The principle of the Sabbath has been a vital part of my life for 15 years: Set aside one day a week to honor God by ceasing from your regular work activities.
“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… Six days you shall work, but the seventh is a sabbath to the Lord you God.”
What does this look like in our family? We take Fridays off to spend together as a family. I don’t set appointments. I try to stay away from email. We rest. We play. We enjoy life and each other.
“You mean enjoying each other and spending time in recreation is actually an act of worship to God?”
Absolutely.
Jen and I have tried to instill in our children a love for God by honoring the Sabbath. Each Thursday night, as we put our children to bed, we say,
“Do you know what tomorrow is?”
“Sabbath, Dad?”
“Yes!”
“Woo hoo!”
“And who gave us the Sabbath day?”
“God did!”
Our kids have learned to associate the Sabbath with a God who loves recreation and loves families spending time together. We go to parks, we play in the yard, we go fishing, we make popcorn and watch a movie – anything that prioritizes our family spending time together. With all of the other activities we do to encourage our children toward a personal relationship with God, I often think the Sabbath may be the most important thing we ever do to show our kids what God values. We try to model for our children that one of God’s highest values is our family spending time together.
Music has been a fun and important part of our family times together, not just on the Sabbath, but at random times throughout the week. Today, on our Sabbath day, the kids and I recorded a couple songs we enjoyed singing together.
God didn’t create us to be enslaved to work. God cares about us enjoying Him through quality time with those we love. Set aside a day to honor God by keeping a Sabbath!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx_hZYDUuSY[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeluA18vMUE[/youtube]
Hi Eric,
Just reading your blog/website. Interesting about your family setting aside Friday to be your Sabbath day for time with family. How does that work with the kids in school? Just curious. I totally can appreciate the setting aside 1 day a week to spend with family and not letting outside influences get in the way.
I pray for all college kids, they need everyone’s prayers just to get through college without having day to day struggles with drugs, drinking and all the trials that creep up on them when they are away from home. Sometimes for the first time, and these kids face trials that they have never faced before.
Enjoy reading your information. David and I greatly enjoyed talking with Jen today.
Love Cathy