I have decided...

that SUNDAYS are going to be MY DAYS.  Back in the day...stores were closed on Sunday.  It was a time for worship (church), family dinners, and sitting around the front porch chatting, relaxing...taking your ease.  Kids played outside on warm days and probably drove parents crazy on cold ones when they are all cooped up inside.  We live in a go-go-go-do it all-do-more society. And we wonder why we are stressed out, worn out, lose our mojo and our get up and go has got up and went.  I didn't sleep well last night.  Woke up sleepy and irritable. The praise band this morning was WAY too loud.  Had a headache as we left worship.  My mind was full of what needs to be done...before the work week and during.  At breakfast I knew--I was a cranky toddler in much-need of a nap!  And I took one.  It felt GOOD. I gave myself permission to rest and relax. God has given me permission....for well over more years than I've been alive. If GOD says it's ok to do it-who am I to question?! Sheesh. Will I ever get it?! 

So--I am going back to Karen Mains book Making Sunday Special.  In it she talks about the Jewish traditions of making Shabbat (Sabbath) special.  They begin preparing early in the week. Everything is done and ready before sundown the day before. So they can focus on what's coming. A day of focusing on their Creator. On family. On a day of rest.  Karen tells how to transform their traditions into one that works for Christians as well.  To have preparations done.  To have some special family time. To celebrate Christ and the Sabbath.  My husband just took her book off the shelf for me (it's up high!), and I've blown the dust off.  I am going to read it...again.  This is an excerpt from Karen Mains that I found here:

Sabbath Steps: The Best Day of the Week Tuesday, September 8, 2009 by Karen Mains How can I make Sunday the best day of the week? One of the ways to do so is to consider the weekly rhythm of Sabbath-keeping.

In order to get into the rhythm of God’s sacred Sabbath time, this is a question we need to learn to ask in the middle of each week:
“How can I make Sunday the best day of the week?”
 And the best way I have learned to answer the that question is with another:
 “How can I fashion this day so that it is a day for making love?”

The concept behind the Sabbath is that God has given us the gift of time;
24 hours that are not to be crowded with the cares of the workweek;
 24 hours for rest and recreation that are not to be intruded upon with the worries of ordinary time (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday).

There are many theological explanations for keeping the Sabbath “dance.”
 In fact, the more I practice, the more I learn, the more I agree with Karl Barth’s exclamation of “a certain awe. The radical importance, the almost monstrance range of the Sabbath commandment.” The more one studies Sabbath, the more there is to study and learn about it. Yet no theology stimulates me motivationally more than the love analogy.

I am learning to observe Sunday with a Sabbath heart, with the heart of a young woman who polishes her engagement ring; who holds it to the light so the diamond can catch the shining; who remembers that the setting apart of this day is meaningful to the One she loves; whose heart floods with joy at the thought that He (the Lord of the Sabbath) is coming in a special weekly visit,
 that the day will be spent in His company without the distractions of the workweek.

I look inward and make sure there are no idol suitors vying for my attention.
For instance, have I watched too much television/video on the weekend, and are my thoughts filled with everything but my desire to know Him better.
 Is my heart chaste?
Are my desires for my Loved One and for Him alone?
Is there anything in my life that will cause Him grief or sadness when we come together?

And I am learning that Sabbath/Sunday is a love day, a day to adore.
As I strive to celebrate Sunday with a Sabbath heart, I have learned that when the Loved One is near, I don’t work.
 I don’t need to spend an afternoon shopping
or to spend Sunday catching up on the tasks I didn’t get done during the week.
This is a day set apart for love.
 It is a day for dancing with God.

In fact, think of it like this: Sabbath/Sunday is a day on Earth
 that comes each week so that we can practice the steps of eternity
where Sabbath never ends.
We are practicing here in this time how to be good and loving Sabbath-keepers there,
when we move beyond and out of time’s constraints.

So, how can I make Sunday the best day of the week?
How can I set it apart so that it is a day ideal for making holy love? 

Karen Mains

KM1-39

I Googled her book and yes, it's still available--just  go to Amazon.com. In my search for that-I found this blog as well:  http://50shousewife.blogspot.com/2009/04/making-sunday-special.html  --I will check that out more thoroughly next.  For now, I am relaxing. The laundry will wait.  I know I have at least one outfit for work in the morning.  So will the dustbunnies.  The cleaning ladies come tomorrow (one advantage to fibro?!).  I am also going to go back to Flylady's site: http://www.flylady.net/ and my routines.  They will sync together nicely with Karen's book. And while I could find Karen's book on the web...I could not find my favorite artist John Paul Walters rendition of Summertime...so here's the lyrics...or part of them...

summertime and the living is easy

Fish are jumping and the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich and your mama's good-looking

Hush, little baby don't you cry

don't cry, don't cry, don't cry

Yep-summertime is almost here...and I don't know about you...but my days are gonna get easier-particularly SUNDAY's!  Now to go get some sun, eat some fresh picked peas...maybe a boat ride...Until next time, happy stamping and scrapping! Blessings, Sharon