The Sabbath Experiment -- week 29

Laura looking for eggs

I woke up this morning (quite late, actually) and started thinking about what it must have been like for Mary and the followers of Jesus when they woke up on Monday morning. We pay a lot of attention to what happened on Resurrection Sunday, but what about the next day? Can you imagine what it must have been like when they eased from dreams to the reality of the risen Christ?! Wow. I want to carry that feeling with me throughout the day ... the week ... the year. The risen Christ. That's truly amazing. When did we cease to be amazed by it?


Lincoln in his Easter finest

After a long and busy Saturday, which included the Great Cloth Diaper Change at Happy Baby Company in Pittsburgh where I met some fabulous cloth diapering mamas and papas, I finished up my shopping for Easter. By the time I got home in the evening, I was beat. But I pushed myself beyond the exhaustion and prepared for the next day. I cleaned, put baskets together, wrote cards, set the table, emptied the dishwasher and prepared food for Sunday's brunch. My goal was to do everything on Saturday, so that I could truly rest on this particular Sabbath. It worked!



Egg hunt!

 This year, I invited the kids to join us for brunch after church, rather than having them do the usual running around back and forth to the in-laws. I prepared the casseroles on Saturday night, so all that was needed on Sunday was a transfer from the refrigerator to the oven. How easy was that? And I didn't even have to do it -- my daughter, Jess, got to the house sooner than the rest of us after church and popped them in the oven.

The result? A restful and fun day. Yes, I did clean up the kitchen after we were done, with the help of my daughter, Bethany, but it was a pleasant task. Bill and I made a simple dinner, which we ate in front of the television as we watched the Hallmark movie on CBS.



Son-in-law, Tom, with Lincoln

By working so hard on Saturday, I was able to appreciate the restfulness of Sunday. After the kids left, I scrolled through Facebook for a bit and then laid down with Bill for what I planned to be a 30 minute power nap. Three hours later, I woke up to a darkened room! I guess I was more tired than I thought! Talk about resting on the Sabbath!
We went to bed shortly after the movie was over and I slept another 9 1/2 hours. Thus the late start to my Monday! It's evident I haven't fully bounced back from the mumps yet, but I'm working on it. It seems my immune system was just knocked out of whack a bit.

So now, it's nearing noon and I have work to do (the real kind ... you know, that pays the bills). I hope you had a celebratory, as well as restful, Resurrection Sunday. And I pray the wonder of the day stays close to your heart.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting some pics and writing about the Great Cloth Diaper Change ... changing the way folks think about diapering!

Keeping it restful on the Sabbath,

Hana