Sabbath week two

Well, this past Sabbath was a flop. It started with me getting up too late to attend worship. Then I went into the living room where my husband was watching television. Without a thought I grabbed a cup of coffee and joined him. During the afternoon we took our dog for a walk by the stream. It was a gorgeous day for it. When we arrived home I sat down and began working on my knitting, while my husband put up some halloween decorations. At 5pm our guests arrived. By the time they had left I was tired and found myself irratated with my husband for not thinking of something to do with me besides watch television. Not taking into consideration how tired he must have been after decorating and cooking the dinner for our guests! Instead, I got an attitude and went to my study and read while I pouted.

So how was work today? Not so good. I was tired and aware of how different today felt as opposed to last week when I had listened to God and rested on the Sabbath. I stopped berating myself around lunchtime. As I looked ahead for this week I realized how much I needed the day of rest.

God wasn't just telling me to rest to please Him; he gave it to me to help me out. He knows how busy my life continues to get and by not listening to my Heavenly Fathers wishes to obey the Sabbath I am paying dearly. Not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well. It surprises me how active my life has become when I cannot even relax on one day of the week

What am I going to do with this new knowledge? As I told my husband this morning; no more dinner guests on Sundays. only rest and quality time together. Any work needing to be done will need to get done Saturday. As for not getting up on time; no more excuses. If I choose to stay up until midnight with friends then I will have to pay the consequences. I am no longer a young chicken and staying up past 10pm is hard on my body!

Language barrier in our Long Term Care Facilities

Once again I am made aware of how different life is for our seniors living in nursing homes. On several occasions in one morning, I witnessed residents being ignored by staff who did not speak English. I know this because after witnessing a resident being ignored, I said to the staff member, "he jsut asked you a question." She simply smiled at me and said, "Si". Another area of change in our long term care facilities is the disregard for seniors who are in an activity. At one time it was unexceptable for any noise or disruptions to occur during an activity. As I sat in the room where a bible study is held, the radio was on in the dining area off the room we were in; housekeeping and dietary staff were cleaning off tables making loud noises as the plates were dropped into buckets, they were speaking loudly in spanish to one another, yet not saying a single word to residents sitting and waiting to be taken to their rooms. On several occasions I witnessed staff walking by a resident yelling to be taken to the rest room. Could they not at least address the resident and let them know they were heard? Apparently not. If the charge nurses on the floors cannot supervise their staff; who can? Why are we hiring non-english speaking staff to care for english speaking residents? Why are we willing to hire nurses on visa's who also do not understand family members who call; or who family members can't understand when they call?

The Sabbath

Well, my first observance of the Sabbath went better than expected. My husband, a nonbeliever, went along with it. the Television was never turned on the whole day and evening! That may not sound like a big deal to you, but in our house it is a big deal. I enjoyed spending the day in the Word; praying and studying. I have often wondered what the real meaning of the Sabbath is and have taken it upon myself to read up on it and look at the different passages where it is used in the bible. After all, how can I observe this day if I don't understand the meaning for it in the first place.

Not having the t.v. on began to get difficult towards the evening. I found myself getting anxious for something to do without wanting to do anything. I finally got out my yarn and began working on a baby gift. I learned I could follow knitting directions after all. Could it be that with the t.v. off and the house quiet I was able to concentrate more on what I was reading or doing?

It became apparent how influential the television is in my marriage relationship. During the entire day neither of us thought to ask the other what we could do together this day. We simply picked up books we were reading and read all day. Or in my case, got busy with crafts. I had mentioned that this would be a day for family and time with God. Didn't he get the hint? Apparently not. So next week I will see if I can think of something we can enjoy together.

So, my lesson for our first observance of the Sabbath is this; it is more difficult than I had anticipated it to be, and with this recognition, I am more determined than ever to stick to my plan of observing this day of rest for a full month, no excuses. that being said, is grocery shopping breaking the Sabbath? If so, I failed my first Sunday Sabbath.

Honoring the Sabbath, can I do it?

I have been pondering a lot lately about the Sabbath. I realize we are no longer under the old law. However, I have often wondered what my work week would be like if I took the Sabbath seriously. If I took Sunday as a true day of rest. Rest from shopping, cleaning the house, and other forms of work or play that take my focus off our Lord. I have made the decision to observe the Sabbath every week for a month and journal the results I find. It would be very interesting to see if my job performance and relationships improved. How could they not? I would be rested and have had personal, intimate time with my Heavenly Father.I am ashamed to say the most difficult thing to give up will be the television. I don't realize how much time is spent in front of that noise box. I justify it by working on crafts while I listen. But that too I will give up for the month.
I will also begin again of sharing my experiences as I visit our Elders in Nursing Homes.