A Restful Sabbath Part 2

Last week, I said I would post ideas for making this a "set apart" time for your family.

My first idea is: Take God at His Word and REST! In the 19th century, and in some lower Amish cultures today, "rest" has a pretty severe definition. They sit quietly in the house and look at books, or talk in hushed voices. The children are reprimanded if they are too rambunctious or make too much noise in general. Hmm. Sounds pretty tense to me. I wouldn't have been able to rest trying to stay quiet when I was a child. I have a hard time staying quiet and still now!

Nor do I believe we are to narrowly define what constitutes "work" (see Sabbath post last week). If the grass is high, or the dirty dishes are drawing flies, it's hard work trying to pretend you don't see them until Monday morning!

"Rest" in our house can take many different forms. Sometimes it's playing a game together (which can get VERY loud!), sometimes it's watching a movie together, sometimes it's taking bike rides, taking a family walk, going to our local state park or zoo, reading books (here's a great description of the significance of that activity in our house: http://www.choosinghome.com/blog/?p=330). Sometimes it is restful for me to get a nagging house project done. Yeah, I know it's technically "work", but it puts my spirit at rest to do it, and the physical "work" is not burdensome. It is also restful for me to do dishes on the Sabbath. We have a schedule where every day of the week it is someone else's dishes day. Dad is not in the 6-day rotation, so on the Sabbath, Dad gives everybody elase a break and takes his turn. Sometimes I do the cooking, too. (not sure this is restful for the rest of the family!) :)

Next week, I'll post about why we should celebrate Sabbath. If we can get our act together, I may do a tandem blog with my better-looking half: http://www.xanga.com/javadawn. Meanwhile, I would love to hear ideas from readers for how your family celebrates Sabbath!