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Welcome to our weekly Friday Check-in for July 18th, 2025 ✅
If you are new to Soul Care, WELCOME!! We are so glad you are here.
We have a weekly rhythm of checking in together on Fridays. We use Soul Care's Page, Person, Plan framework to create a weekly rhythm and prepare ourselves for Sabbath rest.
Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we’re in the heart of summer, long, sunlit days and everything in full bloom. And yet, even now, the season holds quiet rhythms of rest.
Here is your invitation to pause and rest now in God's loving embrace.
Let's begin with,
Page: An Invitation to Reflection
Read or listen to Mark 2:23-3:6 (NIV) three times:
One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grain-fields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand up in front of everyone.”
Then Jesus asked them, “Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent.
He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.
Spend a few minutes journaling in response to this passage:
What stands out to you most? Is there a particular word or phrase?
As you read through it a second time… ask God, "to what area of my life does that particular word or phrase connect?"
And as you read a third time, be asking God, "Is there an invitation for me?" Is there a response of some kind that God is inviting you into?
This month, we are continuing to explore and practice the theme of delight! Our reading today highlights that the Sabbath is meant to be a delight... a gift, not a burden. Additionally, Sabbath is not only a personal practice, but a deeply relational practice as well.
Jesus reframes the Sabbath not as a list of prohibitions, but as a day of human flourishing, emphasizing God's delight in compassion over ritualistic restriction. True Sabbath observance should align with God's purpose bringing joy, rest, and renewal, rather than fear or condemnation. Delight is found not in control, but in freedom.
Some reflection questions:
TODAY: Is there a small way you can receive (not earn) God’s delight, even right now in this moment? How might you open your heart to joy... even in the ordinary?
THIS WEEK: What would it look like to intentionally practice Sabbath as delight? What rhythms of rest, beauty, or joy could you reclaim? During the week what helps prepare you for Sabbath rest?
THIS MONTH: What would it mean for you to lean into and trust "I don’t have to 'hold everything together'" for one day... each week... over time? How might that kind of trust open space for deeper peace?
Thanks for checking in today - Blessings!
Team Soul Care