Deep Breathing for the Soul

A big thank you to all of your who responded to the free book offer in my Connecting newsletter. Zondervan is generously sending out review copies to the first 25 responders, and they should be receiving their books soon.
For those of you who missed out on that give-away, you can read the introduction and first three chapters for FREE online by clicking here. I’d love to have you take a look and tell me what you think. And please forward the link to the free chapters to your friends.

A few days ago, a group of readers and I gathered for the first “Rest event.” Thanks to my assistant Wendy Rosman, we enjoyed a terrific lunch at the Inverness Golf Club. Over lunch, we had a great discussion about Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity.

The group had great things to say about the book. A number of them noted that Rest is a book that invites you to practice Sabbath, in a “no guilt, no legalism” way.

Here’s what one reviewer said about the book: “I love that she emphasizes the freedom of Sabbath; that it is not a list of unrealistic or legalistic rules, but an encouragement to stop and recognize and celebrate God’s place in our lives, our relationships, our jobs, and our world in whatever ways we can. While still keeping her characteristic gentle voice, Kent brings the reader to realize that Christians need to move beyond a life where our relationships with God are pushed into a convenient corner as we go through the busy-ness of our days. Sabbath, Kent teaches, “is a day to rest and refresh ourselves, but it is so much more. It is a day to remember. Our remembering creation, deliverance and salvation points us toward remembering the deep love God has for us.”

While the book officially releases on Jan. 1, you can pre-order it from on-line sellers. Christianbook.com, where a number of readers who got advanced copies have put reviews, says that orders will ship “on or around Dec. 5″ which is today. Click here to read reviews or order the book. You can also order Rest, starting today, by calling Zondervan Publishing’s Church Source department at 800-727-3480.

Although it won’t be in bookstores until January 1, 2009, people are already talking about “Rest: Living in Sabbath Simplicity,” my new book with Zondervan. Just today I had a pastor call me and ask me to speak on Sabbath!

The first pre-publication reviews are coming in, and I wanted to say thank you to the reviewers, and share their response with you.
Kathi Macias , author of BEYOND ME: Living a You-First Life in a Me-First World,  said this: “Rest. The very simplicity and brevity of the title speaks volumes. It catches my attention and calls me to come aside and take a deep breath and reflect on what’s important—and to allow myself to begin to walk and live in that sweet place of rest and peace. Then I open the book and begin to read the author’s very personal and very human accounts of her everyday life and her everyday struggles to be a Sabbath-keeper—and I am reminded of what that really means, rather than what any form of legalism might try to make it.

Keri Wyatt Kent is one of those authors who knows how to woo with words, teach by example, and challenge with love. By the time I got to the end of the book, I couldn’t wait to dive into the “reading group guide” and sort through the questions that were already stirring inside me. What an excellent and “restful” read this was, one that I highly recommend to all who know that life is just too busy and too complicated not to set aside and practice a Sabbath rest that will refresh, renew, and reconnect us to those relationships with God and others that make our living worthwhile….”

Author Mary E. DeMuth  had this to say: “Keri Wyatt Kent has woven a beautiful tribute to resting and pays great homage to the Sabbath we so often ignore and misunderstand. Practical, intelligent, and winsomely inviting, Rest will change the way you look at your hectic life and instill in you a longing to set aside precious time to simply be.”
Mary’s books include Authentic Parenting in a Postmodern Culture and the new novel, Daisy Chain

Those of you who signed up via this blog a few weeks ago to receive a review copy should be getting it soon, if you have not yet already. Remember, you need to read the book, then post a review on your blog, and with an on-line bookseller. I found out today that amazon.com does not let readers review books before they are published, but www.christianbook.com does. So if you’re reviewing REST, please post a review at www.christianbook.com.  then when the book releases you can copy your review into amazon.
And send me a copy so I can put it on this blog, along with a link to your website or blog. Those who post reviews and let me know about it will receive a free copy of Rest when it releases.

Thanks Mary and Kathi for your kind words about this book.

Hey, if you are looking for tips on simplifying your life, check out www.vickyandjen.com, a great website with podcast on “what really matters.” They’ve got great tips on keeping life and family simple, here’s a great reason to go visit their site and listen to their podcast: they’re giving away a great “parenting pack” that includes lots of goodies, including a copy of my book Breathe.

Just click here to straight to the contest page. And let them know that I sent you!

Okay, we have our winners!

life2enjoy and camille 01

Congratulations! Your names were drawn and you each win a free copy of Oxygen. Lok for an e-mail from me with details!

For those who didn’t win (or didn’t enter!) you may want to pick up a copy of Oxygen on amazon or on my website!

And I hope all of you will stop back again soon–and tell your friends to visit as well. We’ll have more book give aways in the weeks to come!

Thanks for your inspiring comments.