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Making the Sabbath
a Delight
By Steve and Claudia Goodman
Several years ago as we were visiting in Israel, our guide
explained that the Jewish Sabbath was the most special day of the
week—not a burden, but a joy. It was the day when the family used
their best china and tablecloth and rejoiced together in the delights
of the Sabbath.
To me, it was a new way of looking at things. From my youth
I had been well acquainted with the Don’ts of the Sabbath—don’t
go shopping, don’t go to the movies, don’t go to birthday parties,
don’t go swimming, etc. So often those rules can be misinterpreted
as don’t have fun! Although I had always tried to keep the
Sabbath Day holy, I had not fully thought of it as a day to delight
in the Lord. In D&C 59:13 the Lord explains that in keeping
the Sabbath day, “thy joy may be full.”
President Spencer W. Kimball gave one of the best descriptions
of Sabbath observance available. He said: “The Sabbath is a holy
day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work
and recreation is important, but insufficient. The Sabbath calls
for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about
doing nothing on the Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it,
one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying
the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, writing
letters to missionaries, taking a nap, reading wholesome material,
and attending all the meetings of that day at which he is expected.”
(“The Sabbath—A Delight,” Ensign, Jan. 1978, p.4.) These
are suggestions listed by a prophet of God of activities worthy
of the Sabbath.
The purpose of this article is to create a springboard of ideas
to help each of us use the Sabbath to more fully delight in the
Lord. The most important thing to keep in mind is that these are
only suggestions to get you started thinking, not requirements set
in stone. Also, remember that it is impossible to use all of them
on any given Sunday. It would hardly be a day of rest as you raced
from one suggestion to the next! The important thing is to keep
the spirit of the Sabbath—to do those things that will help you
and your family to delight in the Lord.
Set the Mood
Perhaps we can begin by establishing an atmosphere of joy and
peace in our homes on the Sabbath day. One way to achieve this
goal is to do advance preparation on Saturday. Bathing the children
the night before and setting out their Sunday clothes works for
some families; however, reality doesn’t always make this practice
possible. Preparing Sunday meals ahead is also a possibility.
Many years ago when we had six children under the age of eight,
I was asked to give a talk in sacrament meeting on keeping the Sabbath
Day holy. I did lots of research and analyzing and determined that
we needed to do a better job ourselves. My husband was out of town
that weekend, but I gathered the children together on Saturday morning
and scheduled times for us to clean the house, take baths, set out
clothes, and prepare meals for Sunday. However, the needs of many
small children and a neighbor in distress took most of the day,
and by bedtime that night, we had not accomplished a single one
of our objectives. Too many other important things got in the way.
Sadly my oldest boy commented, “Mom, we didn’t get everything done
for Sunday.” Then a warm spirit burned within me as I replied,
“Yes, but we did the most important things, and the Lord is pleased.”
I gave a different talk the next day than I had planned. Being
super-organized is not always the answer to keeping the Sabbath.
Giving love, taking time for others, and delighting in the Lord
are a lot more important than an impressive schedule of events.
A few other things that help set the mood for the Sabbath are:
- Inspirational
music playing quietly in the background does a lot to establish
a spiritual tone in the home.
- Simply
prepared meals with the entire family spending time together also
promote feelings of love and harmony and invite the spirit.
- Often
it helps to make Sunday a family day, when the children rarely
play with other friends, but spend the day with each other.
- Wearing
Sunday clothes or clothes which are nicer than those worn on other
days can also set the Sabbath apart as an extra special day.
For
the Whole Family
There are many things families can do together on the Sabbath
Day. Children and parents of all ages can enjoy a great variety
of activities. Some of these ideas include:
- Attend
regular church meetings. They set the tone for the day.
- Visit
widows in your ward. Sing to them or listen to their stories.
- Visit
rest homes in your area. Teach your children to love and care
for the elderly.
- Read
family histories to acquaint your children with their ancestors
and their testimonies.
- Help
your children prepare the Family Home Evening lesson. Some families
like to present this lesson on Sunday and reserve Monday night
for the activity.
- Interview
your children on a regular basis. Many families do this once
each month. If this pattern doesn’t work for you, make a conscious
effort to spend time talking with each child individually, which
accomplishes the same objective.
- Visit
extended family. Sunday is a great time to spend time with relatives
and loved ones and to strengthen family ties.
- Write
letters to extended family, loved ones, and missionaries. It’s
a great way to share your testimony and love with others.
- Sing
hymns or other appropriate faith-strengthening songs with your
family. They create a bond of closeness and always enhance the
spirit.
- Go
for a walk on the temple grounds or other sacred spots near your
home. Such time can be used for meditation and rejoicing in the
beautiful creations around you.
- Go
to a visitor’s center if one is nearby and feel its spirit renew
your testimony.
- Take
a nap. Many people regard this suggestion as one of their favorites
from Pres. Kimball’s list. Sunday can literally be a day of rest—as
long as you don’t get too carried away with it!
For
Older Children and Adults
For those old enough to do so, the Sabbath can truly be a time
of renewal of both body and spirit, a time to reflect and recommit
and truly feast on the words of eternal life.
When I was in high school, I decided that homework was my work,
and that it was therefore inappropriate for me to do it on Sunday.
It was a real sacrifice sometimes and meant getting up extra early
on Monday mornings occasionally to finish what I failed to complete
on Saturday. But I found myself looking forward to Sundays more
and more as a day to truly rejoice and rest from the labors of my
week. I also found that I was blessed in my schoolwork beyond measure
by keeping this commandment of the Lord fully in my life.
