Rest as the Foundation for New Beginnings| The Sunday Sabbath #11
“By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done.” — Genesis 2:2-3
Dear Friend,
Here we are in the first full week of a new year, and if you’re anything like me, you might be feeling the weight of expectation. The world around us insists that January 1st should come with resolutions, detailed plans, and immediate action. We’re supposed to hit the ground running, goals already mapped out, vision boards complete, word counts committed to, and launches planned.
But what if that’s not the pattern God modeled for us?
Look at Genesis 2 with fresh eyes. God doesn’t rush from creation into more creation. He doesn’t immediately begin a new project the moment the first one is finished. Instead, He does something radical: He rests. He pauses. He looks at what He’s made, calls it good, and stops.
And then—and this is crucial—He blesses the rest. He makes it holy.
The rest isn’t an afterthought. It’s not a reward for productivity. It’s not even just recovery from the work of creation. The rest itself becomes sacred ground, set apart, blessed. God is teaching us something profound here: rest isn’t just what comes after creation. Rest is the foundation for what comes next.
Think about it. Before God began any new work in Scripture, there was rest. Before Jesus began His public ministry, He withdrew to the wilderness for forty days. Before major decisions, He slipped away to pray, to be still, to rest in His Father’s presence. Luke 5:16 tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Not occasionally. Often.
If Jesus—fully God and fully man—needed to withdraw and rest before beginning new phases of ministry, how much more do we?
I’ll be honest with you: I still haven’t set any goals for 2026. And I don’t plan to until later in January, if at all. For years, I’ve followed the pattern our culture dictates—spend December planning, have everything mapped out by January 1st, hit the ground running on the 2nd. And for years, I’ve watched those carefully laid plans go completely off the rails by February, sending me into a spiral of feeling like a failure before the year has barely begun.
This year, I’m choosing something different. I’m choosing rest as my foundation.
I’m holding my plans with an open hand, leaving room for God to redirect me as He sees fit. I’m giving myself permission to be fluid, to pivot, to let the year unfold rather than trying to force it into submission. Because here’s what I’ve learned: when I build on a foundation of frantic planning and immediate action, the whole structure is shaky. But when I build on a foundation of rest—of seeking God first, of listening before acting, of being still before moving—the work that follows is more solid, more sustainable, more aligned with what He’s actually calling me to do.
This doesn’t mean I won’t plan. It doesn’t mean I won’t work. It means I’m refusing to let the world’s timeline dictate my rhythm. It means I’m trusting that God’s pattern—rest before creation, Sabbath before new beginnings—is wiser than our cultural obsession with instant productivity.
Maybe your carefully laid plans don’t always unfold as expected either. Maybe you’ve felt that same pressure to have it all figured out by now. Maybe you’re exhausted from trying to run a race you weren’t meant to start yet.
What if this week, instead of frantically planning, you rested? What if you let yourself be still and listen before you act? What if you trusted that rest isn’t wasted time, but sacred preparation for whatever God has next?
The seventh day came before the eighth. Rest precedes new beginnings. This is the pattern of creation itself.
So here in this first full week of January, I’m inviting you to join me in the sacred pause. To resist the pressure to have it all figured out. To trust that God is working even in—especially in—the rest.
Invitation for the Week
This week, practice the sacred pause before your own new beginnings. Instead of rushing to plan and produce, spend time in God’s presence asking what He wants to do in and through you this year. Journal, pray, rest, listen. Let the foundation be solid before you build.
Consider setting aside time each day this week—even just 10 minutes—to sit in silence before God. No agenda, no productivity goals. Just presence. Just rest. Let Him show you what matters most before you commit to everything that seems urgent.
Reflection Questions
What pressure are you feeling to have everything planned and figured out already? Where is that pressure coming from?
When you think about building your year on a foundation of rest rather than frantic planning, what emotions come up? Resistance? Relief? Fear? Hope?
What would it look like to hold your plans with an open hand, leaving room for God to redirect you?
A Sabbath Prayer
Father,
Thank You for modeling rest for us. Thank You for making it holy, for blessing it, for showing us that it’s not just recovery but a foundation. Forgive me for the times I’ve rushed past rest, believing the lie that immediate action is more valuable than sacred pause.
