"Anybody can observe the Sabbath
but making it holy surely takes the rest of the week."
"It was all right for the Great Creator to rest on the seventh day,
but many contemporary women I know assume they just can't take the time.
After all, they're not creating the world six days a week,
just carrying its weight on their shoulders.
The Greeks had a wonderful word for this attitude:
Hubris is an 'exaggerated sense of self-confidence'
and it usually comes before a humbling.
...
Here is a short guide to what you
SHOULD NOT BE DOING
on your Sabbath:
-strenuous household chores
-catching up on work that you didn't complete last week
or getting a head start on work you're supposed to start on Monday
-shopping
THIS IS WHAT THE SABBATH IS FOR:
-reverence
-rest
-renewal
-rejuvenation
-reassuring rituals
-rejoicing
-revelation
Your activities on the Sabbath should uplift you and provide enough inspiration to sustain you during the week to come."
Sarah also leaves room for those who are not religious. If you don't believe in God, or anything like that, give this a try anyways. It doesn't have to be Sunday, pick a day for your own personal Sabbath.
I remember one Sunday as a child that my parents chose to break the Sabbath and go shopping for some piece of furniture because it was on sale that day. I remember throwing a fit because it didn't feel right.
Now me throwing a fit was also not right, but the feeling was what stuck, that breaking the Sabbath wasn't right.
I also remember one summer Pismo trip. We always have a meal plan, and we had scheduled a restaurant on Saturday and a home cooked meal on Sunday. It's often hard to keep the Sabbath while camping, but we tried. Someone didn't want to go to the restaurant on Saturday, so we switched days and broke the Sabbath. I didn't like the way it made me feel.
I remember that my family used to go to Sweet Tomatoes every stake conference because we were all together. I remember thinking something was wrong with this, but after years of doing it, it became common. We rationalized it. I remember when we stopped, and I asked my dad why we didn't go anymore. He said "because we're trying to keep the Sabbath day a little better".
I had the thought a couple Sundays ago as we were driving past the park to go to church. I was watching all the kids having fun, the families playing and walking together, and I thought if I didn't go to church and believe what I believe, I wondered what I would do...
I couldn't think of anything else I'd rather be doing.
Whenever I break the Sabbath it feels wrong.
I do not feel peace, or rejuvenated, or rested.
Now taking the three little kids to church is hard, and often times I do feel extremely tired after an entire day of getting them ready for church and getting them to church and getting them through church and then getting them fed and to bed...right now church is an all day event.
But my spirit feels peace, and rejuvenated, and fed...and I usually get a nap and go to bed early to help my body.
I have a great testimony of how keeping the Sabbath day holy is good for you, and how if you don't it's not good. Dedicating the Sabbath to the Lord is my personal Sabbath.
If you don't have a personal Sabbath, try and set aside a day for you and your family.
Like everything else Sarah suggests, what do you have to lose?
***
Gratitude Journal
***
1) Understanding. I've never liked flakes. I've always thought them kind of terrible people that had no thought or feeling for others...well, now from experience I know that that isn't necessarily true, and if it is it is not my place to judge. I can remember at least 1 time that I've flaked in the past couple months, and now I have 2. I tried to go to my playdate this morning, but I just couldn't make myself get out of bed. I tried so hard, but I just couldn't stop crying. And my friends totally understood. No judgement, no hard feelings, no worries. They are better people than I, and I am blessed to call them friends. I'm grateful for the understanding that I now have about why sometimes people just don't show up.
2) I realized that Shelby's 20th birthday would have been in 16 days. That, and a week of the kids whining and screaming and crying and hitting and kicking constantly...and overscheduling myself...I'm grateful that I had the time this morning and early afternoon to be sad and work through it, and that the kids mostly took care of themselves. How did they grow up so fast?
3) My parents. Even though I'm grown, they are still looking after me and taking care of me. They treated us to dinner tonight.
4) The sunset. So beautiful.
5) It's Friday. This week is finally over! I know why people have one party and call it good, because having something every night and every day this week just about killed me. I about died from celebrating my birthday. Lesson learned.
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