70 Ways to Spend your Sabbath

Rest. We are a stressed-out culture, and we all want to feel less stressed and more relaxed. And there are two extremes. There are the people that have dove so deep into self-care/rest culture that there is a trend called bed rotting, and then there are the people that are so busy they have to schedule a sneeze, let alone time for rest. Needless to say, this is one of the buckets of life that we have been neglecting ever since stores started being open all 7 days a week.

So where and how do we start? Today, I’m giving you all a list of 70 ways to spend your sabbath. I’m hoping it will give you some practical ways to add some rest to your life. God and science tells us that a full day of rest is to our benefit, but it may feel like an impossible task at this moment. That’s ok. Start with one thing on this list. Make it an appointment every week. Then add another and another until you’ve built up a full day.

70 Ways to Spend Your Sabbath

Take a walk or hike in nature.
Read the Bible alone.
Read the Bible with other people. Talk about the good things you’ve read and all the good things God has done in the past week.
Play with children for as long as they want to play. Take your eye off the time.
Eat outdoors.
Eat with friends.
Listen to meaningful worship songs and practice playing or singing them if you are inclined.
Read a book just for fun.
Phone a friend.
Sit and enjoy the silence.
Invite a friend over for a beverage and a chat.
Watch the sunset.
Lie in the grass under a tree.
Give someone you love a massage.
Pray.
Write a letter to someone and walk to the post office or mailbox.
Enjoy a meal with friends, family, or neighbors.
Leave the chores till tomorrow. Every task you notice or can think of that needs doing, write it down on a piece of paper. Put the form in a drawer labeled “tomorrow.”
Make some water splash – in a pool, at the beach, in a bathtub, in a puddle.
Go stargazing.
Read a book in a hammock.
Kick leaves.
Kick a ball in a non-competitive way.
Go to bed early.
Take a nap.
Get up early.
Watch the sunrise.
Blow some bubbles.
Eat a cooked breakfast or brunch with your best friend.
Fly a kite.
Do an activity you enjoy doing.
Paint a picture on a rock.
Play a game with friends or family.
Pick some flowers and decorate your house.
Send a friend a verse from the Bible that has encouraged you this week.
Stand outside in the rain.
Stop and smell some flowers and notice some birds.
Go cloud-watching.
Spend time with your pet(s).
See how long you can go without looking at your phone.
Walk around barefoot.
Bake a cake and eat it alone or with people you love.
Watch water flow.
Go for a walk at dawn.
Say “yes” when someone younger than you asks you to spend time with them.
Decide on off-limit topics that veer you out of peace and comfort and into stress and worry.
Make a boat out of some leaves and sticks and float it down a creek.
Set a timer for five minutes.
Watch the sunset and the stars come out.
Teach someone something they want to know.
Sit and take notice of your body. Take deep breaths and feel how your body works. Look at your skin and the freckles and marks unique to you. Look at your hair and nose, down to your toes—marvel at how God made unique you.
Give away something you haven’t used since this time last year. Could you resist the temptation to replace it?
Use cookie cutters for baking some cookies.
Read a book to someone.
Watch a spider weave a web.
Tell someone you love them and mean it.
Practice a new language.
Play with an animal.
Light candles at mealtime.
Write out your favorite Bible verse in calligraphy.
Let someone else have the last say in a conversation.
Make a baby giggle and smile.
Eat something you have cooked slowly.
Listen to the sound of rain.
Get your hands dirty with actual dirt.
Listen for birds chirping.
Wrap a present.
Do a book swap with someone.
Look at photos and albums, and watch old home videos, too.
Scratch someone’s back without expecting them to scratch your back in return.