I wasn’t sure how you were supposed to celebrate this day, but I think Anabelle figured it out:
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Kids hear things at school. Things you wouldn’t necessarily want them to hear. It’s inevitable. Especially once your child is a teenager. Katarina is very lucky to have amazing cafeteria food – as in five choices a day amazing. One of her choices was chinese food, with fortune cookies. And, she learned that a lot of people add ‘in bed’ to their fortunes. What surprised me, however, was her response. “That’s dumb. Let’s change it – let’s add ‘on the toilet.’” She’s telling this story to us as we’re serving the Chinese takeout we just brought home. I didn’t get it; I was very confused, until… she read the following fortune:
I busted a gut.
Saturday, amidst the normal events of the day, the kids and I cleaned and cooked and prepared all the meals for Sunday. By sunset, the house looked spotless and the fridge was stuffed with yummy food. We sat down to a feast at dinner. The adults had wine, and the kids had grape juice. Mike put his hands on each child’s shoulder, and one at a time, said a blessing over them. He blessed me with a little of Proverbs 31, and then it was my turn to bless him by reading Psalms 112. Then we all raised our goblets and thanked God for the beginning of the Sabbath. I learned the following: The internet is so addictive! It was so hard to stay away for 24 hours! I rarely ever truly relax. I usually have so much on my mind that I jump from task to task, project to project, need to need. Having 24 hrs. where I chose not to do any work was very hard at first. My mind, however, loved it because… We had a chance to talk through hopes, goals, dreams, and project ideas, and I wondered if one of the blessings of the Sabbath is that you start the week more purposeful, with renewed clarity, and are less apt to waste time because you know that you only have 6 days to get everything done! We slept in Sunday morning, and since I had preset the coffee before Saturday afternoon, we awoke to a hot steaming cup and some of these that we popped in the microwave. As the day wore on, I felt more and more relaxed as we focused on all our blessings. We went to the zoo, and truly strolled… we took our time with each animal and they did not disappoint! They gave us a show! (More about this later this week!) We came home and took another leisurely stroll with the dog and then finally came home to chili that I had mixed up Saturday. Yum. The kids seemed better off as well. All day they had been giggling and trying to crack each other up. By the evening they were relaxed and calm. (Thankfully!) We shared our thoughts over the day, and the things we were thankful for, and slipped out for some ice cream just as the sun went down. Then we did the dishes and tidied up, but really it wasn’t too bad because we had done such a thorough job before the Sabbath. Everyone fell asleep fast and peacefully. Ahhhhhh…. I could get used to this. I’ve mentioned before that our family is reading through the Bible this year. We made it through Exodus and Leviticus and are traveling through Numbers now. Mike is working 58 hours this week, but thankfully gets Sunday off. I was thinking through how to make that a super restful day before the workweek kicks back, and I started thinking about the Sabbath. So far in our reading the Sabbath is mentioned so many times as a lasting ordinance. When reading through the Bible, I picked up something different than I have before — yes, the Sabbath is a day to remember that the Lord is holy, but He keeps saying to remember that it was He who brought them out of Egypt. That makes the Sabbath also about freedom. Remember that we’re free. I have been trying to find out how the Jews celebrate. Granted we’re celebrating mostly on Sunday while they do on Saturday and a host of other differences, but I want the basics - When God is creating, he says there was evening then there was morning, day 1. So they start the Sabbath in the evening. No work is actually not the best translation. It’s no creative work. I found it all very fascinating, and you can read the basics here, but this is what comes of it for me: When have I ever planned out a day of rest? In other words, when have I, the day before Sunday, made sure that there would be no work waiting for us on Sunday? Um, never. Unless on vacation. Today we are cooking, cleaning, and baking. Before sunset the kids will be bathed and before sunset we will recite a short blessing. Then a joyful feast!! No dishes, though! I think paper plates sounds good, or I just have to get used to the idea of a full sink…. I think paper plates. Something will be in the crockpot for the next day as we sleep. Tomorrow there will be no T.V. but there will be walks and a nap (or two) and games (and hopefully good weather). The kids are actually very excited about this. I am too. I hope to experience the joyful Sabbath like never before, while at the same time rejoicing that we have so much grace that I don’t have to be legalistic about it. And then after sunset Sunday night, we will prepare for the week. |
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