasional difficulty connecting more deeply to his material that I found myself immensely embracing his often humorous and poignant stories illustrating that Sabbath is a gift and a practice that frees us from the anxiety of proving ourselves and that we are both loved and valued by God for who and whose we are rather than for what we do.

McRoberts finds that rest is not the absence of work but what helps to give our work true meaning. Even now, I find myself reflecting upon this insight.

As I wound down my time with "Sacred Strides," I couldn't help but feel it would be a wonderful companion for those who appreciate Walter Brueggemann's "Sabbath as Resistance," a book that McRoberts himself references and a book with which I was able to form a stronger relationship.

A valuable discussion for anyone who struggles with finding that balance with work and rest, "Sacred Strides" is an accessible, engaging memoir-tinged spiritual guide that also utilizes key questions and conversation starters at the end of each chapter that will help each reader further explore these ideas both internally and externally.