Buy A Cabin: The Theology and Practice of Rest

by Robert L Franck

Many Christians do not rest well for the best of reasons—a desire to be a good steward, a zeal in serving God, a sense of urgency and of the shortness of life. But neglecting rest always costs more than you save. You, your family, your church and your job will all suffer for it. You cannot cheat on rest.Proper rest begins with understanding what rest is not. Rest is not work. Rest is not idleness. Rest is not optional. Rest is not “unspiritual.” And rest is not specified under the New Covenant as it was under the Old Covenant. What is it? Rest is a reflection of the image of God. Rest is a blessing from God. Rest is a means to glorify God. Rest is refreshment from work. Rest is a multiplier of work.Such distinctions become clear as the theme of rest is traced through the Bible in the first section of the book. Upon this foundation, the second section provides practical observations about the dynamics of rest and the unique challenges of our time. The final section of the book illustrates the practice of rest.And whether you buy one or not, you should enjoy reading about the author’s cabin experiences.

233 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2015

Reviews

[Blythe · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s not often that I just. can’t. finish. a book. I really, really wanted to like this book!! I love the premise and everything about the idea! But the author’s tone was quite condescending to the point of distraction, and I finally gave myself permission to shelve the book. Perhaps if I knew the author I wouldn’t have this perception? Also, his style is really wordy; he is one of those writers who takes a chapter to say what I feel could be said in a paragraph or two. Maybe some folks’ enjoy this style, but it’s not my cup of tea. All of this to say, I didn’t read anything I disagreed with—I just disagreed with his tone and how he relates to the reader.

[Lisa Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book when I read it 4 years ago. I just finished reading it a second time and still recommend it! I can see how other reviewers thought his tone was condescending, but I didn't take it that way at all. He has a sense of humor that comes out in his writing style; I guess some people don't like his wit. The book was very convicting and helped me see errors in my thinking on work & rest. I highly recommend the book for someone who is a Type A or Ennegram 1 personality like me or who is a workaholic. It's exactly what I needed to hear. I have a desire to do things right, and I tend to judge my day based on productivity. As a recovering perfectionist, I used to constantly work to make things better and often felt guilty when I rested because I thought there was always something of more value that I could be doing with my time or money. But I regularly reached exhaustion or burn out and would crash physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thanks to lessons learned in this book, I've developed better work/rest patterns which has brought more peace to my life.

[Tasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a hard one to review because I found many of the points and applications very helpful but felt that the author reached them in the most unhelpful of ways. At times this was very wordy and large portions of the book could easily be omitted without loss of meaning.

The biggest issue for me was the author's constant condescending dialogue with an imaginary reader (meant to represent me) who unfortunately was not very much like me.

This book was very helpful for me in thinking about rest, yet I would not recommend it to anyone. I hope somebody else writes a more concise and direct book covering these same topics.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid book, lots of good helpful information. Writing style is very hard to follow though, and the book could have been at least 50 pages shorter.

[Ryan Laughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insightful, thoughtful and incredibly practical book on finding real rest. The author is witty and clear in his argument.