The Importance of The Day of Rest

2013-04-29 aprilmomoffour boat, Caleb, faith

Sunday is the Lord’s Day here at our house.

This is the day that we go to church, and ideally this is also the day we finally get some quiet rest at home. Isn’t it annoying when organizations try to take that restful day away from you with ideas of work you can do instead?? Bleh. I was afraid this was going to be one of those kind of Sundays, as both Alan and I had meetings to attend at church, but it didn’t turn out to be too bad. My meeting wasn’t too long, so I still got in some recliner time. : )

Don’t you think Sundays can be the most awesome day or the most stressful day? Can’t you just picture the stressful Sunday that occurs when everything goes wrong–when it’s like you’re trying too hard and everything is falling apart. Kids whining over wearing church clothes, missing church shoes, parents arguing over whose fault it is that you’re running late (not that that would ever happen here….), stressing over all the things that really don’t even matter!

Thankfully, this was not one of those stressful kinds of Sundays.

We were all on time. I have to be on time because if I’m not there, parents won’t have a place to leave their kindergarteners! We just take two separate cars so that if anyone is running late they can just ride in the other car. I suppose once the baby comes, Alan will be the early leaving car, and I’m sure I’ll be the late car!

Today was an especially exciting Sunday for the boys. Since Mommy, the provider of all food, was gone to a meeting, Daddy took them all to McDonalds for lunch. Talk about an exciting day! Does everyone else’s children get as excited about that notorious little fast food restaurant as our children do!??

After that, Joshua went down the street to play with one of his buddies, so Alan took Caleb out to see the boat while I stayed home with napping Dan.

Caleb was SO EXCITED about going to see the boat. They didn’t get to ride today because it was raining, and also the boat needs a new battery. You should have seen Caleb dragging Alan out the door. It was so cute and unusual. Caleb is our homebody child, and the only time he ever drags anyone out the door to go anywhere is for swimming lessons or a playdate with his best buddy, Nicholas.

Caleb spent the rest of the afternoon carrying around his Lightning McQueen fishing pole. He proudly told me, “I’m going to get to go fishing on the boat!” grinning from ear to ear.

Our New Boat

Of course, we’re planning to change the name from Bambino to Gracie.

I told my friends that the other night, but Alan and I had not had time to discuss it yet. Tonight Alan said to me, “I was thinking we could change the name to Gracie.” : ) I love it when we think the same thing!!!! Gracie is the name we’ve planned for our little girl for 10 years now….but of course, we never actually had a little girl! Who knew Gracie would be a boat!?

Right now it’s 7pm, and poor Alan is still at that church leader’s meeting while the boys and I are enjoying a nice, quiet evening with no ball games, no where we are required to be. I even vacuumed and baked cookies. : )

I think restful days at home are of the utmost importance.

The Sabbath (which of course is actually Saturday) was instituted by God.

He never said we should not still do good works on our day of rest, but he does want us to use that day to honor him and renew our bodies for the rest of the week. I think the fact that God would create a day dedicated to rest is just another sign of how much he loves people.

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. Mark 2:27

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

Exodus 20: 8-11

Of course, Christians meet together and honor Sunday rather than Saturday. That began after the resurrection of Christ when his followers gathered together on the first day of the week, and in Revelation it is referred to as “The Lord’s Day.” The Sabbath was a Jewish custom, much like circumcision.

Still, I think it’s wonderful to have a day devoted to rest and relaxation, no matter which day of the week it is. I mean raising children is exhausting. I for one need some guilt- free down time! Who doesn’t!?