Rhythms for Life: Spiritual Practices for Who God Made You to Be Paperback – September 29, 2020

Most books like this make you want to crawl in a hole after assessing how arhythmic your life is. This author instead meets you in your pit and makes crawling out seem desirable and doable.Part of his genius is he comes in the side door, starting with foundational concepts like identity, roles and vocation. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn more about who they are and why they do what they do? The rhythms become a means to an end of discovering and living more fully into who God has made you to be.I appreciate how the author speaks as a fellow traveler. He leads from a place of vulnerability both acknowledging his successes but also naming his ongoing struggles. He talks to you, not at you, as one who’s not yet arrived but is still eager to get there and bring you along with him.In our current season where very few things are normal and predictable I found this book stabilizing and freeing as I ponder who and Whose I am and how I live this life I’ve been given.Here are some quotes I found helpful.“The goal is to focus on the essential practices that respect your current season of life and help you become the person God has made you to be.”“We are loved by Christ and everything we do flows from here. There is nothing we need to do to be accepted by him. And whatever we may do for him - whatever discipline or habit we embrace - we do because we are already loved and accepted. Rather than completing a checklist of spiritual tasks, we are spurred onward and upward by the delight of God’s presence. This new motivation can become the heartbeat of all our spiritual practices.”“The goal isn’t discipline for discipline’s sake. It is rather to cultivate our union with Christ and to anchor ourselves in the freedom of the gospel.”

We got this for our son's baptism, and it's so practical AND helps teens with spiritual practices. We're going to buy it for others' baptism gifts too.

This book provides a fresh, challenging look at spiritual disciplines and practices but through the lens of our spiritual identity in Christ. What I liked is that the chapters weren't loaded down with heavy academic or theological vocabulary, or religious Christian-speak. They were easy to read and digest, but still had a lot of depth and great ideas to think through. I also really appreciated how each chapter ended with strong, soul searching questions, designed to make you really chew on the presented ideas and apply them to your own life. Because it's easy to get a book like this, read it, and walk away basically unchanged. But if you sit down and take the time to work through the closing questions, I think this book has the potential to really shake you up in the best way.

Great overview. Tons of very easy to understand and apply information. I love how it’s divided into inward, outward, upward, with ward. It makes it much easier to understand and separate each practice. It also shows the need to practice in each way (in, out, up, with) for a balanced life rhythm. I love how this is a spring board towards more in-depth study. It introduces the reader and gives them a taste of each rhythm. Then they can go and dive deeper at their own pace. I love the practicality of sharing his rhythms as well as another persons rhythm. Love the inclusion of the persons vocation/life stage too. Helps me get a good picture of what each might look like for me. Great book. Easy to read. A lot of personal stories make this book really relatable and encouraging.I received a digital copy of this book from netgalley. I was in no way required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

I am a trained spiritual director and have read numerous books on the broad subject of spiritual formation and the tighter subject of crafting a rule of life. This book is one of the best! I am also a leader of Christian missionaries. I plan to use this book in our organizational spiritual formation process. If you are wanting to learn how crafting a rule of life can be helpful in your spiritual formation, start with this book!

Absolutely loved this book. I’ve always struggled with spiritual disciplines, like many people I know. What I really appreciated about this book is that instead of the typical one size fits all approach to spiritual disciplines, Rhythms for Life helps you explore how you most naturally connect with God. It’s practical and encouraging, and most of all full of wisdom. I am so grateful for this book!

Alastair writes with ease as he discusses what can be complicated topics concerning spiritual discipline, vocation and calling. Rhythms for Life is a book or more accurately, a life tool that you can use to map out practical steps in your relationships with others and God. In a time of chaos, this book helps to ground you and define what is really important in life.

The book is written simply with practical advice. I love the chapter guides to help build out a personal plan for new life rhythms. It's a well thought out book. Truly grateful

I’ve been thinking about rhythms a lot in 2020. Given all the disruption and challenges of this year, I’m sure all of our rhythms were thrown for a loop. And it made me realize that my old rhythms weren’t working as well as I thought anyways. That’s why I’m so grateful for this timely and accessible book by Alastair Sterne. It does a deep dive first on our identity, before guiding us into rhythms for life––rhythms that can lead to greater flourishing and thriving and wholeness.As a pastor I read a lot of books on "spiritual formation" (the process of being made into the image of Jesus for the sake of others). Alastair's book is easily one of the best ones, in particular for his emphasis on discovering your identity first and then identifying spiritual practices that best align with that. Far too many books around this topic dive right into the spiritual practices without giving you space to explore who you actually are. That can result in ill-fitting spiritual practices or recommendations. And so like an expert tailor, Alastair guides you into finding spiritual practices that are well-fitting for you and make you want to try them on regularly.This book is also eminently practical: each chapter you are given space to reflect and engage with the content. And the content builds upon each chapter so that you are guided along in a way that makes sense and is fruitful.All in all this book is filled with wisdom and warmth. Alastair invites us to read the book slowly and with others. I'm benefitting from engaging with the book that way. And I think you'll benefit too by taking up the invitation.

Sterne’s writing is deeply pastoral, and it will inspire and urge you to actually take action to grow in becoming more like Jesus and impacting the world.Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? Have you ever reflected on your talents and values? What about your vocation? These are big questions, and Rhythms for Life helps you gain clarity on the details of who God made you to be - your personality, talents, spiritual gifts, vocation, etc. When you complete the thoughtful worksheets in the book, you will have tailor-made, intentional spiritual practices that fit YOUR personality and season of life.This is one of my favourite quotes from the book: “The issue for many people is not whether they can discipline themselves in an area. The issue is whether their vision is big enough to be worthy of sacrifice. If we lack discipline when it comes to spiritual practices, sometimes it’s because our vision of God is too small.” (p. 113)

This is a great read; particularly, if you take the time to reflect and note your thoughts at the end of each chapter, you will find this to be an inspiring, challenging and rewarding book. It will encourage you to reflect on your current relationship with God, your family, friends and your work. It asks some very challenging questions about how you are spending your time and whether or not you are investing your time, talents and energy in a way that is reflective of what you say your values and beliefs are. It was a great encouragement for me, as it gave me an opportunity to refocus on the year ahead.

Alastair and the Church community of St. Peter's Fireside in Vancouver have given us all a great gift in 'Rhythms for Life.' With loving wisdom, insight, and compassion, we are invited to look deeply at our lives and how we may grow into the particular life that God has planned for us in all its riches and graces. The ancient Church image for living by 'a Rule' is that of a Tressel that enables the vine to grow in the right direction. Living in our complex and disconnected age presents many challenges when it comes to determining how to live. Let this book become your companion and guide along your life's journey, helping you grow in the right direction and in community with others who are seeking to live fully and freely the life that God had ordained for them. This is what Jesus calls, 'Life in all its fullness.'

Alastair writes with wisdom and compassion as he shows readers how they relate to God. Alastair writes on the topics of identity, personality, and values—to name a few—and demonstrates how these topics are influential to the rhythm that humanity moves through life with. Throughout the book, Alastair not only writes to us but with us as he prompts self-reflection and guiding questions allowing readers to establish a rhythm tailored to their own life. 'Rhythms for Life' is a necessary read in 21st Century Western Culture as it dismantles sociocultural-acclaimed ideas of hustling, self-sufficiency, individualism, anti- and post-social behaviour, speed, and 'instant culture.' It is a refreshing and nourishing read for women and men of all ages and backgrounds. In short, buy it. Read it. Share it.