Category: Uncategorized

Prayer: 

1. Ask for forgiveness of sins.
2. Just listen to God.
3. Learn to hear God’s voice in the quiet times.
4. Pray about pressing matters, family & friends, church, country, etc.

Bible:

1. Memorize scripture as a family (make note cards to look at during the week).
2. Meditate on scripture about the Sabbath (or whatever God lays on your heart).
3. Study God’s Word with others.
4. Share your favorite Bible verses and what they mean to you.

Study:

1. Listen to or watch sermons.
2. Read out of Character Building Books.
3. Go to church.
4. Study God’s creation.

Rest:

1. Take a nap!
2. Listen to worshipful music.

Family:

1. Share stories of faith from family members.
2. Worship God through experiencing His creation/nature (picnic, walk, etc.).
3. Have a special meal/dessert (use candles, china, special tablecloth, music, etc.).

Helping Others:

1. Nursing Home Ministry.
2. Pray with people in the hospital.
3. Help at a Food Bank/Kitchen.
4. Witness to others.
5. Unselfish acts to help someone who is hurting.

For Children:

1. Read their children’s Bible.
2. Read Bible-related books.
3. Listen to worshipful children’s cd’s
4. Listen to children’s Bible radio programs.

Play Bible games:

1. trivia,
2. matching game
3. board game

God-related arts & crafts projects:

1. draw/color pictures, print out activity sheets, build or sculpt, etc.
2. Have a Scripture Scavenger Hunt or any type of hunt that helps them discover things about God (requires preparation before Sabbath starts).
3. Praise Pail-write things you are thankful for during the week and drop it in the pail, then take turns reading them on Sabbath.
4. Bring out “Sabbath” toys that are stored away during the week.

Friday Preparations For Children:

1. Have them help you prepare the meals on Friday for Sabbath (make food that is from an area you are learning about that week). They can help put out Sabbath decorations/dishes on Friday.

Yara’s Best Home-Organization Tip By Yara C. Young Published in the Topic of Home Organization on Her Website http://www.yarayoung.com/topics/home-organization “The most important home-organization idea I can give can be stated simply in ten words: The night before is the key to the next day. This tip will make the difference between success and failure. What does this mean — The night before is the key to the next day? It means that if we tidy up the house in the evening before going to bed, then maintaining the home will be simple. We will be “ahead of the game.” If we fail to tidy up the house in the evening before going to bed, then we will have a more difficult time. We will be “behind the eight ball”. What can we do in the evenings that will make such a big difference? 1. Pick-up and organize the toys. All toys must be picked up and put in their proper places. Hopefully there is a container just for blocks and another container for toy cars, etc. Having separate containers for each toy makes it easy for children to use their toys without making a mess. For instance, if they want to play with Legos, they pull out the Lego container, leaving the other toys undisturbed. While children are putting their toys away, parents can put away magazines, books, and papers that have been left out. Fluff pillows and straighten articles of furniture. 2. Bath time After everything is tidy – it is bath time. Children undress and put clothes in their hamper. Every bedroom should have a clothes hamper. This keeps us from having clothes on the floor and having to come and pick them up later. Bath time is quick. It is not a party. When my children were small, I would bathe all three at the same time. Whatever the case, when the bath was done, I would close the shower curtain/door and hang up the towels. I gave a “once over” to the commode and sink with disinfectant spray, and then I would leave. One could come into the bathroom at that point and never know that I had just given three children a bath. I don’t have to come back to clean up the bathroom. 3. Evening Activities After the children are bathed I slow down their activities. They read books, color, or play a quiet game. This is a good time for you to get the supper out. After supper, I clean up the dining table and kitchen, the children brush their teeth and we have worship. After worship the children go to the bathroom for the last time. All kids go to bed. I look around their rooms and tidy up the things that were too difficult for them to do. Kiss and hug the children good night. I leave behind neat and orderly rooms. The only things that are messy are their beds – they are sleeping on them. Before I retire for the night, I think about what needs to be done for the next day. I try to do anything that will make tomorrow easier. As my husband and I get ready for bed, we hang up the garments that need to be hung. Our dirty clothes go in our hamper, shoes go in the shoe rack in the closet. When we go to bed, our room is tidy and in order. If someone were to come to our house at 3:00 AM, they would find the whole house tidy and only four messy beds, and that is only because we are sleeping on them! It’s a nice feeling to go to bed and know that the whole house is tidy. At one of my home-organization seminars, a woman commented, “Ever since your seminar, I can’t think of going to sleep without tidying up. It has made such a difference.” Another said, “I can use all your ideas, but if I don’t pick up the night before, none of the other ideas fall into place. Next morning you only have to make the beds. What else needs to be done in the bedroom to have it ready for the day? Nothing! Everything was done the night before. Put this tip into practice — it will make all the difference in your day.” Much of this article contains excerpts from Yara’s book, Oh No, It’s Sabbath Again And I’m Not Ready, published by Pacific Press.

