Editor’s Note: On Living Life Abundantly

The Bookery’s Summer 2025 theme is “relax”—and that’s more than spending a weekend binge-watching your favorite show

If you define relaxing as doing nothing—I’m not good at it. 

I’m not a huge binge TV watcher, and, truth be told, sitting on the couch and doing nothing but watching TV makes me feel guilty. I find myself thinking, “There has to be something I need to be doing that is more important than watching a rerun of ‘ER’ from 2002.” 

While “doing nothing” might be our culture’s definition of relaxing, it’s not the idea we’re going for with our summer theme here at The Bookery. Because to relax is more than vegging out in front of a screen. In my mind, relaxing is about restoration and rejuvenation. It’s taking the time and space you need to mentally and physically let go, but also choosing to invest in activities and practices that refresh and restore you. 

Sometimes, that’s taking a nap—and other times, it’s spending time with the people you love most, setting aside time to write or craft or planning a solo weekend retreat where you can spend focused time with God and his Word. In other words, the kind of relaxation we’ll be exploring here at The Bookery over the next few months isn’t numbing our minds and emotions with screen time or content; it’s finding the things that fuel us, that make us feel energized and whole and creating space in our lives to do those things. 

So, what will that look like here at The Bookery? Some of the things that we believe restore and rejuvenate us most are the three pillars The Bookery is built around: the Bible, books and baking. So you can expect articles that seek to help you grow in your faith—including a summer Scripture reading plan we’ll work through as a community in August—book reviews and suggestions and recipes and kitchen practices and meditations that help us to connect with the things and the people we love most. 

As we head into the height of summer and then the busyness of back-to-school and more structured schedules, we’re calling you to take a deep breath, to stop adding more to your plate and to really, truly relax. 

If you’re like me, fight the urge to feel guilty for those seasons when your body, soul and mind need rest. Remember: rest doesn’t have to be mindless; it just needs to be restorative and rejuvenating.

Think about the rhythms, practices, activities and relationships that leave you feeling more alive, more vibrant and more you—then take some concrete steps to invite more of those life-giving moments into your life. 

Let’s live life more abundantly!