We live in one of the most hurried cultures in the history of mankind. Some say it's a part of who we are and some say "busy" is our way of life.

But do we really have to live like this?

Recently I had the privilege of being introduced to a book by Alan Fadling called "An Unhurried Life: Following Jesus' Rhythms of Work and Rest" and it immediately grabbed my attention.

From the first chapter, I knew that this book was going to be one of those books that God wanted to use in my life to teach me some valuable lessons about rest, work, and abiding in Jesus. The subtitle truly is the premise of the book: learning to follow Jesus' rhythms of work and rest and how we, as His followers, should imitate Jesus' rhythms in order to live the "pace of grace" as Fadling puts it.

One of my favorite quotes comes from chapter one when Fadling is talking about how the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40) wasn't to get more stuff done, but rather to love Him with all we are and to extend that love to others. He says "love isn't rushed" and goes on to say that "In [our] preoccupation with efficiency, [we] miss much that God wants to do in [our] life and say to [us] in the moment. Hurry rushes towards the destination and fails to enjoy the journey."

Most importantly, the content in this book opened my eyes to many of my personal blind spots and, more specifically, helped me unveil two idols I didn't know I had: efficiency and productivity.

Efficiency and productivity are celebrated and worshiped in our culture and I had no idea how deeply entrenched they were in my heart and my rhythms of life as well. Fadling's book does an excellent job casting a biblical vision for what an unhurried life can and should look like because Jesus Himself said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Therefore, if my life is hurried and over-burdened, who's fault is that? I'll give you a clue: it's not Jesus.

Fadling goes in depth on many valuable topics related to our spiritual formation and encourages us to rethink those rhythms in light of Jesus' example. Everything from prayer, rest, work, Sabbath, relationships, apprenticeship, suffering, and ministry are all biblically and thoughtfully addressed in detail with Fadling inviting the reader into his own personal journey to live an unhurried life too.

The content of "An Unhurried Life" has dramatically changed the way I view my work and my rest and I'm so grateful a friend recommended this book to me. If you feel the internal anxiety of busyness on a regular basis, this book is for you. If you've ever said: "I'm just too busy", this book is for you. Honestly, I don't think there's a single person that doesn't need to hear what Fadling has to say on this incredibly relevant topic today: living an unhurried life. If you only read one book this year I'd highly recommend it be this one.

To get a taste of some of the content of the book, check out this video.

If you do read the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts; please leave a comment with your review as well!

For the Kingdom,
Brett

MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alan Fadling also leads workshops and seminars related to unhurried living and spiritual formation. He has also has recently released a new book called "The Unhurried Leader: The Lasting Fruit of Daily Influence" which is now on sale and is already on my desk and on my list to read this year as well.

Alan and his wife, Gem, are the founders of Unhurried Living and their mission is to help Christians learn to rest deeper, live fuller, and lead better. They have free resources and free courses related to unhurried living and they do a regular podcast that is very helpful and personal as well that I'd highly recommend! You can also find Unhurried Living on Facebook.