Communing With the Creator

I want to surround my Sabbath with reminders of why I am keeping the Sabbath!  Music, exercise, art and peace.

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” St. Francis of Assisi, author of this saying, was a master at proclaiming the gospel in creative ways. The creator of the living nativity, St. Francis made the good news of the birth of Jesus accessible to the people of his time through the use of worship visuals.

Andy Otto says, "Art has long been a way the Church has tapped into the divine.  art can unlock the secret depths of the heart. Though a painting stimulates the visual sense, there’s something about a painting that somehow touches the more interior parts of us too. "

Bob Gilroy has a wonderful site called, Prayer Windows.  There are steps on how to 

begin to pray with art.  
By adding something creative into Sabbath it seems like we commune with God THE Creator just a little bit.

In the Garden                                                                                            A view from above

 

Images of Sabbath

Here are two beautiful images from Yoram Raanan/ of his vision of Sabbath.  Check out the link above to his wonderful site. I love looking at these and I feel inspired to add rest into my week, as well as art into my rest.  This Lent I am so happy to be a "Lenten Mentor" to one of our confimands at church.  We will be experimenting with adding art into our Lenten practice as well.  If you see an especially inspirational piece of art please share!  I would love to hear and see what is moving you towards Sabbath!

So... I Suppose I Should Break This Sabbath Thing To My Family

Yes, it's true!  I'm experimenting with a "Super-Secret" Sabbath.  It's not so much that I want it to be a secret, I mean I do presentations on Sabbath, and a weekly blog, and  am trying to live a faithful Sabbath filled life.  But I haven't really clued the gang in on what's going on.

I can't decide if it's because I am afraid we, as a family, are more likely to sabotage the day collectively if everyone is in on it, or if there will be eye rolling (them) which will lead to seething (me) which will lead to a begrudging compliance (everyone) which will just wreck it!

It's not like I don't trust them to hold the day in the esteem with which it deserves, (I totally don't trust them) but it's like a diet; the more people you tell, the more people seem to offer you chocolate cake!

Mostly I think I'm worried about being the gate keeper.  I don't want to be the one making "rules" which seem rigid, and agonizing and burdensome. (Where's a good Pharisee when you need one?)  I want Sabbath to be  organic and a natural end to a busy week.   I want Sabbath to be lovely, and meaningful, and restful! So far that is what we have achieved, and frankly I'm a little tentative about messing with a good thing.

I am willing to go the extra mile with cooking and cleaning and organizing early on in the week so our Sabbath can be restful.  Talking and explaining and discussing and disputing would put me over the edge and ruin it.  My goal is for them to come to me one day and say, "Oh mother dear, our life is so peaceful and amazing, what is it that makes it so? (I am hearing this being said in an old English accent much like Oliver Twist asking for more gruel, even though we are not British, nor are we particularly Dickensian!) You can probably wager on how soon that is going to happen!

So, in the mean time, if you run into one of my children or my husband, and ask, "How's Sabbath going?" don't be surprised if the answer is a bunch of blinking and "ummming."   Because I think I'll put it off for just one more week.

I'm Sooooooooooooooo So Tired

Jennifer Lawrence, who is always a good time, was on David Letterman a while back.  She is a young lady that everyone seems to like and truly amuses Mr. Letterman.  She was working on one of the Hunger Games movies, and American Hustle.  Doing promo tours and parties, and premieres etc.  I know rough life right!

But in the charming way that she has, she just kept saying, "I'm so tired!  Soooooo, so tired!"  As I was watching I thought, "Oh honey, you can't say that!"  People don't want tired, they want perky, and peppy, and funny, and grateful. You have a dream job and people don't want to hear how tired you are.

She was able to pull it off with out any repercussions.  I think because it is not her normal state of being, and she was able to touch on something we are all feeling.  It made me think about how we as a society are under a lot of pressure to NOT be tired.  It isn't the American way.  It isn't acceptable, and yet studies show we are all really, really tired.  See the links below

• Insufficient Sleep is a Public Health Epidemic
• The Toll Of Sleep Loss In America
• Sleep Deprivation affects a Third of Americans
• More Sleep Would Make Most Americans Happier

So why don't we go to bed?  And when we are in bed, why don't we sleep better.  There are lots of sites with suggestions on how to sleep better (that could be my next blog....my big fat sleep experiment!)

There's a controversial Cadillac commercial that's out right now.  One of the parts that bothers me is this man's seeming disdain for taking extended time off.   We have begun to refer to it as the "anti-Sabbath" commercial.

So my goal is to be eloquent and give some useful tips on this blog, but today I just wanted to bring you with me as I notice what we're doing to ourselves.  I see that we are not only ignoring Sabbath, but glorifying that ignorance.  

Try to carve out some Sabbath time this week.  Take a day, and declare it a day of rest.  I promise you will do better work, than if you ignore this gift of Sabbath which we have been given!