what a great way to energetically kick off a new blog series:  “welcome!  now, let’s rest.”

today is sunday.  in the judeo-christian world, sunday is a resting day.

when was the last time my sunday was a true sabbath?

 i usually spend sunday afternoons/evenings planning for our week: meal planning, homeschool planning, schedule planning, grocery planning. i find the quiet and the lack of schedule activities on sundays the perfect time to sit at a table, spread out my recipes, curriculum, planner and grocery lists, pour a hot beverage or glass of wine and go to it. i love this restful time! kenny has the boys, and i have no interruptions!

God demands rest from us. if i am to take my role as a wife and mother seriously, i need to take seriously the command to rest. because without rest, God alone knows (and i’ll bet my husband and kids also know!) that i am not my best. or worse, i’m at my worst.

but the command of our Creator to rest is more than that. in her book Mudhouse Sabbath, Lauren F. Winner emphasizes this:

“Rest for the sake of future productivity is at odds with the spirit of Shabbat (sabbath)….The Bible suggests something different. In observing the Sabbath, one is both giving a gift to God and imitating Him. Exodus and Deuteronomy make this clear when they say, ‘Six days shall you labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God.’ To the Lord your God.”

that floored me. i am not truly resting. i’m enjoying my “me-time” on sunday evenings, but am i truly resting, truly basking in the glory of a purely restful (in spirit, in mind, in body) day on sundays WITH my family and FOR my God?

maybe instead of shooing away the family in order to enjoy quiet on sundays, i can rest with them. what will that look like?  i now have this month to figure it out. and i’ll report back in due time.

have a blessed, restful sabbath!