Sabbath Rest

Sunday has lately become my favorite day of the week! We always liked the idea of setting the day aside to rest and keep things quiet, but now we really do it and appreciate the routine. Our Sabbath rest is coming peacefully and guilt-free thanks to FlyLady style housekeeping and one of my New Year's resolutions.

Of course I have to prepare for Sundays. That means having the house clean, clothes laid out, Sunday School lesson STUDIED & PACKED UP (this one is hard for me), and getting to bed at a decent hour...all by Saturday evening. It also means actually getting up by 5:30 or 6:00 so I can help our family peacefully get through the full morning routine and out of the house by 8:45. It's so much work, but the stressful, rushed alternative is a horrible way to start the Lord's day.

The helpful New Year's resolution is to start making Sunday dinners. This is to establish a good tradition and more immediately important to keep us away from the less healthy and less frugal restaraunts. Did you know that Crock Pots are made for Sundays?! This week we had Rosemary Chicken and White Beans, and it was so comforting to come home and have dinner on the table in just a few minutes. I hope I can accomplish the planning and preparation it takes to do this every week, because it was great for our family, all the way around!

Three and a half hours of nursery classes wear our kids out pretty good, and they typically take about 3 hour naps on Sunday afternoons. This is the Sabbath rest part of the day! Our house was so peaceful yesterday, and I was so well rested, that I just laid on the bed and relaxed for a full hour. Then I still had plenty of time to flip through all my books for lesson ideas, set up our week's lessons, and even make everything I needed and put it all in a folder. I didn't have to feel guilty about not doing chores because there were no chores to be done! Eric didn't fare so well because he had an afternoon full of church treasurer work to do. Still, he enjoyed doing it in peace and quiet with enough time to get it done.

For the Sunday night meal...who eats a real meal on Sunday nights? We enjoyed popcorn and smoothies and milkshakes. We're trying to copy someone else's tradition because it just fits so perfectly! We actually had to wake Cora up from her nap so she could eat in time to head back to church. Now that's a good Sabbath rest!

P.S. This plan hasn't been flawless for us. Last week I was attempting my first Crock Pot Sunday Dinner. Can you believe that I plugged the thing into the plug that always trips a breaker? As we drove home from church, we were going goo-goo over the hot meal waiting at home. Well, we came home to raw chicken and cold beans. I was so angry! My sweet and helpful husband, however, remained calm and said we should just make a quick breakfast for lunch. So with a little more effort and wasted food, lunch was saved and we still had a nice Sabbath rest.