A SIX-WEEK CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT GUIDE
From Stressed to Sabbath Rest
Healing Super Sheroes Who Do Too Much
A six-week contemplative retreat for leading Black Christian women from strength at all costs to Sabbath rest.
A SIX-WEEK CONTEMPLATIVE RETREAT GUIDE
From Stressed to Sabbath Rest
Healing Super Sheroes Who Do Too Much
A six-week journey in book form for Black Christian women shaped by strength — and ready to lay it down.
This book traces a movement toward Sabbath rest through story, scripture, and contemplative reflection. Written for women who have learned to survive through resilience, From Stressed to Sabbath Rest invites a slower, more spacious way of being — one rooted in God’s care rather than constant performance.
Many women in our churches carry the weight of everyone and everything, and they call it faithfulness.
This book gives you a ready-to-lead retreat that helps them set that weight down. It’s rooted in Ignatian spirituality and shaped for Black women’s lives. Through story, scripture, and prayer, it guides women toward a life that rests in God’s care instead of constant performance.
Who it’s for
Women’s ministry leaders planning a retreat or small-group series
Spiritual directors who companion Black women, one-on-one or in groups
Christian therapists and counselors looking for a faith-rooted resource clients can work through between sessions
Pastors and lay leaders who see what “being strong” is costing the women they serve
The contemplative woman who wants to take the six weeks on her own, at her own pace, alone with God
Six weeks, six calls
Each week has its own grace to pray for, a focus scripture, and a story or poem that opens the conversation.
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Week 1: Called to Healing
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Week 2: Call to Rest
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Week 3: Call to Communion
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Week 4: Call to Community
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Week 5: Call to Surrender
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Week 6: Call to Sabbath
Selected Excerpts
My Wake-Up Call
“The journey to Sabbath rest began for me in an unexpected way—a wake-up call to my body, mind, and spirit. Like many Black women, I had learned to wear strength like armor, to be resilient no matter the cost. But when that resilience began to take its toll, I had to confront the core of my identity and the weight I’d been carrying.”
Our Story as Black Women
“The “Black Super Shero Syndrome,” as I call it, has been passed down through generations. We’ve been taught to keep going, to hold it all together, to be strong no matter what. But this type of strength often comes at the cost of our health, our peace, and our connection with God.”
An Invitation
“This retreat is not an admonition to keep being strong—it’s an invitation to experience the luxuriousness of God’s loving care.”