Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick’s Day napkins…I forgot to set them out on our table. Fortunately, they will be used throughout Spring and Summer! As I read the book Saint Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland by Tomie dePaola, the children enjoyed Irish Soda Bread, St Patrick’s Day Punch, cheese squares, and apple slices. Later on, we added Pistachio Green Fluff (as we call it!) to our dinner menu, and enjoyed St Patrick’s Day cupcakes. The kids really enjoyed “celebrating” (and wearing green!) and I hope to keep a closer eye on opportunities to create special days throughout the year.

We skipped school today, although my oldest two had their violin lessons. Our local schools are on Spring Break, but we are not officially taking time off, so I figured we could skip today. I hope to be finished with our Spring term so that we can take the month of May off, before beginning our Summer term. (We school year round for maximum flexibility). We’ve had gorgeous weather the last couple of days--70s--and so we’ve spent our afternoons outdoors, well into the evenings. Tomorrow may be fairly nice, but cooler temps are on the way for the remainder of our week.

My husband hasn't been home with us the last couple of evenings; I'm looking forward to the weekend, and having him around again!

Sabbath, part 3

Final thoughts on the Sabbath…as I've finished up the book Sabbath Keeping by Lynne Baab. I respond partially to questions she asks at the end of each chapter, to encourage reflection throughout her book.

Some activities which would keep my Sabbath restful could include reading to my kids, reading alone, watching NASCAR with my son/kids, playing outdoors, going to the park with kids…journaling, drawing, sewing, baking…these are all relaxing for me and they encourage gratitude in my heart when I have time to indulge in them. Or in this case, when I make time! These activities often allow my thoughts time to rest on God and His greatness, His mercy, His grace in my life...even as I watch my children laugh and play, I am blessed by their health, by their joy, by my love for them.

In order to prepare for our Sabbath, and to keep it restful for me, I need to have laundry caught up (mostly, at least)…I need to have meal prep started for the Sabbath Day so that there’s minimal kitchen work…and I need to mentally prepare for it by silencing those “to-do” lists that run nonstop inside my head. By starting at sundown, my mind has time to "shift" from the busyness of daily life, to a day of rest. Then, when our Sabbath ends, at sundown the next day, I can have an hour or so that evening to begin preparing for our usual routines to begin again; look over school plans, start a load of laundry...and so on.

I am mulling over possibilities for easy menus; that is, meals I can make on the Sabbath, and also meals that essentially “make themselves” (crockpot and so on)…or, plan out leftovers to have, freezer meals on hand, whatever will work for my family. I enjoy kitchen time, but at a leisurely pace--not--the “everyone-is-home-from-church-and-starving pace. J I need to write and print a list for Sabbath meals, so that I can more easily plan ahead and shop ahead when possible.

I also appreciate the suggestion of lighting a Sabbath candle; will have to think over this. I keep a candle on the table, and we light it for dinner, so I’m not sure how effective it would be for a “separate” candle to be lit on Sabbath--but, perhaps simply leaving a candle lit all afternoon? I love having a tablecloth on our table, too, but we use the table for school daily, so the cloth is inconvenient. Today, I put the cloth on after school (this is Friday) and I plan to keep it on through our weekend, removing it for Monday morning. This signifies a break from school for the weekend, and gives our table a more distinctive appearance for Sabbath.

Lynne Baab asks the question, in her book “Have you ever looked for animal footprints in the woods and tried to follow them?” She goes on to explain that it takes concentration to do it, and uses this illustration to further explain our need for Sabbath. She says “Our lives will be immeasurably richer if we notice God’s footprints in our lives, his fingerprints all over the events of our days. All this noticing takes time.”

I loved that illustration! I used to blog a “thankful Thursday” every week. It became ingrained in me to be looking for things big and small to be grateful for; to find graces in my every day and in special times; to watch for God’s mercy every Thursday. I miss the discipline of my thankful posts and perhaps will return to that at some point. But the habit of gratitude, hasn’t left me; it is weaker sometimes, yet still there. I believe an attitude of thankfulness is important as we go about our daily lives; remembering *not* to take for granted all that we’ve been given, our way of life, our families, and of course, God’s provision in our lives. Sabbath offers a day to reflect on these very things, if we choose to keep the day holy and set apart.

Sabbath, part 2

In considering the Sabbath, and ways for our family to observe it, I have to think over our daily activities. I spend many “moments” checking email, or looking something up online (often school-related)…connecting with the outside world on Facebook. :) I spend other moments doing laundry, which of course, never ends. Picking up toys, de-cluttering tabletops, preparing food. There are bits of reading time tucked here and there throughout the day, both to myself, and, to my youngest girls. Supervising schoolwork throughout our days, as necessary.

Obviously, my Sabbath would include a break from laundry and school! Realistically, I could not entirely break from meal preparations. And that is OK with me; I actually do enjoy cooking. If I plan properly, we can eat simple meals (even sandwiches), or I can use the crockpot and so on.
Reading is a healthy activity for all of us. Often, during the week, pressure to “do” overcomes my ability to “be”. I would like to spend more time reading with my children; especially my son, who doesn’t read well yet on his own, and my little girls. (My oldest is a bookworm!). Perhaps, a Sabbath rest from the “to-do” list would offer time to relax and read or play with my kids. Without the distraction of “all that I should be doing” on my mind.

I must look seriously at computer time. It, too, is a relaxing activity for me. I particularly enjoy blogging when time permits. Yet, some days, I fear my children see my laptop open too often. True, it is often legitimate “work” I’m doing; not just idle net-surfing…but I think it would be good for me (and for them) to have a day in which I do not use my laptop. A day in which my children see me give up something, in order to benefit from the sacrifice. And not only for personal benefit, but to rest my mind from “checking” email, or “checking” an amazon order, or “researching” next week’s lessons…or reserving library books online…or updating a FB status…just rest.

Here’s honesty: my children see my laptop open more than they see my Bible open. In addition to fasting from the computer on the Sabbath, I’d like my mornings to begin with reading God’s word. I often start my day with a cup of tea, and my laptop…I may be nursing or feeding my youngest, or I may be directing some schoolwork. I think it would be better for me AND my kids, if I focus on opening the Bible with my cup of tea. Even if I squeeze in only a few verses, before the inevitable interruptions. My actions are not consistent with my words, when I tell my children that God matters most. I have thought about asking the children what they believe matters most to Mom. But I cringe at the possible answers. And I know it may be difficult to make these changes…but we live only once. I have one chance to train my precious children, to set an example for them. Just ONE. It needs to count.

The season of Lent may be a perfect time to restore a sense of discipline to my heart, my life, my mornings. It is also the perfect time to restore consistency of our evening Family Worship Time. It is tough to have a productive Scripture reading with a 1-yr-old and a 3-yr-old; both are wearing down, are cranky, etc. How do we keep them quiet so we can have meaningful discussion with our older two? This, sadly, has kept us from consistency. Yet what matters is not always content, but that we *do have* family worship time. The children love to sing songs, to hear short Bible readings, to talk and pray together. It’s OK if there’s noise or distraction…if it doesn’t always go as planned…if the discussion is short. Our children need to *see* what matters most, as much as they *hear* what matters most.