When my husband and I started out keeping Sabbath, we tried many times to have a good Sabbath with zero to minimal preparation. I’m here to tell you that just doesn’t work. I’m generally an organized person. But at this stage in my life, with two preschoolers and a four month old, I don’t always FEEL like taking extra time for preparation. When I prepare for Sabbath, though, I have the opportunity to experience it as God intended. What Is Prior Preparation? I’m going to bring you into my world for a minute to illustrate the idea of preparation. When a woman is in her last trimester of pregnancy (like I was recently), she tends to experience something called nesting. It is an urgent desire and pressing to have everything done BEFORE the baby arrives. There are a hundred little things to take care of when a new baby joins your family and it makes life so much smoother to get them done beforehand. Once the baby arrives, you will want to spend all your time getting to know him/her. Here is another illustration from God’s Word. Think about Mary and Martha preparing for Jesus’ visit to their home (Luke 10:38-42). Martha had invited Jesus to come. She wanted to be a good hostess and was driven maybe by a sense of perfection, accomplishment or just to please. She was so absorbed in her tasks that she didn’t even think about taking the special opportunity to sit down and get to know Jesus better. Jesus points out to Martha that Mary sat down with Him as soon as He came through the door. She didn’t want to waste one minute on doing something that was of less value than knowing her Savior. That is the true reason for prior preparation for Sabbath! Don’t Waste Your Precious God Time I shouldn’t waste one minute of my time doing anything I could have taken care of beforehand. And I shouldn’t try to take care of things during Sabbath that can wait until Sabbath is over. My desire and anticipation to know God better should be my motivation to get my work done before God “arrives” for Sabbath. He wants me to be standing at the door welcoming Him into my home and then spending the rest of the time at His feet. The Alternative I have had many Sabbath’s where I was driven to be a Martha. As I look back at those times, I am sad for the opportunities I wasted. My sense of accomplishment for getting my “tasks” done must have fallen far short of the closeness I could have gained with God. Be a Mary I am so glad that I have a choice to follow Mary’s example each Sabbath. But I have to begin my work early and stay on task so I can have it done BEFORE Sabbath begins.

Yara’s Best Home-Organization Tip By Yara C. Young Published in the Topic of Home Organization on Her Website http://www.yarayoung.com/topics/home-organization “The most important home-organization idea I can give can be stated simply in ten words: The night before is the key to the next day. This tip will make the difference between success and failure. What does this mean — The night before is the key to the next day? It means that if we tidy up the house in the evening before going to bed, then maintaining the home will be simple. We will be “ahead of the game.” If we fail to tidy up the house in the evening before going to bed, then we will have a more difficult time. We will be “behind the eight ball”. What can we do in the evenings that will make such a big difference? 1. Pick-up and organize the toys. All toys must be picked up and put in their proper places. Hopefully there is a container just for blocks and another container for toy cars, etc. Having separate containers for each toy makes it easy for children to use their toys without making a mess. For instance, if they want to play with Legos, they pull out the Lego container, leaving the other toys undisturbed. While children are putting their toys away, parents can put away magazines, books, and papers that have been left out. Fluff pillows and straighten articles of furniture. 2. Bath time After everything is tidy – it is bath time. Children undress and put clothes in their hamper. Every bedroom should have a clothes hamper. This keeps us from having clothes on the floor and having to come and pick them up later. Bath time is quick. It is not a party. When my children were small, I would bathe all three at the same time. Whatever the case, when the bath was done, I would close the shower curtain/door and hang up the towels. I gave a “once over” to the commode and sink with disinfectant spray, and then I would leave. One could come into the bathroom at that point and never know that I had just given three children a bath. I don’t have to come back to clean up the bathroom. 3. Evening Activities After the children are bathed I slow down their activities. They read books, color, or play a quiet game. This is a good time for you to get the supper out. After supper, I clean up the dining table and kitchen, the children brush their teeth and we have worship. After worship the children go to the bathroom for the last time. All kids go to bed. I look around their rooms and tidy up the things that were too difficult for them to do. Kiss and hug the children good night. I leave behind neat and orderly rooms. The only things that are messy are their beds – they are sleeping on them. Before I retire for the night, I think about what needs to be done for the next day. I try to do anything that will make tomorrow easier. As my husband and I get ready for bed, we hang up the garments that need to be hung. Our dirty clothes go in our hamper, shoes go in the shoe rack in the closet. When we go to bed, our room is tidy and in order. If someone were to come to our house at 3:00 AM, they would find the whole house tidy and only four messy beds, and that is only because we are sleeping on them! It’s a nice feeling to go to bed and know that the whole house is tidy. At one of my home-organization seminars, a woman commented, “Ever since your seminar, I can’t think of going to sleep without tidying up. It has made such a difference.” Another said, “I can use all your ideas, but if I don’t pick up the night before, none of the other ideas fall into place. Next morning you only have to make the beds. What else needs to be done in the bedroom to have it ready for the day? Nothing! Everything was done the night before. Put this tip into practice — it will make all the difference in your day.” Much of this article contains excerpts from Yara’s book, Oh No, It’s Sabbath Again And I’m Not Ready, published by Pacific Press.

