A Day of Rest

Our family has pretty consistently observed a Sabbath day of rest. It has looked different over the years but now we usually start on Saturday night with a family movie. We go to church on Sunday morning and then have lunch, either out or when we return home. We try not to turn on our computer at all. We usually play board games, video games etc. together as a family.

When we are in Guatemala, the Fickers celebrate their Sabbath on Wednesdays because of the clinics on the weekends. When we were there last time, they would begin the Sabbath on Tuesday night with worship.

I have to confess that I was tempted to not observe the Sabbath while we were there. I kept thinking that I had alot to do and we were only going to be there for a short time. And then I came across this verse:

Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest (i.e. the busiest time) you must rest. Exodus 34:21

Then I read this verse:

There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
Leviticus 23:3

There isn't alot of "gray area" in either of those verses. The Lord so clearly commands us to keep the Sabbath that, in the Old Testament, the penalty for not observing a day of rest was death. What is so ironic about the whole idea of the Sabbath is that the Lord created it for us. The Sabbath is a gift.

After finding these verses, I was convinced that we needed to continue to observe the Sabbath even while in Guatemala. Really, I don't think it would have been an option to not keep it. Our kids look forward to the Sabbath every week and I don't think they would have agreed to "skip" it.

Last Sunday, we spent our Sabbath "geocaching". We wanted to do something outside so we loaded up some coordinates on the GPS and went in search of "treasure"!
Here is Hannah leading us on the hunt.

Samuel and Bethany are showing off some "treasure".

Clearly, these two need to ask for directions!

I love this picture!