A great friend and I started talking about being more purposeful about observing the Sabbath. It's one of those things where I know it's a commandment but I find lots of excuses for why I can't afford to just "rest" on Sundays. Within the last couple weeks, I've started getting serious about it. My friend and I try to hold each other accountable to prepare all week long so when Sunday comes, we are prepared to rest. It sounds silly having to prepare for rest but us moms are busy! It's so easy to fill up each day to it's max. So, during the week I'm trying (sometimes successfully, sometimes not :)) to catch up on laundry, cleaning, shopping, etc. and plan meals that I can either make on Saturday or will be easy to make on Sunday. Then the day can be committed to God, church, prayer, family, relationships and rest.
Below is our first attempt and it was wonderful! It felt so good to come home from church and not start right in on chores and my to do list. We just relaxed and enjoyed being together. We painted, played games, read, laid in bed together and just loved on the girls. I also incorporated prayer. On Sundays I'm trying to be diligent about praying through the hours in the day. It's something that monks do. There are specific prayers for different hours during the day - dawn, midmorning, noon, nighttime... It has been hard for me to be diligent but I'm going to keep trying!
"He said to them, this is what the Lord commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord." Exodus 16:23