Our children have continued this practice. Our sixteen-year-old
daughter Aimee says, “Not doing homework on Sunday was something
I grew up with. Now that I’m in high school and taking some advanced
classes, the homework load is heavy. Sometimes I get frustrated
that I have to get up in the early hours of Monday morning so I
can skip doing homework on Sunday. So far I’ve always been able
to finish my homework in time and feel good about myself. Sometimes
when I haven’t finished, the assignment will get cancelled for that
day. The Lord truly blesses me when I don’t do homework on Sunday.
I always seem to have enough time to finish it and do better than
if I had used Sunday to study it.”
Some of the activities that older children and adults can enjoy
on the Sabbath are:
- Study
the scriptures. Sometimes there is so much time pressure during
the week. Sunday can become a day to truly immerse yourself in
them.
- Meditate.
Taking time to meditate and pray can be a life-changing experience.
- Evaluate
goals. Coupled with meditation, prayer and the renewing of sacramental
covenants, evaluation of goals can give meaningful direction to
the coming week.
- Catch
up your journal. Sometimes Sunday can be an ideal time to capture
journal entries that escape our time during the week.
- Do
some genealogy. It deepens your relationships with your ancestors,
and there is always more to do.
- Write
your personal history. Sundays are a great time to get started,
when the cares of the world do not seem so pressing.
- Attend
firesides and other inspirational church meetings when they are
available.
- Read
church magazines and books. It’s a great time to expand your
understanding of the gospel.
- Write
inspirational poetry or music, expressing your feelings of the
gospel.
- Young
Men, Young Women, and Scouts can work on Personal Progress, Duty
to God, and appropriate scouting goals. One family we know sets
aside a specific hour every Sunday for such activities. It keeps
young people working toward their goals.
For
Small Children
Perhaps the greatest challenge in keeping the Sabbath Day holy
is finding enough Sunday activities to fill up a whole day after
church for young children who can’t sit still for more than two
minutes at a time. We feel that Rule #1 is to do the best you can
and then don’t put yourself on a guilt trip! There is only
so much you can do to provide a constant spiritual environment for
young children. We are reminded of a comment our daughter made
when her first child was a few months old. She explained, “Scripture
study consists of my husband and I reading a few verses of scripture
while the baby tears up a sheet of paper.” Sometimes that’s about
as far as you get, and it’s okay!
The following are some ideas that have worked for us. However,
we must stress that we didn’t use all of them consistently. It’s
a little bit hit-and-miss working with young children. We feel
it is much more important to keep the spirit in your home and interact
with your children with love, than to complete a long list of spiritual
achievements. Over time, with continued efforts to provide spiritual
direction, the children will start doing many of these things on
their own.
- One
of the best discoveries we made was allowing a half-hour or forty-five
minutes extra time to get into the car and go to church when we
had small children. Unbelievably, it always took that much longer!
If we just started that far ahead, there was no stress and we
arrived at church on time and in good spirits.
- Take
time to let your children practice sitting still. There are many
games you can play, such as the last one to move gets a small
treat, timing them, and seeing how long they can sit or stand
on a piece of paper, etc.
- Help
your children draw pictures for their journals and write whatever
they would like to say. This way, at least their journals are
getting written in occasionally. You can even establish a Journal
Hour for this activity.
- Look
through picture scrapbooks. Children love to see past pictures
of themselves and those they love. Our children looked at ours
so often that the covers have fallen off the books.
- Tell
family stories. Children love to hear stories about when you
and other relatives were young. It makes them feel more connected
to their family.
- Le
the children watch Sunday videos or DVDs. These can include movies
produced by the Church or other movies you feel bring the children
closer to the spirit of the Lord. They can be purchased quite
inexpensively from the Church Distribution Center.
- Start
a collection of Sunday books and magazines, including the Friend.
This practice will help children begin distinguishing which books
are suitable for Sunday reading.
- Provide
church games for children to play. There are many commercial
ones readily available, or your can make your own.
- Encourage
your children to create their own dramas, using scripture stories.
One of our fond memories was the Sunday our children produced
the story of Esther from the Bible. We were amazed at how many
details they included, and they have never forgotten the story.
The costumes and props were highly creative, and they had a wonderful
time doing it. This activity kept them involved the entire afternoon.
- Flannel
board stories are another fun activity for children and give them
a hands-on experience in learning gospel stories.
- Church
or scriptural coloring books are also readily available and give
children a good creative outlet focusing on the gospel.
- Make
your own book of gospel pictures, either using the Church picture
kit or other sources. You can insert the pictures in protective
plastic sheets and put them in a binder so children can look at
them by themselves.
- The
Church Nursery Manual has wonderful ideas for helping children
learn the gospel on a simple level. Becoming familiar with it
provides countless ways for you to reinforce what your children
are learning.
- Make
a Sunday kit, containing many of the items suggested here and
others you might want to include. Then all your Sunday materials
will be in one place for the children to use each week.
- Use
your own creativity or that of your children to make adaptations
of familiar activities. One Sunday our older son burst into the
room saying, “Mom, the younger kids are playing ‘Snake in the
Grass,’ and it’s not a Sunday game.” When I questioned them,
they replied, “No, we’re not. We’re playing ‘Missionary in the
City!’” Sometimes it’s the idea that counts more than the content
at this age. At least they’re getting the idea, even if they
are still playing quite a rousing game.
- Finally,
remember that the example of older children and parents will have
a large impact on younger children. If they see you searching
your scriptures and doing Sabbath activities even occasionally,
they will tend to follow the patterns you set for them.
Discovering the Delights of the Sabbath
Keeping the Sabbath Day holy is like following any other principle
of the gospel. We perfect it in degrees. The most important thing
is the direction we are headed. If we focus on the Lord and try
to serve Him, He will judge us on the intent of our hearts, not
just on the success of our Sunday activities. As we strive to honor
Him on His holy day, we will not only feel renewed ourselves, but
we will also instill in our children a deep and abiding love for
the Lord
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