Sabbath
by Giles Armstrong | President
God has richly blessed in 2021 despite the difficult challenges of Covid.
We are thankful for new ministry partners along with being able to resume full retreats starting in May.
We are seeing a greater need than ever as those in ministry have experienced unprecedented pressures through this pandemic. No doubt you have also experienced increased pressures and problems. More than ever, we see the need for God’s life-giving rhythms of Sabbath. Of all the 10 commandments, keeping the Sabbath is often the one taken most lightly. Against the other commandments like, “Thou shall not kill,” “Thou shall not steal,” and “Do not commit adultery,” “Remember to observe the Sabbath day” seems rather mild and innocuous, yet nothing could be further from the truth!
The problem is that when we hear the word “Sabbath,” instead of thinking rest, we hear rules and regulations. In reality, Sabbath rest is God’s gift. You may be asking “How can we afford Sabbath rest in the midst of the craziness of modern life?” Perhaps the better question is, “How can we afford to IGNORE the Sabbath rest in the midst of the craziness of modern life?” If we would value God’s gift of Sabbath rest enough to embrace it, we would discover the key to living a life of tranquility even in the midst of turmoil. When we rediscover God’s gift of the Sabbath, we rediscover rest.
In our modern world of more and more, go and go, do and do, the margins become blurred and our boundaries erased. God our Father created us and knows our limitations, He knows our need for boundaries especially when it comes to work. Many of us choose to ignore this God-given gift, the blessing of boundaries. We see them not as rest but restriction.
God gives us boundaries regarding work to keep work in its proper place. His boundaries keep us from becoming “human doings” and allow us to become the “human beings” that He created and intended us to be. Sabbath is a life-giving boundary marker meant to be a guardrail to keep life from consuming us.
So why do we keep turning to work to find our worth? Because we love to be depended on; it makes us feel needed and fulfills our deepest need to be wanted. Today work has become our way of filling our want need; there are millions of people working to be wanted. The harder we run on this hamster wheel of deceit, the deeper our desire to be wanted becomes and the harder we work.
The sad truth is that many of us are working for what God has already given because Sabbath is all about being wanted. We have a Creator that wants us so much that He has created a margin for us to do nothing but be with Him and be wanted. When we honor The Lord and take a day out to be with Him, it helps to re-orient us away from our consumer culture and toward our Creator.
Sabbath was given to create an order to our lives, to give a weekly rhythm to life. Sabbath is what carves order out of the chaos, it brings peace into our present. Sabbath quiets the storms of self and circumstance, stilling us before our Savior. Our God longs for you to be reminded weekly that He is in control and He desires for you to remove yourself from steering your life, your calendar, and your schedule. It is a day of reassurance of His sovereignty in all things. Sabbath is about trading work for worship.
So, what is Sabbath to you? What are you resting in?
Thank you for supporting SonScape and allowing us to pour into and encourage those in ministry during these challenging times.
Pandemic Challenges and An Opportunity
by Rob and Shini Abraham | International Retreat Leaders
Pastors and missionaries need our retreats more than ever before! Anxiety and depression are just two of the challenges pastors report they’ve struggled with through the pandemic. One out of two pastors say they have felt helpless, lonely, and have considered quitting ministry through lockdowns and restrictions (Barna Group, 2021). The challenge of finding new ways to “be the church” have been both stressful and exciting. Technological ways of gathering have been a challenge for a body used to gathering in person. But as a result, new doors have opened for groups such as seniors in nursing homes, prisoners, or the differently abled to attend church services through Zoom.
While some of our international retreats had to be canceled this year, we are excited that doors have opened for retreats to resume in September and October in Colombia. SonScape’s Spanish Retreat Team is preparing to lead these retreats under continuing pandemic and political tensions in the country. We need your prayers and support!
Among paradigm shifts that have happened through the pandemic, we are finding that pastors and missionaries, who already live sacrificial lives, are struggling more than ever to make ends meet. Many have sacrificed their personal resources in caring for their congregations or teams. As Christian workers face the harsh realities caused by loss of finances due to the pandemic and increasing inflation, they are simply unable to afford our retreats which they desperately need. For example, a retreat fee that was once “affordable” in Colombia now ranges from 50-150% of a pastor’s monthly salary, depending on fluctuating income levels and inflation. We would like to ease this burden by offering scholarships to pastors and missionaries to come to our retreats. Would you pray along with us and consider partnering with us in making our retreats accessible to those who serve faithfully around the world?
To donate, go to: SonScape International; click on Donate Now.
The SonScape Experience
by Jennifer Norman, SonScape Alumna
This week has been transformational for my soul. As a pastor’s wife with young kids at home and teaching full time, I knew that all was not well with my soul, but I didn’t have the time margin or emotional capacity to begin to attend to my growing angst… there were so many fires to attend to every week that I failed to notice how my own passion had faded. I came to SonScape knowing I had lost my First Love but unsure how I would truly be intimate with Him again.
The holistic care of SonScape this week was exactly what the Lord used to draw me back to Himself. The accommodations offered exactly what I needed – beauty, simplicty, comfort, and opportunities for playing and relaxing. The delicious food and kind attentiveness of the hosts allowed my body to relax and be rejuvenated. With my physical needs so abundantly met, my mind began to settle and hope began to build deep down in my inner being. The rich time of teaching, meaningful discussions, and comparison-free fellowship was full of empathy – how rare! The conversations in The Grace Place were some of the most trajectory shifting I’ve had in over a decade. I started crying on the third morning and I couldn’t stop for days. The process of resting and then to gently yet systematically move through the losses, lies, and wounds was astounding.
Like I said, I knew I had lost intimacy and was hurting, but I didn’t know how to allow Jesus to meet and free me. My Savior so gently freed me this week. At home, silence and solitude feel more like a burden instead of a thing I know I should do but hadn’t made time for. At SonScape, they are an invitation to a deep communion with God. I’m free and equipped and excited to go back to what the Lord has for me as a woman who has, yet again, been transformed by grace.
All Staff Gathering
In August, the entire SonScape staff gathered for a day of prayer, training, and fellowship guided by Giles and Angel Armstrong. God has blessed SonScape with a remarkable group of people who are committed to caring for pastoral and missionary couples/singles. It was a day of laughter, sharing, and prayer for each other as well as for the ministry as a whole. It was so good to be together.
The SonScape Team
Larry and Barbara Magnuson, John and Becci Wood, Rob and Shini Abraham, Giles and Angel Armstrong,
Bob and Jeanne Blahnik, Ken and Sandy Moore, Perry and Jeanien Meyer, Becky VanHook
Other Info . . .
God is working in powerful ways during our retreats. If you are wanting to attend a retreat yet this year, register now as we only have a few openings left. If a retreat this fall/winter doesn’t fit your schedule, our 2022 calendar is now up on the website. Check it out!
SonScape Retreats will be increasing our retreat fees . . . something we haven’t done for the past 10 years! Starting in 2022, our retreat fee will go up by $255. But . . . if you sign up by December 31, 2021 for a retreat in January through April of 2022, you can lock in the 2021 rate of $1995!