Monday, March 28, 2011

Welcome, welcome Sabbath morning

I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormons. Each Sunday, I discuss some things related to my faith and what I believe. Regardless of your own beliefs, I hope this gives you a chance to get to know me and my religion a little better. For previous installments, click here.
 
Exodus 20:8-11 

8 Remember the asabbath day, to keep it bholy.

9 aSix days shalt thou blabour, 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 astranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in asix days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord bblessed the sabbath day, and challowed it.

What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy?

For me, it means a day of rest from the main stressors of the world, but it's not just sitting around doing nothing.  Instead of focusing on work and entertainment with only a little bit of daily worship like I do most of the week, I use the Sabbath to focus on my worship and strengthening my relationship with God. I avoid spending money and more carefully choose the leisure activities I participate in. I also attend my worship services. Sunday is the day I write to my family, and if I were still in Utah, I'd join my brother in going home for Sunday dinner.

Of course, there are times when people have to work on Sundays or circumstances make it difficult to take a whole day off. When that's been my case, I still try to find a way to make it a special day and find some time to dedicate to the Lord.

Overall, it's my day to focus on my relationship with people (family, friends, fellow church members), with God and Jesus Christ, and with myself. Having such a day is rejuvenating for body, mind, and spirit. I feel a difference in my weeks when I don't have the opportunity to enjoy a full Sabbath day of rest, so I'm very grateful that I usually can.

Fellow members - in what ways do you make Sabbath observance a part of your worship? Other friends - do you have a day of rest? How do you observe it?

2 comments:

LeAnn said...

I love the Sabbath day for many of the reasons you shared. I love that it is a quiet day spent in service to others, reading of the scriptures and other good materials. If we turn the TV on we watch the BYU station. I love to start the day with listening to the Spoken Word while I am getting ready for church. Usually there is also a message by one of the general authorities.
It's a very refreshing day for me!
Thanks for your thoughts.
LeAnn

Giggles said...

Some times Sunday is one of the busiest days of the week. But it is also a breath of fresh air in a week full of the daily grind.