Finding the Sabbath truth is an exciting time in the life of a believer! We check each Scripture that pertains to the day, and then we double check them just to be sure. We peruse the New Testament with a careful eye, looking for when the day may have been changed, but don’t find it because it’s not in there! Finally, upon diligent seeking, the truth is affirmed in our spirit by our Heavenly Father’s Holy Spirit. We are filled with joy at the new revelation, and resolve to begin observing the Sabbath for ourselves, and to share this truth with others. Our joy is often dashed, however, when our exciting news is received with less than enthusiasm. Our family, friends, coworkers and even our church congregation often do not understand the change in us. They can even be less than loving in their attitude toward us. Often, with growth in our journey with our God, the going will get tough! But do not fear obedience. Our Heavenly Father will walk you through it. The first place it might get tough is with your family. Sabbath is a relatively new concept, and many will associate it with being Jewish or with rejecting the perfect work of our Messiah when He was crucified. We have been shown that Sabbath is for all of God’s children, but many don’t understand yet in their own journey. As we prepare to share the Sabbath truth with our loved ones, we can reduce the toughness by being ready for their questions. We have to do the Scripture study and have it on hand. Then we have to speak with the love of God in our tone. We shouldn’t highlight the “wrongness” of not observing Sabbath, but illuminate the “rightness,” the rest, the peace, and the commandment. Draw near in prayer to God, for He is faithful to answer your questions. He will help you to speak right words. We must give our loved ones time and walk out our talk! We may come across a loved one who has a hostile attitude toward our new obedience. This kind of trial can only be laid on the altar, with complete faith that God will work it out. Even when we face a hostile attitude, God would have us keep our own attitude loving and peaceful. It’s helpful to pray that God will soften their heart. We’re warned in the Bible that following Him will cost us something. How else could it be worth anything? Many loved ones and friends might not understand when we don’t attend certain engagements or activities that fall on the Sabbath Day. Each occasion requires our prayerful consideration. Several events have an alternative solution. For instance, instead of just declining an early dinner party invitation for Saturday, we can find out if we could drop in after sundown to join the fun. Instead of not going to our nephew’s 2:00 p.m. birthday party on the Sabbath, we could take him out the previous evening for ice cream and cake (complete with candles and singing) and a movie. We can explain why we won’t be at the party and assure him that his birthday is important to us. This is an area where we can get creative. Again, some things just won’t pan out, and we give those to God. At work, we face a whole different kind of battle. Trying to get the boss to reschedule our week if he’s used to us working the Saturday shift can be work in itself. Again, this is an area where we seek God and His will. We have to give our employer time to adjust the schedule if he can, or we may face what seems to be an impasse. We have to keep walking in love while our Father in Heaven works on our behalf. New employment might become necessary, or we may have to keep to our old schedule altogether. I have found that when I step out in obedience, my Father opens the right doors and makes the necessary adjustments come to pass. While we wait on God, we can spend our lunch break sharing the Sabbath Truth with our friends in our workplace. Then, we face each challenge individually as it comes. Our church congregation challenges may prove to be the most difficult. The Sabbath doctrine is a very personal one. We must cling tightly into our prayer life for direction and be able to discern God’s “voice” from our own, or even from the voice of the enemy. Some are greeted with encouragement and support from their church families,and others, like myself, are excommunicated from their congregation. It isn’t that our brethren hate us, it’s that they haven’t yet had the truth revealed to them from On High. Again, we must be patient and loving. In the event that our church family should make us unwelcome in their fold, it will become necessary for us to trust God to set us up within a like-minded church family. We can be encouraged to remember that our Savior had the same problems with the religious leaders in His Day. We can be sure He hears our prayers and even our frustrations because He’s been there! Tough times in the life of any believer will come and go. This is the way of our fallen world. We need not despair, though, because we have an advocate praying for us in Heaven who has already overcome the world.  The blessings of keeping the Sabbath will always outweigh the tough times we’ll face in doing so! As we walk through our valleys, we keep our Heavenly Father first, we press into Him for guidance and we exercise the fruits of the Spirit in us when dealing with those who are bringing us grief.  We can be encouraged in Scripture by Isaiah, who tells us that, when our Messiah reigns on Earth, all of God’s family will gather and celebrate Sabbath together!