In six days God made the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. He then rested on the seventh day and was refreshed, not because He needed rest but because He was setting a pattern for Adam and Eve to follow. For six days they would work at their learning, labor, art, architecture, agriculture, evaluation, and trade, emulating God’s work. Then they would rest from all their work on the seventh day, the Sabbath day, and this rest would refresh them.

Adam and Eve’s first Sabbath day was actually their first full day in the world, because they were God’s final creation on the sixth day. They had not worked for any of the things they were enjoying—life, food, rest, God’s love and favor, the privilege of ruling for Him. Everything was a gift. What could they give Him in response when He needed nothing and had given them all they had? They could only give their heartfelt thanks and praise. On the next Sabbath they could offer the works of their hands, but even then they would simply be giving back to God what He had first given them. By resting on the Sabbath and giving thanks, they would remember their total dependence on God, the King who continually served them and cared for them.

True Sabbath rest would enable them to rule as God intended. It would inspire them to work with all their might, knowing that their labor was for God’s glory; and it would also keep them from being consumed by their work, because God did not need it. They were free to enjoy the fruit of their hands—the wine, the bread, and the oil—and to enjoy the creation, delighting in the oceans, fields, mountains, and skies that God had made. By delighting in the world, they would imitate God, who had rejoiced as He created it (Proverbs 8:30-31). With refreshed and rested hearts, they would transform the earth with the joy of heaven.
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

Hikers, Berner Oberland, Switzerland — Los Angeles County Aboretum, California — Surfer, Tavarua, Fiji

Accompanying a group of surfers to the Fijian island of Tavarua to take on the legendary waves at Cloudbreak, I gained a new appreciation for the phrase “timing is everything.” This job required more than perfectly timed exposures at the peak moment of action—it also had to be coordinated with the perfect timing of the surfer in catching the wave and the perfect timing of the boat driver in putting us in the perfect spot on that same wave to make the shot. That is a lot of perfects to bring together for 1/500th of a second. The most important of these perfects, in my mind, was that of the boat driver, who had to put us in a near vertical position on the face of a wave and then get us over the top before it broke. If we were too early, I’d miss the shot; if we were too late, I’d miss all future shots. But he did it perfectly, time after time, cresting the top and slamming down on the back side of the waves without a second to spare. On one side of the wave the surfer would shout, “Yes!” in celebration of his ride, and on the other side of the wave I’d shout, “Yes!” in celebration of catching it on dry film.
There is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 niv

Dancer, Gilgit, Pakistan — Hikers, Berchtesgaden, Germany

Impromptu celebrations, featuring joyful music and dance, are commonplace throughout the mountains cultures of the Karakoram and Hindu Kush ranges, which stretch across northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kashmir.