Using a framework of divine practices, centuries old yet ultimately vital to today and tomorrow, Yankoski moves through a series of chapters that are anecdotal and practical all at once. Reading the book IS hearing his story, but it’s also a method toward experiencing parts of your life you haven’t before. And it all started with a speaking engagement where the author saw something in someone else that reminded him of himself… and he didn’t like it.

The Sacred Year is the third book I’ve read this year encouraging me to slow down and enjoy the ride. Like the first two (Hands Free Mama and The Well-Played Life), The Sacred Year inclines me to think that the book reflects a growing discontent in our culture’s busy-ness, but also the moving and breathing of God’s spirit in my own life, seeking to catch my attention. As a pastor, I find myself pushing the boundaries of what it means to be fully available at work and at home- some people find this astonishing because I am doing ‘God’s work.’ But Yankoski’s book asks us if doing more actually makes us more blessed, if we’re not confusing what we do with who we are.

From “single tasking” to baking bread to Lectio Divina and daily examen, Yankoski explores methods you’ve heard of before, but sometimes might experience in a new way. For the longtime Christian or a new person to exploring faith and themselves, the Sacred Year allows us to consider how big the world is around us, how sacred our calling is, and how much more there is for us to experience— if we’d just slow down.

Having read the Sacred Year for review, I’ll admit a rarity: I’m highly tempted to buy the book for myself, to revisit and consider, to digest and meditate on, and finally, to put into practice these sacred methods that are as old as the Church. And which ultimately have been drawing people closer to God for years.