“God In My Everything” is a book written by Ken Shigematsu, the Senior Pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC. This book is designed to assist readers in assessing their current lives. The authour provides guidance in creating “rules” or “rhythms” for living. The authour explains that

“a rule of life is simply a rhythm of practices that empowers us to live well and grow more like Jesus by helping us experience God in everything … The purpose of the rule, in this sense, is not to be harsh or confining. It is to cultivate fruit. It serves as a pattern for life that enables us to experience the presence of Jesus in each moment of our lives, empowering us to become people who embody his love to others”(pg.18-21).

The concept is simple – create a rule for your life that puts you in a posture of awareness as a child of God that you might recognize God at work. The authour has provided a helpful list of areas that one may focus on and create rules for, such as prayer, Sabbath, work, body, money, family or sacred reading. Reading through the book one may discover multiple areas of life to create rules. The authour encourages readers to take time by implementing one rule at a time before adding another rule.

September is by far one of my favourite months of the year. It marks the end of summer and the final weekends away up north. It concludes the trips to camp, the weeks of vacation and it ushers in new routines, new schedules and a daunting list of “to-do’s”. What I love most though is that as routines change and my schedules alter I’m forced to confront it all and attempt to fit as much into my days and weeks as humanly possible. It also forces me to look over the next year and think about what I want my life to look like, where I want to be by the end of the year and all the things I wish to accomplish. Every year for the past 10yrs I have created a list of goals. I write them in August or September and then review the list again in December to see if I’m on track to accomplishing everything by June. My goals change year to year but some of them always remain the same. I have goals to laugh every day, to volunteer once a month, to make 5 new friends and to deepen the relationships I have with existing friends. The list goes on and on. The fall allows us to set goals, assess our current patterns of behaviour and make changes where needed. Yet sometimes this feels overwhelming. To think about every aspect of our lives and attempt to change it all in a 24hr period can feel exhausting and daunting. If you’re looking to kick start your year with new routines, new patterns and new rhythms then I recommend you consider reading “God In My Everything”.

September brings new routines and new beginnings for families and so it is a very natural time to create new rhythms and patterns.  It’s also a natural time for church communities to set up new practices, routines and events that allow for the church to better connect with the community and for the community to better connect with one another. We’ve compiled a few suggested ideas for families and churches looking to create new healthy rhythms to be in a posture that may allow more awareness of God’s presence in the midst of everything.

Review Written by Kaitlyn Kirkwood, Next Generation Admin Assistant