Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time (Book)
Dorothy C. Bass, Author.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

In Receiving the Day Dorothy Bass explores our dysfunctional relationships with time and offers Christian attitudes and practices to enable her readers to reclaim time as a gift from God.

Bass begins with a look at the current emphasis on using time, which she says creates the pressure to use time wisely, guilt if we take time to relax, and judgment of those who "waste" time. As Bass explains, "when our emphasis on using time displaces our awareness of time as gift, we find that we are not so much using time as permitting time to use us." Bass also explores the loss of shared time with family, friends, and neighbors. She then sets the stage for the remainder of her book, suggesting that readers resist the inhumane rhythms that shape so much of contemporary life by adopting some Christian practices for opening the gift of time.

Subsequent chapters explore the rhythms of the day, the week, and the year from a Christian perspective, offering guidance about how to enter into sacred relationships with these spans of time today. The experiences of individuals who have recaptured a sense of the gift of time in their own lives are offered as inspiration and encouragement.

Much more than a time management book, this book would be appreciated by those wishing to explore time from a theological perspective and seeking practical aids for offering greater attention to God and other people amid the responsibilities of daily life.

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