This week, this month, this year—I want to build on the foundation You’ve shown me. Help me resist the pressure to have it all figured out right now. Teach me to hold my plans with an open hand, to listen before I act, to rest before I create.
I trust that You are working even in the stillness. I trust that Your timing is perfect. I trust that rest isn’t wasted, but sacred preparation for whatever You have next.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
The Story Sanctuary
Welcome to The Story Sanctuary! This is where I share all things books - my latest releases, stories I’m loving, and recommendations from fellow authors whose work inspires me. Think of this as our cozy corner where stories and Sabbath rest intersect, and reading is always an act of soul care.
What I’m Reading: Building a Foundation of Biblical Hospitality
As we talk about rest as a foundation for new beginnings, I want to share something I’m building into my own life this year: a deeper understanding of biblical hospitality and what it means to open our home to family, friends, and strangers who become friends.
These aren’t my “new year goals”—they’re books I’m reading as part of my sacred pause, letting God teach me about creating spaces of welcome and rest, both in my home and in my life. Because here’s the thing: you can’t offer true hospitality—whether physical or digital—if you’re running on empty. Rest and hospitality are deeply connected. We can only welcome others well when we’ve first learned to rest well ourselves.
Here’s what’s in my stack:
Theology of Home: Finding The Eternal in the Everyday
This book has been teaching me to see my home—and the rhythms within it—as sacred space. It’s about finding God in the ordinary moments of homemaking, which feels like the perfect companion to building a year on rest and intentionality.
Theology of Home 2: The Spiritual Art of Homemaking
The companion to the first book, diving deeper into the spiritual disciplines hidden in daily domestic life. I’m learning that homemaking itself can be a form of rest when we stop trying to make it performative and let it become worship.
The Simplest Way to Change the World: Biblical Hospitality As A Way of Life
This one is challenging everything I thought hospitality had to be. It’s not about Pinterest-perfect presentations—it’s about opening your life, not just your home. And that kind of radical welcome requires a foundation of rest and security in who God has made you to be.
Extraordinary Hospitality for Ordinary Christians: A Radical Approach to Preparing Your Heart & Home for Gospel-Centered Community
The title says it all—this is for ordinary Christians, not just those with the gift of hospitality. It’s teaching me that hospitality is less about what you offer and more about the heart with which you offer it. And that starts with resting in God’s acceptance of me, so I can extend that same grace to others.
These books are shaping how I think about creating space—in my home, in my ministry, in my creative work—that truly welcomes and nourishes others. And it all starts with the foundation we’re talking about today: rest.
Join Me in The Creative Corner
Speaking of creating space and rest, I want to invite you to my newly launched section called The Creative Corner! This is where I’m sharing video content about what I’m reading, writing, consuming, and creating.
I love making videos, and I’m experimenting with creating that content here on Substack instead of YouTube. It’s a more intimate, more direct connection with you, and honestly? It feels like a better fit for the soft, sacred, slow life I’m building.
I’ve already shared two videos this week:
Substack Video Newbie TAG - Where I introduce myself and explain why I’m bringing video content to Substack
January TBR (To Be Read) - A peek at what I’m planning to read this month (including those hospitality books!)
Following along with my posts in The Creative Corner is a great way to see my real-time thoughts on what I’m reading and consuming, to watch my creative process unfold, and to join me in the messy, beautiful work of building a creative life on a foundation of rest.
Closing
As we begin this new year together, I’m so grateful you’re here in this community. Thank you for choosing rest over rush, for trusting that God’s patterns are wiser than our culture’s pressures, for building your life on the solid foundation of Sabbath before new beginnings.
May this week be one of sacred pause for you. May you hear God’s voice in the stillness. And may you trust that rest is not wasted time, but holy preparation for whatever He has next.
With you in the garden,
Antonisha
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Beautifully timed piece on rest and rhythm. The idea that rest isn't recovery but actual foundation is something i've been wrestling with lately, especially watching how January always seems to collapse under its own ambition. It's wild how we've somehow convinced ourselves that pausing means falling behind when the creation pattern itself suggests otherswise.