Exodus 20:9-11
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it
thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is
within thy gates:
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all
that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the
sabbath day, and hallowed it.
We are encouraged to spend our Sunday's with our families; worshipping God, and even serving Him. As a family, we spend a large portion of our Sabbath Day at church; different meetings of worship, meetings to plan, choir practices and interviews with our Priesthood leaders. In our home, we make time on Sunday's to plan for our week; to coordinate schedules, to discuss needs, to pray for our family, friends and neighbors and to be edified by things like music, talks and fireside addresses. In our home, we use Sunday's to review our participation in some of our kids programs: Personal Progress, Faith in God, even Cub Scouts. All of these programs are great at helping to guide our lives and I find that when we take time on the Sabbath Day to do these things, our weeks go more smoothly. When we are able to spend time discussing the Lord's plan on Sunday, there is undoubtedly a better spirit in our home; less contention, more patience, more love and more understanding.
Another thing that we do on Sunday's is to spend time with our extended families. If you've read any of my other posts, you've been able to gather that we are a busy family. Multiply that by six on Matt's side and three on my side and you start to grasp the reasoning behind having a standing appointment for family dinners. Specifically, with Matt's family, we get together once a month on the third Sunday for dinner. We take turns hosting and providing food. Not everyone can come every month, but we usually find ourselves gathered together once a month. Despite the stress it can be when it's our turn to host, I know that the strength gathered and love shared at these events is critical in my life and in the lives of all of my family members.
A small aside; I like to plan parties, and I'm pretty good at it (if I'm completely honest.) Most of the time my party downfalls occur when the vision in my head collides with my earthly budget. But, even that is a fairly rare occasion at this point in time. Over the years, I have had several Sundays that have been, perhaps, less relaxing and rejuvenating because I'm preparing for a big family get-together. Why do I do this to myself? I have asked that question on more than one Sunday afternoon. Well, as part of this discussion, I feel impressed to share a part of my Patriarchal Blessing that I received when I was 19. For those of you who are curious, you can find out about what this is by clicking on this link. LDS Patriarchal Blessings.
My blessing contains the following passages, and they have truly guided my life since I received it 20+ years ago.
"You have been blessed with some great skills, some marvelous gifts and attributes. Your Father in Heaven desires you to use them for the advancement of your soul and for the blessing of other people, especially family members.
I bless you that sweet joy will be in your life as you do things for family members, that you will do your part for the good, the growth, the vitality of the family unit.
I bless you that most of the things in your life will be pointed toward eventual exaltation and blessings in the family unit. There will be many occasions of joy in your home where you with your family will experience pleasant things.
I bless you will attend earnestly to your family duties."
At this point in my life, I was young, unmarried and unsure of what life held in store for me.... but whatever it was, my family would need to be my priority. I have come back to these passages repeatedly as I have struggled with relationships and feelings of resentment and of feeling unappreciated. Usually just recalling these words will remind my heart that I need to be anxiously engaged in my corner of the vineyard.... and so I head back to work.
So what does this have to do with worshipping my Father in Heaven? How does it help me to keep the Sabbath Day holy? Because it builds relationships, fosters good will and strengthens the network of people who will help me drag my family (maybe kicking and screaming) back to the presence of my Heavenly Father.
President James E. Faust delivered an address entitled "The Lord's Day" in October 1991. Again the full text is here.....
But, this is the part that I have felt impressed with over the years and is one of the guideposts I use to determine how I spend my Sabbath Day.
“Other appropriate Sabbath activities, such as strengthening family ties, visiting the sick and the homebound, giving service to others, writing personal and family histories, genealogical work, and missionary work, should be carefully planned and carried out."
Oh, and I like the other part he mentions about rest and rejuvenation, because who doesn't like a Sunday afternoon nap? But the part about visiting the sick and the homebound, service to others and family history really strike a chord with me.
There are lots of ways that I can still improve on my Sabbath Day observation. Over the course of the last year, the Church has expressed specific concerns and instructions for improving our observation of the Sabbath Day. Fortunately for me, and for all of us, we have our whole mortal existence to continue to improve in our habits. Homework and TV on Sunday in our house? Yeah, they still happen. We are not at the point that we prepare all of our meals on Saturday so that we don't have to do things on Sunday, but we try to keep it simple; Matt makes a mean tuna sandwich. We will keep trying so that eventually we can sing this song in our home:
Although I'm not sure which of my clothes I need to "brush."
In the meantime, I will worship my Heavenly Father, as Jesus did, by Honoring the Sabbath Day, and trying my hardest to keep it holy.
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