“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”    ~J.R.R.Tolkien

God has perfect timing. He knew that I was not ready for this book until now, at age 50. I have been a churchgoer all my life, but have never felt comfortable with the idea of “Sabbath.” My mother was an Episcopalian Sunday School teacher. On Saturday nights, we often spent time cutting out art for her bulletin boards and assembling craft projects for school the next day. I spent a great deal of time attending church, Sunday school, youth group, the Christmas pageant, and various fundraisers throughout the year. Sunday didn’t exactly feel like a day of rest.

Holy, yes. Important, yes. But restful?

Then, along comes this book, Stop, in the Name of God. This is Charlie Kirk’s last book, and it is full of profound wisdom and heart. If you have never heard of Charlie, watch his YouTube videos. He was the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action, the most influential political youth organizations in America. And it is not even close. No one captured the imagination and provoked more discussion than Charlie, who toured the country and the world with one message: let us debate on the merits of each argument. He taught the younger generations to communicate with one another face to face, not just from behind a screen. Charlie was pro-life, pro-family, and pro-Western civilization; he reminded many people of the Biblical underpinnings of our society, without which we would have no free speech, freedom of the press, freedom of association, etc. He took time to understand what college kids were thinking on the issues of our day, and to gently set them straight without name-calling or swearing. Classic case in point: most college kids have not been taught about the horrors of Communism and socialism. They think socialism means to be social, to interact with people, and attend parties. Nothing could be further from the truth. Socialism has been responsible for more murders in the 20^th and 21^st centuries than all the previous centuries combined.  

Tragically, Charlie himself was murdered by a sniper in the middle of a debate with college students at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. He left behind a wife and two children. His last book is a masterpiece in coherent history, theology, and cultural analysis. It is useful for everyone, but especially those who understand that Americans are a people who do not get enough rest.

I had to be blessed with eight children, constant sleep deprivation, and burnout before God could reach me with Charlie’s words on the Sabbath. Now, I am ready to listen…not just to the exhortation to rest one day a week, turn off the screens, get outside, and read my Bible more often, but to the clarification that it is OK to rest. Our bodies and minds need it. Our souls need it. And God wants us to understand that Sabbath sets us apart from the 24/7 Internet culture, where people are expected to be always available.

As a mom of many, I have long struggled with the hopelessness of feeling like Sunday was never meant to be restful for me. Have you ever tried to get teenagers out of the house on time and looking presentable? Ever had to search for a missing sippy cup for a toddler, or forget that thing you needed to bring to the church office? Sunday has been especially challenging for the last few years. I go to Mass because it is a requirement, but more because it is the invitation to the banquet of my Savior. And I also go for a hundred other reasons that involve love, duty, honor, learning, repenting, and being. But I needed someone to explain to me the importance of resting during the rest of Sunday. We are being inundated with technology and noise every single day, but we are allowed, and encouraged to take a break from the stress of the work week. And we all need a consistent break, every single week.  

As Charlie stated in his book, “Now imagine the Sabbath as a cathedral in time. It has no marble columns or flying buttresses, but its structure is just as solid, just as enduring. The Sabbath is not a place, but a sanctuary carved out of time itself. Like those magnificent cathedrals, it demands that you stop. That you look up. That you remember who you are in relation to God, to others, and to eternity. While the rest of the week may feel like a blur of tasks, emails, obligations, and noise, the Sabbath stands still—like a bell tower in a storm. It is scheduled, predictable, and unwavering. It invites you to dwell, not produce; to rest, not rush; to contemplate, not consume…The Sabbath is not merely a day off. It is not simply a lifestyle hack. It is holy architecture for the soul. A cathedral in time, with liturgies of rest and windows of joy. It is not made with human hands, but it is no less beautiful—and perhaps all the more eternal.” (pp.29-30)

I had a hard time understanding just how much I need the Sabbath. I could work myself to death, or I could accept the gift of carving out peace one day a week. God wants us to rest, not simply as a rule, but as a relief. As Christians, we keep Sunday holy to remember that Jesus rose from the dead on that day. He is the New Covenant. He had a human body like ours, and he felt pain, and he needed to rest. Rest is not a punishment, nor is it unattainable. It may seem impossible to recreate what the Jewish people have been practicing for centuries, but we can do it in a modernized way, as children of the New Covenant.  

Charlie suggests turning off your phone for a few hours on Sunday. Getting outside and touching grass, being present to those you love, and remembering whose we are…these are all good and necessary things. Light some candles. Pray the Rosary. There are many ways to make your home holy and restful. The key takeaway of his book is that there is no list of things you must do on a Sunday, other than attend church. But we are allowed to rest. Charlie was one of the busiest young men of our day, traveling all over the world and speaking with people constantly. But he knew the value of sleep for mental health. He exhorts us to put God and Sabbath over power and money. 

My prayers will always be with his wife Erika, his children, his extended family, and everything he built to teach people Biblical wisdom. We need to start from a place of rest each week, and then we will have the strength to carry on through this insane age of technology that never sleeps. Be well, my friends!

Erin Broestl, author of God Made the Moonlight, an award-winning children’s book

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