This book is a breath of fresh-air in a world of ever-increasing busyness. If you have not got time to read it then it is definitely the book for you. A must have for anyone who desires to find balance to their day. This is a prophetic call by Stackhouse, a busy Baptist pastor ministering in a busy commuter belt, to slow down and take one day at a time. To take that day and to live it well, by finding God’s grace and presence within it.

How? By finding a biblical rhythm to our work, rest, relationships, worship and prayer.
 
The Day is Yours (originally released in 2008; a new print run came out last September) is a book on spirituality that does not contain the fluffiness that you so often find in books of this genre but rather, practical wisdom undergirded by scripture. It is divided into three sections: ‘This is the Day that the Lord Has Made’, ‘The Liturgy of the Hours’, and ‘Glimpses of the Day’.

The first section sets us on our journey with a reminder of the monastic hours of the day, that is, not being governed by schedules and the time on our watches but about entering into the moment. It is a reminder to rest well, by taking a regular Sabbath day-off from our normal hectic lifestyle.

Section two, encourages us to journey in the footsteps of the monastic rhythm by finding our own rhythm to the day. He recommends entering into prayer in the morning in order to start the day well; stopping to refocus and pray at noon, and then again in the evening. The final section reminds us that we do not travel alone, but we are called to meet together regularly as a gathered body of believers, and to break bread as we travel together along the way.
 
The book is also interspersed with two interludes. ‘A Sermon on Naboth’s Vineyard’ that serves to further illustrates the thesis of the book’s call, for the simplicity of biblical faith in a highly-strung consumerist world. Followed by, ‘Praying the Psalms’, an encouragement to pray the psalms daily as a way of helping us find rhythm to our prayer-life through the thoughts and feelings of the psalmists. Stackhouse does not profess to have all the answers and his humility shines through. He could perhaps be construed as being slightly too prescriptive in his suggestions, but what he offers is good.
 
The Day is Yours is a prophetic word for this moment that I would encourage you to read.